M1 Mac mini display issue

After many calls to Apple I have been told that a user notified that I solved the problem only by making an adjustment in mission control, I have tried it and for now, it has not happened to me again. you have to deactivate in system preferences / mission control / "the screens have separate spaces", this has to be OFF. Luck

Well. Interesting.

That seems to have worked just fine for me. Thanks!

I really didn't think it was something too serious after living with it a while. Especially given the apparent consistency of it.

Thanks, Kasnicof, but I got the opposite. I had problems with two monitors, but never had the pink squares. I tried your solution just in case it could fix my issue with multiple monitors, and when I turn "separate spaces" off, the monitors kept going crazy and I saw the pink squares for the first time. Since I didn't have that problem before I got the scare of my life. I manage to get the image back, access Mission Control, turn "separate spaces" back on, and now the pink squares disappeared. I still have trouble with dual displays, but at least the squares are gone (with "separate spaces" ON). I can't believe Apple put this untested product in the market.

Exchanged a MacBook Air M1 for base model Mac Mini today and also had this issue on first boot when setting up (pink blocks on the screen same as photo above). Thought maybe it was defective or maybe a bad cable but didn't have any issues with the MacBook using same cable and monitor. Really hope this is software related.

I didn't get the pink squares for a couple of days, but this morning they were back.

So turning off this option in the mission control preferences doesn't help.

The strange thing is that after I got the pink squares again my Spotlight wouldn't work at all.

Typing in anything wouldn't give a single result and I had to reboot again.

This issue probably isn't related, but who knows.

That's a bummer. To me it's looking like a signal strength issue or a driver issue more than a real hardware issue. After 35 years in IT you develop hunches. I could certainly be wrong and this thing will melt down and destroy my city tomorrow, but it's just feeling like a "rev-1 weird glitch", far more than a real problem.

My setup is:

M1 mini 8gb

Dell U2518D via shielded, braided-jacket, unknown MFG HDMI cable, 24" long.

Lenovo Q24h-10 via generic, unknown MFG USB-C cable, 36" long

I have not had the artifacts lately, and I did go to a shorter HDMI cable the same day I switched off the screens->own spaces setting. I can not say with certainty the problem is GONE, nor can I say with certainty the cable change did or didn't help, etc.

But it's not doing it, and hasn't since making those changes. Making those changes at once was just sloppy diagnostics on my part.

Same issue just started happening on my new mini M1 16GB. The pink rectangles seem to blink every time the screen changes. They are blinking at the same time as my text marker when writing this comment, every time I add a character, every time I scroll or move a window, and so on. Hoping for a fix soon

Do you think I should switch hdmi cables? I do not have any issues when using my windows laptop with the monitor. It’s a LG ultra gear 27 inch 144hz. I changed the refresh rate from 60 to 102 to 144 but it gives me the dots and weird horizontal lines around the screen randomly no matter the setting.

Same issue. Mine was delivered today. I got things hooked up, booted in, started installing software, decided to see how fast it would reboot. That was the first time I noticed an issue. After logging in the monitors were black but would flash every so often. After lots of troubleshooting, I found that unplugging the HDMI and plugging it back in brings it back. Unplugging the USB C -> HDMI and plugging back in the second monitor doesn't resolve- only the HDMI only cable.

Also, someone mentioned your Spotlight stopped working. Mine too, no idea why, but it happened once and I had to restart to get it fixed. Another time after a restart the keyboard didn't work (USB). I had to restart it again.

This is seriously pathetic. Apple has gone so far down hill last few years.

If I run either monitor solo there are no problems with the flashing monitors.

If I run thunderbolt first, then plug in HDMI I get the issue. It seems I need to run HDMI first, then thunderbolt. Unless I'm doing something wrong.

Why do you say to run TB first? Have you had success with that?

huh. Yeah, I just can't get there with thinking apple is crap now.

Anyway, guys, I've proofed out this M1 Mac mini and everything I need to run on it works and runs f'ing great, so I've ordered a more up-specced one through work, and will sell off this personal one if someone wants it. I'm not experiencing these issues as noted in a message above.

Holler if anyone wants it.

Move your cursor in front of the artifacts. If you can move your cursor in front of them then it's not the cable. In my case the artifacts are in surfaces (programming term) that are behind the cursor. It's likely a memory issue.

It's hard to tell, honestly. I think that's what Apple is going to have trouble with. It could be drivers but it doesn't seem to impact the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro even on external displays. Because of this my suspicion is a hardware fault. What I don't know is if it's a defect in manufacturing or if it's a defect in design.

Another symptom seems to be apps locking up while the rest of the system remains relatively stable minus the artifacts. That's also an indication of a memory/hardware issue.

It's likely going to take a few engineers time to figure all this out and issue a fix. If it's hardware they'll probably just wait until people complain about it and those people are going to have to hope their warranty is still good. I'm taking mine to an Apple store tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll return it or exchange it. It's 6 hours of driving every time I need to have them look at it so it's probably just good to cut my losses at this point.

OK, so not sure if this will be helpful or make the mystery even more confusing. I have this issue on my new M1 Mac Mini, but I've also had this issue for a few years with my iMac. The pink squares are widespread, but here's the weird thing - most of the time if I open a window and move it across the screen, I can 'erase' the pink squares. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't. See video link (video was taken Feb 14, 2019).

https://youtu.be/C3hHu-KxieM

FWIW, the iMac is a 27" mid 2010 with a second 27" Apple display.

So Apple asked me to run the diagnostic tool, which you boot into before the OS loads...

It found no issues, but on the screen there were 4-5 little pink / white glitchy squares.

I feel like the fact it presented itself before the OS loaded, means it's possibly not a software issue; someone correct me if I'm wrong...