Mac Mini 2012 video blinking out

My TB port died when the Mini went to sleep as well, so I then tried disconnecting/reconnecting it to no avail (didn't think it would be bad to do so with it switched on), but in any case, if it was already dead, then the damage was done. However, several days later I decide to try it again and it decides to work.... for a day, then die again (after I had disabled sleep entirely). I try all sorts of things (different cable, using my brother's calbe/monitor) and cannot get it to work. Then, when I went to wipe the disk to return it for a refund, the TB port decides to work! I was also experiencing the blackout screens and the snow so I have no handed it over to TNT who are taking it back to Apple for a refund. The Late 2012 Mini is jinxed, unfortunately. I'm now using my brother's Mid 2011 that I bought off him so he could buy an MBP 15" Retina. I might upgrade to a Mac Pro when it's refreshed in a few months' time, but something tells me I should wait for the mini-refresh after that when the bugs have been ironed out.

mfearby wrote:

My TB port died when the Mini went to sleep as well…

I didn't mention it because the story gets long, but I had left both monitors connected even though the Tb port had died. One time the Tb port came back to life and the video ping-ponged back and forth between the two video ports every second or so until I unplugged the Tb monitor and then it died and never came back to life again, at least until I returned the mini.

mfearby wrote:

The Late 2012 Mini is jinxed …

Well, the two of us certainly haven't had good luck. I can't afford a Mac Pro and even the 27" iMac with i7 and Fusion drive is over twice the price of the mini, so I really don't know what I'm going to do if I have to return this unit.

My 2008 MacBook is almost like a new computer now that I've rolled it back from Lion to Snow Leopard. Lion was such a pig even though I had the MacBook maxed out with 4 GB of RAM. I'm wondering if I should just sit tight until the next mini revision in a year. But, the mini is second from the bottom of the priority list for Apple with the Mac Pro being almost forgotten about. Apple's focus is on iMacs, MacBooks, and iOS devices. It's going to be a tough decision.

Hey,

Returned mine for a new one. No problems for 3 weeks. Today i saw the same thing happen again and i have installed the efi firmware update. The problem reoccured after the update. Using minidisplayport to dvi converter. Now using the hdmi to dvi converter. Also ik had the 'blinking out' whilst running windows 8 bootcamp.

Bummer.

My 2008 MacBook is almost like a new computer now that I've rolled it back from Lion to Snow Leopard.

Indeed, but ML/10.8 has a few things better than 10.7... still no Tiger/10.4.11 though! 😉

Update on my second mini with a dead Thunderbolt port after second visit to Genius Bar …

Recap:

• First mini's Tb port died within a week.
• Genius at Apple Store refused to look at it saying it was a common problem.
• Returned for refund.
• Waited until firmware update for HDMI port out.
• Reordered.
• Tb port on second mini died in less than 24 hours.
• Senior Apple tech said to visit Apple Store again and insist on having mini and Tb->DVI adapter tested.
• Visited Genius Bar today and spoke to a different genius than the first visit.

Result: It was the adapter.

While I won't be fully convinced until this mini with new DVI adapter is solid until it's run flawlessly for two weeks, I must say this refusal by the first genius to test the adapter wasted many hours of my time and some gas money.

I'm going to detail the test steps taken at the Genius Bar because it wasn't smooth and perhaps others can pick up a hint or two.

Diagnostic steps:

