Yea, all of that is encrypted now. Apple makes their configurator stuff more accessible to use for certain models (e.g. the Mac Studio, where you can replace the storage modules so long as they are replaced with the exact same configuration, upgrades are still not permitted). But on the MacBook lineups, it's quite a bit more difficult to get a lot of this done. Even if you have the tools to replace the chips, you cannot get the system to accept them (unlike the Mac Studio, where they will allow you to use the software tools required to do this).
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Louis Rossman on soldered SSD
- Thread starter danbuter
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The disks are encrypted by default. It changed after Apple started using T2 chips. FileVault gives additional security with maple the password and storage UID. Managing the touchId is part of same enclave so people can’t tinker at boot with FileVault enabled and change touchid.
So if RAM fails on a laptop with removable RAM I'm in the same position as with a MacBook?
If the SSD fails on a laptop with a removable SSD I'm in the same position as with a MacBook?
Riiiiiight.....
Basically you can't access the drive's data without being able get into the computer, right?
As a former AASP Technician, it was EXTREMELY rare that the soldered SSDs failed on these logic boards at my repair shop. Usually, it was something else on the board that fails (power-related, GPU, liquid corrosion, Customer dropped-kicked the device, etc.). Only had a handful of Apple Silicon machines with MLB failures in general, it was mostly the Intel ones so my results might be a little skewed.
As always, regular backups are necessary no matter what. I can't tell how often I had customers needing to pay for Data Recovery services either with Apple's Data Recovery option on AST or through Forensic Data Recovery such as Drive Savers.
Fair warning, Louis Rossmann fans do read these forums. I'm sure they would probably be talking about us on their subreddit followed by a video where Louis does his usual outrage schtick saying people like me are incompetent or are purposely acting maliciously. This coming from someone who is subscribed and bought stuff from his online shop lol.
As always, regular backups are necessary no matter what. I can't tell how often I had customers needing to pay for Data Recovery services either with Apple's Data Recovery option on AST or through Forensic Data Recovery such as Drive Savers.
Fair warning, Louis Rossmann fans do read these forums. I'm sure they would probably be talking about us on their subreddit followed by a video where Louis does his usual outrage schtick saying people like me are incompetent or are purposely acting maliciously. This coming from someone who is subscribed and bought stuff from his online shop lol.
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Apple's not virtuous by any means yet isn't all bad. If a company could surpass in the 13'" platform I'd be officially impressed as these notebooks absolutely kick ass seriously so. While the 13" MBP maybe an aged design it absolutely turns and burns. This old boy's got some serious go in it and hence it's continuous presence...
Q-6
Apple is 2-3 years behind Nvidia in GPU tech. This will not change anytime soon.
People will of course bring up performance per watt, but this doesn't matter on a workstation that's plugged into the wall.
“Focus” ≠ “to the complete exclusion of”
He disproportionately focuses on Apple because that’s what brings the $$ in, as the data on his own public YouTube demonstrates.
“Anti-consumer” is in the eye of the beholder. I replaced the HDD, RAM and battery on my 12’’ PowerBook. Installed an aftermarket SSD in a 13’’ MBP and bought third party ram right at purchase to dodge Apple’s markup on several iMacs and MacBooks over the years. I have user-installed aftermarket RAM in my daily driver Mac for both personal/work.
I would take the M2 Air/Mac Studio/iMac designs of today 999 times out of 1000 over any of those old machines, and that’s *excluding* performance.
Of course it’s easy for people who don’t have advanced degrees/experience in mechanical/electrical/industrial engineering/cost projecting/corporate accounting/scale manufacturing/multinational operations to say, “oh, they could *totally* do it, they just don’t wanna,” but I don’t consider an imagined hypothetical an actual argument (miss me with that clunky Framework—if that’s the platonic ideal alternative you’re envisioning…you can keep it).
Would External SSDs be a good trade-off for more ram? I fell in love with the Samsung T-series Portable SSDs. They're very small making them easy to carry around.
This argument again. It's making assumptions about his intentions rather than actually addressing the arguments that he makes, which I don't think is a particularly fair rebuttal.
Big deal. Buy AppleCare and then Apple pay to have it fixed.
The days of user replaceable SSD and RAM are OVER. The real reason is performance. The new macs are using the SSDs more like RAID where the data is distributed over multiple chips. Using two is twice as fast as using one.
