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HDMI Port No Longer Working After Update to macOS 11 Big Sur

Count me in as another 2018 Mac Mini on 11.2.3 with broken HDMI. I had it on 10.14.6 and hooked up to an LG CX 65" with zero issues. Did a full reformat and set up as new of 11.2.3 and while HDMI worked, I do have the Mac Mini set to automatically restart at 4AM (running a server) and today I noticed that the HDMI doesn't work at all no matter what configuration/troubleshooting I did.

I do run my Mac Mini in headless mode since it's a server and honestly it's a minor inconvenience but I would like the HDMI port to be working as it's plugged into the TV!
 
I reset my SMC again and this time the third display (Samsung 4k tv) connected to HDMI port was recognized. I don't recall I had to go out of my way to synchronize but just left the 4v on and connected. When I restarted my Mac Mini 2018 without the SMC to test it recognized the third display. the Samsung 4K tv, off of the HDMI port-=so I know have 3 displays up with the other benefits of Big Sur.
 
Sorry-stopped working. SMC reset didn't do nuttin. Down to two screens again--t3 and then USB-C to HDMI
 
I’m still running on Catalina. If I decide to upgrade to Big Sur again, I might consider just using a USB-C to HDMI adapter and call it a day. :mad:
 
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r.d said:
Looking forward to the result!
Click to expand...

Can confirm that 11.3 *did* fix the HDMI issue for me! Just did about 5-7 restarts/shut downs and every single time, my TV detected the Mac Mini correctly. Resolution is properly detected and stays the same both on TV and over screen sharing.

Finally!!
 
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secretanchitman said:
Can confirm that 11.3 *did* fix the HDMI issue for me! Just did about 5-7 restarts/shut downs and every single time, my TV detected the Mac Mini correctly. Resolution is properly detected and stays the same both on TV and over screen sharing.

Finally!!
Click to expand...
Awesome!! :eek:

Maybe I can finally attempt to upgrade again LoL
 
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So count me in to having the issue discussed here.

I have my mac mini (late 2014) connected through an AV receiver to my Samsung TV. I connect using screen sharing from my MacBook from 2016. Has been working great on Catalina but after upgrading to Big Sur including 11.3 this does not work anymore.

When I go into Display settings it seem to be flicking like its having a hard time detecting my TV. Tried to do all the things I have read about but nothing seem to be working. Frustrated!

Havent really found anyone having the issues with the AV receiver in the chain. Anybody here who have heard of someone having this issue or is it sort of the same as everybody else?
 
Kengu027 said:
So count me in to having the issue discussed here.

I have my mac mini (late 2014) connected through an AV receiver to my Samsung TV. I connect using screen sharing from my MacBook from 2016. Has been working great on Catalina but after upgrading to Big Sur including 11.3 this does not work anymore.

When I go into Display settings it seem to be flicking like its having a hard time detecting my TV. Tried to do all the things I have read about but nothing seem to be working. Frustrated!

Havent really found anyone having the issues with the AV receiver in the chain. Anybody here who have heard of someone having this issue or is it sort of the same as everybody else?
Click to expand...
I got tired of it so I downgraded to Catalina and all is well again :).
 
Confirming that the new update (Big Sur 11.3.1) has fixed the issue; both monitors are up and running after turning the Mac Mini 2018 on. Needs to be said that it worked for a brief moment with the last update as well, but then after a week or so it stopped working. But good for now. Another small thing is that the desktop background sometimes changes to default, but that is also happening when I normally plug in the second monitor after starting up. Good luck with the update everyone and hopefully this issue is fixed permanently now.
 
Well Big Sur 11.3.1 has broken my HDMI monitor. I have a triple setup, 2 identical monitors on USB-C to HDMI on the outsides working great. The centre monitor is off.

EDIT: Reset PRAM fixed it.
 
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So I decided to install Big Sur 11.3.1 on an external SSD and keep Catalina on my internal. Installed and booted... and only 1 monitor working. Seriously, Apple??

What I did find interesting is that Display settings in System Preferences was showing 2 monitors connected. So I unplugged the HDMI monitor, and Display settings was still showing it was connected and the mouse was able to go 'off-screen' as if it was connected.

Said screw this and booted back to Catalina. Honestly, here we are 6 months later and this still isn't fixed. The Mac mini is a computer which REQUIRES external monitors to be used. Considering escalating this higher up to Apple...
 
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Just posted this. Should have looked at recent activity more closely-sorry….

