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

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
Needleroozer said:
Hello all,

I've been working on upgrading my mid-2014 13" MacBook Pro (MacBookPro11,1) and thought I should share my success.
I'm using a 500GB HP EX900 drive with the short Sintech adapter, which came with tape pre-applied to the NVMe connector. Installing the pair went very simply, with the EX900's mounting notch perfectly aligning with the Mac's SSD standoff, as advertised.

I also opted to patch my bootrom (version 160.0.0.0) so that sleep would work with hibernatemode 25, following the guide in the wiki.
This wound up being a little trickier, since my Mac doesn't have the J6100 connector installed for some reason, and its EFI chip is not an SOIC-8 chip like the 15" models have. This meant that I couldn't use an SOIC-8 clip on it, but I was able to solder some 34AWG magnet wire onto the pins and get it recognized by a CH341a. (I later found out that, if I had desoldered the chip, it has the same spacing as the SOIC-8 and would have fit perfectly into the clip...)
View attachment 923212 View attachment 923213
I tried using the CH341a from macOS but wound up using a Linux laptop when flashrom was unable to find it. I read the bootrom out three times, verifying consistency with the md5sum and diff tools.
View attachment 923214
I used UEFITool to modify this bootrom but found that I needed to use an older version (0.24) in order to be able to modify a bootrom rather than just extract the NVMe driver. Once I downloaded this older version from the GitHub releases page, the patching went perfectly, and I was able to write and verify this new bootrom to my Mac.

The only other issue I encountered was in moving my files from my old Apple SSD to this new one. The guide linked in the wiki uses dd to backup the whole drive, byte-by-byte, but I was unable to restore this image to my new drive using dd, asr, or Disk Utility. I wound up just backing up the original drive using Time Machine and then restoring the new drive from that backup, using Apple's GUI tool.

Hibernation seems to work properly, and the laptop seems to boot up and wake from sleep just a little faster than before. I did some basic disk throughput tests and found that, while the read speeds saturate the two PCIe lanes at 1500Mbps, the write speeds are less consistent, with spikes up to 1230Mbps but typical performance around 300Mbps. I believe that this is the expected behavior for the EX900 due to its nature as a budget NVMe drive.
Click to expand...

Woooooooo !!!, Excellent work with those welds, in such small tracks.
 
Hi all,

Greetings, and thank you very much for this thread.

I was able to upgrade my MacBook Pro (13 inch, Late 2013) with a 1 TB Crucial P1.

The latest Catalina upgrade changed the BootROM from 156.0.0.0 to 160.0.0.0, with the new SSD.
Regardless of the power settings that I tried, hibernation was always an issue, until I patched the BootROM a few days ago.
I used UEFITool 0.21.5 (later versions don't support modification), and the CH341A programmer + J6100 adapter.

I didn't do any performance tests, though the laptop feels snappier when opening apps or copying files around.
 
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cuatepotzo said:
Thank you very much for the help, I thought that maybe I could help improve speed by Optane technology, I am thinking of upgrading to an Intel 660p, an Adata XPG SX8200 Pro or a Toshiba Xg5-p M.2 2280, for the cost that is very similar to the Intel Optane. Which one could you recommend? for my macbook, thanks.
Click to expand...

I optimized my SSD choice around finding the cheapest NVMe drive at the time, so I’m not really the best resource for performance quantification.
I’d recommend taking a look at the first post of this thread, where there are several tables analyzing power usage and performance for various SSDs including every drive you listed (the XG5 is at the bottom of the list, grayed out).
The ADATA drive is the unequivocal winner in both of those metrics.
 
cuatepotzo said:
Hello everyone, I have a macbook pro mid 2014 A1502 (MacBookPro11,1), I want to upgrade 256GB SSD to 1TB. I wanted to ask if the Intel Optane Memory H10 SSD is compatible? Thank you.
Click to expand...
The MacBook 11,1 supports PCIe 2.0 with 4 lanes which means the maximum read and write speeds from high-speed drives will be limited by the MacBook's bus speed. Bus speed is something I keep in mind when looking at replacement drives.
 
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Hello everyone
I have a macbook pro retina from the beginning of 2015 (A1502)
I have read a lot of the messages and was about to buy the "Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB" hard drive, but reading that with all M.2 SSDs I was disappointed,
I know that the best option to avoid problems with battery life would be like an original used mac hard drive, but it is complicated for me since I am from Chile.
If I buy a transcend jetdrive 850 hard drive, I will have the same battery life problem
I wanted to know if there is a solution, to change my 256gb hard drive for a 1tb one, using a Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB or similar where the battery does not greatly decrease its duration

Thank you !!
 
macpro_mid2014 said:
Try to plug a memory stick in one of the USBs and let it mounted. Maybe, the computer does not hibernate.
Click to expand...

