Mac mini M4 screen go black randomly

I upgraded to a Mac mini M4 a few months ago and have been having the same issue for a while. I use two Dell U2715H monitors. I previously used them with a Mac mini M1 for years and never had the issue. One is connected via HDMI to the HDMI port on the mini and the other is connected via DisplayPort to Mini Display port cable connected to an OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock. The monitor that has the issue with the 3-4 second black screen is the one connected via HDMI. The monitor connected via DP never has the issue.

I have replaced the HDMI cable today with an 8K version cable to see if it resolves the issue and will report back.

New Mac mini m4. 24/512. Hooked up to an LG 34" wide monitor. Monitor works great with laptop. HDMI cable is good, Input port and power plug is fine. Monitor works flawless with my laptop.

Using the Mini: monitor goes black 3-4 times an hour, for about 5 seconds. Computer seems to run fine, no processes get ruined. But the screen blacks out. Keeps happening all; day.

I took machine to Appel Store, they actually replaced my Mac mini. The NEW Machine does the same thing!!!

Wow.

According to the manual, this monitor has an analog D-Sub connection and a digital DVI-d.

If you have any open USB-C ports on the back of the Mac, I would suggest a DVI to USB-C adapter. One such adapter on Amazon.

That it doesn't even have a DisplayPort option suggests this is very old monitor. A 2004 release date, actually. I would very much suggest rather than spending the money on a cable, I'd get a much newer monitor. There are plenty of 4K choices on Amazon that are right around $200. Then you not only have a much higher (sharper) resolution monitor, but options to use DisplayPort or USB-C.

The main drawback with the inexpensive models is they have cheap panels that only display the sRGB color range and gamut. Just about the smallest, least colorful RGB space in use.

Or, just get the cable to spend the least amount of money. Up to you.

I got a new Mac mini m4 today, and I've noticed the same issue. The screen goes black randomly for a second or two and comes back again. I upgraded from a Mac mini m1 and switched it back and forth. Doesn't seem like and issue with the cable or the monitor to me. Still trying to figure out!

Same here M4 mini. 2 x AOC 4K screen connected via USB-C to DP cable. Replaced cable twice, bought new cables rated for 8K. same issue. No power cable issues. Screen connected via same cable to other PC have no issues.

I purchased my Mac Mini M4 32 GB in November of last year and have this same issue. My screen blacking typically happens early in the morning after I awaken my Mac. I have aDell U2720Q monitor and have tried several HDMI cables with the same result. Occasionally it will occur later in a longer session. Typically the screen just goes black for a second or two, but rarely it will show crazy static instead. I tried a USB-C to USB-C cable but could not get the display to recognize a signal. I might need a better cable. Anyway, it is a bit disconcerting to see a replacement M4 had the same issue.

Hello,

Happy to know that I am not alone !

I have the same issue: momentaneous black screen for 1-2 seconds on MacMini M4 with an Eizo CG223W display connected with a cable USB-C/Thunderbolt to DisplayPort to the Eizo screen !

Nothing is connected to the HDMI port...

It seems that I don't have this issue when I first connected the Eizo using a HDMI cable (because I didnt' have a DisplayPort cable).

I should make the test again using HDMI to see what will happen.

Quick update on my life in this burden. I found out that if you shutdown mini overnight and power on in the morning, I can go through out the day without blackouts. I have recently upgraded to 15.4 will see if this update is more stable, its been just a couple days w/o blackouts. Release notes do have info about monitor issue. but the one we are facing in this thread.

the same here. using two asus 5k monitors (PA27JCV). one with HDMI, one with high quality thunderbolt cable. It happens on both monitors, though much more frequently on the HDMI one. started with the last sequoia update. (15.4.1)

My Mac Mini M4 running macOS 15.5 (24F74) is connected to a 27" LG UltraFine display (with the original Thunderbolt cable supplied with the display), which uses the same technology found in Apple’s Studio Displays—making it a native screen designed specifically for Macs.

After about a month of flawless use, the display began randomly blacking out last week. This is not an issue with the monitor itself or the cables—everything has been tested and works correctly. It appears to be either a macOS software issue or a hardware problem with the Mac Mini.

The blackouts are short in duration (3-4 secs), but sudden and extremely frustrating. Apple should be made aware of this issue and investigate it further.

Interesting! So I guess it isn't my display after all. I'm experiencing this issue as well. Mac Mini M4, macOS 15.5 (24F74) and an iiyama ProLite XUB2792UHSU-B1 connected via HDMI. My second display is a Dell U2711 connected via DisplayPort and only the iiyama is going dark for about 2 seconds every once in a while. It's not too frequent but still very annoying because it almost feels like a brown out. I don't have a USB-C port to spare, don't want to buy an expensive dock and the Dell has issues with an HDMI connection so I'm kind of stuck with HDMI for the main display. Would be nice if Apple could figure out the issue …

I'm getting the same issue. What I've deducted from the many posts on the subject that it's a hardware issue and not a software (system), monitor make or cable issue. All we can do is to let Apple know of the prob let thru Mac Mini Feedback.  

And keep checking this Apple website for a announced fix: Apple Service Programs - Apple Support

I have exactly the same problem with my Mini M4 (24Gb). The 27" HP Pavillion screen connected via HDMI has random blackouts while the other screen connected via a USB-C HDMI adapter is fine. These blackouts correspond very well with random spikes in Energy load (Activity Monitor) where all apps all of a sudden surge up for a couple of seconds. Anything I type during these seizures is lost, indicating this is not simply an HDMI connection problem but rather a system-wide surge that manifests in temporarily cutting off the HDMI port.

I don't do any CPU- or RAM-intensive tasks (MS Office/emails/slack/browser) but this problem is extremely annoying. Been happening over the past months, sometimes a couple dozen times per day, 3-5 minutes apart. Updating to Sequoia 15.5 did not help. I am surprised Apple is ignoring it for so long as it is clearly not an individual Mac issue, based on this thread.

Okay so now I changed to a Thunderbolt cable and that's fine too. It seems that I was having issues with HDMI and 60HZ. Thunderbolt with 60HZ is fine. This Asus display won't take a USB-C cable. It takes HDMI, Displayport or Thunderbolt.

And... I jinxed myself. 3 times this morning within 30 minutes. To be clear, i'm utilizing a thunderbolt cable on the USB-C port on the display to the Mac Mini M4. I've tried other cables, no change/correlation that I can tell. I *DID* have a backup in progress at the same time, which gets to my theory of traffic handling on the ports could be an issue - even though the drive handling the backup is on a different port (and not fast either, so it should not be maxing out the bandwidth on the ports). But i'm just grasping at straws about what could be causing it.