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

[93770]

So, then what is this post for then with 350+ pages when all you can achieve with modern NVMe SSD only will give you 3-400 more of speed?
sounds like a giant topic for little.. 🙄

Most of us are not interested in speed increases, we are interested in storage space. At the time, many bought a Macbook with only 128 or 256 GB of storage. Now we would like to upgrade to 1-4 TB. At the same time, we don't want to lose speed. Therefore we use the modern NVMe SSD.

 

[Ektachrome]

My MBP is back from repair and I was going to go ahead with the Crucial P2 upgrade... until I popped back on here and read about the QLC switch and related speed issues.

What’s the general consensus on which 2TB drive is best for a Late 2013 MBP 15” already running Big Sur, please in terms of no issues, speed and lowest battery usage?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Alexiukas]

I have 500gb on my mp late 2013, 16gb ram and the 2,3ghz, is there anything I can do to make it work faster? We’re only using it for browsing, excel/word... few times pic editing but nothing heavy

 

[ClaudeGable]

Last week, according to the table here in the forum, I ordered the Crucial P2 with 500GB and the Sintech Apdater. After installation, I was very disappointed with the measured write speed of just under 40-60MB. The read speed of just under 600MB was ok, but less than I had hoped.

The P2 shipped with firmware version P2CR031, so I wanted to update that first in hopes that this would bring a bit more speed. Unfortunately, I did not find a way to do this under macOS. All attempts via USB stick failed.

So I installed Windows 10 via Bootcamp, since Crucial offers its own software for updating the firmware. During the installation of Windows 10, there was always a blue screen at first, but with the tip on the first page to adjust the registry, the installation worked.

With Windows 10, I then installed the software "Crucial Storage Executive" and updated the firmware to the latest version P2CR033. The software also recommended enabling the "Momentum Cache". I did this as well.

After that, I restarted MacOS and checked the speed again with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. Now I achieve a write speed of just under 1000 MB/s and a read speed of 1260 MB/s with the P2. First I wanted to sell the P2 again, but now everything fits. I would recommend anyone with such slow speeds to first update the firmware and activate the Momentum Cache. Everything now runs without problems under MacOS. No kernel panic and no other problems.

Here are some pictures for speed comparison:

Before with old SSD (First picture with 1GB, second with 5GB setting in Disk Speed Test):

After with Crucial P2 (same settings for 1GB and 5GB):

Under Windows 10, I unfortunately still have the problem that it comes more often to a blue screen when I boot the computer without power cord. Does anyone here have any idea why this happens?

Thanks for the great overview on the first page and the tips for the Bootcamp installation.

 

[93770]

Last week, according to the table here in the forum, I ordered the Crucial P2 with 500GB and the Sintech Apdater. After installation, I was very disappointed with the measured write speed of just under 40-60MB. The read speed of just under 600MB was ok, but less than I had hoped.

The P2 shipped with firmware version P2CR031, so I wanted to update that first in hopes that this would bring a bit more speed. Unfortunately, I did not find a way to do this under macOS. All attempts via USB stick failed.

So I installed Windows 10 via Bootcamp, since Crucial offers its own software for updating the firmware. During the installation of Windows 10, there was always a blue screen at first, but with the tip on the first page to adjust the registry, the installation worked.

With Windows 10, I then installed the software "Crucial Storage Executive" and updated the firmware to the latest version P2CR033. The software also recommended enabling the "Momentum Cache". I did this as well.

After that, I restarted MacOS and checked the speed again with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. Now I achieve a write speed of just under 1000 MB/s and a read speed of 1260 MB/s with the P2. First I wanted to sell the P2 again, but now everything fits. I would recommend anyone with such slow speeds to first update the firmware and activate the Momentum Cache. Everything now runs without problems under MacOS. No kernel panic and no other problems.

Here are some pictures for speed comparison:

Before with old SSD (First picture with 1GB, second with 5GB setting in Disk Speed Test):
View attachment 1768688
View attachment 1768689
After with Crucial P2 (same settings for 1GB and 5GB):
View attachment 1768690
View attachment 1768691

Under Windows 10, I unfortunately still have the problem that it comes more often to a blue screen when I boot the computer without power cord. Does anyone here have any idea why this happens?

