Mac Mini m1 bluetooth problems

I just bought a Mac Mini M1 at the beginning of March '21 to use as the main machine in a music studio. I had experienced Bluetooth issues from day one. Needless to say, there are a LOT of connections, wires, hubs, and various other cables running all over the studio. I mention this because there are a lot of potential sources for interference that would be almost impossible to track down.

I turned off WiFi -problems persisted

I turned off the 2.4Ghz band on my router - problems persisted

I turned off FileVault - problems persisted

I turned off Handoff - problems persisted

I reset the Bluetooth Module - problems persisted

I factory reset all connected devices - problems persisted

I unplugged the M1, waited 10 seconds, plugged it back in, waited 5 seconds, turned it back on - problems persisted

I disconnected both USB-A cables - problems persisted

I disconnected the ethernet - problems persisted

At this point, I was really considering just using a wired mouse and dealing with it, or sending it back. Working in Logic with erratic mouse movements is nothing short of maddening.

I was upgrading from a 6,1 Mac Pro which originally had Bluetooth issues prior to various software and OS updates. I had used an Aircable Host XR4 (Bluetooth dongle) with that Mac Pro that solved all of my issues, so I decided to try that with the M1.

Unfortunately, it wasn't recognized when I plugged it in. I tried various ports, hubs, and directly plugging it into the M1. Nothing. The light stayed red and the Bluetooth address was still reporting the built-in module.

On a whim, I thought maybe turning off Bluetooth, plugging in the Aircable dongle, and then turning Bluetooth back on would kick it in to using the Aircable over the built-in module. Outside of some buggy weirdness after turning Bluetooth back on, the Aircable actually worked! FINALLY!

So, you'll need a separate bluetooth dongle and a wired mouse available so you can turn the Bluetooth back on, but the process that worked for me is:

1. Make sure the Bluetooth dongle is disconnected.
2. Make sure "Show Bluetooth in menu bar" is turned on in System Preferences>Bluetooth
3. Check the module's current address (Shift+Option, click the Bluetooth icon). Make a note of this address.
4. Plug in a wired mouse.
5. Turn off Bluetooth.
6. Plug in the Bluetooth dongle.
7. Use the wired mouse to turn Bluetooth back on. (Mine seemed to turn back on when I plugged in the module. Your results may vary.)
8. At this point, I experienced some erratic behavior, so I decided to restart.
9. Restart
10. Check the Bluetooth menu (Shift+Option, click on Bluetooth icon in top bar) for the Bluetooth address. It should be different from the one noted above.

If all went well, the Bluetooth menu should display the new address, which means you're using the new dongle as the Bluetooth controller. As long as the dongle has been connected, it has persisted through multiple reboots.

This completely solved all of my Bluetooth issues, and I can now reliably use the M1 as my every day machine. It's unfortunate that this requires a third party solution to work, but it's possible that future updates may fix whatever interference is plaguing the M1 Bluetooth controller. I have to think it's a hardware issue since the new controller has no issues, but it's possible the built-in module can be tuned with firmware/software tweaks.

But until then, I hope this works for some people who are unable to get a third party bluetooth dongle to work.

Having the same issue with my M1 Mac Mini. It was completely impossible to pair my Apple wireless keyboard, the computer could not see it. After experimenting around with placing the Mac Mini somewhere else, reducing the distance between the keyboard and the computer etc. and after reading several threads about this problem on other websites, the impression I got was that this is an inherent problem with the hardware design (either shielding due to the case or influence from something else on the board) and that the easiest workaround would be to use a USB bluetooth dongle. I went to Amazon and bought a standard USB 4.0 dongle which stated compatibility with Macs (price < $10). Plugged that into one of the Mac Mini's USB ports, booted the machine up (with a wired USB keyboard as a workaround so I could log in) and voilà - immediately I could pair my Apple wireless keyboard and so far (two weeks) no dropped connection. It is a bit annoying that I have to use up one of the USB ports permanently just to get bluetooth connectivity, but at least now I do not have to wait for an eventual software fix (if there ever will be one...) just to use my keyboard.

