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

[Audit13]

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.

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

• 0 - Old style sleep mode, with RAM powered on while sleeping, safe sleep disabled, and super-fast wake.
• 1 - Hibernation mode, with RAM contents written to disk, system totally shut down while “sleeping,” and slower wake up, due to reading the contents of RAM off the hard drive.
• 3 - The default mode on machines introduced since about fall 2005. RAM is powered on while sleeping, but RAM contents are also written to disk before sleeping. In the event of total power loss, the system enters hibernation mode automatically.
• 5 - This is the same as mode 1, but it’s for those using secure virtual memory (in System Preferences -> Security).
• 7 - This is the same as mode 3, but it’s for those using secure virtual memory.

You machine may or may not be able to last for 1 to 2 days in hibernate mode 3. It depends on the nvme drive, age of the battery, the battery's level of charge when closing the lid, etc.

I believe that hibernate mode 25 is not mentioned too often because it is not a default setting in macOS and needs to be enabled in terminal.

 

[goodfidelity]

• 0 - Old style sleep mode, with RAM powered on while sleeping, safe sleep disabled, and super-fast wake.
• 1 - Hibernation mode, with RAM contents written to disk, system totally shut down while “sleeping,” and slower wake up, due to reading the contents of RAM off the hard drive.
• 3 - The default mode on machines introduced since about fall 2005. RAM is powered on while sleeping, but RAM contents are also written to disk before sleeping. In the event of total power loss, the system enters hibernation mode automatically.
• 5 - This is the same as mode 1, but it’s for those using secure virtual memory (in System Preferences -> Security).
• 7 - This is the same as mode 3, but it’s for those using secure virtual memory.

You machine may or may not be able to last for 1 to 2 days in hibernate mode 3. It depends on the nvme drive, age of the battery, the battery's level of charge when closing the lid, etc.

I believe that hibernate mode 25 is not mentioned too often because it is not a default setting in macOS and needs to be enabled in terminal.

Thanks again for clearing this issue.

My conclusion is that since mode 25 has to be manually enabled, and i did not do that, and therfor i am running mode 3. And mode 3 will not be affected by the change to NVME drive, so for me going NVME will not be a problem other than the fact that new disc might have higher consumption.

So if i go for another disk that has lowest possible consumption, i will probably not even notice the difference, and i dont have do do anything. And buying that "special disk" from ebay will not be any different then buying the best SSD on the list in this thread from my local PC store.

If this conclusion is correct i am very happy.

Thanks again for you straight answers, it makes things alot more clear to me then the other articles i get from google.

//GF

 

[Audit13]

Thanks again for clearing this issue.

My conclusion is that since mode 25 has to be manually enabled, and i did not do that, and therfor i am running mode 3. And mode 3 will not be affected by the change to NVME drive, so for me going NVME will not be a problem other than the fact that new disc might have higher consumption.

So if i go for another disk that has lowest possible consumption, i will probably not even notice the difference, and i dont have do do anything. And buying that "special disk" from ebay will not be any different then buying the best SSD on the list in this thread from my local PC store.

If this conclusion is correct i am very happy.

Thanks again for you straight answers, it makes things alot more clear to me then the other articles i get from google.

//GF

Yes, I believe hibernate mode 3 will be fine as long as the battery does totally drain while it is sleeping.

All third-party nvme drives, with the exception of a few Kingston and Samsung AHCI SSDs which are difficult to find, they will all work the same way with varying amounts of battery drain.

Before making the swap, I recommend installing the latest Catalina release with the original Apple SSD inside to ensure the MacBook is running the lates bootrom. High Sierra and Mojave can run on a Catalina bootrom.

 

[goodfidelity]

Yes, I believe hibernate mode 3 will be fine as long as the battery does totally drain while it is sleeping.

All third-party nvme drives, with the exception of a few Kingston and Samsung AHCI SSDs which are difficult to find, they will all work the same way with varying amounts of battery drain.

Before making the swap, I recommend installing the latest Catalina release with the original Apple SSD inside to ensure the MacBook is running the lates bootrom. High Sierra and Mojave can run on a Catalina bootrom.

Is it possible to just install the Catalina bootrom, without upgrading to catalina? Or do they come in same package. I am not very excited about catalina, and i am also running old version of NUMBERS app that is barly supported in Mojave, i am afraid it will stop in catalina.

Thanks!

 

[Steffinuss]

Hello everyone!

Today I successfully patched the Bootrom of my Mid 2014 MacBook Pro Retina 15" using the guide of CMD-Q. I just have one small hint concerning CMD-Q's fantastic tutorial: The pacifist software can be downloaded from the original website instead of the one in the tutorial, which is full of anoying ads and spam. Thanks to everyone, who contributed to this thread!
I replaced my SSD about a year ago, but I was tired of a system not waking up when running out of battery. I got the CH341A with J6100 adapter for 42 € from AliExpress shipped from within the EU. Might also be possible with the 10€ version and the clip directly on the flash chip, but for sure more risky.

is someone around berlin, germany who could do the bootrom patching for the hibernation bug ? (late 2013 15inch macbook)

If you still need to patch, I live in Berlin, contact me.

