Upgrading 2013-2015 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe

[ilovejamon]

Which exact hardware combination did you use for flashing? Was it the Clip?

No clip: I followed the guide to the letter.

 

[cielak221]

I’m planning to upgrade my rMBP 13” Mid 2014 with intel 760 512gb. I will be using virtualization quite a lot for my certs- like 3 windows servers. Have any of you had any issues with virtual box on upgraded MacBook?

 

[Tony N.]

I’m planning to upgrade my rMBP 13” Mid 2014 with intel 760 512gb. I will be using virtualization quite a lot for my certs- like 3 windows servers. Have any of you had any issues with virtual box on upgraded MacBook?

Not sure about VB but I'm running Parallel and also tried VMware fusion without issues running an aftermarket Adata SSD

You shouldn't have any issues.

 

[taimor]

Hey,

I have MacBook Pro 15 late 2013, I already upgraded it with Intel 660p 1tb(nvme) and installed Mojave.
I got the kernel panic error on deep sleep, so I got the CH341a and the SPI to J6100 adapter before I start the
EFI firmware patch, I would like to know do I need to reinstall Mojave after the patch ? or after the patch the problem will be solved without reinstalling Mojave ?

Thanks and Thanks for all the information on this thread.

 

[avdo]

I’m planning to upgrade my rMBP 13” Mid 2014 with intel 760 512gb. I will be using virtualization quite a lot for my certs- like 3 windows servers. Have any of you had any issues with virtual box on upgraded MacBook?

No issues with Parallels as I use it daily for Engineering software.

 

[M1diman]

I have purchased an Adata SX8200 48gb ssd and a JSER adaptor but have run into problems trying to remove the stock SSD. I can't seem to identify what head I need to undo the screw. I initially used the same head I used to undo the case but think I ha blurred the edges of the screw and now can't remove it. Any suggestions?

 

[tkermit]

Should be a T5 Torx screw ... (might depend on your exact model)

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Mid+2015+SSD+Replacement/48251#s101833

 

[Audit13]

I have purchased an Adata SX8200 48gb ssd and a JSER adaptor but have run into problems trying to remove the stock SSD. I can't seem to identify what head I need to undo the screw. I initially used the same head I used to undo the case but think I ha blurred the edges of the screw and now can't remove it. Any suggestions?

You need a t5 screwdriver.

 

[adalbertoma]

I've been following this thread for a while now. I have a Mid-2014 MBP 15" and was afraid to jump into the SSD upgrade, because of the problems with hibernation reported here. Anyway, due to the low price on 1tb drives I will paste below and also because I saw someone report success with the Intel 660p and the small sintech adapter on pages 73-75 of this thread, I decided to buy it and see what happens. Hopefully I won't regret.

Newegg has a nice sale on the 1TB Intel 660p now for $169.99:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167462

And also the 1TB HP EX920 for $189.99:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820326778

Pretty good prices for 1tb drives.

I went with the Intel, because I am kinda resistant with HP brand for everything other than printers and also because of the feedback I read on the pages I mentioned.

The adapter I purchased was the small sintech, as suggested by the other user:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FYY3H5F

I'll let you all know how it goes and the speedtest when I receive/install them.

I don't recall seeing speed test results with the Intel 660p. Could anyone please post?

Updating with the Intel 660p speed tests on my Mid-2014 MBP 15:

One important finding: I could only get consistent speeds with this drive after a day of the system being restored.

In the first few hours, it would test to something close to the speed shown above, however after a few cycles in Black Magic, the speed would drop on both reading and writing. After a day of the system running (I believe every indexing task was complete by then), all test cycles would get consistent to those (or very close to those) speeds.

Also, installation was a breeze with the Network Recovery. Downloaded newest MacOS version and recovered my TimeMachine backup.

I usually get 3 - 5% battery drain during the night, which is pretty good IMO. Haven't tested full battery life as I use my MBP plugged in most of the times, but considering the low consumption on this drive, I believe it shouldn't have degraded by much.

Overall I am pretty happy with my purchase, even though Newegg now has the drive for $15 less. $154.99 is the current price, which I must say is a bargain for a 1TB SSD.

 

[M1diman]

You need a t5 screwdriver.