2013/14 models don't hibernate as they don't support it with these drives. I've set standby to 0 so it never tries to hibernate from sleep. I'll see how the battery goes with that, and last resort will be a full shutdown overnight.
I've been looking at a few Apple SSDs, but the cost isn't worth it


cronox19 said:
Hello everyone
I have a macbook pro retina from the beginning of 2015 (A1502)
I have read a lot of the messages and was about to buy the "Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB" hard drive, but reading that with all M.2 SSDs I was disappointed,
I know that the best option to avoid problems with battery life would be like an original used mac hard drive, but it is complicated for me since I am from Chile.
If I buy a transcend jetdrive 850 hard drive, I will have the same battery life problem
I wanted to know if there is a solution, to change my 256gb hard drive for a 1tb one, using a Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB or similar where the battery does not greatly decrease its duration

Thank you !!
Click to expand...

Seeing as the 2015 models support hibernation I think you'll be ok. Battery drain will increase, it's unavoidable really, but if you go with the Sabrent you shouldn't see too much of an increase. I'm using an Adata SX8200 Pro and my MBP is doing ok as far as drain when I'm using it. I take a bit of a hit when not using it due to the hibernation problem (2014 model), but that's something I can live with.
An Apple SSD (SSUBX model) would be the better option, but prices, and availability for you, make it not worth the expense.
 
Waughy said:
2013/14 models don't hibernate as they don't support it with these drives. I've set standby to 0 so it never tries to hibernate from sleep. I'll see how the battery goes with that, and last resort will be a full shutdown overnight.
I've been looking at a few Apple SSDs, but the cost isn't worth it




Seeing as the 2015 models support hibernation I think you'll be ok. Battery drain will increase, it's unavoidable really, but if you go with the Sabrent you shouldn't see too much of an increase. I'm using an Adata SX8200 Pro and my MBP is doing ok as far as drain when I'm using it. I take a bit of a hit when not using it due to the hibernation problem (2014 model), but that's something I can live with.
An Apple SSD (SSUBX model) would be the better option, but prices, and availability for you, make it not worth the expense.
Click to expand...
Waughy said:
2013/14 models don't hibernate as they don't support it with these drives. I've set standby to 0 so it never tries to hibernate from sleep. I'll see how the battery goes with that, and last resort will be a full shutdown overnight.
I've been looking at a few Apple SSDs, but the cost isn't worth it




Seeing as the 2015 models support hibernation I think you'll be ok. Battery drain will increase, it's unavoidable really, but if you go with the Sabrent you shouldn't see too much of an increase. I'm using an Adata SX8200 Pro and my MBP is doing ok as far as drain when I'm using it. I take a bit of a hit when not using it due to the hibernation problem (2014 model), but that's something I can live with.
An Apple SSD (SSUBX model) would be the better option, but prices, and availability for you, make it not worth the expense.
Click to expand...
Thank you !!
 
which do you prefer, the sabrent rocker or the adata 8200? consider reliability and duration is battery. Thank you
[automerge]1592282246[/automerge]
 
cronox19 said:
which do you prefer, the sabrent rocker or the adata 8200? consider reliability and duration is battery. Thank you
[automerge]1592282246[/automerge]
Click to expand...
i don't know about Adata 8200 but i do have sabrent rocket, WD Sn750 installed and tested with my early 2015 13" MBP. All of this drives have 5yrs warranty i believed, as far as battery duration, a lot of things could factored in, battery health conditions, applications etc. good luck.
 

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vince22 said:
i don't know about Adata 8200 but i do have sabrent rocket, WD Sn750 installed and tested with my early 2015 13" MBP. All of this drives have 5yrs warranty i believed, as far as battery duration, a lot of things could factored in, battery health conditions, applications etc. good luck.
Click to expand...

In your early 2015, 13" MBP, with the Sabrent - have you noticed if the SSD controller area stays "warm" while the machine is in sleep (just with the lid closed, not in hibernate or standby mode)?

I am trying to track down if it's normal with aftermarket SSDs in our devices (for them to stay fully powered up in sleep) or if my intel 660p has an issue.
 
herb2k said:
In your early 2015, 13" MBP, with the Sabrent - have you noticed if the SSD controller area stays "warm" while the machine is in sleep (just with the lid closed, not in hibernate or standby mode)?

I am trying to track down if it's normal with aftermarket SSDs in our devices (for them to stay fully powered up in sleep) or if my intel 660p has an issue.
Click to expand...
ssd area stays cool to touch while lid is closed.
 
Hi, first of all thanks for this great thread, Im reading a lot and I have a few doubts and questions.

I have a MacBook pro 13" retina mid 2014, I take any kind of advantage between a Samsung evo plus 970 and a sabrent? I told you for the different price and because maybe in my Mac 2014 I dont notice the different of speed?

What Will be the better quality/price SSD for my MacBook?

Other question. For the convert adapter is there any other choice for example in Amazon. The "original" is about 30 euros and other kinds is about 10 euros.

Thanks a lot.
 
J.F. Muela said:
Hi, first of all thanks for this great thread, Im reading a lot and I have a few doubts and questions.

I have a MacBook pro 13" retina mid 2014, I take any kind of advantage between a Samsung evo plus 970 and a sabrent? I told you for the different price and because maybe in my Mac 2014 I dont notice the different of speed?

What Will be the better quality/price SSD for my MacBook?

