Back in Business (Update)

Yay! It's here.

With a fork for scale. I don't know that I
needed it to be smaller, but it's smaller.

In place and in action! I'm very happy
to have my computer back.

Many thanks to Hugh Crawford. I ended up not depending on his loaner laptop, but it was he who inspired me to solve my self-inflicted problem. If he had not jumped in and made such a quick and kind offer I would not have "corrected for misdirected effort" as my father used to say. I'm happy the way it turned out and I have him to thank.

It took only 55 minutes to load half a terabyte of data to the M4 Mini. My little old Lention USB-A hub is working fine, but the connectors are loose so I need to buy another one. Off to research that, if I can. (Anyone have any suggestions?)

I'll be back on Sunday.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

Grant: "The front C ports are 10Gbps. That is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. Look for a hub that is 10Gbps. If you use a 5Gbps hub you will be at half speed."

Comments

[Jon Maxim]

Check OWC for the best hubs at decent prices.
www.owc.com
aka
macsales.com

[John Camp]

That looks much like my Studio, with the addition of an audio output (?) and the subtraction of a memory card slot. If the power switch is like the switch on the Studio, it is on the back left side and is so carefully flush to the body that you have to grope for it, and sometimes you have to turn the machine around to find it. I solved the problem by buying some of those small sticky felt "dots" that are usually used to put on the bottom of flower pots to keep them from scratching table tops. You can get some almost exactly the size of the power button, and makes the button easy to find without looking.

[Actually the power switch is already notorious for being on the BOTTOM of the case, under the back left corner. You have to lift up the computer to get to it. Not a problem necessarily, but Marques Brownlee has bruited a "conspiracy theory" that there's one guy at Apple whose job it is to make sure that one thing on every Apple product is f-----d up badly enough so people will talk about it. --Mike]

[Tahir Hashmi]

I’m a fan of OWC peripherals. They’re designed for Macs, built to a high quality and usually made in Taiwan. You can’t see them in the following photo, but the description mentions my usage, which includes an OWC Thunderbolt 4 Hub. It came with a pair of OWC ClingOn fasteners that ensure that the USB-C cable remains firmly connected. You can buy more ClingOns separately as well.

https://flic.kr/p/2qkHqJw

[Jez Cunningham]

“one guy at Apple whose job it is to make sure that one thing on every Apple product is f-----d up badly enough so people will talk about it”

Not quite - it’s to divert attention from other shortcomings. Classic management technique: in my career it was often the lack of staff car parking, or the quality of food in the cafeteria - it stopped us talking about salaries and let us focus on (non-existent) benefits.

[Aakin]

I highly recommend this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0797NZFYP

[I don’t even think that would work. It looks like the connector is USB-A. The M4 Mini only has USB-C and Thunderbolt ports. That’s all you can connect to it. —Mike]

[Romano Giannetti]

If the button is at the bottom, maybe the guy is thought to be used in vertical position?

[specifically not, because the ventilation system only works properly with the unit in the intended orientation. In fact that’s a difference of the new one that few reviewers are mentioning—the old Mac Mini could be stood on its side, the M4 Mini cannot be. —Mike]

[Simon]

I hope you enjoy using the new mini.

When we acquired some new minis and a Macbook Air our tech support chap recommended a Benfei USB-C hub that has HDMI and USB-A sockets:

https://www.amazon.com/BENFEI-Ultra-Slim-Compatible-MacBook-Aluminium/dp/B08F2J2DN7/?th=1

He also suggested the Anker A8309 4-Port USB 3.0 Data Hub or UGREEN Revodok USB C Hub, 5-in-1 USB C Multiport Adapter. All 3 should play nicely with any macOS machine.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Ultra-Slim-Extended-Charging-Supported-Black/dp/B0CCDMR66Y/

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Multiport-Adapter-Delivery-ThinkPad-Space-Grey/dp/B0BR3M8XHK/

[John Krumm]

Looks properly messy, like a working desk. I like Anker hubs. With this Mac, I wish they made some kind of base that extends, like a camera grip, with all sorts of connections, and securely attached to the computer (and styled to match).

[SteveW]

I like Anker products.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Transfer-Extended-Charging-Supported/dp/B0CCDZWH5H/ref=sr_1_2

They have it with 2 ft or 0.7 ft cable, I use the shorter one.

And it's on sale.

[s.wolters]

A fork for scale? They come in many different sizes.

[Roger]

I got a Uni brand USB C hub. It's got 4 USB A ports on it. I suggest that in addition to a hub you get a hand full of USB C to USB A adapters. I bought a half dozen and need more.