New to this forum. I have the 2018 mini, minimum configuration Ig sur I just start experiencing this intermittent hdmi problem. It hs gone from intermittent to frequent in 2 days. Monitor is an older Dell Ultrasharp with DVIand Displayport inputs. I use a DVI-HDMI adapter on the monitor - no cable. HDMI cable is an older Apple branded cable. I had tried a promotional CLDAY USBC to 2xHDMI splitter a few months back. It didn’t deliver extended mode 3 suport but allows me to connect my monitor via a thunderbolt port. Works flawlessly. Back to support I guess.
 
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r.d said:
So I decided to install Big Sur 11.3.1 on an external SSD and keep Catalina on my internal. Installed and booted... and only 1 monitor working. Seriously, Apple??

What I did find interesting is that Display settings in System Preferences was showing 2 monitors connected. So I unplugged the HDMI monitor, and Display settings was still showing it was connected and the mouse was able to go 'off-screen' as if it was connected.

Said screw this and booted back to Catalina. Honestly, here we are 6 months later and this still isn't fixed. The Mac mini is a computer which REQUIRES external monitors to be used. Considering escalating this higher up to Apple...
Click to expand...

I escalated this issue with Apple Support.

Internal SSD: Catalina (HDMI working fine)
External SSD: Big Sur (HDMI not working at all)

Spent 3 weeks with Apple Support and have sent them logs from both OS instances. Finally the 'engineers' came back and said they couldn't find anything, and that I should visit the Apple Store for possible hardware issue. :mad:

Solution: I bought a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter and using the other input on my monitor and it works fine. Only con is using up an extra USB-C port, but whatever. Don't have time to deal with Genius Bar for them to say nothing is wrong.
 
To bad there are two, maybe more, threads going on this. I took my Mini into the Genius Bar and they said it ran fine for 2 or 3 hours on their test bench. I ask asked what monitor, and the tech said it was just some low end Samsung unit to keep the testing close to customers real world. Makes sense. I brought the unit home and have been running on TB to HDMI until yesterday. I just posted my earlier experience on this issue - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-mini-2018-hdmi-failes-after-os-upgrade-patch.2221573/page-9, and basically can update that since the 11.4 update, I have one LG 27MP35 running successfully, well overnight, on HDMI to HDMI. My Main is a basic 2018 i3, 8GB ram, 128GB SSD. Model identifier Macmini8,1. Of note, when I connect my Dell U2412Mb, the OS continues to report the LG, causing totally bad video. Incidentally, I bought a CLDAY TB to 2xHDMI splitter adapter to try and I get the same crappy video on the Dell. I can get the 2 monitors to coexist, but it takes some messing around which I should document but haven't. A long way from the Mac we have used so effortlessly in the past. Are Apple and LG up to something? Are there not internal logs that capture these events?
 
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theunk said:
Of note, when I connect my Dell U2412Mb, the OS continues to report the LG, causing totally bad video.
Click to expand...

I had something similar happen too while booted into Big Sur using HDMI. The Mac was recognizing that there were 2 monitors connected, but one wasn't physically plugged into the Mac. During a Screen Sharing session with Apple Support, they were able to see 2 screens even though I had only one monitor connected. Though, after restarting, it never happened again.

It's definite that there are issues with Big Sur and external monitors. It sucks for us since the Mac mini REQUIRES external monitors to be used.
 
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r.d said:
I escalated this issue with Apple Support.

Internal SSD: Catalina (HDMI working fine)
External SSD: Big Sur (HDMI not working at all)

Spent 3 weeks with Apple Support and have sent them logs from both OS instances. Finally the 'engineers' came back and said they couldn't find anything, and that I should visit the Apple Store for possible hardware issue. :mad:

Solution: I bought a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter and using the other input on my monitor and it works fine. Only con is using up an extra USB-C port, but whatever. Don't have time to deal with Genius Bar for them to say nothing is wrong.
Click to expand...
Which adapter did you buy? Thanks.
 
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The 11.4 update seems to have brought my HDMI port back to the land of the living. All of my video is working the way it should. I purchased a UGREEN HDMI to DVI cable and replaced the HDMI to DVI adapter plug. Hoping that eliminating one HDMI connection will give a cleaner connection.
I hope everyone is finding their HDMI output issues resolved.
 
I have a 2018 Mac mini (Intel, of course) with two monitors. One is a 4k Dell plugged in via HDMI cable to the HDMI port on the mini. The other is an older Dell plugged in via a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter and an HDMI-DVI cable. Ever since upgrading to Big Sur, I've had problems getting both monitors to work. With both monitors plugged in, the 4k monitor stays black on boot and after I log in. I was able to workaround this by unplugging the USB-C-to-HDMI adapter, booting, logging in, then plugging the adapter back in. That got both monitors working, but was a real pain.

