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Problem has been there since release... Apple has been aware of it for quite some time.

What is different now is more people have been buying the M1s so the complaints have gone up since release.
 
This is not a new issue. I've seen exactly this for nearly a decade with my 2012 Mac Mini as well as the Mac Mini I had before that (don't remember the year).

The frequent-enough-to-be-really-annoying issue of waking to a "No Connection" message on an external monitor (and having to remote desktop my way in to save open files and reboot) is one of the reasons my new computer is an iMac instead of another Mac Mini.
Agree 100%, have had this problem for years with my old Mini Server (2011) and a Levono 27" 4k monitor.
It never wakes the monitor from sleep, not even unplugging and replugging the mini DP cable.
Always had to restart the mini.
Now I have disabled sleep mode and just turn the monitor off and on manually.
I'm ready to update my Mini but it won't be to another one until I know this problem is 100% sorted... :(
 
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My 2018 Mac mini has done this before as well. This isn't an M1-exclusive issue, but probably an issue with the HDMI port on the board itself. Before I got my eGPU, my Mini would NOT display on the HDMI connected display. Everything would work fine on TB3 displays (2x 1080p 24" monitors), but not my 27" 4K via HDMI. I would have to unplug, or restart, to get my 4K display to get it to work.
 
My mini has always had this problem, really annoying.
I believe it’s a 2018 model, if that was the first space grey one.
 
I have an M1 Mini - my Samsung display wakes fine from sleep/reboot but my Logitech MX keyboard doesn’t connect after reboot and I have to plug a hard wired keyboard to get past the sign in screen. Anybody have similar issues?
 
I have this issue with my iMac Pro. Displays don’t wake. Or artefacts on displays. Sometimes refuses to wake even after unplugging and replugging. Stuff like that. None of that happens on any other device that I have. It’s been like this since the High Sierra days so I’m not expecting a fix, honestly.
 
The Intel mini has this problem too. Updating the T2's BridgeOS seemed to sometimes fix this.
 
I have had that problem with displayport and my 2012. Finally the monitor stopped working right with displayport, so I am using HDMI.

Sounds like these people are having it with HDMI too.
 
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I had the same problem with the 2018 Mac mini and the LG 32” 4K monitor. On the USB-C and HDMI cable. Apple Support was unable to fix the problem. The same monitor, on the same cables, worked properly with the MacBook Air 2017, MacBook Pro 15” 2018, Apple TV 4K and Raspberry Pi 3B.
 
People with M1's have been talking about this issue since the machines first came out. Interesting it is just hitting the mainstream" now.

I have a similar but not as bad issue with my M1 Mac Mini. It is hooked up the a Dell 32 inch rounded display, and out of nowhere, the screen goes black in the middle of use. It lasts about 5 seconds, at the most, then comes back on and picks up where it left off. It does that with the Dell (connected via HDMI) maybe 2-4 times a day. I also have a second monitor hooked up via USB C (AOC 15 inch display) but it is a USB powered second monitor, so I sort of assumed a level of wonkiness.

I keep hoping each Big Sur update will solve this issue, as it is my biggest annoyance with the M1 Mini. Makes me feel like I made a mistake upgrading from my 2018 i7 Intel Mini.
 
I have seen this problem many times with my late 2021 Mac mini and my Dell U3415W connected via mini-DP. In fairness, it also happens with the same monitor connected via HDMI to a Dell Precision 3530. Could it be the monitor then?
 
I have an M1 Mini - my Samsung display wakes fine from sleep/reboot but my Logitech MX keyboard doesn’t connect after reboot and I have to plug a hard wired keyboard to get past the sign in screen. Anybody have similar issues?
I has similar issues, but have heard of several people with the exact issue. My issue is the mouse would get clunky and was clearly struggling with the bluetooth connection. My solution was to install the dongle that came with my MX Keyboard and connect the Mouse and keyboard through it, rather than the machine's bluetooth. Since then, haven't had a single issue.
 
I'm not so sure this is an M1 issue - the same thing happens on both my M1 mac Mini and my 2019 MacBook Pro when connected to two different LG 43UD79/700 displays, especially if they are set to 3840x1080 mode.

The M1 is a little better if is set it to never sleep, but I can't do the same with the MBP
 
M1 mini - LG Ultrafine 4K - Big Sur - 1TB - 16 GB
I had this issue initially, using an OWC Thunderbolt 3 cable. I had to unplug and replug the cable to wake the display. Bought an Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable and problem disappeared. Since, I bought an OWC Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 cable, and no sleep problems. Haven't tried HDMI at all.
 
Came here to say that I too have been experiencing this with my 2020 13" MBP - both HDMI via dock and Displayport via USB-C to Displayport cable. Apparently I need to get in line.

I have a 30" Dell 3014 and it also has an issue where after a while connected to the MBP, the monitor's OSD menu refuses to come up (I manually switch inputs quite often). Never had this problem with my 2013 13" MBP on the same monitor.

Also - the option to turn off automatic brightness adjustment based on ambient light sensor is hidden when an external monitor is in use -- but it will still flicker the external monitor's brightness. Annoyed me for a long time until I figured it out.
 
I've had all manner of external display problems with Intel 16" MBP and the 13" M1 MacBook Pro. The truth is that Big Sur's display drivers are a bunch of arse across both architectures, and Apple needs to do better. The DisplayPort over USB-C support seems particularly buggy to me, but I've switched to plain 'ol HDMI now which seems to work a little better on the M1 MacBook Pro.
Well displayport is pretty bad in general.
 
Had this happen a couple of times so far in 3 months on my Apple Thunderbolt monitor so it's not just third-party displays, and a more frequent issue i am having is that they won't stay asleep due to what feels to me like bluetooth waking them up a fraction of time after putting it to sleep.
I forgot about that problem. I had that issue with my 2012 MBP and external display a couple of years ago as well. But I resolved it somehow with the energy settings and maybe disabling some background app of some kind. I wish I remembered how so I could share.
 
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I was plagued with this on my 2016 MBP, and now on my 2019 16" MBP with 4K displays from both Dell and Samsung (various port types). I have found lately that the display seems to come on more reliably if I set up the Mac to use multiple virtual desktops, and use the Ctrl+
and/or Ctrl+
keyboard shortcuts to switch between the virtual displays a few times. It seems that this causes the Mac to reset the screen resolution, which brings up the display. It will take a few seconds for the display to wake up, but pressing ctrl+right, then ctrl+left and waiting 10 seconds seems to always work nowadays.​
 
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I have that exact described issue! It’s super annoying.

Even more annoying is that my wireless Logitech mouse (and sometimes my wireless Apple keyboard) is not working when the login screen is shown.
I have to connect my keyboard with a wire to login, after which my mouse and keyboard work, and can be detached from a wire.
As if their Bluetooth connection has no credentials to connect prior to login or something.
 
Not even an M1 specific issue, I occasionally had the same problem with an Intel Mac Mini in the past. Mac Minis seem kind of cursed
Thank you!

I had this problem with a 16 inch MBP and two LG 5K's.

I have this problem presently (but only occasionally) with an M1 Mini attached to a Pro Display XDR.

In my experience and opinion, this is a Thunderbolt issue that has caused problems for years.

Perhaps now HDMI is affected, but this bug thingy is nothing new and hits Intel Macs as well.
 
I noticed something strange on my M1 MacBook Pro, the display just started auto dimming itself. I was reading an article and it just kept getting darker and darker. Eventually tapped on the brightness touch bar control and noticed it was almost at zero, but I didn't touch it.
 
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