Have bluetooth/connectivity issues been sorted on 2020 Mac Mini?

I'm using a 2015 MacBook Air with 27" Dell external screen and Mac bluetooth keyboard. Works fine, if a bit slow at times.

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

timo said:

I'm using a 2015 MacBook Air with 27" Dell external screen and Mac bluetooth keyboard. Works fine, if a bit slow at times.

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

Wasn't BlueTooth connectivity an issue in the early Monterey releases?

I would check the dates on these Amazon complaints.

No recent issues on my M1 Macbook. I don't know why M1 Mini would be different.

From what I've read over at macrumors.com, people are still complaining about the Mini's bluetooth.

I don't use it, on either of my two Minis (2018 and 2012).

I'll say here what I've said there:
The Mini, because of its design, is never going to be that great for bt.
If Apple hasn't fixed it by now, well...

JPAlbert said:

From what I've read over at macrumors.com, people are still complaining about the Mini's bluetooth.

I don't use it, on either of my two Minis (2018 and 2012).

I'll say here what I've said there:
The Mini, because of its design, is never going to be that great for bt.
If Apple hasn't fixed it by now, well...

Click to expand...

Why would Apple use a different WiFi/BT card in the Mac Mini versus the M1 Macbook Air? That sounds like something Hewlett Packard CompaQ would do.

Anyway, you are correct about complaints on Mac Rumors:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/is-m1-mac-mini-bluetooth-problem-solved.2308107/

Probably my M1 Macbook Air has BlueTooth problems; I just never encountered them since the winter of 2021.

timo said:

I'm using a 2015 MacBook Air with 27" Dell external screen and Mac bluetooth keyboard. Works fine, if a bit slow at times.

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

Not one Bluetooth connectivity problem with mouse or keyboard (occasional audio) and I've and this Mac Mini almost a year

CAcreeks said:

timo said:

I'm using a 2015 MacBook Air with 27" Dell external screen and Mac bluetooth keyboard. Works fine, if a bit slow at times.

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

Wasn't BlueTooth connectivity an issue in the early Monterey releases?

I would check the dates on these Amazon complaints.

No recent issues on my M1 Macbook. I don't know why M1 Mini would be different.

Click to expand...

I tend to agree that this might be attributed to Monterey, rather than a specific Mac.

Having recently upgraded from Mojave to Monterey on a Late 2013 Mac Pro, I've noted issues that seem to be Bluetooth related. I have a Bluetooth Magic Trackpad and a Magic Keyboard and both are either slow to connect, or require a manual connect, after booting. Infrequently, I see disconnects while working. The most annoying of all, is the trackpad behavior while using one tap click or double tap, where the first tap isn't recognized. This behavior wasn't present before the upgrade, so it's difficult to point the finger at Monterey. But, it was definitely not a problem when the OS was Mojave.

It looks as though there may be a fix: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253322335 . Continue on to "Read all Replies" and you'll find an entry that suggests the fix has been released but still in Beta.

Scott

JPAlbert said:

From what I've read over at macrumors.com, people are still complaining about the Mini's bluetooth.

I don't use it, on either of my two Minis (2018 and 2012).

I'll say here what I've said there:
The Mini, because of its design, is never going to be that great for bt.
If Apple hasn't fixed it by now, well...

Click to expand...

Once upon a time I purchased this Bluetooth shield from OWC, and my 2012 i7 Mac Mini didn't have any more issues after install. Back when taking mini's apart was fun :-D

I've never used Bluetooth with my 2012 and 2018 Mac Minis, so no problems there. . . LOL

But I did run into a WiFi issue with my 2012 Mini when I tried a miniStack HDD enclosure from OWC. With the enclosure stacked on top, it absolutely killed my wireless connectivity. Keep in mind that the miniStack is designed to be stacked, hence the name. . . Moving the miniStack off the Mac a few feet away minimally improved the WiFi but it was still terrible.

OWC blamed the issue on poor shielding in the 2012 Mac Mini. I can't recall if OWC mentioned adding shielding to the Mini but if they did, I decided against it. Since I sent the miniStack back, I never had a chance to try it with my 2018 Mini. Hence, I have no idea if the WiFi issue is still an issue.

One possible fix OWC suggested was to try a higher quality USB cable with better shielding but I found it difficult to ascertain the shielding quality with the various cables I looked at. And since the USB cables quickly got pricey, I decided that it simply wasn't worth the trouble and extra expense and shipping if I had to return a cable.

I have two OWC Mercury Elite Pro enclosures less one foot from my Mac Mini and I'm using the cheap USB cables that came with the enclosures. Zero issues.

Now I've written this based on my aging memory, so I may have a detail wrong. . . So it goes.

As I use Bluetooth quite a lot, it looks as if the Mini might still be a gamble too far. More research needed. Meanwhile thanks all for sharing experiences.

timo said:

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

I use bluetooth for keyboard, mouse, and speakers on my 2020 Mini M1 and have never had any issues with it.

There is a problem with Wi-Fi when waking from sleep which occurs with both Big Sur and Monterey. The solution is to not put the mini to sleep which isn't really a big deal because the mini boots in seconds from a cold start.

Jeff Wahaus said:

timo said:

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

I use bluetooth for keyboard, mouse, and speakers on my 2020 Mini M1 and have never had any issues with it.

There is a problem with Wi-Fi when waking from sleep which occurs with both Big Sur and Monterey. The solution is to not put the mini to sleep which isn't really a big deal because the mini boots in seconds from a cold start.

Click to expand...

