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HDMI & Bluetooth issues

T

ttopp83

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 19, 2021
5
1
Edinburgh
Hi
I have a 2018(2020 revision) i7 mini.
If I have anything plugged into the USB ports my bluetooth connected devices start to judder and go haywire, this is solved if I unplug everything connected.

My HDMI issues are that after a while when I turn my tv (Panasonic oled) on and go to the source my mini is plugged into I just get a black screen. This is sometimes solved by unplugging the HDMI cable and replugging it but it usually needs a SMC reset (unplug the mini hold the power button for 10 sec then plug power back in wait 20ish seconds) also I thought a pram reset would help but doesn't. I have a thunderbolt adaptor that always works but due to the bluetooth issues makes using the mini a total pain. Also the adaptor only does 30fps..

I have seen threads on this seems to be a some get some don't issue. Is the only real fix a bluetooth dongle and a thunderbolt to hdmi adaptor?? Surely the computers not functioning as it should be, this is a hardware issue no??
 
bluetooth issues may be related to USB3 interferecne. Google "USB3 Bluetooth interference" and first answer explains the issue here. Not much which can be done, this is frequency issues. And BT on mini sucks to start with...
HDMI is nightmare for many, including me. There seems to be some issues related to compatibilities. Even different for cables from same companies. I tried multiple HDMI cables, thunderbolt to HDMI cables, and thunderbolt - HDMI adapters for my new i5 mini and M1 mini. I brought from work something like 10-15 different cables & combinations. No rhyme and reason, but eventually found for each combination of computer-display one which works. Cable which works for my M1-monitor does not work for my i5-TV, so it is real nightmare. No idea why.
 
So the mini's HDMI failed again nothing was fixing it, took it to the apple store and it displayed straight away..

Dumbfounded...

I tried safe boots, pram and SMC resets nothing worked, no out from the HDMI. The mini does out from a thunderbolt dongle though. but the HDMI port displayed at the apple store no problem..Grrr

So it done it again yesterday no HDMI out put, as it does, this is a clean bigsur install fully updated nothing else installed on the mini, this time a pram reset fixed it. but it shouldn't be happening at all..

Any one have any ideas?? Apple doesn't seem to want to get involved if they can't recreate it there and then but as I've told them its intermittent and I can't find a trigger it just randomly stops.
 
I suspect this is not Apple issue (only) but Apple-vs-TV manufacturer issue. My mini (same 2018/2020 i5 bought in February this year) started to wake up with display much better last week without any change in macOS (or TV settings). It looks to me that TV got firmware update and that improved the HDMI behavior. Since this worked at Apple on their "standard" HDMI, they are likely going to blame your TV, and they may be right. Apple is known to build things "to standard" while generic manufacturers (often making even brand name TVs) are known to "tweak" standards.
 
Well third time is a charm. Getting a new logic board. I took a few videos of the problem and had one when it was working for comparison. Many different TVs, cables and dongles to show it was the HDMI port on the Mini.

I could always get a display on a dongle even with the cheapest HDMI cable I own.

The attitude of the apple store employee I found distasteful though. terms like "good will" when its clearly faulty and "if the new board shows the same issues it is not the Mini its your environment, accessories or cables." if ones faulty other could be too (it should be all sorted with the board change though), I just find the attitude of saying before even any issues arise that its not the Minis fault to be terrible. If issues do arise an investigation will find the fault not a peremptive excuse/opinion.
 
So I got my mini back after the logic board replacement and when I plugged it in all worked :).

When I plugged in the dongle to with the other HDMI the mini did the screen flicker like when you attach another monitor to an iMac or MacBook. That didn't happen on the faulty one before so all looked good :)

Then a kernel panic.. No seen one o them for ages, then a couple o days later another. Then stuck in a boot loop of "your machine shut down due to an error" restart.

So now in for another new board.

Maybe the scratch on the case was the new board being dropped on it before installation lol..
 
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