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It's official. You have to lift up the mini to turn it on
- Thread starter tomtad
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I'd have no problem with sleep mode if the power LED switched off but it stays on and my Mac set up is in my bedroom which in the dark the light is very bright and I don't feel like putting a sticker on my Mac to cover it.
While a single macmini uses very little energy at idle, a single household may have a dozen or so similar low energy devices idling 24/7. Across millions of households it can add up to a significant amount of wasted energy. So by your logic Apple would be encouraging wasting energy.
I try to power off as many of these devices as is practicable using power strips with on/off buttons so the bottom power button wouldn't be a problem for me. But it would be for people that want to frequently power cycle the mini directly where a power strip is not practical and other use cases.
By putting the power button on the bottom, Apple has precluded some use cases whereas keeping it on the sides would have accommodated everyone. Bad design by Apple.
Yes, it's bad design, that's why we are fixated on this. I dont understand what it is you don't understand.
I have same issue. I fixed it by putting a handkerchief over it.
Many forms of power generation cannot easily accommodate changes in load. Having millions of homes using some power all night is actually preferable to having a near zero load on the grid all night in such cases.
Now, I'm not saying this proves it's fine, but I am saying there's a non zero chance that keeping them on could actually be beneficial. It depends on your region's energy sources, and aggregate power needs at both minimum and maximum. It's far more complicated than just saying turning things off at night is good because I'm not wasting energy. I'm not sure it's a much of an issue now that everything is lower power and drives aren't mechanical, but electronics suffered greater wear on power cycling than on constant use. By keeping it on, you're avoiding that wear, saving you early replacement costs.
Even if constant use is beneficial to the generator in your area, they're still charging for the power used, so you need to work your power costs into the equation too. Also, for a business, having fewer active PCs may mean a small cyber attack surface. It's hard to determine what those savings could look like, but that would put a bit more push on the turn it off camp's side.
Not advocating for either side, just pointing out that it's not as simple as turning it off equals good.
FYI. Many modern electronics (e.g. computers, televisions) continue to consume parasitic amounts of power, even when they are switched “OFF”. Using a power strip (like you said you do) or unplugging them is the only way to truly turn them completely OFF.
If you are truly compulsive about the need to make sure your electronics are completely off, one can’t depend on the on/off switch that is on the of the box anyhow.
Southern California Edison here certainly encourages you to turn off standby devices. They say nothing about it being preferable to keep things on to maintain a load on the grid.
Regarding power cycling vs steady state and longevity, the evidence I have seen points to no difference in wear and tear on solid state devices power cycling on/off vs steady state on. Can you point to some definitive study on it? Anecdotally, I haven't seen any difference with all the devices I have had. I can tell you I turn on/off my power hungry 12 channel solid state amp several times a day and it is 18 years old now.
Regarding power cycling vs steady state and longevity, the evidence I have seen points to no difference in wear and tear on solid state devices power cycling on/off vs steady state on. Can you point to some definitive study on it? Anecdotally, I haven't seen any difference with all the devices I have had. I can tell you I turn on/off my power hungry 12 channel solid state amp several times a day and it is 18 years old now.
Not compulsive about it but I do power off almost every device when I am either away for more than a few days or don't frequently use something; the only devices I turn off daily are a 12-channel power amp and a couple of subwoofer amps (standby only). I probably save about a days worth per month of energy.
I just got my mini, power button is no issue at all, cause I mostly place external disks to levitate my laptop (in this case, mini) while hiding it away from sight. I didnt have attached a double sided tape but that would be enough solution to keep the disk aligned and attached straight underneath it.
After much experimentation (ok, a couple of different things), I have finally found the perfect solution, for me.
My first attempt was a Rhodia Premium #12 (a little bigger than A7) note pad. (I got a batch of them for real cheap.) This worked well, but it stuck out from the edges, and I had to move the Mac back a little to get at the button.
Now, I have a stack of 3 drink coasters, about 12 mm high. They fit exactly under the flat base of the fan, and make the Mac Mini look like it is floating on air. And there is more than enough room for my finger.
Problem solved.
My first attempt was a Rhodia Premium #12 (a little bigger than A7) note pad. (I got a batch of them for real cheap.) This worked well, but it stuck out from the edges, and I had to move the Mac back a little to get at the button.
Now, I have a stack of 3 drink coasters, about 12 mm high. They fit exactly under the flat base of the fan, and make the Mac Mini look like it is floating on air. And there is more than enough room for my finger.
Problem solved.
Of course! I can just laser cut a few circles of plywood and glue them together!
I've still only pressed the power button once. It was a near life-ending burden, for sure, but I think I may just pull through.
I was thinking of getting my son (engineer, computer scientist, all-purpose whizz kid) to build one of the 3D-printed doo-hickeys on the Internet. Then, when putting away a strayed drink coaster, my mind contemplated the earth-shattering consequences of stacking three, one on top of the other.
BTW, this thread may be threatening to enter the realms of silliness...
BTW, this thread may be threatening to enter the realms of silliness...
Have just had to restart mine in Recovery mode. And it is a little awkward. The press is OK, but the press three times quite quickly needed me to pick it up in order to achieve. But we are all different.
I am now glad I did not place it where I had originally planned - under a shelf.
I am now glad I did not place it where I had originally planned - under a shelf.
There's someone literally below your comment having issue with the button placement
Have had my m4 Mini for about a month now, it's a server that runs 24/7 so there should be very little need to use the power button. A few days ago it appeared to be hung and I needed to press it to restart. The Mini is inside a cabinet, I felt around for the button and finally picked it up to find it.
No big deal, it's not a "disaster" but Apple could have done a better job on this.
No big deal, it's not a "disaster" but Apple could have done a better job on this.
They may want to, but they don’t need to, and Apple doesn’t design around people who want to keep doing something for no reason other than that’s the way they’ve always done it and they don’t want to change.