I have see this on two different M1 Mac minis. The four Thunderbolt 3 ports on the 2018 Mac mini have been replaced with two Thunderbolt 4 ports. Theoretically that would be okay as the Thunderbolt 4 standard requires Thunderbolt 4, like Thunderbolt 3, can be daisy chained and unlike TB3 it can also be distributed like USB 2, 3.0, and 3.1 and is supposedly backward compatible. The reality I am encountering is…

• I can't find any certified Thunderbolt 4 cables or hubs (a phone call to OWC indicates they may have some shipping by mid-December)
• Connecting the TB4 port on an M1 device to a TB3 port using TB3 cable the connection stops at the first connected device and does not daisy chain.
• The same connected devices using the same ports and cables daisy chain correctly if the first device is a TB3 port on an 2018 Mac mini.
• Thunderbolt 2, 3, and 4 connectors are active with sophisticated electronic circuitry and hardware.
• OWC's TB4 cables are limited to 0.8M (29 inches) and expectations are all TB4 cables will be costly.

My question is will the TB4 daisy chain always terminate at the first non-TB4 device?

Don't have an answer, but I'm sure with time and more people exposure to the hardware, you will have one. In the meantime, is there such a thing as a TB3 to TB4 adapter? I know you say it is backward compatible, but the adapter would make it a "permanent" downgrade. Not desirable if the first device is TB4. Your second bullet point may accomplish this, but then again, is an adapter different circuitry?

Theoretically the circuitry in a TB4 device connector is supposed to recognize a TB3, TB2, USB4, USB 3.1 GEN 3, USB 3.1 GEN 1M USB 3.0, USB 2.0 connection. In other words TB4 is in essence, an adaptor, the long term goal being a type C connector would be compatible with all existing USB/TB protocols. For now port adaptors will be necessary to connect to existing port architectures. But if you connect a TB4 port to a TB3 port it will not give the TB3 device the additional TB4 capabilities of 100W power delivery, and the ability to be distributed through a hub, nor would it make a USB 2 device capable of 40Gbps speeds.

My assumption (I know, bad word) has been that since both TB4 and TB3 can be daisy chained[, a connection originating with the TB4 port on my M1 Mac mini should be capable of daisy-chaining through the TB3 ports on my LG 4K monitor, although it would be TB3 from that point on. The signal is terminating at the monitor and does not propagate to the outgoing TB3 Type C port or any of the three USB 3.1 gen 1 Type C ports. This could be the fault of either the TB3 cable between the Mac and the monitor or the TB3 port on the monitor itself. Without a TB4 cable I have no way of testing further, and what I am reading about TB4 is ambiguous.

PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED

Some additional experimentation, switching connections around, carefully reading the tech specs has identified the following:

1. The TB4 ports on the M1 SoC do daisy chain 👌
2. The daisy chain persists through TB3, TB2, and Firewire devices 👌
3. The M1 SoC simultaneously supports up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0 👋
4. I have two Thunderbolt displays 👎
5. I really like having two displays 👍
6. I really need the additional USB 2.0 type A ports and the FW800 port on the Apple Thunderbolt display. 🙏
7. SoftRAID is in beta for intel processors, but will neither load nor install on M1 SoC. 🤬

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

1. a new hdmi monitor ($130 to $190) I really didn't want to spend 😢
2. a TB 3 firewire dock to provide additional USB 3.0 type A ports and FW800 connectivity (I have one in my collection) 👍
3. an OWC Thunderbolt 4 hub to provide additional Thunderbolt 2, 3, & 4 connections for my growing collection of drives with TB3 and USB 3.1 gen 2 Type C connectors ($150 I had already planned on spending, but not yet available.) 🤨
4. at least two certified TB4 0.5 to 0.8 Meter cables (estimated $60 each when available) 😳

CONCLUSION:

• Moving to Apple silicon is more costly than I had initially anticipated.

So are you saying the second Thunderbolt monitor maxed out the TB4 capabilities?

To be specific on the Mac mini...
So although the computer can drive two displays, one of those must be HDMI and the HDMI signal may be carried via one of the two Thunderbolt ports or by the HDMI port built into the Mac itself.

The identical M1 SoC on the MacBook...

MORE DIFFERENCES:

The more experience I have with the M1 Mac mini the more subtle but important differences I find between it and the Intel based Macs.

