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

[leo109]

I'm planning use the Intel 600p with Sintech Adapter on a rMBP 13" late 2013. But I'm a litte confused with the answers. The first two quotes says the 600p would work without issues concerning reboot, large transfers and all sleep modes under MacOS.

[EDIT]: I just add the same table sorted by price instead of by name

View attachment 746448

600p works without problems on my 2015 MBA 13"

but the last quote says there are sleep issues in MacOS:

Hello ravic

the sleep problem with NVMe SSD concern every rMBP from late 2013 to late 2014 and every NVMe SSD, even Apple SSD NVMe ! All you have to do is to set standby to zero : type sudo pmset -a standby 0 in the terminal.

Does the sleep issue only concern rMBP from late 2013 to late 2014 or also other production years?

 

[Khaleal]

So after all this discussion, what are the most stable ssd and adapter for an early 2015 MacBook Pro?

 

[ravic]

Hi,



Yes the KP seems to always occur at this location: IONVMeController.cpp:5275

I have tried Disassembling the kext using Hopper Disassembler V4 and I find that there are 3 calls (or reasons) that this panic is called... See the attached image...

References to: 0x12936

• 0x1165d: FatalStateTimeoutEP18IOTimer
• 0x127e0: CommandTimeoutEP18IOTimer
• 0x12da0: HandleCompletionErrorsEP16AppleNVMeRequestj

/// Flemming

Thanks Flemming. Looks like all of those threads lead to drive not being accessible at that moment coming out of sleep.

 

[allenhuang]

Hi everybody,

With all the precious information here, I managed to get an NVMe SSD work in my MacBook Air mid-2013!

Here's my configuration:
Device: MacBook Air 13" (A1466, mid-2013, MacBook 6,2)
Adapter: Chenyang (I think it looks like a Chenyang)
NVMe Drive: ADATA SX7000NP (256 GB)
OS: macOS High Sierra (11.13.3)

The adapter was bought directly from Taobao with less than USD 4 (for those not familiar with it, it's a Chinese eBay I would say). I did put isolation tape on it as shown in the pictures attached.

The macOS installation went well. The procedures I followed:
0. Make High Sierra installation media and Ubuntu bootable USB.
1. Swap the Apple SSD with ADATA SX7000NP, with the isolation tape applied.
2. Boot with Ubuntu USB.
3. Go to "Disks" and format the new SSD. I chose FAT as the filesystem.
4. Reboot and fire up macOS High Sierra Installation.
5. Upon the menu, choose "Disk Utility" to partition the SSD with proper format and partition table style. Now, I knew GPT is a must; however, I did not know if it's more reasonable to choose APFS over HFS+J. I thought I read something about formatting the SSD with HFS+J would do the job so I also did so. Will explain later.
6. Back to the menu. Just selected install and all went very smoothly.
7. After installation, I restore the system with my Time Machine backup. Again, without any problem.
8. When it finished restoring, I checked the filesystem and it had been converted to APFS as I desired.

I ran some speed tests and got around 750 MB/s write and 1,150 MB/s read. This is an insane improvement from the stock Apple SSD and of course the capacity has been doubled. Total cost is less than USD 100! I'd like to thank all of you contribute to this thread again and cheers to remarkable work of @gilles_polysoft

The only issue remains the hibernate problem. I have to put standby into 0 to make sure my laptop wake up properly.

Looking forward to future development of the work!

 

[flemmingdjensen]

Thanks Flemming. Looks like all of those threads lead to drive not being accessible at that moment coming out of sleep.

I have no sleep issues after using "sudo pmset -a standby 0"

I often get KPs when starting the computer from powered off

And sometimes when using the disk extensively...

So I think there is some kind of timing issue in the driver - who knows

/// Flemming

 

[ravic]

I have no sleep issues after using "sudo pmset -a standby 0"

I often get KPs when starting the computer from powered off

And sometimes when using the disk extensively...

