FIXED (workaround): Mac Mini HDMI not working - now working

[turbolaser]

HDMI from Mac Mini to a TV or monitor not working? I had that problem too.

-

Fairly new Mac Mini, and our only display is a 2019 Samsung 50" TV.

The TV says "No Signal" whether using a HDMI cable from the HDMI port, or the USB-3 to HDMI cable. Tried various combinations of ports and cables.

I found one way to make it work:

1. Make sure Mac Mini is switched off
2. Turn the TV on, and select another HDMI port than the one used by the Mac Mini (whether there's a signal or not, doesn't matter)
3. Click the Source button on the TV remote control, and arrow to the side to highlight the HDMI port number where the Mac Mini is connected to, but do not select it until ...
4. Click the "enter" button on the remote, to select that HDMI port number, while simultaneously switching the Mac Mini on.

When doing this, all is fine - the picture comes on as it should (after a few seconds).

Anything else I do, any combination of cable I try, doesn't work. But this seems to consistently work.

My guess is that the Mac Mini is looking for an HDMI when it's starting, as the TV is looking for an HDMI source when you select that input. They apparently only do that for a few seconds (maybe 10 seconds?), and if they don't do it at the same time - no picture. The TV will say "no signal" and give up. The Mac Mini will say "No HDMI connected", and also give up. Unless they look for each other at the same time.

Not ideal, but at least I have found a consistent way to make it work.

Anyone else with HDMI problems on a Mac Mini, please try this procedure and see if it works. If it works to fix this, Apple and/or Samsung should be able to "meet somewhere in the middle" and make a permanent fix for this problem. One more guess: They will both blame the other party for not conforming to whatever standards rule HDMI ...

Wow thank you for this - worked on the first try with my 2018 Mac mini and 2017 LG 27" (so it seems like Samsung isn't the common denominator). I wonder if the recent 11.4 macOS update on the Mac has caused this...

Just FYI I've been routinely connecting both an HDMI and USBC > Mini DisplayPort > DisplayPort to my Mac mini. Weird sounding setup probably, but it's very useful when I need to connect the display port to my work laptop during the day. If I want to jump back to the Mac mini I just switch input to HDMI, and over the weekends I actually plug the Mac into the display port to get the nice 60hz for a few days.

Anyways, thanks for the advice, I'm back up & running for now.

 

[SGN]

Unfortunately I can't switch to the source port before my Mac mini starts up as my monitor does not allow me to pop-up the little settings menu where I can switch to a different source until AFTER a source has been detected, so I'm routinely not able to get my Mac mini to connect with the monitor...


honestly, this all sounds like a pretty massive software issue. Could be hardware, but I think this needs to be fixable by a software update, right?
Maybe not as it's been an issue for multiple years across multiple models?

 

[phrehdd]

I use an M1 Mini with USB-C to monitor DisplayPort. The HDMI is connected to an NVidia Shield TV. Both work well with my monitor and sounds a bit strange you have to jump through hoops that way to get your HDMI to work with your TV.

 

[dingaling1]

One thing that worked to me: using an original Apple bluetooth keyboard wakes up the Mac Mini 2018 properly. Not an ultimate solution, though, since I prefer using my Logitec wireless keyboard.

I have same issue. Can start with apple keyboard, then restart logitec, but this is a pain. Any new info on how to get logitec to engage on startup? I hesitate to turn off FileVault.

 

[brdeveloper]

I have same issue. Can start with apple keyboard, then restart logitec, but this is a pain. Any new info on how to get logitec to engage on startup? I hesitate to turn off FileVault.

Actually this didn't work to me. It works sometimes, sometimes it doesn't. The preferable solution to me is switching my monitor to other HDMI port, then going back to the HDMI where Mac Mini is plugged in.

 

[dingaling1]

One thing that worked to me: using an original Apple bluetooth keyboard wakes up the Mac Mini 2018 properly. Not an ultimate solution, though, since I prefer using my Logitec wireless keyboard.

I have same problem with Big Sur and iMac 21". Had it with Mojave too. Must use apple keyboard to restart computer, and once it is booted it will recognize and respond to logitec keyboard. It's a pain but works. If anyone finds solution to this please post.

 

[bobcharest]

I have a solution, at least for me. today, I was setting up a new studio work surface, and when I connected my 2018 Mac mini to my Samsung monitor, the monitor was not seeing signal from the HDMI port, and the 2018 Mac mini did not think there was anything on the other end of the cable. I plugged in my powered HDMI switcher between the Mac Mini and the Samsung (my previous studio space shared a monitor keyboard and mouse between my PC and this Mac mini) and both devices are now happy. I can shut off/sleep my Mac, and when I power up/wake from sleep again, the Samsung sees the Mac at the other end of the HDMI port.

I hope this helps someone!

