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

[MauriceG]

Can the firmware be updated if I place the drive in an usb3 enclosure and plug it into a windows pc?

Likely. I attached the SSD (SN550) in a thunderbolt housing. Managed to update it’s firmware with WD’s “Dashboard” software via Windows bootcamp. You have to select the correct drive in the software.
I assume you are referring to an upgrade of the SSD’s firmware (not the Mac’s boot rom).

 

[saintmylife]

Mac Model : MBP 13" 2015 (MacBookPro12,1)
SSD : WD Blue SN550 500Gb
OS : Catalina 10.15.7 (19H114)
Bootroom : 425

Here is before & After
Lilu, NVMEFix, SsdPmEnabler @kvic

Spoiler: Before

Spoiler: After

 

[startergo]

So you will need to run `sudo nvram boot-args="keepsyms=1"` before installing NvmeFix in BigSur

There is a better way of doing this. I have posted an OpenCore EFI folder for MacBook Pro here There is a quirk:

DisableLinkeditJettison
Type: plist boolean
Failsafe: false
Requirement: 11
Description: Disables __LINKEDIT jettison code.
This option lets Lilu.kext and possibly some others function in macOS Big Sur with best performance without keepsyms=1 boot argument.

Plus you can install HibermationFixup, Innie, NVMeFix and other kexts outside of your /L/E folder.
Question:
Can someone confirm what is updated in the 429.0.0.0.0 firmware? Is NVMe driver updated?

 

[MauriceG]

Mac Model : MBP 13" 2015 (MacBookPro12,1)
SSD : WD Blue SN550 500Gb
OS : Catalina 10.15.7 (19H114)
Bootroom : 425

Here is before & After
Lilu, NVMEFix, SsdPmEnabler @kvic

Spoiler: Before

View attachment 1716366

Spoiler: After

View attachment 1716365

Are you certain that you have made the print screens while running on battery? “DC in” and “PBus” show both zero (0.00) volt when my MBP 2015 13” is running on battery power.
Background: Apple power managent when running on battery differs from the power management when running on power adapter.

 

[Sekari]

Hi guys,

Just replaced the stock SSD (128go) by a Kingston A2000 and sintech adapter directly bought on their website
It's working fine even if I had some trouble re-installing MacOS on the SSD as I'm a windows user, but ended up working fine installing Big Sur instead of Catalina (previous build)
Then I did a time machine with my GF external drive and she got everything back

Even changed the thermal paste on the CPU (didn't seem to have affected the temps unfortunately)

My question is : What could I do with the old SSD ? (MBP 2015)

Does anyone know if there's some SSD case for this model ?

 

[chkl]

Lots of good information in this thread, thanks everyone... I just registered to share my experience as well, and with some luck I could get some additional pointers from you.

Setup:

• Model: Retina MBP 13", early 2015 (MacBookPro12,1)
• OS: Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) [clean install]
• Bootroom : 425
• SSD: WD Blue SN550 1 TB
  • Upgraded to FW version 211210WD as recommended by @nos1609 in #8256 (done after Big Sur installation, via Boot Camp partition).
• Adapter: This one
  • This is probably not the best option... could only get the long one from Sintech, and found that it was too thick for the lid to be properly closed without a noticeable bulge.
• Battery info:
  • Health: 84%
  • Cycles: 744
  • Condition: Normal
• Stock pmset options

Power consumption (iStat Menus):

• Idle: 0,3 A (stable)
• Under load (from tests below): 0,7-0,8 A

Speed info (Blackmagic Disk Speed Test):

• Write: ~1040 MB/s
• Read: ~1370 MB/s

Experience so far:

• Everything seems to work correctly, usage is smooth, laptop does not feel warmer.
• Battery drains noticeably faster than with stock SSD on normal usage (basically browsing with Safari).
• Even though the measured idle power consumption matches some similar setups seen in this thread, I am noticing a huge battery drain overnight. Tonight it went from 95% to 57% over 9 hours.

This last point clearly does not match the experiences I have seen in this thread. So far I am using stock pmset options, therefore the device never entered standby/hibernation mode, just "deep sleep" as seen in the pmset logs.

I know that I could probably get to idle 0,18 A if I used SsdPmEnabler, and improve the overnight drain changing pmset options to enter standby earlier. But I am afraid that even with that, the drain will still be very steep.

