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M1 Mac mini not waking display after sleep
- Thread starter gooimac
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I talked to Apple Support on Sunday (3/21). The senior technician was really helpful. He said they are working on the issue and seemed to assure me that there would be a software update coming. I explained my display shows as a “27-inch” instead of a “32-inch” in the About My Mac settings for the display. There seems to be issues with these larger displays — thought I know the 27” displays have had sleep/wake issues also.
I ended up purchasing a USB-C to DisplayPort cable from Amazon and have not had trouble in past few days, including wake from 12+ hours of sleep. Apple wins for now, but at least I didn't have to replace my monitor 
Update from Apple Support on my case: I had a call back from Apple today with the technician I spoke w/ on Sunday. He said he didn’t need any additional information from me and that Apple was fully away of the exact I am dealing with sleep/wake and the type monitor/connection I have. He said there will be a fix coming — wasn’t sure if it’d be an 11.2.4 or in the big 11.3 update? — so that was good to hear and good to have their follow-up instead of me having to call them, at least I give them credit for good customer service!
Just to throw my setup into the mix. I’m currently using my M1 Mac Mini 8GB/256GB with a USB-C to HDMI cable. The screen will wake if it’s not been too long (about <10 minutes) but if it’s been off for a whlie it will not wake up and I need to unplug the cable from the Mac Mini and plug it back in.
I never let ANY Mac or monitor sleep. I'm on it for hours everyday, work from home and when not in use I activate a screensaver. my 3,1 Mac Pro from 2008 is still running, never sleeping and never shutting down. my 6,1 Mac Pro from 2013 has never been asleep and never shut down. ok, I'm not green. don't care. I have instant access to my machines and that's what I pay for. and before anyone types it, I have never, ever had 1 piece of hardware fail. ever. my 3,1 is running, maybe shutting down 1-2 weeks a year for vacation, since Feb 2008. translation-don't put Mac, hard drive or monitor to sleep.
@rasputin666 I’ve previously owned various Macs, including a Mac Pro 4,1 from 2009. That machine would be put to sleep overnight, or when I’m not going to use it for an extended period of time. While I don’t agree with leaving the machine running all the time - from a green point of view - I do understand wanting instant access to your machine that you’ve paid for.
Surely though everyone who’s purchased a Mac Mini has also paid for machine that can reliably go to sleep, and more importantly, wake up when needed? I’ve never had this issue with my previous Mac Pro or Mac Minis and while not the end of the world, it would be nice not to have to pull the video cable out each day when I attempt to wake the machine.
Surely though everyone who’s purchased a Mac Mini has also paid for machine that can reliably go to sleep, and more importantly, wake up when needed? I’ve never had this issue with my previous Mac Pro or Mac Minis and while not the end of the world, it would be nice not to have to pull the video cable out each day when I attempt to wake the machine.
Hello,
This is just one data point, but: I have a similar issue with an M1 Mac mini that's connected to two monitors (via USB-C and HDMI). It happens infrequently but randomly that one of the two monitors gets lost on waking from sleep. The workaround I've been using when this happens is to fully power off both *monitors* for a good couple of minutes then try again. Usually this fixes it; if not, I go around again. (Note that by "fully power off" I mean actually turn off the electrical power at the socket, not just press the power button on the monitor.) This is a bit tedious but a lot less disruptive than the stuff I was trying originally -- logging in and out, restarting the Mac, unplugging and replugging cables, etc. No guarantees that it will work for anyone else, but perhaps worth a try!
This is just one data point, but: I have a similar issue with an M1 Mac mini that's connected to two monitors (via USB-C and HDMI). It happens infrequently but randomly that one of the two monitors gets lost on waking from sleep. The workaround I've been using when this happens is to fully power off both *monitors* for a good couple of minutes then try again. Usually this fixes it; if not, I go around again. (Note that by "fully power off" I mean actually turn off the electrical power at the socket, not just press the power button on the monitor.) This is a bit tedious but a lot less disruptive than the stuff I was trying originally -- logging in and out, restarting the Mac, unplugging and replugging cables, etc. No guarantees that it will work for anyone else, but perhaps worth a try!
I agree 100%. totally unacceptable situation and I would be very concerned. pulling cables out every time I sat down would drive me crazy. I feel for you folks.
