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

mdicillo

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Mar 10, 2021 7:42 PM

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:

Make sure the Bluetooth dongle is disconnected.
Make sure "Show Bluetooth in menu bar" is turned on in System Preferences>Bluetooth
Check the module's current address (Shift+Option, click the Bluetooth icon). Make a note of this address.
Plug in a wired mouse.
Turn off Bluetooth.
Plug in the Bluetooth dongle.
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.)
At this point, I experienced some erratic behavior, so I decided to restart.
Restart
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.

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291 replies

Shawnxx

Level 1

4 points

Dec 15, 2020 7:06 AM in response to Sunden5

Hi, I got similar bluetooth problem with my newly bought Mac Mini M1.

It seems to be a known issue covered by the media as well, eg. https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/mac-mini-m1-2020-is-reportedly-having-problems-with-bluetooth-connectivity .

Dec 15, 2020 3:42 PM in response to davidbick

Sorry for repeating, but I'm having the same problem not on Mac Mini, but on Macbook Pro 13" M1.

And I found out today, that this problem is only with Magic Mouse 2 (mine is black).

Because today I used my old Magic Mouse (with two batteries) all day long, and there was not a single loose of connection.

Maybe it's because they use different versions of bluetooth, I don't know.

And actually I like Magic Mouse 2 Black much better then first version, cause it's much lighter. But as a temporary solution Magic Mouse 1 fits.

Dec 16, 2020 3:22 PM in response to Jay4537

Thanks! Holding shift + option and clicking bluetooth icon in menu bar worked for me too. My magic mouse 2 and magic keyboard 2, and external bluetooth speakers are all solidly connected now. Before your fix, my mouse and keyboard would disconnect very frequently, and my bluetooth speakers would connect for 1 second, then disconnect completely. Hope this fix works until Apple releases formal fix in Big Sur.

Dec 17, 2020 7:04 AM in response to Jay4537

Guys! I have just had a pleasant call from senior Apple technical specialists. Shared my Mac OS screen with them with a native Apple Care feature. And seems like my problem with Magic Mouse 2 disconnection is solved.

If you have the same problem just open Finder and go to ~/Library/Preferences/ folder. And then delete all files with Bluetooth in their names. Restart the system and everything works just fine.

My Mac OS version currently is 11.1

Dec 17, 2020 9:04 AM in response to Konstantin_sal

Konstantin_sal wrote:

just open Finder and go to ~/Library/Preferences/ folder. And then delete all files with Bluetooth in their names. Restart the system and everything works just fine.

Thank you for sharing Konstantin_sal!

Dec 18, 2020 1:35 PM in response to kipjacobs

Great support! Apple just called me to followup on my Bluetooth trouble, but I was not available at the time to talk to them at length so we rescheduled a call back time. In the meantime, I brought my old Bluetooth Apple Mouse out to try and reconnect it, but it failed. I decided to better clean the battery connections. I then tried to connect it again via Bluetooth and it worked and has remained stable. I was so very happy. Apple support called me back as scheduled. I shared the good news with him and thanked them for following up. It appears so far Apple support's initial diagnosis of a mouse (equipment) malfunction was spot on. They told me to reach out to them again, if my mouse Bluetooth connection became unstable for additional troubleshooting. I couldn't have asked for better support from Apple!

andyfx

Level 1

9 points

Dec 20, 2020 6:57 AM in response to Sunden5

I'm having terrible problems with new Mac mini M1. Keyboard and mouse and sound keep dropping out.

Today when I woke the system it had lost the Magic Mouse keyboard and was trying to re-pair... Could only get it working by connecting via USB and then re-paring.

Then my AirPods crapped out and were unlistenable.... Had to connect a wired keyboard and mouse and then OK for a while.

Yesterday the system wouldn't unlock using Apple Watch.... Said ' Signal too weak' even though I was next to Mac mini.

Also had problem were USB webcam causes system to freeze up.... Unplug it and then all Ok again. Doesn't do this every time.

Going to be sending this back very soon.

KyRuMo

Level 1

4 points

Dec 23, 2020 5:07 AM in response to andyfx

It sucks because I have the 1st Gen Magic Keyboard and Mouse so I don’t have the option to plug them in when Bluetooth failure occurs so I can reset the Bluetooth module, I do have remote access if needed but it requires a keyboard and mouse to reset the module

macxprt

Level 1

4 points

Dec 25, 2020 4:26 PM in response to Sunden5

I did some research on this issue. The current conjecture is that disabling Wi-Fi seems to minimize or entirely disable the errant bluetooth behavior. Of course, this only helps if you have an active ethernet connection.

Dec 29, 2020 4:29 AM in response to cigame

Switching USB hubs didn't fix my issues. I use my hub to drive sensitive scientific equipment on a PC. Anyway, it's sat right next to the Mini now with a USB3 drive - Wi-fi OFF - no Bluetooth issues. Any blisteringly fast network connectivity, something never achieved with the built-in wifi.

Removed it completely. I actually factory reset and plugged nothing in other an a single HDMI monitor. Mouse eventually stopped working after a few days. That really threw support a curved ball, they then asked me to log events by the second. I lost patience at that point.

Dec 29, 2020 3:34 PM in response to Sunden5

I have the same issue but with a MacBook Air M1 with bluetooth headphones, on both Bose and AirPod pros, every so often they will disconnect and then reconnect after 5-6 seconds, this doesn't affect whatever was playing and you loose that was playing, I went back on the video to prove it was not a problem with the video itself and the sound is there. This is with BigSur 11.1.

Dec 30, 2020 2:42 PM in response to Zhaobello

12/30/2020 Update: Bluetooth disconnecting Apple Magic Keyboard 2 and Magic Mouse 2 every 5 minute. The Shift+ Option and clicking BT icon in menu bar "fix" did not last. Retried the Shift + Option again, but with no results. Every 5 minutes the mouse would disconnect 1st, followed by the keyboard in about 1-2 seconds. I move my mouse around a bit and click the keyboard a few times and the connection returns within 10 seconds. This is very frustrating and must be rectified by Apple very soon. I am also on Big Sur 11.2 developer beta, and the latest OS revision has not addressed this problem. I reported the issue, including the related diagnostic files, to Apple via the Developer Beta Feedback assistant.

jbaumann

Level 1

19 points

Dec 30, 2020 5:59 PM in response to Dean Masai

I experimented a bit further:

internal bluetooth, internal WLAN: cannot use my Apple bluetooth keyboard or my Logitech bluetooth mouse
USB bluetooth, internal WLAN: can use my Apple bluetooth keyboard and my Logitech bluetooth mouse (at least no dropout over several days)
Wired Ethernet connection, internal bluetooth: can use my Apple bluetooth keyboard and Logitech mouse

So it really seems to be some interference between internal bluetooth and internal WLAN, as others have already reported.

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.

pebceb

Level 1

17 points

Dec 18, 2020 1:47 PM in response to jbaumann

What was the brand of dongle you bought?

Thanks.

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Mac Mini m1 bluetooth problems