I just have one question: I didn't buy the Sintech adapter, I have one from System-S. It works but I am not sure, if I should change it for a Sintech because of problems reported here. I have noticeable battery drain with 1 TB Samsung 970 Evo and don't know if it's because of the adapter or the SSD or even both?

 

[profcutter]

I believe the security updates for the previous 2 OS versions contain the new bootrom.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

Thanks again for clearing this issue.

My conclusion is that since mode 25 has to be manually enabled, and i did not do that, and therfor i am running mode 3. And mode 3 will not be affected by the change to NVME drive, so for me going NVME will not be a problem other than the fact that new disc might have higher consumption.

That's no totally true, let's me explain.

On macs from 2013 and up, there are 3 levels of sleep :

• sleep
• standby
• autopoweroff

Sleep is the first step and occurs after sleep delay, or when you close the lid or clic on "sleep" in the apple menu.
It is true that default sleep mode is 3, and this "mode 3" sleep does not cause problems with NVMe drives onn 2013-2014 macs (which BootRom has not been patched), neither of course on 2015 and later macs.

After a few hours, if nothing is plugged (no power adapter / no USB key / no external dispay), the mac enters standby mode which is hibernation : the mac shuts down RAM and if it's a 2013-2014 with a NVMe drive it won't be able to wake up from that state
This is not clear how much is the default delay to go from sleep to standby, you may correct me but I think it was 10800s under 10.13, 4200s under 10.15
Also, a lot of things can prevent to go from sleep to standby mode : PowerNap, a lot of software can prevent to go to standby mode.

Anyway, by default, any mac laptop goes to sleep for a few hours, then goes to standby mode if nothing is plugged and no event has occur to wake it up.

To resume, 2013-2014 macs started from a NVMe drive and whose BootRom hasn't been patched can wake up from sleep "mode 0 or 3" but can't wake up from standby or autopoweroff
You need to disable standby, and you also will want to set sleep to mode 0 because mode 3 is totally useless as hibernation won't work, so you won't loose time and disk space writing to the hibernatefile

And 2015 macs and "BootRom patched" 2013-2014 mac are totally able to go and wake from sleep mode 0, 3 or 25, from standby (=hibernate) and also autopoweroff.

I've been using NVMe drives from ~2 years on my 2015 mac and since they are fast, I have set hibernatemode to 25 and standbydelaylow to 60, so that my mac always go to full hibernation and I never loose any battery during sleep.

 

[cheeselump]

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

Best bet is just buy an SSUAX or SSUBX apple ssd from ebay. Honestly you'd pay about $100 more for a 512gb one, but you'd get less trouble that we go through.

We're doing this to push for:
1. better speeds
2. larger storage
3. lower cost

If your criteria is an out of the box experience, i think the apple ssd has the best battery + stability optimization, just that speeds are lower, and price per GB is much higher.

OWC is just like any nvme on an adapter, but at a premium price, in my opinion.

 

[joe987]

Best bet is just buy an SSUAX or SSUBX apple ssd from ebay. Honestly you'd pay about $100 more for a 512gb one, but you'd get less trouble that we go through.

We're doing this to push for:
1. better speeds
2. larger storage
3. lower cost

If your criteria is an out of the box experience, i think the apple ssd has the best battery + stability optimization, just that speeds are lower, and price per GB is much higher.

OWC is just like any nvme on an adapter, but at a premium price, in my opinion.

Thanks for the advice. I need 1tb so will have to get something other than apple. I may try and transcend one as they are cheap and see how I get on.

 

[profcutter]

Aside from hibernation issues, I had no problems with my Sabrent in my 2013 mbp. You could check one of those out. My problems have only been once I moved it to a 2015.

 

[Ste Mac]

Hi guys I just bought the programmer + adapter to flash the bootroom
I have 2 questions
1)I'll have to reflash at every bootrom update?
2) It is possible to repack the pkg file with the modified file in order to install it during the update process?
P.S. Many thanks to CMD+Q and every contributors to this writeup

 

[MagicNinjaPotato]

Could anyone answer this question, please? I can't figure this out.

There's one thing that isn't clear for me...
I have a 15" 2014 Macbook Pro only iGPU A1398.
If I have the right hardware (sintech adapter and compatible SSD like Sabrent) with bootrom and all the firware up to date, will all the system features work or will there still be problems?

I'm asking because I've heard that the 2014 MacBook isn't compatible in any way and it will always have sleep problems, is it true?

Thanks in advance

 

[Ste Mac]

Could anyone answer this question, please? I can't figure this out.

There's one thing that isn't clear for me...
I have a 15" 2014 Macbook Pro only iGPU A1398.
If I have the right hardware (sintech adapter and compatible SSD like Sabrent) with bootrom and all the firware up to date, will all the system features work or will there still be problems?

