I screwed up. Ram Upgrade Failure.

[TDPHunter]

I just bought a refurbished 2018 Mac mini and upgraded the ram from 8GB to 32GB only to realize I broke the connector for the wireless receiver. When I lifted it up off the motherboard, the socket popped off the motherboard with it. The Mac mini boots up fine, I'm able to access the internet wirelessly and all of my bluetooth devices seem to be functioning too. What is the significance of the wireless receiver? What should I do? I don't have Apple Care but I'm not noticing any issues with not having the receiver plugged in.

Oh, and the Ram upgrade was successful. No issues there : )

Thoughts?

 

[simonb76]

You sure it was the Wi-fi? The Wi-fi is the first thing you take out straight after the plastic cover and metal grill. Sounds like the 2 pin LED cable connector near the thicker power lead connector before you pull the motherboard.

I’m guessing you have no LED light on the front of the Mini?

 

[LeeW]

Does not sound like the wireless you broke, as mentioned above it sounds like the connection for the LED on the front of the device. If that is all it is then accept it as all should be fine.

Even if you did have Apple Care it would be no use, as soon as they saw that they know it has been opened and will not provide any cover.

 

[TDPHunter]

Yeah, it was the antenna connector. It’s secured by a screw and snaps to the motherboard. It’s very similar to the antenna connection used in iPhones. It’s the long wire connected to the metal tray on the bottom of the Mac Mini that goes to a circular plastic piece with the WiFi logo on it. My LED is working fine. I read an article on Reddit and it looks like there are 3 antennas in the Mac Mini. I broke the antenna that’s built into the antenna tray (bottom part) of the Mac mini. So, I still have 2 working antennas and that’s why I can still get WiFi. I’m assuming the third antenna is for 2.4 Ghz Or 5 GHz frequency bands. Anyway, I’m just thankful that the machine is working. This is a warning to all that the antenna cable is super delicate. I’ve fixed iPhones and Macs for over 15 years. I couldn’t believe it when I discovered what happened.

 

[ashleykaryl]

I was planning on buying an i7 with minimum Ram then installing 3rd party ram from Crucial or OWC up to 32 Gigs, reckoning that it should save around £400 on Apple's prices. The recent reports about minis breaking with the latest update when using non original Ram has made me reluctant to do this. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-mini-died-during-software-update.2230215/


Adding your own experience to this and it doesn't look very safe for upgrading ram ourselves. It was very easy on my Mac Pro or the previous computers. Apple are charging a big premium for their own Ram.

 

[frou]

It seems like there is significant manufacturing variance on these connectors. On some units, it's easy as pie to disconnect them safely.

 

[simonb76]

I applied the 2020-002 update before upgrading the ram on my Mac mini. All working here.
There is 2 wireless connectors that connect to the port plate on the back of the mini, see 14 mins in this video.

 

[Fishrrman]

Get a USB wifi adapter or live with an ethernet cable.

Unless you want to pay to have the motherboard replaced...

 

[TDPHunter]

I applied the 2020-002 update before upgrading the ram on my Mac mini. All working here.
There is 2 wireless connectors that connect to the port plate on the back of the mini, see 14 mins in this video.

Yes, that confirm's why my Wifi is still working! Thanks for sharing.