M1 Mini bluetooth issue - can it be solved with BT dongle?

[danpass]

I'm one of those who have an issue with the internal bluetooth of the M1 Mini.

The bluetooth worked great with a second update of whatever it originally released with in Dec 2020 but then I foolishly updated past that lol.

Now, though it defeats the purpose of internal bluetooth, I'm wondering if plugging in a bluetooth module to USB or USB-C will solve the issue.

Thoughts?

Potential drawbacks to doing this?

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[Fishrrman]

Full disclosure: I have a 2018 Mini but I don't use bluetooth at all.

Having said that, others have had success using a 3rd-party BT adapter.
BUT... you need to get the adapter away from the chassis of the Mini for best performance.

You can do it by using a USB3 "extension" cable, like these:

Amazon.com: Usb3 3' Extension

Amazon.com: usb3 3' extension

www.amazon.com

Plug the adapter into the extension, and plug the extension into the Mini.
Then, "position it" closer to your BT peripherals.

I've read that there may be something you do with terminal to coax the Mini to recognize the 3rd-party adapter rather than the factory-installed BT. You'll have to search for that one (if you find you need it).

 

[robertjoe]

I'm one of them who had success using 3rd party BT dongle. You can get solved by plugging a BT Dongle for now, but this could not be an actual solution for Mac users.

I have an M1 Mac mini with the same problem, and I got to solve the problem using a Hideez BT dongle. I just follow their setup instruction to use it and the Bluetooth problem is solved, this is very easy to use. It’s a 4.0 standard BLE technology, means it provides energy saving connectivity.

Also, it's like an instant solution to Mac's big problem, and using BT dongle isn't a bad idea although.