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

[chkl]

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

Someone been using:

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.

Great, thank you for this information. I still need to try the pmset settings to avoid over night drain, but have already loaded Lilu/NVMeFix and SsdPmEnabler kexts, and got to ~0,16A idle.

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

Exactly, installed Windows 10 in a separate partition with Boot Camp assistant just for this firmware upgrade... After this fresh install, no issues detecting the drive with WD Dashboard.

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

For what it's worth, I used the same steps described in https://github.com/kvic-z/SsdPmEnabler, but instead of SsdPmEnabler kext, loaded the ones downloaded from https://github.com/acidanthera/Lilu/releases and https://github.com/acidanthera/NVMeFix/releases (in this order).

 

[ramur]

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 ?

I would probably do so. I installed mine without knowing there is FW update available. Now MacOS is installed, looks like neither VM+Win10 or Bootcamp allows for an SSD FW-Upgrade. I'm still looking for a way (have placed a request with WD), so it looks like 1st doing the FW update and then installing MacOS is currently the preferred way.

 

[MauriceG]

Yes it's basically a MacBook Air 2015.

Sorry, you are right. Looked it up on EveryMac.com.

 

[MauriceG]

For a 2017 Macbook Air, 13 inch, will any m.2 SSD work?

I would like great performance, but at the same time I do not want to sacrifice battery life / power consumption. I keep reading in all these posts about which SSD's work best for power consumption during idle/sleep etc, but most of what I'm reading seems to have to do with 2013-2015 models.

Do the 2017 MBA's have the same problem where the battery drains more during sleep/idle, etc when upgrading to a new SSD?

If not, then I would assume I would just want to look for a SSD that has the best read/write limits, correct? However, I know the 2017 MBA probably has a max read/write speed it is capable of reaching but I am not able to ID those stats (I only find online that the 2017 MBA's as shipped had an average benchmark of 612 write /1240 read. Does that mean this is the max, or that is just what it was shipped with and a newer SDD could do better? How would I know what the max is so I know what SSD to buy (without overpaying for higher speeds that it won't be a able to achieve)?

Thank you!!

According to everymac.com the 2017 mba has pcie 2.0 with 4 lanes. That’s the same as my rMBP 2015 13”. The max. real speed for that model is up to (almost) 1300/1300 MBps read/write. The IOPS specifications might be more relevant for daily use.

 

[Daniel1979]

Can someone check if this is ok for me please? Cant remember the drive listings being like this before installation.
1,I used CCC to clone my MacBook 128Gb drive to external USB drive.
2, Installed new Crucial P2 with Sintech adapter.
3, Booted OS via USB drive and used CCC to clone back to Crucial P2.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Can someone check if this is ok for me please? Cant remember the drive listings being like this before installation.
1,I used CCC to clone my MacBook 128Gb drive to external USB drive.
2, Installed new Crucial P2 with Sintech adapter.
3, Booted OS via USB drive and used CCC to clone back to Crucial P2.

Looks good for me. The com.apple.os... inside Macintosh HD is the System Snapshot created by the boot process.

 

[Daniel1979]

Looks good for me. The com.apple.os... inside Macintosh HD is the System Snapshot created by the boot process.

Thanks macpro. So the Container disk, Macintosh HD and Macintosh HG- data, is all ok too? It may have been like this before and I Just didn't notice!

 

[MauriceG]

Mistake...sorry

 

[Biochem-anon]

Is there anything similar to NVMeFix or SsdPmEnabler that I would need under Windows, Linux, or BSD, or does power management work fine for a Samsung 970 Evo Plus in a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, 13 inch, mid-2014 out of the box for those operating systems?

 

[nos1609]

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 ?

Win10 to flash new FW
Linux to switch to 4K LBA
Any macOS starting from 10.12

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Thanks macpro. So the Container disk, Macintosh HD and Macintosh HG- data, is all ok too? It may have been like this before and I Just didn't notice!

That's the new disk layout introduced by Big Sur.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Is there anything similar to NVMeFix or SsdPmEnabler that I would need under Windows, Linux, or BSD, or does power management work fine for a Samsung 970 Evo Plus in a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, 13 inch, mid-2014 out of the box for those operating systems?

Power management is done natively in Windows/Linux OSs.

 

[mrsuxx]

Hi guys, so i installed windows, updated the firmware on my WD SN550.

the dashboard says:

Interface Speed:

Capability:
Gen3 (4 Lanes)

Connection:
Gen2 (4 Lanes)


is That correct ?

 

[fiftystorm]

Hi BoPi

So basically the test confirmed your MBP (MacBookPro11,1) is okay. Its internal likely very similar to 2015 13-inch (MacBookPro12,1) as I would expect. Also perhaps you have to accept the reality that some NVMe SSDs simply won't work.

