2023-08-01 22:42:08
Have you ever thought about using a Mac mini plugged into just the ethernet port, without a traditional power cord? well the hacker Ivan Kuleshov achieved this feat thanks to technology Power over Ethernet (PoE)which allows powering devices using only the traditional data transfer port.
To accomplish the feat, Kuleshov had to remove the native Ethernet connector from the Mac mini — which is soldered on the motherboard — and make some modifications to allow the transfer of electrical energy. He even repurposed a component used in a previous project (the “magjack”) to enable the gambiarra.
The approach used by the hacker was quite interesting, as he did not give up the standard power transfer port, which remained active as the computer’s main power source. That’s because PoE technology was designed to feed mainly devices that demand little power, such as modems and routers.
In this modified Mac mini, therefore, the Ethernet port started to function more as a backup, and could be used to power the Mac mini in cases such as a power outage, for example. In a video published in a thread on Twitter X, Kuleshov showed how this works in practice; when switching between the two different connections, the computer remained working normally.
Demo of Mac mini with PoE and power redundancy.
The project has gotten a serious response, 7 times higher than I expected.
I think it’s better to put everything on the site, I’m working on the article, and after that, I’ll do the video.
I promised more details, and I’ll drop… pic.twitter.com/JSxB71TvF2— Ivan Kuleshov (@Merocle) July 31, 2023
The experiment was done with a Mac mini (M1), which consumes only about 6W at rest and less than 40W in extreme use. With the computer being powered exclusively by the Ethernet cable, the USB-C ports would probably not be able to power external devices, for example — which makes even more sense to the hacker’s approach.
Obviously, Kuleshov’s work requires advanced engineering knowledge and is not recommended for mainstream users — including the possibility of loss of product warranty due to original hardware modifications. Anyway, the idea of the Ethernet port as a backup is quite interesting, don’t you think?!
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via AppleInsider
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