Mac Mini 2012 video blinking out

Just a little update, I have had no flickering yet, (even after watching 3 hours of movies) but I had one snowy screen for about 5 seconds when i first turned my Mac on after the monitor went to sleep. Has anyone else had that problem?

This is my last post from a Mac ever...

I bought one of the first (late 2012) Mac Minis when it became available. After 6 hours of installing software and moving files, I discovered random snowy screens. I decided to return my Mac Mini.

I waited patiently a few months until it was announced that there was a software update that would resolve the black and/or snowy screen issue. I made sure to buy it from the Apple's online store to receive one of the new patches. (To make double sure I custom configured the Mac Mini and even added Keynote. This ensures that you receive a Mac Mini from one of the last production runs.)

Indeed my current Mac Mini is from production week 52, 2012. Literally brand new. - No surprise, the new Mac Mini also came already with the new Boot Rom Version MM61.0106.B03 The first defective Mac Mini, displaying random coloured snow screens (especially after display sleep but not exclusively) had Boot Rom Version MM61.0106.B00

After spending time again on installing all software, moving all files, etc. I discovered that this brand new Mac Mini again displays the same issues I have encountered with my first one. Occasional snowy screens... Sometimes when surfing, sometimes, from sleep, etc.

I have even found a way to replicate it. When cycling my HP ZR2440w often enough - about 5 to 20 times, it comes back on with a snowy screen.

I was using the HDMI to DVI adapter, which came with the Mac Mini.

Not wanting to give up, I went to an Apple store to buy both a HDMI --> HDMI cable and a Mini Display port --> HDMI adapter. (After reading lots of the posts some people suggested that Mini Display port adapters work.)

None of the connections prevented the snowy screen. (Some of the connection variations only added washed out overexposed colours to make the whole experience even worse.)

I can tell you, don't waste anymore money trying to solve this. It will not. Those who claim that some different cable works, just don't know it yet... I think the new software update decreased the frequency of the blackouts or snowy screens but hasn't solved the problem. I personally think the graphic chip is totally flawed. It is a hardware problem. Don't wait for a new software solution either. It will not get any better.

Send your Mac Minis back as quickly as you can and get your money back. That is the only way to get out of this.

The Mac Mini is a major disappointment from Apple. They spend all their time rubbing their hands over iPad and iPhone sales, but totally forget where they came from... Apple has lost touch.

RIP Mac Mini (late 2012) Intel Core i7, 2,6 GHz, 16GB Ram

Sadly, I agree with you, I'd not consider a new Mini, nor any Mac with Intel Graphics ever, furthermore, the new iMacs really turn me off, only thing worse is Widows8... & Linux seems committed to emulating the worst of evey OS lately. 😟 😠

Just want to let everyone know (I hope this is my last post!)

I have had my Mac Mini a week now, and apart from that one problem I had early on, I have never had another problem, despite using it for at least 3 hours a day. The picture looks ok, no washed out colors on either DIV or HTMI, and no flickering of snowy problems. I hope this is the end of all the problems! and if there is any problems hopefully 10.8.3 will kill the last of them.

I am going to do a last big test and give the computer some time with some more hardcore programs, but I am expecting the Mac Mini to be fine! Thanks everyone in here that have helped me out, as I hope this is the last time i have to post here!

I'l only return if I notice any further problems, which i actually think are finally gone!

Great to hear, thanks for the report! 🙂

I've never been more upset with Apple than I am today. I pre-ordered the 2012 mini the day it was announced. I canceled that order before it shipped because others convinced me to wait and see how the FusionDrive works before committing $1000. I have a 2011 mini, a 2012 MBP, and the latest iPhone/iPad, etc. Heavy Apple user, have spent a lot of money on Apple products.

On December 28th I finally ordered a 2.3Ghz stock, mid-level mini, no FusionDrive. I waited to order it until after Apple announced the patch that would fix the video issues.

Less than 3 weeks after using the mini, it's video output died. It would only give a scrambled variation of black checkered lines (sometimes pink or green instead) upon boot. It would not reach the desktop and would constantly reboot itself, only to show the scrambled video. I tried 3 different monitors, 2 different HDMI cables, and one MDP-DP cable. I did NOT try the Thunderbolt cable as I do not have a Thunderbolt monitor. (it's also important to say that the picture quality of the 2012 mini is awful. The colors are washed out, the whites are overblown, it's like the contrast is much too high. I moved the mini from a 24" 1080p Gateway monitor to a Vizio HDTV, no luck, same awful image. I then bought a $700 Dell 27" 2560x1440 Hi-Res display. I chose the Dell over the Thunderbolt display because the Dell offered multiple inputs so I could connect other computers, an XBox, etc., otherwise I would have bought the Thunderbolt display if it offered the same versatility). So no video on any of the 3 monitors using HDMI or Mini DisplayPort. I used two different HDMI cables to rule out the cable, but only have one MDP-DP cable (I'm not using any adapter).

