As you can see in the embedded videos, it's not possible to remove the metal shield while the logic board is inside the Mac Mini. The memory sticks are under the metal shield at the right. But, are the memory sticks easily removable? Nope. The fan has been removed and we can more clearly see the innards. There's a big fan, and the memory sticks are not visible.Īnd here we have the key image. With the plate removed we can see the innards are quite different than what Apple showed us. There are some fiddly bits about doing so, and you should watch the videos below to see instructions. At this point your action is to remove the metal plate.
If you review the upgrade process of the 2014 Mac Mini, this is familiar. Immediately on removing the bottom cover you're shown this. As I've said before, Apple should be embarrassed over the Mac Mini. You open the bottom using easily accessible standard screws, and every part is easily accessible and easy to swap out. To disassemble the Intel NUC and replace any component is trivially easy. They rely on using laptop parts to build a desktop computer, and the Intel NUC is by all measures an excellent computer. Both the NUC and the Mac Mini are examples of very small desktop computers running at very low power consumption while offering tremendous computational performance.
It is an involved process - that is unnecessarily complex.Īs I wrote in an earlier posting the Intel NUC series is an excellent implementation of the same sort of computer. What follows is the documentary evidence of how difficult the process is.īottom line is that Apple's marketing literature is lying when it implies swapping the memory sticks is easy. Yes the memory can be changed, but the process is not by any stretch of the imagination simple. The two videos I found are embedded below, and they show a very different picture. Notice that it looks trivially easy to open the bottom and slip out the memory sticks.Īt least two videos are available on YouTube showing the actual upgrade process. For example the Screwdriver set from Qiaoyou offers, in addition to other screwdrivers, tweezers, a pin and two spatulas.Start by examining the above image that was supplied by Apple, and which graces Apple's marketing information about the Late 2018 Mac Mini. A set with additional tools is recommended for further upgrades or repairs to technical devices. To upgrade the Apple Mac Mini 2018 RAM, you need three screwdrivers: the Torx sizes T5, T10 and T6 with a hole. Press the new RAM bar lightly downwards / backwards until they click into placeĪll details of the model: Mac Mini 2018 - technical data, pictures, price Disassembling the Mac Mini 2018: You will need these screwdrivers.Pull it out and replace it with the new Mac Mini 2018 RAM.Pull the RAM latch retainer outward to reveal the installed chips.Loosen four screws (T5 Torx) of the RAM protection and this yourself.Slide everything out on the heat sink to bring the hardware out of the case.Loosen the small cable connection and the power supply on the main board.
Remove two screws from the main board with a T10 Torx screwdriver.Lift the fan slightly and pull the connection cable out of the main board.Remove the four screws from the fan with the same screwdriver.Loosen the connection of the WLAN antenna on the main board with the TR6 Torx screwdriver.
Loosen the six screws of the grille underneath with a TR6 Torx screwdriver.Remove the bottom plate of the Mac Mini 2018 (with a spatula or old EC card).Turn the computer upside down to access the bottom.First of all, here are the "simple" step-by-step instructions for replacing the Mac Mini 2018 RAM: If you'd rather see instructions in picture and sound, then please keep scrolling. Sir Apfelot recommendation: Clean up your Mac hard drive with CleanMyMac Step by step: replace the Mac Mini 2018 RAMĪnyone who is already a little familiar and has already taken apart one or the other Mac could be sufficiently informed with a simple list of steps to be taken.