I just ordered an M1 Mini and intend to use the bluetooth Apple magic mouse and keyboard from my old intel iMac. I am fairly sure the Mini will come with Monterey installed. I hate to think that I'm going to have problems with connectivity. If worse comes to worst, I suppose I could go back to a wired keyboard and mouse, but I shouldn't have to do that. I also don't like the idea of not being able to use sleep mode, which I always use on my current iMac.

Rob J said:

Jeff Wahaus said:

timo said:

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

I use bluetooth for keyboard, mouse, and speakers on my 2020 Mini M1 and have never had any issues with it.

There is a problem with Wi-Fi when waking from sleep which occurs with both Big Sur and Monterey. The solution is to not put the mini to sleep which isn't really a big deal because the mini boots in seconds from a cold start.

Click to expand...

I just ordered an M1 Mini and intend to use the bluetooth Apple magic mouse and keyboard from my old intel iMac. I am fairly sure the Mini will come with Monterey installed. I hate to think that I'm going to have problems with connectivity. If worse comes to worst, I suppose I could go back to a wired keyboard and mouse, but I shouldn't have to do that. I also don't like the idea of not being able to use sleep mode, which I always use on my current iMac.

Click to expand...

Its very unlikely you will have problems - I've used my Mac Mini M1 every day for close to a year - no Bluetooth problems and no Wi-Fi problems. Energy saver is still on default settings. It gets powered off at night but thats more habit then anything

Rob J said:

Jeff Wahaus said:

timo said:

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

I use bluetooth for keyboard, mouse, and speakers on my 2020 Mini M1 and have never had any issues with it.

There is a problem with Wi-Fi when waking from sleep which occurs with both Big Sur and Monterey. The solution is to not put the mini to sleep which isn't really a big deal because the mini boots in seconds from a cold start.

Click to expand...

I just ordered an M1 Mini and intend to use the bluetooth Apple magic mouse and keyboard from my old intel iMac. I am fairly sure the Mini will come with Monterey installed. I hate to think that I'm going to have problems with connectivity. If worse comes to worst, I suppose I could go back to a wired keyboard and mouse, but I shouldn't have to do that. I also don't like the idea of not being able to use sleep mode, which I always use on my current iMac.

Click to expand...

I'm hoping Apple will eventually fix the issue but it seems they've had plenty of time since this issue has been around since the M1 Mini was launched.

My "sleep" mode is simply turning off the monitor and leaving the Mini running. I've found that the Mini + 27" Monitor uses about 27 Watts. The Mini uses 2 Watts and the monitor uses 25 Watts so with the monitor off there is very little power draw.

I had a 2018 mini. Utterly useless BT no matter where it was placed, what usb ports were used or where my BT devices were placed. I bypassed the internal module and used an external dongle on a usb keyboard plugged into my Dell display which used a usb 2 cable to connect to the mini. Worked well but make sure the commands work on whatever you plan to buy. I had to search for the right command when I moved to Mojave. Based on my M1 Air, I'd suggest BT isn't one of Apple's strengths or concerns. I booted with my Magic Mouse sitting on top of the mini and, to a limited extent, learned to be patient.

Great little machine but frankly, I was delighted when I traded it in. BT was a minor issue. The now abandoned T2 chip was, perhaps still is??, the source of more serious issues with Intel mini's. I went through 2 motherboard replacements and over a year of issues before I threw in the towel.

Scott Vail said:

CAcreeks said:

timo said:

I'm using a 2015 MacBook Air with 27" Dell external screen and Mac bluetooth keyboard. Works fine, if a bit slow at times.

I was thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Mini with SSD, but a whole lot of of reviews on Amazon complain about difficult or intermittent bluetooth connections for keyboard, mouse, and audio. These work fine on my ancient MacBook Air. Does anyone know if this is still an issue on the new machines, or if the problems are sufficiently universal for me to worry about them?

Click to expand...

Wasn't BlueTooth connectivity an issue in the early Monterey releases?

I would check the dates on these Amazon complaints.

No recent issues on my M1 Macbook. I don't know why M1 Mini would be different.

Click to expand...

I tend to agree that this might be attributed to Monterey, rather than a specific Mac.

Having recently upgraded from Mojave to Monterey on a Late 2013 Mac Pro, I've noted issues that seem to be Bluetooth related. I have a Bluetooth Magic Trackpad and a Magic Keyboard and both are either slow to connect, or require a manual connect, after booting. Infrequently, I see disconnects while working. The most annoying of all, is the trackpad behavior while using one tap click or double tap, where the first tap isn't recognized. This behavior wasn't present before the upgrade, so it's difficult to point the finger at Monterey. But, it was definitely not a problem when the OS was Mojave.

It looks as though there may be a fix: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253322335 . Continue on to "Read all Replies" and you'll find an entry that suggests the fix has been released but still in Beta.

Scott

Click to expand...

Monterey 12.1 has recently been released as generally available. Having installed it, the issue above describing unusual Magic Trackpad tap/click behavior has seemingly been resolved.

Scott

My Bluetooth Magic Trackpad 2 works perfectly with my M1 mini running Big Sur. My keyboard is wired. There are times when my Apple Watch won't unlock my mini due to "weak wifi connection". Make of this what you will.

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http://happening.photos

Jacques Cornell said:

My Bluetooth Magic Trackpad 2 works perfectly with my M1 mini running Big Sur. My keyboard is wired. There are times when my Apple Watch won't unlock my mini due to "weak wifi connection". Make of this what you will.

Click to expand...

It could be due to short antenna bar, although this iFixit page makes me think the BlueTooth antenna might be separate from the WiFi antenna.

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Pro/Antennas

On many Macbooks, the antenna is underneath and behind the touchbar or function keys.

Some of us remember the too-weak antenna in an early version of the iPhone.