Hi everyone! I recently picked up a new M1 Mac Mini and, while the machine is fast as hell, I'm having some strange issues with USB. First I noticed that my USB printer would randomly disconnect and, even after a reboot, wasn't detected until I unplugged and replugged it in. Then I noticed a similar issue with my older Apple USB keyboard + USB mouse (connected to hub on the keyboard) where it would also randomly disconnect. I actually mistook the disconnection of the USB keyboard/mouse for a system freeze. I was able to SSH into the machine and reboot it from the command line, and the keyboard/mouse were still not detected even after the reboot. I had to unplug the keyboard and plug it back in before it would work again. I'm really frustrated at this point. I really feel like a hardware beta tester. Anyone else experiencing these strange issues?
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M1 Mac Mini USB issues
- Thread starter m1k3e
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Just wondering... in the energy saver pref pane... is the option to "put hard disks to sleep when possible" UN-checked?
Actually, I would suggest you DISABLE computer sleep entirely. Also in energy saver, DO put a checkmark into "prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off".
Just "sleep" the display.
With the new Minis, the difference in power consumed when "sleeping" vis-a-vis when "alive, but idle" is so small as to be almost nothing at all.
At night, power it down and reboot in the morning.
Note:
My recommendations above are based on an energy saver pref pane from Mojave. Big Sur -might- have changed things around. YMMV...
Actually, I would suggest you DISABLE computer sleep entirely. Also in energy saver, DO put a checkmark into "prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off".
Just "sleep" the display.
With the new Minis, the difference in power consumed when "sleeping" vis-a-vis when "alive, but idle" is so small as to be almost nothing at all.
At night, power it down and reboot in the morning.
Note:
My recommendations above are based on an energy saver pref pane from Mojave. Big Sur -might- have changed things around. YMMV...
Have an update for everyone. It seems like the problem can be traced back to the keyboard that I was using, the Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard. Apparently there are *A LOT* of issues using this keyboard on Big Sur on the M1 Mac Mini, see https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252138598. Funny that some of the comments in that thread basically boils down to "just buy a new keyboard" 
unreal that a keyboard/hub that works on pretty much every other OS doesn't work correctly on Apple's latest macOS. I submitted a bug report, so let's see where that goes.
unreal that a keyboard/hub that works on pretty much every other OS doesn't work correctly on Apple's latest macOS. I submitted a bug report, so let's see where that goes.I believe it's not the keyboard. The USB bus on these new M1 Mac Minis is crap. Although the Mac is fast, the bus is slower than an older Intel model.
Audio output through my PreSonus AudioBox USB96 stuttered like crazy but before splashing out on an expensive Thunderbolt dock to address it I grabbed an Apple USB-B to USB-C adaptor to use the USB-C bus. *Almost* totally eradicated the problem. It should help the keyboard a lot. I know it sucks but get one, plug a USB hub into it and your USB issues should improve. Of course, you will lose a Thunderbolt port - of which the MacMini has only two so, if you need both those then a Thunderbolt dock like the OWC might be the answer.
Audio output through my PreSonus AudioBox USB96 stuttered like crazy but before splashing out on an expensive Thunderbolt dock to address it I grabbed an Apple USB-B to USB-C adaptor to use the USB-C bus. *Almost* totally eradicated the problem. It should help the keyboard a lot. I know it sucks but get one, plug a USB hub into it and your USB issues should improve. Of course, you will lose a Thunderbolt port - of which the MacMini has only two so, if you need both those then a Thunderbolt dock like the OWC might be the answer.
I have had a number of those keyboards and always really liked them, was sad to see it discontinued. However, it has always been a little weird. I had strange problems using it with my 2013 MacBook Air, it would work perfectly for months, then one day it would no longer work. But if I plugged it into the other USB port, it would work again. Awhile later, the same thing would happen and it would start working again if I switched USB ports. Was very frustrating. Did some Googling back then and found a number of similar complaints.
That thread on Apple's discussion forum actually makes a lot of sense - sounds like the problem is related to the voltage supplied by the USB port. If you want to continue using it, perhaps just get a powered USB hub as people suggested in that thread.
After the 11.3 update sometimes audio starts to stutter either video or music. I have tried all methods (removing add-ins to the bare minimum) to stop the stuttering to no avail. However, strangely in safe mode it seems to be ok.
Any suggestion?
Any suggestion?