Thanks for the great overview on the first page and the tips for the Bootcamp installation.

Congratulations for your success.

Is the speed constant even after the first three iterations? Could you do me a favor and look if you have installed QLC or TLC memory in your P2? You can read how to do this here. Please post a picture of your result. Thanks

For me, unfortunately, that didn't work with enabling the "Momentum Cache". I'll get a new P2 tomorrow and would test the whole thing again. Therefore it would be very interesting to know whether you have QLC or TLC memory.

 

[ClaudeGable]

For me, the values remain stable even after several iterations.

Apparently, however, I have also installed QLC memory. If I had known before that Crucial now also uses QLC, I would have rather used the ADATA or Sabrent SSDs.

v0.33a
OS: 10.0 build 19043
Drive: 0(NVME)
Driver : W10(0:3)
Model : CT500P2SSD8
Fw : P2CR033
Size : 476940 MB [500.1 GB]
LBA Size: 512
AdminCmd: 0x00 0x01 0x02 0x04 0x05 0x06 0x08 0x09 0x0A 0x0C 0x10 0x11 0x14 0x18 0x80 0x81 0x82 0x84 0xD0 0xD1 0xD2 0xF4
I/O Cmd : 0x00 0x01 0x02 0x04 0x08 0x09
Firmware lock supported [02 03] [P002] [0600]
F/W : EDFN70.0
P/N : 00000000
Bank00: 0x2c,0xd3,0x1c,0x32,0xc6,0x0,0x0,0x0 - Micron 96L(N28A) QLC 1024Gb/CE 1024Gb/die
Bank01: 0x2c,0xd3,0x1c,0x32,0xc6,0x0,0x0,0x0 - Micron 96L(N28A) QLC 1024Gb/CE 1024Gb/die
Bank02: 0x2c,0xd3,0x1c,0x32,0xc6,0x0,0x0,0x0 - Micron 96L(N28A) QLC 1024Gb/CE 1024Gb/die
Bank03: 0x2c,0xd3,0x1c,0x32,0xc6,0x0,0x0,0x0 - Micron 96L(N28A) QLC 1024Gb/CE 1024Gb/die
Controller : PS5013-E13 [PS5013AA]
CPU Clk : 667
Flash CE : 4
Flash Channel : 4
Interleave : 1
Flash CE Mask : [++++---- -------- -------- --------]
Flash Clk,MT : 800
Block per CE : 1968
Page per Block: 4608
Bit Per Cell : 4(QLC)
PMIC Type : PS6103
PE Cycle Limit: 40000/1500
ParPage : 00

Defects Early Read Prog Erase
Bank00: 17 0 0 0
Bank01: 32 0 0 0
Bank02: 15 0 0 0
Bank03: 15 0 0 0
Total : 79 0 0 0

Defects Early Read Prog Erase
Ce00Pl0: 5 0 0 0
Ce00Pl1: 4 0 0 0
Ce00Pl2: 6 0 0 0
Ce00Pl3: 2 0 0 0
Ce01Pl0: 8 0 0 0
Ce01Pl1: 7 0 0 0
Ce01Pl2: 10 0 0 0
Ce01Pl3: 7 0 0 0
Ce02Pl0: 4 0 0 0
Ce02Pl1: 3 0 0 0
Ce02Pl2: 5 0 0 0
Ce02Pl3: 3 0 0 0
Ce03Pl0: 5 0 0 0
Ce03Pl1: 3 0 0 0
Ce03Pl2: 4 0 0 0
Ce03Pl3: 3 0 0 0
Total : 79 0 0 0

At least the speed seems to be okay for me.

Have you tried updating your firmware? According to your screenshot it was (is) old.

 

[93770]

Thank you for your commitment.

Yes, I have updated the firmware to the latest P2CR033. That was just an old screenshot I still had and I knew someone would ask damn it.