The AppleSSD shipped in these older machines are SATA drives with SATA express link that in turn is tunnelled over PCIe links. Like all SATA drives they use AHCI driver. ssdpmEnabler is redundant there as I believe Apple's AHCI driver already performs the same function.

I have little idea on details of Phison E12/E12s variants. I avoided such discussions and hoped not to drag myself into it. We simply won't be able to know what's the difference inside those variants and where manufacturers cut corners and save a dime.

With that said, there are indeed quite a few success stories on Sabrent Rocket but very few mentioned the details. In two data points where firmware versions are mentioned, it's ECFM12.3 which people seem confident that they're truly Phison E12.

A quick google shows Corsair MP510 has two variants with firmware ECFM13.1 and ECFM22.6. People claimed the latter is in fact Phison E12S. And for christ's sake, turns out Silicon Power A80 comes with ECFM22.6 firmware too.



See @manu3569's post #8143 in the previous page. ssdpmEnabler works in High Sierra where WD SN550's idle power drops from 0.31A to 0.18A. That's 42%!

I would love to hear success stories from MBA. Pls let me know if you run into any ssdpmEnabler issues.

I'd like to share my experience with SsdPmEnabler / NvMeFix on my MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015).

Setup:

Mojave 10.14.6 (18G7016)​

MacBookAir7,2​

Intel Core i5 1.6 GHz​

Boot ROM Version: 425.0.0.0.0​

XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB + Sintec short adapter​

iStat indicated the following for idle power draw.

None - 0.22 A​

NvMeFix - 0.22A​

SsdPmEnabler - 0.13 A​

NvMeFix + SsdPmEnabler - 0.02~0.03 A (!)​

Interestingly, NvMeFix alone made no difference at all, however, once it got teamed up with SsdPmEnabler, there was a drastic drop.

 

[mo5214]

Hi guys, so i installed windows, updated the firmware on my WD SN550.

the dashboard says:

Interface Speed:

Capability:
Gen3 (4 Lanes)

Connection:
Gen2 (4 Lanes)


is That correct ?

Unless you are rocking an A1398 15" mid-2015 model. Yes. (It's even in the wiki post #1 of this thread)

 

[MauriceG]

I'd like to share my experience with SsdPmEnabler / NvMeFix on my MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015).

Setup:

Mojave 10.14.6 (18G7016)​

MacBookAir7,2​

Intel Core i5 1.6 GHz​

Boot ROM Version: 425.0.0.0.0​

XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB + Sintec short adapter​

iStat indicated the following for idle power draw.

None - 0.22 A​

NvMeFix - 0.22A​

SsdPmEnabler - 0.13 A​

NvMeFix + SsdPmEnabler - 0.02~0.03 A (!)​

Interestingly, NvMeFix alone made no difference at all, however, once it got teamed up with SsdPmEnabler, there was a drastic drop.

View attachment 1719622

How did you enabled the mA scale?

 

[mrsuxx]

Win10 to flash new FW
Linux to switch to 4K LBA
Any macOS starting from 10.12

Hi. i did install windows 10 and updated my firmware.
i also installed linux on it, but i am note sure what 4k LBA is, how do i check if it's enabled / working ?

macos 11.11 also installed fine, didn't do the power testing on it tho since its the one i've used the least. will report soon.

Unless you are rocking an A1398 15" mid-2015 model. Yes. (It's even in the wiki post #1 of this thread)

Haha no, its a teensy tinsy 13" A1502. looks like i missed reading that from the wiki post. Thanks for the reply. i was worried the (non-sintech) adapter was somehow behind this.

if anyone wants me to test any stuff on WD sn500, let me know. i've all 3 OS'es installed : )

 

[fiftystorm]

How did you enabled the mA scale?

Looks like it automatically switched. I don't know what the trigger is, though. It's back to the A scale now.

 

[ramur]

Hi. i did install windows 10 and updated my firmware.
i also installed linux on it, but i am note sure what 4k LBA is, how do i check if it's enabled / working ?

macos 11.11 also installed fine, didn't do the power testing on it tho since its the one i've used the least. will report soon.

Haha no, its a teensy tinsy 13" A1502. looks like i missed reading that from the wiki post. Thanks for the reply. i was worried the (non-sintech) adapter was somehow behind this.

if anyone wants me to test any stuff on WD sn500, let me know. i've all 3 OS'es installed : )

Regarding 4k LBA: I'm not quite sure whether forum rules allow for a link, hopefully that's not an issue. Take a look here:

SN550 - Why it uses 512B sector instead of 4096?

OK, it seems WD isn’t really interested to give detailed support to their products. Also I don’t understand for what the SSD is delivered in the slower and lifetime shorting setting of 512b. There is a way to change the firmware setting for (physically) sectorsize in Linux. “# nvme id-ns -H...

community.wd.com

 

[JF1980]

Mid-2014 15" Macbook Pro. OWC Aura Pro X2 1TB upgrade.

