A:AnswerI have the same issue as well. I have to press the brew button several times and hold it down to make it brew. No issues on the carafe side , just the single serve.
A:AnswerIf you use just the water and Swiss miss packets in your cup. You cannot heat milk in the coffee maker or you can buy Keurig hot chocolate pods and do it that way
A:AnswerI have a mesh filter and it fits inside the coffee maker; I don't see any reason why you couldn't use a mesh basket filter. The maker does not come with one, however.