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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.
My two suggestions:
1- Instead of buying another NVMe SSD, why don't you buy a used 128GB original Apple SSD on eBay? You can use the Apple SSD to upgrade to the newer version and then, sell it.
2- If your choice is to buy another NVMe, try the Silicon Power A80 or another one with the Phison controller. I was able to update the firmware of my MPB 15" Mid 2014 with a 1TB Silicon Power + short Sintech adapter.

Thanks. I was planning to get a Kingston a2000 which is quite cheap (35€ for 250gb) but I'll consider the Silicon Power as well as it's an extra 10€. Also I'll maybe get a short adapter as I have a long version atm.
 
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I am having issues. I have upgraded to Big Sur and my bootrom updated. I purchased a WD Blue 1 TB SSD and an external case. I formatted the WD to APFS and then did a Carbon Copy Clone from the original Apple 128GB drive to the WD. I installed the WD into a Sintech adapter and started up my 2014 Macbook Pro. It doesn't see the new drive. I tried a Jesot adapter instead. Same issue. Once I finish booting I am given the choice of installing from a Time Machine backup. When I choose the backup, the Mac can't find a disk to install it to. I took the WD out again and reinstalled the original disk and put the WD back in the enclosure. The Macbook boots fine and can see the attached WD hard drive.

I am open to any suggestions.
 
Never mind. I installed Big Sur on the WD while it was still in the external enclosure and then booted from it to make sure it worked. I then swapped it back into the MacBook and everything works now.
 
Anyone updated their macbook air 2015 to Big Sur? How's the start up time? Does it take longer than Mojave or Catalina? I wonder if there's going to be heat issues as well?
 
Anyone updated their macbook air 2015 to Big Sur? How's the start up time? Does it take longer than Mojave or Catalina? I wonder if there's going to be heat issues as well?
My MacBook air 2015 is working very smoothly with Big Sur + Silicon Power 512MB.
No boot delays and it is running cooler compared to Catalina.
 
My MacBook air 2015 is working very smoothly with Big Sur + Silicon Power 512MB.
No boot delays and it is running cooler compared to Catalina.
Thanks for replying. May I know the process you did? Did you update directly using your nvme ssd + adapter? I've seen the process here is to use the apple SSD to upgrade to Big Sur and then replacing it back with the nvme sad one.
 
Thanks for replying. May I know the process you did? Did you update directly using your nvme ssd + adapter? I've seen the process here is to use the apple SSD to upgrade to Big Sur and then replacing it back with the nvme sad one.
I've been using the NVMe as an internal disk since February.

When Big Sur 11.0.1 was released last week, I updated the computer using System Preferences -> Software Update.
The OS + BootRom were updated in the process.
 
I've been using the NVMe as an internal disk since February.

When Big Sur 11.0.1 was released last week, I updated the computer using System Preferences -> Software Update.
The OS + BootRom were updated in the process.
That's great to hear, thank you! Planning to upgrade this week.
 
Thanks. I was planning to get a Kingston a2000 which is quite cheap (35€ for 250gb) but I'll consider the Silicon Power as well as it's an extra 10€. Also I'll maybe get a short adapter as I have a long version atm.
If you plan on using Kingston a2000, definitely use a short adapter.
 
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Post #7639 is interesting, and thanks for sharing. This let users update BootROM without going through the hassle of installing a new OS. Some users will find it very useful.

We took the plunge and successfully upgraded our 2015 13-inch Macbook Pro to the latest BootROM 424.0.0.0.0. The result is uneventful. The new BootROM alone doesn't show any improvement with respect to third party SSD nor there is any change in sleep/hibernation behaviour. OS version is Catalina 10.15.7.

But with further tinkering comes more observations...

When is "SSD 3.3V" = 0.00A. Should you believe it's truly close to 0A?
Hopefully this is just a glitch in Apple's SMC after the SSD gets right out of lower power states.

Now I'm pretty sure 0.00A comes directly from Apple SMC. When our WD SN550 in lower power state, the current is truly non-measurably close to 0A (more on this below). Sounds like a real glitch that when 3rd party SSD in such power state, Apple SMC can't respond quick enough to provide "real-time" reading when disk activities resume. If the activities are "brief", you simply can't observe any change in current.

Actual power usage when "SSD 3.3V" reads 0.00A
For SN550, if the battery loss is lower than 2% per hour, safe to bet "SSD 3.3V" = 0.00A may actually mean close to 0A consumption. If the battery loss is higher than 2%, SN550 idle current is probably not the culprit of your battery drain BUT we aren't sure "SSD 3.3V" = 0.00A actually means close to 0A idle current either.

Back then it was just a thought experiment, I didn't have concrete data. With the new BootROM, I repeated sleep/hibernation tests with more attention to details. Here are the results:

Restore power management back to Apple defaults i.e. for average users, the chance of hibernation is reduced to minimal if not none.

Session one: sleep for 5.5h (I think Apple calls it "Deep Idle"), battery dropped 11%.
Session two: sleep for 4.5h, battery dropped 9%.

On average, our Macbook Pro drops 2% per hour. Great! And yet embarrassing.

2% per hour lands on the divider in my though experiment. So I looked into our ageing battery (with 220 cycles). The current capacity is about 6050mAh (about 92% of design capacity). That means if SN550 consumes 260mA at idle or sleep or any lower power states, it'll cause battery to drop a whopping 4.2% per hour. This gives me confidence in asserting that SN550 truly consumes no power when SMC reports 0.00A (most of the time..)

