Turning on when mains power is turned on.

[mrhuggy]

I have a M1 Mac Mini and it's a bit awkward to turn it on as the power button is at the back and where it is. So I set the Start up automatically after a power failure so when I turned on the mains power the Mac Mini should turn on, however it doesn't turn it on.

So either what am I doing wrong or anyone else got any ideas to make the Mac turn on when the main power is turned on.

 

[Fishrrman]

I'm just guessing here, because I don't have a reference that provides the correct answer per Apple's design, but...

In order for the "auto re-power on" feature to work, the Mac must "lose power" first.

That is to say, you can't set this feature, then shut down, then apply power to the mains and expect it to start, because it won't.

So... in order for this to work, I believe it has to work this way:
1. You set up the auto-restart feature
2. While the Mini is running, you "pull the plug" on it
3. When you replace the plug, the Mini will restart (because of the auto-restart feature)

Unless you're willing to do that every time, it won't work.

MY RECOMMENDATION:
Stand up, reach around, push the power on button.
Things will just go better that way.
Relocate the Mini if you must...

 

[DeltaMac]

How often do you actually need to shut off your mini?
Why not just use sleep?
Sleep uses almost no power, and your mini will wake up almost instantly.
(My own Mac mini is usually on, but sleeping -- sometimes for a month or two between full shutdowns. I also have the mini turned so the connections are facing to the right, which puts the power button on the front right corner. That might also be a placement that you could consider. There's no reason the "front" must face forward. )

 

[BrianBaughn]

Yes, the setting for auto-start after a power failure only works after a power failure and not a shutdown.

You don't want power interruption on a running Mac because it often causes disk corruption.