I have turned on my M2 Mac Mini, but the screen doesn't display anything, and the device's orange light flashes on and off. I attempted to resolve this problem by holding down the power button for 10-15 seconds, but it did not work. Based on my research, the only way to fix this is through the Apple Configuration app. I have installed this app on my iPad Pro, but it requires me to have an administrator, business, or school account. What should I do?"
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No display on screen when M2 Mac Mini is turned on
- Thread starter ted83
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It might be that no display is detected. I am not 100% sure but I believe there is a error flashing pattern for no display detected.
If it's due to corrupted firmware indeed the only way to re-initialize is with the Configurator, but you'll need another Mac, an iPad won't work: https://support.apple.com/guide/app...ore-a-mac-with-apple-silicon-apdd5f3c75ad/mac
Otherwise Apple can do this for you in the store.
Interpreting the support article https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203576 if it flashes orange nonstop with no pattern, that would indeed indicate damaged firmware.
This is a very rare issue and should never happen out of nowhere. That it did happen suggests that perhaps the hardware is faulty, causing the firmware problem in the first place. So even if you have another Mac with the configurator, you might end up finding that the Mini needs to be repaired by Apple regardless.
I'd still try the revive first, if you do have another Mac you can use. Easiest would be one that has USB-C ports, because then you can connect them directly with a simple USB-C to USB-C charge cable like the one that Apple packages with iPads.
Without another Mac for the revive, or bringing it into Apple to do the revive, M1/M2 Macs with damaged firmware are really completely bricked.
If it's due to corrupted firmware indeed the only way to re-initialize is with the Configurator, but you'll need another Mac, an iPad won't work: https://support.apple.com/guide/app...ore-a-mac-with-apple-silicon-apdd5f3c75ad/mac
Otherwise Apple can do this for you in the store.
Interpreting the support article https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203576 if it flashes orange nonstop with no pattern, that would indeed indicate damaged firmware.
This is a very rare issue and should never happen out of nowhere. That it did happen suggests that perhaps the hardware is faulty, causing the firmware problem in the first place. So even if you have another Mac with the configurator, you might end up finding that the Mini needs to be repaired by Apple regardless.
I'd still try the revive first, if you do have another Mac you can use. Easiest would be one that has USB-C ports, because then you can connect them directly with a simple USB-C to USB-C charge cable like the one that Apple packages with iPads.
Without another Mac for the revive, or bringing it into Apple to do the revive, M1/M2 Macs with damaged firmware are really completely bricked.
Thank you very much for your detailed answer. Actually, it didn't happen on its own. After deleting all partitions with diskutil, I wanted to do a clean installation, but even if I press the power button for more than 10 seconds, the installation screen didn't appear.
I have a 2015 model iMac 5k with only Windows installed, and if I install macOS on it, I think Apple Configurator requires the latest version of the operating system. If I manage to install it somehow, will it still ask for this admin, business, and school account? Do you have any information about this?
I have a 2015 model iMac 5k with only Windows installed, and if I install macOS on it, I think Apple Configurator requires the latest version of the operating system. If I manage to install it somehow, will it still ask for this admin, business, and school account? Do you have any information about this?
Under System profiler, is it the model iMac17,1? With the latest Monterey you can use it to restore the Mini. Recommend installation onto an external SSD or 32GB+ USB thumbdrive, otherwise you might wipe out Windows. Restore will work without an account.
(If it's an older model than 17,1 you can install Monterey with Opencore Legacy Patcher, it's more involved and I am not entirely sure if the restore will work, but it might.)
You will need a USB-C to USB-A adapter cable. The correct USB-C port on the Mini is the one on the back that is closest to the power button.
The hardware will be fine, in the future never manually delete the internal disk with disk utility on newer Macs.
For what you want to do, erasing the entire MacOS, there is a specific recommended way: Make sure Filevault is enabled, reboot to recovery, when asked for a password do not enter the password, in the menubar click on the File menu and select the "Erase Mac" option. That will format the entire storage but without wiping firmware and bricking the Mac and it will create a new fresh install volume "Macintosh HD" (sometimes called "Untitled" instead, you can rename it).
(You might need to click on forgot password and wait for the password recovery screen to show before you have the "Erase Mac" option in the File menu.)
(If it's an older model than 17,1 you can install Monterey with Opencore Legacy Patcher, it's more involved and I am not entirely sure if the restore will work, but it might.)
You will need a USB-C to USB-A adapter cable. The correct USB-C port on the Mini is the one on the back that is closest to the power button.
The hardware will be fine, in the future never manually delete the internal disk with disk utility on newer Macs.
For what you want to do, erasing the entire MacOS, there is a specific recommended way: Make sure Filevault is enabled, reboot to recovery, when asked for a password do not enter the password, in the menubar click on the File menu and select the "Erase Mac" option. That will format the entire storage but without wiping firmware and bricking the Mac and it will create a new fresh install volume "Macintosh HD" (sometimes called "Untitled" instead, you can rename it).
(You might need to click on forgot password and wait for the password recovery screen to show before you have the "Erase Mac" option in the File menu.)
In fact, there is no macOS installed on iMac. I completely wiped the disk and installed Windows 10 directly, so I don't know the exact version. I only know it's a Late 2015 model. I will try it the way you suggested.
It's not a problem for me to reinstall Windows later, so solving the issue is more important to me. Thank you very much for your help.
It's not a problem for me to reinstall Windows later, so solving the issue is more important to me. Thank you very much for your help.
Ok Late 2015 runs Monterey. Plug in a thumb drive 32GB or larger and start with CMD+Alt+R, that will download a fresh copy of MacOS directly from Apple's servers and you can format the USB drive with APFS and install onto that. That should leave your Windows bootable and unchanged.
During the vacation, I experienced the same problem again. After performing a complete erase of all content and settings in Ventura, the firmware got corrupted and the device wouldn't turn on. I'm writing this in case it might be useful to someone. I didn't have another Mac with me, so I installed Monterey on a VirtualBox in Windows and finally managed to restore it after 15-20 attempts.