How annoying is it for Mini users to plug in/out?

[TinaBelcher]

I've had this issue with mostly all my Mac products.
I could almost never find and hit a cable or drive correctly into a port without turning the screen around. It's so annoying to have to flip your iMac around and I also have this issue with my new Apple Studio Display. I'm planning on getting a Mac mini. I would hate to have to lift or turn my mini in order to plug my charger or drive into the port. I really don't understand why Apple designed a mini with the ports in the back!? All the mini windows machines have it at the front. What's your experience been?

 

[bobcomer]

I don't plug and unplug things all that often to worry about it. It would be nice to have a couple ports on the front for the mini, but it's not a deal breaker. You can always get a USB hub, plug it into the back, then plug in anything you need from wherever you put the hub.

 

[dandeco]

Sometimes it's a little inconvenient, including if putting in an SD card. But I would often have a couple of USB 3.0 hubs plugged into my 2012 quad-core i7 Mini (a SATA dock with three extra USB ports, and the monitor).
Once I get an M2 Pro-equipped Mac Mini, I'm going to have my CalDigit TS3-Plus dock plugged into one of the four Thunderbolt 4 ports, and my Apple Thunderbolt Display plugged into another, so I most likely won't be plugging stuff into the back as often.

 

[martint235]

I just leave the cables plugged in. Not an issue for me

 

[Euroamerican]

Life is hard, but that has never been a problem for me with my minis.

 

[August West]

Get a hub and put place it where it convenient for you.

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

I plug it in and leave it. If I had something I need to hot plug more often then I'd get a dock or dongle.

 

[eoblaed]

Wait ... cables unplug?

 

[Allen_Wentz]

My MBPs have always presented that (minor) cables irritation as they go from desktop mode driving 3 external displays to mobile mode. But as a desktop box I see no such issues for Minis, Studios and MPs. iMacs (which I do not ascribe to) are a huge PITA because accessing ports is so difficult.

 

[abbeybound]

I find it extremely annoying.

 

[4wheelcycle]

I don't plug and unplug my main cables very often; really not at all. I do have extra cables that bring lightning charge connectors from the back of my Studio Display to my Magic Trackpad and my Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. I also have cables that bring one USB C female and one USB A female to the front of my Mac mini M2 Pro, so I can plug in USB drives, or devices that need to be charged, when I need to.

 

[HDFan]

I really don't understand why Apple designed a mini with the ports in the back!?

That way the cabling can be hidden out of sight. This is particularly useful for things that are permanently connected. For ephemeral connections you can use a hub. All but one of my Studio back ports are connected and it is a birds nest of cables that is hidden in the back. Have a Satechi USB hub with 7 ports in the front which I use to connect temporary devices.

 

[DeltaMac]

The mini is square. You can choose to position whatever side you want as the front, so I choose to have the "left" side pointing to the back. That leaves the ports on the right - very handy when deciding whether to "flip" that USB connector, and also very convenient when I need to quickly find the power button - it is right there in front. I also have a 4 port USB hub, which sits very nicely underneath the display (sitting on top of my mini). I usually control the bunch of cables, that eventually gather on that right side, with a loose velcro tie. Works for me!

 

[thebart]

I don't have this problem with the mini because with the base one there are so few ports I pretty much have to use external hub anyway so not a whole lot of plugging / unplugging to do

Except for the headphone jack, which is terribly placed under two ports. Put a headphone jack in front, for goodness sake

Btw, you have to be careful plugging things in because if you blindly jam things in it's easy to dent or scratch the aluminum edge

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I've had this issue with mostly all my Mac products.
I could almost never find and hit a cable or drive correctly into a port without turning the screen around. It's so annoying to have to flip your iMac around and I also have this issue with my new Apple Studio Display. I'm planning on getting a Mac mini. I would hate to have to lift or turn my mini in order to plug my charger or drive into the port. I really don't understand why Apple designed a mini with the ports in the back!? All the mini windows machines have it at the front. What's your experience been?

When I had a M1 Mac Mini back in 2021 I didn't have much issue reaching back there to plug things in.