As I said I will probably get two new P2 tomorrow and will then test and report the whole thing again.

 

[Ektachrome]

Even if performance is OK, I would hesitate on a P2 if they’re using QLC now due to durability long term.

Do we know if any of the other manufacturers have started cheaping out since the chart was made?

 

[BlueMaxVA]

Read 1st post. You can not use internet recovery. Bootable USB must be madr with MacOS High Sierra or newer.

I was able to use Internet Recovery to format and load several different NVME SSDs in testing this week. Decided to try it since I only had 3 bootable flash drives configured and surprisingly it worked - Just depends on the MFG. We tested 10 different SSDs on 7 different MBP13, MBP15 and MBA13 models.

3 of the 10 SSDs had problems recovering from sleep / panics in NVMEIon after install. The others were fine. Some MFGs have one model that works and another that doesn't. Will post full results later this week.

 

[Calmch]

For those using/installing WD SN550 SSD

Mind updating the firmware to the version 211210WD prior installation of the macOS

SN550 with earlier FW versions suffer from hibernation detection issues, especially on MacBook Pro 13 2015 (Even considering the fact that the NVME DXE driver is totally OK with hibernation on custom SSDs)

My theory is that the startup delay of the ssd aka slow transition through power states causes timeout on Mac EFI and the system considers it as a physical drive disconnect. Somehow this should be corrected with the last FW.

PS You need a Windows machine to either make a live USB flasher or a Windows install and WD SSD Dashboard

Let me report my success case: I purchased a WD SN550 1TB SSD last february and installed it in a Macbook Pro 13" Retina Mid 2014 (A1502) using a small adapter without any kind of problems. The OS version is 11.2.3 (20D91) - Big Sur - and the bootrom version is 430.0.0.0.0. I used TimeMachine to do a full backup on external HD before any attempt to upgrade the SSD and followed all the instructions on how to install MacOS on the new SSD after inserting it in the machine.

Even without the SSD recommended firmware update (using Dashboard), I got everything working well, including hibernation. However, I was worried about this update and decide to do it anyway.

But I had a big problem: How to find a Windows notebook where I could install the WD SN550 in order to use the (Windows-only) update software Dashboard from WD? Even if I had such Windows computer, I would have to open the Macbook Pro again, remove the (already configured) SSD and start from zero the MacBook upgrade process.

However, as the new 1TB SSD had plenty of space available, I decided to create a small (128 GB) partition on it and install a copy of Windows 10 in order to be able to install and run the WD software for firmware update. I followed the Apple instructions on how to install Windows on Mac using BootCamp and I got a very fast and responsive Windows 10 machine running on the Mac. Then, I downloaded and installed WD Dashboard software on Windows and was able to perform the SN550 firmware upgrade very easily and without loosing any data on my already in use SSD.

After going back to MacOS, I found no difference at all on the behavior of the hardware or software, as they were working well previously. But now, I am not worried any more about an undone firmware upgrade. And I can restart the new installed Windows machine at any time to run Dashboard again and check for new SSD firmware updates.

 

[frako]

Hi,
i'm about to upgrade the SSD of my MBA 6,2 (early 2014) to 1 TB.
The Crucial P2 seemed to be a no-brainer, until i read of QLC and no DRAM-cache. Even if performance is fine, i'm worried about durability, because my MBA has just 4GB RAM and additionally Big Sur is said to swap a lot. I often open many applications parallel, sometimes even a 2GB-VM. On the other hand, battery life really matters to me, so i did not cross the P2 off the list yet:

• Crucial P2 SSD 1TB (100$ 120$; 450TBW)
  Did someone else get 1GB/s write on the P2?
• Seagate BarraCuda 510 SSD 1TB (150$; 640TBW)
  Someone here said, it's similar to Sabrent Rocket, efficiency- and performance-wise
• Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD 1TB (120$; 600TBW)

Other Phison E12 drives are either too expensive here (i.e. Cosair MP510 or Sabrent Rocket 210$+), if you can even get one...

