Beelink Mini Mate A not working on Mac mini M4 middle USB4

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Beelink Mini Mate A not working on Mac mini M4 middle USB4

I have a mac mini m4. I purchased the Beelink Mini Mate A dock. I have installed my ssd nvme m.2 drive into the mini mate. I connected the mini mate to my mac mini m4 using the provide connector cable. I have the mini mate sitting on top of my mac mini m4. The light on the mini mate is solid white. I am not able to see my drive in disk utility, nor are any other ports appearing from the mini mate dock.

The connector is plugged into the middle USB 4 port on the back of my mac mini m4. There is a lightning bolt above this port. Im not sure if that indicates this is a thunderbolt port, or if all 3 ports are thunderbolt. According to mac documentation all 3 ports are USB4 ports.

While this is plugged into the middle USB4 port, nothing works on the mate mini other than the light on the front.

I tried off-setting the mini mate on top of my mac mini m4 and plugging the connector into the port into the left of the middle connector. When I did this the drive does appear in disk utility and I see the external sound port appear.

How can I get this to work when plugged into the expected middle usb4 port?

Mac mini, macOS 26.2

Posted on Jan 13, 2026 8:55 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

D.I. Johnson

Level 7

33,509 points

Jan 13, 2026 9:08 AM in response to roechas

The middle port on your Mac mini is in fact a Thunderbolt & USB 4 port. It is also the port to be used if/when the mini firmware must be revived or restored in DFU mode. As such, drives connected to this port may exhibit unusual behavior as you've experienced. Use that port for directly connecting Thunderbolt or USB devices, but since it's causing a problem for your dock, feel free to use any other port.

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Answer 2

Jan 13, 2026 9:23 PM in response to roechas

So, none of your monitors nor the dock appear to work when plugged in to the center Thunderbolt port.

You can use System Information to get a look at the Thunderbolt and USB ports status while a device is connected.

To view System Information, press the Option key and click the Apple menu  > System Information. Locate the Thunderbolt and USB lines below the Hardware heading. When you have any device connected, information specific to the device should be displayed in the panel on the right if the Mac can communicate with that device.

If the port is non-functioning then there will be no device info listed. If the port is non-functioning then it's probably time to have the computer serviced and evaluated for repair.

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Answer 3

roechas Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 13, 2026 9:16 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

I tried swapping my cables around, but found that port doesnt work with hooking up another monitor. Currently I have a usb-c to hdmi cable plugged into ports 1 and 3 on the back. When I tried plugging one of the monitor usb c cables into the middle usb4 port, the monitor does not work.

So unfortunately I am at a loss. Not sure how to get this dock and my two ext monitors hooked up.

I actually have 3 monitors, 2 plugged into the 2 thunderbolt ports and 1 plugged into the hdmi port.

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Answer 4

Jan 13, 2026 3:13 PM in response to roechas

Exactly which make and model monitors are you using with this Mac?

FYI, the tech specs for your Mac do note support of up to three monitors, depending on their resolutions:

Simultaneously supports up to three displays:

Up to three displays: Two displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI
Up to two displays: One display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI

Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs - Apple Support

About the Beelink Mini Mate A dock -

The specs I found for this dock do not indicate Thunderbolt capability at all, just USB-C. This may be the reason you cannot take full advantage of three monitors.

Is this your dock?: https://www.bee-link.com/products/beelink-mate-mini-dock?variant=47601913889010

Please let us know the makes and models of your monitors.

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Answer 5

roechas Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 13, 2026 8:07 PM in response to D.I. Johnson

I have 3 monitors attached, and they are working fine...

2 27" Asus VE278

1 32" TCL TV

The 32" is plugged into the hdmi port on the back of the mac mini

The 2 Asus monitors are pluged into port 1 and 3 thunderbolt ports on back of mac mini.

I tried moving one of the Asus cables to the middle thunderbolt port on back of mac mini and it doesnt work.

Yes, that is the correct Mini Mate dock I am trying to hook up.

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