M1 Mac mini display issue

I found the solution (or at least with me it worked out): it happens when the windows (could be safari, finder etc.) take the color from the background screen. you can disable this by going on settings -> general -> untick the "apply the desktop image colors to the windows"

new M1 mini today.

within 2 hours, random pink pixels blinking on screen.

later, using 1 HD display and 1 HD capture card at the same time, the mini froze/crashed and auto restart.

capture card image displays before primary monitor.

Apple USB-C to HDMI adapter on capture card.

Display monitor blinks on and off several times during boot before log in.

Yeah, I tend to get these issues too. I think it's a software issue myself but who knows.

I get them when I login for a few seconds, and sometimes they can hang around on my desktop for a little bit (Tried two different monitors), but the strange thing is if I open an app, Safari as an example, the pink pixels won't show on Safari, only on the actual desktop picture. I am puzzled to what could be causing that.

I also have other monitor issues, my monitor loses picture briefly when loading on the Apple logo when first powered on, and again when I login. There are defiantly some bugs when it comes to monitors with Big Sur, at least on the M1 models. Hopefully MacOS 11.1 fixes these issues.

I've had a similar issue when using two displays.

Purchased two new BenQ monitors, one connected via HDMI and the other via USB-C. If I have not connected I get the pink boxes, but also the screens flicker, the dock doesn't appear and other odd issues.

If I unplug the HDMI cable, all is fine on a single monitor. Then plug it back it and it's ok for a while but then starts to flicker and get the pink boxes on both screens.

Tried various different cables however the same thing happens.

Hi there,

I have a very similar issue. Mac Mini M1 basic 8GB model.

The very first time when I switched on my brand new mac mini and went through the set up, everything was fine. Then I installed Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop and InDesign. I did several test about the performance of this computer and I was more than satisfied.

Next day when I switched on and try to log in to my account for the first time it started to show some short magenta lines, and restarted itself without logging me in. The whole thing repeated 4-5 times until I could finally log in. Just after every restart when you can see the white apple logo on the black screen, my monitor lost the signal for a sec or something.

I tried many times to shut down my mini wait a few minutes, or just restart from the menu, I could never log in for the first time, I always saw that signal lost, and the magenta lines just after typing my password.

I called apple support several times and finally I took it to the service. They did some tests reinstall the OS, did some test again, and said my Mac Mini is just perfect. There is no any issue. They suggested to try another HDMI cable and/or different displays.

I've just done all this things today. I could log in at every single attempts today, but I always had the signal lost and the magenta lines on three different monitors, with two different cables. No other displaying issues after logging in. So, basically there is nothing that can affect my user experience if I close my eyes just when I turn on my brand new computer, and type my password. But I'm not happy with this.

I really hope that this is some kind of OS issue and not a hardware problem, so it will be fixed in the next version.

Best,

Zoltan

To clarify. Problem was there from initial switch on with one monitor plugged in via USB C. Now I have two monitors, one HDMI and one USB C. The pink squares typically appear from boot on the HDMI screen. They flash on and off as the mouse moves over icons on the screen.

I've got an appointment at the Apple store later this morning. The trouble is that it's intermittent so there's no guarantee it will happen on demand.

My gut feel is that this is a hardware issue and that there are yield issues. Some of them are being put into the Macbook Air (which has 1 GPU core disabled), but some are leaking into the wild in the Mac Mini.

I hope I'm wrong.

All I can say is that it looks like a hardware issue to me (I've had a few failed GPU's in my time), I've seen it happen on both USB C and HDMI, and on two different monitors. It seems to be there from a cold start but disappears once things are warmed up. I've seen pink squares and pink lines.

Mine looks exactly like this, but only after a reboot and only for a few seconds. I haven't noticed it when waking from sleep or after the initial boot. Hoping it is only a software bug that gets patched. I am on a 8gb mini, have a 16gb mini on the way.

Same issue here. Had the unit replaced same issue. Apple have taken various logs from my machine and have been aware of this now since at least the 23rd November. I am worried it’s a HW graphics issue so haven’t bothered fully setting up this machine yet which had the same issue literally in first boot fresh out of the box. Have asked Apple for an expected resolution timeframe but of course in true Apple fashion nothing. Seeing all of these comments says shouldn’t bother getting another replacement. Maybe need to just get my money back for now until it’s been fixed. I don’t want this to be an issue requiring repair, want a replacement unit if it’s HW. If Apple just admitted it was SW I’d keep it and go ahead and set it up.

I got put through go a second line Apple tech on web chat who said they had nothing about the issue on their internal db but suggested they thought it was gpu hardware related. They advised me to return it for a replacement via Amazon. Don't let you return periods expire.

Exactly the same issue here. Those pink squares sometimes appear during boot and the first few minutes (max) after logging in. After that they disappear and I haven't seen them coming back (so far), unless I reboot again.

The annoying thing is that we don't know if this is a hardware problem or one that could be fixed with an update.

Makes the decision to return the Mac mini more difficult.

It does make the decision more difficult; I got this unit to keep my software updated, and I still have my other machine (which of course now feels like a slug), and I shouldn't have to worry if this new machine is going to die. I didn't apple-care it because, at the end of the day, it's a fraction of the cost of other machines and the percentage of apple-care to purchase price is pretty high. Didn't really make sense. So over the next couple of days I'll make the hard choice to return it or not. Watching this and other threads with great interest.

Best of luck. I already had a replacement and it was identical. Displayed this issue literally on startup. Apple told me last night they are investigating and have been able to replicate the issue. However they are unable to say what the cause is or whether it’s hw or sw. I said if we knew either way it would make life so much easier. I haven’t bothered doing anything with my replacement other than go through the startup wizard and log in. This new M1 was to replace a 2011 Mac mini which ironically died because of a major graphics issue rendering it completely unusable. I now have to move everything to photos and music from iPhoto and iTunes. Over 150k photos. Will not go through the pain of this until I know where this is going. If Apple could say it’s sw I would start the process of fully setting it up. In my case the time machine backup I think I’ll only use as a last resort given how everything is mostly incompatible now.

I’ve been speaking with Apple support. It’s being escalated and I’m waiting for a call from a senior person to talk it through.

On my M1 Mac Mini I’ve seen it on 2 different monitors. HDMI and USB C. I’ve videoed it on desktop and videoed it during login on both normal and safe mode. I’ve reinstalled the OS and seen it again.