So I think there is some kind of timing issue in the driver - who knows

/// Flemming

I get it when i close the lid, without shutting down, and reopen it after an hour or so. Are you using a Samsung 960 evo?
I am using a Samsung pm961

Wonder what the differences are. I know there firmware itself is different 6L7QCXY7

 

[wawon]

Hi wawon,
thanks for your update ! I checked and it seems that circuit is a lot different...
At least sintech has made an effort with the kapton tape, it's fun to see it !

Thank you for checking the circuit. I regret that green v2 and black v3 are different connections, as green v2 had almost no problem and we could not get it now.


add Jan 31, 2018
I easily confirmed the difference of the SSD adapter (green V2, black V3). In the case of Toshiba XG4 THNSF5256GPUK, no particular problem was found.

add Feb 6, 2018
In the case of Toshiba XG3 THNSF5256GPU7, Boot and Re-boot issue was found, without [opt] key press it was not able to boot. it is fatal.

 

[gymboy]

I have 2B7QCXE7 version and no problems. I was wondering if it is possible to downgrade the SSDs to older version...

I just gave my EVO 960 1TB a chance yesterday. Restored MacOs 10.13.3 from Time Machine backup and Restored Winclone Windows 10 backup. (750G / 250G)

Did the proper kaptan taping as gilles suggests (the part where the adapter mates the MBP connector)

So far only seen a KP during boot of MacOs.

I checked the firmware rev and it is : 3B7QCXE7

So it seems to be one of the "faulty" firmwares. Is the second last character the E for EVO and P for PRO?

Compared to the Kingston KC1000 I notice a slight quicker/better overall performance in my Mid 2014 MBP 15"

KC1000 has R: 1350 / W: 1100
EVO960 has R: 1500 / W: 1350

BTW: The suggestions about patching the NVMeDriver seems not possible currently with 10.13.3 since Rehabman has not patched the newest driver yet.

// Flemming

I am running 960 Evo (3B7QCXE7) with the large sintech adapter on my 2015 MBA without any issues.
[doublepost=1517214837][/doublepost]Also, I have just seen the release of the Intel 760p and it seems to be pretty good for value (although not as fast as the 960 Evo but definitely cheaper), might be trying to get that drive to test after it is available in the UK.

 

[flemmingdjensen]

I am running 960 Evo (3B7QCXE7) with the large snitch adapter on my 2015 MBA without any issues.
[doublepost=1517214837][/doublepost]Also, I have just seen the release of the Intel 760p and it seems to be pretty good for value (although not as fast as the 960 Evo but definitely cheaper), might be trying to get that drive to test after it is available in the UK.

Well maybe I have to go looking for a model 2015 MBP

What kind of read / write speeds are you getting?

 

[gymboy]

Well maybe I have to go looking for a model 2015 MBP

What kind of read / write speeds are you getting?

Im getting 1350/1450 on my 2015 MBA 13"

 

[daimao]

So after all this discussion, what are the most stable ssd and adapter for an early 2015 MacBook Pro?

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/page-28#post-25697717

Based on this chart, anything except for Samsung would work without problem on MBP 2015.

And make sure you get the big green adapter from sintech.

 

[Marno]

*would*
Well normally yes it should. If you stay on Sierrra you need a NVMe compatible with 4K advanced format. Otherwise on High Sierra you can go for a 512Bytes format.
I am on exact same situation : MBpro 2015 13 inch and bought a Kingston KC100 compatible with 4K format put some kapton tape got PCIe 4x and good read speed but end up having wake up from sleep and warm reboot problems..
I will investigate towards the Snitch black small V3 adapter and keep you posted.

 

[gymboy]

Just to add on, I recently went on a one week trip with my 2015 13" MBA running the 960 EVO + Large Green Sintech Adapter on sleep the whole time. No settings were changed, just plug and play the drive. Computer wakes up from sleep perfect, no kernel panics. Will monitor more and update again with more intensive use.

