Mac Mini 2012 video blinking out

Nice. Yeah looks good. Just need to find in GB! Kind of Mac Pro-esque. Cheers.

http://macupgrade.eu/catalog/

they sell OWC products.

based in belgium, they ship to UK

Just want to add I updated my Mac Mini (Late 2012, 2.5Ghz Core I5, 4GB) to 10.8.2 last night and still have the blink out problem which occurs 10 mins into waking up. It blinks off for about a second or so then comes back on. So far it works normally after that. I don't use it long enough to see if it will blink out again after awhile, as some seem to report.

About this Mac now shows 10.8.2 (12C3104)

My connected display is an Apple Cinema 21" from around 2000 using the provided HDMI-DVI adapter, resolution 1600 x 1024.

Thanks --A--C--

iDunnOSX wrote:

...only six hours...I spent half of November on this issue.

Get your money back. $$$$ is the only language Apple speaks.

EXACTLY.

I've said it before, many pages ago.

Most of you assume this can be fixed with a firmware upgrade, because of some vague statements on the intel forum. The truth is Apple still hasn't got a clue what's the problem.

So it can still be a hardware problem. If it were a firmware issue, how come there are Mac Mini's out there that don't have the problem?? same hardware, same firmware.

I've mentioned before: the same blinking issues are possible with bad HDMI cables when there are TMDS failures in its HDCP channel, causing Handshake issues with same symptoms (snow, blackouts) (see my post about this on page 20)

I bet it's hardware related. Apple and/or Intel don't want to admit it yet because of the chrismas period sales getting in danger.

Better safe then sorry, go for a refund if you still can. Order again when it's fixed.

A bit of moaning here on the forum doesn't help. Massive amounts of returned mac mini's will shake Apple more. Best protest to Apple is talking in $$$, as you put it so well.

Good luck to those who still believe in the firmware update. I'd like to believe it too, but I just don't.

Hope I'm wrong, so I can order a new one.

If it were a firmware issue, how come there are Mac Mini's out there that don't have the problem?? same hardware, same firmware.

For all we know, 100% of the Mac mini out there do have the problem. The truth is that we don't know what the cause of problem is, so we don't know how to trigger it. I haven't seen it for a day or two now, and when it hits it seems to do so randomly. Just because someone's usage pattern has kept them from seeing the problem, or perhaps even kept the problem from exhibiting symptoms, doesn't mean their machine is in proper working condition.

I bet it's hardware related. Apple and/or Intel don't want to admit it yet because of the chrismas period sales getting in danger.

Which would be exactly the wrong thing to do if it were a widespread hardware issue. It makes zero sense to keep pumping up sales, especially for gifts, if it ends up that they have to recall and replace the entire Mac mini line. The main reason I haven't made as much of a fuss just yet is because I'm sure Apple realizes the bad timing of this, and they'll break their silence (hopefully with a fix) before Christmas comes.

I've been lurking on this thread for a few days. Got my mini on Nov 27th and have been pounding it pretty hard ever since; several hours a day in front of the monitor. I found this thread while trying to figure out why 10.8.2 wouldn't install since I migrated from a 2010 mini running 10.8.2 . I have since updated the OS. I'm hooked up through an HDMI to DVI connector and then to a Samsung 21" LED display.

If it were a firmware issue, how come there are Mac Mini's out there that don't have the problem?? same hardware, same firmware.

I haven't seen the glitch despite running a very wide variety of programs. From people's descriptions, some seem to have a bad case of it, and some just occasional. It's important to realize that the only people who are likely to see this thread are people having the problem. This sort of forum introduces a statistical bias into the equation. If a person doesn't have the glitch, why would he be searching for this topic? He wouldn't. This may only be effecting a very small percentage of owners. Maybe 10%. Maybe 1%.

For all we know, 100% of the Mac mini out there do have the problem.

I agree, there is probably a basic underlying problem. But different monitors may have different tolerances for timing instability - hence I might not see the glitch while others might. Earlier posts indicated that Windows PCs built with the same chip had similar problems and Intel was able to fix them with a driver update. At this point there is no reason to panic, no reason to believe that Apple won't fix the problem, and no reason to believe that Apple won't stand behind the product if it turns out to be unfixable. Everybody, stay calm.

What resolution does your Samsung 21" run at? I have only seen complaints from people running 1920x1080 or higher and I've been wondering if it wasn't affecting lower resolutions.

I also don't think I've seen anyone post that is just running an Apple thunderbolt display, only those that are running an Apple thunderbolt display AND a secondary non Apple display too.

I'm running at 1920x1080.

I'm running 1680x1050 and get blackouts via HDMI - DVI too. I haven't seen any blackouts with my mDP - DVI adapter however. Both adapters from Apple.

