iFarmPhone farm hardware for a Mac mini
A base Mac mini M4 with 16 GB is plenty for 4 to 10 iPhones. Plug up to about 4 phones into the Mac directly, and use powered USB hubs (about 10 to 15 phones each, on separate ports) beyond that, with data cables, phones out of their cases on a slotted stand, and a small fan.
Tip: Want product names? See the hub, fan and rack we recommend: a Cambrionix SuperSync15, an AC Infinity MULTIFAN S7 and a Belkin Store and Charge Go rack.
The short version
For most iPhone farms the Mac is not the hard part. Memory decides how many phones iFarm can run, and a base Mac mini has enough for a small farm. What usually limits a farm first is physical: USB ports, hub power, cables, heat and Wi-Fi. This guide covers each one, then gives a checklist for 4, 10 and 20 phones.
Which Mac
iFarm runs on any Mac with macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, Apple silicon or Intel. Each phone costs the Mac about 140 MB of memory: about 100 MB for its helper process plus about 40 MB for its live view.
| Mac memory | Phones, comfortably |
|---|---|
| 8 GB | 5–10 |
| 16 GB | 10–20 |
| 32 GB or more | 20–30, limited by USB hubs |
A base Mac mini M4 (16 GB) handles 4 phones easily, including watching all 4 live, and is plenty for a farm of 4 to 10 phones. It's small, quiet and made to stay on, which suits a farm host. A MacBook works too, but it sleeps when you close the lid.
Plan for more memory if you'll also use AI on the same Mac:
- With your own Claude Code driving phones, each phone Claude is driving adds about 200–400 MB.
- A local AI model (Ollama or LM Studio) needs its own memory: 16 GB runs 7–8B models, 24–32 GB runs 12–24B models, 48–64 GB runs 30B-class models. See the AI brain.
Once phones are running, iFarm's Health page shows the real numbers for your Mac and "Room for about N more phones".
Ports: how many phones plug straight into a Mac mini
The Mac mini with M4 has five USB-C ports: two on the front (USB 3, up to 10 Gb/s) and three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back, per Apple's Mac mini (2024) specifications. That means up to about 4 phones can plug in directly, leaving a port free. Past that, use powered hubs.
Powered USB hubs
For 3 or more phones, use a powered USB hub. Phones then charge and stay connected reliably.
What to look for:
- Its own power supply, with enough power per port to keep each phone charging while it's working. A hub that powers itself from the Mac's port can't charge many phones at once.
- Data on every port. Some "charging hubs" or charging stations only deliver power. iFarm needs a data connection to each phone.
- About 10–15 phones per hub. For bigger farms, use several hubs, each on its own port on the Mac, rather than chaining them all off one port.
What to avoid:
- A monitor's or a desk dock's built-in USB hub. A display's USB 2 hub can drop the data connection as soon as Xcode starts the helper on a phone. Plug phones into the Mac itself or a powered hub.
Cables
- Use data cables, not charge-only cables. Some Lightning and USB-C cables only charge. A phone on a charge-only cable charges but iFarm can't see it, and the Health page flags it.
- One good cable per phone. Label both ends with the phone's name so you can find it when a tile shows a problem.
- Short cables keep the stand tidy and leave room for air to move.
USB is also faster than Wi-Fi for control. Measured on an iPhone 13 Pro Max, USB answers commands in about 6 ms and Wi-Fi in about 18 ms.
Cooling
Phones that charge and run apps all day get warm, and a stack of them gets warmer. According to Apple's article on iPhone temperature, a phone that gets too warm slows or stops charging, dims its display and runs some apps slower. For 4 to 20 phones:
- Take the cases off. Cases hold heat in.
- Stand phones upright in a vertical slotted stand with a gap between each phone, so air passes on both sides. Don't stack phones flat on top of each other.
- Add a quiet USB-powered fan, such as a 120 mm USB fan, blowing across the row of phones.
- Dim the screens. Lower brightness means less heat and less power.
- Protect the batteries. On iPhone 15 and later you can limit charging to 80% in Settings → Battery → Charging. Older iPhones use Optimized Battery Charging. See Apple's article on charge limit and Optimized Battery Charging.
Keep the farm out of direct sun and away from heaters, and check the Health page's battery column now and then.
Network
- Under about 10 phones, Wi-Fi is fine for phones that aren't on a cable. Use a private network: iFarm's Wi-Fi control is protected by a per-phone secret, but the traffic isn't encrypted.
- Past about 10 phones, use cables. Phones on Wi-Fi share your network, and each live tile streams at about 1 MB/s (the phone you open large, about 7 MB/s). USB keeps that traffic off your Wi-Fi.
- Ethernet for the Mac. A Mac mini has a Gigabit Ethernet port; a wired Mac leaves Wi-Fi to the phones' own apps.
iFarm never changes the phones' network settings. Each phone uses whatever Wi-Fi, cellular, VPN or proxy it's set to.
Power and placement
- Put the Mac, hubs and phones on one surge-protected power strip with room for each hub's power supply.
- Keep everything on a shelf with airflow, not in a closed drawer or cabinet.
- Set every phone to Auto-Lock Never, Low Power Mode off, and keep it charging. See the setup guide.
- Turn on start at login and reopen after a crash on iFarm's Health page so the farm comes back after a power cut. After a phone restarts, unlock it by hand once.
Shopping checklist by farm size
Generic categories only. Pick parts that match the requirements above.
| Item | 4 phones | 10 phones | 20 phones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac | Mac mini, 16 GB | Mac mini, 16 GB | Mac with 16 GB (32 GB if you'll run local AI models) |
| Connection | Directly into the Mac's ports | 1 powered, data-capable USB hub | 2 powered, data-capable USB hubs on separate Mac ports |
| Cables | 4 short data cables | 10 short data cables | 20 short data cables |
| Stand | Small slotted phone stand | Vertical slotted stand with gaps | Two vertical slotted stands, or one long one |
| Cooling | Cases off, dim screens | Plus one quiet USB fan | Plus one quiet USB fan per row of phones |
| Network | Wi-Fi or USB | Mostly USB | All USB; Ethernet for the Mac |
| Power | Power strip | Surge-protected power strip | Surge-protected strip with room for every hub's power supply |
| Apple account | Free team works | Apple Developer Program recommended | Apple Developer Program |
Frequently asked questions
Is a base Mac mini enough for a phone farm?
Yes, for a small farm. A base Mac mini M4 (16 GB) handles 4 phones easily, including watching all 4 live, and is plenty for 4 to 10 phones. 16 GB of memory supports about 10–20 phones comfortably; USB hubs and cables usually limit you first.
Can I plug phones into my monitor's USB ports?
Avoid it. A display's USB 2 hub can drop the data connection as soon as Xcode starts the helper. Use the Mac's own ports or a powered USB hub.
How many phones can one USB hub carry?
About 10–15 phones per powered hub. For more, use several hubs, each on its own port on the Mac.
Do phones need to be on Wi-Fi?
Only for their apps' own internet. iFarm controls a phone over USB whenever a cable is plugged in. Past about 10 phones on Wi-Fi, use cables for control.