Do you think this performance falls within the expected range for my current setup? Could the fact that I am using a cheap/less-than-ideal adapter be part of the problem? I would tend to think so, but since the amps measurements seem fine...

 

[BoPl]

Lots of good information in this thread, thanks everyone... I just registered to share my experience as well, and with some luck I could get some additional pointers from you.

Setup:

• Model: Retina MBP 13", early 2015 (MacBookPro12,1)
• OS: Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) [clean install]
• Bootroom : 425
• SSD: WD Blue SN550 1 TB
  • Upgraded to FW version 211210WD as recommended by @nos1609 in #8256 (done after Big Sur installation, via Boot Camp partition).
• Adapter: This one
  • This is probably not the best option... could only get the long one from Sintech, and found that it was too thick for the lid to be properly closed without a noticeable bulge.
• Battery info:
  • Health: 84%
  • Cycles: 744
  • Condition: Normal
• Stock pmset options

Power consumption (iStat Menus):

• Idle: 0,3 A (stable)
• Under load (from tests below): 0,7-0,8 A

Speed info (Blackmagic Disk Speed Test):

• Write: ~1040 MB/s
• Read: ~1370 MB/s

Experience so far:

• Everything seems to work correctly, usage is smooth, laptop does not feel warmer.
• Battery drains noticeably faster than with stock SSD on normal usage (basically browsing with Safari).
• Even though the measured idle power consumption matches some similar setups seen in this thread, I am noticing a huge battery drain overnight. Tonight it went from 95% to 57% over 9 hours.

This last point clearly does not match the experiences I have seen in this thread. So far I am using stock pmset options, therefore the device never entered standby/hibernation mode, just "deep sleep" as seen in the pmset logs.

I know that I could probably get to idle 0,18 A if I used SsdPmEnabler, and improve the overnight drain changing pmset options to enter standby earlier. But I am afraid that even with that, the drain will still be very steep.

Do you think this performance falls within the expected range for my current setup? Could the fact that I am using a cheap/less-than-ideal adapter be part of the problem? I would tend to think so, but since the amps measurements seem fine...

Im using (see below) PMSET settings this helps:
Type in terminal

sudo pmset -a standbydelaylow 1800
sudo pmset -a highstandbythreshold 50
sudo pmset -a standbydelayhigh 3600

Someone been using:

sudo pmset -a standbydelaylow 600
sudo pmset -a highstandbythreshold 50
sudo pmset -a standbydelayhigh 600

Regarding WD Blue SN550 - very stable and good SSD, but not the best in power efficiency, has Sandisk Controller which is running hot. Based on Kvic experience with the same SSD is the best option for you just to install Lilu/NVMeFix and SsdPmEnabler kexts and you can get 0,11A Idle.

 

[MauriceG]

Lots of good information in this thread, thanks everyone... I just registered to share my experience as well, and with some luck I could get some additional pointers from you.

Setup:

• Model: Retina MBP 13", early 2015 (MacBookPro12,1)
• OS: Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) [clean install]
• Bootroom : 425
• SSD: WD Blue SN550 1 TB
  • Upgraded to FW version 211210WD as recommended by @nos1609 in #8256 (done after Big Sur installation, via Boot Camp partition).
• Adapter: This one
  • This is probably not the best option... could only get the long one from Sintech, and found that it was too thick for the lid to be properly closed without a noticeable bulge.
• Battery info:
  • Health: 84%
  • Cycles: 744
  • Condition: Normal
• Stock pmset options

Power consumption (iStat Menus):

• Idle: 0,3 A (stable)
• Under load (from tests below): 0,7-0,8 A

Speed info (Blackmagic Disk Speed Test):

• Write: ~1040 MB/s
• Read: ~1370 MB/s

Experience so far:

• Everything seems to work correctly, usage is smooth, laptop does not feel warmer.
• Battery drains noticeably faster than with stock SSD on normal usage (basically browsing with Safari).
• Even though the measured idle power consumption matches some similar setups seen in this thread, I am noticing a huge battery drain overnight. Tonight it went from 95% to 57% over 9 hours.

This last point clearly does not match the experiences I have seen in this thread. So far I am using stock pmset options, therefore the device never entered standby/hibernation mode, just "deep sleep" as seen in the pmset logs.

I know that I could probably get to idle 0,18 A if I used SsdPmEnabler, and improve the overnight drain changing pmset options to enter standby earlier. But I am afraid that even with that, the drain will still be very steep.