KEXT INSTALLATION
I just installed the new Rogue Ameoba ACE beta kernel extension and it turned into a thirteen step process:

1. Run Installer Rogue Ameoba installer
2. Open System Preferences > Security & Privacy
3. Click padlock and enter administrative password
4. Click on Restart button in the Security & Privacy window and wait for complete shutdown
5. Press and hold power button[b] until progress bar appears
6. Select admin account and enter password
7. Change Security Setting
8. Restart
9. Enter password (system Preferences > Security & Privacy appears)
10. Click on padlock and enter password
11. Approve Kext installation
12. Restart
13. Quit System Preferences

As near as I can tell pressing and holding the Power Button is the M1 equivalent of ⌘R on Intel Macs but it went into the M1 equivalent of the T2 settings because

[b]SHOW EMOJI & SYMBOLS

Control+Command+Space (∧⌘␠) no longer opens Emoji & Symbols that is now done by the Fn key.

M1 Macs can run up to six external display port displays according to MacRumors.

Without getting deeply into investigation, that sounds like the procedure outlined in an Apple doc to which Mike Bombich linked me, which I had, in fact, intended to experiment with eventually.

I wonder if the procedure can be avoided by installing ACE from a different volume? (Update: A quick look with Pacifist suggests that it can't be done.)

I don't understand how the part about command-control-space fits in.

That would be a quick way to render Big Sur unbootable. It has to be inserted by the installer then there is a routine that is automatically run from the Recovery Assistant that I believe patches the boot image. I didn't mention it because it required no intervention or interaction on my part.

It is a separate issue/change/difference between Intel and M1 Macs.

BOOT OPTIONS ON M1 MACS

I am going to attempt to walk through this but it is a bit baroque.

1. The various Startup key combinations we all knew so well on Intel Macs do not work on Apple Silicon
2. The only functional startup key is the power button
3. To access any startup options of functions you have to begin from M1 Mac that has been powered down for at least ten seconds. In other words, you cannot simply reboot.
4. Simply press the power button and continue to hold it. A note will appear on the screen to continue holding the power button to access the boot options. Then a note will appear that the boot options menu is loading and a progress bar appears. You can now release the power button.
5. Unless the shut down was originated from System Preferences the options menu will appear. This is the familiar Option boot listing all of the bootable volumes attached to the system plus a Gear icon labeled Options.
6. To start in Safe Mode Press and hold the shift key and click Continue is Safe Mode
7. Clicking Options takes you to the Recovery Assistant we are familiar with
8. Clicking a bootable volume boots you from that volume
9. If the preceding shut down was triggered by a selection in System Preferences you will be taken directly to the Recovery Assistant and into a specific function. For example setting the Security Policy. NOTE: on Intel Macs the T2 Security policy setting was the same for every bootable volume attached to the system. On M1 Macs when you set the security policy you are prompted to choose which boot volume's security policy you are setting.

SIDENOTE: one thing I have noted in performing multiple re-installs while playing testing, the added speed of the M1 processor reduced the install time by almost ½.

While the startup key combos may have been ingrained in some of us, it seems simpler with the power button and an options menu. Also, very encouraging to hear about the speed increase, at least with installs. Thanks for sharing your trailblazing experiences.

I concur about the Power button. I am always looking up the various key combos because they aren't used enough to set them in my memory and, as I have said before, some of them work better if you have three arms and at least that many hands. 😉

I have one very minor gripe though, the TotalMount® under-desk mount for my Mac mini was designed with the power button on the left rear corner. On the M1 Mini it is on the upper right rear corner. The modifications to the mounting bracket necessitated the use of a ⅜ drill and a 13mm drill bit followed by cleanup work with a carbide grinder bit. Fortunately my woodworking shop is well equipped for such exigencies. Now comes the hard part, organizing and hiding the rats nest of connector and power wires on top of and below my desk. With the cooperation of Amazon and OWC I will hopefully have the don by Monday.

I believe that is the case, yes. The non-TB4 device does not know how to negotiate a downstream daisy chain.

Additionally, if you're running video (mini Display Port) over ThunderBolt, the video device must, if I recall correctly, always be the last device in the chain.

After more experimentation, experience, and research, I have found...

