I just got my 2012 Mac Mini yesterday (mid range model) and have already noticed three instances where the video would blink out for about a half second, and then come right back. This happend twice already when I'm connected to a Apple 23 inch LCD monitor via the included HDMI-DVI adapter and once when I'm connected via HDMI to my Samsung LCD TV. Anyone else noticing this happening on their Mac Minis? Thanks.
Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)
Concur with AC, this is likely a hardware problem in the GPU logic itself (not firmware, manufacturing defect, nor OSX related). The issue appears to be very reproducible-- 5-10 minutes after wake, blank screen. The problem surfaced on Win/Linux PC's in June-- no fix from Intel in two releases of MRC code. Fast forward 5 months, Mac Mini's on OSX show same problem. No fix from Intel, no fix from Apple. So, it's not O/S, not mobo, not manufacturing, not firmware-->> it's HARDWARE related to a faulty HD4000 GPU. This issue was also present in the HD3000 GPU, and Intel still has not fixed it in the HD4000.
I worked in the chip industry as a supplier to Apple (not Intel), and every version of silicon we released had issues. The game is this: you hope your customer doesn't find out the issues that don't have a workaround in firmware, because then you start a very expensive process -> redesign the chip, spin it, test it, manufacture another run at the foundry, and fab and replace new mobo's--> a process that costs millions. Everybody remember Intel's Sandy Bridge chipset design error issue found by Tom'sHardware that Intel first tried to brush off, then was forced into a recall that cost $700MM?
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6030
Everyone is foolish to think Apple or Intel will admit this is a hardware issue because EVERY Mini out there will require a new mobo with a redesigned GPU. Intel is probably pushing Apple and the other OEM's to hold off until they can get Haswell out in the spring. Apple is in danger of becoming the Dell of the 2003-05 era, by continuing to sell faulty hardware with a known cap issue claiming their mobo's weren't affected. http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/dell-tried-to-hide-bad-cap acitors-problem
If you can live with the issue, keep your Mini, but its resale value will fall when this issue becomes well-known. I returned my 2012 Mini 2.6 after 10 days and bought a 2011 refurb Mini with Radeon GPU. No problem. Wake up folks, return it, and save that hard-earned cash to buy another day. Good luck!
My late 2012 i7 2.3 Fusion with 4 GB is now working perfectly with HDMI to HDMI. That, apparently, is thanks to the 10.8.3 combo updater. Since November I had to use a Thunderbolt to DVI cable. After the 10.8.3 update I decided to try the HDMI. Now, both work well. I have been afraid of the trade-in value of a defective unit.
My Mac Mini 2012 has been repaired. It won't show black screen anymore.
OS X update is useless, you should pick up your mac mini to authorized distribuitors by Apple, they offer you repair for free with conditions:
1- When this is purchased.
2- It must be undamaged.
It proves the warranty, now you should make a note how to reproduce the problem give to the staffs. It doesn't cost us.
It took 3 weeks to be repaired. It worked very well.
holsapple wrote:
Same goes for me, I am perfectly happy with my Mini. Previous poster with all the problems obviously should turn to support and the seller, rather than addressing those issues here. They are simply individual.
It's great for you that you are happy with your mini. Saying these problems are "simply individual" does not match the facts. This is a 79-page thread(!) and is not the only one about this problem on the support forum. Let's not forget that many months after this problem was identified a new buyer has display problems. It's a chronic problem with the mini.
I suspect the reason the thread activity has dropped off is because many, like myself, have accepted the fact that nothing is going to change so there's no point in posting regularly. I only respond to new victims now.
And I have addressed the issues with senior Apple tech support. All they do is tell you to do the usual calisthenics and voodoo to see if it will clear the problem. It didn't, it just reduced it. Even after all patches, the problem persists.
The mistake I made, once, is to give Apple time to fix it so that it is now past the return period. It is not a mistake I will make again. My advice to any new buyer who stumbles across this thread with a video problem is to return the mini immediately.