So - would you stick to the P2, or order another SSD?

Kind regards
frank

edit: price (P2) just changed

 

[BaneDark]

Any recent recommendations on NWMe 1tb ssd for late 2013 15” 2.0ghz MacBook Pro? Looking for something that wouldn’t give me any issues and would maximise battery life (replacing battery with new one in couple of days) thanks! 🙏

 

[BlueMaxVA]

I just installed a Crucial P2 2TB for a macbook pro 11,5 and I'm getting similar write and read speeds (80 mb/s, 1000 mb/s) after the first two iterations...it does look good for the first couple iterations of the speed test. I'm wondering which tests people post online?

I just tested a Crucial P2 500GB PCIe NVME M.2 (CT500P2SSD8) in 2 separate identical 2015 MacBook Air 13" A1466 (1.6GHz i5/8GB RAM/427.0.0.0.0 system firmware) and a 2015 MacBook Pro 13" A1502. SSD has P2CR012 firmware and tested with Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur. All tests were ~1512 Read/~1552 Write using Amorphous Diskmark 1GB benchmark/4KB block size. SSD sourced from Amazon and arrived Saturday. Install was a breeze and everything functions as it should. Using Sintech long adapter or short adapter same results.

Crucial P5 (CT500P5SSD8 with P4CR311 firmware) panics in NVMEIon & fails to recover from sleep mode on same machines - appears to have a firmware issue...

Note: standard MacOS in all cases. Have not modified any kext files etc. Ad hoc power consumption seems fine but no detailed testing (ran subject computers all night with 5 minute screen saver, 3 minute display sleep, 10 minute computer sleep, password off) at 44% / 3:48 remaining after being on continuously for 20:31 hrs. (P5 panics every time computer sleeps.)
Also tested WD, Inland Pro, Inland Premium - all work fine with similar benchmarks including on L2013 A1398 15" MBP in addition to the A1466 and A1502 platforms.

 

[BoPl]

Hi,
i'm about to upgrade the SSD of my MBA 6,2 (early 2014) to 1 TB.
The Crucial P2 seemed to be a no-brainer, until i read of QLC and no DRAM-cache. Even if performance is fine, i'm worried about durability, because my MBA has just 4GB RAM and additionally Big Sur is said to swap a lot. I often open many applications parallel, sometimes even a 2GB-VM. On the other hand, battery life really matters to me, so i did not cross the P2 off the list yet:

• Crucial P2 SSD 1TB (100$ 120$; 450TBW)
  Did someone else get 1GB/s write on the P2?
• Seagate BarraCuda 510 SSD 1TB (150$; 640TBW)
  Someone here said, it's similar to Sabrent Rocket, efficiency- and performance-wise
• Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD 1TB (120$; 600TBW)

Other Phison E12 drives are either too expensive here (i.e. Cosair MP510 or Sabrent Rocket 210$+), if you can even get one...

So - would you stick to the P2, or order another SSD?

Kind regards
frank

edit: price (P2) just changed

Crucial P2 1TB SSD been using for last 5 month without any problems. Stable W/R speed. TLC memory version.

 

[danielPro]

Anyone can help me install NVMEFix and Lilu kext on Big Sur 11.3? I am using Macbook Pro 13 2015 and the SSD is Samsung 980. I tried to copy the kexts NVMEFix.kext (v1.0.7) and Lilu.kext (v1.5.3) (I did not copy the SYM file) and did the command "sudo kextcache -i /." but it does not cache the kext. I don't know what to do. btw, my SSD can hibernate normally, but its power consumption is quite high. The idle is ~0.2A and load ~0.4A, the temp is ~45C.
This is the error I got:

➜  Library kextstat | egrep -e "Ssd|Lilu|NVMe"
Executing: /usr/bin/kmutil showloaded
No variant specified, falling back to release
   79    0 0xffffff8002aa0000 0x2a000    0x2a000    com.apple.iokit.IONVMeFamily (2.1.0) 2A44DC48-B629-386C-985E-3BE03CCA48F2 <61 42 30 28 14 8 7 6 5 3 1>

