Mac Mini 2018 i7 all 4 Thunderbolt Ports not working?

[cobi666]

I have a Mac Mini 2018 i7 16gb ram 256gb ssd the mini was purchased in Oct 2020.
The problem is that none of the 4 thunderbolt ports are working. I have tried to connect the following devices via the thunderbolt ports.

1. UGREEN M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure, USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps
2. Apple cinema displays 30'' (x2) Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (x2) MEIRIYFA USB Type C to Mini DisplayPort Adapter, 4K@60Hz USB C Male to Mini DP Cable Adapter (x2)

I have already tried the following.

• Reset PRAM and SMC
• Ran Apple diagnostics which found no hardware errors.
• Erased the HD and reinstalled Sonoma via internet recovery. - nada.
• Then went through the same process again using a Monterey (12.6.5) bootable usb. - nada. I Then updated to Monterey(12.7.4) via system update - still nada.

Both the HDMI and the USB-A ports work as normal.

The Ugreen enclosure indicator light does not come on when connected via thunderbolt ports and both Cinema Displays indicator lights flash. Could it be a power issue ?

The Ugreen enclosure works when connected to Mac Mini's USB-A port. All device's work when connected to my 15'' MacBook Pro 2015 and to a friends Mac Mini 2018 i7.

Any help would be appreciated!!!

I have attached the system reports for the Thunderbolt and USB.

 

[DeltaMac]

Try hooking up the display with the adapter to a USB port, THEN go to either USB or Graphics/displays, just to check if anything appears different. (display has its own power, which might show up as some kind of connection, even though the display doesn't appear to work. If you make changes to the connections while the System information is open, remember to press Cmd-r to reload the information page, just on the chance that something changes when you connect a device that might provide power back to your Mac. If you get no response/change from any port on USB bus, and you have already tried an NVRAM reset (do it again, just for another chance), be sure to also try disconnecting power cord for a few minutes power off (give it 10 minutes, should be long enough) with "nothing" attached to the mini--disconnect everything, just for a last shot. After that, if you still get no response from the USB bus, then I think likely a blown fuse on the logic board (not user replaceable, requires repair/replacement of the logic board. Uncommon to find shops that can (or even want to) repair the logic boards, unless you live near or in a big city.

 

[djc6]

When did the ports stop working? There are two thunderbolt controller chips, one for each of two ports. So its suprising that all four are broken. My concern would be if there is an issue with one or your USB-C devices that broke the controller chips in the mac mini, perhaps by trying the device on multiple ports.

Pictures on this page show two JHL7540 thunderbolt controllers. None of the devices you listed are actually thunderbolt. I'm kinda curious if a real thunderbolt device like a thunderbolt hub would work and you could use this to restore some ports on your mini.

Example of such a device: https://www.macrumors.com/2024/03/06/owcs-14-port-thunderbolt-dock-deals/

There is a Intel SR40E CM246 platform controller hub in the ifixit teardown - it seems to me this chip handles all the USB when you lookup the datasheet, and it could be the single point of failure for USB.

Mac mini Late 2018 Teardown

The future is now! Apple’s once-neglected Mac mini is coming in hot with a brand new, cutting edge, long awaited … processor upgrade? And a couple...

www.ifixit.com

 

[cobi666]

Try hooking up the display with the adapter to a USB port, THEN go to either USB or Graphics/displays, just to check if anything appears different. (display has its own power, which might show up as some kind of connection, even though the display doesn't appear to work. If you make changes to the connections while the System information is open, remember to press Cmd-r to reload the information page, just on the chance that something changes when you connect a device that might provide power back to your Mac. If you get no response/change from any port on USB bus, and you have already tried an NVRAM reset (do it again, just for another chance), be sure to also try disconnecting power cord for a few minutes power off (give it 10 minutes, should be long enough) with "nothing" attached to the mini--disconnect everything, just for a last shot. After that, if you still get no response from the USB bus, then I think likely a blown fuse on the logic board (not user replaceable, requires repair/replacement of the logic board. Uncommon to find shops that can (or even want to) repair the logic boards, unless you live near or in a big city.

DeltaMac, I tried hooking 1 Cinema Display to the Mac Mini's Thunderbolt ports. Nothing appeared different under System Report USB, Graphics/Displays or Thunderbolt/USB4.

 

[cobi666]

DeltaMac, I tried hooking 1 Cinema Display to the Mac Mini's Thunderbolt ports. Nothing appeared different under System Report USB, Graphics/Displays or Thunderbolt/USB4.

Also tried NVRAM/SMC no joy

 

[cobi666]

When did the ports stop working? There are two thunderbolt controller chips, one for each of two ports. So its suprising that all four are broken. My concern would be if there is an issue with one or your USB-C devices that broke the controller chips in the mac mini, perhaps by trying the device on multiple ports.

Pictures on this page show two JHL7540 thunderbolt controllers. None of the devices you listed are actually thunderbolt. I'm kinda curious if a real thunderbolt device like a thunderbolt hub would work and you could use this to restore some ports on your mini.