I bought an Asus USB-BT400 bluetooth dongle. For some reason, the US Amazon side does not show Mac OS compatibility in the description - the German Amazon site I bought it from does. Anyway, it works for me. It uses a Broadcom chip and is automatically detected (no driver installation necessary).Others have reported success with the Hideez USB bluetooth dongle, which according to the manufacturer definitely supports Macs.

I concur that this works.

In my particular case, even though I had a Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad (original versions) paired with the new Mac mini M1, they worked for a couple of days, then started disconnecting. I tried to pair them again, to no avail.

However, I also own two MacBook Pro's, a 15-inch 2019 and a 13-inch 2011. Well, the devices were trying to connect to the 15-inch MBP.

Last night, we turned on the 13-inch MBP and the same thing happened.

* * *

The reason, as I understand, is that these devices at one point were originally paired to those MBP's, and I never removed them.

By performing the Shift+Option and then clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar, I performed both a Factory reset all connected Apple devices, then Reset the Bluetooth module. After that, I re-paired the devices and they've been working for several hours.

Just downloaded Big Sur 11.2 RC, and iOS 14.4 RC. For those who want it, you will need to load a Developer beta profile to get the RCs today. Or you can load the Public beta profile to get the RCs maybe tonight or tomorrow.

For some reason unknown to me, I have not had any BT disconnect issues after resetting my M1 Mac Mini a couple of weeks ago. I also downloaded Big Sur 11.2 beta 2 and iOS 14.4 beta 2 about a week ago and still no BT issues. Now that the RC candidates are out for 11.2 and 14.4, and Apple's release note explicitly state that BT issues have been addressed in the RCs, I really hope that everyone else on this thread will report the issue as being fixed finally.

Guys, read the article here;

https://www.idownloadblog.com/2021/01/22/macos-big-sur-11-2-bluetooth-reliability/

According to the company’s own release notes accompanying the forthcoming update, it would appear that macOS Big Sur 11.2 “improves Bluetooth reliability.”

11.2 update reportedly coming in around a week.

Update on my bluetooth issues. Didn't originally have any until after I had the machine for a few days. I bought a Samsung T7 external SSD connected via USB-3 for Time Machine backup, extra storage. Reading some posts here and elsewhere, realized the issue may be the USB-3 cable?

Anyway, for what's worth, since unplugging the SSD I've had no bluetooth issues whatsoever with Magic Mouse 2 or the wireless keyboard.

Anyone else notice that it's related to USB-3 connections? Just speculation.

I watched a youtube video that tells us to hold "shift + option" and click the Bluetooth icon, we will see an option "factory reset all connected Apple devices". Click that option.

Also, I changed my wifi router from 2.4 GHz to 5GHz, the connection issue seems gone...my devices haven't disconnected again

Even so... I tried it anyway.

firstly making sure I had another wired keyboard and mouse, I then unpaIred them and then deleted them from the bluetooth list.

after a reboot with both of the BT devices switched off, I then went back into the BT menu and switched both devices back on.

initially they appeared as Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard. Then I connected them both.

after doing this, they immediately appeared in the connected list as (my username’s Magic Mouse and my usernames’s Magic Keyboard.)

then I let it go to sleep for a couple of hours.

and now my problem seems to have gone. Please bear in mind that my problem was that I could wake it but then not enter a password because the keyboard was not connected at that point. But now it does work.

OK, I have also scanned most of the posts on this topic and have taken note that sometimes any particular “Fix” reported, does not remain “fixed” and later reverts to the errant behaviour. I will of course report back if I still have other problems, or if my main issue comes back.

But for now anyway, I did something and something changed - even if not fixed - at the very least.

G.

Yes, I found that option.

it may also have some bearing on my result. If you hold the shift and option keys when clicking on the Bluetooth logo on the status bar, then you do get a load of diagnostic information and options, including the options to reset the Bluetooth adapter as well as return all connected Apple Bluetooth devices to factory original state.

