Q: Mac mini 2014 won't wake monitor via HDMI

My problem, since I took the MacMini 2014 out of the box last fall, is that it will not reliably send a signal to any of 3 monitors that I have tried.  It fails to do so 85% of the boots. I have tried 2 different HDMI cables.  Also I have tried 2 different mini-display port to DVI cables.

So I took it to the nearest authorized Apple service location.  They diagnosed it as a failed motherboard and replaced it.  Immediately upon bringing it home, it failed to boot to show up on the display.  After several tries, the Apple logo showed but it would dim and then disappear midway in the progress.  After a few more tries of shutting down, waiting 10 seconds, then re-starting, it finally got past the Apple logo and eventually got to working.  After a few days, partial self-healing took over and it gets past the Apple logo consistently but then fails to display.  Current montitor is an expensive Multisync EA244wmi that has both DVI and HDMI ports, selectable from the menu. It usually reports "no signal" until I reboot a few times.

I have not tried the Library manipulations described above in one post.  I am planning to take this unit back to the Apple authorized service and let them try again.  I am upset at running into this ongoing problem with Apple, after using Microsoft for 25 years and then dropping them due to mysterious problems like this one.  I strongly regret buying a MacMini as I previously owned MacBook Pros which never had any problems.  I wish I had bought the iMac.  I don;t like to store anything in the cloud and the new MacBooks have skimpy hard drives so that is why I switched to the MacMini to have some portability to go on extended out of state visits.  It is extremely frustrating to have a problem where I cannot see the cursor, cannot see if the keyboard is working, and cannot see anything when the display is non-functional.  If Apple is listening, this is a big-time serious problem for MacMini users - think about ti - if it cannot display anything, how can I go online to Apple Support to work on this problem?????

Hello,

Does your monitor allow a VGA connection in the back?

You could try hooking up your monitor to your Mac Mini using a mini display port to VGA connection. Try buying a mini display port to vga adapter (http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB572Z/B/mini-displayport-to-vga-adapter). I bought an Inland brand adapter for $15 and it works.   I know it's an extra few bucks, but now my monitor wakes when I wake the Mac Mini quick and snappy. I'd go to a local computer store to buy the cables so you can take them back if they don't work. Make sure you have a VGA cord to plug the mini display port to VGA connection from the adapter to the monitor. Hope this helps!

Can anybody who has had this issue confirm if it is still happening with 10.10.4?

I am having a similar issue via a thunderbolt 2 dock to a dell monitor via HDMI only on a new retina iMac. my previous 27" iMac did not have this issue.

This note is listed:

- Addresses an issue that prevented some external displays from functioning properly

Mac Mini 2014 i5

2.8 GHz 8GB Fusion

Acer K272HUL 27" display @ 2560x1440 60hz

Mini displayport to Displayport cable (no adapter)

OS 10.10.3

This monitor sleep/wake/no signal problem has been happening with me since I bought the mac and display two weeks ago. But not just when waking from  sleep mode, but when I power OFF the Mac in the morning and powering ON when I get home from work. I'm having to fiddle with the cable, unplug, replug, force shut Mac, power back ON, fiddling with monitor input selection on display. No solid method or combination works but my monitor eventually gets a signal. And because I'm force shutting the Mac I'm having to go through the "select language" and "reset password" hoops just to get Yosemite up and running. It's been a joy. <sarcasm>

I've read through all the scenarios in this thread. No real solutions from what I've gathered. I do not want to "downgrade" to VGA or DVI with my native resolution. The technological genius of the current Apple Macintosh should be able to drive a less than 4K display. Any "fix" should have been addressed and fixed within weeks, let alone before launching an "updated" Mac Mini. This is on top of text blur issues all over the place running at 2560x1440, but image and video are amazing on this monitor.

I'm about to update to 10.10.4 which comes with a teaser about a display compatibility fix. We shall see.

MacMini 2014.  Due to virtually identical problems and attempted solutions since I bought my unit in Dec 2014, I have taken it in to authorized Apple service and twice, the logic board was confirmed faulty, and replaced, the most recent a couple days ago.  Then I installed toe 10.10.4 update yesterday.  It is too soon to see whether the combination of a new logic board and the update will resolve the problem, because of the random nature of the failures.  I was having 75% or more attempts at booting up end in failure.  Very frustrating.

By the way, I tried DVI, HDMI, two different monitors, bought new cables, and tried innumerable suggestions in this forum, and nothing worked. I suspect that some solutions "seemed" to work because of the random and intermittent nature of the failures to boot up to the monitor.

