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Mac Mini M1 - Bluetooth Drops & Wake Thunderbolt Display

Hi All,


I have a 2020 M1 Mac Mini. It hooked up to my Apple Thunderbolt Display 27" via an Apple Thunderbolt to Mini Display Adaptor. (This worked great with my old MacBook Pro 2019) I am also using the Black Apple Magic Keyboard and the Black Magic Mouse 2


Since getting the M1 Mac Mini I have noticed a couple of hardware issues.


First, 2 flashing pixels at the top of my screen. It might have been coincidence, but they appeared as soon as I changed from MBP to Mac Mini - I don' have the MBP anymore so I can test the thory.


Second, I get a lot of Mouse and Keyboard dropouts. I have reset the bluetooth module and factory reset the keyboard and mouse but it still happens.


Third, often the screen does not wake up out of sleep. I thought it was because the keyboard and mouse had lost connection, but I can still control them via VLC, this should also wake the screen, so this is now how I reboot the Mac for the screen to work again.


Just thought I'd put these issues out there incase I'm not alone.


Thanks

Posted on Nov 21, 2020 12:12 AM

Reply
57 replies

Dec 15, 2020 12:06 AM in response to HurenkampN

Big Sur 11.1 was released last night.

Too early to say if it fixes the bluetooth or display bugs. But the 'turn display off' keyboard short cut is back (Control-Shift-Eject)

Fingers crossed.


AirPods Max

- Support for ‌AirPods Max‌, new over-ear headphones

- High fidelity audio for rich sound

- Adaptive EQ adapts sound in real time to the personal fit of ear cushions

- Active Noise Cancellation to block out environmental noise

- Transparency mode to hear the environment around you

- Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking for a theater-like listening experience

Apple TV

- An all-new ‌Apple TV+‌ tab makes it easy to discover and watch Apple Original shows and movies

- Enhanced search so you can browse by category such as genre and see recent searches and suggestions as you type

- Top search results shown with the most relevant matches across movies, TV shows, cast, channels, and sports

Apple News

- ‌Apple News‌ ‌widgets‌ are now available in Notification Center

App Store

- New privacy information section on ‌App Store‌ pages that includes a developer-reported summary of the app’s privacy practices

- In-game dashboard within Arcade games recommends new Arcade games to play

iPhone and iPad apps on Macs with M1

- New window options for ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ apps let you switch between landscape and portrait orientations or expand a window to fill the entire screen

Photos

- Apple ProRAW photos can be edited in the Photos app

Safari

- Ecosia search engine option in Safari

Air Quality

- Available in Maps and Siri for locations in China mainland

- Health recommendations are provided in ‌Siri‌ for the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, and Mexico at certain air quality levels

This release also addresses the following issues:

- QuickTime Player might quit when opening a movie with a timecode track after upgrading from macOS Catalina

- Bluetooth connection status was not displayed in Control Center

- Reliability of unlocking your Mac automatically with your Apple Watch

- Trackpad scrolling speed may be faster than expected on MacBook Pro models

- LG UltraFine 5K Display may incorrectly display at 4K resolution on Macs with ‌M1‌

Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices.

For more detailed information about this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211896

For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222


Dec 1, 2020 7:18 AM in response to tedblight

I am also having a similar problem, and wanted to add my details. I don't know if Apple pays attention to this or not, but here goes.


With a default configuration of Energy Saver and Screen Saver, my Mac mini M1 will sometimes, and quite frequently, go to sleep and not wake up when using the Magic Keyboard and Trackpad via Bluetooth. I've seen versions of this where:

  • The screen simply will not wake and displays black.
  • The screensaver is on or comes on, but there is no way to bring up a login prompt. I can see the mouse cursor moving, but nothing is responsive


In these cases, I've tried to plug my keyboard and trackpad into the Mac mini directly (instead of Bluetooth), and this has no effect. The only way I've been able to recover it is by pressing the power button on the Mac, which seems to sometimes wake it up. My wife had to actually turn it off once to get it back.


System details:

  • Mac mini M1 8GB
  • Using Caldigit TS3 Dock for the display connection. USB-C/Thunderbolt over to the dock, and then display port to the monitor. Firmware is updated with Firmware version 44.1
  • Dell P2715Q Display
  • USB webcam is coming through the dock (no issues to report)
  • USB microphone is coming through the dock (no issues to report)

Nov 22, 2020 5:33 AM in response to tedblight

Try this, instead of putting the Mini to sleep, select Lock Screen

instead. After some time the image will go black (preventing burn-in)

but should be re-enabled by mouse or keyboard and then log in again.


As for sleeping the new M1 Mini at all, it has such a reduced power

consumption compared to the Intel Minis that it really

isn't all that necessary. Also, using the lock screen approach,

you are instantly back where you left things instead of waiting for

the Mini to "wake up".

Nov 22, 2020 5:50 AM in response to daving313

Also, the Lock Screen may help with Wake issues but it doesn't resolve the Bluetooth Drops which are so frustrating. Just had another one where keyboard and trackpad both stop working. They work if you plug in the lightning cable to re-establish connection but once you unplug cable they stop working. Requires a restart to get them stable again.

Nov 22, 2020 7:21 AM in response to daving313

I don't have any data points concerning the Bluetooth drops - my keyboard and mouse are wired.


Last night I set the Energy Saver pref to turn the display off after 30 minutes, but I checked the "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically..." setting.

This morning when I hit my space bar the monitor woke properly. I then forced the monitor to sleep, walked a way for a bit, and returned and the monitor woke properly again.


I should note that I'm using the Aerial screensaver, but that doesn't seem to be effecting anything one way or another.

Nov 23, 2020 1:12 PM in response to tedblight

Sounds like you have an Apple Cinema Display, NOT a Thunderbolt Display, those two may look the same on the exterior, but they are NOT the same. I haven't seen videos or photos of it yet, but people with them are saying that the 27" THUNDERBOLT DISPLAY does indeed work with M1 Macs. The only thing you need is the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter from Apple.

Nov 23, 2020 1:23 PM in response to TrippyBear

i can’t speak for the other posters but mine is definitely the Thunderbolt Display. And yes it works fine, but like nightmare on elm street, just don’t let it fall asleep.. or it might not wake up!


(I have the box and it’s also listed as Apple Thunderbolt Display under about-display)


I’m still having issues with Bluetooth dropping and display not waking.

Mac Mini M1 - Bluetooth Drops & Wake Thunderbolt Display

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