• Thunderbolt 2, 3, & 4 will daisy-chain up to six links, Older displays that are using DP 1.1a or earlier must be located at the end of a Thunderbolt device chain.
• Native displays and Thunderbolt devices can be anywhere along the line. (Apple states that up to six daisy-chained peripherals are supported per Thunderbolt port and that the display should come at the end of the chain, if it does not support daisy chaining.
• Thunderbolt 2 uses the MDP connector and has a maximum speed of 20Gb/s
• Thunderbolt 3 uses the USB type C connector, requires an activecable[/i] connections that can support up to 20 or 40Gb/s speeds. (Apple has always specified the maximum data rate in its computers and devices.)
• Thunderbolt 4 raises the minimum bandwidth to 32Gb/s (but retains the maximum 40Gb/s), adds support for dual 4K displays, DMA (Direct Memory Access) protection, adds support for distributed signaling in addition to daisy-chaining, and support for the USB 4 standards.
• M1 Macs have two Thunderbolt 4 ports and both daisy-chain and distribute, but will only support one 4k or 6k Thunderbolt monitor, but have been demonstrated to daisy-chain up to six HDMI monitors. (I am running one Thunderbolt 4K monitor and one "Full HD" HDMI monitor via the M1's HDMI port and a variety of Thunderbolt 3 SSDs via an OWC Thunderbolt 4 hub.) I had some issues with the initial setup, but as far as I can tell the problem was the result of mixing USB, 20 Gb/s TB3, and 40Gb/s TB3 cables. Replacing the USB and 20Gb/s TB3 cables, with certified 40GB/S cables solved any problems.
• So far I have found only one certified TB4 cable and it came with the OWC TB4 Hub, but as of today, OWC does not offer that cable as a stand-alone item.

CONTINUING ISSUES

1. Big Sur moves kernel extensions from the system area to the user area which theoretically should make the installations easier. However after any installation of a kext the Extensions cache has to be "rebuilt" (a process initiated in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General requiring an administrative user's authorization and password), followed by a reboot of the system. I have two such kernel extensions:
   1. one of which is not compatible with Apple Silicon 😱 However, IMHO, the Big Sur developers deserve kudos for handling this situation. The system will make three attempts at installing the kernel extension then isolate it and continue the boot without the offending kext and with a full explanation of what has transpired.
   2. The other kernel extension works well, but has to be re-installed -- like every other time the system is rebooted 🤷‍♂️
2. I have elected to FileVault my boot drive so logons require a two step process, Step one at the prompt, enter the password for the file system, step to enter the logon password. (Both are the same password and this may be an issue between the headlights, and not in the system design.)
3. The past two mornings I have come in to find my system has rebooted, but so far no clear indication of a cause.
4. A couple of favorite pinball games from my iPhone/iPad don't play nice on my M1 mac 😢

Other than that my system is running fast and clean. I am genuinely pleased. 🙆‍♂️

WHY 2 ≥ 4 ON M1 MACS

I have groused about my new M1 Mac mini only having two Thunderbolt ports only to find out in this Rocket Yard© Tech Talk that two can be even better than four. By the way, my own tests, while not particularly rigorous, indicate the author's assertions are absolutely correct.

1. Was that procedure spelled out, clearly and step by step, on your screen, or did you need to have it on your iPad screen or on paper for reference as you went through it?

2. What happens if, as I do, you use the fn key as a hotkey?

3. Any idea why [/b] doesn't work in SHOW EMOJI & SYMBOLS above but does work in this instance?

I couldn't even find ACE in the Audio Hijack package, and I'm still not certain that it isn't actually a d/l.

At any rate, I guess the procedure can't be avoided, which may tend to be a major PIA down the road, because, at least recently, ACE has had to be updated with each AH update.

1. The procedure was not spelled out in toto rather step-by-step or a few steps at a time. Some from the Rogue Ameaba installer, some from System Preferences, some from the boot process, and some from the Recovery Assistant. The final steps were outlined in the beginning by the Rogue Ameaba installer. NOTE: The security setting change only has to be performed once on each boot volume and after you have gone through the process a time or two it becomes automatic. I have found TinkerTool 7.01 to be an invaluable upgrade as it has the ability to clean the driver staging so kexts that you attempt to install that end up being rejected by macOS 11 don't show up asking to be approved for installation every time you boot the system. I have a couple of those one from softRAID and the other from Micromat.
2. 🤷‍♂️ I suppose you will have a conflict unless you disable one of the actions.
3. 🤷‍♂️ again

According to Rogue Ameaba the same ACE kext is at the heart of each of their products

Thanks for that.

It's not clear to me, though, whether that first installation of ACE sets things up for that version of ACE only, or for future versions of ACE as well.

I suppose we'll find out either the hard or easy way.

According to Rogue Ameaba you only need one copy of ACE installed and it will support any and all of their apps.

That's perfectly clear, but every recent, maybe even just plain every, Audio Hijack update has come with an ACE update.

Will future ACE updates each require our going through the entire rigamarole again, or will macOS have somehow been "primed" to accept them forthwith?

