@GabrieleR has been active on MacRumors as late as oct 22, but in true oracular fashion he doesn't speak much, 11 posts in 14 years.
But if anything I'd bet he's annoyed this thread has been active for this long.
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
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But if anything I'd bet he's annoyed this thread has been active for this long.
I think most of the people on this thread have passed on.
The torch has been passed to the Mac Studio guys, lol.
Apple has had monitor compatibility issues for years that have been mostly ignored. The LG 5K monitors that they sold in their stores had issues on day one and have additional issues today with the M chips. Then there are hardware compatibility issues with some monitors through the M1's HDMI connector (I haven't seen if fixed in M2s).
Yeah, it's a bit of a joke at this point. I only put up with it on my 2018 mini because the issues developed 18 months into me owning it. If I had them from the beginning I would have returned it.
I am willing to try again once more (M3 or M3 Pro mini, perhaps), otherwise I go full time Windows. I refuse to pay so much for a headless Mac that is plagued with issues that have existed for years and are only getting worse it seems.
I usually keep my mouth 🤐 about this (following), but, since you seem rather resonant on this particular pathetic topic, I reckon you might well enjoy [I know that's not EXACTLY the right word, but it will do] the link below, if you're not already aware of it. It's QUITE the Deep Dive into the Whole Rotten Mess, if you really wanna poke around. Start here:
Apple Core Rot
I'm currently using the same Samsung 4K monitor for a PC and a 2018 Mac mini, switching the input depending on which machine I'm running. The switch from Mac to PC always goes well, because the PC is apparently more forgiving. The switch in the other direction is more time-dependent -- as in, how soon after you've powered on the monitor can you boot the Mac, because there's only about a two-second window where it works right -- and unnecessarily frustrating. Some of that I've called down upon myself by the dual use, but that can't be *that* unique of a use case.
That is interesting. I've been using a KVM switch to alternate between M1 Mini and PC with a single 4K TV as my monitor and no issues switching over the past year. I also use a wireless keyboard/mouse and never experienced any problems going back and forth between waking the Mini or the PC.
It may be that I'm not using a KVM switch but have the two machines plugged in as different inputs to the monitor. Unfortunately the monitor is pretty janky about selecting inputs -- you have to cycle through the options, and that means waiting for the options you want to time out so you can go to the next one -- and it's frustrating to do thirty seconds of button choreography only to have the mini drop the baton.
I have both Mac and PC HDMI connected directly to the monitor too. I could have gone through the KVM switch but didn't. Still no issues switching through inputs, but the Hisense 4K TV uses Roku OS so it's quick changing inputs.
I will probably wander by the KVMs the next time I'm at the nerd store. The last time I looked, though, the ones on display had SVGA connectors, which was hardly encouraging.
I can't recall why I didn't connect the HDMI cables through the KVM. I know I did so at one point when I used to have a 24" BenQ monitor, but just plugged the HDMI cables directly into the TV when I "upgraded". If it helps, here's the KVM switch I've been using since June 2021 without issue:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NVKHRRT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I for the life of me cannot understand why my 4k Dell Ultrasharp cannot do 60hz over HDMI while USB C-Displayport can. Such a waste of a USB C port on my M2.
The Dell UP3216Q I have does have a 2.0 option and it is enabled. I did have to play with the Nvidia settings in my PC to force it to display 60hz when I was testing it. Guess that option isn't on a Mac.
It sounds like HDMI issues with the M1 continue with the M2. Many standard (older) monitors that worked with Intel minis would not function with the built-in HDMI port. It is like they don't do testing.
Apple definitely doesn't test a wide range of monitors. The 2018 mini was buggy enough with monitors, but the AS Macs appears to be even worse, with no effort made to improve things by Apple. I don't know what I'll do if the M3 Mini is still broken....
I connected my 32" QHD screen to my 2018 Mini with a USB-C to displayport cable just to avoid these issues. But a few weeks ago, I decided that port could be put to better use with another external SSD, so I connected the monitor to the HDMI port. It works fine, but there's a one-pixel wide green line that runs the full length of the right side of the screen.
Not a big deal, I usually don't even notice it, but it just shows that the 2018 Mini HDMI issues were never really corrected. In one of the many threads on this topic, somebody said that the M1 Mini used the same HDMI controller as the 2018.
I have issues with every connection type possible on both my monitors. They both allow me to test:1. USB-C to USB-C, 2. USB-C to HDMI, 3. USB-C to DisplayPort, and 4. HDMI to HDMI. My HDMI port completely broke after updating to Big Sur a few years ago, lol. As you say, the fact these HDMI and broader monitor issues haven't been fixed is simply unacceptable and says a lot about Apple's priorities.
What am I supposed to upgrade to from my 2018 mini if all the AS minis have the same (or even worse) monitor issues than my 2018 mini? Suck it up or hope they fix it in the M3 version (no luck over the past 4+ years, so I doubt it)? Or... do I go to the dark side, as monitor issues are just half of the story with my 2018 mini and M2 Pro mini I tried. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Rant over.
Wow, I'll consider myself lucky then as HDMI has worked fine for me on my base M1 Mini, 2015 MacBook Pro 13, M1 MacBook Air, and when I briefly had the base Mac Studio and M2 Pro Mini. At some point I've connected the aforementioned machines to a 24" BenQ monitor, Hisense 4K TV, Samsung HD TV, Vizio 4K TV, and Sony 4K TV. No issues at all with the picture or sleep (well, the Hisense is clipping highlights at 4K60 but fine at 4K30).
I don't doubt the issues you and @gusping are experiencing, truly unfortunate, but I wonder what the underlying cause is. I figure if source/target and cables are all compliant with display protocols then it should all work. There shouldn't be a need to test a huge selection of monitors if the protocol standards are adhered to.
Edit: Just realized I don't encounter sleep issues because my Mac devices don't sleep. I specifically prevent sleep so I can remote into them. I have WakeOnLAN enabled for my WindowsPC because it's a power hog, but the Macs are so efficient that I've just left them on since the M1 transition. Display goes to sleep but not the hardrive/SSD. I don't recall any wake issues when I had my 2015-era Intel MBP connected to an external display and back then I did allow it to fully sleep.
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I didn't say these issues are "simply unacceptable". Just a minor annoyance for me, and although I agree Apple should have addressed them, I'm not ranting. I was aware of the HDMI issues when I bought my 2018 Mini in 2020. That's why I used the USB-C to displayport monitor connection. Of course, it's a much bigger deal on the M1 Mini, since you must use the HDMI port if you want two screens.
Overall, I'm still delighted with this Mini. It works perfectly with demanding Windows software in a 32gb Parallels VM, frequently running 24/7 exporting (literally) millions of GIS files in Windows while I continue doing all the usual things in MacOS. No plans to upgrade until my 2018 Mini can't run a version of MacOS that still gets security updates.
Yer my M1 mini had monitor issues also. Had to buy an adapter, cross my fingers and figure out a work around. Inconvenient but it works.
P.S. The work around requires changing the input signal twice, every time I turn on the mini whether from sleep or off. Otherwise I get random, red, intermittent, flickering pixels everywhere where there is black.
P.S. The work around requires changing the input signal twice, every time I turn on the mini whether from sleep or off. Otherwise I get random, red, intermittent, flickering pixels everywhere where there is black.
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