Found this adaptor for 2016/2017 non-touch bar for ssd upgrades

[thirtythreeandathird]

I think I have found a solution to the power issues, none of which are related to the adaptor make or the specific ssd.

The issues stem from the Apple ssd drivers not set up to deal with third party ssd control protocols and all that is needed is a couple of ingenious system extensions that patch the apple drivers on the fly.

NVMeFix is a set of patches for the Apple NVMe storage driver, IONVMeFamily. Its goal is to improve compatibility with non-Apple SSDs. It may be used both on Apple and non-Apple computers.

The following features are implemented:
Autonomous Power State Transition to reduce idle power consumption of the controller.
Host-driver active power state management.

NVMeFix is a kext (system extension) developed out of the Hackintosh community and requires the Lilu kext installed first.
Read this to find out how to install kexts kexts (system dependent) on your MacBook, either in the library/extensions folder (Mojave) or using a boot loader for Catalina, all of which is explained in detail in the link provided.

I have installed an Adata SX6000 1TB, having first cloned my old system to the SX6000 on another machine.
Days later I can report no wake from sleep issues, no battery drain, no missing ssd.

I am on Mojave and simply used the Kext beast utility to install into the library extensions folder , and then ran the Kext utility to repair library permissions.

love to hear if this fixes things for anyone else.

 

[otosan]

I think I have found a solution to the power issues, none of which are related to the adaptor make or the specific ssd.

The issues stem from the Apple ssd drivers not set up to deal with third party ssd control protocols and all that is needed is a couple of ingenious system extensions that patch the apple drivers on the fly.

NVMeFix is a set of patches for the Apple NVMe storage driver, IONVMeFamily. Its goal is to improve compatibility with non-Apple SSDs. It may be used both on Apple and non-Apple computers.

The following features are implemented:
Autonomous Power State Transition to reduce idle power consumption of the controller.
Host-driver active power state management.

NVMeFix is a kext (system extension) developed out of the Hackintosh community and requires the Lilu kext installed first.
Read this to find out how to install kexts kexts (system dependent) on your MacBook, either in the library/extensions folder (Mojave) or using a boot loader for Catalina, all of which is explained in detail in the link provided.

I have installed an Adata SX6000 1TB, having first cloned my old system to the SX6000 on another machine.
Days later I can report no wake from sleep issues, no battery drain, no missing ssd.

I am on Mojave and simply used the Kext beast utility to install into the library extensions folder , and then ran the Kext utility to repair library permissions.

love to hear if this fixes things for anyone else.

NVME fix is a quite well known in NVME upgrader forum with plenty of users installing it on their ugraded macbook. It work well on my installation in 2017 macbook as well. No power and sleep issue whatsoever,

Unfortunately not all SSD react in proper way to the kext, some can't boot, some will boot fine but with 0 effect,

controller, fimrware and other component play parts. But mostly maker firmware.

 

[ritchie69]

NVME fix is a quite well known in NVME upgrader forum with plenty of users installing it on their ugraded macbook. It work well on my installation in 2017 macbook as well. No power and sleep issue whatsoever,

Unfortunately not all SSD react in proper way to the kext, some can't boot, some will boot fine but with 0 effect,

controller, fimrware and other component play parts. But mostly maker firmware.

Hi otosan,
have you tried the NVMEfix with the Sabrent Rocket nano? you think that will solve the power cord plugged/question mark folder issue?

 

[Darktitor]

Hi otosan,
have you tried the NVMEfix with the Sabrent Rocket nano? you think that will solve the power cord plugged/question mark folder issue?

I have tried on Big Sur bêta with this ssd but my MacBook cannot boot up
I had to boot ingot safe mode and delete the kext

 

[X3m]

I have tried on Big Sur bêta with this ssd but my MacBook cannot boot up
I had to boot ingot safe mode and delete the kext
[/QUOTE]
Hope you solved it...after big sur update is your bootrom version still 428.0.0.0.0?

 

[otosan]

Hi otosan,
have you tried the NVMEfix with the Sabrent Rocket nano? you think that will solve the power cord plugged/question mark folder issue?

