2012 Mac mini - Won't wake monitor via DisplayPort

[monkeybongo]

I have the 2012 and it worked with my home theatre projector but going through a DisplayPort to HDMI adaptor would have issues a small number of times and required a reboot. I just turned off putting my display to sleep and just manually turn off the monitor when I didn't need it.

My 2018 does not have that issue, it works great for me.

 

[todditron]

Just piling on

2018 mac mini - two LG monitors, one will not wake. The usbc -> display port monitor does not detect a signal, but can be activated by unplugging and plugging back in. The other one usbc -> hdmi wakes fine.

2014 mac mini - two BenQ monitors - they can fail to wake unless I continuously move the mouse and hit keys while it is waking up. Otherwise, everything goes right back to sleep if I don't frantically hit stuff.

All of these motors and cables work fine, there is something up with the mac minis - suuupper annoying

 

[appleken]

Another update...both monitors wake 100% of the time if the system is manually placed in Sleep mode. The bug appears to be related to the system putting the monitors on standby while the system remains awake. My current workflow is to set the monitors/system to remain always on, and manually sleep the system when I leave. You have to be careful not to wake the system and let it sit at the login screen for more than a few seconds though, as Mac OS puts the monitors to sleep if nobody enters a password within about 30 seconds.

 

[DeltaMac]

Another choice, if you are OK with a an automatically logged in user, is to turn off the need to enter a password when waking from sleep, and turn off the automatic sleep, so you always use manual sleep (I don't want my work system to ever go to sleep, just because I am not using it for some period of time -- unless I intentionally want to sleep my Mac because I am leaving for the rest of that day. That Mac is never left with power off, always sleeping.

 

[Mizouse]

I've got a 2012 2.3ghz i7 Mini.

I also have the issue of my Mac sometimes not "waking up", however I recently noticed that the Mac eventually wakes up, seems like around 2-3 minutes after I move the mouse or press the space bar.

My setup is:
Dell U2410 is connected with the DVI to HDMI connector.
BenQ SW240 is connected via DP to mDP to a G-Technology G-Raid that is connected to the Mac Mini via Thunderbolt.

??‍♂️

 

[travis9999]

I also have a 2012 2.3 I7 Mini.
I have a 34" LG running at 3440 x 1440 and recently tried to connect a Dell S2415H running at 1920 x 1080 as a second monitor thru the mini display port.
I started out with this cable:
Mini DisplayPort(Mini DP) to HDMI Cable, JSAUX Thunderbolt 2 to HDMI 10FT Cord FHD Nylon Braided Gold-Plated Adapter Monodirectional for MacBook Air/Pro, Surface Pro/Dock, Monitor, Projector More-Grey
by JSAUX
It did not seem to keep a stable signal for more than 3 or 4 minutes at a time, and seemed to stay in power save mode more than up and working. The Dell monitor does not have a way to turn the power save mode off so I was frustrated with what else to try.
Whether I rebooted or unplugged and plugged in again, I could only get the monitor to work for 3 or 4 minutes at a time. If I put a browser on the second monitor it would eventually bounce batch to the 1st monitor and return to power save mode.

After reading a little about active vs passive display cables I decided to try this cable:
This is around $23 on amazon.
Plugable Active Mini DisplayPort (Thunderbolt 2) to HDMI 2.0 Adapter (Supports Mac, Windows, Linux and Displays up to 4k UHD 3840x2160@60Hz)

This is working for me with no issues.
I Hope this helps someone.

 

[jemoojio]

I'm running Mojave 10.14.6 on a 2012 Mac Mini with dual Dell 1440p Monitors (U2515H) and am having the same issue as described by multiple people here with my monitor not waking from sleep. I also have issues when I switch inputs on the monitor.

From my testing what I can tell is that this issue only occurs through displayport and mini displayport connections but monitors connected through an HDMI connection seem to be fine. Unfortunately since the Mac Mini 2012 only allows 1080p connections over HDMI on OSX that doesn't work for me.

The only fixes I've come up with are as follows:

1) Set your displays to never sleep. I'm not sure if setting your actual computer to never sleep makes a difference, as I already had mine set to never sleep due to it being used as a plex and print server.

Setting my monitors to never sleep seems to resolve the issue for me as they now work when I cycle through inputs on the monitor and when I turn off the monitor.

2) Use HDMI connections only. This would work best if you only have 1080p monitors but in my testing using a mdp to hdmi cable and hdmi to hdmi cable gave me dual monitor support without any issues.

3) Switch to Windows. From what I can tell from my usage in Bootcamp, this doesn't seem to be an issue so that tells me its an OSX specific issue and not a hardware issue. I've considered going this way as it would allow me to take advantage of my dual 1440p monitors.