Thanks for the feedback. I did manage to work it out and have successfully installed the new SSD. Did a restore from time machine but got a few errors. All the data seems to be restored but none of my apps seemed to be restored. Bit odd that. Never done a time machine restore before so maybe that's normal

 

[mbosse]

Thanks for the feedback. I did manage to work it out and have successfully installed the new SSD. Did a restore from time machine but got a few errors. All the data seems to be restored but none of my apps seemed to be restored. Bit odd that. Never done a time machine restore before so maybe that's normal

That's not normal. Did you unselect the apps?

 

[M1diman]

That's not normal. Did you unselect the apps?

No I didn't unselect anything but thinking about it I probably didn't give time time machine long enough to set it self up. It looked like it was doing something in the background and I selected next (or continue). Think I will erase the drive and start again. Be a bit more patient this time.

 

[mbosse]

No I didn't unselect anything but thinking about it I probably didn't give time time machine long enough to set it self up. It looked like it was doing something in the background and I selected next (or continue). Think I will erase the drive and start again. Be a bit more patient this time.

Yep. I know this step and in my experience this take 30 min or so. Just start again and let it do its thing until no wheel rotates anymore.

 

[gaijin141]

No clip: I followed the guide to the letter.

Hi folks!

Small update here: I upgraded to 10.14.1 using my ADATA SX8200. Bootrom was not upgraded no matter how hard I tried (including manually forcing the upgrade). Installed the stock Apple SSD and boom: upgraded to 149.0.0.0.0 (I have a 2014 MBP 15").

Since I was experiencing wake up from sleep problems from time to time (just a couple of times since installing the new SSD), I decided to patch the bootrom (following this guide).

The only mildly non trivial things were

• Soldering the pins on the adapter board (the red thingy you plug into the programmer)
• Finding the diagnostic port on my motherboard
• Choosing which SPI chip name to use with flashrom. In the end I chose the same combination of the guide

It all went smoothly in the end (yes: I was ******** myself while the programmer was writing the modified rom).

Benefits as far as I can tell

• No delay in cold boot
• No delay in waking from sleep

Time will tell if the wake from sleep problems are gone as well.

Did you manage to find a cheap J6100 adaptor? The only one I really see is $55 on eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-EFI-RO...h=item4b4e6bbfae:g:gXIAAOSwUO9bldC3:rk:1:pf:0

Was the soldering because it looks like the J6100 adaptor comes unassembled?

Thanks!

 

[paxx]

Hey all.........I really appreciate this thread as well as other threads have have been linked here. I made the jump and updated my Early 2015 MacBook Air 2.2 I7 to a 480GB Adata SX8200.
I updated my MBA to the latest Mojave, made a USB Mojave boot drive, and backed up all data on my 256GB samsung before I pulled the back off.
Total time to exchange drive was 5 minutes. Screws out of back, battery connector unplugged, 1 screw on the original drive. I put the SX8200 into the short "B" Sintech adapter and put it back into place along with the screw.
*Note* I didn't over tighten it as I noticed the SX8200 would start to bow just a bit. So just nice and snug. Put the bottom cover back on.
Put the bottom on and placed the Mojave USB boot drive and powered it on.
No issues on finding the boot disk. Formatted the SX8200 with disk utility and installed Mojave.

No issues at all. Sleep is stable. Overnight or 3 minutes or anywhere in between. No battery drainage at all. 3 Days after install I noted the battery percentage at 40% as I was heading for sleep and closed the lid. I checked in the morning and was surprised to see 40% still reading.
Here are some before and after Black Magic disk speed tests.

Very happy with overall feel as well. Big apps, such as Excel/Word/Fusion 360 etc, load instantly with no hesitation. Am a happy camper!!

 

[M1diman]

Yep. I know this step and in my experience this take 30 min or so. Just start again and let it do its thing until no wheel rotates anymore.

This time I didn't install OS and just selected restore from Time Machine. Took about 2 hours but am back exactly where I was prior to swapping out out the Set's. Only difference being the capacity and read write speeds (uploaded before and after). Vastly improved. Next thing to test is battery life.

Apart from my ignorance this has been a relatively painless and easy upgrade

 

[Audit13]

Hey all.........I really appreciate this thread as well as other threads have have been linked here. I made the jump and updated my Early 2015 MacBook Air 2.2 I7 to a 480GB Adata SX8200!

The 2015 MacBooks don't have the sleep problem.