NVMEfix wont help with question mark issue sadly

 

[Schlaugummi46]

First of all, thank you all for sharing helpful insights on this topic! Does anyone have experience with this unbranded adapter sold on Amazon?

To upgrade my A1708 I went for the safe and reliable combination - at least I thought so - of a Sintech NGFF-Adapter paired with a 512 GB Sabrent Rocket, but shortly after installation I found that my MacBook crashes when some pressure is being applied to the backcover near the spot the SSD is located, as in lifting it up one handed. Also, the disk speeds I checked with the Blackmagic Tool where quite underwhelming, as the write speeds where in the range of just 400 - 500 Mb/s. I reopened the device to double check on the installation and to apply some kapton tape to everything but the contacts, but the problem still exists, so either the adapter or the drive must have a malfunction. Is anyone here who had similar problems and can tell me what the solution finally was?

 

[Schlaugummi46]

First of all, thank you all for sharing helpful insights on this topic! Does anyone have experience with this unbranded adapter sold on Amazon?

To upgrade my A1708 I went for the safe and reliable combination - at least I thought so - of a Sintech NGFF-Adapter paired with a 512 GB Sabrent Rocket, but shortly after installation I found that my MacBook crashes when some pressure is being applied to the backcover near the spot the SSD is located, as in lifting it up one handed. Also, the disk speeds I checked with the Blackmagic Tool where quite underwhelming, as the write speeds where in the range of just 400 - 500 Mb/s. I reopened the device to double check on the installation and to apply some kapton tape to everything but the contacts, but the problem still exists, so either the adapter or the drive must have a malfunction. Is anyone here who had similar problems and can tell me what the solution finally was?

I just received the new adapter and had to realize that it is the exact same one as the Sintech, just shot from different angles. But sadly, the new adapter didn't solve the problem of the SSD being pressure sensitive and eventually crash the system. I guess that this is due to the fact that the Sabrent Rocket paired with the Sintech adapter is noticeable thicker than the Stock SSD, which leads to a static and even higher pressure, when I lift up the MacBook one-handed. Is there an adapter out there (maybe at Aliexpress), which is much slimmer in build height and closer to the Apple SSD?

 

[ritchie69]

I have the sintech and the Nfhk, but I’m using the nfhk...I notice too that the sintech il slightly thicker than the nfhk...as I recall darktitor here in the forum is using the sintech paired with the sabrent rocket nano, but never heard of that issue. Anyway, the Nfhk is thinner than the sintech, very slightly, paired with the sabrent for me no issue...

 

[ritchie69]

I have the sintech and the Nfhk, but I’m using the nfhk...I notice too that the sintech il slightly thicker than the nfhk...as I recall darktitor here in the forum is using the sintech paired with the sabrent rocket nano, but never heard of that issue. Anyway, the Nfhk is thinner than the sintech, very slightly, paired with the sabrent for me no issue...

 

[ritchie69]

I just received the new adapter and had to realize that it is the exact same one as the Sintech, just shot from different angles. But sadly, the new adapter didn't solve the problem of the SSD being pressure sensitive and eventually crash the system. I guess that this is due to the fact that the Sabrent Rocket paired with the Sintech adapter is noticeable thicker than the Stock SSD, which leads to a static and even higher pressure, when I lift up the MacBook one-handed. Is there an adapter out there (maybe at Aliexpress), which is much slimmer in build height and closer to the Apple SSD?

I just received a new version of ngff adapter, hoping that this updated version will solve the question mark issue when paired with the sabrent. In the end I’ve bought a 2230 WD sn520 (for the 2nd time, the first one was a faulty unit), so I‘lol perform some crossed tests.

 

[ritchie69]

I just received the new adapter and had to realize that it is the exact same one as the Sintech, just shot from different angles. But sadly, the new adapter didn't solve the problem of the SSD being pressure sensitive and eventually crash the system. I guess that this is due to the fact that the Sabrent Rocket paired with the Sintech adapter is noticeable thicker than the Stock SSD, which leads to a static and even higher pressure, when I lift up the MacBook one-handed. Is there an adapter out there (maybe at Aliexpress), which is much slimmer in build height and closer to the Apple SSD?