1. Connect mini with my Apple-branded DVI adapter to Apple's monitor. Dead.
2. Connect mini with Apple's VGA adapter. Worked.
3. Connect mini with Apple's DVI adapter. Dead. Maybe different pins/drivers involved so mini still defective?
4. Connect mini with second Apple DVI adapter. Dead. Yup, seems to be a dead Tb port when using DVI.
5. Now test my DVI adapter with their computer in case of double failure.
6. Connect Apple laptop with my DVI adapter to Apple monitor. Dead. Both mini and DVI adapter dead?!?!
7. Connect Apple laptop with Apple DVI adapter. Dead. ***?! My mini killed their adapter?
8. Check DVI connector on back of monitor. Oops! Loose DVI cable. (Tighten those cables on the back of your monitors, folks)
9. Recheck Apple laptop with Apple DVI adapter. Works. OK, loose cable at monitor confirmed.
10. Recheck Apple laptop with my DVI adapter. Dead. So if it's dead, maybe mini is OK?
11. Recheck mini with Apple DVI connector. Works. Great! It's not the mini.
12. Recheck mini with my DVI connector. Dead.
13. Looks like a DVI adapter swap is required.
14. Check new DVI adapter with mini. Works.

Conclusion: Bad DVI adapter. No idea why it resurrected for the second mini only to die again later.

On the recommendation of the senior Apple tech, I will be providing polite, but strongly worded feedback to http://apple.com/retail/feedback/

When I think of the hours I wasted setting up the first mini, the time & gas money for the useless first visit to the Apple Store, rolling back to my laptop, wiping and reinstalling the OS to return the mini, setting up the second mini, rolling back to my laptop again, and then syncing back to the mini today, well, you can imagine my level of dissatisfaction.

So folks, if the Apple Genius tries to brush you off, insist that they do the diagnostics no matter how many times they've seen the problem.

If I encounter any problems with this second adapter, I assure you I'll be back to let you know. :-)

thanks for the report! 🙂

No idea why it resurrected for the second mini only to die again later.

Sounds like a short within the cable when twisted just so. I mean no short when twisted just so. 😉

Question for you all, has anyone else been using their mouse around and under the display? I suddenly realized why my new Samsung monitor was going black. I had my mouse on the right side of the small desk, every time I scrolled it up, I bumped the on/off spot on the bottom right if the monitor. Just thought I'd throw it out to you. Hope it isn't this with you all, I felt kinda stupid when I realized.

Nice tip, thanks Linda... possibly so for some. 🙂

Hello Everyone,

I have been thinking about the Mac Mini i5 model with Dell ultra sharp U2412 or U2312 setup from scratch.

Kindly share if your display issues have been solved or if they still persist.

I need to make a decision whether to take MM or not.

Issues

1. Snow

2. Flickr/black outs

3. HDMI colour fade

I haven't had any 'issues', such as the snow or black outs since the last update. The color is still not quite right on mine, but I only notice it during certain scenes when watching a movie.

I have the video blinking/Snow problem even after the firmware update. I am on my second mini (first one was returned to Apple due to the issue).

I just observed that if I connect a USB device (I use Logitech C920 Cam), the problem gets much worse. Is anybody experiencing this?

Since getting my Thunderbolt to DVI adapter replaced on Dec. 28th I've noticed one sub-second blanking and one sub-second side-to-side shudder of the image. The monitor on the HDMI port has not exhibited any symptoms.

All is still not well in mini-land.

In the few hours since my previous post I've had another side-to-side shudder on the Thunderbolt port and two glitches on the HDMI port where horizontal lines appear and disappear in a fraction of a second. Both ports are connected via DVI adapters to monitors that have never exhibited any glitching in years of use with a variety of other computers.

So this mini/DVI adapter combo lasted less than a week of use before exhibiting display problems. Sigh.

I don't know if someone has already reported this on why their MM is blinking out. I noticed that my monitor blinks for about a second together when another electric appliance is turned on or off. I uploaded a 30second video in youtube of my screen blinking whenever i turn on/off my fan.

http://youtu.be/SJV86ChhKK4 or just search "blinking computer (MM late 2012)"

are there any fix that I could try because the Mac was bought in an Apple Store in Hong Kong and was brought to the Philippines and we do not have an offical Apple Store just Apple Retailers. So i don't know if whether I can return/exchange my unit with them or if they will honor the warranty.

The problem in the video ir seems a EMC problem.

If it does not happen with any other device connected to your electrical supply, that seems a hardware issue and I suggest to exchange the unit.