01Service Definition
1.1 OnceMini provides users with a dedicated hardware rental of a full Apple Silicon Mac mini physical machine. Each order corresponds to one complete physical machine — there is no shared virtualization or slicing, and the same hardware will never be assigned to any other user during your rental term.
1.2 This is an unmanaged service. Our responsibility covers: hardware operation, data center power, network connectivity, out-of-band power management, and the self-service macOS reinstall channel. Software installation, environment configuration, data backups, and application operations within the operating system are the user's sole responsibility.
1.3 Deliverables include: SSH login credentials, VNC connection password, and a dedicated public IPv4 address. During your rental term, you hold full administrator (root) privileges on the machine, with complete access to both the macOS graphical interface and the command line.
1.4 All hardware is purchased new through official Apple channels; we do not disassemble or modify units. Exact models, memory, and storage specifications are as displayed on the Plans page and the portal product page at time of order.
02Account & Eligibility
2.1 Registration requires a valid, active email address, which is used for credential delivery, billing notifications, and notices of changes to these Terms. Users must be natural persons with full legal capacity, or duly authorized representatives of an organization.
2.2 Multiple machines per account: A single account may rent multiple machines simultaneously, with no cap on quantity. For bulk orders (10 machines or more), contact us via the channels listed on the Contact Us page to discuss volume discounts and monthly invoicing arrangements.
2.3 Subletting prohibited: Users may not sublet, resell, or time-share their rented machine to third parties for profit, nor use this service as a basis for offering substantially equivalent hosting rental services to others. Multiple team members sharing a single account's machine is acceptable normal use, but the account holder remains fully responsible for all activity on that machine.
2.4 Users are responsible for safeguarding their SSH keys, VNC password, and account login credentials. Losses or violations resulting from compromised credentials are the account holder's responsibility. If a credential is compromised, reset it immediately via the control panel or open a support ticket.
03Billing & Renewal
3.1 Billing cycles: Four cycle options are available — daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly — corresponding to 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, and 90 days respectively. The rental term begins the moment we send your SSH/VNC credentials to your registered email, not at the time of payment.
3.2 All prices are quoted in US dollars ($) and shown in the portal at checkout. Current published pricing examples: Mini S (M4 / 16GB) at $19.9/day or $99.6/month; full pricing for all tiers is listed on the Plans page. Bandwidth is a dedicated 1Gbps per node with unmetered traffic — no hidden data fees or overage charges.
3.3 Auto-renewal: Disabled by default. You can enable or disable auto-renewal per machine from the control panel. When enabled, we attempt to charge the same-tier price 24 hours before the current cycle ends; if the charge fails, you'll be notified by email and the machine will be handled per Section 3.4 upon expiry.
3.4 Post-expiry shutdown and data retention: A machine whose term has expired without renewal is shut down immediately and its public IP is reclaimed. Disk data is retained for 72 hours after shutdown — renewing within that window restores the machine exactly as it was. After 72 hours, we destroy the APFS encrypted volume keys and perform a full-disk overwrite; data is then unrecoverable. See our Security Commitment for details on the erasure process.
3.5 Partial, unused portions of a billing cycle are not prorated or refunded, except as provided under Section 6.
04Acceptable Use Policy
4.1 Users may not use their rented machine to engage in any of the following:
- Sending spam or bulk marketing email, or operating an open mail relay;
- Launching network attacks, including but not limited to DDoS, port scanning, brute-force attacks, or unauthorized penetration testing;
- Distributing malware, hosting phishing sites, or hosting content that infringes third-party rights or is unlawful in the applicable jurisdiction;
- Violating Apple's software license agreements, including migrating a macOS system image onto non-Apple hardware;
- Cryptocurrency mining or other workloads characterized by sustained full-load hardware wear;
- Spoofing traffic sources or abusing IP reputation for fraudulent purposes.
4.2 Violation handling process: For general violations, we will first send a warning email and request remediation within 24 hours; if unresolved, network access will be restricted; if the issue persists, the service will be suspended and terminated. For urgent situations such as an active outbound attack or spam campaign, we reserve the right to disconnect network access first and notify the user by email afterward.
4.3 Service terminated under this section is not eligible for a refund of fees already paid for the current period; users who cause losses to us or third parties will be liable for corresponding damages.
05SLA & Credits
5.1 We guarantee a monthly uptime of at least 99.9% per machine. All nodes run continuously 365 days a year, with no scheduled downtime whatsoever. Availability is measured by machine power state and data center network connectivity.
5.2 Credit calculation: For each full 0.1% that monthly uptime falls below the guaranteed level, you receive a credit equal to 1 day of usage; total credits in a given billing month are capped at 100% of that period's paid usage. Credits are issued as extended usage time on the affected machine and are not cash-convertible.
5.3 How to claim: Submit a support ticket via the control panel within 7 days of the incident being resolved, stating the machine identifier and the incident's start/end times. We will verify against our monitoring records and respond within 3 business days.
5.4 Exclusions: The following periods do not count toward downtime:
- Force majeure events, including natural disasters, widespread backbone network failures, regulatory directives, or other circumstances outside our reasonable control;
- Unavailability caused by the user's own actions, such as firewall misconfiguration, deletion of system components, or in-OS software faults;
- Time spent during a user-initiated self-service macOS reinstall;
- Periods during which service was restricted or terminated due to a violation of Section 4.
06Refund Policy
6.1 First order refundable: Each account's first order is eligible for a full, no-questions-asked refund if requested within 24 hours of credential delivery. Refunds are returned via the original payment method, typically arriving within 5–10 business days.
6.2 Renewal orders, and first orders on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly cycle requested more than 24 hours after the cycle started, are not eligible for a refund. We recommend trying a 1-day rental first to validate your workflow before switching to a monthly plan.
6.3 Upgrades and downgrades: You may request an upgrade at any time during your rental term; the price difference between tiers is prorated against remaining time, and we complete the data migration or machine swap within 24 hours. Downgrades are not refunded for the price difference and take effect at the new tier upon the current cycle's expiry.
6.4 Refunds do not apply to service terminated due to a user's violation of Section 4, nor to periods already compensated under the SLA credit provisions in Section 5.
07Limitation of Liability
7.1 For any claim arising from this service, our total aggregate liability is capped at the total amount actually paid by the user for the billing period in question.
7.2 We are not liable for indirect losses, including but not limited to lost profits, business interruption, or loss of goodwill. Backing up data on your machine is your responsibility; we retain and destroy data only as described in Section 3.4 and our Privacy Policy.
7.3 For availability issues, the SLA credits described in Section 5 constitute the user's sole and exclusive remedy.
7.4 Any disputes or costs arising from a user's use of this service infringing third-party rights are the user's sole responsibility; if we incur losses as a result, we reserve the right to seek indemnification from the user.
08Changes, Governing Law & Dispute Resolution
8.1 Changes to these Terms: We will notify you of any revisions at least 14 days in advance via your registered email and an on-site notice. Continued use of the service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If a change materially and adversely affects you, you may request to terminate the service before the change takes effect, with unused time prorated and refunded.
8.2 Governing law: The formation, validity, interpretation, and performance of these Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which our operating entity is established.
8.3 Dispute resolution: The parties shall first attempt to resolve any dispute through good-faith negotiation, for a period of 30 days from the date either party provides written notice. If negotiation fails, either party may bring the matter before the competent courts of that jurisdiction.
8.4 If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect.
8.5 For questions about these Terms, email support@oncemini.com or open a support ticket via the control panel; we respond within 1 business day.