linux – XFCE – laptop with external monitor. External not turning on after lock, ctrl+alt+f2 will turn it on

I am having an issue with my external monitor not turning back on after I lock my computer. The monitor is an LG 27″ and it is connected to my laptop via HDMI. The laptop’s built-in monitor is always open and the displays are extended (not mirrored).

When I lock my computer, the external monitor goes black. If I move my mouse, the login screen appears on the built-in monitor. However, the external monitor remains black.

If I press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to switch to a virtual terminal, and then press Ctrl+Alt+F7 to switch back to the desktop, the external monitor will turn back on.

I am not sure why switching to a virtual terminal and back is causing the external monitor to turn back on. I would like to know what is causing this behavior and how I can make the external monitor turn back on when I unlock my computer.

I am using the XFCE desktop environment, the Linux Mint 5.15.0-73-generic kernel, and the Linux Mint operating system.

Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Thank you for your help.