Look at this:

€ 5,20 | NVME M.2 NGFF M-Chiave SSD Convertire Carta misura per Macbook Pro 2016 2017 13 "A1708 A1707 A1706

€ 5,20 | NVME M.2 NGFF M-Chiave SSD Convertire Carta misura per Macbook Pro 2016 2017 13 "A1708 A1707 A1706

a.aliexpress.com

 

[Darktitor]

I have the sintech and the Nfhk, but I’m using the nfhk...I notice too that the sintech il slightly thicker than the nfhk...as I recall darktitor here in the forum is using the sintech paired with the sabrent rocket nano, but never heard of that issue. Anyway, the Nfhk is thinner than the sintech, very slightly, paired with the sabrent for me no issue...

I could not reproduce the issue here
I used kapton tape to fix back the adaptor and made sure it does not move
Even if I lift the MacBook with one hand I do not have this issue

 

[otosan]

First of all, thank you all for sharing helpful insights on this topic! Does anyone have experience with this unbranded adapter sold on Amazon?

To upgrade my A1708 I went for the safe and reliable combination - at least I thought so - of a Sintech NGFF-Adapter paired with a 512 GB Sabrent Rocket, but shortly after installation I found that my MacBook crashes when some pressure is being applied to the backcover near the spot the SSD is located, as in lifting it up one handed. Also, the disk speeds I checked with the Blackmagic Tool where quite underwhelming, as the write speeds where in the range of just 400 - 500 Mb/s. I reopened the device to double check on the installation and to apply some kapton tape to everything but the contacts, but the problem still exists, so either the adapter or the drive must have a malfunction. Is anyone here who had similar problems and can tell me what the solution finally was?

Never heard nor found this kind of issue.

All i can say is that sintech is no longer the most reliable one. They only become 1st choice because of their history alone.

on most cases nowaday, they have almost no advantage when compared to other brand adapters.

you might want to try NFHK for thinner build. And secure your ssd position using kapton and thermal tape.

other trick you might want to do is to actually create the same thickness of bump on the other side of the macbook using stacked thermal tape. So that both side(the side with ssd and one without) of your macbook base has same thickness. Eliminating the problem of uneven thickness when the bottom cover is placed.

 

[Schlaugummi46]

Thanks for your replies! I suspect that the Sabrent SSD is faulty, as no one had similar problems and even dodgy builds with taped down 2280s work flawlessly.

I could not reproduce the issue here
I used kapton tape to fix back the adaptor and made sure it does not move
Even if I lift the MacBook with one hand I do not have this issue

I probably tested all possible combinations sticking kapton tape to the SSD and adapter in the past days, but sadly not a single one improved the situation even a bit. When doing so, I dis- and reassembled everything more than 10 times and also cleaned the contacts with isopropanol, so a wrong assembly is most likely not the cause of the problems.

other trick you might want to do is to actually create the same thickness of bump on the other side of the macbook using stacked thermal tape. So that both side(the side with ssd and one without) of your macbook base has same thickness. Eliminating the problem of uneven thickness when the bottom cover is placed.

I had the same idea, but this didn't solve the problem. I thought that maybe the at this spot very flexible and easy to push in Logicboard would cause a loss of contact, when pressure at the bottom case is being applied. So - as you described it - I stacked kapton tape to about the same thickness as the Apple SSD was, so the Logicboard and the SSD had no chance to move in this direction. When I had reassembled everything, my MacBook wouldn't boot up anymore and instead just show the blinking question mark. After I removed the modification it booted up without a problem again, so I guess my SSD is just in some way faulty.

I just ordered two slimmer looking adapters from Aliexpress (the new NFHK one with the cutout and the unbranded one with onboard capacitors) and am going to get a different, single-sided SSD (maybe the Kioxia/Toshiba BG4), to finally get everything working.

 

[ritchie69]

Thanks for your replies! I suspect that the Sabrent SSD is faulty, as no one had similar problems and even dodgy builds with taped down 2280s work flawlessly.



I probably tested all possible combinations sticking kapton tape to the SSD and adapter in the past days, but sadly not a single one improved the situation even a bit. When doing so, I dis- and reassembled everything more than 10 times and also cleaned the contacts with isopropanol, so a wrong assembly is most likely not the cause of the problems.



