Mac mini 2018 Bluetooth issues?

[N9JIG]

The 400+ is wireless but uses different frequencies than Bluetooth, hence the need for the dongle. If it were Bluetooth then the dongle would not be needed. The dongle is a radio transceiver to communicate with the keyboard and convert it to USB for the computer.

 

[robotica]

It uses Logitech propriety standard. Not sure what it is exactly but if you have more than one Logitech device that requires the dongle you can use multiple devices with one dongle.
In the UK I had to go to the keyboard settings and select "PC UK" for all keys to work as its printed.

 

[billhelm]

Thankful for this thread. Been having intermittent bluetooth issues with my 2018 Mac mini for a long while, use a logitech dongle/mouse, and plug my magic keyboard in most of the time, but was trying to use a controller and airpods with it recently and would not work consistently at all. From this thread I was able to determine it was usb-a 3.1 hub that was hooked up to the end usb A port. I moved it to a USB C port with an adapter and stuff started working. Even unlock with watch, which has been broken for months.
[automerge]1602185156[/automerge]

 

[Daniva]

Since I bought the Mac mini 2018 I had bluetooth issues with first generation Magic trackpad and Wireless keyboard that I used for several years with an other Mini without problems.
Firstly, I set the Network preferences on 5GHz wifi frequency and this reduced but not solved the issue. At the same time the Mac mini became unable to connect to internet after waking from sleep and I was obliged to turn off the Wi-Fi many times a day.
Few weeks later I made two changes at the same time (a trick for the waking issue and a replacement of Apple 1st gen. trackpad/keyboard with Magic trackpad 2 and Magic keyboard, so I don't know which of the two solved also the bluetooth issues:
1 change)
In Finder>Go>Computer>Macintosh HD>Library>Preferences drag to desktop the "System Preferences" folder.
In Finder>Applications>Utilities>Keychain access, select "login" on left side and if you locate an object with the name of your WiFi Network on the right side, delete it and than, select System on the left and if you find an object with the name of your WiFi Network on the right, delete it. (Be sure to remember the WiFi password to use later).
Restart and connect to the WiFi network and, if it worked, delete the System Preferences folder you copied to Desktop
2 change)
Before to pair the new Magic trackpad 2 and Magic keyboard I deleted the following .plist files with a wired mouse.
In Finder menu click Go and open Library (visible holding down option key), open "Preferences" and drag to the trash:
com.apple.AppleMultitouchMouse.plist
com.apple.AppleMultitouchTrackpad.plist
com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse.plist
com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad.plist
Restart and pair mouse/trackpad and keyboard (new .plist files are automatically created)
Repeat, I don't know which of the two changes solved also the bluetooth issues, but the most important thing is that they are solved

 

[Johannes$$]

Problem solved for me by changing from Magic Mouse 1 to Magic Mouse 2.

I've been a long time lurker on this thread since buying my 2018 Mac Mini. My Magic Mouse (v1) has disconnected ~15 times a day for 2 years. I have followed everything suggested here from unconnecting USB devices, re-orienting the Mac, shielded cables, plist deletion, borrowing and trying other people's Magic Mouse, ...over and over...

Two weeks ago I did precisely what I didn't want to do and gave Apple more money by buying a Magic Mouse 2. Problem solved, not a single issue in over a hundred hours of use. In many ways not a "satisfying" fix but $65 and my 2 years of problems are done.

Turns out all the Magic Mouses (mice?) I borrowed from others for testing were all v1 - they all look the same so I didn't think about versions as a factor.

So: Clearly some other posters have had issues with the Mouse V2 from the outset, but if you you able to borrow a Magic Mouse v2 (or can buy it knowing that returns are guaranteed) please try.

 

[PegasusTenma]

Problem solved for me by changing from Magic Mouse 1 to Magic Mouse 2.

Johannes, I seem to be having the same issue with my brand new Mac mini. The keyboard seems to be completely stable with 0 disconnections, but my Magic Mouse V1 has been disconnecting constantly and I have nothing in the USB ports. Were your online keyboards working without issue?

 

[Boyd01]

I have the Magic Mouse 2 and extended Magic Keyboard (space grey). Never any problems with either since I got my Mini in June.

