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Two painful months with the M1 MBP 8GB/512GB

Larvas

Larvas

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 15, 2014
132
85
Berlin
Posting this here in case someone else is going through the same issues.

I have owned the machine for almost two months now and I really tried troubleshooting and solving everything, but it just doesn't work as it should.

  1. Bluetooth issues: Apple Hardware like Airpods Pro, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad work fine, but once non-Apple hardware gets connected like MX Master 3, Sony WH1000XM4, Bose NC700 they start randomly disconnecting and loose connection often. Same devices work fine with iPad Pro and Razer Blade 15.
  2. Wireless issues: Random disconnects within the working shift, speed changes and loss of connection during calls. I own an iPad Pro and a Razer Blade 15 on which I couldn’t replicate the issue with the same internet connection, so it’s 100% the device.
  3. Lag issues: Switching between desktops while having 3 or more desktops has laggy animations, I partially solved this by removing all non-M1 compatible apps and browser add-ons so it’s not that extreme as before, but it’s still lagging.
  4. Shutdowns: If there are several apps running (e.g. outlook, excel, photoshop, safari) and you place the computer under load, then if you start a video call it shuts down the computer and re-boots it. Happened three times in 2 months by opening either Google Meet or Zoom within Safari.
  5. Some government apps don't emulate well, for which I couldn't find a solution at all.
Steps that I did before contacting Apple Support:
  1. Updated to Big Sur 11.2.3., didn’t help.
  2. Tried installing or reinstalling drivers/apps to manage the bluetooth devices, didn’t help.
  3. Tried resolving the issue within Safe mode, didn’t helped.
  4. Tried reseting the SMC, didn’t help
  5. Removed all non-M1 apps, it partially solved the lag issue, but the rest was there
  6. Tried reinstalling the OS, didn’t help
I'm bringing it to Apple today and will see what they'll do, but I think I'll go and get the 16" Intel Macbook Pro instead.

The platform is good, so I think this will be a breakthrough in 2 years, but for now it's still buggy and not worth the money.
 
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What specs?

Still early days here with MBA 8-8/16GB/1TB, but haven't yet noticed lag and wonder if you are pushing a 8GB model to and beyond its limits and the lag is due to swap.
 
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The network connection issue might be solved by adjusting the size of the MTU to 1458 in the network preferences.
 
Sorry to hear you are having these issues.

I have had some little quirks with the M1 Air but nothing more than what I am used to with any other system. I have the 16GB/256 version so the extra RAM is good to have. The M1 Air has been the best laptop I have ever owned at this point.

For the emulation problem, you likely will not find a solution to it. The M1 was likely built for some of the most common x86-64 functions, it's likely the apps you're running simply do not benefit from these and are outside the box of most x86-64 applications.
 
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8GB memory model and you’re using apps across three desktop. Your apps and GPU are fighting each other for video memory in the UMA. If you have multiple desktops and use integrated graphics you should always buy the model with the most memory you can get.

Government apps meaning you work with government or accessing government services? If the former you shouldn’t use emulation or new systems until IT tells you it’s ready.
 
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1) Had this as well and was fixed with 11.2

2) Had this as well and was fixed with 11.2

3) Never had any performance issues no matter what I am doing.

4) Can‘t reproduce this, never happened to me. Sounds like a Kernel Panic. Might be faulty hardware.

Try to get it replaced and don‘t opt for Intel. You‘d regret it.
 
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Sorry you're having these issues. I gotta say I've got none of the problems you're having. No lags, no wifi or BT issues with multiple devices (Apple and non-Apple), no issues with Intel-based apps, and I've not had the machine crash/reboot under load.
I'm thinking you need to exchange the machine.
 
Larvas said:
  1. Wireless issues: Random disconnects within the working shift, speed changes and loss of connection during calls. I own an iPad Pro and a Razer Blade 15 on which I couldn’t replicate the issue with the same internet connection, so it’s 100% the device.
  2. Lag issues: Switching between desktops while having 3 or more desktops has laggy animations, I partially solved this by removing all non-M1 compatible apps and browser add-ons so it’s not that extreme as before, but it’s still lagging.
  3. Shutdowns: If there are several apps running (e.g. outlook, excel, photoshop, safari) and you place the computer under load, then if you start a video call it shuts down the computer and re-boots it. Happened three times in 2 months by opening either Google Meet or Zoom within Safari.
  4. Some government apps don't emulate well, for which I couldn't find a solution at all.
I'm bringing it to Apple today and will see what they'll do, but I think I'll go and get the 16" Intel Macbook Pro instead.

The platform is good, so I think this will be a breakthrough in 2 years, but for now it's still buggy and not worth the money.
Click to expand...

I was intrigued by the fourth point "Some government apps don't emulate well". It appears you use this machine for your day job and that day job involves running "government apps". If this is the case and you need those apps for you job, I think you should definitely stick with an Intel Mac for now. The 16" Intel Macbook Pro is an excellent choice though I went with a 2020 27" iMac.
 
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BrianBaughn said:
Beta testing new hardware (and the new version of macOS written for it) is essentially what Apple is asking purchasers to do with these new computers.
Click to expand...

I’ve been (actually) beta testing hardware and software for several of the worlds largest companies for over 20 years now. If the M1 systems are a beta test, then they’re the best, most reliable, consumer ready, beta test that I’ve ever participated in.

There’s always problems with new hardware or the software which runs on it, heck, it’s been a long, long time since there’s been any new hardware without reports of issues, that I’ve seen anyway.

Thinking about it, I’d probably have to cast my mind back to the days of the BBC Micro, Commodore 64 and so on. Even then, the comparative lack of complaints was probably due to the common lack of internet access :D
 
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BT working fine for me with my Sony headphones and a Logitech mouse.

I have never experienced any shutdown of apps. Running Office 365 with its Apple Silicon apps. I don't use Safari, and use the MS Edge browser, or Chrome if required, instead.

Very happy with my m1 Air, and looking forward to picking up an M1x powered 14" MBP. Glad I sold my MBP 16" while the prices were still high.
 
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OP, it sounds like you’re deliberately trying to stress an entry level machine with use cases that are more suitable for a M1 MBP with 16GB of memory.

To be fair to you, your BT issues are concerning. But I think BT has never been as reliable as promised, even on Windows

I think that there’s a reason that Apple developed their own wireless protocol to work alongside BT for the AirPods.
 
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I have a M1 Mac mini, 8 GB / 512 - I don't use the internal disk for much, the Home directory and all user files are on an external 2 TB USB-C SSD. I have a lot of the same problems the OP has - no bluetooth problems, but lags and freezes and lock-ups especially using Zoom. Even just running Chrome and Safari together and pretty much nothing else can cause it to have fits.
 
from my experience is that you installed or running something that the M1 is having issues with. my mba 16gb / 1TB dev machine is happily doing its job

So go through each process, make sure you didnt install something funky, namely an antivirus or running a custom app written by a script kiddie. Check console, check process list again. MS Teams is a MAC BOOK KILLER. Any electron app should not be left running.
 
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sebfrey said:
I have a M1 Mac mini, 8 GB / 512 - I don't use the internal disk for much, the Home directory and all user files are on an external 2 TB USB-C SSD. I have a lot of the same problems the OP has - no bluetooth problems, but lags and freezes and lock-ups especially using Zoom. Even just running Chrome and Safari together and pretty much nothing else can cause it to have fits.
Click to expand...
Same here. I have a 8gb/512 and I have random spurts of lag/freezes. I have an MX master 3 mouse and I get lags on both unifying and bluetooth.
 
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