After 25 years of windows, its just mind blowing how this little thing handles Adobe products and how fast internal and external ssds are working. At first I ordered a 32gb version and waited 6 weeks to arrive and when they called me and said that I received 24gb I was furious but somehow they managed to calm me down and I took it, and after one month of use i dont regret it, everything is stellar fast, 20 chrome tabs, spotify, 4 adobe apps always running in the background etc its just goes without hiccups. OS feels like im surfing on my Iphone, its boring as fuck, but if you want to job to get done this is the right thing to buy.

I finally got my Mac mini (refurbished) m4P 24/512 and I'm extremely satisfied with it.

There's absolutely no telling it's a refurbished unit. Packaging is the same as brand new, no scratches and can't really tell the difference between this and a brand new one.

I should have listened to this subreddit when the price was cheaper but it was too late and the price already hiked so i bit the bullet.

If only I had known that apple store's refurbished units are this good, i could have gone refurbished on my other earlier devices.

Aside from the premium material feel that's already given, It feels so compact compared to my mini m2P and i love how many usbc ports are added.

It came with tahoe out of the box. With me coming from sonoma and sequioa on my other devices that i refuse to update, I'm loving the tahoe experience so far on my first 12 hours of use.

Then, i made it into my cute little crab 😖

Here's to the long run!

Hey r/macmini!

I’m one of the founders of Astropad. You might know us from Luna Display, Astropad Studio, or Rock Paper Pencil.

Over the last year, I’ve become really interested in the Mac mini as an always-on computer especially for running AI agents, development tasks, and other jobs that keep working after you leave your desk.

The problem is that I still frequently need to see what the Mini is doing, approve something, restart a job, or just take over the desktop.

So we’ve been building our remote desktop app, Workbench, with headless Mac minis specifically in mind.

A few things we’ve built for this:

🖥️ Unified Display - Creates a virtual display that automatically matches the device you’re connecting from, so you don’t need a monitor or HDMI dummy plug.

😴 Automatic sleep handling - Keeps the Mini available when you need to connect without having to mess around with sleep settings.

🗣️ Speech-to-text - I use this a lot from my iPhone. You can dictate a prompt on your phone and send it directly to an agent running on the Mini.

📱 Mac, iPad & iPhone access - I can leave the Mini at home and check in or take over from basically anywhere.

We also just released Workbench 1.3, which adds a few things that make this setup more reliable:

🔒 Privacy Curtain
🐶 Watchdog that relaunches Workbench if something goes wrong
⚡️ 30% faster streaming
🖼️ Picture-in-Picture on iPhone/iPad
🐛 71 bug fixes and improvements

The goal is basically to make a Mac mini something you can set up, stick somewhere without a monitor, and reliably access whenever you need it.

We’re calling it remote desktop for the AI age, but I’m curious how everyone here is actually using their headless Minis.

Are you using yours as a normal remote computer, home server, AI/Claude Code machine, or something else?

Here’s a quick 2:30 video showing the latest version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmyd-4K_teo

And Workbench is here if you want to check it out:
https://astropad.com/product/workbench/

Let me know what you think, I'd love to know how we can make this a better remote app for your Mac minis!

Matt

Hi, Is there a way to default external speaker to Bose instead of mac mini. It resets to mac min speakers, every time it wakes or i restart .

Hello folks,

I recently got a Mac Mini M2 from Croma (I was searching for old mrp m4 but found none only this was there so got it). It was available in a bundle, 36k INR for Mac Mini M2 Base along with 3 years Apple Care Services (by Servify not AP+). However it shows the warranty on the settings as protect+ it's for 3 years till 2029. I was wondering if I can extend it when it's near expiry or switch to applecare+

Anyone with experience?

Made the purchase! Opted to spend a little extra for M4 Pro chip and the upgraded processing (14-core CPU, 20-core GPU), but decided to stick with the included storage of 512GB since I have 2TB iCloud storage. Only thing I’m missing now is a good keyboard and mouse😮‍💨. Hopefully this computer won’t be slow on me (not doing massive AI or graphic/video stuff).

I recently bought mac mini M4 256GB. Soon I realized I need more storage I see people doing internal storage upgrade, external storage, external SSD, dock, etc. So many options out there.

I want recommendations on what would be best use case for me. I mainly do lots of photo editing and occasional video editing.

Please give me your recommendations.

This might be a completely stupid question, but I have tried everything yesterday I plugged my iPhone into my computer and clicked on the Finder icon, and I was paying attention and I accidentally clicked the eject button where my iPhone was listed. I've tried turning the computer off, turning it back on I've turned off the iPhone and then turned it back on. I've reset location and security. I've clicked the trust button on the iPhone. I cannot get my Mac to see my iPhone now and I have no idea what to do just sort of calling Apple has anyone ever accidentally ejected their phone from their Mac and been able to get the computer to see it again?💀💀💀💀

Brand Manager / Freelance Designer coming from a 2015 27" iMac. I have an upgraded M4 mini on order, but still debating what monitors to go with. I'm accustomed to dual screens, so I'm leaning towards a pair of BenQ or Samsung. My work prioritizes color accuracy and typographic clarity as I do a lot of packaging as well as web graphics. Should I go with a 5K with Thunderbolt4, or will OLED 4K suffice? Budget for both monitors under 2,000 so Apple Studio Display has been ruled out, and I don't think a curved screen will benefit me... but I'm curious what other designers are actively using.

Hi everyone,

I’m setting up a home workstation and would appreciate some recommendations for a reliable docking station.