 

[ramur]

Anyone can help me install NVMEFix and Lilu kext on Big Sur 11.3? I am using Macbook Pro 13 2015 and the SSD is Samsung 980. I tried to copy the kexts NVMEFix.kext (v1.0.7) and Lilu.kext (v1.5.3) (I did not copy the SYM file) and did the command "sudo kextcache -i /." but it does not cache the kext. I don't know what to do. btw, my SSD can hibernate normally, but its power consumption is quite high. The idle is ~0.2A and load ~0.4A, the temp is ~45C.
This is the error I got:

➜  Library kextstat | egrep -e "Ssd|Lilu|NVMe"
Executing: /usr/bin/kmutil showloaded
No variant specified, falling back to release
   79    0 0xffffff8002aa0000 0x2a000    0x2a000    com.apple.iokit.IONVMeFamily (2.1.0) 2A44DC48-B629-386C-985E-3BE03CCA48F2 <61 42 30 28 14 8 7 6 5 3 1>

Maybe it's because of SIP. Take a look here:

GitHub - kvic-z/SsdPmEnabler

Contribute to kvic-z/SsdPmEnabler development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

"By default unsigned KEXTs are denied from running and this is part of Apple's System Integrity Protection (SIP). In order to load unsigned KEXTs just like some of the other 3rd-party KEXTS, part of SIP or SIP in its entirety need to be disabled."

It also includes a detailed description how to disable SIP under Big Sur.

 

[93770]

I would like to inform you that there are new versions of Lilu and NVMeFix available.

 

[Etiernal]

Last week, according to the table here in the forum, I ordered the Crucial P2 with 500GB and the Sintech Apdater. After installation, I was very disappointed with the measured write speed of just under 40-60MB. The read speed of just under 600MB was ok, but less than I had hoped.

The P2 shipped with firmware version P2CR031, so I wanted to update that first in hopes that this would bring a bit more speed. Unfortunately, I did not find a way to do this under macOS. All attempts via USB stick failed.

So I installed Windows 10 via Bootcamp, since Crucial offers its own software for updating the firmware. During the installation of Windows 10, there was always a blue screen at first, but with the tip on the first page to adjust the registry, the installation worked.

With Windows 10, I then installed the software "Crucial Storage Executive" and updated the firmware to the latest version P2CR033. The software also recommended enabling the "Momentum Cache". I did this as well.

After that, I restarted MacOS and checked the speed again with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. Now I achieve a write speed of just under 1000 MB/s and a read speed of 1260 MB/s with the P2. First I wanted to sell the P2 again, but now everything fits. I would recommend anyone with such slow speeds to first update the firmware and activate the Momentum Cache. Everything now runs without problems under MacOS. No kernel panic and no other problems.

Here are some pictures for speed comparison:

Before with old SSD (First picture with 1GB, second with 5GB setting in Disk Speed Test):
View attachment 1768688
View attachment 1768689
After with Crucial P2 (same settings for 1GB and 5GB):
View attachment 1768690
View attachment 1768691

Under Windows 10, I unfortunately still have the problem that it comes more often to a blue screen when I boot the computer without power cord. Does anyone here have any idea why this happens?

Thanks for the great overview on the first page and the tips for the Bootcamp installation.

Hey,

thanks for your detailed post. I was unlucky enough to get the QLC one.
I have managed to get Windows 10 installed without any issues. I have also updated the firmware and enabled cache.

After about 8 iterations, the r/w speed went down to 30 MB/s and 300 MB/s respectively, but this happened only once after 8 iterations. Before the fw update, it was somewhat more frequent.

I will keep an eye on it and keep you guys updated.

At this point, I think that the main post should be updated to indicate that the P2 is not advised anymore. It doesn't make sense. It's not just the overall speed, it's the usability that's affected.

 

[BlueMaxVA]

Hey,

thanks for your detailed post. I was unlucky enough to get the QLC one.
I have managed to get Windows 10 installed without any issues. I have also updated the firmware and enabled cache.

