4th Gen 2020 M1 Mac mini bluetooth issues with Magic Mouse2

Has anyone installed the Big Sur 11.2 Release Candidate and had it resolve their bluetooth connection issues? I thought I read someone had installed one of the earlier 11.2 Betas and it didn't resolve the issue.

I'm not sure if this was stated elsewhere (this conversation is so long), but I have done several experiments and it seems if File Vault is turned on the M1 Mini will not recognize previously paired keyboards or mice during startup. I have to attach wired peripherals to log on. So I've had to leave File Vault off in order to log into the computer with Bluetooth peripherals.

That has been noted; in my case, File Vault has never been turned on, and I still have the same issues.

Also, installed RC2 last night, went to bed, and just started using the M1. Connect/Disconnect/Connect/Disconnect occurred almost immediately upon using the M1 Mac Mini.

So, in my case, RC2 had NO EFFECT on the issue. I've ordered both a Bluetooth 4 and Bluetooth 5 Asus dongle, will try those.

Have to admit, disappointed that although RC2 is/was supposed to address bluetooth issues, it still has not fixed the situation.

I would like to ask everyone who have mouse/trackpad lags (not just the disconnection, but lag) whether you also have a monitor connected via USB C or just a USB C hub in general?

I noticed that while using a trackpad I get no disconnections (unlike the mouse) but there are constant lags every hour or so. As soon as I disconnect the USB C hub (which has an HDMI and a hard drive connected to) - the lag stops.

I installed the Beta RC and my mouse has not disconnected yet since last night.

My keyboard is now occasionally doing the multiple characters when typing and I cannot get my Mac Mini to unlock with my apple watch. Flashes briefly like it's unlocking but doesn't.

One step forward, two steps back.

This will end up bad... My Company bought some more than 70 Mac Minis M1, 16 GB, 1TB as replacements for old iMacs for our Marketing- and Advertising Department, complete with Apple Keyboards and Magic Mouses 2. This morning they decided to send all of these machines back. It just is close to impossible to do productive Work with them with the Mouse disconnecting all the time and the keyboard lagging. They postponed the decision when someone found an Article about 11.2 addressing the problem, but when it does not, those machines will be declared defective and sent back to Apple. Interesting that there still is no giant Shitstorm about this.

As there were many technical questions asked here just to be complete:

All machines were connected via USC C to an LG 43" Monitor. Switching some of them to HDMI did not help. Also most machines are cabled to Ethernet, only a Haldfull is connected via a 5Ghz Wlan... They all behave the same. Several machines are together in a room, others are in alone in a single Bureau, so it also should not be them affecting each other. It just simply does not work. Mouses disconnect several times every hour, Keyboard Lag happens not so often, but when it does, it is a problem for up to a Minute sometimes where it is several seconds until the Mac receives what you type and/or the last pressed key is sent to the machine until you press another key... which often takes seconds to be possible again.

I was one of the original posters on this massive thread. My problem basically disappeared for a while -- only occurred with Magic Mouse 2 (I also have Magic Keyboard and Trackpad) once every 3-5 days.

It has now come back, still not severe (once or twice a day). I've tried a few of the fixes here (turning off Handoff, turning off WiFi since I'm connected by Ethernet), and nothing worked.

I now notice a reliable pattern. The problem occurs in pairs: disconnect/reconnect, pause, disconnect/reconnect. Then it is fine (for quite a while in my case). Has anyone else noticed this pattern of pairs?

That's what mine did as well - same exact pattern.

My keyboard did a bit of the repeating of typed characters at first but then stopped doing that. With the ASUS BT400 I am having no disconnects and my keyboard is okay. Unlocking with my apple watch is only working sometimes.

After the RC 11.2 update as of yesterday my mouse was fine but my keyboard started acting up again using the onboard bluetooth. And no apple watch unlocking either.

I am back on the ASUS BT400 for now.

Peter

Can someone tell exactly how to use the ASUS BT400? Do I have to turn OFF Bluetooth on the mini first? I ask because I bought one, plugged it into my monitor (which is connected to the mini via USB-C/Thunderbolt), and I couldn't see it to connect to. Sorry to be a dummy about this.

Yes, all I did was plug it in, and REBOOT. The Mac automatically turned off the internal bluetooth and used the Asus External Dongle. I'm using the 4.0 Asus dongle now (have a 5.0 one on order), and so far, 4 hours and no disconnects, lag, key bounce, or anything. AAAAAAAAAH, that is refreshing.

I did lose the ability to logon to the computer with my Apple Watch, but that was only working intermittently anyway, so no big loss.

As an aside, on the first page of this post, it used to have a button that says "I have this problem too", and in parentheses it had the number of people (it was like 790 for this thread last I checked). I don't see that number posted any more.

Very curious...

I posted a comment earlier in this thread, that for me the lag stopped with Logitech mice when I connected them by their own Unifying receiver via USB 3.0 hub. I got terrible lag with the receiver connected via USB 3.1 hub earlier.

So I'd also think that this is somehow connected to USB data rates etc, but it's beyond my expertise to investigate and comment reliably on.

So, I finally downloaded and tried the Bluetooth Explorer, comparing the Mac M1 Bluetooth to the Asus Bluetooth dongle.

Main thing I noted was what was noted before:

The transmit power is all over the place for the trackpad, mouse, and keyboard, while the Link Quality quickly declines with time when using the mouse, trackpad, and keyboard, in that order.

With the Asus Bluetooth dongle, the Link Quality stays at 100% regardless of which/how many of those Bluetooth devices, and Transmit Power stays elevated the entire time as well with all 3 devices. So, either the Asus Link and Transmit power are not being reported by this app (but then it should read 0, not 100%, right?), or the Asus Bluetooth Dongle (4.0) is much more stable in terms of link quality and transmission power. I have a Bluetooth 5.0 dongle (also from Asus) on the way, and will repeat the measurements again with the that dongle when it arrives.

(I didn't post any pics, as they are identical to what was posted earlier in this thread and can be seen by clicking on the link in the post prior to this one).

At least this seems reproducible; if others can download and try the Bluetooth Explorer, it might be nice to compare if everyone gets the same or different results.

Interesting. Testing without the ASUS BT400 (using onboard bluetooth) and an older Magic Mouse (battery powered) and it is working so far. Even the unlock mac is working.

Starting to wonder if Magic Mouse 2 is part of the problem as I tried two different ones on my mac mini and same issues with both? We'll see if my keyboard starts stuttering again or if the mouse disconnects. Just hooked it up a couple minutes ago.

I'll update if I have problems.

P.S. I also checked the bluetooth with both istumbler and Bluetooth Explorer and didn't see any big differences between the two bluetooth modules.

I can try that; my problem at this point is I'm busy with work, and for that, I need the Mac Mini TO WORK. At least with the bluetooth dongle from Asus I can get my work done.

I will try to do that later this afternoon or early this week, though, because that is a good idea.