Example of such a device: https://www.macrumors.com/2024/03/06/owcs-14-port-thunderbolt-dock-deals/

There is a Intel SR40E CM246 platform controller hub in the ifixit teardown - it seems to me this chip handles all the USB when you lookup the datasheet, and it could be the single point of failure for USB.

Mac mini Late 2018 Teardown

The future is now! Apple’s once-neglected Mac mini is coming in hot with a brand new, cutting edge, long awaited … processor upgrade? And a couple...

www.ifixit.com

Just ordered a OWC thunderbolt dock will arrive tomorrow, will let you know if it has any effect.

 

[djc6]

Just ordered a OWC thunderbolt dock will arrive tomorrow, will let you know if it has any effect.

I'm curious what happened

 

[cobi666]

I Think a fuse/chip that delivers power to all 4 thunderbolt ports has blown. When contacted to the powered OWC thunderbolt dock the thunderbolt ports worked as normal.

 

[cobi666]

Anybody got any idea what chip was blown and wether it can replaced?
Also can anybody recommend a powered thunderbolt 3 dock with 3 thunderbolt ports? I know that OWC sells the Thunderbolt Hub but its a out of my budget.
Would a OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock work?

 

[djc6]

I Think a fuse/chip that delivers power to all 4 thunderbolt ports has blown. When contacted to the powered OWC thunderbolt dock the thunderbolt ports worked as normal.

I'm confused. So you connected the OWC thunderbolt dock to the mac mini and it works? You can use the ports on the dock?

So the issue is you can't use thunderbolt ports on your mac mini as USB ports, but you can use them as thunderbolt ports? And the thunderbolt dock you can do USB stuff on it?

 

[cobi666]

Sorry for the confusion.

With the OWC thunderbolt dock connected, the dock registers on Thunderbolt/USB4 and devices connected to the thunderbolt dock work as normal.

Yes I can do USB stuff on the OWC thunderbolt dock.

The other 3 ports on the Mac mini still do not work when the OWC dock is connected.

Thanks for your help.

 

[djc6]

Sorry for the confusion.

With the OWC thunderbolt dock connected, the dock registers on Thunderbolt/USB4 and devices connected to the thunderbolt dock work as normal.

Yes I can do USB stuff on the OWC thunderbolt dock.

The other 3 ports on the Mac mini still do not work when the OWC dock is connected.

Thanks for your help.

I genuinely think keeping the dock and using it for all connectivity is likely cheaper than paying someone to troubleshoot and replace whatever chip/component inside your mac mini is broken.

Or get a used 2018 mac mini. If you don't find one with 16GB, the RAM can be swapped since those are SODIMMs - you can remove 16GB from broken mini into replacement mini.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"With the OWC thunderbolt dock connected, the dock registers on Thunderbolt/USB4 and devices connected to the thunderbolt dock work as normal."
and
"The other 3 ports on the Mac mini still do not work when the OWC dock is connected."

What this suggests to me (not certain), is that all 4 USBc/tbolt ports on the Mini might not be supplying "bus power" along with the data connections. The data portion is ok, but without power ... no "connection".

I'm going to assume (because I've never used one) that the OWC tbolt dock supplies ITS OWN bus power to connected devices.

Thus, devices (that require bus power in order to operate) connected to the OWC dock WORK.

But... devices (again that require bus power in order to operate) DO NOT work when connected directly to the Mini's ports WILL NOT WORK (no bus power present).

OP:
Do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store anywhere close?
If so, could you make a genius bar appt. and bring it in to have it checked?
I'll guess that THEY could tell you right away what was wrong with the tbolt ports.

Earlier in the thread it was mentioned that there might be (again, don't know) a "fuse" of some sort that protects the USBc/tbolt ports.

If there is, I'm thinking it's not "replace-able", or we would have known about it by now. It might be "self-resetting". Again, don't know.

If the Apple genius bar tells you that the ports are damaged, see what they'd want to fix it. I'm thinking they'll recommend a motherboard replacement, it might be the "only way". They may have a "fixed rate" repair charge.

Whether you want to do this, is up to you.

 

[djc6]

What this suggests to me (not certain), is that all 4 USBc/tbolt ports on the Mini might not be supplying "bus power" along with the data connections. The data portion is ok, but without power ... no "connection".

Thats a good thought. Does OP have any USB devices or hubs that provide their own power?

The screenshot in first post show a wired USB keyboard and a USB mouse - are those in the USB-A ports and only the thunderbolt (USB-C connector) ports don't work for non-thunderbolt?

What happens when you plug keyboard or mouse or some USB device with external power into the thunderbolt ports on the mac mini itself ? You may need a usb-a to usb-c adapter.

 

[DeltaMac]

Curious if you tried the other 3 Thunderbolt ports, to test if the external dock works on each thunderbolt port, and that USB devices work on the dock, regardless of which Thunderbolt port is used for the connection to the external dock...
There are two Thunderbolt controllers, each controlling two ports.