headless mac mini M1

I am using screen sharing from my imac to my new mac mini m1 - it is the only way I can use it since the mini m1 won't connect to my bluetooth mouse or keyboard since I 'upgraded' to os 11.0.1 :-(

You need to enable Remote Management in System Preferences - Sharing on the mini m1.

I'm having the same issue. Funny thing is, if I boot up with the display emulator and a second monitor it shows up on the network and I can log in remotely and do screen sharing. Then if the second monitor is disconnected both of those continue to function. But if it's booted with only the emulator it never shows up on the network. So my initial workaround is to use a spare monitor when I boot it. A more elegant fix would of course be appreciated.

On more thing: I restored my user account and network from my old Imac time machine backup onto the mac mini M1

It set the name to "hostname (2)", which was not visible from the imac - until I removed the space in the name before (2) and rebooted.

Could the space in the host name be a problem?

I just retested without a monitor or keyboard on the mac mini m1 and can still remote log in from the iMac, reboot the M1 and remote log in again.

I have this problem, too, except that I cannot log in remotely unless I log in first with a keyboard attached to the M1 Mini. Attaching a physical monitor to the M1 does not seem to make any difference, at least via HDMI.

You may need to purchase one of the HDMI dummy plug that has its own graphic chip within it, and makes your mini believe that a display is connected. There are versions of this for DisplayPort too.

This is what I did for my headless 2011 Mac mini, and all that I enabled on it was screen sharing. On my main machine M1 mini, even with the firewall set to block all incoming connections, the Screen Sharing application opened that older mini display on my M1 mini 32 inch display with full M1 keyboard and mouse control. This is a Big Sur departure from earlier operating systems where. you had to disable that Block all incoming connections in the fire wall to get Screen Sharing to work.

I run a dozen or so Mac minis in a headless mode. Your issue is common to all minis, not just the M1. The solution is to get a Fit-Headless HDMI dummy monitor. They simply plug into your HDMI port the mini thinks there is a monitor attached.

https://www.amazon.com/CompuLab-fit-Headless-Display-Emulator/dp/B00FLZXGJ6/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=Fit-Headless&qid=1608702540&sr=8-4#

There is also the Fit-Headless 4K. I would NOT recommend this one as it defaults to 4k mode and my experience is that it's difficult to configure them to something more practical for VNC or Remote Desktop. They have a driver that configures the 4K to whatever resolution you wish, but that's just more software to manage. The basic Fit-Headless requires no special driver and is a no-brainer. It's fixed at 1920x1080, which is enough but not too many pixels to push across the network.

Did you:

(a) Reboot after plugging in the dummy monitor?

(b) Enable screen sharing?

(c) Try logging in via ssh?

(d) Connect to wired ethernet instead of WiFi?

My headless M1 has been rock solid. But it's wired, not WiFi.

Now Screen Sharing is working.

The second reboot did the trick.

However, I set my Mini for Remote Management but I don't get an option for RM only Screen Sharing when I try to access the Mini through Finder. I am able to Remotely Manage my iMac. All are on a wired network.

Thanks yahooBear!

The solution that I found to booting a headless M1 Mac Mini running Big Sur (v11) is to have a plugged-in keyboard or a previously-paired bluetooth keyboard handy. First, boot the Mini, then wait a minute or so until the login screen should be up (which you can't see without a monitor). Then, type in the Mini's password using the plugged-in or paired keyboard. This makes the Mini show up in the Network window on the remote Mac for screen sharing. I don't know why this is different behavior from older Mac Minis running an earlier OS, but it works if you have physical access to the Mini.

Note, you must have already activated Screen Sharing on the Mini previously with a monitor attached.

Your Mini will remotely display a 1920x1080 screen unless you have an HDMI dummy plug in the HDMI port that supports a greater resolution than that. (e.g., for 4K: https://www.amazon.com/Headless-Display-Emulator-Headless-1920x1080-Generation/dp/B06XT1Z9TF/).

One other thing I did was to edit the computer name in the sharing preference, but that shouldn't make a difference.

Me too! Just ordered the dummy monitor.

The dummy monitor didn't change anything for me -- still can't login