Apple BTO Mac Mini: M1 8-Core w/ GPU, 16GB Unified RAM, 256GB SSD (Late 2020) EXPIRED

So I'll be your huckleberry. You are absolutely right. It does have problems with Bluetooth. That said its still hands down the best bang for the buck in desktop computing as my basic M1 Mini w/512GB NVME & 8GB ram is faster for practically anything you can throw at it vs my Intel NUC 8th gen i7 w/Samsung 970 1TB NVME and 64GB of Samsung ram. The M1 mini absolutely smokes it.. and its completely silent.

So how did I fix the Bluetooth issue? I bought a Logitech MX Keys wireless keyboard and the matching MX3 Master wireless mouse. https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Master-Advanced-Wireless-Mouse/dp/B09GW4B6WR/ [amazon.com]

They can connect via Bluetooth OR more importantly to the Logitech Unifying Reciever. Which is a USB dongle that plugs into your device and uses its own proprietary wireless protocol (probably some other form of Bluetooth). The best part is you don't have to pay extra for this receiver, as it's already included with each of the wireless Logitech devices.

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/pr...05235.html

Since the M1 Mini does NOT come with a mouse & keyboard and the MX Keys & MX3 Master mouse are both rated best in class they were purchases I intended on making anyway. With the USB dongle plugged into the M1 Mac Mini and having used the Logitech wireless products for almost a year now, I have NEVER experienced a disconnect between the keyboard & mouse and computer.

This is a really easy and satisfying solution. Since I had two USB dongles (one came with each Logitech device), I plugged the other Unifying Reciever dongle into the NUCi7 computer running Windows. I also keep my iPad on my desk and now have it programmed as the 3rd device for the Logitech Keyboard & Mouse combo. Been using this setup for a year now and it NEVER disconnects for any of the 3 devices (M1 Mini, NUCi7, iPad 8th Gen). Definitely give it a try!

My family has three. All with Apple keyboards. Two with mice. One with a track pad.

The keyboards have no issues. The mice have intermittent issues. The track pad is now hard wired as it had too many issues.

Placing anything electronic between or in close proximity to the mouse and the base computer causes interference issues: a dongle, splitter, cell phone, cordless house phone, watch charger with watch etc.

Apple should disclose the issue.

Keep the base unit within 18 inches of the keyboard and mouse/trackpad. Keep anything that might interfere with bluetooth more than 18 inches away from the base unit and the input devices. Then, you are fine.

BTO...Bachman Turner Overdrive??

It is documented on a lot of places online. Surprising to see it not mentioned anywhere

M1 seems very tempting, but I decided to wait for the next gen of M1 if any. Anyone knows when the next gen M1 will be released? Intel and AMD roll out their new gen of CPU pretty fast, will Apple keep up?

I was curious and looked it up: BTO = build-to-order, now called CTO (configure to order). Seems to refer to anything other than the standard CPU/memory/storage configurations (anything you would customize during checkout at apple).

No, any mouse/keyboard that requires its own wireless dongle adapter can and will be interfered with by a nearby/plugged into USB 3.0 port. That's why a lot of desktops and laptops still include some USB 2.0 ports that are seperated or aways away from the USB 3.0 ports. With the Mac mini's design, it's just kind of impossible, at least with their design perspective. What you can do, to probably solve this issue in the future is to buy an USB extension cable so that the wireless adapter is located further away from USB 3.0 port itself. Bluetooth also uses 2.4Ghz and causes interference. If I disable BT on my iPhone while downloading my dashcam's footage over ad-hoc wifi, the speed will be 2-3x faster.

https://old.reddit.com/r/technolo...ence_that/

Also, I'm not downplaying your issue, as I know the Wi-Fi and BT in the M1 Air isn't the best, but hasn't been an issue for me either in over nine months of usage. But then again, Apple's Wi-Fi network stack has been getting worse for years, ever since they killed off their Airport routers. The Wi-Fi is even buggy on iOS devices.