I delayed too long at the beginning because I trusted Apple products so much that I believed it must be some flaw or flaws in my cables or monitor. My advice to you is that if the latest update does not totally solve your problem, then to return the Mac Mini immediately to the seller for a refund (not an exchange), and buy something else. Just print out these pages and take them in with you.  I regret selling my MacBook Pro 2010 to get a larger drive and better specs.

Mac Mini 2014 i5

2.8 GHz 8GB Fusion

Acer K272HUL 27" display @ 2560x1440 60hz

Mini displayport to Displayport cable (no adapter)

OS 10.10.4

I'm bummed. No dice with the update. 

I still have a week within the 14 calendar days to return the Mini. I've made some settings tweaks to amend the blurry text issues to a level I can be live and be happy with, I just wish things were different. I love my 27" display and the Mini was the cheaper (not cheap) option to a big iMac. This machine should perform the most rudimentary tasks like connecting to the display at will. I also at one time experienced the technicolor weirdness when waking my monitor/Mini from a short sleep. This is not a $1088 machine out of the box. It's more like a $300 machine and should have had a disclaimer that jerry rigging and slapping the top of the Mini case is mandatory to see anything.

I wonder why there are no youtube videos out there about this problem. Do you think it is a customer wide problem?

I tried a different cable.  It helped, for awhile.  Now back to the same old stuff. 

Thee is no predictability to what causes or remedies the problem.

Apple has a problem though and it's a shame they cannot resolve it.

I have this issue too but I'm such a novice at Mac that I didn't realize it wasn't "normal".  What I do is hit the enter key on the keyboard.  This wakes the monitor.  Moving the mouse wakes the mac but not the monitor I guess.

NJ

This is not a HDMI related problem:

wakeup problem since 10.10.4 update Mac mini 2012

This was a claimed solution to the image distortion on wake-up : QUOTE "

Andychap3782                                                                       Jul 8, 2015 6:56 AM                                     Re: mac mini (2014) displays wrong colors after wake-up                             

Re: mac mini (2014) displays wrong colors after wake-up                                                 in response to tstpilot                

I have solved my problem of colour problems after wake up by using a HDMi cable with ferrites fitted to both ends.  This was purely by chance as I kept trying different leads and I got a spare one with my Tivo box and just gave it a go. " UNQUOTE

There's logic in it. Whether it's an ultimate solution and whether it also can rectify wake-up issues -- ???

As I posted earlier, when this happens to me, I open Sys Prefs/Accessibility and click the Invert Colors option, then restoring it to default. This clears the color problem. It's a workaround at best. However, It seems that I run into this problem right after a permission repair. A restart of the computer seems to clear up the problem. Go figure ~

Mac Mini 2014 i5

2.8 GHz 8GB Fusion

Acer K272HUL 27" display @ 2560x1440 60hz

Mini displayport to Displayport cable (no adapter)

OS 10.10.4

I've decided to keep the Mini and see what happens with future updates.

So when powering up my Mac there is no signal to the monitor. I just wait a few moments knowing that Yosemite is at the log-in screen, I enter my password "blindly" and press enter. After a moment the signal to the monitor begins and boots up quickly. This is my work around.

In system preferences I set my monitor to not sleep and use a minimalist blackish screen saver.

As dumbfounded as I am at this no signal/wake problem that Apple refuses to acknowledge, I need this computer and enjoy it immensely otherwise. There is no other option for me as I cannot upgrade to an iMac nor go PC.

Thanks.  After 5 days this Energy Saver config has continued working for me.  No DVI option so was getting desperate!  1 month old Mac-Mini (but still "late 2014" model) with LG L246WHX monitor, HDMI to HDMI.  Worked fine on default with previous (6 yr old) Mac-Mini.  Yet another Yosemite peculiarity - known better by my wife as "your cemetery" as by no means first problem.

I just wanted to chime in and let everyone know this issue is not relegated to Mac Mini, my 2010 Mac Pro is having the same exact sleep issue with my 2015 Asus monitor.

I may try the Dvi>Hdmi fix suggested here but it's pretty disappointing that Apple is still having compatibility issues in this day and age.

I have a Philips TV using a HDMI connection from a late-2014 mini (running OS 10.10.4) to the tv and have to turn it on each time when I wake the mini.  I thought I'd get around this problem by buying a monitor.  I bought an ASUS VS229HP monitor and didn't experience the wake-up problem others have identified but periodically it would wake up with a green tint screen.  I called ASUS and they said take it back and get another one.  I did and the same thing happened. I wish I had read this thread before returning the ASUS because I would have tried the min-Display to VGA cable to see if the green tint screen would have still occurred before returning it.