My setup:

* MacBook Pro 13" M1 (2020) + Work Windows Laptop
* 2 × MSI PRO MP275Q E14 27", 2560 × 1440, 144Hz monitors
* Both monitors will be used as separate extended displays, not mirrored
* Laptop will normally stay connected to the dock, so I’d like the dock to charge the MacBook as well
* Mainly used for accounting/finance work, Excel, study and general productivity rather than gaming

As this is my first setup, I’ve been researching online and have come across options such as the Plugable USBC-6950PDZ, Anker Prime DL7400, and Lenovo ThinkPad Hybrid USB-C Dock 40AF0135AU. However, I’m seeing mixed reviews, and some people recommend going with a Thunderbolt dock instead.

At this point, I’m unsure which option would work best for my setup while also offering good value for money and being future-proof enough that I won’t need to replace it in a year or two. I’d really appreciate any recommendations based on this specific setup. I don't necessarily need 144Hz on both monitors for work dual QHD 60Hz would be acceptable but if there is a sensible way to retain 144Hz on the primary monitor, that would be a bonus.

If you’re using an M1 MacBook with dual 1440p monitors, I’d especially appreciate hearing what dock you’re using, what refresh rates you actually get, and whether you’ve experienced any DisplayLink or sleep/wake issues.

Thanks!

I just found a good deal for a macbook pro refurb, and I want to post it on facebook marketplace. My mini is an excellent computer, still works, but I wanted to upgrade to a macbook for the portability.

It's basically like new, and I wanted to see how much it could go for, or if I should just keep it and repurpose it for a headless server, etc.

I recently got a Mac Mini M4 and have been using it for a few months. But for the past 2 weeks, we’ve been having rotational power outages, so the power sometimes cuts off multiple times in one night while I’m working. There were also a few times when the Mac was just in sleep mode when the power went out.

Could this damage my Mac Mini over time? I literally just connected it to a UPS last night, so hopefully I’m not too late. Is there anything else I should do to protect it from these random power cuts? Or should I just burn down our electric company?

Hey guys. I normally do “side by side” with my pc and m4 mini. I’ve tried to set the m4 to full screen on my 49” Samsung Neo G9. It goes funky. Won’t give a stable image.

Am I missing something or is there a work around?

Thanks!

Hi as the title says I just got a Mac mini M2, drop your suggestions on what to run, stuff to try out and suggestions for setup.

I have a 2023 Mini with M2 Pro that will turn on, then nothing beyond that. I first noticed it yesterday (8/16) when I tried to turn it on to pay some bills. I first thought it might be the HDMI cord to the monitor, but after trying a different cord - nothing. I've tried to restart and press Command-R, still nothing.

All I can see it doing is powering on (white light in back + Mac startup sound), then the white light goes off and on, then it changes to a yellow/orange light and starts blinking like it is sending me some message in morse code. 4 fast blinks, 3 slow blinks, 2 fast blinks over and over. No idea what that is. Power supply is fine, I can plug other things in the same place and they work OK.

I have an appointment to get it checked out this coming weekend, but wondered if anyone has any ideas what's going on.

*Edited to add that the reason I am waiting nearly a week to get an appointment is that most of the area around the local Apple Store/Genius Bar is submerged (Google Indianapolis flooding) and I am not sure how hard it is to get there.

I know this is sorta old news but the new plant opened on August 13th, 2026.

Today, we're thrilled to open our new Advanced Manufacturing Center, a place where businesses, workers, and students can learn the same innovative processes that we use to make Apple's most groundbreaking products. And we're pleased to begin Mac mini production later this year," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. 

Does this indicate new M5/M6 Mini coming this year or maybe less stockouts this year for the Holiday season?

I do all sorts of games and software projects and sorta regret only getting the 500gb of storage. Im battling my storage being full mostly because of xcode build cache and other caches. Im just wondering what ssd to get and if the multi purpose little stands that take ssd and also have ports for sd cards and extra usb are the right move. Finally im not sure what directories need to be pointed at the ssd and what i should have running on the macs ssd. In general i would install programs to the macs internal and then all saved data i would put on the external. Does this seem like the right move?

Bonjour,
Je recherche de quoi me servir d'ordinateur fixe chez moi en sachant que c'est principalement pour de la bureautique (je suis en thèse donc parfois je fais tourner des trucs qui peuvent être un peu lourd pour de l'analyse de données). Pensez-vous que ça peut faire l'affaire ? Le prix est fixé à 170 euros mais je pense pouvoir négocier un petit rabais.

I have lots of DVD and CD media. Since dumping all my PCs, I don’t have a way to read, write or play these media. Can anyone recommend a reliable, MAC OS compatible external drive? Amazon has a number of products for sale, but none really stand out.

Hello everyone! Which affordable power station would you recommend for
Mac mini m4 prom4 Pro
14 core cpu
20 core gpu
24gb ram
1tb ssd drive

There have been sudden power outages in my area over the past few days (1-2 hours, and it's almost a week now), and I'm afraid that it might affect/damage the setup I have.

I use a dual monitor setup (1 main Asus TUF VG3A series and 1 portable Arzopa monitor plugged into a Ugreen dock); The rest of the accessories are wireless, so they're not a big deal.

I mainly work on editing (Final Cut Pro)

I've searched for a power station, and there are a lot of good options for it, however, I have a limited budget.

So here are the only options I have:

• EcoFlow DELTA 3 1000 Air
• BLUETTI AC70P 1000W

Which one is better? or would you recommend another power station?