The same happens to me. Almost always the monitor manages to wake up, but at least once a day it does not happen. In some cases I solve by tapping the on button once on the back of the mac. But I almost always have to reconnect the thunderbolt cable.
I also connected the mac to an (hdmi) monitor, but it can't recognize it. Only by unplugging and reattaching the cable very numerous times (10, 20, 30 times) can I get the monitor to be recognized by the mac
I have this issue with my Macbook Pro w/ M1. To avoid pulling cables everytime you can open up System Prefs -> Display then click Gather Windows. If your external monitor supports other refresh rates changing the refresh rate might get the monitor to turn back on. I do this in order to get my LG Ultrawide to turn back on.
Just chiming in to say I have had the same problem since I got my Mac Mini M1 over 3 months ago.
I current use USB-C to USB-C and at least twice a week I have to plug / unplug it to be able to wake the machine. (I have also tried HDMI but that was some time ago).
It's a pain as I would like to locate the mini under my desk, but I can't do it because of this problem, and I don't think its exactly great for the longevity of the port connections, especially on a machine that is basically non-repairable. I tend to shutdown now - something I never used to do regularly.
Its also extraordinary that the worlds most valuable company - one that started out by creating one of the worlds first desktop computers - can't get something so utterly basic and essential right.
I current use USB-C to USB-C and at least twice a week I have to plug / unplug it to be able to wake the machine. (I have also tried HDMI but that was some time ago).
It's a pain as I would like to locate the mini under my desk, but I can't do it because of this problem, and I don't think its exactly great for the longevity of the port connections, especially on a machine that is basically non-repairable. I tend to shutdown now - something I never used to do regularly.
Its also extraordinary that the worlds most valuable company - one that started out by creating one of the worlds first desktop computers - can't get something so utterly basic and essential right.
I have both issues too, one screen on HDMI the other with a DVI adaptor. I haven't found a solution yet, but I've ticked prevent sleep when screen is off for now. The pink squares appear on everything but my iPad.
Does your monitor have hardware controls so that you can switch between different inputs?
That’s what I use on mind to wake up.
Well non responding screen after sleep (Mac Mini M1) just got a lot WORSE recently.
It did happen once in a while when machine was just bought, then Apple had me reinstall BigSur from Internet and the problem seemed to go away for a month or so. Now it's happening even after just a few hours of sleep.
Here are additional data in semi-random order:
Does it make sense to request a substitution of the machine? If so how?
Thanks in advance
It did happen once in a while when machine was just bought, then Apple had me reinstall BigSur from Internet and the problem seemed to go away for a month or so. Now it's happening even after just a few hours of sleep.
Here are additional data in semi-random order:
- Mac Mini M1 - BigSur 11.2.3 - ViewSonic 24" VX2476 - tested both with HDMI and Usb-C to DP (same behaviour)
- Nor touchpad nor BT apple keyboard do wake the screen but the BT usually is connected and you can hear a short beep from the Mac if pressing enter while the screen remains black.
- Some times unplugging the DP connector at the monitor's end does bring back the screen but recently it does not seem to work anymore
- In the System Preferences -> Energy Saver tried both un-checking the "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off" and "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" - no gain
- To those that state "I never sleep, just power off". I'd prefer sleeping for two main reasons a) it's much quicker to come back but most importantly when you turn on the machine you have that annoying audio chime and sometimes I need my machine at night or when family members sleep and don't want to disturb them.
- The only thing I can do 99% of the times is hold the power button for several seconds and turn off the machine and then power on again. So far I was lucky but I'm always fearing some disk/filesystem corruption
Does it make sense to request a substitution of the machine? If so how?
Thanks in advance
Do you have another Mac, PC or iPad? I’ve solved this on my M1 MBA and LG monitor now with a Caldigit SOHO hub but before that I had another solution. I would use another Mac and use the built-in remote connection on Big Sur to remote in to my MBA. This seemed to wake the monitor 100% of the time. This also proved to me that this monitor wake from sleep problem is purely software. YMMV.Well non responding screen after sleep (Mac Mini M1) just got a lot WORSE recently.
It did happen once in a while when machine was just bought, then Apple had me reinstall BigSur from Internet and the problem seemed to go away for a month or so. Now it's happening even after just a few hours of sleep.
Here are additional data in semi-random order:
I am otherwise VERY happy about this Mini M1 but this video thing is a royal pain.
