Users of Apple’s new Mac mini featuring the Apple-built M1 chip have taken to forums to complain of Bluetooth connectivity issues that left devices virtually unusable.
Users have taken to Reddit to talk about their issues connecting their Mac minis and MacBook Pros to Apple’s wireless keyboard and mouse via Bluetooth. Users have also reported problems connecting Apple AirPods and other third-party Bluetooth hardware.
One user said: “Returned my first M1 Mac mini due to Bluetooth connectivity issues. A replacement unit has the very same issue – across multiple Bluetooth devices and vendors. This is clearly an M1 Mac issue. Let’s hope Apple fixes it asap.”
Users have aired similar grievances on Apple’s forums, saying there “seems to be some Bluetooth wake issue where keyboard presses or mouse clicks do not wake [the] machine”.
“If I press the button once on back, the monitor will wake but the keyboard and trackpad are not recognized unless I do a hard power reset holding back button in until it powers off. When it powers back on, everything works fine,” said user Daving313.
Twitter user Patrick Tomasso posted a YouTube video showing a range of Bluetooth devices struggling to connect to the new Mac mini. Tomasso had already tried using his new Apple computer with a Logitech MX Master 3 and a Magic Mouse 2, and “all of them cut out intermittently” when in use.
In a tweet, he described the issues he had.
"I'm going crazy trying to figure out the Bluetooth issues with this machine. I thought maybe a few of us had an isolated issue but forums/Reddit are popping up now all over," he said.
It’s unknown if the issue is with the new M1 chip or Apple’s latest operating system, macOS Big Sur. It’s also unclear how many units are affected by the issue. Apple hasn’t responded to complaints at the time of writing.
Mac mini connection problems are nothing new, as Intel-based devices from 2018 exhibited similar problems.
The only one workaround to this issue appears to be using a third-party Bluetooth receiver instead of Apple's integrated receiver.