Do you think this performance falls within the expected range for my current setup? Could the fact that I am using a cheap/less-than-ideal adapter be part of the problem? I would tend to think so, but since the amps measurements seem fine...

Thank you for sharing your experience 👍🏼 To answer some of your questions:
- read speed is ok; write is somewhat lower than expected (expect 12xx MBps); but the max. Speeds aren’t that representative for an SSD’s overall performance....
- the converter/adapter contains no logic; it’s just to adapt the shape and connections (so it’s a “dumb” device)

 

[MauriceG]

Hi guys,

Just replaced the stock SSD (128go) by a Kingston A2000 and sintech adapter directly bought on their website
It's working fine even if I had some trouble re-installing MacOS on the SSD as I'm a windows user, but ended up working fine installing Big Sur instead of Catalina (previous build)
Then I did a time machine with my GF external drive and she got everything back

Even changed the thermal paste on the CPU (didn't seem to have affected the temps unfortunately)

My question is : What could I do with the old SSD ? (MBP 2015)

Does anyone know if there's some SSD case for this model ?

expensive... (don’t forget to add tax). AliExpress.

 

[Chema]

When choosing a nvme m.2 2280 3.0x4 ssd, should it be with or without cache? I have a mid-2013 mba 6.1

 

[Daniel1979]

Ok, I have my Sintech adapter (delivered today), what's the up to date recommendations for 500gb SSD's. Is the information on the 1st page still current?

Machine is a MacBook Pro 13" early 2015 model.

Was leaning towards the WD blue SN550 but the battery drain issue experienced by CHK1 above is making me reconsider. I don't mind paying extra for improved power efficiency and temps.

Cheers
Dan

 

[saintmylife]

Are you certain that you have made the print screens while running on battery? “DC in” and “PBus” show both zero (0.00) volt when my MBP 2015 13” is running on battery power.
Background: Apple power managent when running on battery differs from the power management when running on power adapter.

Ups, i think im running on battery power before kext installed. Sorry for that, does it impact for ssd power ? Then im trying to reinstall and take a screenshoot again.

Lots of good information in this thread, thanks everyone... I just registered to share my experience as well, and with some luck I could get some additional pointers from you.

Setup:

• Model: Retina MBP 13", early 2015 (MacBookPro12,1)
• OS: Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) [clean install]
• Bootroom : 425
• SSD: WD Blue SN550 1 TB
  • Upgraded to FW version 211210WD as recommended by @nos1609 in #8256 (done after Big Sur installation, via Boot Camp partition).
• Adapter: This one
  • This is probably not the best option... could only get the long one from Sintech, and found that it was too thick for the lid to be properly closed without a noticeable bulge.
• Battery info:
  • Health: 84%
  • Cycles: 744
  • Condition: Normal
• Stock pmset options

Power consumption (iStat Menus):

• Idle: 0,3 A (stable)
• Under load (from tests below): 0,7-0,8 A

Speed info (Blackmagic Disk Speed Test):

• Write: ~1040 MB/s
• Read: ~1370 MB/s

Experience so far:

• Everything seems to work correctly, usage is smooth, laptop does not feel warmer.
• Battery drains noticeably faster than with stock SSD on normal usage (basically browsing with Safari).
• Even though the measured idle power consumption matches some similar setups seen in this thread, I am noticing a huge battery drain overnight. Tonight it went from 95% to 57% over 9 hours.

This last point clearly does not match the experiences I have seen in this thread. So far I am using stock pmset options, therefore the device never entered standby/hibernation mode, just "deep sleep" as seen in the pmset logs.

I know that I could probably get to idle 0,18 A if I used SsdPmEnabler, and improve the overnight drain changing pmset options to enter standby earlier. But I am afraid that even with that, the drain will still be very steep.

Do you think this performance falls within the expected range for my current setup? Could the fact that I am using a cheap/less-than-ideal adapter be part of the problem? I would tend to think so, but since the amps measurements seem fine...

Just to be clear. Are you upgrade your ssd fimrware from bootcamp ? Im tryin to do that too.

===
Got kernel panic on this day ( on idle, only once ),

Wondering if i did it wrong on installing lilu + nvmefix ? ( Installed via hackintool, didn't found any legit resource about installing this kext ). And seems my ssd can get lower power usage like others, is it due to differences in capacity ?

