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

[cheeselump]

Hello. After much deliberation, i have decided to register an account and contribute back to the people who helped me save my mid 2014 MBP EMC 2881. My A1398 had a dead ssd represented by a folder with flashing question mark.

I read this forum and went ahead with a Toshiba XG3 256GB + Aliexpress m2 AHCI adapter. It didn't work because my macbook never updated from Yosemite (i ran Windows all the time).

I installed Yosemite back onto a thumbdrive using apple recovery, then downloaded the high sierra update from the app store. They did not let me install high sierra into an external drive citing that I was missing a firmware partition. What i had to do was to get an original apple SSD (I borrowed my sister's 2015 MBP 13" SSD) and inserted it into my macbook, so that i could install high sierra into my thumbdrive. It worked only with an original mac ssd in there.

With high sierra in, my bootrom updated from MBP112.0138.B11 to MBP112.0146.B00 on high sierra, then through the 2019-007 update to 156.0.0.0. Best of all, i didn't alter any data on my sister's apple ssd.

Afterwhich i swapped into my aliexpress adapter + XG3, and booted into my thumbdrive's high sierra instance, then noticed an invalid drive detected. I formatted it to APFS using Disk Utility and then I installed the app store Catalina update into my XG3 nvme SSD. Voila, it works!

It was tedious slowly updating my way from yosemite to catalina, but i had to do so because I understand that the critical boot rom update happens at High Sierra.

I was quite happy to get it working, given that I never used my macbook partition in my entire life and had no idea how mac works.

Anyway this test case has proven successful, so *NEXT STEP:* is to purchase a Trenscend 110s 1TB nvme and see if it works. I don't use my mac partition so I don't know what the apple side consumption is like. I like the numbers I saw on the first page power consumption table showing that the 110s has better power efficiency and comparable (if not slightly better) read/write overall speeds as compared to the 2015 MBP ssd.

I was considering the 220s but it seems to fare worse, even though it was supposed to be a newer drive.

I'll keep you guys posted on my bootcamp experience after I get the 110S SSD.

In the meantime, for bootcamp do you guys recommend APFS or HFS on my mac partition? How should i partition my ssd for optimal performance on this third party setup?

Update: I reinstalled catalina on the new 1tb ssd by Trenscend. Works better for sure than the XG3.
I've uploaded my speed benchmark based on bootrom 157.0.0.0

I had issue doing the Win10 bootcamp installation. I did the 2020-001 Update, but due to the lack of an AHCI ssd i could not update my bootrom. After which I got Windows 10 1709 loaded into a 16gb thumbdrive successfully. (Initially it said I had insufficient space on my disk due to FAT32 limitations that did not allow a >4GB file to be written into the disk). Windows installed very smoothly. I got it updated to the latest win 10 edition through a manual update from Microsoft's website afterwards.

Next step is to try a linux installation on this mbp. I left bootcamp to do the partitioning work for me, in which i gave 300GB to Catalina,700GB to Windows, so that I can further split the 700GB windows partition to run linux.

Thus far i'm experiencing no issues when my mac falls asleep.. I'm using a china long adapter that I got on aliexpress. I didn't do any taping whatsoever. Seems to work fine.

There is definitely a battery trade off from what I see... I'll update if I find anything.


Side note: I chose the 110s instead of the 220s because the 110s seemed to promise better power optimization.

 

[mtlsix]

Hello all.

This thread as been immensely helpful and so I want to give back a little.

Next week I will upgrade a early 2015 13 inch macbook pro with a Silicon Power A80 1tb.

What would everyone like to see recorded?

Temp, speed, kernel panicks, bootrom, etc.. before and after?

 

[cmwebdev]

My system:
Mid 2015 MBP 15" with 512gb stock SSD

I just got the Sabrent Rocket 1TB from Amazon and it has 512 byte sector size. I plan on doing a clean install of Mojave to the drive and then migrating the user account to the new drive. I'm choosing not to clone it because when I switched from HFS to APFS my boot time was noticeably slower, and from what I read one of the only ways to fix it would be to do a clean install so I'm using this upgrade as my opportunity for this.

So my question is, since I'm doing a clean install and not cloning, is there any reason or advantages for me to convert the drive sector size from 512b to 4kb prior to the install?

Following up on this, I just left it at the stock 512 bytes, did the clean install, migrated my user accounts, and everything appears to be working fine. I used the Sintech long adapter, wrapped the end in kapton tape to be safe, and didn't change anything concerning hibernation.

