Mac Mini 2012 video blinking out

MyMac8MyPC wrote:

Tom Sheppard wrote:

A good company apologizes, takes ownership of the problem, and makes it right. So far, Apple has done none of those three things and they've had enough time to do the first two

In all fairness you don't know that. You don't have all the information. As far as taking ownership of the problem I completely disagree.

By "taking ownership of the problem" I mean admitting to their customers they have a problem and are actively working on it. What they do behind the scenes is irrelevant to me, the paying customer. All we have is heresay from other forums and Intel. What Apple is doing now, nobody really knows outside of Apple. Intel could provide a fix to Apple and Apple might have higher priority things to work on, so there it sits for who knows how long.

Yes, I'm frustrated. Why? Because Apple remains silent and continues to sell a defective product. That, to me, is not "taking ownership of the problem". I call that implicit denial.

Dear MyMac8MyPC,

They may be handling it in a systematic way technically but how they handle it internally is not our problem.

The first part is to say sorry - even before they have investigated - it doesn't hurt!

The second part is to investigate the problem - is there a problem.....?

Having found that there is, the third part is to apologise again and reassure us that they are doing something. Anyone heard direct from Apple with a proper apology?

The fourth part is to sort out the problem and clearly you feel that this is being done - good!

Excellent customer service includes making sure that the customer is being valued and that part didn't even get a mention in your post.

What about continuing to sell a product that they know has a fault. As a 'tech' does that really seem reasonable to you?

Many of your posts are useful and I'm sure technically OK (apart from telling me that I couldn't possibly have been given a brand new mini (rather than refurbished) as a replacement). However what is clearly making customers feel bad is Apple's silence.

Have a good evening.

Bob

Tom Sheppard wrote:

By "taking ownership of the problem" I mean admitting to their customers they have a problem and are actively working on it. What they do behind the scenes is irrelevant to me

Hi Tom, you need to pick one. Working on it "behind the scenes" and "actively working on it" are the same thing. I don't doubt that it's irrelevant to you what they are doing behind the scenes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's irrelevant to resolving the issue. Yes Apples silence can be deafening, and I also don't understand why they sometimes shoot themselves in the foot like this, but the bottom line is that what's most imortant is that they work to resolve the issue, which they are currently doing.

Tom Sheppard wrote:

Intel could provide a fix to Apple and Apple might have higher priority things to work on, so there it sits for who knows how long.

Not to worry you but actually Apple does have several other issues currently being worked on. They released iTunes 11 today which was a fairly big deal, and the other day they seeded 10.8.3. 10.8.2 was a big disappointment for both customers and Apple, which is why they literally pulled it off their site. Sometimes bugs slip through, and sometimes big bugs slip through which is a software companies biggest nightmare. They will not release 10.8.3 until it has been looked at from every angle, as they are trying to make sure that 10.8.3 isn't a repeat of 10.8.2. Lots of developers are currently (as we speak) putting 10.8.3 through its paces. The good news is that one of the things that 10.8.3 addresses is graphics, so it might well be the HDMI solution many are looking for 🙂

BobH47 wrote:

The first part is to say sorry - even before they have investigated - it doesn't hurt!

Hi Bob. As I have said previously I agree. It seems like such a simple thing to just say a few words about the issue publicly. Not doing this may cause me to lose respect for them as a company, BUT it does not cause me to lose faith in their product. Big difference. I still feel that as a computer the Mac mini is the single best value around. I just wish the company that makes it would be more compassionate toward those who purchased one, by apologizing for any inconvenience this issue may have caused. However just because they've been silent thus far, does not mean that an apology is not forthcoming soon. Having said all of that the fact remains that resolving the issue is still the single most important element of this matter.

BobH47 wrote:

What about continuing to sell a product that they know has a fault. As a 'tech' does that really seem reasonable to you?

Actually yes it does. Infact it gives me confidence in the fact that fixing the problem is fairly simple, like a software update or firmware update. If they are working on such a resolution then why on Earth would they stop sales? That makes no sense. Why should they lose money when the issue will soon be a non-issue by a simple update? What would bother me is if they knew that there wasn't a fix, and then they still sold the machines, but that hasn't happened yet.

Dear MyMac8MyPC,

I applaud your bullishness about the possibility of a fix and therefore no need to suspend sales.

Not all of us are techies, I just buy a computer as a tool, I have no interest in how it works, how many thisis it's got or how big that is. It's a tool - no more, no less.

When I take it out of the box I expect it to work first time so that I can get on with my work or my hobbies as soon as possible. I don't want to be handed a machine, get it home, discover it doesn't work and report it, only to be told that the problem is known and that it will be corrected at sometime in the future. Apple is wasting my time.

The only exception would be a clear statement from Apple before or at the time of purchase that there is a problem, whether there is a work-around - such as my TB to DVI adapter (which I had to ask for) - and how/when it will be fixed.

Selling a mini without a buyer-beware statement is underhand.