After about 8 iterations, the r/w speed went down to 30 MB/s and 300 MB/s respectively, but this happened only once after 8 iterations. Before the fw update, it was somewhat more frequent.

I will keep an eye on it and keep you guys updated.

At this point, I think that the main post should be updated to indicate that the P2 is not advised anymore. It doesn't make sense. It's not just the overall speed, it's the usability that's affected.

FYI - P2 500GB with P2CR012 firmware worked fine in our tests (1500MB/s+ R&W) (2015 MBP13, 2015 MBA 13 i5 & i7, L2013 MBP15). P5 panics and hangs backlight

 

[Ektachrome]

Crucial P2 1TB SSD been using for last 5 month without any problems. Stable W/R speed. TLC memory version.
View attachment 1769217

No doubt the TLC version is good. But how do you know if you're buying that or the QLC version?

 

[Ektachrome]

Hey,

thanks for your detailed post. I was unlucky enough to get the QLC one.
I have managed to get Windows 10 installed without any issues. I have also updated the firmware and enabled cache.

After about 8 iterations, the r/w speed went down to 30 MB/s and 300 MB/s respectively, but this happened only once after 8 iterations. Before the fw update, it was somewhat more frequent.

I will keep an eye on it and keep you guys updated.

At this point, I think that the main post should be updated to indicate that the P2 is not advised anymore. It doesn't make sense. It's not just the overall speed, it's the usability that's affected.

What is the best all-round recommendation now that the previous 'no-brainer' P2 isn't advisable?

E.g., does the Sabrent Rocket (2TB) have a good history of not having issues, etc.? Decent speed? Good battery life?

 

[BoPl]

No doubt the TLC version is good. But how do you know if you're buying that or the QLC version?

I had option to return back after testing to be sure I bought TLC version.

 

[Ektachrome]

I had option to return back after testing to be sure I bought TLC version.Is there any way to tell, apart from just if it slows down in testing?

This was around 5 months ago, though, what are the chances any are now left?

Is there any way to tell in advance, apart from just if it slows down in testing after you bought it?

 

[Loquidor]

I just tested a Crucial P2 500GB PCIe NVME M.2 (CT500P2SSD8) in 2 separate identical 2015 MacBook Air 13" A1466 (1.6GHz i5/8GB RAM/427.0.0.0.0 system firmware) and a 2015 MacBook Pro 13" A1502. SSD has P2CR012 firmware and tested with Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur. All tests were ~1512 Read/~1552 Write using Amorphous Diskmark 1GB benchmark/4KB block size. SSD sourced from Amazon and arrived Saturday. Install was a breeze and everything functions as it should. Using Sintech long adapter or short adapter same results.

Crucial P5 (CT500P5SSD8 with P4CR311 firmware) panics in NVMEIon & fails to recover from sleep mode on same machines - appears to have a firmware issue...

Note: standard MacOS in all cases. Have not modified any kext files etc. Ad hoc power consumption seems fine but no detailed testing (ran subject computers all night with 5 minute screen saver, 3 minute display sleep, 10 minute computer sleep, password off) at 44% / 3:48 remaining after being on continuously for 20:31 hrs. (P5 panics every time computer sleeps.)
Also tested WD, Inland Pro, Inland Premium - all work fine with similar benchmarks including on L2013 A1398 15" MBP in addition to the A1466 and A1502 platforms.

Bonjour je suis un petit nouveau et j'ai mis ce matin dans mon MBA 2017 A1466 (1,8Ghz, 8Go) un ssd Crucial P5 de 500Go pour remplacer mon 128 d'origine. Et j'ai un souci de gros plantage en sortie de veille... Il redémarre alors à chaque fois. Serait-il alors incompatible avec les Macs ? Dois-je le renvoyer et prendre autre chose? Dans ce cas, que me conseillez vous? Je ne trouve vraiment rien à propose des MBR de 2017 et c'est problématique.

 

[Loquidor]

En plus, si je désactive la veille des disques, la batterie fond lorsqu'il est fermé.