Level 1

93 points

USB problem/Thunderbolt on Mac mini M4

(USB mouse & keyboard) intermittent connection problems through various adaptors & cords:

Connected to the Apple USB-C to USB Adapter through the front USB-C ports - ok there.

But, on the back Thunderbolt ports, using my OWC Thunderbolt-to-USB-C adapter cord connected with a USB-C female-to-USB-A female adapter with either the mouse or keyboard does not hold a strong connection, sometimes not at all.

3 back ports and they're relatively useless to me right now. Any suggestions to make this Thunderbolt work?

Mac mini, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 23, 2024 2:46 PM

Top-ranking reply

D.I. Johnson

Level 7

32,183 points

Posted on Nov 23, 2024 5:22 PM

Lose the extra cabling and adapters at the mouse and keyboard port. The USB keyboard and mouse don't require anything but a simple USB-A to USB-C adapter to connect to the ports on the back of the Mac mini. They are simple and affordable @ about $10 a pair on Amazon.

They look like this:

In fact, if your keyboard has USB pass-through you only need a single connection to the Mac mini. You can daisy chain your mouse through the keyboard. Unless I'm misunderstanding something here.

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72 replies

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Jan 23, 2025 9:32 PM in response to Brent Spear

What? It’s an Apple TB5 Cable sold to connect to an Apple TB5 port, noob. Also Mr. “30 years experienced engineer”, the front ports are not the same as the rear ones. Read the spec (slowly).

Jan 26, 2025 7:41 PM in response to swipod touch

With this thread gaining traction over the last few weeks, I really hope that someone from Apple takes notice.

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Jan 29, 2025 2:34 AM in response to jörg131

Please post your issue as a fresh discussion here Offizielle Apple Support Community

Bitte posten Sie Ihr Problem als neue Diskussion hier Offizielle Apple Support Community

uwsc11

Level 1

37 points

Feb 3, 2025 8:29 AM in response to hcsitas

I changed my power settings and I have not seen any further disconnects on the back ports for the last week. Let's hope that it stays that way!

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Feb 3, 2025 8:39 AM in response to uwsc11

Great, thanks for updating!

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Feb 3, 2025 9:36 AM in response to John Smiley

Great, thanks for updating!

Feb 5, 2025 9:58 PM in response to PanamaMacUser

Mine is also the front, not the rear. I can plug devices in the back with no problems. I only found this out after I was having problems with the front and swapped to test.

Rdkam

Level 1

24 points

Feb 21, 2025 4:15 PM in response to macsense

I just recently upgraded to the newest OS and intend to test it all again .

Apr 7, 2025 11:06 AM in response to Servant of Cats

Yeah, absolutely should not be necessary. I'm not sure there's enough space on the 3 rear ports on the Mac Mini M4 but I might try those until I have time to take it down to Apple.

Rdkam

Level 1

24 points

Apr 20, 2025 9:52 AM in response to Servant of Cats

I agree no modifications should be necessary, a USB C connection alone should be secure, but I am finding the same thing, very lose, and any touch causes a connection break.

should I return it?

Apr 20, 2025 7:50 PM in response to Rdkam

I definitely plan to return mine within the warranty period. Hopefully, they've fixed the problem in later production runs, as it would require swapping in a new motherboard.

Jun 15, 2025 11:00 AM in response to VARanger1

Let me try this

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USB problem/Thunderbolt on Mac mini M4