How can I remove an unwanted display from the desktop or display list?

If macOS still detects the display, forgetting its settings does not remove that connection. Use soft disconnection to remove it from the desktop, or make it a mirror target so it no longer provides a separate desktop area. An absent display's remembered entry can instead be forgotten.

First check whether the same physical monitor has two video connections to the Mac—for example, an HDMI adapter plus a USB-C cable added for charging. A USB-C cable can also carry video, so macOS may detect both connections as separate displays even while the monitor shows only one input. Disconnect the redundant video path and check again before deleting display settings.

For a detected display, use its connection switch in BetterDisplay's app menu, configured to disconnect the display. Soft disconnection requires Pro and a supported display, and connection safeguards still apply. See the connection switch and disconnecting a display with Shortcuts.

If an unwanted connection returns at startup, an automation can disconnect it after BetterDisplay starts. This does not prevent macOS from detecting it at the login window before the app is running. A name such as Generic Display alone does not identify why macOS detects the connection.

Alternatively, configure the unwanted display as a mirror target of the desktop you use. Configuring mirroring in BetterDisplay requires Pro. Ordinary mirroring is also available in macOS Displays settings. It then shows that desktop instead of adding an area into which the pointer or windows can move. See Mirroring for source and target selection.

The crossed-out status icon on a saved display means it is disconnected. It is not a delete button. Under Settings > Displays > Overview, Forget displays after a while can remove old saved records automatically. The ordinary display-retention default is 90 days. Use Remember displays for at least to change it.

For a remembered, absent display, open Settings > Displays > [display] > Additional Settings… and choose Forget Display. Confirming removes its saved BetterDisplay settings and virtual-screen associations. A present display instead offers Reset All Display Settings. It is detected again after the reset. Neither action makes a system-detected connection cease to exist. See resetting or forgetting a display.