2018 Mac Mini bluetooth and Wi-Fi interference

That is a good point. I 'assumed' it work as well or better than the 2015 product, as I also assume others have. I may just return it while I still have time if this is one of their normal 'first release' problems.

I replaced my first Mac Mini and the replacement is definitely better but not perfect. The system still loses the mouse and occasionally locks for a minute and then unlocks--something is wrong for sure.

I too am on my second Mini and the second one is better but I have yet to get it working as well as my other Apple products. My desk has now everything spread out and looks a mess to trying and improve it.

same problem here! super anoying

used the bigh magic keyboard before and returned it, then bought keyboard and mouse from logitech because i thought the keyboard caused the issue. Nothing changed... mouse and keyboard loosed connectivity for 1-2 minutes and then everything works normal again. Happend couple times a day

I did not know about option key + WiFi icon gave that type of information. That is cool.

I have attached screenshots. When it was done the two computers were physically about 6 inches from one another.

I want to also note that prior to doing this, I reset the follwoing:

(1) Bluetooth Module

Press shift-option and click on bluetooth icon,

then select debug -> Reset the bluetooth module)

(2) SMC

Shut down computer, then press power button and hold for 10 seconds,

then release, then press power button for 1 second to turn on computer.

After doing these the WiFi speed improved somewhat, from 2 Mbps to 10 Mbps. However, this is still half the WiFi speed that I am getting from the laptop at the same location.

Now, to the WiFi diagnostics. It is interesting to see that the Mac Mini actually has a stronger WiFi signal at -59 dBm (lower negative number is stronger) compared to the laptop WiFi which is -66 dBM. However, the noise on the Mac Mini is much higher at -74 dBM versus -93 dBm.

Can someone please explain what this means?

Hey Chris, did ordering a 5Ghz modem resolve the 2.4 interference for you? I'm trying to make a decision on whether to buy a brand new V2 magic mouse that might work more reliably bluetooth-wise with my 2018 macbook pro than my v1 one (constant disconnects), or whether to get a new router instead that will support 5Ghz. Thank you!

Hey Chris, thanks a lot for your response! I do have my wifi printer ('Brother' in that case) next to me, so that might be something to consider and try out. As for monitor cables, I'm currently using thunderbolt to display port - which does a great job in and of itself. You know how frustrating it feels to buy a new Apple system and then things really don't work... so I've been up and down the forums and (after trying all the software-stuff like debugging, resetting, clearing, reinstalling OSX etc) it seems it all comes down to either V2 Magic Mouse and Keyboard or 5Ghz network. If you say you got the latter and it works, perhaps it's thanks to that now? I just don't feel I want to throw €250 at Apple for new Mouse and Keyboard when the old ones work perfectly with all other computers - and when a 5 Ghz router would be 'only' €80,- by comparison. I just don't wanna make another futile investment.

It's asking for the password to your router. All most recent routers have security in the form of 2 or 3 methods. Apple wants you to use the WPA2 version. Usually you can find it on the bottom of your router (or combo modem router). As soon as you give this you will connect.

Warren, thx for the reply and info, but I have one problem in that it's not pairing from set up. I am now on my old Mac Mini and it works fine, but when I swap mini's I can't get past making an account on the new one. So I am still at the set up screens. I can't get to any area where I can do anything. I did replace batteries and hold down power button till I got a blinking light, but nada. I am going to go get a USB keyboard for now I guess but I'm torn whether I should just return it because I'm afraid the BT will be a long term issue. I am in kinda rural Spain in the mountains at the moment so it is a long drive to go get anything which makes it an even bigger pain.

Same problem here. I had thought that the Mac Mini 2018 was one of the few products that Apple were producing that didn't have an engineering defect in it. Apparently it isn't. I have a MacBook Pro as well as my Mini, any possible interference would affect that machine as well, as it sits DIRECTLY above where my Mini is located for most of the day. It has NONE of the same issues. Bent iPads, failing keyboards, internal cables that break, batteries that are suddenly being drained at a rapid rate on iOS devices, the list of hardware and software failures at this stage with Apple is too long to even list. I'm done with them. If they can't get their act together and make hardware and software free of defects, I'll spend my money elsewhere.

I’ve finally waved the white flag on this and purchased an Alienware 17R5 laptop for daily duties. The Mac Mini is now purely used for managing my photo library as I’ve not yet been able to find a suitable mechanism to relocate my photos into a Windows based application.

The 17R5 runs rings round the Mac for daily duties, faster to boot up, better for running Office apps, hugely better for games, but still suffers the occasional Windows OS quirk (one of which is supporting a .Mac mail address).

I've switched my MacMini to Ethernet, but the mouse performance on Bluetooth is still pitiful in respect of range and consistency, it’s started eating batteries which suggests there is a connectivity issue, the boot up time is terrible given the boot drive is SSD and all media is off board on an external SSD connected via thunderbolt. I run almost no extra apps beyond what the computer arrived with so it’s not filled with crap, and the boot SSD has at least 60% capacity remaining. Apps hang unexpectedly (iPhoto / Mail), so on the whole it’s been a fairly unsatisfactory ownership experience compared to my 2014 Mini.

Will try try and wrap the USB-C cable I am using for a hub (SD card slot & additional USB 3 ports), and if it doesn’t improve I’ll see if I can remove it until I need to use it.

Somewhat reassured it's not just my machine that is showing issues, but many thanks to everyone on here for the shared experiences and input, it’s much more helpful than Apple’s support.

Having same issue with Bluetooth consistency after moving from mini 2012 to 2018. Can you share what device was causing the interference?

Exactly the same here plus when it does work incredibly slow WiFi Speeds. All the other Macs and MacBook Pro are fine, not feeling the love....

I also have problems with my apple bluetooth mouse dropping on my new 2018 mac mini, however i'm not using wifi.