I also did both of these for good measure.

like I said, at the moment anyway, It seem to be as operational as it should be, but I also know this issue is known for coming back. So I will be watching out.

in summary, i would say, where are two causes:

1) Big Sur

Older mac operating systems have a "searching routing" in case of missing keyboard or mouse on startup - Big Sur, apparently not. To solve that , on new Big Sur systems we can connect the keyboard/mouse with the charging usb cable - the keyboard/mouse will recognized.

In case of migration from a older Mac, the system seems to install the older keyboard/mouse profile. That could leads to spontaneous BLE disconnect. Delete the plists or "option + shift key + click on bluetooth --> delete external BLE devices--> restart" solve that.

2) mac mini hardware

The mac mini has a fabulous low power consumption, but in that way, allow just a low power consumption on external interfaces.

I attached my monitor (LG Ultrafine) with Thunderbolt and expand the second mac mini port with a external USB-C hub to attach 4 external USB-C devices. That configuration leads into spontaneously Bluetooth drops and other issues in conjunction with external devices or communication.

The LG Ultrafine monitor have a own Thunderbolt and USB-C controller with own power supply. Using these USB-C ports and attach the USB-C hub here, bluetooth connections are stable, no other issues more. That could mean, that the ports on the mac mini have not enough power to support a larger number of USB-C devices, without extra power supply for the external USB-C hubs.

In case of migration from a older Mac, the system seems to install the older keyboard/mouse profile. That could leads to spontaneous BLE disconnect. Delete the plists or "option + shift key + click on bluetooth --> delete external BLE devices--> restart" solve that.

Make sure you have a wired or usb wireless (i.e.; Logitech Transceiver) before doing this or you will be unable to restart properly since the mouse is no longer connected.

OK. Just got finished with Official Apple Support and have a ticket open.

My issue was totally repeatable: I could wake the Mac from sleep with a BT Keyboard key press, but then could not enter the password because the keyboard and mouse were now immediately disconnected.

Apple Support got me to start up the Mac in SAFE mode and test to see if the issue was still present.

It was not. Everything seems to be OK after multiple tries to recreate the problem.

Apple Support then recommended that I reinstall MAC OS, as the indication of working in safe mode meant that it was possible that some error in configuration, or installation files that were corrupted, or one of many other things that a reinstall would likely be able to correct.

Anyway, 90 minutes later and I am now reinstalled with a fresh installation of Mac OS 11.1 and...

At the moment anyway, my problem has gone.

Now of course, I will keep a check to see if all other issues have gone, or indeed, if any issues return.

At the very least, Apple Support have another report of Bluetooth Connectivity issues and I can always go back and resurrect it, should issues remain.

Just got off an over hour long phone call with Apple. After talking to two different support people, they said they'll call me back tomorrow.

One thing I did notice, which I didn't see mentioned in this long thread, is the M1's new Diagnostic/Safe Boot mode.

In order to either run Apple's diagnostic, or boot in Safe Mood, you have to power up the M1 Mini by holding the power key. Don't let go, until you see the Gear Logo, then you can let go of the power key.

In order to run the diagnostic, or boot in Safe Mode, you have to use your mouse to make the selections. I could not use my Apple Magic Mouse to move the cursor. (I have a wired Macally mouse which worked)

The Apple support person confirmed that in this mode, the M1 Mini is not running Mac OS. Yet, the Apple BlueTooth mouse did not work. It appears to me (and the Apple tech person was inclined to agree) that this is not an OS issue. It might actually be a hardware issue.

Either way, I'm waiting for a call back tomorrow.

In Apple's defense, this is only an issue if I want to use a Bluetooth Keyboard, a BlueTooth Mouse/Trackpad. I suppose I could just buy one of Apple's wired keyboard or mice. If I had a time machine.

I received my new Mac mini m1 on January 6, 2020. I set it up and was highly disappointed when Bluetooth would NOT connect to the Magic Trackpad, AirPods and printer. I was reading the complaints on this website, someone suggested switching over to 5G on their WiFi system, luckily I do have both options 2.5ghz and 5G. The 5G setting was all I needed to do and everything works as it should, I hope this helps.