So I take the mini in to my local Apple store, they hook it up to a Thunderbolt display, no problems. Can't get it to have any issues. They run diagnostics and can't find any issues, it passes every test. I convince them to keep it and run more tests on it. They do. Two days go by, no word from Apple. I call, am told it passed every test and there are no problems, it works perfectly. I pick it up, take it home, and the very first boot it gives me the checkerboard scrambled screen. Constant reboots on the boot screen, never reaches the desktop. I try it again on 3 different monitors using 3 different cables on 2 different outputs. Same issue.

I make another Genius Bar appointment. I'd also like to point out that I take care of my elderly father who has dementia and heart failure and who is also about to have a very serious surgery. I also use my mini to run my business, which I work from home, which is the only way I can take care of my father because that in itself is a full time job. I do not have time to keep taking the mini to Apple when it should work properly to begin with.

So the second Genius Bar appointment features waiting at the bar for 30 minutes after I arrive. Then a nice person comes and starts looking at the machine. I show him pictures on my iPhone and video I took of it booting up to the scrambled screen at home. He hooks the mini up to the Thunderbolt display and it works perfectly. He tells me I should take it home, make another appointment, and this time carry my 27" monitor in with me and all of the cables I use. I ask if he has any other monitor there with a different input to check it on. He finds an old Acer monitor with VGA input, gets an adapter, and viola, it has a scrambled screen. So he goes to talk to the Genius Bar head Genius, and comes back very quickly and tells me, "it turns out this is a known issue with 2012 minis that sometimes they can only display clean video through Thunderbolt output. There is no fix. Apple engineers are aware of it, but we cannot exchange it for another mini." I ask him, "what?" he tells me again, that he is instructed to tell me that I have bought an $800 paperweight (my words, not his), with 3 years of Apple Care, and that there is no fix, I cannot use the mini unless I spend another $1000 on a Thunderbolt display, and even then, the mini cannot use the video outputs (HDMI, MDP) that Apple advertises. This mini is damaged, Apple knows it is damaged, knows that it is their fault, and refuses to do anything for the customer other than take my money and give me nothing. After a few minutes of talking to the Genius, I am offered to exchange it for a new mini of the same model, with the caveat that the issue is likely going to happen to the new model as well. I am also told I cannot have a receipt and there is no return on the new mini. (I bought the mini from an Apple certified distributor B&H Photo on December 28th, it's now January 31st, past the 30 day return policy, so there is no returning it there either). So I now have a new mini that I do not want to even turn on once because it will, according to the Genius, most likely have the same issue and there is no fix.

This is not acceptable. I have been a loyal Apple user for years. I have no interest in giving Apple another penny of my money for any product again. Nor will I become a Windows user. My other option I suppose is to switch to Linux, but I'm not the least bit happy with any of this. Right now I'm using my 2011 mini, which I had planned to sell to pay for most of the 2012 mini. I suppose I will now sell the brand new 2012 mini, which isn't helping anyone because all it's doing is passing this future problem onto another owner, all because Apple cannot engineer a proper, working mini, nor take responsibility for their failure.

Very sad to hear, & unacceptable to me, my only recourse if I could afford another Mac would be a used/older one. 😟

How I got mine working...

I had the problem with my Mac Mini (Late 2012) losing picture every few seconds (then it comes back and loses it again) when I routed its HDMI thru my Denon AV receiver then into my Pioneer TV. It did not have a problem connecting to my TV directly, only when thru the receiver.

I got mine working using a device called "Dr HDMI" which I happened to have anyway. Consequently, I think this is an EDID issue because that's what Dr HDMI tries to address.

Basically I put this device between my Mac Mini and my Denon AVR but I programmed it with the EDID of my Pioneer TV, not the AVR. Normally, the Mac will get the receiver's EDID (and show something like "DENON_AVAMP" in the Displays), but I now see "PIONEER_TV" even though the Mac is connected to the Denon AVR first. Essentially Dr HDMI is sending my TV's EDID straight to the Mini. This solved the problem immediately.

Obviously, I shouldn't have had to do that and I'm not suggesting to get a Dr HDMI or Gefen Detective, Apple should fix this in 10.8.3 hopefully, but I hope they can... It seems to me the Mini is not supporting many devices' EDIDs, especially from receivers. This means you may also be able to hack this with the "Overrides" files if you craft the right contents.

Chris

Just to add; I also have a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard. It does not have a problem connecting to my Denon AVR (no need for Dr HDMI). This is definitely something related to the Mini which is running Mountain Lion.

I posted re: dual monitor problems a few weeks ago after getting my late 2012 Mac Mini w/ Fusion drive.

Before I update my report, I would like to say that other than the monitor/graphic interface issue, the 2012 Mac Mini is a terrific piece of equipment. This is my 3rd Mini and the performance on this puppy is amazing. I loved the concept of the Fusion drive and have been thrilled with the resulting speed and performance.

