M4 Mac Mini issues

[Baywatchboy]

I bought the M4 Mac Mini a few months ago, upgrading from the 2018 Mini. I've been having constant issues with it and I'm wondering if anyone else is having the same problems. I attached a screenshot of what I got and am running 2 monitors (dual HDMI from Thunderbolt) and a TV (HDMI) as a third monitor. Here are some of the ones I'm having:

Keyboard is only recognized for Pages and no other app - I don't believe this is a keyboard issue, but rather an issue with the computer
Can not tab through apps
Force quit does not seem to work
If I have a few tabs open in Safari and open Chrome to stream video, video is jumpy - quitting Safari and restarting it seems to fix this
I've had to manually restart with power button because computer won't restart or shutdown from dropdown menu

I use my computer for very basic stuff. I'll usually have Safari (usually 4-5 tabs), Mail, Filemaker and Slack open. Occasionally I will have Chrome open as well. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciate. I feel like I screwed myself by upgrading. Thanks in advance.

 

[PaulD-UK]

What keyboard are you using?
Is it an Apple one that can be plugged in to see if that helps?

 

[Baywatchboy]

What keyboard are you using?
Is it an Apple one that can be plugged in to see if that helps?

I'm using an Apple wireless keyboard. Plugging it in was the first thing I tried. Didn't change anything. I think I ended up restarting the computer.

For all the issues I listed, restarting cures everything, at least temporarily.

 

[streetfunk]

Does not sound normal.

What you "could" try to do:
Reboot into recovery mode.
Ersase the SSD.
Reinstall the macOS fresh again.
Take first a TM backup of your system. Or something similar

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Do you have a traditional wired keyboard? If so, plug it in as a substitute for the wireless to rule out/in problems with the wireless keyboard. If the wired one works fine, you'll narrow things down to the keyboard or the bluetooth connection.

I'm presuming the whole list revolves around using the keyboard. For instance, "cannot tab through apps" (on the keyboard???). If not, edit post 1 with a bit more detail. Is keyboard sufficiently charged?

Are you using keyboard far from Mini?

I don't know where the bluetooth antennas are on the new Mini. They used to be built into the BOTTOM of Macs. So you might try putting the Mini up on its side to expose the bottom towards the keyboard to see if that makes any difference. To proactively deal with the potential of this, I have my Mac mounted to a wall, bottom side "facing" keyboard.

If everything can be bluetooth issues, sub in wired keyboard and wired mouse for a while and see if problems repeat.

What macOS version are you running?

If through some of this you more thoroughly suspect the keyboard, take it to an Apple Store, link it to a demo Mac Mini there and see if these issues will repeat. That would show that it is a problem beyond only your one Mac Mini. And if I did this, I'd then try the exact same with a Mac Studio and see if it repeats with a different Mac model. If not, you'll have pinned it down to a Mac Mini problem (beyond your own). If it does, you'll just about confirm that your keyboard has some issue (though it could still be macOS 15 too). For further clarification, move on to an iMac on display for one more (different) Mac test. As it does or does not repeat with these other Macs, you''ll be growing or shrinking confidence about it possibly being the keyboard vs. your Mac.

If you happen to have a former Mac around that could be updated to latest macOS too, you might try keyboard with that Mac as one more "different' Mac test with all other variables the same.

 

[ignatius345]

Something is clearly amiss, and what you're saying about the Finder freezes and the stuttering video playback implies it's more than just the keyboard.

I'd consider wiping and reinstalling the system as suggested by @streetfunk (obviously backing up first). Before you bring in all your old stuff, I would actually start a brand new user account* and use it as a "vanilla" system for a little while to see if the problems come back or not.

1. If problems you saw do come back, you're probably looking at hardware issues at that point.

2. If they don't come back, try bringing in your old stuff (via Migration Assistant, from that backup you made), and then see what happens.

3. If the problems come back after migration of your old stuff, then you know the problem is something in the user account(s) or applications you just migrated back in.

* important: if you're setting up a test user account, name it "test" or something, because if it has the same name as your real user account from your backup, you'll run into conflicts when you try to migrate that back in.

