M1 issues: post them all here!

[MacMan1962]

I bought an M1 MacBook Air in December, I absolutely love it. Two days ago the monitor started lightly flickering and then thin pinstripes appeared and are constant now. I haven't heard of this issue anywhere, so hopefully this is an isolated case. It will be hard to do without it once I send it in for repair or replacement.

 

[mgymnop]

Have my MBP for roughly 2 weeks and ran into no issues so far. I am just using it with a fresh install of BS 11.1. It took some time to transfer 40G of photos from my old windows PC and to connect to OneDrive. Have a mix of M1 optimized programs and non-optimized and everything runs very fast and smooth. Connected hardware: WD Elements 6TB for time machine, Magic Mouse 2 and Sennheiser Momentum 3 wireless work great without any issues.

 

[Clausewitz]

I bought the MacBook Air (base M1) as a replacement for my wife's iPad Pro that broke and I am disappointed with my purchase. I watched the ads and it suggested that I would be able to use apps made for the iPad on the device, but sadly none of the applications are available for the Mac. I did not realize that it was up to the publisher to promote the app to be used for MacOS. Specific examples are: Hulu, Netflix, Angry Birds, A&E, YouTube, etc. I know that some of these are available on the web browser, but it is not a good experience. Last night, my wife wanted to watch a TV show on A&E. She opened Safari and tried to start the video. It would not play despite closing all apps, restarting the machine, and clearing the cache. I found a Beta version of Microsoft Edge and it was able to play the video, but I don't understand why I need to have multiple web browsers with different bookmarks so that we can watch a TV show. On the iPad, it is seamless. I just click on the app. I have these apps for my Windows machine, so this is a reasonable expectation for Mac to have the same experience. The MacBook Air has become essentially a very expensive Chromebook as I have found that I need to open a web browser to access the content that I want vice using apps.

I generally think there should be an app for Netflix & YouTube for Macs. If Netflix can have an app for Windows then why not MacOS?

 

[abhi182]

Here is a weird BT issue to add to the list.
This evening, My APP would connect to the M1 MBA alright but audio playback sounded muffled and with low dynamics that is typical of when a headset connects in the headset+ mic mode.

I had used it for a few zoom calls earlier in the day but no VoIP app was running when this issue occured.
Reconnects failed to resolve although a restart did

 

[spursman77]

Hi wonder if you can help.

Odd issue with my new MacBook Pro M1. If I go to iCloud.com and account settings the M1 device does not show under 'my devices'.

I am logged into iCloud on the Mac and everything is syncing as it should. However, in system preferences/Apple ID, I can see the M1 in the device list in the left pane, but it does not provide any info beyond Model/Version/Serial Number (i.e. nothing re: wallet and find my device, despite being activated).

I think this problem might explain why my AirPods Pro will not automatically switch between Mac and iPhone. Has anyone else experienced this and any fix available?!

I should add that at Apple's request I have fully logged out of iCloud on the Mac. I have also reinstalled Big Sur via OS recovery. Any help is much appreciated!!

 

[alien3dx]

Hi wonder if you can help.

Odd issue with my new MacBook Pro M1. If I go to iCloud.com and account settings the M1 device does not show under 'my devices'.

I am logged into iCloud on the Mac and everything is syncing as it should. However, in system preferences/Apple ID, I can see the M1 in the device list in the left pane, but it does not provide any info beyond Model/Version/Serial Number (i.e. nothing re: wallet and find my device, despite being activated).

I think this problem might explain why my AirPods Pro will not automatically switch between Mac and iPhone. Has anyone else experienced this and any fix available?!

I should add that at Apple's request I have fully logged out of iCloud on the Mac. I have also reinstalled Big Sur via OS recovery. Any help is much appreciated!!

all my device like macbook air and imac i see all information.Not using airpods pro but airpods normal seem work fine.

 

[spursman77]

all my device like macbook air and imac i see all information.Not using airpods pro but airpods normal seem work fine.

Anyone else able to replicate my issue or help explain why it's happening and how I can fix it? Thank you.

 

[goodmarriage]

This is a hardware limitation of the M1. It isn't going to be patched or worked around, sorry. The mini has two displays just like the M1 MacBook Air and Pro can have two displays, one internal and one external. The work arounds like using DisplayLink are USB monitors and have some limitations since they aren't directly connected to a GPU. You can't show HDCP video and in general they are much slower than directly connected displays.

The M1 in the current round of Macs is a low-end device. It replaces the two port MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. Future Apple Silicon Macs are likely to solve these issues.

"While the M1 MacBooks natively support just one monitor, the M1 Mac Mini does natively support up to two external monitors - one via the HDMI port and a second via USB-C. But the latest models of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro support only one external display.

