Doctor, I think I have an HDMI: Apple starts investigating M1 Mac Mini graphics issues
- Reference: 1614004311
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/02/22/apple_starts_investigating_m1_mac/
- Source link:
The issue primarily affects those connecting to an external display using the Mac Mini's HDMI connection. The M1 Mac Mini is presently the only device in Apple's line-up that includes native HDMI support, with other devices connecting to an external display via USB-C/Thunderbolt.
[1]
Apple has reportedly informed service providers it is aware of the issue, [2]according to a memo obtained by MacRumors . It also offered some (slightly obvious) troubleshooting tips. Users are advised to put the Mac Mini to sleep for two minutes, wake it, remove and re-insert the HDMI cable, and rejig the display resolution.
Others, [3]including prolific Apple vlogger Luke Miani , have reported some success with merely unplugging the HDMI cable then putting it back in.
[4]
Malware monsters target Apple’s M1 silicon with ‘Silver Sparrow’ [5]READ MORE
The issue has seemingly dogged Mac Mini owners since the device's launch in November, as [6]Reddit and [7]official Apple Support Forum posts attest.
One post, from November 21, 2020, states: "I received my M1 Mac mini on Tuesday and didn't experience any problem until today. Turned it on and noticed some small pink squares moving around my monitor. They would change position as I opened a folder or right clicked on something."
It's not clear whether this issue is hardware or software-borne. If the issue is merely software-based, it could disappear with a future update to MacOS 11 Big Sur. If the problem lies with the GPU housed in the M1's SOC, things become more complicated.
Apple has a blemished past when it comes to dodgy graphics kit. In 2013, it was [8]forced to open a replacement programme for mid-2011 iMacs kitted out with fault-prone AMD Radeon HM 6970M graphics cards. Given these are discrete components housed on a dedicated daughterboard, it was a fairly straightforward (albeit, for Apple, expensive) fix that just involved yanking the fault-prone part.
On the laptop front, the 15-inch and 17-inch 2011 MacBook Pro also suffered [9]from widespread graphics card failures , caused by poor thermal management and some spectacularly shonky soldering. Although the Radeon GPU on that year's MacBook Pro was integrated into the logic board, punters who [10]missed the window to return their machines to Apple could solve the problem by falling back to the integrated Intel graphics through a software patch, or by performing some board-level soldering to remove a problematic resistor.
The M1 is a different kettle of fish. There's no Intel or discrete graphics to speak of, just what exists on the SoC, which precludes some of the workarounds used with the 2011 iMac and MacBook Pro. If this is a hardware issue (which is not yet certain), it's hard to see how Apple will be able to resolve it without doing a recall. And while Apple could easily swallow the cost, it would be a humiliation.
[11]
Apple is expected to release [12]Big Sur 11.3 in the coming weeks. We'll be keeping an eye out to see if it includes a fix for the Mac Mini's GPU woes. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YDPjMmDV6wOKO@eb4uZJUQAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/21/pink-squares-external-display-m1-mac-mini/
[3] https://twitter.com/LukeMiani/status/1363566691297460230
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YDPjMmDV6wOKO@eb4uZJUQAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/22/silver_sparrow_malware_for_apple_m1_silicon/
[6] https://www.reddit.com/r/macmini/comments/jyk5ho/m1_mac_mini_pink_squares_showing_on_monitor/
[7] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252076087
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2013/08/20/apple_radeon_hd_6970m_replacement_program/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2014/10/29/apple_facing_class_action_over_broken_macbook_claims/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2015/02/20/hey_fanbois_stuck_with_a_busted_macbook_pro_apple_might_fix_it_for_free/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YDPjMmDV6wOKO@eb4uZJUQAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11_3-beta-release-notes
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Shonky soldering
Yup the HP's were renowned for it back in the day
Re: Shonky soldering
If your HP has had its motherboard replaced twice then it's exactly tied with my 2015 Retina Macbook.
No graphics issues with my M1 Mini so far, thankfully. It did suffer from the dodgy Bluetooth but that seems to have been resolved by a software patch somewhere along the way.
The funny thing is that I never had a problem with a Mac prior to the 2015 — indeed the 2011 model it replaced still runs fine*, as does the 2005 model that the 2011 replaced.
* well, I'm cheating a bit there. At one point I knocked it off a high shelf and discovered two days later that it had gained a massively swollen battery as a result. But luckily replacing the battery in that model is 'just' 15 screws and one connector. No glue, no prising. For an Apple computer of the last decade, that's as good as it gets.
Re: Shonky soldering
A few years back, I had a laptop that needed a new motherboard. That said, every time the mobo failed, they charged me £120 for a new hard disk - each time they always said "it's the hard disk, send it back, we will replace it and send it to you", even when I said "no it isn't, it's the same symptoms as last time and the time before, and it was the motherboard both times." And my question of "if it turns out to be the motherboard, do I get a refund on the hard disk drive I don't need?" was always answered with "it IS the hard disk, and no we wouldn't consider refunding it as the part is defective".
Calls to the service desk were also made for the trackpad (failed in the first two months), as well as other parts.
Eventually, it had three new mother boards, and three new hard disks, all out of warranty. Inside the warranty it had the new trackpad, as well as another part I can't even remember (this was about ten years ago).
Realistically, never going to buy from that brand again. Ever.
Re: Shonky soldering
Please name and shame the brand involved to protect the rest of us.
"There's no Intel or discrete graphics to speak of, just what exists on the SoC, which precludes some of the workarounds used with the 2011 iMac and MacBook Pro"
That sounds like a bad design. Didn't we solve the issue with modular components over 30 years ago? Apple is so frigging retro and old fashioned!
The 2011 MacBook Pro graphics issue - linked to the introduction of lead free solder - can't occur if the GPU is a part of the SoC.
As others have noted, other firms such as Microsoft's XBOX 360, also suffered faults due to inexperience with lead free solder.
Lead solder can still be used if the components are headed to a military or aerospace application.
Another reason
Another reason not to buy over priced crapple stuff
Re: Another reason
Wow! You've found a way to never suffer a hardware niggle ever again!
Shonky soldering
Faulty [lead-free] soldering on graphics devices is not new and not exclusively an Apple problem, not by a long shot.
Ask me about the double motherboard service & replacements on my discrete graphics nVidia-equipped HP laptop one day, why don'tca... o.O