Mac Mini (2018) Serious Monitor Issue

Ok so i resolved my issue.

the mac mini is using hdcp 2.2 but probably not a perfect way, due to the graphic card intel uhd 630. My receiver is old from 2010, and it’s using hdcp 1.4.

i was sure the issue came from there. So my goal was to find a solution to convert the signal hdcp 2.2 to hdcp 1.4 or remove hdcp completely.

i tried both. First try, i used a converter bi directionnal hdcp 2.2 to hdcp 1.4, the results was not good , no pictures at all, just snow.

second try, i bought a cheap splitter hdmi hdcp 1.3. These splitters are used to duplicate display on two monitors. Me, i dont care to use it for this purpose. I am using it because it removes the hdcp signal...

so i am plugging hdmi cable from the hdmi port of the mac to the splitter hdmi, and i am using only one hdmi out of the splitter to go to my yamaha receiver. Worked like a charm. (5hours tested)

the only difference is coming from mojave. Mojave is not recognizing anymore my epson projector connected to the receiver, but its showing the splitter name.

about apple, i am so disapointed by them.

4 weeks of testing. No ideas, nothing good! Everything came from me, only from me, and people from this chat even if it didnt work.

it’s a shame for a product about more than 2k. No ingenieers, nobody in the genius bar, nobody could help a thing.

they didnt diagnostic good.

thats insane. A huge shame to me.

I just got my first Mac Mini/Mac Desktop and i'm having the same issues with 4K monitors. After messing with settings and finding out that something is keeping the video card from running, so i decided to turn off FileValut. Reason why did that because it seemed weird the monitors wouldn't come on, but when i first set it up the MacMini and rebooted a few times it worked perfectly. The only thing i did after setting it up was enabled FileVault. So i powered on my Mac and waited a 30 seconds then clicked my mouse and type in my password like i always do on my MBP. That worked and i was able to see it fire up and my displays worked.

So disabling FileFault is what I did but its for sure not the most ideal fix. I would love to have my hard drive encrypted, but it resolved it for me for now. Guess i'll have to use another way to encrypt the hard drive to see if that breaks it as well. Thought i would share that with anyone that is wanting to test it out.

The waking the MacMini after a long sleep is a common problem I see. I have had my MacMini 2018 since early December. I bought an ASUS PA29Q display and thought at first the display was defective. I tried connecting with both Thunderbolt and HDMI. I tried all four HDMI inputs on display with brand new high speed cables. I know it is not the display because it connects on all inputs with my iPads. I have found that for the most part it is just a very slow waking up and connecting MacMini problem. It takes me anywhere from 45 seconds to 2 minutes for display to work. This is after moving keys on wired keyboard, moving Magic Stupid Mouse and clicking it a few times and turning display off and then on. These steps work better than anything else I have tried or read about on different forums. But--once in a while--nothing works and I spend upwards of an hour getting MacMini to connect. I am not happy with Apple right now. I miss my MacPro 2012 tower.

My wakes have worked perfectly since day 1 with my Dell HDMI monitor + Apple Trackpad + Numeric Keyboard.

It could be your keyboard/mouse. Consider investing in an Apple Trackpad II + Magic Keyboard, worth the money even if it doesn’t fix your problem. You could also try disabling the ECO setting on the Asus. All the best.

Thank you for your response. I don't think I will try the Apple Trackpad because many on other forums are having a disconnect problem with that on their MacMini 2018. I do have a Magic Keyboard still paired with my Mac Pro 2012 tower in case I need to access it again in the near future. I will use it when I finally discard tower. The ASUS ECO setting has been disabled from early on. Don't see that it makes any difference. I have a wired apple keyboard right now, so there is no reason it should fail to wake up the mini. The mouse stays connected as I use it even though many are complaining about numerous disconnects. Only when battery is low is that a problem, but that has always been the case even with MacPro. The only display that wakes up promptly is an older 24 in Apple Cinema that I keep on hand for emergencies. It has a dvi input which works with an adaptor. I can't stand using it because I am used to a 30" Apple Cinema that I tried to use with the Mini. I found a dual link adaptor to Thunderbolt 2 and an then to USB C 3.1. Worked for 3 weeks and then adaptor failed. I then purchased the ASUS 29 inch monitor. I use photoshop and Lightroom as well as a number of other programs and need to have screen space. I have noticed on forums that those having problems usually have larger displays. Don't know if that is the reason or not, but it does not seem to matter which manufacturer. You don't say what size your display is. But thanks anyway for the suggestions.

Doesn't matter, the USB on the Mini is sleeping and ignoring. Apple discriminates against non-Apple peripherals on its USB (which might explain why the Cinema gets a wake-up call and not the Asus). Listen, wired keyboards are Apple legacy, I would get rid of it.

hcsitas, I tried my wireless Apple keyboard and it does help. It is still a bit slow to wake up, but thanks again for the suggestions. It is the best thing I have tried so far. I still usually have to press the power button the the mini, but that is easy enough to do. I sometimes have to turn display off, then on again, but that too is very simple because the on/off button is close to me on the display.

