New M2 Mac Mini Serious Bluetooth issues with sound

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craigokane Author

Level 1

8 points

New M2 Mac Mini Serious Bluetooth issues with sound

Hi all. I have a one week old Mac Mini M2 and I have terrible bluetooth connectivity to my speakers.

I have two external bluetooth speakers (different brands) and also new, and neither of them work well at all.

The problem is a crackling or intermittent sound from spotify/youtube/deezer through to the speakers.

The speakers are fully charged, and they work with my iphone and upad BUT not the Mac Mini.

I have tried moving the speaker around, and I have tried unplugging and reconfiguring cables to check for interference but nothing is working. I have updated my software to the latest version but again still choppy audio via bluetooth.

Should I be reinstalling anything or taking it back to the shop? This experience has been very bad. My first time that I've anything wrong with an Apple device. Please help.

Mac mini, macOS 14.5

Posted on May 2, 2024 8:51 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

den.thed

Level 10

92,422 points

May 3, 2024 7:57 AM in response to craigokane

Poorly shielded high speed USB cables, USB devices and Display cables can cause both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interference.

see > Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support

I can't see your setup, but I would try rearranging things so that there are no USB cables or USB devices near or in-between the Mac mini and the Bluetooth speakers. Also keep in mind that the Mac mini is at a disadvantage compared to other systems, because the wireless antenna is built into the bottom cover.

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Answer 2

hcsitas

Level 6

13,970 points

May 2, 2024 9:29 PM in response to craigokane

If it’s important to you, yes, return for a full refund while there’s still time. Bluetooth isn’t the mini’s strongest point.

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Answer 3

Jun 26, 2024 6:47 AM in response to craigokane

Have always had Bluetooth issues at times with my Mac Mini's and luckily Apple has yet to drop the audio jack so I just use wired devices for audio.

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Answer 4

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,106 points

May 3, 2024 10:38 AM in response to craigokane

My M2 Mac mini Pro (Sonoma 14.4.1) connects to both Sony WF/WH-1000XM4 devices and an external Bluetooth cheap_ss speaker without any audio aberrations.

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