 

[Daniva]

Problem solved for me by changing from Magic Mouse 1 to Magic Mouse 2.

Mac mini 2018 Bluetooth 5 is backward compatible with Bluetooth 4.0, Bluetooth 4.1 and Bluetooth 4.2 and won't connect stably to legacy devices.
Magic mouse and Magic trackpad utilize the older Bluetooth 2.0 standard. Magic mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2 utilize 4.2 standard
Moral of the story: check the standard of your bluetooth peripherals and devices and do not use those with a standard lower than v. 4.0

 

[MevetS]

I use a Magic Trackpad V1 and have a Magic Mouse V1, that I've been using for the past couple of days just to test the theories posed in this thread (I prefer the trackpad).

Both work fine without issue.

And as I've noted elsewhere in this thread, every single port on my Mini, and then some, are in use.

Bluetooth works fine for me. Note that I did have issues, and I removed a USB C/3 hub and retired several Firewire drives, after which the issues went away.

 

[Johannes$$]

Johannes, I seem to be having the same issue with my brand new Mac mini. The keyboard seems to be completely stable with 0 disconnections, but my Magic Mouse V1 has been disconnecting constantly and I have nothing in the USB ports. Were your online keyboards working without issue?

Hi Pegasus,
I should have said - my keyboard has not been an issue, only the Magic Mouse v1. My bluetooth keyboard is a lot older than my 2018 Mac Mini, it's model is A1314 (a 2009 model according to Wiki - though I bought it new in 2016.)

As Daniva has said below, the bluetooth protocol may well be the issue - though at the same time clearly my old keyboard didn't have a problem...it's all very irregular. Anyway, newer mouse is a total fix for me.

 

[PegasusTenma]

and retired several Firewire drives, after which the issues went away.

Could you please elaborate more on what you did, please?

Also thanks Johannes, I also have a hyper old apple keyboard that uses normal AA batteries and it works completely fine. Is just the mouse. The rest of my bluetooth devices seem fine.

Daniva, it sounds like that might be the issue, although the keyboard is really old as well. Might have to purchase a V2, then. A bit scared it has the same issues!

 

[MevetS]

Could you please elaborate more on what you did, please?

...

PegasusTenma,

Here are some of my previous posts on the Bluetooth issue. Note that what works for me, or anyone else, may not work for you. That is what makes this such a frustrating issue. There doesn't seem to be a SOLUTION, just individual solutions.

Mac mini 2018 Bluetooth issues?

I use every port in my Mini and then some. This post lists what I have connected. Since then I've moved the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad (USB C) connection from directly to the Mini to connecting to the OWC Thunderbay 4 Mini (Thunderbolt). And I used the freed up port to use my Luna Display...

forums.macrumors.com

Mac mini 2018 Bluetooth - repairable?

If by 'repairable' you mean can Bluetooth be made to work then the answer is yes. For over a month now I have not had any Bluetooth issues at all (I don't actually know when the issues stopped). I'm typing this on a Satechi Bluetooth keyboard and using a first generation Apple Magic Trackpad...

forums.macrumors.com

Specifically, this is what I changed (cut and pasted from my prior posts):

---------------------
- I retired three old Firewire drives that were connected via a FireWire to Thunderbolt 2 dongle, then a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 dongle to the Mini. They were replaced by the OWC Thunderbay and by adding drives to the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad.

- Retiring the Firewire drives freed up a port on the Mini, and I was able to retire a four port USB C hub. [this hub had two USB C and two USB 3 ports]

- Comcast replaced a failing cable modem with a newer model.
---------------------

Note that I no longer use the HDMI plug mentioned in the above post, as I now have a TV connected via the HDMI port, which I share between the Mini and my work Windows laptop (as with most TV's, it has multiple HDMI ports, and I can choose which port to make the 'active' port; Windows during working hours, Mac otherwise).

I have also since replaced the Comcast cable modem with a Motorola modem (no more rental fees!). And I now connect my Mini via ethernet as I was experiencing bandwidth issue with all the zoom work meetings we were having.

