Your monitor's HDMI 2.1 port is lying about what it can do, and it's all perfectly legal

Published Aug 4, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT After a 7-year corporate stint, Tanveer found his love for writing and tech too much to resist. An MBA in Marketing and the owner of a PC building business, he writes on PC hardware, technology, and Windows. When not scouring the web for ideas, he can be found building PCs, watching anime, or playing Smash Karts on his RTX 3080 (sigh). There was a time when HDMI 2.1 ports were extremely rare, but even today, the ones on most gaming monitors aren't delivering the features they're supposed to. An HDMI 2.1 port should support not just 48 Gbps bandwidth, but also features such as eARC, ALLM, dynamic HDR, and more. In reality, manufacturers can implement just one of these features and market "HDMI 2.1" to move units. The lack of stringent regulations allows manufacturers to run this legalized scam against consumers. Most people don't know how to differentiate fake HDMI 2.1 from the real thing. They just read the product specs and assume the monitor will support everything HDMI 2.1 is supposed to do. Only in-depth third-party reviews can help you out. Nearly every monitor has an HDMI 2.1 port, but it's rarely the real thing Good luck finding one that supports every HDMI 2.1 feature Source: Flickr These days, even $100–$200 monitors boldly advertise "HDMI 2.1" on the product page. These ports may actually support only a lower bandwidth of, say, 25 Gbps instead of the full 48 Gbps. Slightly better models will often feature ports capable of the full 48 Gbps bandwidth, but will cheap out when implementing other features of the HDMI 2.1 specification. Having an HDMI 2.1 port is no guarantee that your monitor supports eARC, dynamic HDR, ALLM, Quick Frame Transport (QFT), and HDMI-VRR. In fact, there are very few models on the market that support this entire list of features. There's no legal regulation forcing manufacturers to do so, or to declare which features they've handpicked from the specification. Since features like ALLM, QFT, and eARC aren't well-known in the PC world, manufacturers can get away without major consumer backlash. Most gamers won't miss these features as long as their monitor has a 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and Adaptive Sync. The majority of consumers don't realize they are just paying for a marketing term, not a comprehensive display specification. Manufacturers can even rebrand older HDMI 2.0 ports As long as they support at least one HDMI 2.1 feature The worst thing about this whole mess is that manufacturers need to support just one HDMI 2.1 feature to market their monitors as HDMI 2.1 displays. They can even relabel older HDMI 2.0 ports by simply implementing select features instead of the ones you really expect. For instance, many HDMI 2.1 displays still don't support HDMI-VRR, the specification's version of Adaptive Sync. This is a genuine downside for PS5 gamers, as the console needs HDMI-VRR, and doesn't guarantee support for FreeSync or G-Sync. On the other hand, if your monitor's HDMI 2.1 port doesn't support 48 Gbps of bandwidth, you won't be able to enjoy a 4K@120Hz signal on your console, being limited to lower resolutions or refresh rates. While DisplayPort is more than enough to support PC gaming, having a fully-equipped HDMI 2.1 port on your monitor gives you peace of mind. You may want to connect a console to it at some point in the future. You need to research well to buy a true HDMI 2.1 display There's no substitute for time Unfortunately, the only way to ensure you don't get scammed into buying a fake HDMI 2.1 display is to do your due diligence. The product page or spec sheet won't always tell you the full picture. If the full capabilities of the HDMI 2.1 spec are important for your use case, you'll need to refer to reliable third-party reviews that illustrate any downsides of your shortlisted display. I rely on sites like RTINGS and YouTube channels like Monitors Unboxed for monitor reviews. You can check if your desired monitor has a review on either of them. If not, check first-hand accounts on Reddit or try to test the model in a store. The more research you do, the better your chances of getting to the bottom of the story. Manufacturers don't have the incentive to educate consumers about the reality of HDMI 2.1 ports, so the onus lies on you. MSI MPG 321URXW Screen Size 32-inch Resolution 3840 x 2160 Aspect Ratio 16:9 Refresh Rate 240 Hz Response Time 0.03 ms Any HDMI port on earth can be called HDMI 2.1, and that's honestly appalling Thanks to a lack of regulatory focus on the HDMI 2.1 specification, manufacturers can sell almost anything under the "HDMI 2.1" name. They're not mandated to implement every single feature under the spec, leaving the burden of research on the consumer. A simple "HDMI 2.1" label doesn't tell you anything about the monitor's true capabilities, so it's always recommended to study reviews before making a purchase.