Sporadic reports on social media are talking about how hooking up an external hard drive to a New Mac mini is dramatically cutting Wi-Fi speeds. Here’s why it’s happening, and how to reduce the impact of it, or stop it entirely.
The new M4 Mac mini Wi-Fi module is marked by that exclamation point
Hours after the new Mac mini hit customers’ desks, some users started complaining that when they hooked up a hard drive or SSD to the unit, they’d see Wi-Fi speeds drop, or be cut entirely. The reports were almost always followed up with the realization that when disconnected, the Wi-Fi speeds would go back to normal.
I’ve been looking into this for a few months, since I did the first reviews of the hardware here at AppleInsider. While there are an incredible amount of variables, I can confirm that I’ve seen this.