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Apple's Mac Minis are turning into fancy bricks – but there's a fix

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Do you have a Mac Mini M2? You may want to bring it in for service.

A Mac Mini in front of an iMac display with a black background
(Image credit: Apple)

It's not the Xbox 360's "red ring of death" or the PS5 System update bricking bonanza, but critical hardware failures are back in the spotlight this week, this time with Apple in the hot seat.

Not all Apple devices are impacted, just specific Mac Mini models. So, if you have a MacBook or an iPhone, you're safe.

According to a report from Mac Rumors, Mac Mini models with the M2 chipset have been randomly bricking.

Thankfully, there's already a fix in the works.

Here's what you need to know.

The problem?

Mac Mini M2 (2023) review

(Image credit: Future)

Some Apple Mac Mini models with the Apple Silicon M2 series chipset have failed to power on due to a critical power issue.

This issue doesn't impact all Mac Mini M2 units, either. Apple launched the Mac Mini with the M2 chipset in January 2023; however, the impacted models were manufactured between June 16, 2024, and November 23, 2024.

If your Mac Mini consistently fails to power on, or if you think it might be part of the scuffed Mac Mini batch, don't despair.

There is a fix, and it is free.

The Fix

Apple Mac mini with M1

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple has launched a worldwide repair program for impacted Mac Mini devices. If your Mac Mini is one of the affected units, you can drop it off at an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple Store location for repair.

You can find out if your Mac Mini M2 is eligible for the repair program by entering its serial number into the search bar on the dedicated Apple Support page.

Since Apple provides this repair service for free, it's one of the few cases where bricked hardware won't cost you anything. So you don't need to turn your dead Mac Mini M2 into some modern art statement piece.

Unless you want to, that is. We won't stop you.

Even if your Mac Mini M2 is still powering on, it may still need to be repaired due to the critical hardware issue impacting this specific batch of Mac Minis. So, if you think your Mac might be one of the affected units, you should still get it fixed.

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Madeline Ricchiuto
Madeline Ricchiuto
Staff Writer

A former lab gremlin for Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, and TechRadar; Madeline has escaped the labs to join Laptop Mag as a Staff Writer. With over a decade of experience writing about tech and gaming, she may actually know a thing or two. Sometimes. When she isn't writing about the latest laptops and AI software, Madeline likes to throw herself into the ocean as a PADI scuba diving instructor and underwater photography enthusiast.

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