I have a MacBook Pro from early 2011. I paid $1,100 for the SSD upgrade. I never received a firmware upgrade today for Power Nap. I'm definitely going to get it, right? Have you guys gotten firmware upgrades for your Macs yet?
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Power Nap for MacBook Pro Early 2011
- Thread starter jackhdev
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You won't get it.
The firmware upgrade has been released. Power Nap is for Macbook Airs and Macbook Pro with Retina Displays only.
But their site says: Power Nap requires a Mac notebook with built-in flash storage. May require a firmware update.
As MacReloaded said.
It's probably done this way because the vast majority of MBP users won't have SSDs so they can't just release a simple update for all Pro users like they can with the Air and rMBP models.
Thanks for your help guys. I'm going to call them though and see what I can get. In System Information, they refer to my hard drive as "Flash Storage."
It is flash storage, but it isn't built onto the board like it is on the newer notebooks which is what Apple's requirement is.
Feel free to call them but they'll probably just repeat what has been said here.
Power Nap doesn't support 2.5" SSDs, whether Apple branded or 3rd party, it doesn't matter.
It only supports on-board Flash Storage i.e flash memory directly attached to the logic board (Blade SSDs or soldered chips).
Because the power requirements between both differ.
It only supports on-board Flash Storage i.e flash memory directly attached to the logic board (Blade SSDs or soldered chips).
Because the power requirements between both differ.
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I want power nap!
i get the fact that apple wont allow the function for non-built in ssd's, but would it be possible to create a workaround using terminal or a third party application with the same results?
i get the fact that apple wont allow the function for non-built in ssd's, but would it be possible to create a workaround using terminal or a third party application with the same results?
Not sure will there be ever any third party workaround that "tricks" ML into enabling aftermarket SSDs
What exactly are you expecting to get? You bought a machine that is clearly not listed as a supported model for PowerNap. Are you expecting some form of compensation for this or that Apple is just holding out PowerNap for users who call Apple Support and request it?
While it isn't that big a deal, I think Apple is going the way of the iPhone/iPad in that it won't offer ALL the new features for older devices (like Siri and iPhone4). I suppose if you tried hard enough, you could make sense of the fact that the iPhone4 might not have the dual-core power or whatever you want to believe, but on computers it's a bit different. I think it would be nice to have Power Nap on older devices, even if it's with aftermarket SSDs. Then again, I don't know much about the "built-in by Apple" limitation, but seeing as it IS still flash memory, aftermarkets shouldn't have a problem.
What I understand in the power management review by ARS, it suggests the level of hardware integration is "not enough" for ML to take advantage of this PN feature, even with aftermarket/Apple CTO SSDs. The requirement is that only the critical components wake up long enough to download updates/email without adversely sapping away battery power.
Based on the typical power consumption of SSDs, it may not satisfy Apple's requirements of a ultra-low power consumption as seen in some benchmarks.
So the issue isn't that they're not supported, but that they use more power than Apple's requirements? I see how that could be an issue, as they want to keep their high standards and such, but wouldn't it be nice if they offered the option to enable it regardless of power consumption? As in, show a disclaimer stating that non built-ins will sap more juice, etc.
They will likely never enable it because people would complain due to the power draw on the non-integrated flash media. No third party application can do this.
But wouldn't it be nice if they offered the option to enable background processes on iOS regardless of power consumption? As in, show a disclaimer stating that running apps in the background will sap more juice, etc.
Soooo, we either accept that we're not getting some updates because our devices are one year old or go buy new ones?
Next best thing
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/caffeine/id411246225?mt=12
Install that, leave your lid open, turn your screen brightness all the way down. There, updates.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/caffeine/id411246225?mt=12
Install that, leave your lid open, turn your screen brightness all the way down. There, updates.
I really don't see Power Nap being released for any Apple portable that does not have built-in flash storage.
The reason is because of how Power Nap works. It wakes your computer from sleep, but only powers on the most essential and low level processes such as the built-in flash storage board, WiFi antenna and the logic board to some degree. It does not run the fans or anything else.
The power and heat restrictions for running the system without the fan being on would prevent it working for MacBooks with SATA attached SSD drives. As others have said, the power requirements are too great, and would ultimately cause the machine heat problems from the power requirements combined with fans not running.
As someone else said, download Caffeine, turn down your brightness and close your lid. Same concept, just not as integrated as seamless as Power Nap.
The reason is because of how Power Nap works. It wakes your computer from sleep, but only powers on the most essential and low level processes such as the built-in flash storage board, WiFi antenna and the logic board to some degree. It does not run the fans or anything else.
The power and heat restrictions for running the system without the fan being on would prevent it working for MacBooks with SATA attached SSD drives. As others have said, the power requirements are too great, and would ultimately cause the machine heat problems from the power requirements combined with fans not running.
As someone else said, download Caffeine, turn down your brightness and close your lid. Same concept, just not as integrated as seamless as Power Nap.
PowerNap is more than likely leveraging Intel Smart Connect technology.
The unfounded justifications about PowerNap not working on 2011/2012 Macbook Pro SATA-attached SSDs not being able to handle the heat problem is ********s. If you know anything about physics or engineering, you'll know a running idle SSD draws less than 0.1W and even when fully loaded draws 2-3W, an amount any laptop-sized enclosure can easily dissipate with no fans running.
As you can see on the link I have posted, the technology is not limited to Apple and can be enabled on Ultrabooks, all of which run SATA-SSD.
The requirements state that it requires support from the BIOS, so Apple could indeed release this for the regular Macbook Pros. Although as stated earlier, the probable justification is that Apple can't detect whether Macbook Pro 2011/2012 has a hard drive or SSD so it would be dangerous to turn the spinning rust on while it is jostled around like being in a bag.
Interestingly enough, there is an Intel utility in Windows for Power Nap. I'm going to go install it and will check back in.
Edit: The utility won't install in Windows giving a message of "No supported hardware".
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