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M1 and bluetooth issues
- Thread starter macnmac
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So far, I've been on safe mode for a couple of hours, across a couple of user accounts, and no issues as yet. Let's see as the afternoon progresses.
Might be worth trying safe mode to see if it drops out for you too. Would be useful for others on this forum too, and give some sort of lead as to what is happening.
My current setup is from Safe Mode with disabled Wi-Fi (using ethernet), disabled Handover, disabled FileVault, all from a clean install and still having issues.
Looks like I have until the 8th January to start the returns process so hopefully we get some form of update from Apple by then (even just a confirmation that they can fix this via a software update or a replacement) as I just don't think there is a workaround for this ?
Are you using a 4K monitor by any chance? And how far is your mini from your monitor.
One other thing that *seems* to have helped me is moving the mini further away from the monitor. I did read on another forum that people were having problems with their monitors, perhaps to do with the shielding on different monitors. I didn't seem to have the same problems with a non-4K monitor, or it could have just been because it was a different brand.
I'm using the Samsung Odyssey G9 at 5120x1440@120 (~1 million less pixels than 4K).
I've just now gone ahead and moved it in-front of my monitor (~6-7 inches from my mouse) and it's already gone off, strangely I don't think it did the strange double disconnect/re-connect it usually does, just a single one.
Will try another spot shortly.
OK, so rather than use Bluetooth headphones today, I decided to finally try out the headphone jack. And just like with Bluetooth headphones, I get audio dropouts while hardwired. If I turn wifi off, the audio dropouts go away. What the hell? If I use 2.4ghz network, audio dropouts stop also. This is so stupid. Why is wifi interfering with the audio stream when directly attached to the computer?
So I've had intermittent issues with a Microsoft bluetooth mouse with my M1 mini, not as bad as dropping, but it will stutter, no real situation that I've identified that makes it better or worse.
I have an external bluetooth dongle that is recognized by the system when I check the USB tab of System Information but I can't seem to disable the internal bluetooth module.
The solutions on the interwebs of using terminal and NVRAM commands (which seem flakey at best) don't seem to work for Big Sur and/or M1. Bluetooth Explorer from dev.apple.com doesn't work with m1/Big Sur (it just crashes) so I can't use that to select the controller.
Any other suggestions for getting my M1 mini to use an external bluetooth adapter?
I have an external bluetooth dongle that is recognized by the system when I check the USB tab of System Information but I can't seem to disable the internal bluetooth module.
The solutions on the interwebs of using terminal and NVRAM commands (which seem flakey at best) don't seem to work for Big Sur and/or M1. Bluetooth Explorer from dev.apple.com doesn't work with m1/Big Sur (it just crashes) so I can't use that to select the controller.
Any other suggestions for getting my M1 mini to use an external bluetooth adapter?
I have MacBook Air M1 with AirPods Pro and get those cutouts frequently. I am planning on returning this crap.
It seems so variable between users. I have Bose Bluetooth headphones, and I conducted all my MS Teams meetings yesterday using them paired to my
Mini with no problems or dropouts. But so far, a full day day and evening of use in safe mode seems to have fixed the problem — although other users are saying otherwise.
So I exchanged my MacBook Pro today and the replacement has exactly the same problem with bluetooth. So frustrating!
fwiw, my office router is under my desk and i turned off my 2.4ghz wifi network. Audio cutouts stopped and it fixed the bluetooth issues with my trackball. I'm also using an lg 5k ultrafine which was previously known for shielding issues.
Bluetooth is supposed to punch through all this at short distance. With the 5k monitor, usb3, microwave ovens,and wifi routers, you might just be over the edge.
You could also run Netspot and see if there's congestion in your 2.4ghz band. You'd be surprised at how much noise is around you. https://www.netspotapp.com.
And finally, option-click on the bluetooth icon if you want to check your bluetooth connection signal strength.
Bluetooth is supposed to punch through all this at short distance. With the 5k monitor, usb3, microwave ovens,and wifi routers, you might just be over the edge.
You could also run Netspot and see if there's congestion in your 2.4ghz band. You'd be surprised at how much noise is around you. https://www.netspotapp.com.
And finally, option-click on the bluetooth icon if you want to check your bluetooth connection signal strength.
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Also, you can get an audio dropout while "hardwired" if your machine is switching wifi networks.
This can be from bouncing from 2.4ghz to 5ghz if your SSID is the same or if you have multiple routers in your home, especially if they're competing on the same channel.
You could also try your machine in someone else's house and see if you still have problems.
Turning off 2.4ghz on the near router and splitting out 5Ghz in the house to a separate SSID worked for me.
Problems gone. Good luck and report back.
This can be from bouncing from 2.4ghz to 5ghz if your SSID is the same or if you have multiple routers in your home, especially if they're competing on the same channel.
You could also try your machine in someone else's house and see if you still have problems.
Turning off 2.4ghz on the near router and splitting out 5Ghz in the house to a separate SSID worked for me.
Problems gone. Good luck and report back.
Just received M1 MacBook Air 8/8 core 16 GB 512 GB and have noticed stuttering when using Logitech M720 Triathlon mouse using bluetooth. Using USB adapter connection is fine. If you just move a window (like 'about this Mac') around in a circle it will seem fine for a few seconds and then stutter for a second occasionally every 5-10 seconds. I have contacted apple and have had no help. I installed Big Sur fresh onto a new partition as well and issue still persists. I disabled FileVault and tried in safe mode and issue still persists. I have disabled wifi, connected to 2.4 ghz wifi and issue still persists. I hope it is not hardware... I guess I need to determine how long I have before I have to return. Please share any info you have so I can determine if a new machine would perform the same and I just need to wait for update.
I exchanged my M1 MacBook Pro and the replacement also has Bluetooth connection issues. So I would not recommend going through the hassle of exchanging it.
Try it in a different house. Or your car (away from the house). See if the issue goes away.
I thought it was all the Macbook. My office was a noisy 2.4Ghz environment. Any of a number of these were causing interference (new lg 5k monitor, new usb-c devices, 2.4ghz wifi router congestion). Splitting the 2.4Ghz/5.0Ghz wifi channels onto separate SSIDs so the Macbook didn't try to attach to the 2.4Ghz network helped.
The bigger bluetooth issues (stutter, dropouts) went away. It still loses connection to trackpad/keyboard rarely on wake from sleep. Hopefully there will be a software fix.
I thought it was all the Macbook. My office was a noisy 2.4Ghz environment. Any of a number of these were causing interference (new lg 5k monitor, new usb-c devices, 2.4ghz wifi router congestion). Splitting the 2.4Ghz/5.0Ghz wifi channels onto separate SSIDs so the Macbook didn't try to attach to the 2.4Ghz network helped.
The bigger bluetooth issues (stutter, dropouts) went away. It still loses connection to trackpad/keyboard rarely on wake from sleep. Hopefully there will be a software fix.
Thanks- it doesn’t do it on another MacBook running Big Sur over Bluetooth so I think it is specific to M1