OS X was running on Catalina when I installed the SSD and restored my TM backup. I then upgraded to Big Sur which I believe updated the Boot ROM - System Firmware Version: 429.0.0.0.0

It's been a few days and I haven't had any issues with standby / hibernation or crashes which I'm really happy about.

I have however noticed that my (7 year old) battery runs down noticeably more quickly. I'd like to monitor the power draw more closely and possibly try out PMenabler/NVMeFix to rectify this. Is the program used to monitor the power draw and produce charts like that posted by fiftystorm 'iStat Menus'?

 

[Jason.mac]

This is my first post, apologies if this has already been asked! It’s hard to follow the thread from the beginning.

I have a MacBook Pro, mid 2014, a1502 model. I just swapped my ssd for a Crucial P2 and a rivo adapter. I know the adapter I have could be an issue so I’m just waiting for my sintech one to arrive and then will put it in right away.

My goal is to dual boot windows. Currently Mac OS is working no problems, I haven’t had any hibernation or wake issues, but my computer has really only slept for about 2 hours and I shut it down over night. Thanks to a forum on here and Reddit (and Kvic) I was able to install windows using bootcamp with a work around. When I boot to windows it runs for about 5-10 minutes and then crashes. This could be because of the adapter but I’m wondering if I should get a different SSD while I can still return this one.

What SSD is most recommended for my application? I know the adapter should be Sintech, do you think the current Rivo one installed is what is causing my windows partition to crash, or should I be swapping my SSD?

Thank you in advance! Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[mrsuxx]

Regarding 4k LBA: I'm not quite sure whether forum rules allow for a link, hopefully that's not an issue. Take a look here:

SN550 - Why it uses 512B sector instead of 4096?

OK, it seems WD isn’t really interested to give detailed support to their products. Also I don’t understand for what the SSD is delivered in the slower and lifetime shorting setting of 512b. There is a way to change the firmware setting for (physically) sectorsize in Linux. “# nvme id-ns -H...

community.wd.com

Hi @ramur . From the link it seems that there is no benefit of switching to 4k lba, instead the tester reported a drop in performance.
it will also delete all the data on my SSD, else i'd try it to see it for myself.

am i missing something here?

 

[BoPl]

This is my first post, apologies if this has already been asked! It’s hard to follow the thread from the beginning.

I have a MacBook Pro, mid 2014, a1502 model. I just swapped my ssd for a Crucial P2 and a rivo adapter. I know the adapter I have could be an issue so I’m just waiting for my sintech one to arrive and then will put it in right away.

My goal is to dual boot windows. Currently Mac OS is working no problems, I haven’t had any hibernation or wake issues, but my computer has really only slept for about 2 hours and I shut it down over night. Thanks to a forum on here and Reddit (and Kvic) I was able to install windows using bootcamp with a work around. When I boot to windows it runs for about 5-10 minutes and then crashes. This could be because of the adapter but I’m wondering if I should get a different SSD while I can still return this one.

What SSD is most recommended for my application? I know the adapter should be Sintech, do you think the current Rivo one installed is what is causing my windows partition to crash, or should I be swapping my SSD?

Thank you in advance! Any help is greatly appreciated!

Im using the same Crucial P2 SSD on my MBP mid 2014 and ssd been working very good.
Please give us feedback once (if) you test the SsdPmEnabler kext on your Mac.

 

[Jason.mac]

Im using the same Crucial P2 SSD on my MBP mid 2014 and ssd been working very good.
Please give us feedback once (if) you test the SsdPmEnabler kext on your Mac.

I had tried SsdPmEnabler over the weekend and found that it caused my computer to crash. I was actually talking to the developer (who’s been super helpful and ive seen his handle on this thread as well) and he said on on my model of computer, the MacBook 11,1, I think it is, that the crash wasn’t surprising and it seems to not work on that specific model for some reason.
That being said, he still suggested the crucial P2 drive because even out of the box it is still an efficient drive.
Honestly, the only issue I am having right now is the windows partition crashing, but hoping it’s the adapter. I’m hoping if anyone isn’t having crashing issues they can share which ssd and adapter they are using.
Thanks again!

 

[ramur]

Hi @ramur . From the link it seems that there is no benefit of switching to 4k lba, instead the tester reported a drop in performance.
it will also delete all the data on my SSD, else i'd try it to see it for myself.

am i missing something here?

I absolutely agree with you. My main idea was to answer the question what is behind 4K LBA when posting the link. For me it doesn't make too much sense to re-formatting it to 4k, mine is running with 512MB sector size in my MacBookPro 13 early 2015, without any issues. Performance is - having MacBook Pro Early "restrictions" in mind - at the maximum level.