Also, by soldering, they can make the computer smaller and remove a common failure pint, the connector.
Yes, I know it was fun to buy a low-spec computer, then hunt the Internet for bargain parts and upgrade at low cost. But you can't match the reliability and performance of the new design.
Once again, of all the ways to characterize “don’t agree with my premise”, a blind defense lacking “logic, respect and common curtesy” (sic) is certainly one of them.
Disagreeing isn’t disrespectful, not sharing your logic isn’t illogical, and it isn’t “blind defense” for one to acknowledge the tradeoffs that result in a decrease in user-repairability…and yet still accept them as a net positive, anyway.
What’s actually discourteous is characterizing your position as some sort of universal, unquestionably pro-consumer moral center, and any contrary position as though it could only come from an Apple-indoctrinated automaton who lacks the critical-thinking skills for a fully-informed, clear-eyed opinion.
I can't see you using more than 250GB for applications. I'm not a video editor, but I do some photo editing. This along with a fast external 2-4TB SSD for the projects would be great IMO.
Apologies for the off-topic discussion.
Of course you wouldn’t think it’s a fair rebuttal, you’re already inclined to his argument.
It’s not an assumption that the Apple videos bring in the money. It’s RIGHT THERE. You do know how YouTube monetization works, correct?
I, nor anyone else to my knowledge, never said “he doesn’t truly believe in wanting to make aftermarket repair easier”, as though they are mutually exclusive. You’re countering an argument that was never made.
If Luis Rossman only cared about the principle of how soldered-in components decrease user repairability, he’s already made enough Apple videos to prove that point. Let’s see some Dell and Surface and Android and Alienware repair videos…yet he *keeps* making Apple videos, slight variations on the same theme.
You know, if only there were some reason for that, some sort of…what’s the word…ah, *incentive* for Rossman to continue to make the titles and thumbnails and repair videos overwhelmingly (again, potential reply guys—“overwhelming” does not mean to the total exclusion of) focus on Apple, and even have a video called “Why I don’t use Apple products”, with no equivalent video for another manufacturer.
I don’t disagree with everything Rossman has ever said…I wouldn’t have seen so many of his videos over the years if I did. That said, its’ obvious that sensationally slagging off Apple and its engineers to plug his repair business brings in the $$, and he can’t reasonably be called “even-handed”.
Yeah usually people get a bigger ssd for big file storage if they don't want a external ssd, but since i am completely fine with external, it should be ok. More Ram is more important.
I had to ship my MacBook Air twice to get the right speaker repaired. Apple had to replace the Logic Board.
Thankfully, I had AppleCare otherwise that was hundreds of dollars along with the down time without my laptop. The Apple store is just an intake to ship computers back.
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Still focusing on speculation of his intentions rather than on his actual argument. We can argue about intentions all day long, but I can't read your mind, his mind, and neither can you read mine. I'd prefer to speak about the facts themselves.
Anything else is a diversion and a distraction from the point.
as an American I pronounce it as "sah-derr-d" FWIW
Just want to jump in on this - the SanDisk external SSDs have a very high failure rate:
SanDisk Extreme SSDs keep abruptly failing—firmware fix for only some promised
Ars saw two 2TB units become unreadable, but SanDisk only confirms 4TB troubles.
arstechnica.com
Buyer beware: some SanDisk Extreme SSDs are wiping people’s data
There’s a firmware update coming for the 4TB mode.
www.theverge.com
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD Suffer Sudden Failures: WD Responds
The firm will issue a 4TB SSD firmware update "soon," but seems to have ignored the woes of 2TB users.
So I would perhaps... grab something else.
I do backup every night and I'm sure we are more than 1/1000. I have a 4Tb USB drive connected to my MB every evening when back from work. A routine thing, as connecting the mac to my screen and checking emails. My personnal experience is rather than the TM backups are very relieable (significantly better than 10yr ago where it was quite common to have to restart the backup from scratch). Well this is maybe not the topics discussed here, but I definitely would like to have SSD not soldered - I remember changing the HD for a SSD in my older 2010 MB, so easy.
Yes, with default encryption, Some one has to physically have access to your mac and then go through recovery mode. With filevault enabled, it will tie the disk uid with your password. It needs password to do anything with the drive in recovery. I have filevault enabled in my Macs.