 

[damex]

Hi damex,

please can you tell me if your boot drive was HFS+ or APFS formatted ?



Hi Flemming,

same question here, in your tests were you using an HFS+ or APFS formatted boot drive ?

does not matter if it is APFS or HFS+. it still panics
i see that it start happening right after i updated firmware to the last one (people complain about it)

 

[ravic]

does not matter if it is APFS or HFS+. it still panics
i see that it start happening right after i updated firmware to the last one (people complain about it)

Is that the Samsung firmware update?

 

[damex]

Is that the Samsung firmware update?

yeah, samsung firmware update.

 

[Audit13]

I think you'll need to wait until Samsung issues another firmware update which, hopefully, will resolve many problems that people have with the latest firmware.

 

[zazaki]

Today I received the black Sintech adapter. It is delivered with one Kapton layer. On their website I ordered the green according to the picture. Anyway I will test it with a Kingston KC1000 480GB, as soon as I get a pentalob screwdriver...

 

[ravic]

Today I received the black Sintech adapter. It is delivered with one Kapton layer. On their website I ordered the green according to the picture. Anyway I will test it with a Kingston KC1000 480GB, as soon as I get a pentalob screwdriver...

zazaki,

How long did it take for it to arrive from China? I am in the US and ordered it couple of weeks ago.

 

[zazaki]

zazaki,

How long did it take for it to arrive from China? I am in the US and ordered it couple of weeks ago.

Delivery to Switzerland has been 13 days (quite fast for a classic China post mail)

 

[Bimbashi]

Hi again,

i have received my black sintech adapter after 2 weeks. Kingston KC1000 960GB, properly taped in addition to the native taping, was found natively and HighSierra 13.2 installed like a charm. I then restored from my TM backup and upgraded to 13.3.
Speeds are 1100 write and 1350 read, 4 lines.
No issues with sleep, some extended time when booting from the new ssd after booting from the old (now external) ssd.

My question concerns BOOTCAMP: I am unable to install from the bootcamp assistant app. The windows installer on the usb stick does not find the Kingston ssd (partitioned with a bootcamp partition) at all, when trying to install to an external ssd the bootcamp partition is shown but cannot be selected for install.
Winclone restore doesn't work either, a windows partition is created and it starts transferring data but then it gets stuck "syncing".

Any ideas?

Thx

Bimbashi

 

[armoured]

Looking for some general advice - my main questions are 'what brand/type is most problem-free', and 'what are chances of success (i.e. should I pay the extra money for a larger drive)'?

Running an early 2014 Macbook Air, with 128g ssd; High Sierra and no need to run previous versions. My priority is bigger size - at least 500g, with as problem-free as possible. Losing hibernation would not be a big problem, but I do rely on the problem-free simple sleep (open and close many times a day). Speed would be nice but not top of the list; I can live with somewhat reduced battery life.

I'm looking first at the Intel 600p line, next the Kingston KC1000. Difference in price is roughly as in other markets. If I was confident it was all going to work and speed bump on the kingston is noticeable, I might pay the difference.

Going up to 1000g would be a nice bump and future-proof this computer for just about everything I use it for now (or would be likely to, it's never going to be fastest but that's okay).

However, I wouldn't like to spend the extra money to go to 1TB and then find it doesn't work. (I'm willing to take the chance on the 500gb). I'm unfortunately in a market where returning things that aren't defective is more miss than hit.

On installation: understand the points about Kapron tape. I understand with high sierra should not be necessary to use an ubuntu disk (can do if necessary), just format with disk utility (I have bootable recovery flash drives). As I understand, no need to disable the hibernation unless it causes problems. Other key steps?

I've also noted the various adapters. I've ordered one (cheap as chips that may be the sintech), will have access to buy the recommended sintech in due course.

 

[brianlin168]

[Update]

15" rMBP mid-2014 11,3, a new WD Black NVMe M.2 7.2017/fw B35500WD and a CY adapter. Old BootROM MBP112.0138.B16.

