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

[AsianCracker]

Tape is not required.

I'm planning to buy the adapter and the Samsung 970 Evo 500 in the next 5 days to upgrade this machine.

Thank you!!![/QUOTE]

thanks for the quick help, I just finished installing the SSD on my MacBook and did a speed test using BlackMagic and amorphousDiskMask getting the speed of 1.3gb to write and 1.4gb read and with DiskMask getting 1.6/1.4 r/w speed is that suppose to be the speed I'm getting or I did something wrong?
Any help and suggestions would be helpful

hardware Overview:



Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro12,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 3 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: 182.0.0.0.0

SMC Version (system): 2.28f7

 

[09872738]

This are the exact same speeds I got on my friends' daughters 2015 13" 500 GB Samsung EVO 970.
Looks like exact same specs with exact same values. I'm assuming you're good

 

[jackqueenking]

I'm planning to buy the adapter and the Samsung 970 Evo 500 in the next 5 days to upgrade this machine.

thanks for the quick help, I just finished installing the SSD on my MacBook and did a speed test using BlackMagic and amorphousDiskMask getting the speed of 1.3gb to write and 1.4gb read and with DiskMask getting 1.6/1.4 r/w speed is that suppose to be the speed I'm getting or I did something wrong?
Any help and suggestions would be helpful

hardware Overview:



Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro12,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 3 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: 182.0.0.0.0

SMC Version (system): 2.28f7

This is fine, if you have the 13 inch model from 2015 you're running PCIe 2.0 x4 interface on your logic board and these are the expected speeds.

 

[macgeek01]

I'm planning to buy the adapter and the Samsung 970 Evo 500 in the next 5 days to upgrade this machine.

Thank you!!!

thanks for the quick help, I just finished installing the SSD on my MacBook and did a speed test using BlackMagic and amorphousDiskMask getting the speed of 1.3gb to write and 1.4gb read and with DiskMask getting 1.6/1.4 r/w speed is that suppose to be the speed I'm getting or I did something wrong?
Any help and suggestions would be helpful

hardware Overview:



Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro12,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 3 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: 182.0.0.0.0

SMC Version (system): 2.28f7[/QUOTE]

This is fine, if you have the 13 inch model from 2015 you're running PCIe 2.0 x4 interface on your logic board and these are the expected speeds.

13” 2015 MacBook Pros are PCIe 3.0 x4 and I believe that SSD model is too but it’s showing PCIe 2.0 x4 so maybe it’s not really MacBook Pro model 12,1

 

[jake871]

13” 2015 MacBook Pros are PCIe 3.0 x4 and I believe that SSD model is too but it’s showing PCIe 2.0 x4 so maybe it’s not really MacBook Pro model 12,1

I have a 12,1 (early 2015 13" MBP). It's PCIe 2.0 x4 and has a theoretical max bandwidth of 2 GB/s.

 

[liberace]

guys there is a way to modify efi rom without j6100 adapter or no?

 

[jackqueenking]

thanks for the quick help, I just finished installing the SSD on my MacBook and did a speed test using BlackMagic and amorphousDiskMask getting the speed of 1.3gb to write and 1.4gb read and with DiskMask getting 1.6/1.4 r/w speed is that suppose to be the speed I'm getting or I did something wrong?
Any help and suggestions would be helpful

hardware Overview:



Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro12,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 3 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: 182.0.0.0.0

SMC Version (system): 2.28f7

13” 2015 MacBook Pros are PCIe 3.0 x4 and I believe that SSD model is too but it’s showing PCIe 2.0 x4 so maybe it’s not really MacBook Pro model 12,1[/QUOTE]
No no, I posted a link earlier in this thread outlining the apple SSD history. Its confusing really. In 2015 their 13 inch model had PCIe 2.0 x4 interface and their 15 inch model had PCIe 3.0 x4 interfaces. The drives however on both machines were PCIe 3.0 x4 which is why the OEM versions were initially faster. This is why NVMEs are 2x as fast in the 15 inch model as everyone has been reporting in this thread.

 

[macgeek01]

I have a 12,1 (early 2015 13" MBP). It's PCIe 2.0 x4 and has a theoretical max bandwidth of 2 GB/s.

guys there is a way to modify efi rom without j6100 adapter or no?

No, unfortunately.

No no, I posted a link earlier in this thread outlining the apple SSD history. Its confusing really. In 2015 their 13 inch model had PCIe 2.0 x4 interface and their 15 inch model had PCIe 3.0 x4 interfaces. The drives however on both machines were PCIe 3.0 x4 which is why the OEM versions were initially faster. This is why NVMEs are 2x as fast in the 15 inch model as everyone has been reporting in this thread.

My bad, Mac Tracker has the wrong specs. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[AsianCracker]

No, unfortunately.


No no, I posted a link earlier in this thread outlining the apple SSD history. Its confusing really. In 2015 their 13 inch model had PCIe 2.0 x4 interface and their 15 inch model had PCIe 3.0 x4 interfaces. The drives however on both machines were PCIe 3.0 x4 which is why the OEM versions were initially faster. This is why NVMEs are 2x as fast in the 15 inch model as everyone has been reporting in this thread.