Best regards,
Bob Charest

 

[Blacktip]

*sigh* More monitor trouble for me. Today, I got a brand new M1 Mac Mini delivered. Hooked it up to my 3 year old Asus monitor through a USB C cable (all was good so far) and then started to update to the latest Monterey release. But, after the reboot, no monitor signal was found. I tried different USB C cables, no luck. Then, inserted a HDMI cable and sure, that works. Thing is, I want the USB C (TB) cable to work, just as it did under Catalina. I am currently reinstalling Monterey, but I doubt that the reinstall will work. It seems like that the good old SMC-reset isn’t valid under the M1-eosystem, but I tried the ”unplug and wait for 15 seconds” + ”press and hold the power button for10 seconds”-tricks.

 

[phrehdd]

*sigh* More monitor trouble for me. Today, I got a brand new M1 Mac Mini delivered. Hooked it up to my 3 year old Asus monitor through a USB C cable (all was good so far) and then started to update to the latest Monterey release. But, after the reboot, no monitor signal was found. I tried different USB C cables, no luck. Then, inserted a HDMI cable and sure, that works. Thing is, I want the USB C (TB) cable to work, just as it did under Catalina. I am currently reinstalling Monterey, but I doubt that the reinstall will work. It seems like that the good old SMC-reset isn’t valid under the M1-eosystem, but I tried the ”unplug and wait for 15 seconds” + ”press and hold the power button for10 seconds”-tricks.

Sorry you are having this issue. As I gather you know, you are not the only one. On my monitor, the HDMI port is taken by another item (streamer) and I do have Displayport. I am using a USB-C to DP cable and for the most part, it works fine. I do get (rarely) some daft image issues. Either turning the monitor off then on again clears it or, I have reboot and turn off the monitor and back on again. - The latter is very rare but it does happen. My monitor - Benq PD2700U.

 

[Blacktip]

Yeah well … it all seems very untrustworthy. This morning, I spent 15 minutes powering the Mac mini and monitor off and on, switching between three different USB C-cables, back to HDMI (which always work btw), back to USB C … and suddenly out of nowhere – the signal came back. I'm not assuming any stability here, but just hope to be able to actually use the computer for some work.

The reason for me not just going the HDMI-route is twofold: I want to be able to use the monitor's built in USB-ports when using the Mac, and also be able to hook up a PC to the HDMI-port to be able to switch signal between the two computers.

 

[Blacktip]

The connection worked for 24 hours. Been working for a couple of hours this morning, when the screen suddenly out of nowhere blacked out. No signal. Plugged the USB C-cable in and out, shut down the Mac mini for a couple of minutes, turned it on again. No signal. Reverting to HDMI, which works without any issues.

Where do I file a bug report to Apple that actually gets read?

 

[marko dimic]

Solution for Mac mini m1 HDMI port "NO VIDEO" issue, that I did:
I used a small HDMI to dvi converter connected on HDMI cable from my Mac mini m1... dvi port works, so and the hdmi port works... as I understand it is a communication software problem(probbably induction in the internal switcher)
I suppose it will work if u connect any dvi to hdmi adapter also so you can connect it back to hdmi
hope it helps

marko dimic

 

[Blacktip]

Im my case, the HDMI ‹-› HDMI has worked without any problems at all for a long time (tried various cables for no special reason, too). It's the USB C-route that doesn't work at all …

 

[phrehdd]

I use a BenQ DP2700U monitor using its DP input with the following:

 

[Trevor.Sorrento]

I have this issue on my 2018 Mac mini with an LG TV. With some scepticism I just tried this method as listed in the original post:


I found one way to make it work:

1. Make sure Mac Mini is switched off
2. Turn the TV on, and select another HDMI port than the one used by the Mac Mini (whether there's a signal or not, doesn't matter)
3. Click the Source button on the TV remote control, and arrow to the side to highlight the HDMI port number where the Mac Mini is connected to, but do not select it until ...
4. Click the "enter" button on the remote, to select that HDMI port number, while simultaneously switching the Mac Mini on.


I was stunned to find that this method worked for me. Thank you so much. I hope this method will continue to work, as previous methods I have used to fix this are no longer working.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I just encountered this problem with my 2018 Mini. I searched everywhere including YT videos and nothing worked. I did however resolve the problem. I suspected that it was an HDMI handshake resolution problem. So I booted my 2018 Mini with via the TB display port. Once I was at the desktop, I went into settings and selected 1080P. I then removed the TB Display cable and connected the HDMI cable and viola, I now had my signal back. I went back into settings and changed the HDMI resolution and I still had a signal.

 

[harriska2]

Wondering if people with the Mac Studio have as many monitor connection problems as those of us with minis.

 

[Benglian]

I registered an account just to thank you for this post.
I bought a KVM switch so I can use my monitor between my 2017 Macbook Pro and my 2014 Mac Mini and was stumped why the Mac Mini wasn't gettng the video recognised by the monitor.
But voila I tried your fix and it worked!
And continues to work when I use the KVM switch between the two.
Many thanks!

 

[bquenin]

Holy Sh.t! it worked! I registered just to thank you for this!!!