Folks:
Possible solution for some of you:
I was having the same blinking issue with my 2012 mac mini. Using connectors I had and free ports on the monitors, I connected in the following way:
Mac Mini Display Port: Rocketfish Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter, HDMI to HDMI cable to monitor
Mac Mini HDMI Port: Apple HDMI to DVI-D adaptor, DVI-D to DVI-D cable to monitor
The blinking had gotten really bad, happening once every 2-5 minutes. Mavericks didn't help. I decided to change up how I connected the monitors to see if that would help.
Mac Mini Display Port: Generic Mini DisplayPort to DVI-D Adapter, DVI-D to DVI-D cable to monitor
Mac Mini HDMI Port: HDMI to HDMI cable to monitor
Blinking has now stopped completely for over a week.
Hope this helps some of you out.
Thanks,
Anthony
Folks check your Software Updater....Apple has released Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.7 to address the HDMI flicker situation......at least it showed up on my mini.....good luck to all...
SOLVED!!!! its your HDMI CEC service on your tv i turned off "vierra link" on my panasonic and no problems since!
I broke down and bought a Mini Display Port to DVI adapter today. 24" Samsung display on MDP->DVI and 19" BENQ display on the HDMI->DVI.
No flickers on the MDP->DVI connected Samsung
Flickers on the HMDI->DVI connected BENQ.
The above shows that at least in my case, the problem is not specific to my monitor since the flickers also occurred on my Samsung monitor, but seems to follow the HDMI connector (and perhaps the provided HDMI->DVI adapter).
The other thing I noticed was that the BENQ was much better at showing the lighter colours than the Samsung, even on the HDMI->DVI connector. The problem in this case followed what monitor was connected.
Initially I suffered the problem with the display just showing 'shash' this was on an Eizo ColorEdge CG223W connected by HDMI to DVI adapter.
That problem seemed to go away, may be after a system update, I then suffered these blackouts which would last a second or so.
My second monitor connected to the Mini by Mini Display Port to DVI has exhibited no problems.
I contacted Apple initially about the 'shash' and they sent me an app to generate a report which I then e-mailed back to them. A couple of days later I then e-mailed them to let them know about these blackouts.
Apple want to 'capture' my Mac Mini to carry out further investigations, so I have reinstalled OS X Mountain Lion after first erasing the disc of my apps and docs.
I now have to arrange collection using an Apple account number and send it back to Apple. When it arrives they will send me another one as a replacement. Not that they don't trust me or anything 😀
Luckily I remembered to deauthorize my two Adobe applications I had installed or I would of had problems there when the new one arrived!
Lets hope the new one is better? Although I have my doubts.
Same problem here. Short black screens every few hours when using HDMI -> DVI (and Dell U2410).
Yesterday I bought an mini display port -> DVI adapter and since I used the mDP I didn't see the problem any more. But: TB port should be free for Tb hardware, so Apple please fix!
By the way: when using a HDMI -> HDMI cable I had a relly bad picture quality - not sure if this is a Mac or Dell problem...
Since pulling one stick of RAM, I'm now at one week and counting with no issues (it was an hourly event prior to that). I'm going try putting that other stick back to see if I can reproduce the original behavior this afternoon.
My late-2012 Mini has been running as a Plex server and client almost continually in that span of time, playing back all manner of 720p and 1080p videos.
It might seem offtopic, but maybe it's not.
I've just read this interesting article about HDMI cable quality, from a seemingly very knowledgable person:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20056502-1/why-all-hdmi-cables-are-the-same/
particularly this part about cable failure symptoms is interesting:
"(…) Another potential "fail" is a failure of the HDCP copy protection, which shows up as a total snowy image, a blinking image, or something else hard to miss."
This is mentioned in the last paragraph of the "video" section, right above the "audio" section.