1. Just as in Catalina on Intel Macs all kernel extension installations must be approved. If the extension is from Apple, or is properly signed by an approved developer, approval is automatic. Otherwise...
   1. the security settings must be changed to allow the installation of software that is not from Apple or an approved developer. Just as on Intel Macs with a T2 chip, re-setting the security settings for Macs with Apple SoC inside, require booting into the Recovery drive. On Intel Macs that reset is good for any bootable volume on that Mac. On Macs with Apple SoC, the setting is good only for that one bootable volume. (Whether or not that security setting will survive a clone operation or not I can't tell, because Apple's ASR utility doesn't work on Apple silicon yet, but I know that it doesn't survive a nuke and pave.)
   2. the user must approve or disapprove the installation, update, or removal of each non-Apple or Apple approved extension.
2. Kernel extensions become effective by being incorporated into an extensions cache contained in the boot snapshot.
   1. Every time an extension is installed, updated, or removed that cache must be rebuilt.
   2. The installation and rebuild is not effective until the system is rebooted.
3. The administrative user's approval of the installation in System Preferences > Security & privacy > General triggers the rebuild of the extensions cache and reboot.

So it would appear that assuming every update of Audio Hijack includes an updated ACE then it would require approval of the kext install and a reboot, but re-etting the security option would not be required so you would not hav to boot into the Recovery Drive. But if the Security setting does not survive the ASR then you would have to boot into the Recovery Drive to change the security setting after each cloning procedure. (But that is still TBD.)

I guess the bottom line here is that I may begin forgoing Audio Hijack updates if the update notes don't convince me that I need them.

In the end, my updating experience will dictate.

THE SITUATION I have a wireless Canon IP110 that has served me well for three or four years. Canon’s printer drivers work well on MacOS 11.1 on both Intel and M1 Macs. (Just in case Canon has CUPS drivers available, as well.) There is no problem installing or re-installing the drivers and no re-boot is needed, The glitch is not the drivers, rather Canon’s software for configuring the wireless network settings does not work on MacOS 11. Neither Canon’s online ijsetup or an older version that came with the printer when it was new can “see” the printer to set it up, even when connected via USB. I do have a semi-satisfactory work-around of connecting the printer to a computer via USB then sharing that over my LAN, which works for Macs but not so well with iPhone, iPad, etc..

THE DISAPPOINTMENT: When I attempted to chat with Canon tech support I got a person who asked all the identity information, but when I asked about Big Sur, although the connection aparently remained open, there was zero response. I gave up after an hour. I didn’t even get an automated response to an email. I still love my IP110 and plan to keep it, particularly because after a thorough search of the market, the only satisfactory replacement, for my situation, is a recent model Canon that is a direct replacement for the IP110, and is dependent on the same drivers and network setup utility. 🤬

AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION In my search for alternate printers, no matter what brand I looked at, only twenty to twenty-five percent of the models listed were in stock by the manufacturers or major retailors, and those that were in stock, were all too often the lower rated models. Canon’s factory store apologized for supply chain problems due to the COVID-19 virus.

I just installed a SoundSource update which includes an ACE update and no reboot was required.

That sounds promising.

Thanks.

Audio Hijack 3.8.0 is fully compatible with Big Sur, but for some reason, you've got to go to the update notes on Rogue Amoeba's website to find out...

OUTSTANDING ISSUES

The only remaining issues I have with macOS 11 and the M1 Macs are:

1. Apple has yet to release a version of their ASR (Apple Software Restore) command line utility that works with the M1 macs and until that happens there will be no way to clone a bootable system.
2. SoftRAID still refuses to mount my Thunderbolt 2 Thunderbay mini array. I have been working with OWC (SoftRAID) on this. I would believe it to be something unique to my system, but I have a friend with exactly the same hardware configuration who is having the identical issue. (The year end holidays have temporarily suspended further work on the issue.)
3. There has been an annoying Bluetooth connectivity issue effecting my Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, Apple Watch (unlock apps and the Mac itself), and HomePOD.

I can certainly live without the ability to clone my system, so that is not a significant issue, but it would be in my nice to have category. One reason cloning is not a big issue for me is I rely on Time Machine to keep my system backups current and my RAID array is a key factor to that so I really would like to have it back up and running. I have looked for an adequate replacement but everything I have found that I feel should be satisfactory would cost more than my computer. (Admittedly I am pretty anal about backups and backup systems.) As tp the bluetooth connectivity issue, the last beta of macOS 11.2 appears to have solved that issue.

CONCLUSION

My experience leads me to conclude Apple is still optimizing macOS 11 for the M1 Macs, but that optimization is progressing very rapidly. The changes are subtle but in total they are enough to be noticeable. The only way I can describe it is everything is becoming smoother and more fluid.