 

[wlamee]

Adding my 2 cents here for my variation of setup: I have a 2018 Mac mini (i7 3.2GHz, Macmini8,1) running Ventura 13.6 connected with a straight HDMI cable to a 4K sceen, a ViewSonic VX3211-4K running 3840 x 2160 @60Hz. It mostly worked with MacOS 12 (Monterey) and now MacOS 13 (Ventura) up until now. Sometimes the screen would blank and then come back after a few seconds, which I initially assumed to be HDMI cable quality or interference on the HDMI cable (after having found a few forums where they claimed HDMI - cables and/or protocol - is highly susceptible to interference).
Starting it up after an OS update was always an issue, and my standard procedure became the three failed resets after which it would then display a visible recovery boot screen and I had to reset my user password. After the update to Ventura 13.6 that didn't work, no more screen at all. Just (I think) 5 to 10 attempts to boot and then the Mac mini would switch off.
After reading this forum's posts I looked for some HDMI switches and almost bought them, just one more thing to try - and that worked: I also have a 2015 MacBook Pro and the screen has 2 HDMI screen inputs. I plugged the MacBook Pro in the other screen source, which was auto-selected to be displayed by the screen and then manually changed the screen input to the the Mac mini and booted it, which finally worked.
My best guess explanation for this is that by having an active source to one of the screen inputs, the Mac mini still gets enough response from the screen to register it as being connected, otherwise the screen says all too quickly 'No signal' somehere along the Mac mini startup & boot process.
This is the first time I tried this and it worked, I will update this post as I do subsequent attempts to (re)boot the Mac mini.

 

[JVeng]

Just bumping about what you found, I just got this syndrome with an M1 mini working fine for years and today after a reboot... no HDMI. I dont have the remote for the LG monitor so I cant follow the recommended fix.

 

[Omnius]

I’ve been using minis for over a decade. One of the things that used to be common was you’d see a roll out of new updates to apps or the OS and suddenly, Craigslist would proliferate with 6month to 1year old base model minis for sale. The common thread was that they would always be the base amount of ram.

I used to buy these minis for cheap from people that all gave the look like they were scamming me, take home, upgrade the ram (and sometimes replace HDs with SSDs) and then re-sell for considerably more than I’d paid.

The takeaway I’ve had as a mini owner and user has been that if you want a mini to deliver now and 5 years from now, get more ram. That’s especially true now that the ram isn’t serviceable. My daily drivers are a late model intel iMac and a beefy M2 Studio now but I’ve still got 2 2011 minis running quickly because they’re at 16gb of ram and using SSD boot drives.

When it comes to storage, external storage is very vast on thunderbolt and USB 3+. That’s something you can upgrade over time.

 

[wlamee]

Just bumping about what you found, I just got this syndrome with an M1 mini working fine for years and today after a reboot... no HDMI. I dont have the remote for the LG monitor so I cant follow the recommended fix.

That sounds like problem on top of problem: Many remotes can be emulated by very cheap 'all-in-one' remote emulators (or find a second hand remote, that should also be low cost), which might kill 2 birds with one stone for you.
Another possible option worth trying is to look up the manual for the monitor and see if there are other ways to change input. With LG this might be difficult though, as they are always trying to make things simple for the average user, which usually doesn't help us techy users ...

 

[samstre]

I am facing the exact same issue.
Mac mini 2018 running Sonoma (tried every other release as well).

Connected via HDMI to an ASUS PG42UQ (technically a LG C2 or C3).
I've tried every single trick, but the connection would only work after many reboots + switching inputs.
It was really frustrating, because I had to do it after every single reboot. It was frustrating to a point, where I didn't use my Mac mini anymore.

Luckily I found a rather neat workaround. As this issue is clearly related to some weird HDMI implementation on the side of apple (!!"§$!"§$!%!), I tried several methods to connect the Mac mini somehow different.

I have tried using my docking station (didn't work), I have tried different cables (didn't work), I have tried using DP to HDMI adapters (didn't work)...

It worked, when I connected my HDMI KVM Switch. (using this one... https://www.easycoolav.com/products...-usbsupport-4k60hz-444-and-hdr-audio-breakout)
Now everything works like charm.

(what a sh**show from apple)

 

[phrehdd]

I am facing the exact same issue.
Mac mini 2018 running Sonoma (tried every other release as well).

Connected via HDMI to an ASUS PG42UQ (technically a LG C2 or C3).
I've tried every single trick, but the connection would only work after many reboots + switching inputs.
It was really frustrating, because I had to do it after every single reboot. It was frustrating to a point, where I didn't use my Mac mini anymore.

Luckily I found a rather neat workaround. As this issue is clearly related to some weird HDMI implementation on the side of apple (!!"§$!"§$!%!), I tried several methods to connect the Mac mini somehow different.

I have tried using my docking station (didn't work), I have tried different cables (didn't work), I have tried using DP to HDMI adapters (didn't work)...

It worked, when I connected my HDMI KVM Switch. (using this one... https://www.easycoolav.com/products...-usbsupport-4k60hz-444-and-hdr-audio-breakout)
Now everything works like charm.

(what a sh**show from apple)

Glad you got things working. Darn curious if KVM is addressing an "EDID" issue for you.