Can I use 2018 mac mini placed upside down?

If the air is indeed a “hot stream of air”, I would certainly NOT consider any “homemade” types of “fixes”. I do not believe what you describe is normal.

The only way to deal with this is to contact Apple support and have them evaluate the problem. Please do so as soon as possible. They will tell you what is normal and what is not and should provide you with suggestions and/or replace/repair a faulty component. And do not turn it upside down.

One problem with turning it upside down, along with the fan, the case itself is

used to dissipate heat. Unless you flip it over on a metal surface, you are essentially

placing the Mini on a heat insulator (wood is a very good heat insulator.) The result

is that heat will build up even more.

Best approach would be to place it on its side. The result is is the same but the case

is maximally open to the air to radiate heat. There are lots of stands available to

put the Mini securely on its side. Just Google or search Amazon.

elliottfromwoodstock Said:

"Can I use 2018 mac mini placed upside down?: My Mac mini puts out a warm to hot stream of air when being used. As the vent is beneath the wires which are connect to the in, the wires and USB memory sticks have gotten very hot. If I turned the mac mini over, so it is upside down, then the hot air would be coming out above the wires plugged into the back. Will using the Mini in this position damage it in any way? I wold put some rubber feet on the top so it is not flat agains the table and air can pass beneath it when being used."

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Why Risk Damaging a Device:

What you are asking about seems ridiculous. Don't use it upside down.

Avoiding Overheating:

• Use a Laptop Cooler:

Lots can be found at a local retailer, or on Amazon, even.

• Avoid Heat Increase:

--- Do not place this on fabric (i.e. bedsheets)

--- Do not place it in a corner, where heat gathers

--- Do not place it by the window, where is sunlight or coldness

• Get this Serviced:

If over heating is intermittent, and common, then see about getting this serviced. Contact Apple, and setup a Genius Bar Appointment or see an AASP (Apple Authorized Service Provider) in your local area.

A. Contacting Apple...

--- Contact Us - Choose Locations

--- USA: 1(800)MY-APPLE

--- Proceed from there as Necessary

Or...

B. Contact an AASP:

1. Go Here: Find Locations - Apple Authorized Reseller
2. Click: Service & Support
3. Enter: your location information
4. See: if there is an AASP nearby
5. Contact: an AASP (Apple Authorized Service Provider) that shows up, and find out more about the services that they offer to fix the iPhone

How hot is the Exhaust Air?

You can use MacFanControl to both monitor temps and maintain overall lower temps.

https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

Sensitive devices like Flash Drives and Wireless Dongles can be plugged into a USB Hub or Extension cable.

Plus I concur with woodmeister50, in that the Mac Mini should only stand on it's base or side and not upside down.

Looks like the consensus outside this forum is “Yes”:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/a35syt/ok_to_have_mac_mini_hanging_underside_desk_like/ and here too https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8636319

Nothing to lose! Give it a shot.

Never mind downloading all kinds of temp/fan control apps. If you put feet on it, there's nothing to worry about. It might even improve the heating issue depending on where it's coming from. Good luck.

Excuse me, air streaming out the vents is by definition hot, which is why it's being vented out in the first place. Got one good reason why the mini can't be placed upside down properly feeted? Didn't think so.

One other suggestion is to download one of several system monitoring apps

that collect temperature sensor data, of which most have a 15-30 day trail

and see what your actual internal temps and fan speed are. Perhaps there is

some component running much hotter than it should which could indicate

a problem. Personally, I use iStat Menus which monitors just about any

temperature sensor along with programmable fan control (along

with lots of other useful data).

No problem, go ahead.

OP will feet it. No problem.

woodmeister50 wrote:

Actually, if feet are put on the Mini it may walk away.

🤔 Yea' good point. 🙂

It's hard to justify anything that extreme, without first knowing what the OP's actual exhaust temp is? Personally I think that a better solution, is to monitor the temp and then perhaps kick the exhaust fan speed up a 100 to 200 rpm, if that is needed to maintain a more suitable exhaust temp.

den.thed wrote:

Cause the Anti-Matter Stream will blow out the Heisenberg Compensators.

Actually, if feet are put on the Mini it may walk away.

All joking aside, unless the "feet" raise the Mini by 1/2" or more,

there will be little benefit unless the OP has a fan blowing over

the entire unit.

Over the years with my experience in heat dissipation in designing

electronic devices, anything less than 1/2 an inch spacing will provide

little benefit, especially if it is put on a shelf. with closed back and

other "stuff" close in.

elliottfromwoodstock wrote:

How do I monitor the exhaust temperature? The problem began because the unit got very hot when I was migrating 1 TB of data and the unit got very hot.

I've used MacFanControl iMac's and Mac Mini's for years and never lost one do to overheating. Instead I run them until they lose their usefulness, and then I recycle them. see > https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

And other than woodmeister's basis which assumed flat metal-on-wood placement, any other reasoning that you can back with facts? There is none.