Below are my speed tests. The read is a little slower for some reason, but the results are consistent and the read is still pretty fast so I'm not real concerned about it.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

Hello,

I tested a new drive :

• Western Digital Blue SN550

They are cheap, but not in the top of the charts : average power consumption not the best, and also write performance not so good.

I still prefer the SSD based on Phison E12..



I've updated the charts in post 1 with the Kingston A2000 and this WD SN550.
I will add later the following tests :

• Samsung 970 Evo plus with the latest firmware
• Patriot P300 (with Phison E13 controller !)
• Aura Pro x2

Also it's been 2 weeks I'm using every day a Sabrent 4TB and I am so far very satisfied : low power consumption, stable, fast !


gilles

 

[a182820998]

Everything worked fine before I updated to macOS 10.15.3, and a system error occurred in the morning after the update yesterday.

Related error information:
panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff7f9041d4a7): nvme: "Fatal error occurred. CSTS=0x1 US[1]=0x0 US[0]=0x18 VID=0x1987 DID=0x5012 . FW Revision=ECFM22.5\n"@/BuildRoot/Library/Caches/com.apple.xbs/Sources/IONVMeFamily/IONVMeFamily-470.80.1/

Not sure if it is related to the new macOS version.

My macbook model:
Macbook pro 2014 mid 15"
SSD Model:
MP510 960GB. with sintech adapter

 

[mtlsix]

FW Revision=ECFM22.5

This stuck out at me. Could this be related? https://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=190379

 

[Earl Urley]

ECFM 12.3 is latest firmware for the older process Phison E12 SSDs with original controller chips.

ECFM 22.5 is for the newer Phison E12 SSDs with the Phison E12S, a compacted version of the E12. These SSDs come with less DRAM than the older process Phisons, but the NAND is greater capacity.

For example, older Inland Professional 1 TB SSDs had NAND on both sides of the board, resulting in thicker chips that didn't fit in some manufacturer's NVMe slots. If you buy one now, it's single sided NAND (chips only on one side of the board) that will fit in more NVMe slots; and it's still 1 TB.

This shouldn't affect anything in macOS, as the older process SSDs were quite comfortable with macOS in my experience.

 

[nn88]

I just upgraded my SSD. Whats the real benefit of using Hibernation? Isn't that the same as Sleep?
[automerge]1581032334[/automerge]
how do you get the current/new boot ram?

I'm on 157.0.0.0.0 but on Mac OS 10.15.3 on the OWC AURA Pro 2 SSD...

 

[profcutter]

Hibernation is a deeper sleep state, it uses less battery power. You’ll probably need to reinstall your original Apple ssd to get the bootrom update.

 

[pappapeep]

Updating to Catalina w/MacBook Pro Early 2015 has caused me some issues with bootrom 182. I had no previous with any previous OS's, but the thing is with this Catalina release, I have had HORRIBLE BATTERY DRAIN! This pretty much breaks the computer.

"sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 25"

This terminal command is what helped my Mojave builds, but seems to do nothing with the Catalina release.

When I enter this command into terminal, it shows as follows:

sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 25


Warning: Idle sleep timings for "AC Power" may not behave as expected.


- Disk sleep should be non-zero whenever system sleep is non-zero.

Any help is much appreciated.

TLDR: Catalina has destroyed my computer running intel's 2tb 660p. Old terminal commands don't help. Please chime in.

 

[Charlie Bun]

So here’s the thing, I got a Macbook Pro 2014 which came without SSD and the recovery only installs Mavericks, I was able to install Mavericks in a USB but I ean,t to get Catalina. Question is, if I install High Sierra to a USB Drive, will that upgrade my BootROM?

 

[Audit13]

So here’s the thing, I got a Macbook Pro 2014 which came without SSD and the recovery only installs Mavericks, I was able to install Mavericks in a USB but I ean,t to get Catalina. Question is, if I install High Sierra to a USB Drive, will that upgrade my BootROM?

You need to have an original Apple SSD in the MacBook in order to update the bootrom.

 

[mtlsix]

Well.. update. now some of my keys wont work. even though i touched nothing but the ssd. great

ps. silentknight app will update bootrom without original drive

 

[Charlie Bun]

You need to have an original Apple SSD in the MacBook in order to update the bootrom.

Oh no! Is it possible to do it without it?

 

[Audit13]

Oh no! Is it possible to do it without it?

Yes, but you would need to extract the bootrom update from the os update and use an efi programmer.

