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Macbook Pro Mid 2012 DOES NOT read 16 gb of ram.

steveo_knievel2

steveo_knievel2

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 26, 2017
2
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Hello all. I have a 13 inch, mid 2012 macbook pro. I grabbed 16 gb ram that fits my system off of amazon to upgrade from just having 4 gb. I installed and I know I did it correctly because it reads both 8 gb sticks but reads them as 4 gb sticks. Is there anything to do be done about this? could it be the brand? could my system just not be able to more 8 gb? somebody please let me know, I appreciate you in advance!

P.S. The brand that I have is A Tech
 
Interesting; I'd never tried to upgrade my MBP past the documented specs. Which is actually a bit odd because meanwhile my desktop is absolutely not in any sort of officially-supported configuration!
 
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I have the 13" mid-2012 MBP and it definitely can take 16GB of RAM. There are many other 2012 MBP owners that have 16GB RAM in these forums (well, they say they have 16GB). The RAM likely got mis-labeled or something isn't working correctly in your MBP. In the system report, there usually is a part number (it's usually quite long and those that I have seen starts with "0x"). Try searching for this part number and see if it corresponds to a 8GB or a 4GB module.
 
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steveo_knievel2 said:
Hello all. I have a 13 inch, mid 2012 macbook pro. I grabbed 16 gb ram that fits my system off of amazon to upgrade from just having 4 gb. I installed and I know I did it correctly because it reads both 8 gb sticks but reads them as 4 gb sticks. Is there anything to do be done about this? could it be the brand? could my system just not be able to more 8 gb? somebody please let me know, I appreciate you in advance!

P.S. The brand that I have is A Tech
Click to expand...

Would you be kind enough to post exact specifications of the said RAM? If possible, also photographs of any stickers on the RAM? Prima facie, you have bought yourself incompatible, incorrect RAM.
 
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I've never heard of a MacBook only recognizing half the RAM. It either works, or beeps and doesn't boot up at all.
 
steveo_knievel2 said:
Hello all. I have a 13 inch, mid 2012 macbook pro. I grabbed 16 gb ram that fits my system off of amazon to upgrade from just having 4 gb. I installed and I know I did it correctly because it reads both 8 gb sticks but reads them as 4 gb sticks. Is there anything to do be done about this? could it be the brand? could my system just not be able to more 8 gb? somebody please let me know, I appreciate you in advance!

P.S. The brand that I have is A Tech
Click to expand...
You definitely have incompatible RAM. Return what you have.
 
Can you try to boot a Linux stick or a Windows bootcamp? I don't remember exactly but some macs do not see in MacOs all the ram, while in Linux/Windows they can. But I think this applies to older machines, like 2010 or 2011 15 inchers
 
steveo_knievel2 said:
Hello all. I have a 13 inch, mid 2012 macbook pro. I grabbed 16 gb ram that fits my system off of amazon to upgrade from just having 4 gb. I installed and I know I did it correctly because it reads both 8 gb sticks but reads them as 4 gb sticks. Is there anything to do be done about this? could it be the brand? could my system just not be able to more 8 gb? somebody please let me know, I appreciate you in advance!

P.S. The brand that I have is A Tech
Click to expand...
Sounds like they sent you 8gb labelled as 16gb if it is reading both sticks then 8gb all the ram you have installed. The 2012 13 inch MBP can handle 16gb many people have done this upgrade no troubles at all, return the RAM you have and order crucial RAM that always works just fine (barring faulty RAM of course)
 
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I have 16GB DDR3 1600MHz on my Late 2011. Though that is the 15" but there is no reason why 2012 13" ones with Ivy should not handle 16GB.
 
Doelago said:
The spec sheet can say whatever it wants, the mid-2012 is definitely capable of running 16GB. OP just happens to have either incompatible or faulty sticks.
Click to expand...

True. Spec sheets say 8GB for 2011 models too, but I know mine to be running 16GB 1600MHz just fine.
 
Macs tend to be quite picky on what RAM they like. It's always best to get a brand that's known to work than just get the cheapest available and hope for the best.

If you can't test it in another device to check it is actually 16GB then return it and assume it's incompatible.
 
  • Does the sticker on the DIMMs themselves say the correct specs for your machine? (ex: 8GB/1600MHz/1.35v)
  • Have you tried each RAM DIMM individually in each slot? (to verify that each DIMM works as does each DIMM slot and to ensure each DIMM is actually 8 GB)
  • Have you performed the Apple Hardware Test?
  • Did the RAM come from Amazon directly (i.e., NOT 'Fulfilled by Amazon') since there are so many active memory scams that Amazon has failed to do anything about?

Provided there is nothing wrong with your MBP's logic board, you may want to try returning the A-Tech and purchasing Crucial RAM. Their memory finder shows the compatibility:

Screen Shot 2017-06-26 at 12.33.39 PM.png

Screen Shot 2017-06-26 at 12.33.55 PM.png

Screen Shot 2017-06-26 at 12.34.18 PM.png
 
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