I'm torn between switching to Windows or just biting the bullet on a 2018 Mac Mini. Not keen on switching to windows and all the work that will entail but I'm equally not keen on paying $2,000 too $3,000 CDN for a new Mac Mini.

 

[eddie0]

Hello everyone,
reading the whole discussion is clearly frusttrating.
I have exactly the same issue: The screen at the display port does not wake up sometimes.

Possible enhancement I figured out:
- It turns from nearly always to never for 4 weeks by using the HDMI display as the primary one.

But: Since today, the effect is back. And, as described more than once, the only "repair" is reboot of the system.

It is absolutely annoying.
Hey, Apple engineers: Why do you not simply tell us, which software component must be restarted?
The only explanation I have is a crash in the DP bios ( or similar ) which only can be repaired by cold start. But,
this would not explain, why boot camp/windows works without any problems.

But: Reboot is not really an option. And, it is not clear, whether a new Mac Mini would not have the same issue.

I hope, someone of Apple is also reading here..

 

[eddie0]

I've put also a question on the apple side:

MAC MINI DP Display does not wake up afte… - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

If it helps, I'll copy the answer here..

 

[watakoola]

It sounds silly, but...have you tried pulling the HDMI cable out of the mini and then reinserting it?

 

[Neodym]

And, it is not clear, whether a new Mac Mini would not have the same issue.

So far the 2018 mini seems to be okay (had a short delay in the DP port screen wakeup once or twice), apart from the fact that you need to patch (hack!) Catalina, so the HDMI Monitor is properly recognized. Otherwise the picture is completely garbled in lots of colorful pixels. There’s even a thread about that somewhere here on MR.

It sounds silly, but...have you tried pulling the HDMI cable out of the mini and then reinserting it?

Even if that worked, it would be a major PITA to repeat that procedure after every wakeup of the Mac (and besides it wouldn’t be good for the port‘s longevity either).

 

[watakoola]

Even if that worked, it would be a major PITA to repeat that procedure after every wakeup of the Mac (and besides it wouldn’t be good for the port‘s longevity either).

It is a PITA, but better than what the OP is experiencing now...

I have to do the HDMI cable trick every time I reboot with my eGPU.

 

[eddie0]

It sounds silly, but...have you tried pulling the HDMI cable out of the mini and then reinserting it?

I‘ve tried all „cable tricks“, nothing helped. Hdmi works as desired and dp stays dark..

 

[bohred]

Same issue with Mac Mini 2012 with HDMI on a Huion 1080 tablet on HDMI and BenQ QHD monitor miniDP to DP.

i.e. Intermittent loss of signal to the BenQ through miniDP.

I wasn't sure if it was a BenQ problem or a Mac/Apple problem.

Followed this user's suggestion below:

https://www.symphonious.net/2017/01/09/benq-gw2765-monitor-display-port-no-signal-detected/#:~:text=The%20solution%20turns%20out%20to,off%20with%20it's%20power%20button.

When this happens, this user's solution is to unplug the power to the monitor.
You then must wait for 5-10 seconds so that the power light symbol on the monitor turns off.
This enables the monitor to reset its power.

Then replug the power cable again for the monitor.
Now the signal should be detected by the monitor (from the mac into the monitor).

Currently, I am doing the following:
1) have a power bar with a switch on it, to avoid physically having to keep connecting and disconnecting the power cable at the monitor.
2) flip this switch whenever shutting down the computer so no power is going to the monitor. And then when wanting to use the computer, flip the switch to power up the monitor.

Seems to work so far reliably.

Doing so, I boot with the BenQ and then after logging into MacOS I turn on the Huion tablet on HDMI.

Seems things might be dicey with sleep modes, so for now will be turning off auto sleep / power save on monitor and MacOS and manually turn off the monitor(s) when not using.

 

[bohred]

Out of curiosity, has anyone had this problem using:
1) Apple Thunderbolt Display?
2) LG Ultrafine Monitor?

 

[eddie0]

Same issue with Mac Mini 2012 with HDMI on a Huion 1080 tablet on HDMI and BenQ QHD monitor miniDP to DP.

i.e. Intermittent loss of signal to the BenQ through miniDP.

I wasn't sure if it was a BenQ problem or a Mac/Apple problem.

Followed this user's suggestion below:

https://www.symphonious.net/2017/01/09/benq-gw2765-monitor-display-port-no-signal-detected/#:~:text=The%20solution%20turns%20out%20to,off%20with%20it's%20power%20button.

When this happens, this user's solution is to unplug the power to the monitor.
You then must wait for 5-10 seconds so that the power light symbol on the monitor turns off.
This enables the monitor to reset its power.