I'm inclined to think this could be a HDMI "handshake" problem. Since the same symptoms we are seeing can occur with a faulty HDMI cable that has TMDS failures in its HDCP channel, I guess this could very well be hardware related, thus not fixable with a firmware update. Maybe a manufacturing defect/imperfection somewhere in the internal wiring of a batch of Intel HD4000 GPU's?
Apparently there are people with new mac mini's that don't have issues. Also, people without issues are not very likely to respond to this thread. Also the fact that Apple is collecting faulty minimacs to investigate the problem indicates they can't replicate it with some macmini's that roll out the factory. Some people have it very more frequent and/or longer lasting then others. That could indicate varying degrees of manufacturing defects. If it were a firmware issue, wouldn't we all have the same results?
I myself only have the blinking a few times a day, sometimes blackouts, sometimes blue screens, but without the snow many of you report. The blue screens I see, are by the way similar to what you see the moment you connect/disconnect a second monitor. As if the mac mini is fooled in thinking a screen was disconnected and then connected again immediately.
Don't know, I'm not an expert, just thinking out loud; but since these HD4000 issues are reported on Intel forums since June, and still not solved by updated BIOS version 1.6
http://communities.intel.com/message/171244
I wouldn't assume that it is most probably a firmware issue that can be fixed in the near future.
I wish I were wrong, but at the moment my hopes for a magical apple update fix, is not very high.
Tuesday I'll have my machine 14days, so I need to decide now if I'm going for a refund.
I absolutely want to like my new machine, but right now I think it's more wise to send it back.
Any experts on HDMI handshake that could chime in?
I encourage you all to send feedback directly to Apple. Here is the feedback I gave Apple at:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macmini.html
"I'm sure you're well aware of the threads on your community forums regarding the flickering video on the HDMI port of the latest 2012 mini so I won't bore you with the details.
"What I'm asking you to do is to please make a public statement acknowledging the problem and that you are actively working on it.
"It's sad to see the number of people on your forums and other third-party Mac support forums spending countless hours in a futile attempt to isolate and correct this problem themselves. You could save people a lot of time by simply admitting there's a problem and that no amount of troubleshooting will help so just be patient and wait for a fix.
"It's the right thing to do. I believe you know that."
Just saw this on twitter.
MacRumors.com (@MacRumors)
11/28/12, 12:41 PM
Intel Reports Fix Coming for Flickering on Monitors Connected to 2012 Mac Mini via HDMI
macrumo.rs/11eaHyH
Following last month's launch of new Mac mini models, a number of users in the MacRumors forums and Apple's support forums have cited issues with flickering on external monitors connected to their machines via HDMI. Connections via Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort are not affected.
The issue seems to be a known one related to the Intel HD 4000 graphics used in the Mac mini, and Intel has now acknowledged the issue in the Mac mini and indicated that a fix is on the way. A timeframe for a fix delivered through Apple is, however, so far unknown.
We are aware of the flickering issue, and there will be a fix provided in the future. The overall flicker issue is also being addressed here; http://communities.intel.com/thread/32932
Your OEM (Apple) will provide the driver with the fix when they are done configuring our driver (that has the fix). An ETA on this is currently unknown.
Apple has begun developer seeding of OS X 10.8.3 with an emphasis on graphics drivers, but it seems to be unclear at the present time whether the current beta version of OS X 10.8.3 contains the specific fix for this issue.
I have the 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with 16Gb of Crucial Ram (Problem seen before the RAM added).
My machine's details are identical to yours. I received it as a replacement on 13th Nov. the HDMI output (HDMI to HDMI and HDMI to DVI) has the problem but TB to DVI is working fine.
I hope this helps.
It seems that the Mini HDMI video issues are in fact an
Intel problem and Intel is supposed to be releasing new
drivers to address the issues. See this article:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57556171-263/flickering-mac-minis-to-get-a- fix/
Mac Mini 2012 video blinking out