Glad it's working well for you.

 

[mbosse]

This time I didn't install OS and just selected restore from Time Machine. Took about 2 hours but am back exactly where I was prior to swapping out out the Set's. Only difference being the capacity and read write speeds (uploaded before and after). Vastly improved. Next thing to test is battery life.

Apart from my ignorance this has been a relatively painless and easy upgrade

Wonderful to learn you succeeded!

 

[ilpIV]

NEW BOOTROM with latest security update
old: MBA61.0107.B00
new: "110.0.0.0.0"

anybody installed the security update on Mojave and tested the new bootrom "110.0.0.0.0" ?
Is NVMe still supported or did Apple change something?

Does anyone know whether 110 has changed something about the hibernation problem?

 

[xadox]

Does anyone know what dimensions the SPI Hirose 30 connector has on a MacBook Air Mid 2013? I'm trying to find this one on Digikey or Mouser. Since the finished solution on Ebay is far too expensive for me, I will solder the adapter myself. A pinout of the connector would also be great.

 

[Tony N.]

Updating with the Intel 660p speed tests on my Mid-2014 MBP 15:

View attachment 808153 View attachment 808154

One important finding: I could only get consistent speeds with this drive after a day of the system being restored.

In the first few hours, it would test to something close to the speed shown above, however after a few cycles in Black Magic, the speed would drop on both reading and writing. After a day of the system running (I believe every indexing task was complete by then), all test cycles would get consistent to those (or very close to those) speeds.

Also, installation was a breeze with the Network Recovery. Downloaded newest MacOS version and recovered my TimeMachine backup.

I usually get 3 - 5% battery drain during the night, which is pretty good IMO. Haven't tested full battery life as I use my MBP plugged in most of the times, but considering the low consumption on this drive, I believe it shouldn't have degraded by much.

Overall I am pretty happy with my purchase, even though Newegg now has the drive for $15 less. $154.99 is the current price, which I must say is a bargain for a 1TB SSD.

The 660p ran out of SLC cache which is why the speed dropped to spinner HDD speed. If you are a heavy user I don't recommend the 660p. Once the drive fills up your cache will run out even quicker. The HP or ADATA SSDmaintain speed while being only $40-50 more.

 

[fullstop102]

I just bought the 1TB version from amazon on their Black Friday page. Today it is £175 instead of the £274. Purchased the adapter but that has to come from China.

This is the link to the 1TB version - https://amzn.to/2ziE1wW
This is the link to the amazon UK converter - https://amzn.to/2QSqEdf

Looking forward to having loads of space in my computer again.

So further to this configuration I purchased, it all came and I installed it 2 days ago. The new sled had some tape over the contacts already and when I did the install and put on the newest download of Mojave, The mid 2014 15" needed no updates or commands to allow it to work fully as it should. Will wake and sleep and boot quickly without crashing.

Maybe there has been an update since that allows it to now just work, but it all detects and works out of the box.

 

[ilovejamon]

Did you manage to find a cheap J6100 adaptor? The only one I really see is $55 on eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-EFI-RO...h=item4b4e6bbfae:g:gXIAAOSwUO9bldC3:rk:1:pf:0

Was the soldering because it looks like the J6100 adaptor comes unassembled?

Thanks!

Sadly not: that's the one I got. It came disassembled and so I soldered the pins on. The cable came connected.

 

[jackqueenking]

So further to this configuration I purchased, it all came and I installed it 2 days ago. The new sled had some tape over the contacts already and when I did the install and put on the newest download of Mojave, The mid 2014 15" needed no updates or commands to allow it to work fully as it should. Will wake and sleep and boot quickly without crashing.

Maybe there has been an update since that allows it to now just work, but it all detects and works out of the box.

Did you try setting hibernate mode to 25 and then doing a pmset sleepnow in the terminal then press the power button to wake up the pc? If this doesn't work then you have the issue.

 

[notgonna]

Updated two early 2015 MacBook Pro 13" ST-NG2013-B, one with 970 Evo and one with the Intel. Both work fast. The Evo may have slightly higher temperature. The Evo deeps sleeps lid-closed enough that I'm at 99% or 100% overnight.
[doublepost=1544041021][/doublepost]Are the 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro 15" upgradeable. Which adapter did you use? Thanks.