I think I finally have a more reasonable workaround, though. Yesterday, I worked with Apple support on this and they had me delete my windowserver preferences files, located at:
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist
/Users/[me]/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.windowserver.*.plist

Then, they had me shutdown and reset NVRAM (holding Option-Command-P-R for two chimes). This fixed the problem temporarily, but if I restart or let the computer sleep I will lose the 4k monitor again.

Even without the preferences files, restarting seems to always leave me with one monitor. However, shutting down and cold booting seems to result in both monitors working (after I log in, anyway).

So, my recommendations are:
1. Shutdown and power on again instead of restarting
2. Set your Energy Saver prefs so the computer doesn't go to sleep. (Display sleep seems to be OK.)
3. Delete the preferences files I listed above if necessary.
4. Reset your NVRAM if necessary.
 
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r.d said:
www.amazon.ca

USB C to DisplayPort Adapter, CHOETECH USB Type-C(Thunderbolt 3 Compatible) to DisplayPort Cable(4K@60Hz) for 2018/2017 MacBook, MacBook Pro, 2017 iMac, ChromeBook Pixel, Samsung, Huawei and More

USB C to DisplayPort Adapter, CHOETECH USB Type-C(Thunderbolt 3 Compatible) to DisplayPort Cable(4K@60Hz) for 2018/2017 MacBook, MacBook Pro, 2017 iMac, ChromeBook Pixel, Samsung, Huawei and More
www.amazon.ca
Click to expand...
I solved this for my MBP 2020 four TB4 ports, TID to Dell 3008WFP (roughly equivalent to Apple's discontinued 30 inch cinema display, with a cable that is TB4/USBC on one end, and DisplayPort on the other. Only some users will have an available port for each end of such a cable. It is a work-around, not a solution. It amazes me that this has been going on for so long, and that even Apple Senior Advisors are so uninformed about it. What in the world did they do to their internal HDMI firmware to screw up so many users, and why such stonewalling on their end? Do I smell a class-action suit?

WARRKY 10 foot cable $18

My heart goes out to users with very expensive mission-critical displays that they bought just before Big Sur… What pressure, disappointment, and, well, rage.
 
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sbleon said:
I have a 2018 Mac mini (Intel, of course) with two monitors. One is a 4k Dell plugged in via HDMI cable to the HDMI port on the mini. The other is an older Dell plugged in via a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter and an HDMI-DVI cable. Ever since upgrading to Big Sur, I've had problems getting both monitors to work. With both monitors plugged in, the 4k monitor stays black on boot and after I log in. I was able to workaround this by unplugging the USB-C-to-HDMI adapter, booting, logging in, then plugging the adapter back in. That got both monitors working, but was a real pain.

I think I finally have a more reasonable workaround, though. Yesterday, I worked with Apple support on this and they had me delete my windowserver preferences files, located at:
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist
/Users/[me]/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.windowserver.*.plist

Then, they had me shutdown and reset NVRAM (holding Option-Command-P-R for two chimes). This fixed the problem temporarily, but if I restart or let the computer sleep I will lose the 4k monitor again.

Even without the preferences files, restarting seems to always leave me with one monitor. However, shutting down and cold booting seems to result in both monitors working (after I log in, anyway).

So, my recommendations are:
1. Shutdown and power on again instead of restarting
2. Set your Energy Saver prefs so the computer doesn't go to sleep. (Display sleep seems to be OK.)
3. Delete the preferences files I listed above if necessary.
4. Reset your NVRAM if necessary.
Click to expand...

I had the problem both on MacOS 11 and 12. I realise that it is now a year that we have this problem since Big Sur.

I did a clean install, went back to 11.4 and the problem remains. I have no words for how terrible this is.
 
My case on July 14th 2021.
• Mac mini 2018
• macOS 11.4 (20F71)

What works:
• 2 LG (4K) monitors connected via Thunderbolt->HDMI

What doesn't work:
• HDMI port partially work but the most useless way possible: it can detect a display but can't display anything. To undetect a display, it's complicated: I have to make sure the monitor is OFF before I disconnect the cable, and then the system detects that it's been unplugged. (It's implied that if I disconnect the HDMI cable while the monitor is on, the mac mini will act as if it's always connected, even if I plug another different monitor: only solution then is to reboot — or bear a ghost monitor...)
• it doesn't matter if one of my LG (4K) monitors is connected on that HDMI port, or if it's a Samsung 4K. It doesn't matter if it's 2 monitors in total or if it's 3.
 
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