My 'desktop' environment includes a 2018 iPad Pro and a iPhone XS , both with WiFi and Bluetooth enabled. I use a Satechi Compact Keyboard, and an Apple Magic Trackpad V1 with the Mini, and a Logitech MX Master 3 mouse with my work laptop (and sometime with the Mini), all Bluetooth. I've recently been using my Magic Mouse V1, as some folks on the forums were stating it was problematic; I have no issues using it (as I prefer the Trackpad with the mini I'll turn off the mouse soon).

I also play around with Raspberry Pi computers, with Bluetooth and WiFi enabled.

My wife is in the same home office, working from home during these Covid times, on a iMac, along with two MacBook Airs, and a Chrome book. With a Magic Mouse V2 and an Magic Keyboard for the iMac. And in this home office we have a cordless phone, a WeatherFlow Tempest hub, and an Apollo Cloud NAS. And we have other WiFi and Bluetooth devices (2 HomePods, Airport Express, Grace Digital Encore Internet Radio, Apple TV, Cobblestone WiFi, several Bluetooth speakers and transmitters) throughout the house.

The point of all of this being that there are many WiFi and Bluetooth devices and they all work without interfering with each other.

I wish I could tell you to do X and that would fix all of your issues. All I can say is that (1) it is possible to have everything work. (2) try swapping out different things to see if a particular item or items are causing problems.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution for your set up.

 

[dUnKle]

Having tried lots of tweaks and tips on trying to sort this, none seemed to last for long and issue would crop back up

Until now it seems, I’ve been running the beta of big sur for little over 2 weeks and in all that time, not one single drop out or blue tooth connected issue

 

[jop120]

Just picked up a 2018 mac mini and having the usual bluetooth problems. I already have a bluetooth dongle on a long cable from my last computer, so would prefer to use that rather than buying loads of expensive long shielded cables for keeping everything away from the mini.
I've looked into using a Bluetooth dongle and it seems that every time you restart the mac, you'd have to re-configure the Bluetooth, which would also require keeping a wired keyboard and mouse to hand.
Does anyone know how to permanently configure the dongle?
cheers

 

[dUnKle]

Are you on big sur ?
I’ve still not had any issues and can walk round house with my AirPods and not have break up

 

[jop120]

Not yet, but it's a hardware issue, USB3 omits electromagnetic noise in the same frequency band that bluetooth and wifi transmit in.
With no usb3 devices connected the bluetooth works as normal, as soon as you plug something in (i.e. usb3 external HD) then the bluetooth becomes really unreliable and only has a range of about 3m.

Apple's recommendation is to have all usb3 devices on long, very well shielded cables which is pretty impractical.
I've got a compatible bluetooth dongle on a long cable sat here, so would make senes to use that, however if you setup the dongle through System Preferences the operating system will reconfigure it back to the internal bluetooth receiver upon restart.
I'm hoping there is a way of setting up the dongle so it will continue to be configured after a restart.

 

[dUnKle]

Not yet, but it's a hardware issue, USB3 omits electromagnetic noise in the same frequency band that bluetooth and wifi transmit in.
With no usb3 devices connected the bluetooth works as normal, as soon as you plug something in (i.e. usb3 external HD) then the bluetooth becomes really unreliable and only has a range of about 3m.

Apple's recommendation is to have all usb3 devices on long, very well shielded cables which is pretty impractical.
I've got a compatible bluetooth dongle on a long cable sat here, so would make senes to use that, however if you setup the dongle through System Preferences the operating system will reconfigure it back to the internal bluetooth receiver upon restart.
I'm hoping there is a way of setting up the dongle so it will continue to be configured after a restart.

it may well be hardware related, but prior to big sur Bluetooth was almost unusable for me. Now I have Apple mouse, keyboard and track pad as well as air pods and Sony Bluetooth headphones connect and zero issues

before hand i couldn’t sit at end of bed without headphones constantly breaking, now I can go downstairs with them in and no issues

that said I am only using the usb c ports on my Mac, so not sure if that helps, but since big sur I have no issues.

 

[Jolly Blackburn]

Not yet, but it's a hardware issue, USB3 omits electromagnetic noise in the same frequency band that bluetooth and wifi transmit in.
With no usb3 devices connected the bluetooth works as normal, as soon as you plug something in (i.e. usb3 external HD) then the bluetooth becomes really unreliable and only has a range of about 3m.

