Macworld says it is impossible to replace without removing fan.
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Is RAM upgradeable in the Mac Mini?
- Thread starter bumfluff
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Full quote:
Apple doesn’t consider the Mac mini to be user-configurable, and it recommends that memory upgrades be performed by a certified Apple service provider. Doing it on your own will void the warranty.
You can easily open up the Mac mini on your own: The circular plastic cap at the bottom of the Mac mini pops off to unveil an aluminum hatch that’s kept in place with torx screws. But what you’ll find when you remove the hatch is that the memory is placed in a sort of a cage, and that you’ll need to remove the fan and other components to get access. It’s not a trivial task.
You can easily open up the Mac mini on your own: The circular plastic cap at the bottom of the Mac mini pops off to unveil an aluminum hatch that’s kept in place with torx screws. But what you’ll find when you remove the hatch is that the memory is placed in a sort of a cage, and that you’ll need to remove the fan and other components to get access. It’s not a trivial task.
Yes, that’s it, thank you. This is a huge deal breaker to me, if true.
I would really wait for someone to actually try to do it, or iFixit. Unclear whether anyone has actually tried doing it, unless the videos show otherwise.
What exact purpose does the aluminium cage over the SO-DIMM serve? A heat sink? Though judging by the "brace" over the fan compartment, it seems once you unscrew that, half of the chamber together with the fan itself can be pulled out. Need to wait someone to actually try a RAM swap to see about the cage part. At least it seems to me you don't need to slide the whole mobo out from behind like previous mini's HDD swapping procedure.
AppleInsider wouldn’t lie. They say that it isn’t easy as on 2012 Mac Mini, but it isn’t a “nasty surgery” either, how some have described.
I guess others saw that and said: “screw they, I ain’t messing with that”, without even trying.
I guess others saw that and said: “screw they, I ain’t messing with that”, without even trying.
If it's just one dang fan module I can't believe anyone would get nervous, probably just a couple screws and a less than intuitively placed FAN power lead. Maybe I'm not the best judge, I had one of the data doublers in my MBP for a while, I could have it in and out in pretty quickly. Tons of tiny ribbon cables.
A list of required tools would be nice. Sounds like it includes one of these, probably size T6:
If my Mac Mini arrived today:
-door bell rings, I open, my new Mac Mini has arrived.
- I pay the guy and say OK, go now, I have things to do.
- I proceed to open the box like a maniac.
- as soon as I open the box, I take the Mac Mini out, remove the protective foil, and start opening the bottom lid
- friend asking me: “wtf are you doing, aren’t you supposed to connect it to monitor and turn it on, stop it, please
- I yell loudly: “SHUT UP! THE MACRUMORS GOT TO KNOW! THIS IS URGENT! LEAVE ME ALONE!”
I am out until later today. My head is full of Mac Mini and Mac Rumors. I need to rest my brain.
-door bell rings, I open, my new Mac Mini has arrived.
- I pay the guy and say OK, go now, I have things to do.
- I proceed to open the box like a maniac.
- as soon as I open the box, I take the Mac Mini out, remove the protective foil, and start opening the bottom lid
- friend asking me: “wtf are you doing, aren’t you supposed to connect it to monitor and turn it on, stop it, please
- I yell loudly: “SHUT UP! THE MACRUMORS GOT TO KNOW! THIS IS URGENT! LEAVE ME ALONE!”
I am out until later today. My head is full of Mac Mini and Mac Rumors. I need to rest my brain.
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Maybe it's for anti-static reasons, you automatically discharge yourself when you touch and remove it.
It’s a TR6, has a hole in the middle as the screw on the mini has a pin sticking out.
In other words, you think it's it's the driver I listed and attached a photo of.
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Ah.... typical Apple. Now we learn about a cage that wasn’t there to be seen in any promo pictures before. Maybe it is harder than expected, maybe not so much, but I for a fact now will be ordering mine with 16GB and in a couple of years upgrade it. Won’t void my warranty nor pay 600$ for more RAM. Sigh.
No, you posted a T6, the T6 has no hole to accommodate the pin on the security screws used on the mini.
A version known as Security Torx, Tamper-Resistant Torx (often shortened to Torx TR) or pin-in Torx contains a post in the center of the head that prevents a standard Torx driver (or a straight screwdriver) from being inserted.
This is from the 2014 tear down that used the same screws.
Yes, or here from Amazon for $4.99:
https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Torx-Se..._1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541511875&sr=8-1&keywords=TR6
or the iFixit one:
https://www.amazon.com/iFixit-TR6-T..._3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541511875&sr=8-3&keywords=TR6
(also $4.99, in stock, ships today)
[doublepost=1541512116][/doublepost]
Yeah, I added an SSD to my 2011 MBP, moved it over to my 2012 i5 Mini, and later my i7 quad Mini, the second Mini swap I did in ~5 minutes, even if you pull a few additional connectors/parts.
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You don't understand the terminology. Maybe try to speak with less certitude.
It goes by various names, Security Torx, Tamper Resistant Torx, Tamperproof Torx, Pin-in Torx. PB Swiss, a first-class toolmaker whose tools I prefer, calls it a Tamperproof T6. Some people, such as you, like to call it a TR6.
They are all the same thing.
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No, you posted a T6, the T6 has no hole to accommodate the pin on the security screws used on the mini.
A version known as Security Torx, Tamper-Resistant Torx (often shortened to Torx TR) or pin-in Torx contains a post in the center of the head that prevents a standard Torx driver (or a straight screwdriver) from being inserted.
This is from the 2014 tear down that used the same screws.
No, the tool he posted IS a tamper-proof Torx, they just indicated the general T6 size, but the item description and photo clearly shows it's for a tamper-proof fastener:
[doublepost=1541512416][/doublepost]
I'd like to see where/how this is documented.
... and this may be a silly question, but I'm __assuming__ if you walked into an Apple store, with Crucial RAM and said, "Install this for me", they wouldn't or are there cases of customers supplying their own parts for an "authorized" installation[?]
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I'm not a tech professional but I managed to build my own PCs in the past without breaking anything or causing a nuclear meltdown. I'm sure I'll be fine. Not going to stress out over this. 8 gigs it is and then I'll upgrade when I feel like it.
I also don't think they made this hard on purpose to keep people from upgrading. The machine is much more powerful than before and the new thermal solution is what it is.
I also don't think they made this hard on purpose to keep people from upgrading. The machine is much more powerful than before and the new thermal solution is what it is.
It won't be a problem. I've built computers for decades. And completely disassembled an imac to replace the video card. This will be a walk in the park.
On the 2012 the interior plate, just under the plastic cover had the Wifi antenna - FWIW, swapping RAM in the 2018 looks roughly like swapping the HDD in the 2012, i.e., bottom cover, antenna plate, and fan/duct assembly.