Apple investigating pink dot issue with Mac mini M1 external screen

MacRumors reports Apple is looking into a "pink dot" issue that occurs on some Mac mini M1 systems with an always-connected external display. Apple is working on a fix, which may be ready right in time for the upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.3 update.

At the moment, Apple offers a temporary workaround:

In the meantime, Apple outlined the following troubleshooting steps:

Put the Mac mini to sleep

Wait two minutes and wake the Mac mini

Unplug the display from the Mac mini, and then plug the display back in

Adjust the display's resolution in System Preferences > Displays

If the issue reoccurs after restarting the Mac mini, Apple says to repeat the steps above.

The article doesn't mention whether the problem also occurs on other M1-based devices. But given that other M1-based devices are laptops, this particular issue may be more pronounced on the Mac mini given that the mini can only be used in combination with an external screen. MacRumors does note that the issue seems more common when a screen is connected via HDMI versus Thunderbolt.

Did Big Sur 11.2 fix the pink squares error on M1MacMinis ? @AppleSupport @appleinsider @AppleSupport #mac #apple #m1 #m1mac #siliconmacs #macmini #m1macmini pic.twitter.com/UHmIuXhTto

— Fatih @Vidyograf (@FatihVidyograf) January 22, 2021