Updated BootROM to latest MBP112.0142.B00
With a Apple AHCI SSD as internal drive, updated, swapped in the NVMe. Installed OS.

Success. WD Black NVMe M.2 formatted 4k sector size, Journaled GPT, installed 10.13 and then 10.12. Internal NVMe SSD works as boot drive.

One hitch in my system with the WD Black, in both 10.12 & 10.13:
Restart/Reboot times out to ? folder. With Battery or AC.
Shutdown then Power Button successfully boots.
Sleep-Wake works with a quick, cursory test.
During the OS install, with auto-reboots, I manually shutdown and powered up (otherwise boots from external Installer drive). The NVMe drive always appeared as a boot drive when Option key was held [Edit:] [at cold-boot].

Will another NVMe brand be trouble-free?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi zero_conduite
I have a big problem，
my MBP mid-2014 , macbookpro 11,2
bootrom is MBP112.0142.B00
new SSD is Plextor NVMe M.2 1TB ( PX-1TM8SeGN )

1. install Plextor SSD in macbook , and use Ubuntu bootup.
under Ubuntu , i can see Plextor SSD and i can fdisk it.

2.i use MacOSHighSierra bootup via USB , in diskutil
i can't see Plextor .

please help me ^^

 

[gymboy]

Hi to all,

I just tried to make a little table of all the SSD I've tested so far. Hope it helps a little.

View attachment 746441

PS : I'm waiting for a Toshiba XG5 and will add it to the results in a few days.
If you have other data or results, please tell me so that I can add them or confirm or infirm the datas I have.

[EDIT]: I just add the same table sorted by price instead of by name

View attachment 746448

Hi @gilles_polysoft , just wondering if you've managed to test the XG5 yet?

 

[Audit13]

Looking for some general advice - my main questions are 'what brand/type is most problem-free', and 'what are chances of success (i.e. should I pay the extra money for a larger drive)'?

Running an early 2014 Macbook Air, with 128g ssd; High Sierra and no need to run previous versions. My priority is bigger size - at least 500g, with as problem-free as possible. Losing hibernation would not be a big problem, but I do rely on the problem-free simple sleep (open and close many times a day). Speed would be nice but not top of the list; I can live with somewhat reduced battery life.

I'm looking first at the Intel 600p line, next the Kingston KC1000. Difference in price is roughly as in other markets. If I was confident it was all going to work and speed bump on the kingston is noticeable, I might pay the difference.

Going up to 1000g would be a nice bump and future-proof this computer for just about everything I use it for now (or would be likely to, it's never going to be fastest but that's okay).

However, I wouldn't like to spend the extra money to go to 1TB and then find it doesn't work. (I'm willing to take the chance on the 500gb). I'm unfortunately in a market where returning things that aren't defective is more miss than hit.

On installation: understand the points about Kapron tape. I understand with high sierra should not be necessary to use an ubuntu disk (can do if necessary), just format with disk utility (I have bootable recovery flash drives). As I understand, no need to disable the hibernation unless it causes problems. Other key steps?

I've also noted the various adapters. I've ordered one (cheap as chips that may be the sintech), will have access to buy the recommended sintech in due course.

As an experiment, I used an Intel 256 GB 600p, the large green Sintech adapter, and kapton tape on an early 2015 Macbook Air.

I booted the Air with a USB High Sierra installer, formatted the disk, and installed High Sierra. No Ubuntu/Linux disk was required.

There is a bit more battery drain with the 600p than the OEM Apple drive but not enough for me to worry about. I have used it over the past few weeks and there have been no kernel panics during use or when opening the lid from hibernation, no problems with rebooting the machine, no problems with cold boots, and no changes to High Sierra's default settings were necessary.

I know these are the results from an early 2015 Macbook Air but I think you will find from reading this thread that the 600p is solid replacement.