Apple's recommendation is to have all usb3 devices on long, very well shielded cables which is pretty impractical.
I've got a compatible bluetooth dongle on a long cable sat here, so would make senes to use that, however if you setup the dongle through System Preferences the operating system will reconfigure it back to the internal bluetooth receiver upon restart.
I'm hoping there is a way of setting up the dongle so it will continue to be configured after a restart.

there is a way to do that using terminal. I used the soulton posted here back in january and have had no issues since.

Mac mini 2018 Bluetooth issues?

I'm experiencing some weird bluetooth issues (and finder issues too, I'm having to force reboot almost daily) with my 2018 mac mini and I can't quite narrow down the reasons. It worked great for the first 5 months. Now unlock with apple watch just doesn't work, and my mouse and keyboard don't...

forums.macrumors.com

it is reversible btw.

 

[dUnKle]

Been using big sur now for a few weeks and zero drop outs or issues with any blue tooth headset.

rock solid all over house

 

[sauria]

I just encountered this problem on a 6 core mac mini I bought from Costco 2 weeks ago. I plugged in a 4 port non-powered Xcellon USB hub and my magic mouse started seriously lagging, making it unusable. I tried the other USB port and let the hub hang further away from the machine and it seems to be ok now. I'm on Mojave, but upgraded the T2 chip firmware using Big Sur Beta on an external drive.

Hoe does one do this?

 

[Propine]

I still do have occasional disconnects of keyboard/mouse, once a month maybe. With both USB3 ports taken by cables. But what bothers me most is that Mac mini 2018 is always warm while sleeping, logs show wake up reason is, you’ve guessed it, "XHC2 XHC3 XHC1". Will try without USB used.

 

[sauria]

I still do have occasional disconnects of keyboard/mouse, once a month maybe. With both USB3 ports taken by cables. But what bothers me most is that Mac mini 2018 is always warm while sleeping, logs show wake up reason is, you’ve guessed it, "XHC2 XHC3 XHC1". Will try without USB used.

Thanks. I was able to do a solution by using only one of the USB-A ports. It seems to work OK with a Bluetooth magic mouse 2 and keyboard from Apple now.

 

[chobochobo]

I've just got my 2018 mac mini back from repairs (2 logic board replacements) and noticed that my new gifted headphones (Jabra Move) were quite bad - sound cutting out frequently and sometimes even disconnecting. I googled and found this thread. I have tons of external drives connected up via USB-A and USB-C/Thunderbolt, so can't really vacate those ports. I have an ethernet connection - connected to one of my google wifi hubs. I noticed that I had left the wifi on during the new setup. I disabled wifi and touch wood, the headphones seem to have a much more stable connection. I'm on catalina still as I would need to pay to upgrade some apps to get them to work with Big Sur.

 

[Yuck9]

I've just got my 2018 mac mini back from repairs (2 logic board replacements) and noticed that my new gifted headphones (Jabra Move) were quite bad - sound cutting out frequently and sometimes even disconnecting. I googled and found this thread. I have tons of external drives connected up via USB-A and USB-C/Thunderbolt, so can't really vacate those ports. I have an ethernet connection - connected to one of my google wifi hubs. I noticed that I had left the wifi on during the new setup. I disabled wifi and touch wood, the headphones seem to have a much more stable connection. I'm on catalina still as I would need to pay to upgrade some apps to get them to work with Big Sur.

After many attempts I gave up. Traded it back to Apple for the M1 MacMini and no more problems. Life is to short. Unless you are prepared to deal with hubs,etc i would not consider a M1 Mac Mini. (due to lack of ports)

 

[chobochobo]

36 minutes in and still my BT headphones are behaving themselves. Fingers still crossed.

I did consider trading in when they were repairing my mini but here in Hong Kong they don't have so much consumer choice/ protection. Official Apple trade in (apparently a third party) won't even take in my 2018 mini, so I'd have to sell it privately before separately buying a new mac. Spec wise the mini is fine for me, I need the ports though particularly coming from the trashcan macpro 2013 with it's 6TB ports.