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Enclosure needed for OWC Aura SSD

S

silverlakerCA

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 2, 2020
154
25
Hi there.

I found the OWC Aura 1TB SSD module that I must have purchased during a Black Friday special - and realized too late I couldn't use it.

So I'm trying to find an external enclosure I can put this SSD module in.
I can't make heads or tails of which OWC enclosure will or won't work.

And maybe there are other companies' enclosures I should consider?
Your help is appreciated.
 
Exactly what model of Aura SSD do you have? I can't find one that just says "Aura".

OWC has enclosures:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3ENPRPCI/
but it says not to use the OWC Aura with it or it might cause damage. One of the comments says it might not have enough power.

This one has more power and is faster:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3ENP1AW/
but it does mention a plain "Aura" model. It says "Aura Pro X2, Aura Pro X, Aura N2, and Aura N drives".

There's this third party enclosure:
www.amazon.com

ACASIS USB C 3.2 SSD Enclosure for Apple Flash SSDs 12+16 PIN MacBook Pro,MacBook Air, Mac Pro, iMac from 2013 to 2017 Portable Storage Enclosure Compatible with M.2 Nvme SSD with Adapter

ACASIS USB C 3.2 SSD Enclosure for Apple Flash SSDs 12+16 PIN MacBook Pro,MacBook Air, Mac Pro, iMac from 2013 to 2017 Portable Storage Enclosure Compatible with M.2 Nvme SSD with Adapter
www.amazon.com
I hope it doesn't have problems like the OWC enclosures.

Can you convert the SSD to NVMe and use an NVMe enclosure?
www.amazon.com

KIKYO Converter Card, SSD to M.2 NGFF Adapter Card for 2013 /14 /15 Air Mac Pro

Feature: 1. 100% new quality. 2. The adapter card does not recognize whether your M.2 NGFF hard disk interface supports only SATA AHCI mode. 3. Convert SSD to M.2 NGFF PCI-e SSD. Mainly used to test your SSD or recover data. 4. Support for MacBook Air Mac Pro 2013/2014/2015 version of SSD. 5. Th...
www.amazon.com
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
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Here's a photo of the hard drive and thank you for your help.
auro ssd.png
 
Did it have a manufacturer part number or OWC SKU when you bought it?

For example, The Aura Pro X2 1.0 TB SSD has:
Mfr P/N: S3DAPT4MB10 OWC SKU: OWCS3DAPT4MB10

I don't know if your SSD will work with external enclosures. You might just have to try it.
 
silverlakerCA said:
Hi there.

I found the OWC Aura 1TB SSD module that I must have purchased during a Black Friday special - and realized too late I couldn't use it.

So I'm trying to find an external enclosure I can put this SSD module in.
I can't make heads or tails of which OWC enclosure will or won't work.

And maybe there are other companies' enclosures I should consider?
Your help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Do you know if your 1TB Drive will work in a MacBook Retina Mid-2012?
If so,
I know the Part number and what enclosure would work for you, As I happen to have one I just ordered and received today from OWC.

I don't actually need the enclosure unless I plan to buy another SSD from OWC or Transcend to put in their Aluminum USB3 chassis. I think they package these fancy enclosures as kits with install tools to get people to buy more drives in the future, as in my case the original 256GB SSD is dead.

I'll post back if I hear back from you.
 
Cide said:
Do you know if your 1TB Drive will work in a MacBook Retina Mid-2012?
If so,
I know the Part number and what enclosure would work for you, As I happen to have one I just ordered and received today from OWC.

I don't actually need the enclosure unless I plan to buy another SSD from OWC or Transcend to put in their Aluminum USB3 chassis. I think they package these fancy enclosures as kits with install tools to get people to buy more drives in the future, as in my case the original 256GB SSD is dead.

I'll post back if I hear back from you.
Click to expand...
Cide,

Thanks for your note. I have packed the SDD drive away as I prepare to move to a new home. It was a mistake that I should have returned, didn't and want to ultimately use it as an external drive.
 
I too have an OWC Aura N2 240gb SSD that was formerly in a 12.2 Macbook Pro early 2015. It worked like a champ up to the end of Big Sur. After running the most recent Big Sur update, the drive became unreliable with freezing and/or the blinking system folder. Sometimes it would boot after leaving it be for an hour or two, sometimes it would freeze while using it. Long story short, the drive has been removed from the MBP and I would like to know if there's an enclosure or a board I can connect this drive to, connect it via USB to the MBP as an external drive and pull data off of it?
 
I suggest that you contact OWC support. They sell an external that is designed to use the Apple-brand drive that the Aura SSD would replace, but that enclosure information says that you can only use the Apple-brand SSD in the enclosure -- the Aura drive may damage it. I think if you contact OWC support, they will have a solution for using the Aura drive, somehow.
 
I was on the phone with OWC today at length. None of the current enclosures will work with this old Aura N2. I did ask about the old OWC enclosure I had and asked if it was because of the heat that they didn't want to put the Aura in it. He confirmed that. Has anyone here tried connecting their Aura in the OWC enclosure with the lid off?
 
Yes, I have attempted this with limited success. The drive connects and disconnects frequently.
 
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