Apple has apparently promised to fix the problem in a future update of macOS 11 Big Sur."
How to connect two or more external displays to an Apple Silicon M1 Mac - Macworld UK

Maybe don't try and act like you KNOW when you don't know.

 

[jdb8167]

"While the M1 MacBooks natively support just one monitor, the M1 Mac Mini does natively support up to two external monitors - one via the HDMI port and a second via USB-C. But the latest models of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro support only one external display.

Apple has apparently promised to fix the problem in a future update of macOS 11 Big Sur."
How to connect two or more external displays to an Apple Silicon M1 Mac - Macworld UK

Maybe don't try and act like you KNOW when you don't know.

That article is talking about resolutions on wide screens and has nothing to do with adding more than one external display to a M1 MacBook. You need to read it again.

I stand by what I said, the limit of one external monitor on the M1 MacBooks and two monitors, one on HDMI and one on USB-C/Display Port on the M1 Mini is a hardware limit and won't be fixable on this generation of M1 Macs.

Just to clarify, using a DisplayLink dock is not a solution to the limitation on the M1 SoC but a USB solution that uses a software driver to emulate a GPU hardware video connection. It is slow and not usable for many normal display requirements and reportedly is very fragile and frequently breaks when updating system software.

 

[petterihiisila]

Just to clarify, using a DisplayLink dock is not a solution to the limitation on the M1 SoC but a USB solution that uses a software driver to emulate a GPU hardware video connection. It is slow and not usable for many normal display requirements and reportedly is very fragile and frequently breaks when updating system software.

You set the facts straight about the article: it talks about a fix for resolutions, and that the hardware GPU can't support more monitors than Apple's specs say. And that it will almost certainly stay that way.

But it is factually incorrect, as a sweeping generalization, to say that DisplayLink is "slow and not usable for many normal display requirements" — without naming any.

I do graphics-related heavy multitasking for living on a daily basis and the latest 1.2 DisplayLink manager has been both fast and reliable. Also in clamshell mode. There is no perceivable difference compared to my previous 16" + AMD 5800 eGPU. It's just as smooth when running 4k videos on all 3 displays and moving them around at the same time. No tearing, lag, artifacts, nothing weird going on.

CPU consumption of the DisplayLink process hovers between 2 and 20 percent (out of 800) during normal use and I've never seen it get much higher than that for any longer periods. Considering that when connected to ext displays, it's also connected to power (Brydge vertial dock, Caldigit, TB3 primary ext display) — and that M1 performs so well overall — this setup works better than what I had previously. It was also so much cheaper that after selling both the 16" and eGPU second hand, I had enough money left over to buy Airpods Max for all-day battery and multidevice connectivity.

Note that the latest DisplayLink Manager for M1/BigSur is just an app. It's not a "driver" in a traditional sense, doesn't even use a kernel extension. It has not changed behavior over 11.0.1, 11.1 and now 11.2. A very not invasive piece of software that apparently doesn't need low-level hacks to function.

Setup: Two DisplayLink-connected 24" monitors at WQHD, 2560x1440, scaled to 2152x1050. The primary display is an LG 5k 27", connected directly to the Brydge. The DisplayLink dock is daisy-chained behind the LG, along with a 2 TB SSD and some audio peripherals. The other port of the Mac/Brydge is connected to a Caldigit Mini, which is connected to a USB3 hub, which is connected to lord knows how many devices. It also provides a 100 Mbit Ethernet.

Usage: Drop the M1 into the dock and it all lits up every time. Lift it off (as long as the drives are unmounted) and the same work can continue in an armchair without any delay. No need to eject eGPUs and such.

I'm sure there are individual posts about trouble/bugs with DisplayLink, but one can't generalize from there that it's "slow and not usable" for all. We don't have stats to work with, but I'd be ready to bet a small amount of money that it is a good solution for most. I know at least one colleague who's happily using a somewhat similar, though less complex setup.

 

[ca$hman]

You set the facts straight about the article: it talks about a fix for resolutions, and that the hardware GPU can't support more monitors than Apple's specs say. And that it will almost certainly stay that way.

But it is factually incorrect, as a sweeping generalization, to say that DisplayLink is "slow and not usable for many normal display requirements" — without naming any.

I do graphics-related heavy multitasking for living on a daily basis and the latest 1.2 DisplayLink manager has been both fast and reliable. Also in clamshell mode. There is no perceivable difference compared to my previous 16" + AMD 5800 eGPU. It's just as smooth when running 4k videos on all 3 displays and moving them around at the same time. No tearing, lag, artifacts, nothing weird going on.

CPU consumption of the DisplayLink process hovers between 2 and 20 percent (out of 800) during normal use and I've never seen it get much higher than that for any longer periods. Considering that when connected to ext displays, it's also connected to power (Brydge vertial dock, Caldigit, TB3 primary ext display) — and that M1 performs so well overall — this setup works better than what I had previously. It was also so much cheaper that after selling both the 16" and eGPU second hand, I had enough money left over to buy Airpods Max for all-day battery and multidevice connectivity.