But hey if you hate rear ports on desktops that much Satechi sells Mac Mini hubs that adds front ports, as well as SD card slots, and they have a hub that supports an M.2 SSD enclosure so you can treat it like a storage expansion to your Mac Mini

Stand & Hub for Mac Mini with SSD Enclosure

satechi.net

 

[Algus]

I don't unplug either. My external storage has an SD reader on the front, which is nice, but SD cards aren't really part of my workflow. For all of my charging cables and things I have some of them permanently plugged in, and cable routed with ties and things on my desk, to keep everything nice and neat, and available when I need it. I have separate cables in my bag for travel.

 

[ikir]

I've had this issue with mostly all my Mac products.
I could almost never find and hit a cable or drive correctly into a port without turning the screen around. It's so annoying to have to flip your iMac around and I also have this issue with my new Apple Studio Display. I'm planning on getting a Mac mini. I would hate to have to lift or turn my mini in order to plug my charger or drive into the port. I really don't understand why Apple designed a mini with the ports in the back!? All the mini windows machines have it at the front. What's your experience been?

I have bought quality cables for easy reach, lighting (for work and accessories), USB-C one male and one female (10GBs and 20Gbs)

Here a video of my setup (it was a Mac Studio before)

 

[mectojic]

But hey if you hate rear ports on desktops that much Satechi sells Mac Mini hubs that adds front ports, as well as SD card slots

This is what I use.

 

[Ben J.]

The mini is square. You can choose to position whatever side you want as the front, so I choose to have the "left" side pointing to the back. That leaves the ports on the right - very handy when deciding whether to "flip" that USB connector, and also very convenient when I need to quickly find the power button - it is right there in front. I also have a 4 port USB hub, which sits very nicely underneath the display (sitting on top of my mini). I usually control the bunch of cables, that eventually gather on that right side, with a loose velcro tie. Works for me!

I have my Mini sitting on its side with the bottom plate facing out, and the ports and power button on the left side. The reason is, I struggled with the bluetooth performance problems I had with several minis, i5, i7, M1, and this M2. One of the many small adjustments I made to make BT work reasonably well was placing it with little obstruction, and bottom facing out immediately made a difference. The BT "antenna" is under the bottom black plate. And I have easy access to the ports.

 

[Kenny99]

Lots of options to address your issue. Mine was a 7 port "USB (Gen 2 3.1) Switch ( I have USB to USB-C adapters and cables available) and my MINI on its edge.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I would hate to have to lift or turn my mini in order to plug my charger or drive into the port."

Better get used to it.

Or... mount a small mirror on the wall so you can see the back of the Mini without lifting it up...

Having said that...
I have a couple of cables plugged into the back, that are left "open-ended".
One (for USB3) looks like this:

Amazon Basics 2-Pack USB-A 3.0 Extension Cable, 4.8Gbps High-Speed, Male to Female Gold-Plated Connectors, 3 Foot, Black

Amazon Basics USB 3.0 Extension Cable - A-Male to A-Female Extender Cord - 3 .3 Feet (2 Pack)

www.amazon.com

This goes to one of the USB3(a) ports on the back.

The other is a regular USBc-to-USBc cable, with nothing connected at one end.

Both are "looped to the front" of the Mini.
I use these to plug things in easily without reaching for the back.

Call 'em "a simple-minded guy's dock"...

 

[TechnoMonk]

If I have to unplug and plug I have a dock on the desk for MBP. It has multiple usb c and A ports, charges the laptop and has 4 hdmi/display ports. My MBP 16 travels well, at home, I just use the dock

 

[Alex Cai]

Turn it around and you get an octopus on your desk

 

[TinaBelcher]

View attachment 2225691Lots of options to address your issue. Mine was a 7 port "USB (Gen 2 3.1) Switch ( I have USB to USB-C adapters and cables available) and my MINI on its edge.

LMFAO!! That's actually very creative 🤣👌

 

[TinaBelcher]

When I had a M1 Mac Mini back in 2021 I didn't have much issue reaching back there to plug things in.

But hey if you hate rear ports on desktops that much Satechi sells Mac Mini hubs that adds front ports, as well as SD card slots, and they have a hub that supports an M.2 SSD enclosure so you can treat it like a storage expansion to your Mac Mini

Stand & Hub for Mac Mini with SSD Enclosure

satechi.net

I was just reading about these. But why on earth would they produce only ONE usb C and 3 usb a ports 🙄 That's such foolish move on their part, everything is usb c these days. I would never be using those.