- Mac Mini M1 - BigSur 11.2.3 - ViewSonic 24" VX2476 - tested both with HDMI and Usb-C to DP (same behaviour)
- Nor touchpad nor BT apple keyboard do wake the screen but the BT usually is connected and you can hear a short beep from the Mac if pressing enter while the screen remains black.
- Some times unplugging the DP connector at the monitor's end does bring back the screen but recently it does not seem to work anymore
- In the System Preferences -> Energy Saver tried both un-checking the "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off" and "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" - no gain
- To those that state "I never sleep, just power off". I'd prefer sleeping for two main reasons a) it's much quicker to come back but most importantly when you turn on the machine you have that annoying audio chime and sometimes I need my machine at night or when family members sleep and don't want to disturb them.
- The only thing I can do 99% of the times is hold the power button for several seconds and turn off the machine and then power on again. So far I was lucky but I'm always fearing some disk/filesystem corruption
Does it make sense to request a substitution of the machine? If so how?
Thanks in advance
Yes I have two Macbook Pro and two iPads at home
Very interesting. Will need to understand how to do this and give it a try. Thanks! Happy Easter.
New data point. I accidentally tried for the first time to manually turn off the monitor power and then on again and surprise I get a working screen again!
I use the monitors OSD via its joystick to change inputs.
https://www.lg.com/uk/monitors/lg-34UM95
thanks,
RDP
Had intermittently the issue of having my Mac mini M1 not detecting the display after waking up from sleep -- connected with USB C -> DisplayPort, but I always managed to have it work, either by changing the display's input (DP to HDMI and back to DP), by turning the display off and back on, or by unplugging and replugging the USB C connector on the Mac mini...
... Until this morning, where I cannot get it working. I turned the Mac mini off, then back on, etc. Nothing works.
I checked that my monitor (ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q) does work fine using DisplayPort with my old PC, so the monitor is not the culprit.
Could be the cable, but I doubt that.
HDMI does work, so I'm using that at the moment... No 120 Hz though, of course, and I have to manually switch the HDMI cable between my work-from-home company-provided laptop and my Mac.
(macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 btw)
... Until this morning, where I cannot get it working. I turned the Mac mini off, then back on, etc. Nothing works.
I checked that my monitor (ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q) does work fine using DisplayPort with my old PC, so the monitor is not the culprit.
Could be the cable, but I doubt that.
HDMI does work, so I'm using that at the moment... No 120 Hz though, of course, and I have to manually switch the HDMI cable between my work-from-home company-provided laptop and my Mac.
(macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 btw)
I have the same problem with my Samsung C49RG90 and mac mini m1. ive used two different cables (DP to USBC) and the minitor wont wake up after it goes to sleep. im using this cable and getting full 5120x 1440 @ 120hz resolution
: https://www.amazon.se/gp/product/B08B3SB5VC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I thought this problem was solved on big sur 11.2.3.
First time mac user since 5 days back and this first experience with mac havent been the best. Will probably return the mac and go back to windows if i dont find a solution within the 14 days return window.
: https://www.amazon.se/gp/product/B08B3SB5VC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I thought this problem was solved on big sur 11.2.3.
First time mac user since 5 days back and this first experience with mac havent been the best. Will probably return the mac and go back to windows if i dont find a solution within the 14 days return window.
Update: I found a good setting for my screen and it seems to be starting the monitor when its sleep.
I had to set my DP to USB-C settings down to 1.2 (from 1.4). But the big questions is, do DP 1.2 really support 5120x1440 resolution at 120HZ?? DP 1.2 supports max 4K at 60hz.
This is what shows up when choosing DP 1.2 instead of 1.4:
I had to set my DP to USB-C settings down to 1.2 (from 1.4). But the big questions is, do DP 1.2 really support 5120x1440 resolution at 120HZ?? DP 1.2 supports max 4K at 60hz.
This is what shows up when choosing DP 1.2 instead of 1.4:
I had the same issue with my Mac mini M1 and 2 HP z27n G2 displays (one DP and one HDMI).
The one with HDMI was never returning from sleep (I had to restart macOS).
The fix for me was setting the DP mode to DP 1.1. Now I can't imagine how this is fixing the HDMI input, but it works.
The one with HDMI was never returning from sleep (I had to restart macOS).
The fix for me was setting the DP mode to DP 1.1. Now I can't imagine how this is fixing the HDMI input, but it works.