HDMI suddenly not working on Mac Mini

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Level 1

6 points

HDMI suddenly not working on Mac Mini

I recently bought an M2 Mac Mini, and have been using it with an older HP monitor (connected via a HDMI-DVI cable).

It was working fine until yesterday, when I tried to connect an old powered external drive to the Mac (via old-fashioned USB). The Mac seemed to go dead and when I turned it back on the monitor didn't wake up with it.

I tried the usual disconnecting, unplugging, rebooting etc. and there was no change.

I also tried connecting the Mac to a TV via HDMI (with a different cable) and it also didn't show up.

I have a dock from a Windows laptop that connects via USB-C/Thunderbolt and was able to get the Mac linked up to the monitor that way - so there's no issue with the video output of the Mac itself. Everything else seems to be working fine... so it seems to just be the HDMI port that's not working.

Would anyone know what the cause of this might be and how I might be able to fix it?

Thanks!

Mac mini (M2, 2023)

Posted on Jun 7, 2023 06:37 AM

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Answer 1

Bill_T1

Community Specialist

Jun 8, 2023 03:00 PM in response to Adam_IRL

Hi Adam_IRL,

The support article If your external display is dark or low resolution offers the best suggestions for a Mac with Apple Silicon processor. To rule out possible power-related causes, ensure you're shutting down the Mac properly which will reset the SMC per Reset the SMC of your Mac.

A final step you can test would be to start your Mac into safe mode per How to use safe mode on your Mac and see if the HDMI displays can be detected in that manner. If all of those fail, it may be necessary to contact Apple Support to investigate further.

Regards.

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Answer 2

mc8

Level 1

13 points

Jul 17, 2023 12:41 PM in response to Adam_IRL

This is a known problem that go back at least 5 years. The HDMI port is very flaky. You may get it to work, but it will likely always be flaky and be more of a headache then it's worth. Apple has known about this issue and basically doesn't support the HDMI port.

Your best option is to not use the HDMI port and get a USB-C to HDMI adapter.

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Answer 3

mc8

Level 1

13 points

Jul 18, 2023 08:02 AM in response to mc8

One thing to try is changing the HDR color settings on your HDMI device. If you can disable HDR color enhancements. Apple HDMI does not play well with certain HDR setting.

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HDMI suddenly not working on Mac Mini

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