I'm impressed with the M4 Mini. I bought mine with 24GB of memory but opted to stick with the 256GB storage. Thunderbolt 4 is so fast and SSDs are so cheap that it didn't make sense to spend 200 bucks to have the 512GB SSD installed. I've seen some videos where folks have found a good external SSD connected to the Mini is faster than the internal storage.

[Grant]

Before you purchase a hub, what speed is the USB-C port? If it is USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, then you want a 5Gbps hub. If the port is USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, then you want a 10Gbps hub. If it is a Gen 2+2 then you should look for a 20Gbps hub.

I think it will be either Gen 1, or Gen 2. I can't find the info on the Mac site. A USB-A port can be Gen 1 or Gen 2. A USB-C port is usually a Gen 2, or if you are lucky a Gen 2+2.

The USB names have changed recently, so do research before you buy.

[Grant]

Update! The front C ports are 10Gbps. That is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port.

Look for a hub that is 10Gbps. If you use a 5Gbps hub you will be at half speed.

[Christer Almqvist]

With regard to your comment on Aaakin's recommendation (SABRENT 10-Port 60W USB 3.0 Hub): just get the USB 7 port USB type C version.

To connect equipment with an older USB port you just need a cable with USB type C on one end and the older connection type on the other end. If I had the choice I would always go for USB type C equipment.

And your Samsung SSD is a T5 (although it looks like it has USB type C), which is only half the speed of the T7 version. T7s are very good value for money. If I understand these things correctly, then T9 is still faster, but my November 2023 MacBook can't benefit from the higher speed. Perhaps your M4 can.

[Keith B.]

I can recommend this 10-port USB 3 hub: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1427148-REG/sabrent_hb_bu10_usb_3_0_10_port_hub.html
2.5 years and counting, no issues. I've got 2 of these units plugged into my 2020 M1 Mac Mini, with a total of about 16 different USB devices plugged in presently. I especially value that I can turn off any individual port(s) so as not to clog up (overload) the USB busses on the computer.

[Joel Becker]

I see that SteveW beat me to the Anker USB-C to high-speed USB-A hub. Small, works great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCDZWH5H

[kevin willoughby]

Re: "The M4 Mini only has USB-C and Thunderbolt ports. That’s all you can connect to it."

You can get an inexpensive USB-C to USB-A adapter and connect any USB-A device to your new Mini. I do this with older devices and my new MacBookPro. A bit of a kludge, but it works.

[Matt O'Brien]

I support all the comments above, re care to double check the speed of USB C / Thunderbolt hubs. Also beware of hubs which have the perfect spec, but need a massive brick / power supply to work.

[ritchie thomson]

I am very interested in this new computer, hope your going to give us a full review.

[Christer Almqvist]

The hub linked below has much of what you need: 10 Gbs/sec transfer speed, four USB 3.2.2 connections, external power supply (which makes it more future proof), long cable and small size.

https://www.amazon.com/Aceele-𝟏𝟎𝐆𝐛𝐩𝐬-Extender-Compatible-MacBook/dp/B0C2YN8F7Z/ref=sxin_16_sbv_search_btf

[T. Edwards]

I've seen a few people posting pics where they mounted that Mac to the underside of their desk/table - one person claims doublestick mounting tape hold fine. I've also seen people making plans for 3d printed mounts that accomplish the same thing.

That way, the button on the bottom sort of makes sense.

[Mike Jones]

Quite clear from your setup that the ports on the front weren’t for our convenience, just that there was nowhere else to put them. I think, long term, you made the right decision to upgrade from the M2 Pro, but actually little advantage. Very few peripherals make use of USB-C let alone Thunderbolt.

[hugh crawford]

I think the power button is not intended to be regularly used. Lots of Mac minis live in out of the way places on racks. You can set the computer to wake up when you use the mouse or keyboard, wake on lan etc. If the power is cycled it can turn itself on. I think that there is probably a design requirement to be able to plug it in without it turning on automatically, and maybe a way of turning it completely off if the software hangs. Most of the time in my experience power switches on computers are somthimg you use once a year maybe. I have some computers without any power switches at all. I even have a computer that has multiple hot swappable power supplies so that you can plug it into a long extend cord and move it to another location and plug it in there without turning it off.

Does the Mac Mini maintain state if you pull the plug in the middle of doing something? Apple has gotten really good at that sort of thing.

[hugh crawford]

I see Amazon is already having a 10% off sale on M4 Minis.

[Ludwig Ray]

I've had my Mini M2 for a year and not once have I had a need to use the power button.