 

[MauriceG]

Ups, i think im running on battery power before kext installed. Sorry for that, does it impact for ssd power ? Then im trying to reinstall and take a screenshoot again.



Just to be clear. Are you upgrade your ssd fimrware from bootcamp ? Im tryin to do that too.

===
Got kernel panic on this day ( on idle, only once ),

Wondering if i did it wrong on installing lilu + nvmefix ? ( Installed via hackintool, didn't found any legit resource about installing this kext ). And seems my ssd can get lower power usage like others, is it due to differences in capacity ?

Regarding the print screens (while connected to power adaper): it doesn’t matter when you installed the kext file(s). But we (this community) are mainly interested in the SSD’s idle power usage when running on battery. That is important for the time that the macbook can run on a fully charged battery. Measure the idle current with iStat menus during power via mains (power adapter) and via the battery. Likely the current is lower during battery usage.

 

[alvaro2]

I have Crucial P2 500 gb, anyone knows how to update the firmware?? I tried install Bootcamp, after doing a Partition in Disk Utility, it fails to boot.
I had no success (when I tried to install Windows it says "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. For more information see the Setup log files").
I dont know what else to do.

 

[ramur]

This is my 1st post, looks like I’m not the only one who has been watching this thread for a longer time. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I also want to share mine:

I bought a used MacBook Pro 13 Early 2015 some 3 years ago, with Apple SSD 128 GB. One year ago I decided to upgrade my device. Due to very mixed feedback when installing 3rd party SSDs I bought a used Apple 256GB SSD which worked fine. Inspired by this thread I upgraded now to 1TB using WD Blue SN 550 SSD and the Sintec adapter (ST-NGFF2013). I faced some challenges formatting the WD SSD, then did a clean install and restored apps from a backup.

Everything since then works smoothly:

Speed tests show a better performance than formerly built-in Apple 256GB SSD. I cannot state on exact values of the power consumption, I haven’t bought yet istat menus (is there a freeware which just allows to measure power wattage?) but:

Before installing *.kext extensions, power dropped by approx. 15-20% over night, but after installing NVMeFix.kext and SsdPmEnabler.kext plus changing the hibernate settings power drop typically is 2% over night.

I’m currently thinking about how to best upgrade the WD Blue SN 550 SSD Firmware. It looks like there is only Windows SW available for doing so. Since I haven’t been using Bootcamp yet, my preferable way is to use virtual machine SW for using Windows 10 on MacBook. I’m not quite sure whether this will work ...??!!

All in all: Great forum, excellent thread, and I’m successfully running a MacBook Pro with amazing disk space by having a built-in 1TB SSD.

Cheers

 

[macpro_mid2014]

This is my 1st post, looks like I’m not the only one who has been watching this thread for a longer time. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I also want to share mine:

I bought a used MacBook Pro 13 Early 2015 some 3 years ago, with Apple SSD 128 GB. One year ago I decided to upgrade my device. Due to very mixed feedback when installing 3rd party SSDs I bought a used Apple 256GB SSD which worked fine. Inspired by this thread I upgraded now to 1TB using WD Blue SN 550 SSD and the Sintec adapter (ST-NGFF2013). I faced some challenges formatting the WD SSD, then did a clean install and restored apps from a backup.

Everything since then works smoothly:

Speed tests show a better performance than formerly built-in Apple 256GB SSD. I cannot state on exact values of the power consumption, I haven’t bought yet istat menus (is there a freeware which just allows to measure power wattage?) but:

Before installing *.kext extensions, power dropped by approx. 15-20% over night, but after installing NVMeFix.kext and SsdPmEnabler.kext plus changing the hibernate settings power drop typically is 2% over night.

I’m currently thinking about how to best upgrade the WD Blue SN 550 SSD Firmware. It looks like there is only Windows SW available for doing so. Since I haven’t been using Bootcamp yet, my preferable way is to use virtual machine SW for using Windows 10 on MacBook. I’m not quite sure whether this will work ...??!!

All in all: Great forum, excellent thread, and I’m successfully running a MacBook Pro with amazing disk space by having a built-in 1TB SSD.

Cheers

My experience shows that you cannot update the SSD firmware using a VM because the VM does not "see" the physical disk, but only a file in that disk, which is the virtual disk for the VM.

