A clever hack fixes the new Mac mini power button's awkward location

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware

Following the news that the New Mac mini has its power button on the underside, fans with 3D printers have been proposing how to make it more accessible.

A white Apple device with a black logo, and a yellow power button key extending from underneath.
A power lever for the new Mac mini -- image credit: Ivan Kuleshov



The first of what just might become a wave of Mac minipower button tools have begun to spread across social media, but maybe the archetype of them all is from engineer Ivan Kuleshov. He previously redesigned the Magic Mouse so that it got a charging port on the front.

Believe it will work pic.twitter.com/dZkYFAPDik

-- Ivan Kuleshov (@Merocle)



Kuleshov's idea is a clever fulcrum where pressing on one end causes the other to rise, and therefore press the comparatively inaccessible power button. He's even 3D printed it with an Apple-style power icon on the end.

There is of course the small problem that Kuleshov does not have a new Mac mini. They're available for pre-order now, but won't ship until November 8, 2024.

Consequently, Kuleshov says he "modeled the Mac mini based on available photos and dimensions," and that believes his lever will work. But he notes that ultimately it will depend on "the Mac mini weight and the force required to press the button."

But then there is a further snag that isn't going to be fixed by Kuleshov's lever design. His lever has to extend out from one side of the new Mac mini, meaning that despite its small size, it takes up a larger footprint on a desk.

If you're the sort who leaves their Mac on all the time, then you won't be concerned about the power button. And you're also not concerned about the planet.

Macs can restart themselves after a power outage, so there are use cases where that inconvenient power button might only be pressed once. In that case, it can pressed as you first put the Mac mini down on your desk.

But whenever you do need to press that button, you have to pull up the Mac to reach it. Depending on the space you have, and depending on how many cables you have connected, that could be a pain.

It does, though, hark back to the days of Steve Jobs who famously did not like having power buttons at all.

That didn't stop Apple putting one on every Mac mini, starting right back with the original in 2005. From then until now, the power button was on the back -- so it could have been more accessible even then.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    Just turn the Mini upside down.

    No, it's not a serious suggestion.
    kurai_kagewilliamlondonlibertyandfreeAlex1NpulseimagesMplsP
  • Reply 2 of 57
    The best solution is to put it on top of your Firewire CD burner while playing Hurt by Nine Inch Nails. Personally I'm furious that it doesn't include an interface for my typewriter.
    GRKosturkurai_kageAlex1Nbloggerblog
  • Reply 3 of 57
    mrstepmrstep Posts: 522member
    If you're the sort who leaves their Mac on all the time, then you won't be concerned about the power button. And you're also not concerned about the planet.

    if you really care about the planet, you longingly gaze at your unpowered Mac mini when stepping out of the commune-tent to eat a bug snack. Otherwise you're just an eco-poser..
    GRKosturwilliamlondonJanNLstompygrandact73
  • Reply 4 of 57
    I don't even see how this is an issue. ya already have to reach around these things to get at the power button. what's the difference if its underneath a little
    d_2leehericksmainyehcdanoxmike1mdwwilliamlondonwarren21Alex1N
  • Reply 5 of 57
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,302member
    Every Mac can go into a low-power mode, allowing it to receive things from the web. Leaving any Mac on is actually better than power cycling it every time you use it. Startup requires a lot of energy and is something only casual users do. They aren't turning their Macs off to save energy, they're turning them off because that's how you used to do it back in the Intel days.

    As for the button being on the bottom, that's actually a stupid move for Apple. When these go into server racks, and they will go there immediately after the M4 Mac mini Pro is released, data centers will complain. Sure they will only turn them on once but they will need the easy ability to manually power cycle them when needed.
    williamlondonAlex1Nlongpath
  • Reply 6 of 57
    rob53 said:

    As for the button being on the bottom, that's actually a stupid move for Apple. When these go into server racks, and they will go there immediately after the M4 Mac mini Pro is released, data centers will complain. Sure they will only turn them on once but they will need the easy ability to manually power cycle them when needed.
    Since they won’t fit existing data center racks they will have to come up with something new anyway. The power button is on the back corner so I imagine they will be very accessible when on their sides in a custom rack. 🤷‍♂️
    neilmdanoxStrangeDaysAlex1NmattinozstompyAlex_V
  • Reply 7 of 57
    The power button is such a non-issue. It’s probably there because of pulling out the bottom for repairability but as usual everyone is over-reacting about something new they haven’t seen in person or touched. 🤷‍♂️
    danoxdanielchowkurai_kagemdwStrangeDayswilliamlondonAlex1NAlex_V
  • Reply 8 of 57
    hodarhodar Posts: 366member
    "You are holding it wrong".

    Seriously though, it's a poor decision.  I have the 2012 Mac Mini, and it's still running strong.   I bought the M1 Mini, and it's more than adequate for the home/office user case I have.   Teams, remote login to my Windows desktop for teleworking, email, surfing, and very limited gameplay.  The M1 is really a good machine; and I think I have done very few cases where I need to hit the power button.