My bad, Mac Tracker has the wrong specs. Thanks for letting me know.[/QUOTE]
ohh no wonder, i have the 13" not the 15" model a1502. though it will have the 3.0x4
thanks fo the clarification

 

[Earl Urley]

The only rMBP that has PCIe 3.0 x 4 for an accessible SSD is the 15-inch mid-2015 Retina MacBook Pro, model A1398.

I've already tested an Inland Premium 1 TB SSD with the Sintech B revision adapter on this exact model, and gotten the following throughput:

Can't get higher than 2 GB/sec on a PCIe 2.0 x4..

 

[09872738]

Wow... pretty nice values

 

[Earl Urley]

Yeah, and the 1 TB Inland Premium is only $135 from Micro Center, it's a good SSD, seems to be eminently rMBP compatible with the Sintech adapter.

Mojave installed on it pretty quick compared to a stock SSUBX SSD.

 

[09872738]

Yeah, and the 1 TB Inland Premium is only $135 from Micro Center, it's a good SSD, seems to be eminently rMBP compatible with the Sintech adapter.

Mojave installed on it pretty quick compared to a stock SSUBX SSD.

And some in this forum believe the $800 for a maybe slightly faster SSD is justified (Quote "That’s the way you cover the salaries of over 130,000 employees, 500+ retail stores and an R&D budget").

 

[jackqueenking]

I recently opened up a bug ticket with Apple, the engineering team requested a system diagnosis for the crash on the 2013 and 2014 models using NVME SSDs. I don't know what will come from this but maybe they will resolve the issue, who knows. I don't know how many people have opened bugs for this and if it has been ignored by them.

I also mentioned that the bootrom does not get updated when using apple certified/non certified NVME drives to expand storage and gave the 149.0 -> 151.0 example that just happened with mojave 10.14.4

 

[Audit13]

I also mentioned that the bootrom does not get updated when using apple certified/non certified NVME drives to expand storage and gave the 149.0 -> 151.0 example that just happened with mojave 10.14.4

Which Apple certified drive would not update the MacBook bootrom?

Thanks.

 

[dobrink]

I recently opened up a bug ticket with Apple, the engineering team requested a system diagnosis for the crash on the 2013 and 2014 models using NVME SSDs. I don't know what will come from this but maybe they will resolve the issue, who knows. I don't know how many people have opened bugs for this and if it has been ignored by them.

Will you please write a step-by-step guide on how to do the bug ticket? It is more likely that something will come out of this if we all do it. If you can ease us and lay out the procedure, so even those of us lazy, afraid or inexperienced can follow your steps and make things count.

 

[jackqueenking]

Will you please write a step-by-step guide on how to do the bug ticket? It is more likely that something will come out of this if we all do it. If you can ease us and lay out the procedure, so even those of us lazy, afraid or inexperienced can follow your steps and make things count.

Go to the link below and sign in with your apple ID, then open a bug report and follow the steps required, enter all the information you can.

http://bugreport.apple.com

I selected macOS + SDK as the topic and categorized it as "Something not in this list"
Then I entered the exact summary of the problem, the steps to reproduce it, expected results, and actual results.

In terms of steps to reproduce you can essentially write something like closing the lid of the MacBook and waiting for it to enter hibernation, then attempting to resume your session. You can also write out the steps that people in this thread have mentioned using the terminal where you set your pmset hibernate mode setting to 25 and then type pmset sleepnow to force the mac to hibernate, then once again attempt to resume your session and observe the results.
[doublepost=1554524886][/doublepost]

Which Apple certified drive would not update the MacBook bootrom?

Thanks.

OWC Aura Pro X I believe is NVME based and has the exact same issues as using a 3rd party drive in this thread when installed in pre-2015 models. The only ones that would get bootrom updates are if you used an OEM SSD from any mac that has a compatible hard drive.

Check what this person wrote: https://talk.tidbits.com/t/2015-retina-mbp-mojave-boot-rom-version/7884

And this is another link to a Macrumors forum, the general trend is that people have been using the OWC Aura Pro X and updating to new version of macOS without noticing that the bootrom doesn't get updated so it is outdated and they can't install newer updates until they reinstall the original SSD.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mojave-install-issue-on-2013-mac-pro.2143738/

 

[davo233]

Hey guys , I just installed XPG SX6000NP Lite SSD. But I noticed the speeds are quite slow (550 / 1200) and in the system detail I dont see the TRIM enabled label (although I enabled it through cmd) . In dik utility it says SMART info is unavailable. Do you know some way to fix it ? MBP 13'' 2015. Thanks

 

[Audit13]

OWC Aura Pro X I believe is NVME based and has the exact same issues as using a 3rd party drive in this thread when installed in pre-2015 models. The only ones that would get bootrom updates are if you used an OEM SSD from any mac that has a compatible hard drive.