It may be simpler to have a local Mac repair shop flash it for you.
[automerge]1581231975[/automerge]

Well.. update. now some of my keys wont work. even though i touched nothing but the ssd. great

ps. silentknight app will update bootrom without original drive

Is this the silent knight app: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/eclecti...-for-checking-and-updating-security-data/amp/ ?

 

[joe987]

I hope someone can help.

I have an early 2015 Macbook pro 13 and want to install a 1tb ssd.

It seems lots of people are having issues with sleep/hibernation and I wondered if there is a safe option re SSD choice so that I can avoid these issues.

I would rather spend more and get a problem free SSD.

Can anyone advise what the best option is? OWC has been recommended by a few people but there are cheaper options and I cannot get my head around which one to go for.

Thanks

 

[mtlsix]

Is this the silent knight app: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/eclecti...-for-checking-and-updating-security-data/amp/ ?

yes thats the app!

Also the silicon power a80 p34a80 1tb is working fabulously. sleep, hibernate work. speed is maxed for laptop. energy consumption looks fine, bootup time is the same if not faster.

ill give it some more time and stress tests once i get an external keyboard. typing with virtual is painful.. at least for the none working asdfghjkl keys.

p.s these m2 drives and adapter are freaking tiny!!! had no idea coming from spinner drives lol

Edit; just realized its named silicon power p34a80 1tb. The a80 is an external.

 

[markintosh13]

ps. silentknight app will update bootrom without original drive

silent knight says my firmware needs updating.

Selecting updates initiates something, no update appears to happen.

Missing something?

 

[Audit13]

I hope someone can help.

I have an early 2015 Macbook pro 13 and want to install a 1tb ssd.

It seems lots of people are having issues with sleep/hibernation and I wondered if there is a safe option re SSD choice so that I can avoid these issues.

I would rather spend more and get a problem free SSD.

Can anyone advise what the best option is? OWC has been recommended by a few people but there are cheaper options and I cannot get my head around which one to go for.

Thanks

The 2015 Pro and Air should have no problem with deep sleep/hibernation with an up-to-date bootrom.

The OWC drives are really no different from other nvme drives IMHO and do no provide a good price-to-performance ratio.

silent knight says my firmware needs updating.

Selecting updates initiates something, no update appears to happen.

Missing something?

I looked again and the site speaks to security updates but not bootrom updates?

 

[goodfidelity]

Hello!
Are there any news or updates regarding this issue on the Mid 2014 MacBook Pro Retina 13" macines?

I am like other poster in this thread looking for SSD upgrade option that will not compromise battery, sleep, hibernation or any other feature of the machine.

I found on ebay several SSDs that come under name of HAT and EAGLE SSD:
ebay ssd "hat"

However, when i send them message they reply that they have not had any complaints for problems with hibernation or sleep/battery drainage.

But reading posts from other users i can see there is problems.

I also have Samsung NVME 970 SSD EVO Plus that i want to use, but i am not sure it will work?

What is best option now, is there any option that is "no compromise"?

Thanks!

 

[mtlsix]

Just to be clear. Bootrom would be the EFI version, correct? Mine was outdated when i installed Catalina straight to the m2. I was running High Sierra on the apple drive.

Once complete. Installed the app on the m2 running Catalina and it showed outdated EFI with some odd number and letters, ran update and it now shows 189.0.0.0.0.

Maybe the silicon power p34a80 allowed the update?

 

[Audit13]

Hello!
Are there any news or updates regarding this issue on the Mid 2014 MacBook Pro Retina 13" macines?

I am like other poster in this thread looking for SSD upgrade option that will not compromise battery, sleep, hibernation or any other feature of the machine.

I found on ebay several SSDs that come under name of HAT and EAGLE SSD:
ebay ssd "hat"

However, when i send them message they reply that they have not had any complaints for problems with hibernation or sleep/battery drainage.

But reading posts from other users i can see there is problems.

I also have Samsung NVME 970 SSD EVO Plus that i want to use, but i am not sure it will work?

What is best option now, is there any option that is "no compromise"?

Thanks!

The 2014 MacBook Pro cannot use hibernation mode 25 where the ram contents are written to a hibernation file, the machines power off, and wakes without a kernel panic unless the MacBook has been flashed with a modded bootrom.

As far as I have read and experienced, no nvme drive is going to match an original Apple SSD for battery life.

I have never used Samsung nvme drives in a MacBook but I have read posts from user that the battery life is reduced, sometimes severely.

To use a Evo Plus in a MacBook, the Samsung must be running the latest firmware.

Just to be clear. Bootrom would be the EFI version, correct? Mine was outdated when i installed Catalina straight to the m2. I was running High Sierra on the apple drive.