Note that the latest DisplayLink Manager for M1/BigSur is just an app. It's not a "driver" in a traditional sense, doesn't even use a kernel extension. It has not changed behavior over 11.0.1, 11.1 and now 11.2. A very not invasive piece of software that apparently doesn't need low-level hacks to function.

Setup: Two DisplayLink-connected 24" monitors at WQHD, 2560x1440, scaled to 2152x1050. The primary display is an LG 5k 27", connected directly to the Brydge. The DisplayLink dock is daisy-chained behind the LG, along with a 2 TB SSD and some audio peripherals. The other port of the Mac/Brydge is connected to a Caldigit Mini, which is connected to a USB3 hub, which is connected to lord knows how many devices. It also provides a 100 Mbit Ethernet.

Usage: Drop the M1 into the dock and it all lits up every time. Lift it off (as long as the drives are unmounted) and the same work can continue in an armchair without any delay. No need to eject eGPUs and such.

I'm sure there are individual posts about trouble/bugs with DisplayLink, but one can't generalize from there that it's "slow and not usable" for all. We don't have stats to work with, but I'd be ready to bet a small amount of money that it is a good solution for most. I know at least one colleague who's happily using a somewhat similar, though less complex setup.

Exactly same experience here. I think if you know what you are doing and have your setup right so your software, settings and hardware (including right cables) it works out just fine.

 

[osplo]

Setup: Two DisplayLink-connected 24" monitors at WQHD, 2560x1440, scaled to 2152x1050. The primary display is an LG 5k 27", connected directly to the Brydge. The DisplayLink dock is daisy-chained behind the LG, along with a 2 TB SSD and some audio peripherals. The other port of the Mac/Brydge is connected to a Caldigit Mini, which is connected to a USB3 hub, which is connected to lord knows how many devices. It also provides a 100 Mbit Ethernet.

Usage: Drop the M1 into the dock and it all lits up every time. Lift it off (as long as the drives are unmounted) and the same work can continue in an armchair without any delay.

Hi Petter, sorry to go a bit off-topic, but if I got it right you are using an M1 Air with two external monitors...

I researched this Brydge thing but they explicitly state that: "The new 2020 MacBook Air & 13-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the Apple M1 chip do not support multiple displays." (which was also my understanding and Apple official word).

So, you say that this works flawlessly? Even with the Air monitor on? And aren't you afraid that this setup, being a non-Apple sanctioned setup, may stop working with a future release of MacOS?

Thanks, I am very interested in this kind of setup as it could work very well for me.

 

[petterihiisila]

Hi Petter, sorry to go a bit off-topic, but if I got it right you are using an M1 Air with two external monitors...

I researched this Brydge thing but they explicitly state that: "The new 2020 MacBook Air & 13-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the Apple M1 chip do not support multiple displays." (which was also my understanding and Apple official word).

So, you say that this works flawlessly? Even with the Air monitor on? And aren't you afraid that this setup, being a non-Apple sanctioned setup, may stop working with a future release of MacOS?

Thanks, I am very interested in this kind of setup as it could work very well for me.

I think you should read the post carefully. The details are described there, including the answer and reasoning, why it's a relatively low-risk setup in terms of update survivability.

Edit: One missing detail was the dock. This is what I have. Others have had success with others. No drivers needed, just DisplayLink Manager.app. DisplayLink has a list of supported docks.

 

[osplo]

I think you should read the post carefully. The details are described there, including the answer and reasoning, why it's a relatively low-risk setup in terms of update survivability.

Edit: One missing detail was the dock. This is what I have. Others have had success with others. No drivers needed, just DisplayLink Manager.app. DisplayLink has a list of supported docks.

Ok, I did. So now I am even more amazed since I understood that you are not running 2 external monitors, you are running 3 (1x27" + 2x24"). And I suspect that you can even simultaneously run the Air monitor at the same time too (for a total of 4 monitors).

I was not aware that this DisplayLink thing (or is it the almighty M1?) was so brilliantly efficient, thanks for sharing.

 

[petterihiisila]

Ok, I did. So now I am even more amazed since I understood that you are not running 2 external monitors, you are running 3 (1x27" + 2x24"). And I suspect that you can even simultaneously run the Air monitor at the same time too (for a total of 4 monitors).

I was not aware that this DisplayLink thing (or is it the almighty M1?) was so brilliantly efficient, thanks for sharing.

Yes. One thunderbolt. Two displaylinks. If I open the lid, fourth display pops up without any delay.

