It's tough, but you can hack a M4 Mac mini to get power over USB-C

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A YouTube video has demonstrated that, while tricky to pull off, it is possible to power an M4 Mac mini using a USB-C cable.

Silver-colored computer device with a sleek, minimalist design, featuring the Apple logo on top, two USB-C ports, a small hole, and a power indicator on the front.
M4 Mac mini



Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lineup allows users to recharge using MagSafe or USB-C. The USB-C charging is especially useful when used with some powered docks, since you could connect to peripherals and recharge the portable Mac from just one cable.

The same cannot be said for the Mac mini, as it's a device that requires a more traditional power connection in order to function. Unless you go to extreme lengths, or find a battery with an AC socket, you have to connect the Mac mini to a power outlet to use it.

However, a video posted to YouTube on Friday appears to show it is possible, with quite a bit of effort.

The short, posted by Saad Ouache, shows an opened-up M4 Mac mini, placed upside down on a desk and with the base removed. Using a small board with a USB-C connection and wires feeding into the Mac mini, he claims to have managed to power the Mac mini using power delivery.



The assembly is said to be sourced from a power bank at 12 volts, 3 amps, which feed in via some cables strategically soldered inside the case. The Mac mini is also shown to be working, with a HDMI cable connected to the computer as well as an on-desk display.

As part of the demonstration, he reconnects the main power cable to the Mac mini and disconnects the USB-C cable, effectively swapping between power sources. He then pulls out the main power cable to show the Mac mini losing power, before turning it back on again by reconnecting the USB-C cable.

Impressive but impractical



The video certainly demonstrates that it is feasible for a USB-C cable to power an M4 Mac mini. However, it is being used in experimental and very specific conditions, rather than as a feature of the Mac mini itself.

As for why Apple hasn't implemented USB-C as the power source for the Mac mini, it is probably down to the power requirements of the Mac mini itself. In short, a typical USB-C cable won't cut it.

Apple's page for Mac mini power consumption explains that an M4 Mac mini with 16GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD has a power consumption of 4 watts at idle, 65 watts at maximum.

However, this is just for running the Mac mini itself, as it can also feed power to other devices. The specifications page for the M4 Mac mini states it can have a maximum continuous power level of 155 Watts.

A typical USB-C Charge Cable, sold by Apple and supplied with some of its products, can operate at up to 60 watts without being a problem. Based on Apple's usage description, it will pretty much cover the processing capabilities of an M4 Mac mini.

This, however, is far from what's needed to safely cover the 155-watt maximum. You could easily get other cables on the market that can do. Apple sells a USB-C Charge Cable that can handle up to 240 watts, the maximum allowed under the USB Implementers Forum's USB Power Delivery Specification Revision 3.1.

With the right specification of cable that can handle 240 watts, it would be feasible to power something like a Mac mini over USB-C.

It wouldn't be impossible for Apple to implement some sort of USB-C power delivery system for a future Mac mini. However, it would require consumers to use a cable capable of handling that level of wattage.

With cables not supporting power delivery above their maximum wattage, there's a good chance that Apple would have to field complaints from consumers using an inferior connection.

Questionable portability



The method demonstrated in the video is one way to accomplish making a portable Mac mini, but there are other ways to do things. For example, it is feasible to connect a power bank to the power connector, using the right cable and with a beefy enough power source.

Converting a Mac mini into a portable device has been done before, with projects trying to do so by adding an external portable keyboard and mouse. Even so, the projects have so far been experimental in nature and not remotely acceptable for typical consumer use.

Despite the efforts, the best option for a portable Mac is still a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. And at least on those, you could use USB-C power delivery.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    jayweissjayweiss Posts: 81member
    It would be much better to use PoE (Power over Ethernet) to power the Mac mini. 
    roundaboutnow
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  • Reply 2 of 7
    appleinsideruserappleinsideruser Posts: 743member
    jayweiss said:
    It would be much better to use PoE (Power over Ethernet) to power the Mac mini. 
    A bit niche and also not really powerful enough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet#Standard_implementation
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 7
    profprof Posts: 111member
    AppleInsider said:

    A typical USB-C Charge Cable, sold by Apple and supplied with some of its products, can operate at up to 60 watts without being a problem. Based on Apple's usage description, it will pretty much cover the processing capabilities of an M4 Mac mini.

    Nonsense, only the el cheapo cables without eMarker chip are limited to 60W, but they usually have other limitations, too (like only supporting USB2 or no data at all). Any proper USB-C cable has an eMarker chip and is rated for 5A (which can go way higher than 100W with the latest EPR voltage ranges), Apple itself has been offering a 140W USB-C power supply for it MBP series for quite a while... And of course even the standard 96W brick requires Apple to ship a proper 5A rated cable... Probably the only cable in their offering that doesn't support 5A mode is the cable shipped with the iPads and smaller portable devices.
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  • Reply 4 of 7
    amusingfoolamusingfool Posts: 23member
    The video certainly demonstrates that it is feasible for a USB-C cable to power an M4 Mac mini.

    Feasible is doing an awful lot of work in that sentence.

    As for using a Mini as a portable, I looked into that, thinking of using a Vision Pro as the display.  Not feasible; the Vision Pro refuses to connect if the Mini is not already attached to some sort of display (even a very crummy one.  I suppose I didn't try using an iPad as one, although I would guess that would fail as well, for the same reason).
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  • Reply 5 of 7
    roundaboutnowroundaboutnow Posts: 768member
    jayweiss said:
    It would be much better to use PoE (Power over Ethernet) to power the Mac mini. 
    A bit niche and also not really powerful enough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet#Standard_implementation
    Not sure how niche this is, but having number of Mac minis in a rack is not all that uncommon and powering via PoE would be convenient. But yeah, the M-series minis max continuous power spec of 150-155W makes this not an option...

    Interestingly, the last generation of Intel minis had a max power of only 80W, so theoretically, it would have been "almost" possible on PoE++.
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  • Reply 6 of 7
    ramanpfafframanpfaff Posts: 168member
    Lol. This is easily on my list of "top ten things I don't want to try on my Mac."
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  • Reply 7 of 7
    timpetustimpetus Posts: 68member
    This demonstrates part of why Apple switched to MagSafe on their laptops. If the MM had a built-in battery, it might make some sense to enable power via something more easily disconnected, but I doubt Apple would ever see the need to add one to a desktop machine...
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