Mac mini Late 2018 Disassembly

ID: 115396

Description: This is a member-submitted teardown. iFixit’s...

Steps:

1. So here it is, exactly the same form factor as the previous Mac mini, but now in Space Gray

2. Once flipped over, a familiar black cover is revealed.
3. Pry open the lid to release it from the three large screws
4. The lid had a soft foam inside to dampen the vibrations of the beefed up fan

5. The lid is secured with the same TR6 screws as the 2014 model

6. The antenna cable is very short, so watch out; rotate the cover to reveal the internals

7. The antenna cable is held down with a little TX6 screw
8. It has a tiny washer to make sure no stress is applied to the cable

9. The fan has four identical TX6 screws holding it down
10. The screws go trough a rubber tube to reduce vibration

11. Underneath the fan the connector pops off easilly
12. The fan feels solid. Much better than previous models

13. Now, lets take out the motherboard
14. Massive (for the mini) TX10 screws secure the motherboard to the chassis

15. The power supply can be unplugged by as many wires as possible between your iFixit tweezers and pull upwards
16. Also take off the tiny power led connector

17. Slide the motherboard out by gently applying pressure to the heatsink

18. Some interesting design choices made here. A full size CMOS battery
19. The wifi wiring runs underneath the large speaker
20. The power button is attached to a ultra flat cable that runs in an arc along the heatsink

21. We flip over the motherboard to see a massive amount of tiny components
22. Also some familiar pieces of foam all over the place

23. But now what we are all here for. The RAM
24. Four TX5 screws holt it down

25. The memory cover slides off at an angle

26. These rubber parts will be a pain to put back on later.
27. There are tiny pieces of rubber in it that need to slide into the metal clips holding the memory in place

28. The memory itself sits upside down in its sockets
29. The springs are very strong and will shoot the memory in your face if you're not careful!

30. The power supply is secured in a similar way as with the previous models
31. A little clip has to be removed, and the connector can be rotated

32. The power supply is held down with three TX6 screws
33. They look just like the fan screws, but they appear just a little bit thicker and with longer thread

34. After taking out the power supply we are left with an empty shell
35. I really enjoyed taking this mini apart. My verdict is it's much easier than the 2014 model as cables are in a more logical place