 

[Baywatchboy]

Do you have a traditional wired keyboard? If so, plug it in as a substitute for the wireless to rule out/in problems with the wireless keyboard. If the wired one works fine, you'll narrow things down to the keyboard or the bluetooth connection.

I'm presuming the whole list revolves around using the keyboard. For instance, "cannot tab through apps" (on the keyboard???). If not, edit post 1 with a bit more detail. Is keyboard sufficiently charged?

Are you using keyboard far from Mini?

I don't know where the bluetooth antennas are on the new Mini. They used to be built into the BOTTOM of Macs. So you might try putting the Mini up on its side to expose the bottom towards the keyboard to see if that makes any difference. To proactively deal with the potential of this, I have my Mac mounted to a wall, bottom side "facing" keyboard.

If everything can be bluetooth issues, sub in wired keyboard and wired mouse for a while and see if problems repeat.

What macOS version are you running?

If through some of this you more thoroughly suspect the keyboard, take it to an Apple Store, link it to a demo Mac Mini there and see if these issues will repeat. That would show that it is a problem beyond only your one Mac Mini. And if I did this, I'd then try the exact same with a Mac Studio and see if it repeats with a different Mac model. If not, you'll have pinned it down to a Mac Mini problem (beyond your own). If it does, you'll just about confirm that your keyboard has some issue (though it could still be macOS 15 too). For further clarification, move on to an iMac on display for one more (different) Mac test. As it does or does not repeat with these other Macs, you''ll be growing or shrinking confidence about it possibly being the keyboard vs. your Mac.

If you happen to have a former Mac around that could be updated to latest macOS too, you might try keyboard with that Mac as one more "different' Mac test with all other variables the same.

I am using an Apple wireless keyboard and my first remedy for that specific issue was to try a wired keyboard. That did not solve that issue. I am currently running 15.2. I don't think it's a keyboard issue.

 

[Baywatchboy]

Does not sound normal.

What you "could" try to do:
Reboot into recovery mode.
Ersase the SSD.
Reinstall the macOS fresh again.
Take first a TM backup of your system. Or something similar

Definitely doesn't sound normal. I was trying to avoid doing something like this, but that just might be what I have to do. Thanks.

 

[Baywatchboy]

Something is clearly amiss, and what you're saying about the Finder freezes and the stuttering video playback implies it's more than just the keyboard.

I'd consider wiping and reinstalling the system as suggested by @streetfunk (obviously backing up first). Before you bring in all your old stuff, I would actually start a brand new user account* and use it as a "vanilla" system for a little while to see if the problems come back or not.

1. If problems you saw do come back, you're probably looking at hardware issues at that point.

2. If they don't come back, try bringing in your old stuff (via Migration Assistant, from that backup you made), and then see what happens.

3. If the problems come back after migration of your old stuff, then you know the problem is something in the user account(s) or applications you just migrated back in.

* important: if you're setting up a test user account, name it "test" or something, because if it has the same name as your real user account from your backup, you'll run into conflicts when you try to migrate that back in.

Appreciate it. I was beginning if I got the one bad apple (pun not intended). Thanks for the tip on the test user account. 👍

 

[NeonNights]

A few other sites have reported USB-C dropouts and connectivity issues on the new M4 Mac Mini. I haven't seem MacRumors report on it yet. I realize your issue is with a wireless Apple keyboard, but you're also experiencing disconnects with the wired connection. Hopefully we learn about what's plaguing some new Mac Mini owners and hopefully the issue can be remedied in software.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/01/15/m4-mac-mini-may-have-a-usb-c-connectivity-problem

 

[Baywatchboy]

A few other sites have reported USB-C dropouts and connectivity issues on the new M4 Mac Mini. I haven't seem MacRumors report on it yet. I realize your issue is with a wireless Apple keyboard, but you're also experiencing disconnects with the wired connection. Hopefully we learn about what's plaguing some new Mac Mini owners and hopefully the issue can be remedied in software.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/01/15/m4-mac-mini-may-have-a-usb-c-connectivity-problem

I don't think I've had any USB-C issues. At least none that I'm aware of. I really don't think there's an issue with my keyboard, I think there's multiple issues with my computer.