KDE external screen not redrawing and not responding to mouse and keyboard

Hi guys.

The described behavior started after updating my system this week. It has been working properly many years until now. When I change the graphical output to external screen only, it actually displays the opened windows but the mouse and keyboard events are not being displayed and registered on the external screen and it is unresponsive. E.g. when I right click, nothing is changed on external screen (the screen is absolutely unresponsive, nothing is re-drawn), but when I unplug the USB-C cable, I see that the event has been registered on laptop screen and popup menu is displayed there. It seems like that the initial image only is being rendered on external screen when plugged in, but followup up rendering is not happening there.

I have AMD CPU, NVIDIA GPU with NVIDIA drivers, KDE Plasma. Kernel 6.6.83-1 (but tried 5.15 and 5.10, both LTS with no change)

Thank you for any help.
Ivan

inxi -Fazy


System:
  Kernel: 6.6.83-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
    clocksource: hpet avail: acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64
    root=UUID=0d7dd8d2-5033-4426-b6f7-e730c567d49a rw reboot=acpi quiet
    cryptdevice=UUID=b41f2397-ab3a-4c16-92ee-5fd375ab7887:luks-b41f2397-ab3a-4c16-92ee-5fd375ab7887
    root=/dev/mapper/luks-b41f2397-ab3a-4c16-92ee-5fd375ab7887
    resume=/dev/mapper/luks-c689292a-59bc-4223-857a-b313ac769f7c
    udev.log_priority=3 nvidia_drm.modeset=1
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.3 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.12.0
    wm: kwin_x11 vt: 2 dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 20YM v: Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 2
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 v: Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 2
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: LNVNB161216 v: SDK0J40697 WIN
    serial: <superuser required> part-nu: LENOVO_MT_20YM_BU_idea_FM_ThinkBook
    16p G2 ACH uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: GXCN43WW
    date: 06/15/2022
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 61.1 Wh (100.0%) condition: 61.1/71.0 Wh (86.1%)
    volts: 15.4 min: N/A model: SMP L20M4PD3 type: Li-poly serial: <filter>
    status: full cycles: 344
CPU:
  Info: model: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics bits: 64 type: MT MCP
    arch: Zen 3 gen: 3 level: v3 note: check built: 2021-22
    process: TSMC n7 (7nm) family: 0x19 (25) model-id: 0x50 (80) stepping: 0
    microcode: 0xA500011
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 1 cores: 8 threads: 16 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 512 KiB desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x32 KiB L2: 4 MiB
    desc: 8x512 KiB L3: 16 MiB desc: 1x16 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 400 min/max: 400/4463 scaling: driver: amd-pstate-epp
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 400 5: 400 6: 400 7: 400
    8: 400 9: 400 10: 400 11: 400 12: 400 13: 400 14: 400 15: 400 16: 400
    bogomips: 102254
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow mitigation: Safe RET
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines; IBPB: conditional; IBRS_FW;
    STIBP: always-on; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not
    affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA106M [GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile / Max-Q] vendor: Lenovo
    driver: nvidia v: 570.133.07 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm
    non-free: 550/565.xx+ status: current (as of 2025-01; EOL~2026-12-xx)
    arch: Ampere code: GAxxx process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-2023 pcie:
    gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 8 link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    ports: active: none empty: DP-3,DP-4,eDP-2 bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:2520 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Cezanne [Radeon Vega Series /
    Radeon Mobile Series] vendor: Lenovo driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: GCN-5
    code: Vega process: GF 14nm built: 2017-20 pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s
    lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s ports: active: eDP-1
    empty: DP-1,DP-2 bus-ID: 05:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:1638 class-ID: 0300
    temp: 40.0 C
  Device-3: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-3:2 chip-ID: 04f2:b71f
    class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.16 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.6
    compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: amdgpu,nvidia
    unloaded: modesetting,nouveau alternate: fbdev,nv,vesa dri: radeonsi
    gpu: amdgpu display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2560x1600 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 676x423mm (26.61x16.65")
    s-diag: 797mm (31.4")
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 mapped: eDP model: AU Optronics 0x1296 built: 2020 res:
    mode: 2560x1600 hz: 60 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 189 gamma: 1.2
    size: 344x215mm (13.54x8.46") diag: 406mm (16") ratio: 16:10 modes:
    max: 2560x1600 min: 640x480
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: nvidia drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0
    drv: nvidia gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia x11: drv: radeonsi
    inactive: wayland
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.6 vendor: amd mesa v: 25.0.1-arch1.2
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: AMD Radeon Graphics (radeonsi renoir
    ACO DRM 3.54 6.6.83-1-MANJARO) device-ID: 1002:1638 memory: 500 MiB
    unified: no
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.304 layers: 6 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: NVIDIA
    GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU driver: N/A device-ID: 10de:2520
    surfaces: xcb,xlib device: 1 type: integrated-gpu name: AMD Radeon
    Graphics (RADV RENOIR) driver: N/A device-ID: 1002:1638 surfaces: xcb,xlib
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-smi wl: wayland-info
    x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA106 High Definition Audio vendor: Lenovo
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 8 link-max:
    gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:228e
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor
    vendor: Lenovo driver: N/A alternate: snd_pci_acp3x, snd_rn_pci_acp3x,
    snd_pci_acp5x, snd_pci_acp6x, snd_acp_pci, snd_rpl_pci_acp6x, snd_pci_ps,
    snd_sof_amd_renoir, snd_sof_amd_rembrandt, snd_sof_amd_vangogh pcie: gen: 3
    speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s bus-ID: 05:00.5
    chip-ID: 1022:15e2 class-ID: 0480
  Device-3: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 17h/19h/1ah HD Audio
    vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s
    lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s bus-ID: 05:00.6
    chip-ID: 1022:15e3 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.6.83-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.4.1 status: off with: pipewire-media-session
    status: active tools: pw-cli
  Server-3: PulseAudio v: 17.0-43-g3e2bb status: active with:
    1: pulseaudio-alsa type: plugin 2: pulseaudio-jack type: module
    tools: pacat,pactl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie: gen: 2
    speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:2723 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-1: br-6d1e7bc2a3bc state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-2: br-c663af40b22f state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-3: docker0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel AX200 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-3:3 chip-ID: 8087:0029
    class-ID: e001
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 3 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.2
    lmp-v: 11 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 6c010c
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 476.94 GiB used: 227.6 GiB (47.7%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Western Digital model: PC SN730
    SDBPNTY-512G-1101 size: 476.94 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: 11190001 temp: 28.9 C scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 97.65 GiB size: 95.56 GiB (97.86%) used: 54.64 GiB (57.2%)
    fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 254:0
    mapped: luks-b41f2397-ab3a-4c16-92ee-5fd375ab7887
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 260 MiB size: 256 MiB (98.46%)
    used: 30.9 MiB (12.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 294.92 GiB size: 289.23 GiB (98.07%)
    used: 172.93 GiB (59.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-2 maj-min: 254:2
    mapped: luks-a20a9f6b-a6cb-4535-b7d9-20f7aeaacb4b
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: yes
    compressor: zstd max-pool: 20%
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 4.2 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
    dev: /dev/dm-1 maj-min: 254:1
    mapped: luks-c689292a-59bc-4223-857a-b313ac769f7c
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 50.8 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 41.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 14.99 GiB used: 6.63 GiB (44.2%)
  Processes: 427 Power: uptime: 1h 40m states: freeze,mem,disk
    suspend: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
    suspend, test_resume image: 5.98 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,upowerd
    Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical tool: systemctl
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 0 pm: pacman pkgs: 1974 libs: 482 tools: pamac,yay
    Compilers: clang: 19.1.7 gcc: 14.2.1 Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 default: Bash
    v: 5.2.37 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.37