We may have to agree to differ on this!

MyMac8MyPC wrote:

BobH47 wrote:

What about continuing to sell a product that they know has a fault. As a 'tech' does that really seem reasonable to you?

Actually yes it does. Infact it gives me confidence in the fact that fixing the problem is fairly simple, like a software update or firmware update. If they are working on such a resolution then why on Earth would they stop sales? That makes no sense. Why should they lose money when the issue will soon be a non-issue by a simple update? What would bother me is if they knew that there wasn't a fix, and then they still sold the machines, but that hasn't happened yet.

That's possibly the most outrageous statement I've read for awhile. You know why they should stop sales? Because it doesn't work as described! It says you can connect via HDMI in the product description. You know what I interpret that as? That it can connect via HDMI. It can't.

I agree with you on some things, mac OSX is superb, but if apple said jump, I'm convinced you'd ask how high.

Sam.

Come on guys, let's calm down a bit and keep the focus at the the context. We are all in the same boat here and we are all trying to help each others!

I've bought my MacMini from the site here in Swtzerland a 2.6Gz a 256SSD and put 16 Gb of Ram right away, same problem with the HDMI to HDMI conections, then I bought an adapter Miniport display to HDMI and a HDMI cable with Ethernet, since then i have no problems anymore, of course it's not a solution but it helped me for a while, I still think that a correction through software is gonna come soon enough. Sorry for my poor english! Andre

If the problem really is only with the HDMI connector then I probably should just ring Apple and get them to replace my new Mac Mini. Nobody else seems to be reporting an apparently dead Thunderbolt port, so if I got that fixed, perhaps I wouldn't need to worry about the HDMI flickering/snow (the HDMI isn't capable of sending high enough resolutions to my 27" monitor anyway).

Since I'm a new Apple convert, what's the general procedure? Do I ring Apple and send my Mini away and wait several days or a week without a computer until they send it back fixed or a replacement? Or do they send me a brand-new one with the same spec as the one I bought a couple of weeks ago to allow me to transfer my data first?

If I didn't need a computer for a few weeks (or could cope going back to my Linux box in the interim) I'd get a refund and perhaps buy a 27" iMac, but I'd like to see one in person to determine if the reflection really has been reduced by 75% (I don't really want to see myself all day long).

mfearby wrote:

Nobody else seems to be reporting an apparently dead Thunderbolt port, …

My TB port died in its sleep and could not be recovered no matter what I or the AppleCare rep suggested I try. I sent the unit back for a refund and will not purchase another Mac, let alone another Mac mini, until Apple gets this mess straightened out. Even when a fix is available, announced or via stealth upgrade, I will wait a few weeks until those folks who have hung onto their mini are reporting universally that the problem is resolved. At this point with Apple's continued silence, I do not trust them.

The new iMac is a bigger bump than the mini. I will not buy another Apple product without waiting several weeks to hear what problems it has.

My brother has suggested selling me his Late 2011 Mac Mini if I get a refund for mine (hope I can get a refund on the AppleCare Protection Plan too, though the returns page suggests I can't). He'll then buy a MacBook Pro laptop with retina display. It's tempting, though I did like the idea of having a shiny new top-of-the-line i7 Mac Mini with Fusion Drive. It is with much regret that this new model (my first Mac) is looking very much like it's a lemon :-(

Yes, the Model Identifier is: Macmini6,2

Boot ROM Version: MM61.0106.800

Day 4 now and still no flickering and no snowing screens. I was getting 4-5 snowy screens a day and flickering every 5-10 minutes prior to the main board being changed.

Tiberia, my Macmini has the same model, id, vram, etc numbers as yours. I am having the flickering issue with mine. For those wondering about the different amount of vram, if you have 16gb of memory in your MM, it will increase your vram to 768MB.

I'm afraid it affects both connections. At least in my case both are affected. Sorry.

Tiberia wrote:

Day 4 now and still no flickering and no snowing screens. I was getting 4-5 snowy screens a day and flickering every 5-10 minutes prior to the main board being changed.

Thanks for the update Adam. Hope you continue to have good luck with it 🙂

sc25893 wrote:

I wish I could have kept the i7 quad core but this is getting ridiculous. Now people are reporting both HDMI and DVI getting the same problem.

Waiting for a fix is just way too risky if you've got the chance to get your money back. You could always hold on to the cash until this blows over and then buy one again. Of course this is only good if you have another machine to work on while you wait!

I have a bad feeling it's the HD4000 itself, not a firmware/software update but a return computer to shop job. I hope not for other peoples sake but I couldn't take that risk.

Sam.

I bought the MacMini 5,3 Server from the Apple Refurb store, and it has the same problem, could this be a software problem because I don't remember any hoopla over this when it came out. HD 3000 chip set. 8 gigs of ram. 2.0 ghz quad core i7

I just dug out MDP to HDMI and plugged it in, had a couple short blinks but no major sync problems.