Then replug the power cable again for the monitor.
Now the signal should be detected by the monitor (from the mac into the monitor).

Currently, I am doing the following:
1) have a power bar with a switch on it, to avoid physically having to keep connecting and disconnecting the power cable at the monitor.
2) flip this switch whenever shutting down the computer so no power is going to the monitor. And then when wanting to use the computer, flip the switch to power up the monitor.

Seems to work so far reliably.

Doing so, I boot with the BenQ and then after logging into MacOS I turn on the Huion tablet on HDMI.

Seems things might be dicey with sleep modes, so for now will be turning off auto sleep / power save on monitor and MacOS and manually turn off the monitor(s) when not using.

As for some of the others, I did see the issue only after wake up from sleep of the screen while the mac mini is staying alife.
And, I tried also power cycling the screen without any success.

 

[Neodym]

As for some of the others, I did see the issue only after wake up from sleep of the screen while the mac mini is staying alife.
And, I tried also power cycling the screen without any success.

Not sure what you mean by „power cycling”. To reset the monitor and make it recognize the Mac on DP again, I had to remove the power cable for a few seconds (guess I could’ve installed a switchable AC plug as well, but it did not occur that often, so I didn’t bother - in the meantime I switched to a 2018 mini, so the point is moot for me anyway).

Merely switching the monitor off and back on again was not sufficient for me. Guess the monitor buffers some settings while connected to power, irrespective of the actual on/off state. And at least on my monitor the On/Off switch does not disconnect AC completely, but instead puts the monitor into some kind of deep sleep mode.

 

[bohred]

For my monitor, the power had to be off for at least several seconds, 7-10 seconds. This ensured that power (perhaps charge stored in capacitors) drained to reach a true 'off' state.

 

[eddie0]

Thanks for the input. I also removed the power cord to get everything back to life, but may be, not long enough. I‘ll try when the effect occurs the next time and share the result.

 

[GtrDude]

Just a quick question, is this only happening on the older Mac Minis or on the 2020's as well?

 

[eddie0]

Just a quick question, is this only happening on the older Mac Minis or on the 2020's as well?

I have a late 2012 i7, 16G Ram, 2.5 GB Fusion Drive.
Earlier in the thread was a statement, the 2018 mac mini are not afffected, but have other problems.

 

[Neodym]

Just a quick question, is this only happening on the older Mac Minis or on the 2020's as well?

DP seems okay with a 2020 (2018) mini. HDMI may require applying a(n inofficial) patch to work with some monitors. Without this EDID override (forcing RGB mode) you can get a violet-tinted image with lots of colorful pixels - at least that’s what I got. The procedure described in this link did solve it for me.

Funny thing is: That patch originally dates back as far as 2013 / OSX (pre-)Mavericks. Never had that problem with my 2012 mini, but needed the patch on my 2020 (2018) connected via HDMI with the same cable to the same monitor. I replaced the cable (without success), bevor I finally found that patch.

Reinforced my reservedness towards non-overridable automatisms (here: proper Monitor recognition).

 

[wstam]

I also have the 2012 i7 mini with a NEC monitor. With the Apple mini dp to hdmi adaptor, I have the same problem. The monitor will not wake up with the mini.

After reading the above post #56 , I look for an active adaptor to try out. I got this from Aliexpress, only few dollars, just to try.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000562988612.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.2f7c4c4dpPVVHq

It works for me. My monitor can now wake up when the mini wake up. I am not sure if will fix your problem. Can check it out. Hope it helps.

 

[eddie0]

Thanks! I ordered it...

 

[emclusk]

Apologies if this is the wrong place to offer both thanks and a solution. I just joined the forum because of this thread's many ways of coping with the display port-blank screen issue on the late-2012 mac mini. I keyed in also on those posts referring to using two monitors, which is my situation.

What helped me a lot was the post about putting the mac to sleep (I do that from the apple menu because my keyboard doesn't have a sleep button). So far, that works every time. When it comes to, as many have pointed out, shutting down the computer and then booting (immediately or later), the higher-res (aka second or first) monitor often stays black screen. I, too, don't want to be pulling cabled and power plugs or hitting the power button several times. Bus maybe this is a solution:

Some posts mentioned time lags on waking up or rebooting. That sent me on a path to make the problematic screen boot up or wake up sooner. The mac os helped do that (I'm on Catalina). The trick for me was to put the menu bar on top of the monitor that always works with its hdmi-dvi connection, so that the system settings/display "arrangement" setup looks like the screen shots.

I'm also using the SwitchResX utility to get the highest resolution possible in higher res monitor.

Grains of salt: this has worked for two days so far, with several times sleeping the computer and booting it up just as I used to before connecting a display-port capable monitor. FWIW, and many thanks again to all contributors.