I'm asking because I've heard that the 2014 MacBook isn't compatible in any way and it will always have sleep problems, is it true?

Thanks in advance

with the programmer the problem is solved, but i don't know if you have to reflash it at every update because is rewrited by the update itself.

 

[vince22]

Thanks for the advice. I need 1tb so will have to get something other than apple. I may try and transcend one as they are cheap and see how I get on.

i have an early 2015 MBP 13" with sabrent 1TB/short sintech adapter, no hibernation issues here, no battery drain during sleep, bootroom ver. 189.0.0.0.

 

[Adiif1]

Hello all i have small question
2015 13" Adata sx8200 pro, sintech long Black adapter
On system information i have speed X5 why not X8? (+-read/speed 1400mb/s ;/)

should I change something in hibernation?

 

[joe987]

i have an early 2015 MBP 13" with sabrent 1TB/short sintech adapter, no hibernation issues here, no battery drain during sleep, bootroom ver. 189.0.0.0.

This is useful thanks. Do you have the regular sabrent in blue or the rocket one which is more copper colour and more expensive?

 

[vince22]

This is useful thanks. Do you have the regular sabrent in blue or the rocket one which is more copper colour and more expensive?

sabrent rocket 1TB blue older version.

 

[vpujols]

i have an early 2015 MBP 13" with sabrent 1TB/short sintech adapter, no hibernation issues here, no battery drain during sleep, bootroom ver. 189.0.0.0.

Good info, I am currently shopping for a NVMe drive for my daughter's MacBook Air (early 2015 model) and Sabrent Rocket 512GB is one of the 2 contenders I have in mind, with the edge on the Sabrent Rocket.

 

[Audit13]

Hello all i have small question
2015 13" Adata sx8200 pro, sintech long Black adapter
On system information i have speed X5 why not X8? (+-read/speed 1400mb/s ;/)

should I change something in hibernation?

Have you tried reinstalling the drive and adapter?

 

[SomeBuckaro]

Hello everyone, first post and first question.

I don't remember where I read this but wasn't the Sabrent Rocket's controller changed recently? IIRC the argument was due to the controller change it's not as good as it once was.

I'm trying to narrow down my choices. So far I'm considering the Adata SX8200 Pro or the Sabrent Rocket but I haven't read all 241 pages yet so I'm open to suggestions.

2015 15" Macbook Pro

 

[vpujols]

Hello everyone, first post and first question.

I don't remember where I read this but wasn't the Sabrent Rocket's controller changed recently? IIRC the argument was due to the controller change it's not as good as it once was.

I'm trying to narrow down my choices. So far I'm considering the Adata SX8200 Pro or the Sabrent Rocket but I haven't read all 241 pages yet so I'm open to suggestions.

2015 15" Macbook Pro

Interested to know, the one I see on Amazon says Sabrent RKT 303 controller.

 

[apfelsaftjoe]

I just have one question: I didn't buy the Sintech adapter, I have one from System-S. It works but I am not sure, if I should change it for a Sintech because of problems reported here. I have noticeable battery drain with 1 TB Samsung 970 Evo and don't know if it's because of the adapter or the SSD or even both?

i just found over google again this reply from 2018. i think he gives some even more detailled tipps to make it as perfect as possible..post-26187909
as good as the same battery drain as from apple original's ssd's.

yes i still need, just ordered this chipmunk cmizapper but i joust found out the hard way, that it is not working with APFS drive's, therefore not useable with catalina....

 

[chipmunk23]

Can anybody provide some details on the Matt card? I see the different cards you can buy that correspond to the model of MacBook Pro you’re using it on - I’m clear on that part.

What I’m not understanding is the nature of the firmware on this Matt card vs what is actually needed to preserve hibernation on my 2014 MacBook Pro. I’ve been reading that you’ll need to have the 2015 version driver inserted into the firmware to be able to use hibernation, but this Matt card already has a firmware installed - supposedly the normal 2014 firmware.

How do I go about inserting the needed driver into the firmware on the Matt card?

If you send us the file with your modified ROM dump then we can load it onto your Matt card before sending it off. Just make sure to send us the file immediately before placing the order.
We get the occasional buyer that reads about our Matt card here and then orders a Matt card assuming it will magically fix NVMe/hibernation issues, but that is NOT the case.
But you can read your ROM, edit it, send it to us and then buy a Matt card with your data in it and then (provided you edited right) have your hibernation issues sorted.
Cheers / CMIzapper

 

[Adiif1]

Have you tried reinstalling the drive and adapter?

Hi, yes i tried reinstalling, but same
I even tried on another adapter but the same

 

[Audit13]

Hi, yes i tried reinstalling, but same
I even tried on another adapter but the same

Is it possible that you need to apply some Kapton tape around the adapter? The adapter may be making contact with the metal pins on the logic board.