While waiting for Apple just use the DVI port. I had these problems with HDMI but the DVI connection to a new Asus monitor never shows any problems.🙂

I purchased a new Mac Mini a few weeks ago - first Apple PC I've had since college, which was many moons ago. I also got the new 27" Thunderbolt display to use with it, no other display.

Two days after the Mac Mini was hooked up...all good so far...then a flicker, black screen, for 1-2 seconds. As the week went on the flicker just grew worse, and unplugging the thunderbolt cable from the back of the mac/replugging and/or rebooting the Mac fixed it for a short time, then it would just return in more frequent intervals. I had to go out of town, and when I returned 10 days later, the flickering returned immediately on boot, along with a "jumping" screen that wouldn't stop, rendering it unusable.

I did hook up a Samsung 23" LED HDMI display (HDMI-HDMI connection to Mac Mini), and the flicker also occurred there. Apple replaced my Mac Mini (which was an ordeal) with a new one and...within a few hours, the flicker has returned. I didn't see the reported issue on the HDMI displays for the Mac Mini until today, but suspect I am hitting this issue regardless.

I'm pretty disappointed with Apple after this - they won't be seeing my money for awhile until/unless this gets corrected. I'll be returning both the Mac Mini and Thunderbolt Display and getting my $$$ back.

I'm sorry to hear this.

However, and others may correct me, but isn't this the first case that we have seen on this thread of flicker with a Thunderbolt display coupled, logically, to the Thunderbolt port?

Problems with the HDMI port to HDMI or DVI have been reported but I think that most of us thought that TB was OK - I certainly did (I use TB to DVI).

I've not noticed any reports about VGA (through an adapter); are Apple users far too modern for that?

I should hope that Apple are very interested in your case.

For all we know, 100% of the Mac mini out there do have the problem.

How do you know that?

I'm following this thread from the beginning, read all posts, and there are reports of people not having this problem. People without problems are not very likely to end up reading this thread and report about it.

Apple was collecting MacMini's with problems, why? Because they couldn't reproduce it with random units rolling out the factory. So there are good units out there.

And probably a large batch of bad ones, with various degrees of severity.

when it hits it seems to do so randomly. Just because someone's usage pattern has kept them from seeing the problem, or perhaps even kept the problem from exhibiting symptoms, doesn't mean their machine is in proper working condition.

It seems randomly because it is randomly. Nobody found a usage pattern yet, because there probably is none. I've had it happen with no applications running at all.

Which would be exactly the wrong thing to do if it were a widespread hardware issue. It makes zero sense to keep pumping up sales, especially for gifts, if it ends up that they have to recall and replace the entire Mac mini line.

They have done it before. Forgot the iPhone 4 Antennagate story?

http://gizmodo.com/5589336/apple-antennagate-and-why-its-time-to-move-on

Same story. First deafening silence. Then act as if its a minor problem. Put a bandaid on it.

quote from above article:

"Only 0.55 percent of all iPhone 4 users have called AppleCare about the antenna or reception. (This includes Genius Bar visits, apparently.) That's around 16,500 complaints, out of 3 million iPhones sold. "Historically for us, this is not a large number," Steve said." end quote. Yet ALL the iPhone4 had the same problem.

--> how many % of MacMini customers that have the problem, will actually get a replacement or a refund?

Probably not that many, you see in this thread many decide to keep it, and wait for a firmware fix.

Some of them might not have contacted support yet, thinking a fix will come soon.

Add to that, many less tech-savvy people think it's their older monitor or TV, or their cheap cable that's acting funny. The flicker is not very frequent, so they don't care and aren't aware it's a widespread issue.

So the more units sold, the bigger the profit margin, even if some units must be replaced or refunded. This costs less then the reputation damage done by a public anouncement that all Mac Mini's were shipped with known video issues.

I'm not saying Apple isn't looking into the problem, they certainly are, they want a fix just as bad as you do. But if the only possible fix turns out to be replacing all units because it's hardware related, they will handle it probably the same way they handled things before.

They really can't afford admitting another failure right now, after the Apple Maps fiasco. iTunes 11 is also getting tons of criticism according to this active forum. The timing to acknowledge anything is really bad now, amidst the christmas sales. Stopping sales of the macmini would be sort of admitting too. They are not "pumping sales" as you put it. Have you seen any mac mini on the "black friday" list? although it's very suitable, new and affordable to most people.

Don't forget this thread gives a distorted view on reality. You can't know the percentage of people having the issue. It merely gives you an indication that you're not alone at all. Don't forget how rumours spread. A small hint with great uncertainty, is a certainty a few days later on another forum.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a genuine Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter, which arrived today, and I can't get a thing to show up through the Thunderbolt port on my new Mac Mini. Here's the system information:

Thunderbolt Bus:

Vendor Name: Apple Inc.

Device Name: Mac mini

UID: 0x0001000D19DACA00

Firmware Version: 14.1

Port:

Status: No device connected

Link Status: 0x101

Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.11.9

Think I'd better ring Apple :-)