 

[nic84]

DisplayLink works since a while, when they updated the drivers included in the DisplayLink Manager app. But there is a downside: it does not support HDCP, which means that Apple Music and Apple TV don't really work, you'll get an error that the video (even if it is only music in Apple Music) can't be played on that screen. Not all display resolutions are working properly and you can't use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac, as it doesn't allow unlocking while your screen is shared, which is exactly what DisplayLink does.

Edit: I used DisplayLink with two 24" monitors with my M1 Air, but then decided to switch to a single bigger screen, since I didn't like these limitations.

 

[gank41]

I'm still having an issue with Launchpad applications reverting to their initial totally out of place order.. I wish they'd just have a setting to organize them all alphabetically. How is that still so hard? Also still having issues with a few encrypted external drives not remembering their password when mounted. Even though the check box to remember password is set. This has been an issue since I first connected them on my M1 MBP.

 

[RigSatMe]

I'm still having an issue with Launchpad applications reverting to their initial totally out of place order.. I wish they'd just have a setting to organize them all alphabetically. How is that still so hard? Also still having issues with a few encrypted external drives not remembering their password when mounted. Even though the check box to remember password is set. This has been an issue since I first connected them on my M1 MBP.

This #22

 

[gank41]

This #22

I did try that, but then after updating to the final macOS 11.2 RC (2 or 3? Whatever the last one was that went final), all of my Launchpad apps went out of the order I had moved them to and then remained for quite some time. I could go and rearrange them back the way I wanted, even after following these steps. Not even just a reboot could trigger it, even just the Dock crashing would screw up the order again, reverting back to the same incorrect order. I've also tried using Onyx to reset Launchpad, and then went thru and put them in the folders/order that I want. Reboot, and then back to the freshly reset order after doing it from Onyx. It's like it gets put to that order but then the .plist file or whatever file that stores that order in your preferences isn't allowed to be written to. Kinda like if you open a Word attachment from within an email and then edit it and close it. It doesn't save those changes to the attachment in the email. Like, Read Only. I don't know. I'm only speculating from the troubleshooting I've been doing on my end.

 

[Apple_Robert]

My M1 isn't in the list of signed in devices, either. More than likely, it is a bug.

 

[mi7chy]

Issues still with 11.2:

Broken trackpad palm rejection
Touching Touch ID doesn't wake device from long sleep
Pressing Touch ID wakes it up and turns it off or wakes it up then prompts with dialogue to shut down
Slow eMMC like disk performance on 256GB model
Xbox One X controller doesn't work although can be paired

Still need to confirm:

Reset doesn't brick MacOS or get stuck at creating account
Schizo autobrightness when battery gets down to ~30%
Avoiding USB-C hubs that brick device but need to confirm before warranty expires

 

[HarukiMurakami21]

So I’m curious to see what issues will be popping up with M1 Macs once more users start using them. Please post it here!

Here is what I just stumbled upon:

I have an issue with my MacBook Air M1's usb-c. I use a Plantronics external dock and headset for work and the USB for the dock is plugged into an apple usb-c adapter and was intermittently recognized, with no rhyme or reason as to why. What's quite strange is I also have a Belkin adapter working with no issues at all (so far) plugged into the other usb-c port for my ethernet hookup. Both adapters and corresponding units work perfectly with my Dell laptop and my old Mac's thunderbolt ports and corresponding adapters. Very strange. I've tried all the shut down/sleep mode/plug in/plug out "fixes" and none of them are working for me. Once the Apple stores open back up here on the west coast I'll be returning this Mac unless I can find a fix that works reliably. Very very frustrating.

 

[wicked271]

Hi, just curious if anyone have any wifi problems? Got my Mac Mini M1 a few days ago and downloading apps was slow but not bad (11.1). I was even able to sync my dropbox and icloud. Yesterday, I upgraded to the latest Big sur 11.2, and just downloading the app Calibre (164mb) is taking so long, it won't even finish downloading.. It keeps disconnecting. I just tried to download it on a Windows computer and it's done downloading already while on my mini, it's using bytes/sec! Also, browsing through macforums, I keep getting

 

[veloctct]

1. Finder crashes frequently when I just try to open it (once a day). That's the main one that bothers me the most.

 

[Daichip]

Got my new Macbook Pro 13'' with the new M1 chip two days ago. After updating to the latest OS version (11.2) I noticed that my webcam stopped working. It shows a black feed in all of the apps I tried (Facetime, Photoboot, Skype and Teams). The green led works and doesn't blink, also the camera is shown in the list of components by the system.
I'm almost positive that the camera worked before the update, so I don't really know if it's the update's fault or just a faulty camera.
I also tried to start in safe mode to see if the problem was still there and it was. I also tried the diagnose app at boot by pressing CMD+D and no issue was found. I think I've tried almost everything.
Unfortunately, the recovery tool installs the 11.2 version and not the previous one, so I cannot really check if I'm right or not.

Any tips? I'm really not familiar with MacBooks, as this is my first one.