hwd -li

> Installed PCI configs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  NAME               VERSION          FREEDRIVER           TYPE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          video-nvidia            2025.01.13               false            PCI
           video-linux            2024.05.06                true            PCI


Warning: No installed USB configs!

cat /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig:  version 520.56.06

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    ChipId          0x0
    ChipRev         0x0
    IRQ             0
        Option "NoLogo" "1"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option         "COMPOSITE" "Enable"
EndSection

 
Section "InputClass"
    Identifier          "Keyboard Defaults"
    MatchIsKeyboard        "yes"
    Option              "XkbOptions" "terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
EndSection

So I did some experiments and nailed the issue to X11+Plasma combo. Here is my observation.

Plasma + Wayland - OK
Plasma + X11 - external monitor NOK
Xfce + X11 - OK
Xfce + Wayland - both internal and external screens are blank

I my case, Xfce is not working.
Did you make any configuration changes to get this to work?

Edit:
See ZeroBtyes reply to my post here:

Maybe it will help you with KDE

So today I ran into an interesting issue that I had no usb-c display output at all, not even in other OS. I had to power cycle my laptop, i.e. to disconnect everything (including power cord) from the laptop, turn it off and then hold Power on button for couple of seconds. The laptop started and shut down couple of times and the usb-c display output miraculously started to work again. So, now, I am where I’ve started, Wayland OK, X11 not working. The power cycle steps may be useful to someone hopefully.

The only thing I can really contribute here is that Plasma is miles ahead of Xfce in terms of Wayland support; to the point x11 support is falling by the wayside (and is, in fact, in the early stages of being dropped altogether).

I wasn’t actually aware that Xfce supported Wayland at all, yet, but then I only, occasionally, use that DE on an old Mint machine.