I had the same idea, but this didn't solve the problem. I thought that maybe the at this spot very flexible and easy to push in Logicboard would cause a loss of contact, when pressure at the bottom case is being applied. So - as you described it - I stacked kapton tape to about the same thickness as the Apple SSD was, so the Logicboard and the SSD had no chance to move in this direction. When I had reassembled everything, my MacBook wouldn't boot up anymore and instead just show the blinking question mark. After I removed the modification it booted up without a problem again, so I guess my SSD is just in some way faulty.

I just ordered two slimmer looking adapters from Aliexpress (the new NFHK one with the cutout and the unbranded one with onboard capacitors) and am going to get a different, single-sided SSD (maybe the Kioxia/Toshiba BG4), to finally get everything working.

In this weekend I’ll try the adapter with onboard capacitors, I’ll post the results here...I’m waiting for delivery of the WD sn520 in 2230 format, hoping it doesn't have the same reboot problems encountered with the 2242 version.
I was also tempted by the kioxia bg4, but I had read somewhere that he also had the question mark folder issue.

 

[tanuki-chin]

I’ve been reading this thread for a couple of weeks. Today I’ve upgraded my MacBook with the NFHK and a Samsung 970 Evo Plus and works like a charm.

The only downside is that the MacBook does not longer “stand by the feet” and it’s bumpy when typing.
Meanwhile I’m using my glasses cleaning cloth as a support for the MacBook, but I’d like a long term approach, like taller feet.

But now I can develop without docker screaming for help to get some disk space.

 

[syroxpt97]

In this weekend I’ll try the adapter with onboard capacitors, I’ll post the results here...I’m waiting for delivery of the WD sn520 in 2230 format, hoping it doesn't have the same reboot problems encountered with the 2242 version.
I was also tempted by the kioxia bg4, but I had read somewhere that he also had the question mark folder issue.

Hi, have you tried the new adapter? Im still waiting for my new adapter...
It fixes the question mark problem ?

 

[ritchie69]

Hi, have you tried the new adapter? Im still waiting for my new adapter...
It fixes the question mark problem ?

Not yet, I’ll test in the next few days

 

[ritchie69]

Hi, have you tried the new adapter? Im still waiting for my new adapter...
It fixes the question mark problem ?

Just tested, but with another ssd, ‘cause sadly the new adapter (the one with multiple capacitors) doesn’t accept the double sided Sabrent rocket nano, in fact the M key socket it’s way too thin and close to the pc board when compared to the NFHK or Sintech.

 

[ritchie69]

Never heard nor found this kind of issue.

All i can say is that sintech is no longer the most reliable one. They only become 1st choice because of their history alone.

on most cases nowaday, they have almost no advantage when compared to other brand adapters.

you might want to try NFHK for thinner build. And secure your ssd position using kapton and thermal tape.

other trick you might want to do is to actually create the same thickness of bump on the other side of the macbook using stacked thermal tape. So that both side(the side with ssd and one without) of your macbook base has same thickness. Eliminating the problem of uneven thickness when the bottom cover is placed.

Hey otosan, I‘ve just tried the new adapter with multiple capacitors, as I stated in the previous post, the sabrent is too thick for this adapter, so I bought, again, a brand new WD sn520 2230 to test with, maybe you will remember when last month i got the same ssd in 2242 format, I thought the 2242 was faulty because I couldn't restart the Mac, but unfortunately the 2230 version also shows the same issue, so the problem must be something else. everything seems ok, the only flaw is when I try to restart from Mac OS, the screen seems to light up but after a few seconds turn to black, and not even the power button can turn it on. any idea?

 

[FM94]

I upgraded my 128GB MacBook Pro 2017 model: A1708 SSD.

I got a Sabrent Rocket nano 512GB SSD along with Sintech adaptor.

Everything is working fine(except for the plugged-in startup issue).

My problem is that the write speed is very slow compared to before (I know that original SSD is faster but this is slow) so I think there's something wrong, maybe someone can help?

Here are the steps I did:

1- Did a full backup on an external HDD while running MacOS Catalina.
3- Installed MacOS BigSur on my original SSD before changing it (BootRom was upgraded to 429.50.1.0.0).
4- Prepared the bootable BigSur USB drive.
5- Replaced the SSD (Everything went smoothly).
6- Installed a fresh BigSur from the USB drive.
....... Here I remember doing speedtest and it was much faster than now but I forgot to take a screenshot .......
7- I restored my backup from the external HDD.