Overnight sleep consumes "zero" battery. The catch is that I had to reduce "standbydelaylow" and "standbydelayhigh" from Apple's default 3hr and 24hr respectively down to 25min for both. I picked 25min simply because of the desire to strike a balance between saving battery and reducing wear&tear of the SSD (due to frequent write of hibernation image). A glimpse at the size of /var/vm/sleepimage is only 1GB in my case. Perhaps I should not worry at all.
Now, apply 25min to both standbydelay's as described above. Did two tests too.

Session one: 2.67h 0% drop
Session two: 6h 1% drop.

Very nice. Personally, we'll stay with the adjusted & reduced standbydelay's. SSD write incurred by hibernation image is low when compared to daily TeraByteWrite quota given SN550's 5-year warranty. Also it's way easier and enjoyable to replace a SSD then a new battery.

This sums up my one-month long journey. To everyone (and future Internet nobody landing on this thread), enjoy your new SSD and MacBook's.

Cheers
 
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Little update: I have updated my mbp mid 2014 (11,1) to Big Sur 11.1 public beta. The firmware is stil on 157. I suppose the problem is related to the ssd (EVO 970) or maybe to the adapter (sintech long version).
 
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Is there anybody here who has an SK hynix Gold P31 (established to be not working a few months ago) to test whether the new Boot ROM now recognizes the drive? Or whether there have been drive firmware updates to potentially address this?

The firmware is stil on 157. I suppose the problem is related to the ssd (EVO 970) or maybe to the adapter (sintech long version).
I have the same adapter; so that's probably not it. I am starting to wonder if you have to be past a certain installed system firmware version for updates to go through while a non-Apple drive is present.
 
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I have the same adapter; so that's probably not it. I am starting to wonder if you have to be past a certain installed system firmware version for updates to go through while a non-Apple drive is present.

Well last time my apple ssd was working was on Catalina, thus I had 157 prior to installing my NVME ssd. I could just try to do a fresh big sur install from usb, but I cba going through bootcamp / windows install again (I recall the process was quite a mess before being successful). I'm curious to know if anyone managed to upgrade the bootrom on a 970 EVO (not plus).

Nevertheless I'm still happy that everything's so smooth since I've got a new battery and changed thermal paste (overall temperature dropped around 20°C).
 
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The update to catalina went smoothly, thank you for your advice
I have a problem with my NVME sabrent rocket and the Sintech adapter (same with Mojave and Catalina). I have from time to time crashes of the IONVMeController, I had this problem for a few months (after 8-10 months without any problem). Do you have any idea where the problem could be?

The firmware is ECFM12.2, i dont know if updating the firmware to ECFM12.3 could solve my problem and if it is possible on mac without erasing all ssd?
Hello Everyone!!

So that my experience will be useful to everyone.
I updated the firmware of the nvme to 12.3 without problem from the bootcamp.
Nvme controller crash problem still present.

I then decided put kapton tape on the sintech adapter.
=> Problem definitely solved (About a month ago)

Updated with Big Sur without a hitch.
 
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Now that big sur gives pre-2015 MacBook users our hibernate function back, what’s the simplest way to re-enable the default settings?
 
Hi All, I've read through the OP and would like someone to confirm this
I have a MacBook Pro Early 2015 A1502 with a Jetdrive 820 in the system (Installed when bought)
This drive seems to have very slow write speeds

I would buy the Sintech adapter and a Adata xpg8200 pro.

This would work just fine right?
 
There is a bug in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, preventing it to update the BootRom in some "old" Macs.
Check this link:


Thanks.
I have a late 2013 13" and mid-2014 13" and used Apple SSDs to upgrade to 11.01. Both are now running bootrom 427.0.0.0.
 

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This might be out of topic. But this is first time since long time that i found this kind of BootRom version format. I thought apple been settle with XXX.0.0.0.0

this is from MacBook Pro 2017, the bootrom updated to 429.50.1.0.0 when i installed BigSur 11.0.1 using USB installer directly to the new NVME drive installed inside.

EDIT : After some checking, turned out this is how the BootRom should be on supported Macbook Air and Pro model :

MacBook Air:

  • MacBookAir6,1, MacBookAir6,2 427.0.0.0.0
  • MacBookAir7,1, MacBookAir7,2 424.0.0.0.0
MacBook Pro:

  • MacBookPro11,1 427.0.0.0.0
  • MacBookPro11,2, MacBookPro11,3 427.0.0.0.0
  • MacBookPro11,4 424.0.0.0.0
  • MacBookPro12,1 424.0.0.0.0
  • MacBookPro13,1 429.50.1.0.0
  • MacBookPro13,2 429.50.1.0.0
  • MacBookPro13,3 429.50.1.0.0
  • MacBookPro14,1 429.50.1.0.0
  • MacBookPro14,2 429.50.1.0.0
  • MacBookPro14,3 429.50.1.0.0

20201120_161747.jpg
 
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MBA 11 inch Mid 2013
Big Sur
boot rom 427
ssd Kingston 250gb

1. Black Adapter, good and the speed X4, read 1400 write 1091 mb/s
2. Green Adapter, good no hangs hibernate sleep seems ok but the speed only X2 700 to 800 mb/s r/w

mba 2013 to 2014 green adapter have an issue with the speed

i try with mbp 2015 A1502 green and black adapter same no problem with the speed X4
 

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Hi All, I've read through the OP and would like someone to confirm this
I have a MacBook Pro Early 2015 A1502 with a Jetdrive 820 in the system (Installed when bought)
This drive seems to have very slow write speeds

I would buy the Sintech adapter and a Adata xpg8200 pro.

This would work just fine right?
That's exactly what I have. Yes, it works very well! Been running it for a couple months now.
 

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