Check what this person wrote: https://talk.tidbits.com/t/2015-retina-mbp-mojave-boot-rom-version/7884

And this is another link to a Macrumors forum, the general trend is that people have been using the OWC Aura Pro X and updating to new version of macOS without noticing that the bootrom doesn't get updated so it is outdated and they can't install newer updates until they reinstall the original SSD.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mojave-install-issue-on-2013-mac-pro.2143738/

Thank you for the links. From the first link, the person is looking for a bootrom update with 10.14.3 but it wasn't until 10.14.4 that MacBooks received an update? At least this was the case with my 2015 Air.

I have been using an Intel 600p in my 2015 Air and, fortunately, it received a bootrom update with 10.14.4 rather than 10.14.3.

From the second thread, it looks to be an issue with the particular model of Aura being raid and incompatible with Mojave?

I'm not sure what the answers are but it's always good to post information to help other members.
[doublepost=1554557088][/doublepost]

Hey guys , I just installed XPG SX6000NP Lite SSD. But I noticed the speeds are quite slow (550 / 1200) and in the system detail I dont see the TRIM enabled label (although I enabled it through cmd) . In dik utility it says SMART info is unavailable. Do you know some way to fix it ? MBP 13'' 2015. Thanks

Smart in macOS does not work for nvme drives.

 

[tshelby73]

Since the apple oem ssubx drives are nvme will this cause hibernation issues if used in older 2013-2014 macs with unmodified firmware.

 

[dobrink]

Smart in macOS does not work for nvme drives.

Yes, thus only custom software can read the SMART of 3rd party drives. One such program is DriveDx.

 

[guho]

Since the apple oem ssubx drives are nvme will this cause hibernation issues if used in older 2013-2014 macs with unmodified firmware.

Ssubx SSDs are pci-express&AHCI, not NVME!!! I know because I just upgraded my Macbook pro 2015 from this to a Samsung pm961 1TB nvme SSD.

 

[jackqueenking]

Since the apple oem ssubx drives are nvme will this cause hibernation issues if used in older 2013-2014 macs with unmodified firmware.

SSUBX drives do not necessarily use the NVME protocol. The 2015 models have SSUBX drives with an AHCI protocol which you can use in 2013 and 2014 models that don't cause hibernate issues. The 2016 drives use the NVME protocol.
[doublepost=1554560842][/doublepost]

Thank you for the links. From the first link, the person is looking for a bootrom update with 10.14.3 but it wasn't until 10.14.4 that MacBooks received an update? At least this was the case with my 2015 Air.

I have been using an Intel 600p in my 2015 Air and, fortunately, it received a bootrom update with 10.14.4 rather than 10.14.3.

From the second thread, it looks to be an issue with the particular model of Aura being raid and incompatible with Mojave?

I'm not sure what the answers are but it's always good to post information to help other members.
[doublepost=1554557088][/doublepost]
Smart in macOS does not work for nvme drives.

Good catch, although there still seems to be some incompatibility causing bootroms to not be updated and as a result the system denies you form installing further macOS updates since the bootrom is not supported.

Also do you have any experience with the intel 660p QLC drive? Not the 600p. According to gilles_polysoft's charts it might actually be the best for my 2014 power wise but if its really true that you get 100 MB/s write I will pass. There are some major sales for this drive on Newegg, 140 CAD for a 1TB and 270 CAD for 2TB.

 

[Audit13]

SSUBX drives do not necessarily use the NVME protocol. The 2015 models have SSUBX drives with an AHCI protocol which you can use in 2013 and 2014 models that don't cause hibernate issues. The 2016 drives use the NVME protocol.
[doublepost=1554560842][/doublepost]
Good catch, although there still seems to be some incompatibility causing bootroms to not be updated and as a result the system denies you form installing further macOS updates since the bootrom is not supported.

Also do you have any experience with the intel 660p QLC drive? Not the 600p. According to gilles_polysoft's charts it might actually be the best for my 2014 power wise but if its really true that you get 100 MB/s write I will pass. There are some major sales for this drive on Newegg, 140 CAD for a 1TB and 270 CAD for 2TB.

I have no experience with the 660p but I'm not a person that puts much stock in benchmarks. I had a slow 128 GB apple drive so almost anything I install is way better.

 

[reezekeys]

Please forgive me if this question has been answered, I've tried searching w/o success. I just took the plunge and tried to upgrade my daughter's Early 2015 13" MacBook Air's stock 128GB drive with a cheap 256GB drive I found, the brand being Inland Professional. It was $40. I used the Sintech sled adapter.

I'm pretty sure I did everything right (don't want to detail it all now, makes this post too long!). Upshot is that the drive is seen by the Mojave installer USB stick I prepared. I used Disk Utility to format it APSF, all went well, but the OSX install fails after a few minutes with "macOS could not be installed on your computer. An error occured while loading the installer resources. Quit the installer to restart your computer and try again."

Could this be drive firmware or controller? It's a Phison E8 controller with DRAM cache, Toshiba 64L 3D TLD NAND, x2 PCIe 3.0 interface. Yes I know the MBA can do x4 but that's OK, I'm fine with x2. Something else a little weird is that this drive uses a B+M key more common to SATA drives, though it's definitely NVMe. It fit into the Sintech sled fine.

Any tips for trying to get a successful OSX install are very much appreciated. Thanks!

This is the drive: https://www.amazon.com/Inland-Professional-256GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B07D4QJH6D