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Sunden5 Author

Level 1

46 points

Mac Mini m1 bluetooth problems

Hi, I just got the new Mac mini M1 and from day one I have had big problems with the bluetooth connection. The computer is within an arms reach and has problems staying connected to my Magic Keyboard. It turns on and off. Several times. I even tried placing the keyboard on top of the Mini with out any difference. Some times I have to connect a wired keyboard just to log in. Sometimes the Magic Mouse also has problems. When using both with my old MacBook Pro 2010 they work perfectly.

There is nothing connected to the Mac mini other the the power and there is no ruter nearby that could interfere. The keyboard has fresh batteries also.

It looks like others also have this problem. Is there any one that has a fix. This is really frustrating.

Best regards

Mac mini, macOS 11.0

Posted on Nov 27, 2020 7:12 AM

Top-ranking reply

HSERC

Level 1

13 points

Posted on Dec 28, 2020 3:11 AM

Thank you once again. But... Again, you are missing the point...

Your examples are describing clearly defined and repeateable hardware defects in third party (i.e. non Apple) equipment.

This is all to do with an entirely Apple "system" that is sometimes fully working (i.e. no apparent defects), which then displays very erratic behaviour which is sometimes inconsistent from one person's system to another.

If you take the time to read back all of the previous pages on this, you will see that many have replaced equipment:

Some have replaced keyboards - to no effect.
Many have replaced mice - to no effect.
Some have even replaced Mac mini's - to no effect.
Some have got success by turning off Wifi - but this is not a solution, it just hides the underlying problem.
Some have found success by forcing the systems to use 5GHz wifi - but again, this is not a cure for the problem - It's just using a '"workaround" to avoid running into the problem. And not everyone may be able to force 5GHz.
Some have even completely reset their systems and Yahoo! it all works - for about two the three days - and then it stops working again.

All of these "helpful" suggestions, to plug it in, to use something else etc., are a bit like suggesting I use the back seat of my car to carry luggage, simply because the central locking system will not open the trunk.

What we all need, is for the basic functionality to be met. And to do that, Apple must first acknowledge that their users have a problem, that the problem can be described and can be reproduced. Then - hopefully - the problem can be determined and fixed.

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291 replies

SRFC_IT

Level 1

9 points

Mar 12, 2021 1:58 AM in response to mdicillo

I had some issues about 4 weeks ago but connectivity was resolved after an Apple software upgrade. HOWEVER, last night it upgraded to 11.2.3 (Big SUR) and now my Logitech Triathlon (non dongle)mouse is not working. Apple keyboard and Magic Trackpad are fine! I have tried reconnecting the mouse (having 'removed' it several times) and whilst it shows as connected, the cursor remains frozen!

Has anyone else had issues since the latest software upgrade?

Mar 12, 2021 3:11 AM in response to SRFC_IT

Yes, I've had a similar problem except with a magic mouse. Everything is bluetooth, Apple keyboard, magic mouse and my headphones. For some reason the magic mouse is the only thing affected though. And likewise, I'd disconnect, reconnect, unpair and then repair yet despite it showing as connected it doesn't respond. For me the solution was shutting down the Mac Mini instead of putting it to sleep. My issue always happened when waking from sleep. It's unfortunate because this wasn't the case until I installed firmware 11.2.2. Wish I would've just stayed on 11.2.1. I actually wasn't aware 11.2.3. was released, guess I'll give it a try and see if my problem still exists.

ipanoma

Level 1

4 points

Mar 12, 2021 6:56 AM in response to Sunden5

Still issue with bluetooth Apple Keyboard with MacMini M1 Big Sur 11.2.3

Every now and then the keyboard gets crazy and buffers out characters at random....

the only way to escape is connect by wire usb and then shutdown and restart.

Poor us, Apple early adopters! :(

Mar 12, 2021 7:05 AM in response to ipanoma

That's unfortunate. Guess I won't be trying to put my mini in sleep mode again anytime soon. When I got mine back in January bluetooth was a problem with both mouse and keyboard but turning off wifi solved it for me. It would seem that the firmware updates are actually making things worse. Even more frustrating is that a Google search shows articles and others saying that Apple fixed the bluetooth problem with the February update when in fact that's not the case at all.

Dec 28, 2020 2:14 PM in response to MyApple8MyPC

BTW, once you install 11.2 make sure you immediately do the following;

Reset the Bluetooth module.
Delete all of the old Bluetooth plist files.

Otherwise you might still have issues with Bluetooth...

KyRuMo

Level 1

4 points

Dec 23, 2020 5:00 AM in response to Guy_Janssen

Wadenz

Level 1

4 points

Feb 1, 2021 10:25 PM in response to Wadenz

Holy moly half way through the update and this happened!! Going to leave it for a while I’d say it’s still going on the background hope it isn’t bricked! My M1 Mac Mini.. :(

Wadenz

Level 1

4 points

Feb 1, 2021 10:29 PM in response to Wadenz

Ok screen shut off like it was doing a restart... now this going to continue to wait, hope it gets better :(

Wadenz

Level 1

4 points

Feb 1, 2021 10:32 PM in response to Wadenz

Disconnected the screen and replugged it in.. looks like an hdmi sync issue during the update 7 mins remaining yay :)

Dec 4, 2020 7:07 PM in response to Sunden5

I was on the telephone and screen share with Apple Support. My Apple Magic Mouse was loosing connection almost every 10 minutes.

Sunden5 Author

Level 1

46 points

Dec 8, 2020 10:17 AM in response to ichoderso

I have never had this problem with the old MacBook Pro (2010), Apple TV (used from 3m) or iPad. I also have the same problem if I try to connect a bluetooth speaker.

hcsitas

Level 6

12,902 points

Dec 8, 2020 11:42 AM in response to Sunden5

Try without any USB hubs connected. If the problem remains, disconnect all USB devices, especially drives.

Dec 9, 2020 4:24 PM in response to ichoderso

This not works for me. I must restart the Mac mini m1 every time this happen. it’s so frustrating.

ichoderso

Level 1

113 points

Dec 10, 2020 12:45 AM in response to Jay4537

hope you're right. That pointed to a software/driver problem. can be fixed without returning the whole system

Dec 12, 2020 11:45 AM in response to kipjacobs

I can’t see this is a battery problem because, it most cases, people will be using the rechargeable mouse. I don’t think I can get at the batteries.

Mac Mini m1 bluetooth problems