    But, I agree, the location given is poor, and when form overrides function, there is a problem.  Put the button on top, or on one of the sides, or just make the button smaller.
    GRKosturwilliamlondonAlex1Ngrandact73
  • Reply 9 of 57
    lmaclmac Posts: 211member
    I used to like the old iMac glowing power button on the front. When in sleep mode, it pulsed.

    This may be a challenge for computer labs where security enclosures are needed. Accessing that button could prove difficult.

    And if we go waaaay back, the power button on the keyboard was also slick.
    edited October 31 jeffharrisGRKosturAlex1N
  • Reply 10 of 57
    Per Apple's Product Environmental Report for the new mini, while "sleeping", it uses 0.5W. During "idle with display on", the mini uses 4W. 

    Granted, that's not zero power used, but it's darned low. The only way to get the mini to use zero electricity is to  unplug it, because it consumes a monstrously large 0.1W powered off and plugged in.  
    danoxdanielchowkurai_kageStrangeDaysAlex1NMplsPstompy
  • Reply 11 of 57
    Put the Mac Mini on a spongy pad, with something hard under the power button. Then press down on the entire thing to push the power button against the hard thing. It'll require some fiddling to get it right, but probably less effort than 3D printing that lever.
    danoxAlex1N
  • Reply 12 of 57
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,435member
    The main part of the unit is raised. How far it is raised is the question. If you can easily get a finger underneath, then there is no issue at all for most of us.
    mdwStrangeDaysAlex1N
  • Reply 13 of 57
    People turn their computers off? I haven’t turned mine off except to move it in decades.  I don’t turn off phones, tablets. Etc, either.  I do let them go to sleep.
    kurai_kageStrangeDaysAlex1N
  • Reply 14 of 57
    Per Apple's Product Environmental Report for the new mini, while "sleeping", it uses 0.5W. During "idle with display on", the mini uses 4W. 

    Granted, that's not zero power used, but it's darned low. The only way to get the mini to use zero electricity is to  unplug it, because it consumes a monstrously large 0.1W powered off and plugged in.  
    Humans are so predictable. Most bloggers exaggerate. Such drama queens.

    All Apple PowerBooks have very efficient power-saving modes that automatically put them to sleep when you close the lid. This is also true for all Apple desktop machines. This machine is so compact and lightweight that you can easily lift it slightly to access the button, but you will rarely need to. If you must hard power off, then unplug the power cord.
    kurai_kageStrangeDaysAlex1N
  • Reply 15 of 57
    As someone accustomed to using a Studio Display with a closed up 14" MacBook Pro (sitting in an aluminum stand), this new Mac Mini's power button is actually in a MORE convenient location haha. It's not an issue in my use case as the MacBook Pro pretty much stays on in standby all the time... But every once in a while if she needs a manual power cycle I have to take it outta the stand, open it up and slap that TouchID button... Something that is actually more involved than reaching under the back edge of the new Mini I wager. I would imagine the biggest hassle situation would be cases where the Mac mini is bolted down, like in a security enclosure, that doesn't allow it to be lifted up at all which would make it difficult to hit that button. Or, is it possible to set the Mini to boot up automatically on power restoration? Because if that is the case, one could simply unplug and plug it back in to effectively do the same thing.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 16 of 57
    My household is powered by the sun, the Macs all stay on.  
    Alex1NalandailAlex_V
  • Reply 17 of 57
    This "clever hack" was my first impulse when the new Mini was revealed. But the better solution for many would be a curved button-on-a-flexing-stick, enclosed in a self-adhesive sleeve fitted to the rounded corner nook (wasted space) of the rear-left side of the Mini, such that  gently pressing the lever (which rests flush to the top of the Mini, in that corner space) causes actuation of the power switch.  A small spring akin to those used in many ballpoint pens can be concealed in the sleeve, thus returning the button to its neutral resting state.  The entire self-adhesive assembly could be user-installed in a matter of seconds, and would be at the ready whenever needed.  Because it occupies the "wasted space" created by the curvature of the mini's corner, and does not protrude above the chassis, it becomes effectively ZERO FOOTPRINT.  Because the sleeve itself curves underneath and then upwards to the OEM switch, it does not require a table surface to create a pivoting point and, thus would be operable even if Minis are stacked like bricks.  I hereby claim ownership of this invention and grant royalty-free rights in perpetuity to any manufacturer to make and sell this device.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 18 of 57
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 901member
    Look all my Mac Pros (pre-2019) are backwards facing!  So just turn the mac mini upside down!  LOL
    Alex1N
  • Reply 19 of 57
    I called this the day it came out, wish I had a 3D printer though!
  • Reply 20 of 57
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,965member
    This is a solution in search of a problem.
    StrangeDayswilliamlondonnetroxCalvinator
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