Overall the Mac operating system (10.8.2) is wonderful software. With sufficient RAM (I have 8 Gigs.) I can set up multiple, task-oriented desktops and switch from one to the other seamlessly. All the apps I use can be open simultaneously. I added a 1 Tetrabyte HD as backup and was able to load thousands of my songs into iTunes and multiple thousands of photos into iPhoto on the Mac Mini HD with automatic backup via Time Machine to my 3-4 oz. backup HD. Really, compared to what was available 10 years ago, this equipment and its software operating system is miraculous and the engineering and design teams that have worked on this should be very proud of themselves.

That said ... I struggled from day one with this new machine in order to use dual monitors. I have two HP 22-inch monitors ... HPw2207 and HPw2207h (yes, the 'h' stands for HDMI). I don't know if HP still makes these monitors. They are especially useful because they can pivot from portrait to landscape mode in a couple of seconds.

I can dispense with further discussion of the HDMI version of the HP monitor because I have yet to get it to work with the new Mac Mini. 😮

Regarding the older DVI-ported HPw2207, I have found that it works good. No color or fade out issues have shown up.

I would say to those having such difficulty with their monitors ... they might try getting something like the HPw2207 which certainly is not as expensive in terms of time and energy as replacing a Mac Mini with a new computer.

Someone else suggested that the biggest problem when trying to use dual monitors with the 2012 Mac Mini is sleep mode. That is exactly what I have found! If I just let the system run and not use the Sleep Energy Saver option, I have NO problems with the monitors. On the other hand, if the system falls to sleep things quickly degenerate into a stupid and irritating game of hitting the right set of randomly chosen keys plus monitor power buttons to see what will wake up the system and both monitors at the same time. Really, it's amazing that this functionality wasn't tested and fixes made before the product went into production.

Anyway, that's my experience. I'm hoping that 10.8.3 will allow me to use the HDMI version of the 2nd monitor simply because it is a newer piece of equipment. If I could put the system to sleep after an hour and get it to come back to life reliably, that would be very nice too!

Given the large number of complaints about this particular problem and the remark by one of the Apple employees -- if accurately conveyed to this forum -- that "you can only display clean output through the Thunderbolt output port", I'd say that eventually there will be a class action to get these machines repaired or to compensate those who bought them thinking that the functionality of the 2012 Mac Mini was downwardly compatable to monitors that had been used with previous versions of the Mac Mini once an appropriate connection adapter was in place between the computer and the monitor.

Thunderbolt to HDMI does NOT fix it for me when going via the Denon receiver. Only the Dr HDMI device did, so my issue was the Mac Mini does not like the EDID returned from the Denon. When I fool it with the Pioneer TV EDID it works fine (just watched an entire film - 1.5 hours, never managed more than a couple of seconds before picture drop out before when connected to the Denon). I just don't want people to assume the Thunderbolt converter is always going to work, I suspect if you are going via a receiver it won't do a thing.

Thanks for the report, hadn't heard of that App. 🙂

Hi

We tried the 27 thunderbolt monitor and it was perfect but with another hp 27 Inch monitor it's awful.

Anything to do with Hdmi is awful.

Only thunderbolt dvi adapter works like my previous 2011 model which you can buy of eBay. I only tried it with my Epson Projector and It performed a miracle.

Can't guarantee it will work for you. Seen Maybe go back to the Apple store with your monitor and try it with this adapter... Will save you from opening your new computer in case you sell it... I'm sure it will probably fix your problem as long as you have DV–I connection on your monitor... Let us know how you get on.

This was my

@slothinker

You're story is not original, unfortunately, it's been repeated throughout these 70 pages. I'm appalled and sorry for your inconvenience. Like you, I'm a total Mac fanatic. I'd never own another PC. But these past 3 months - documented in 70 pages of this forum alone - makes one think twice.

I'm waiting for the next OS upgrade. If the problem still exists, then it's obvious that the HD4000/Intel issue can't be overcome.

I'll either wait until next fall for the NEXT Mini or move on to a Mac Pro or.............I dunno.......

Still, disappointed at Apple.

Thanks.

When I told the Apple Genius that they're falsly advertising the mini as having working HDMI and Display Port output, he suddenly offered to exchange it for a new mini. Which is nice, because it in theory a new mini works, but I still don't want to open the mini up because he said three times, this is a known issue and Apple does not officially allow a hardware exchange when it happens, and it is most likely going to happen again. So if/when it happens again, I'm left with a non-working computer, unless I'm willing to spend another $1,000 to upgrade to a Thunderbolt display. That sounds like classic bait and switch, which is illegal. I'm waiting to talk to Apple and see if they will resolve this problem. This is my business computer, I'm just not willing to go back and use the 2012 mini knowing that it's going to freeze up and become unusable on me again.

Apple has severely damaged their reputation to me personally for this and I've been one of the biggest Apple supporters around. I've converted almost all of my friends and closest family to become Mac users over the years. I'm not interested in giving Apple any more of my business after this. I don't know what I'll do when I need another computer/phone/tablet but I'll cross that bridge later. I just know that it's unlikely to be an Apple product, and I can't in good conscience recommend an Apple product to anyone.