Then I did all the post upgrade steps like NVME reset, SMC reset, kext rebuild.

TRIM Support: Yes
Link Width: x4
Link Speed: 8.0 GT/s

So does any body know why the write speed has gone much lower after restoring my backup?
Spotlight has done indexing btw so it's not the reason I guess.

UPDATE:

This was my original Apple SSD speedtest

So it seems like the problem existed even before the upgrade, any idea what's the reason?

 

[ritchie69]

I upgraded my 128GB MacBook Pro 2017 model: A1708 SSD.

I got a Sabrent Rocket nano 512GB SSD along with Sintech adaptor.

Everything is working fine(except for the plugged-in startup issue).

My problem is that the write speed is very slow compared to before (I know that original SSD is faster but this is slow) so I think there's something wrong, maybe someone can help?

Here are the steps I did:

1- Did a full backup on an external HDD while running MacOS Catalina.
3- Installed MacOS BigSur on my original SSD before changing it (BootRom was upgraded to 429.50.1.0.0).
4- Prepared the bootable BigSur USB drive.
5- Replaced the SSD (Everything went smoothly).
6- Installed a fresh BigSur from the USB drive.
....... Here I remember doing speedtest and it was much faster than now but I forgot to take a screenshot .......
7- I restored my backup from the external HDD.

Then I did all the post upgrade steps like NVME reset, SMC reset, kext rebuild.

TRIM Support: Yes
Link Width: x4
Link Speed: 8.0 GT/s

So does any body know why the write speed has gone much lower after restoring my backup?
Spotlight has done indexing btw so it's not the reason I guess.

View attachment 1672596
UPDATE:

This was my original Apple SSD speedtest
View attachment 1672662

So it seems like the problem existed even before the upgrade, any idea what's the reason?

The speed results of my original 128gb are more or less as yours, anyway the sabrent seems suffer of throttling, the speed goes down as the cache fills up

 

[tanuki-chin]

I upgraded my 128GB MacBook Pro 2017 model: A1708 SSD.

I got a Sabrent Rocket nano 512GB SSD along with Sintech adaptor.

Everything is working fine(except for the plugged-in startup issue).

My problem is that the write speed is very slow compared to before (I know that original SSD is faster but this is slow) so I think there's something wrong, maybe someone can help?

Here are the steps I did:

1- Did a full backup on an external HDD while running MacOS Catalina.
3- Installed MacOS BigSur on my original SSD before changing it (BootRom was upgraded to 429.50.1.0.0).
4- Prepared the bootable BigSur USB drive.
5- Replaced the SSD (Everything went smoothly).
6- Installed a fresh BigSur from the USB drive.
....... Here I remember doing speedtest and it was much faster than now but I forgot to take a screenshot .......
7- I restored my backup from the external HDD.

Then I did all the post upgrade steps like NVME reset, SMC reset, kext rebuild.

TRIM Support: Yes
Link Width: x4
Link Speed: 8.0 GT/s

So does any body know why the write speed has gone much lower after restoring my backup?
Spotlight has done indexing btw so it's not the reason I guess.

View attachment 1672596
UPDATE:

This was my original Apple SSD speedtest
View attachment 1672662

So it seems like the problem existed even before the upgrade, any idea what's the reason?

That sabrent ssd is cache-less making it going painfully slow with big files. Linus tech tips have multiple awesome videos talking about this topic.

 

[ritchie69]

Some updates, I returned the WD SN520 2230, i was unable to restart the macbook using this ssd, dunno why, there is obviously an incompatibility, although this ssd was highly recommended by a user on YouTube, unfortunately I was unable to get it to work properly. In the meantime, I‘ve found a brand new Hynix BC511, as Otosan said, it works like a charm, no question mark folder when booting with ac adapter plugged in. The speed is around 900/1000 write, and 1500/1600 read, it seems not to suffer of throttling like the sabrent, so the performance remain stable for now, we will see in the coming days...for now I’m quite satisfied.