Other question. For the convert adapter is there any other choice for example in Amazon. The "original" is about 30 euros and other kinds is about 10 euros.

Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
The 970 Evo Plus will work in your MacBook if it is running the latest firmware; otherwise, it will not work properly.

The mid-2014 Pro has a PCIe 2.0 4 lane bus. This will limit the speed of the 970 and the 970 uses more battery power. I suggest getting the Sabrent.

I have used this no-name adapter from eBay in an early 2015 Air 13" with no problem: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/NVMe-PCI-Ex...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
 
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Audit13 said:
The 970 Evo Plus will work in your MacBook if it is running the latest firmware; otherwise, it will not work properly.

The mid-2014 Pro has a PCIe 2.0 4 lane bus. This will limit the speed of the 970 and the 970 uses more battery power. I suggest getting the Sabrent.

I have used this no-name adapter from eBay in an early 2015 Air 13" with no problem: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/NVMe-PCI-Express-PCIE-to-M-2-NGFF-SSD-Adapter-Card-for-Macbook-Air-Pro-A1398/382986134968?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Click to expand...

Thanks for your answer, I have more clear now!!!

I have a last doubt. In my 128 ssd I have a bootcamp with windows 10 only 20 gb partition. Can I do a copy of the disk with Time machine or any other program that you recommend ? And I have not problem to restore in the new disk?

Im going to buy the sabrent 500 gb o 1Tb and the adaptor and cross fingers.
 
J.F. Muela said:
Thanks for your answer, I have more clear now!!!

I have a last doubt. In my 128 ssd I have a bootcamp with windows 10 only 20 gb partition. Can I do a copy of the disk with Time machine or any other program that you recommend ? And I have not problem to restore in the new disk?

Im going to buy the sabrent 500 gb o 1Tb and the adaptor and cross fingers.
Click to expand...
Some people have reported difficulty with running Windows 10 on a NVMe drive. Search this thread for issues and solutions.

I don't run Windows on my MacBook but Time Machine may not copy and restore a Windows partition because Windows uses the NTFS file format.
 
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Audit13 said:
Some people have reported difficulty with running Windows 10 on a NVMe drive. Search this thread for issues and solutions.

I don't run Windows on my MacBook but Time Machine may not copy and restore a Windows partition because Windows uses the NTFS file format.
Click to expand...

Ok, then I'll do a time machine of the Mac partition only, and later I try to install again a bootcamp.
Another thing, you or anybody can show me a sure link in Amazon for example? In Aliexpress Is about a month to delivery, and Ebay is more or less the same, to the convert adaptor.

Thanks again.
 
J.F. Muela said:
Ok, then I'll do a time machine of the Mac partition only, and later I try to install again a bootcamp.
Another thing, you or anybody can show me a sure link in Amazon for example? In Aliexpress Is about a month to delivery, and Ebay is more or less the same, to the convert adaptor.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Where are you located? I think different Amazon stores carry different products.
 
Im from Spain, but I have no problem to buy on amazon uk o amazon Germany.

Thanks, when you answer me I'll order the convert adaptor and the SSD Sabrent.
 
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hmm, I seem to be having system reboot issues while the system has been sleeping for some time. I will sometimes hear the startup tone twice while the lid is closed. I am not quite sure how often it happens either... seems random.

I have a 2014 MBP 15, Adata SX8200, Running Mojave, but flashed with the nvme bits I took from the catalina iso.

Did i mess myself up by trying to use the 2015 nvme from catalina, or should this have worked fine?
 
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miztahsparklez said:
hmm, I seem to be having system reboot issues while the system has been sleeping for some time. I will sometimes hear the startup tone twice while the lid is closed. I am not quite sure how often it happens either... seems random.

I have a 2014 MBP 15, Adata SX8200, Running Mojave, but flashed with the nvme bits I took from the catalina iso.

Did i mess myself up by trying to use the 2015 nvme from catalina, or should this have worked fine?
Click to expand...

Have this exact issue with a Intel 660p 2TB on a Macbook Air 2013
 
hi to everybody

is there any way to defeat the hibernation problem? i bought the silicon power 512Gb 34A80 for the start and I have it on my MacBook pro 15 mid 2014. I use OEM adapter and it looks same as short Sintech adapter

now I'm thinking about getting 2tb ssd, and just thinking is there a way to avoid hibernation (sleep wake) issue?

now im using "sudo pmset -a standby 0" but every time I changing something in energy saver settings I have to reuse that command again, and it's a bit annoying
 
fldmrshl said:
hi to everybody

is there any way to defeat the hibernation problem? i bought the silicon power 512Gb 34A80 for the start and I have it on my MacBook pro 15 mid 2014. I use OEM adapter and it looks same as short Sintech adapter

now I'm thinking about getting 2tb ssd, and just thinking is there a way to avoid hibernation (sleep wake) issue?

now im using "sudo pmset -a standby 0" but every time I changing something in energy saver settings I have to reuse that command again, and it's a bit annoying
Click to expand...
To solve the issue, you need to flash a modded bootrom.
 
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