Great to hear! Try disconnecting the hub entirely and see if there’s improvement.

If not, try a brand new Apple Trackpad/keyboard. The Mac Mini 2018 scorns legacy stuff and ding-dong dongles, we know that for a fact. So a new Trackpad/kb might well fix it for good. Make sure you have a no-questions money-back return. Good luck!

@dan182j This is an interesting observation as I had a similar situation with an LG 4k display (LG 27UK850-W). Everything was fine for a few days before I started having issues and I remember waiting a few days before enabling FileValut. I have not done troubleshooting (time limitations) to see if this resolves my issue. I've discovered a different work-around that is working for me for the time being.

For those interested, the work around is this: I have disabled the MacMini from sleeping but I do let the display sleep after some minutes of inactivity. If I want to shutdown the mini, so long as I press the power button on the monitor first and then the Mac, the display is able to capture the signal from the mac and work properly. I have the monitor connected via the USB-C cable.

Same issue on a 2018 Mac Mini with a Dell U2515h and S2417DG connected and FileVault enabled. A generic USB keyboard and mouse are plugged into the U2515h's hub. The U2515h is connected using a Cable Matters USB C to DisplayPort cable and wakes up every time, working flawlessly.

The S2417DG is connected via the HDMI port and only wakes about 25% of the time. It flickers and starts displaying again after 2-3 minutes, though the process seems to be sped up by unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable. Tried three different HDMI cables and all experience the same issue. The S2417DG has no issues when connected via DisplayPort, but I use that port for another PC, so I'd prefer if it worked over HDMI.

I tried to download the 10.14.4 public beta in hopes that it may include a fix, but it appears the 10.14.3 supplemental update has made the beta inaccessible (as it is now the latest update).

I have display issues as well, i have 2 ASUS monitor and when using HDMI + Thunderbolt usually the secondary display will take about 5-10 seconds before it displays. during the time the secondary display simply is static and not receiving signal from the mini. When i tried 2 Thunderbolt to monitor it works fine.

Mac mini 2018

I7

8GB RAM.

My case is already 2months old. I think they simply don't care anymore as long as they sold the product.

Updated to the 10.14.4 Dev Beta 3 that came out today; the issue isn't resolved. I'm going to buy a USB C to HDMI cable to use with the monitor, but it's annoying that I have to spend $17 on another cable and waste a Thunderbolt port when any standard HDMI cable should have worked fine.

Most things I have tried work intermittently. Two days ago, I purchased a display port to usb c cable and so far it has worked perfectly on my ASUS 32" 4K monitor. The monitor wakes up as soon as I touch the mouse or keyboard. I had been using HDMI. Perhaps that is the problem for the Mac Mini 2018. It is interesting that when my new display would not wake, I could plug in my old 24" Apple Cinema using a dvi to HDMI cable and have it work perfectly every time. Irritating as heck. Of course, my old Apple Cinema 30" dual link display will not work, even with a dual like dvi to HDMi cable. Too bad. It is a better display than the new ASUS.

hdmi is the prob for me. this is quite a disappointment as until now this issue is still not fixed. what works for me is 2 usb to hdmi to my asus monitors.

in addition from time to time primary display and 2ndary display switches which is really annoying. apple support stopped calling me already.

apple never realized how horrible apple support is until last month

Sounds very similar to my problem. Did you ever solve with your Alienware? Is it the AW3418DW? I have a brand new i7 Mac Mini, currently on day 7 of my 14 day return window. Major problems with my Alienware AW3418DW. I use the DisplayPort input for my gaming rig. Always flawless. So left with HDMI input (despite the limitation of being @ 50hz) for Mac Mini 2018. Seems to take some serious voodoo to get video to light up. I can even go into the monitor and see display Info that it's running/receiving 3440x1440 @ 50hz (versus no signal!)... just that the screen is black. No video output from Mac mini. Sometimes I can solve by unplugging the HDMI cable from the Mini, waiting a few seconds, then plugging back in. Other times if unplug the power cord of the monitor, then plugging back in. And other times my mashing my all my keys gently for like 30 seconds. None of these steps are reproducible. Thus, the voodoo feeling. I'm on to my third cable, arriving today. Yesterday received a brand new high speed HDMI from Amazon. No change. Today going to try USB-C to HDMI, just in case that's different. I should add that I've already wiped the machine with CMD-R and re-installed the latest Mohave from scratch that way. No difference.

I'd LOVE to solve this. Other that this fatal video problem, a brilliant machine for my needs!

(I realize I could go out and blow $200+ on a displayport switcher, but that would likely introduce problems in my 120hz PC connection. And I feel the mini should just, you know, work.)

H-E-L-P! ;-)