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

Participating in Apple's Public Beta testing program is very attractive to those of us who have experienced serious functionality issues with our Macs, but there is, of course, one huge potential drawback to using this as a feedback mechanism.

Joining a Beta testing program could be dangerous for a user who depends on his or her Mac as their primary work machine. Loss of functionality and data loss are risks that not everyone is in a position to accept.

For those of us who can't afford a second Mac to use as a beta testing machine, what is the best way to report bugs? It still seems like that process is fairly opaque for most of us.

Yes. You are correct and I missed this obvious drawback. In my years of experience being a beta tester, I can state that if a person begins participation in the Public Beta testing after around beta 4-5, there is low probability of software bugs affecting real work flow. Typically, most of the major bugs have been addressed within the first 3 betas, with the subsequent betas ironing out the finer issues. As for a suitable alternative vehicle to report bugs to Apple, I do not personally know. But I have not googled this yet.

Ill tell you what I did and its working fine. Connect trackpad or mouse with USB - very important!

Press Option and Shift keys while clicking on the desktop bluetooth icon.

Click Reset Bluetooth module, the Factory reset all connected Apple devices, wait a minute or so and then restart the MacMini

As long as you have a connected trackpad or mouse you can move the pointer into the signing in box after which you can remove the USB connection as Bluetooth will be working fine - well it has for me

Hope that this helps

As Big Sur 11.2 is already on the RC stage, and should be officially released sometime within the next few days, I think it is "safe" for people to download the public beta profile for 11.2 now and begin submitting their bluetooth connection issues. I did note that another Community member stated that they have had no BT issues since downloading 11.2 RC. If this is truly the case, let's see what happens to the BT issues after the majority of community members have either downloaded the RC or official release of 11.2.

I don't remember seeing this here but I just downloaded the Bluetooth Explorer and I am seeing multiple errors of the same type:

Apple80211Get(APPLE80211_IOC_BTCOEX_MODE) returned error -3903

updateChainPower error: -3903

From a general search, I see this error has been reported multiple times in the last year in connection with Bluetooth disconnects. Does anybody know if this could be a clue to the issue here? I didn't notice any issues with my BT devices while this error was reported but I have had a very few Trackpad disconnect in the last couple of days.

I just downloaded the software, turned it on, had a BT dropout, and have the same red error message updateChainPower Error: -3903.

Coincidence? I think not!

BTW, I'm using a Magic Keyboard 2 and a Magic Trackpad 2, not a Mouse, but my experience here has been the same as those who use the Magic Mouse 2.

Apple just released a 2nd Big Sur 11.2 RC (Developer Beta, with Public Beta to be released later today or tomorrow). Maybe this one will really fix the BT issues. I'm downloading it now, but all my BT issues stopped over 2 weeks ago.

For anyone on Developer or Public Beta, please download the today's RC and let us all know if it has finally fixed your BT issues.

Yes. The issue haven't been solved with the last update:

2021-01-26 11:04:16 +0000 Mode change 12 for handle: 0x0

2021-01-26 11:04:16 +0000 Handle: 0xC disconnected, reason: 0x13

Magic Mouse 2 disconnected

Magic Mouse 2 connected, handle: 0xD

2021-01-26 11:04:33 +0000 Mode change 13 for handle: 0x2

I wonder, what does "reason: 0x13" mean?

Should have waited. With last beta everything was working fine with Magic Mouse (battery) and unlock mac working. Now unlock mac stopped and keyboard extra characters started again. Had to turn it off and on to get the keyboard working right.

"I get that initially on startup with the Asus Bluetooth Dongle also, and yet it works. "

That's because it's probably still returning errors on the built-in Bluetooth. All I can tell you is there is a 100% correlation with my disconnects and others are reporting the same thing

I submitted my Bluetooth disconnect issues, with system logs, to Apple engineering a few days ago, via Feedback Assistant app for Apple Developer & Public Beta testers. I let everyone know that submitting issues via Feedback Assistant usually results in follow up emails from Apple engineering, especially if the bug is a prevalent issue, like the BT bug with M1 Macs.

Just received this email from Apple Engineering:

"Hi XXX,

There are changes in the latest update, build 20D62, that may have resolved this issue.

You can see the software build your device is running and check for the latest update by clicking on the Apple logo in the upper left hand corner > About This Mac. If the build is not visible, click on the macOS version, e.g. 10.15.x, to reveal it.

Has this issue been resolved after installing the latest update?

Feedback ID FB8966943, Bluetooth Devices Constantly Disconnecting - M1 Mac Mini

Do not reply to this email. Please login to Feedback Assistant or the seed portal to let us know if the problem is fixed for you."

I personally have had no BT issues for Big Sur 11.2 RC 2, but I also did not have any BT issues for 11.2 RC 1 either. As mentioned before, if Apple Community members are still experiencing BT issues after downloading Big Sur build 20D62, please mention it here in the forum, but also try to submit this feedback to Apple engineers via Feedback Assistant app. Always seeing comments from community members who are not on the latest Big Sur build, and continue to experience BT issues, does not seem helpful or constructive at this time. Let's get community affirmation that the newest Big Sur build has fixed the BT issues or not.

Here is my response to Apple engineering, via Feedback Assistant app (Apple Developer/Public Beta Tester program):

As of January 10 2021, the date when I submitted the Bluetooth bug issues with my M1 Mac Mini, I have not experienced any further disconnections after shutting down my Mac Mini overnight and restarting the next day (Jan 11, 2021). I did download 11.2 RC 1 and continued not having any BT issues whatsoever. And after downloading 11.2 RC 2, I also continue not having any BT issues. There are many Apple M1 owners complaining about the M1 BT issue on the Apple Community Forum. People there are very frustrated as they believe Apple is not taking this bug seriously. I hope some Apple representatives will review the office Apple Community Forums and ultimately make a clear and concise public statement that addresses the BT issues directly. The latest RCs did not conclusively state that the BT issues have been fixed.

Hope this gives community members a little peace of mind.

Installed it last night; first thing this morning, sat down at the mac mini, and within literally a minute, I had a disconnect/connect/disconnect/connect. So, yes, several of us have installed build 20D62, and still have the issue.

I posted the Bluetooth Explorer screen capture earlier today in the thread.

Good luck. I have the gun 1 magic keyboard and mouse and have varying results. I first moved to a USB wired connected Apple keyboard as the machine was unusable, I now use the Magic keyboard on a 2015 Mac Pro with no issues. The M1 Mac Mini seemed good with this setup, but just recently I had two days where the mouse would connect and then immediately disconnect, again making the system unusable.

However, touch wood, it seem ok again now.

I also have wake on bluetooth turned off, so only the keyboard will wake the system.

Another issue I have - is the monitor does not always come on and I have to reset the USBC cable. Note I have USBC to Display Port cable as my screen, while new, does not have USBC input.

I'm also using a USB-C to DisplayPort connection and experience the same occasional problem with the display not waking up. What mostly works for me in this case is pushing the on/off button so the monitor goes into standby mode and immediately switch it on again. I'm using Dell UltraSharp U2711 (2011). Apart from this I'm happy with the performance.