 

[MauriceG]

This is my 1st post, looks like I’m not the only one who has been watching this thread for a longer time. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I also want to share mine:

I bought a used MacBook Pro 13 Early 2015 some 3 years ago, with Apple SSD 128 GB. One year ago I decided to upgrade my device. Due to very mixed feedback when installing 3rd party SSDs I bought a used Apple 256GB SSD which worked fine. Inspired by this thread I upgraded now to 1TB using WD Blue SN 550 SSD and the Sintec adapter (ST-NGFF2013). I faced some challenges formatting the WD SSD, then did a clean install and restored apps from a backup.

Everything since then works smoothly:

Speed tests show a better performance than formerly built-in Apple 256GB SSD. I cannot state on exact values of the power consumption, I haven’t bought yet istat menus (is there a freeware which just allows to measure power wattage?) but:

Before installing *.kext extensions, power dropped by approx. 15-20% over night, but after installing NVMeFix.kext and SsdPmEnabler.kext plus changing the hibernate settings power drop typically is 2% over night.

I’m currently thinking about how to best upgrade the WD Blue SN 550 SSD Firmware. It looks like there is only Windows SW available for doing so. Since I haven’t been using Bootcamp yet, my preferable way is to use virtual machine SW for using Windows 10 on MacBook. I’m not quite sure whether this will work ...??!!

All in all: Great forum, excellent thread, and I’m successfully running a MacBook Pro with amazing disk space by having a built-in 1TB SSD.

Cheers

There is no real need to upgrade the SN550 firmware if you don’t have an issue. If I remember well, there was a startup issue with a Linux distribution . Unfortunately I found no release notes of WD.

 

[mertingen]

I have Crucial P2 500 gb, anyone knows how to update the firmware?? I tried install Bootcamp, after doing a Partition in Disk Utility, it fails to boot.
I had no success (when I tried to install Windows it says "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. For more information see the Setup log files").
I dont know what else to do.

Mailed crucial customer service about this issue. Replied "We currently do not offer an ISO for the latest firmware revision for P2 series drives." and asked some information about the ssd and my operating system. Also suggested to connect the Drive internally to a windows system which supports to NVMe SSD's and update the firmware version from the Storage Executive.

 

[Chema]

Mailed crucial customer service about this issue. Replied "We currently do not offer an ISO for the latest firmware revision for P2 series drives." and asked some information about the ssd and my operating system. Also suggested to connect the Drive internally to a windows system which supports to NVMe SSD's and update the firmware version from the Storage Executive.

Perhaps try a usb enclosure.

 

[nos1609]

No. Please refer to page 1.

Yes it's basically a MacBook Air 2015.

 

[nos1609]

Can the firmware be updated if I place the drive in an usb3 enclosure and plug it into a windows pc?

In the most cases no as USB do not pass the needed NVMe commands

 

[Nandmp]

I've been testing my 13" MacBook Pro mid 2014 with 3 different SSDs and my choice is Crucial P2 1TB SSD. I'm afraid your Mac is 100% the same as my so highly likely you will not be able for now to install the SsdPmEnable kext so at this point the Crucial P2 SSD is on top of the list for Power efficiency (battery life) and Price.
Please read my post #8,245.
And Sintech short adapter is only right choice.
View attachment 1714996View attachment 1714998

Same here.
MacBook Pro Retina late 2013 (A1502). Fresh Catalina install with Bootrom 429.0.0.0.0.
Crucial P2 1TB/Sintech Short Combo.
Lilu and NVME Fix kexts are working ok. Though don't seem to make a difference to running no Kexts.
Unable to boot with SsdPmEnabler installed. Ideling around 0.1 A - 0.15 A.

PS:I don't have any Problems with sleep or battery drain overnight; didn't mess with NVRAM or anything

 

[BitMac]

Wondering if i did it wrong on installing lilu + nvmefix ? ( Installed via hackintool, didn't found any legit resource about installing this kext ). And seems my ssd can get lower power usage like others, is it due to differences in capacity ?

Also wondering about the full details of installing Lilu + nvmefix! Thanks!

 

[Nandmp]

Also wondering about the full details of installing Lilu + nvmefix! Thanks!

Installing manually to library/extensions and reloading cache or doing the same using hackintool should yield the same result. Make sure to have sip disabled ( or enabled —without kext parameter set depending on your os).

you can check if the kexts are loaded using Ioreg .

 

[mrsuxx]

hi people. so my sn550 1TB is on the way : )

what's the recommended way i go about installing ?

install windows on in first and update the firmware ?