How to Mount a Monitor Arm

A monitor arm has few parts and fails in predictable ways: the desk can't take the clamp, the monitor is outside the arm's weight range, or the mounting holes aren't where you assumed. Check those three things before you open the box and the install takes about fifteen minutes. If you're still choosing, the monitor arm category lists arms with their weight limits, and the full desk setup guide covers how an arm fits with everything else.

Check three things first

VESA pattern. Look on the back of the monitor for four screw holes in a square. Most desktop monitors use 75 x 75 mm or 100 x 100 mm, the two patterns nearly every arm in our catalog accepts. Measure center to center to be sure. A monitor with a wider pattern or no holes at all needs an adapter plate made for it.

Weight. Find the weight without the stand, and compare it with the arm's range. Gas-spring arms have a minimum as well as a maximum, which surprises people who buy a heavy-duty arm for a light screen.

Aim for the middle of the range. A screen near the top leaves no margin, and one under the minimum makes a sprung arm drift upward. Large ultrawides often land between tiers, so read the spec sheet for your exact model instead of assuming from the screen size.

Desk. Measure the thickness at the rear edge, check that it's flat, and look underneath for a brace or frame where the clamp would sit. Allow space behind the desk if you want the arm's elbow to swing back.

Clamp or grommet

Use a clamp if your desk has a solid, flat rear edge with clearance underneath. It needs no drilling and you can reposition it in a minute.

Use a grommet mount if the desk sits against a wall, if it has a cable hole in a useful spot, or if the edge is unsuitable. Both the Fully Jarvis and the VIVO STAND-V002 include each option. If the desk has no hole, a grommet mount means drilling one, so confirm what's under the surface first.

Thick, thin, curved and hollow desks

• Too thick. Check your arm's limit. Secretlab's clamps stop at 50 mm and the Ollin at 2.5 inches. Over the limit, use the grommet option or a different arm. Don't improvise with spacers under the screw.
• Too thin. Below the minimum, 10 mm on the Secretlab arms, a clamp can't grip properly. Use a rigid plate above and below only if the manual allows it, or pick an arm that supports a thinner top.
• Curved or beveled rear edge. A clamp needs flat contact on top and underneath. A rounded edge can let it walk off over time, so move to a grommet mount or find a flat section further along.
• Hollow-core and thin particleboard. A clamp can crush these. Put a steel reinforcement plate on both surfaces to spread the load, especially with long arms and heavy screens. Our desks category has options if yours isn't up to it.
• Glass. Don't clamp to a glass top unless the desk's maker says you can.
• Standing desks. Leave enough cable slack for full height travel, and check that the base doesn't hit the frame or the crossbar.

Install it

1. Clear the desk and unplug the monitor. Lay the monitor face down on its packaging foam or a folded blanket.
2. Remove the stand. Most detach with a button or four screws.
3. Fit the VESA plate. Use the screws the arm supplies, start them by hand and tighten until snug. On a curved or recessed back, add the standoffs so the plate clears the housing.
4. Mount the base. Position it, then tighten the clamp until the base can't shift. Stop there. Overtightening can dent or crack the desktop.
5. Assemble the arm as the manual shows, and route cables through its channels, leaving slack at every joint.
6. Hang the monitor. Get a second pair of hands for anything heavy.
7. Set the tension. Adjust until the screen stays exactly where you leave it. If it droops, add tension. If it rises, reduce it.
8. Swing it through its full range with the cables attached, and make sure nothing pulls tight.

Warning: Use the correct screw length for the VESA plate. A screw that's too long can damage the inside of the monitor, and one that doesn't reach far enough can strip. If a screw stops early, back it out and check the length before you force it.

Warning: A gas-spring arm can snap upward when the weight comes off. Keep your face out of its path, and follow the manual's steps for lowering or locking the arm before removing a monitor.

Fix the common problems

• Screen droops or climbs: adjust the gas spring. If it runs out of adjustment, the arm is the wrong size for the screen.
• Screen nods forward: tighten the tilt joint at the VESA head.
• Picture wobbles when you type: the desk is flexing, or the arm's joints need tightening. Move the base closer to a desk leg if you can.
• Clamp creeps over time: check for a rounded edge, then re-tighten and fit any rubber pads supplied with the arm.

Once it's stable, use the extra desk space you've gained. The monitor and GPU matcher can help if the arm has you thinking about a bigger screen, and our monitor rankings include panels that fit the arms above.