Once complete. Installed the app on the m2 running Catalina and it showed outdated EFI with some odd number and letters, ran update and it now shows 189.0.0.0.0.

Maybe the silicon power p34a80 allowed the update?

The MacBook needs to be running at least a High Sierra bootrom before it can work with a nvme drive.

The 2015 MacBook Airs and Pros have been reported to accept bootrom updates with a nvme drive inside. All three of the 2015 Aand 2017 Airs accepted bootrom updates with an Intel 600p, HP ex900, and Lexar nm500. This is not the case for 2013 or 2014 models.

 

[goodfidelity]

The 2014 MacBook Pro cannot use hibernation mode 25 where the ram contents are written to a hibernation file, the machines power off, and wakes without a kernel panic unless the MacBook has been flashed with a modded bootrom.

As far as I have read and experienced, no nvme drive is going to match an original Apple SSD for battery life.

I have never used Samsung nvme drives in a MacBook but I have read posts from user that the battery life is reduced, sometimes severely.

To use a Evo Plus in a MacBook, it must be running the latest firmware.

Thanks for fast reply, just to be clear here:
There is no disk as of today that will do proper hibernation?
- I close my lid, and leave the machine with no charger for a day or two, and then i expect it to just go on from where i left it. Will this not be possible with another new ssd?

As of today, when i use this command: "pmset -g | grep hibernatemode" i get thereply "3".
Would my machine be able to sleep longer without loosing its battery by using mode "25"?

How is the bootrom altered (modded?) is this easy to do? Is it described in this thread?

So then, the seller of the SSD on ebay is liar, since he says it will work with no problems?

Thanks

 

[Audit13]

Thanks for fast reply, just to be clear here:
There is no disk as of today that will do proper hibernation?
- I close my lid, and leave the machine with no charger for a day or two, and then i expect it to just go on from where i left it. Will this not be possible with another new ssd?

How is the bootrom altered (modded?) is this easy to do? Is it described in this thread?

So then, the seller of the SSD on ebay is liar, since he says it will work with no problems?

Thanks

The only disc that will do proper hibernation mode 25 is an Apple SSD unless the bootrom as been modded.

People have different definitions of hibernation. Here are three that seem to be the most talked about not connected to the charger:

1. close the lid, the MacBook's ram contents are not written to the SSD, and the MacBook remains powered so the ram contents are lost;
2. close the lid, the MacBook's ram contents are copied to the SSD in case of power loss, and the MacBook remains powered at all times;
3. close the lid, the MacBook's ram contents are written to a hibernation file on the SSD, and powers off completely.

A modded bootrom involves adding drivers from a 2015 OS update to a 2014 bootrom file and then using an EFI program and chip to flash the file to the MacBook. Yes, the method is described in the thread. Look in the first post for a discussion on flashing a modded bootrom.

I believe the seller includes instructions to disable hibernation mode 25 which is item 3 I mentioned. By doing this, you should not have a problem; however, items 1 and 2 will cause battery drain. The amount of drain will depend on the nvme drive.

 

[goodfidelity]

Thanks for fast reply, just to be clear here:
There is no disk as of today that will do proper hibernation?
- I close my lid, and leave the machine with no charger for a day or two, and then i expect it to just go on from where i left it. Will this not be possible with another new ssd?

As of today, when i use this command: "pmset -g | grep hibernatemode" i get thereply "3".
Would my machine be able to sleep longer without loosing its battery by using mode "25"?

How is the bootrom altered (modded?) is this easy to do? Is it described in this thread?

So then, the seller of the SSD on ebay is liar, since he says it will work with no problems?

Thanks

Thanks!

In this article:
article on sleep modes

They describe using the command:
pmset -g | grep hibernatemode

That command will return one of following answers according to article:

• hibernatemode 0: normal sleep; this is the default setting if you're using a desktop computer.
• hibernatemode 1: hibernate mode; this is the default for pre-2005 laptops.
• hibernatemode 3: safe sleep; this is the default for laptops made after 2005.
• hibernatemode 25: hibernate mode; the setting used for post-2005) laptops.

When i run this command i get reply "3".

Does that mean that my machine will work just as it does today if i change the SSD for another NVME SSD?

Its confusing, because some places like this article:
article on sleep

They only mention 3 modes, not the 25 mode.

Will my machine be able to sit with no charger for 1-2 days after i swap to NVME SSD? Since i am already in the hibernation mode 3.

What mode will be entered when putting machine to sleep from menu option "sleep"?

thanks for very good explanations, and fast replies, i really appreciate this!