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

[Ektachrome]

Looks good so far! Shame that Corsair is way more expensive in UK than SN550 tho

Specs-wise the Corsair a considerably better drive, at least on paper -

Corsair MP510 2TB:
- Speed - 3,480MB/sec sequential read, up to 3,000MB/sec sequential write
- Random Read up to (IOPS): 485k
- Random Write up to (IOPS): 530k
- Endurance - 3,120 TBW

WD SN550 2TB:
- Speed - 2,600MB/sec sequential read, up to 1800MB/sec sequential write
- Random Read up to (IOPS): 360k
- Random Write up to (IOPS): 384k
- Endurance - 600 TBW

Corsair has DRAM cache, WD is DRAM-less.

Price difference is significant, though, at around £70-80.

I went for the Corsair in the end because I weighed up the potential benefit of having a faster, longer lived drive which I should be able to use in an external enclosure for a new MacBook after this one is obsoleted in a couple of years by no more MacOS support (I'm guessing). If I had only been buying for this Mac, I would probably have gone for the SN550, which would have likely outlived the machine at this point, with a 5 year warranty...

 

[ramur]

Today I received my WD Blue SN550 1TB SSD and I already installed it to my macbook pro retina 2015 early. Everything seems fine I just have some trouble to get operation the nvmefix and ssdpmenabler. It is require some permission so now i am stucked. System: MacOs Big Sur 11.3.1
I hope someone can help me out with this issue. I have a significant faster read and write speed and I am using a cheap adapter what supports 4 lane. Some pic attached regarding this comment.

Congrats to your success installing the WD SSD. I'm using the same, same size.

Regarding installation of kexts: Have you considered to disable SIP? Take a look here...

GitHub - kvic-z/SsdPmEnabler

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

github.com

and scroll down to

"Disable part of SIP in Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur"

 

[Pistiku]

Congrats to your success installing the WD SSD. I'm using the same, same size.

Regarding installation of kexts: Have you considered to disable SIP? Take a look here...

GitHub - kvic-z/SsdPmEnabler

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

github.com

and scroll down to

"Disable part of SIP in Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur"

I've already done that and when I run command to confirm operation of ssdpmenabler there is no feedback so most probably not working.

 

[ramur]

I've already done that and when I run command to confirm operation of ssdpmenabler there is no feedback so most probably not working.

The description under the link i posted also includes - under the headline "Installation" - that you have to allow the kext to run under "Security Preferences" of your MacOS.

1. Open Terminal. Type the following command line:

sudo cp -R ~/Downloads/SsdPmEnabler.kext /Library/Extensions

1. Once you run the command in Step 1, macOS will pop up a window to alert you about the new KEXT.

Click "Open Security Preferences" on the pop-up. Then click "Allow" to grant SsdPmEnabler.kext permission to run.


Have you considered that?
Also the chapter "Confirm ssdpmEnabler working properly" is very helpful.

 

[Pistiku]

The description under the link i posted also includes - under the headline "Installation" - that you have to allow the kext to run under "Security Preferences" of your MacOS.

1. Open Terminal. Type the following command line:

sudo cp -R ~/Downloads/SsdPmEnabler.kext /Library/Extensions

1. Once you run the command in Step 1, macOS will pop up a window to alert you about the new KEXT.

Click "Open Security Preferences" on the pop-up. Then click "Allow" to grant SsdPmEnabler.kext permission to run.


Have you considered that?
Also the chapter "Confirm ssdpmEnabler working properly" is very helpful.

Yes, I noted that but my case was different. Nothing pop up for me, so I checked in the system preferences and I found where I needed to allow it and after restart it seems like working, but the consumption still high because I left the mac for an hour to drain and the percentage dropped 2%.

 

[Aurora112]

Crucial P2 is kind of weird. It jerks and hangs.

One time dualboot is no longer possible, the other time you see the colored windmill too often. Bootcamp installation was not possible - and I can safely rule out a defect in the adapter. With re-inserted ADATA MACOS just flies around my ears, but I need more bytes, who does not know it.

But - and maybe that is the reason - Crucial P2 saves so much energy. Between 0.09A and 0.16A, with a maximum of 400mA at high load. This is unbelievable!
Who has ever seen a thirsty man sprinting?

Silicon Power P34A80 is basically hotter, but a better usability of the system is not given. Blackmagic's values - even after 2 days with fresh Mojave - leave a lot of room for improvement.
Overall, the MacBook is hotter - is this due to the double-sided configuration?

In any case, all three NVME drives have the same controller manufacturer, Phison E12 or 12S.

Sabrent Rocket 1Tb is the best of the three drives.
Purchase date later this week because this SSD comes with exactly the configuration it has been tested everywhere.

TLC,DRAM,Phison E12, Toshiba 64L.

Current 0.16A - 0.25A in normal operation (29°C), under stress (35°C) up to 0.5A.


I still have a lot of question marks about the Blackmagic test.
Why the SSDs, although at least two use the same controller, show such different behavior would be interesting to know.

If I had one wish I would lock Crucial (best powermanagement) and Sabrent (fast, consistent, nice and fluffy) in a room and only open it again when ONE decent product has come out.

Reasonable usability, good and consistent read/write rates, as well as
maximum power saving

One must not forget that all drives are advertised in the product description with at least 2 times as high write/read rates as they can actually be shown in the Macbook.
You'd think that all drives could manage 1300MB/s... but that is not the case.

So if someone has the possibility to get the Sabrent Rocket in the mentioned configuration, one should not think twice...

 

[BoPl]

Crucial P2 is kind of weird. It jerks and hangs.

One time dualboot is no longer possible, the other time you see the colored windmill too often. Bootcamp installation was not possible - and I can safely rule out a defect in the adapter. With re-inserted ADATA MACOS just flies around my ears, but I need more bytes, who does not know it.

But - and maybe that is the reason - Crucial P2 saves so much energy. Between 0.09A and 0.16A, with a maximum of 400mA at high load. This is unbelievable!
Who has ever seen a thirsty man sprinting?

Silicon Power P34A80 is basically hotter, but a better usability of the system is not given. Blackmagic's values - even after 2 days with fresh Mojave - leave a lot of room for improvement.
Overall, the MacBook is hotter - is this due to the double-sided configuration?

In any case, all three NVME drives have the same controller manufacturer, Phison E12 or 12S.

Sabrent Rocket 1Tb is the best of the three drives.
Purchase date later this week because this SSD comes with exactly the configuration it has been tested everywhere.

TLC,DRAM,Phison E12, Toshiba 64L.

Current 0.16A - 0.25A in normal operation (29°C), under stress (35°C) up to 0.5A.


I still have a lot of question marks about the Blackmagic test.
Why the SSDs, although at least two use the same controller, show such different behavior would be interesting to know.

If I had one wish I would lock Crucial (best powermanagement) and Sabrent (fast, consistent, nice and fluffy) in a room and only open it again when ONE decent product has come out.

Reasonable usability, good and consistent read/write rates, as well as
maximum power saving

One must not forget that all drives are advertised in the product description with at least 2 times as high write/read rates as they can actually be shown in the Macbook.
You'd think that all drives could manage 1300MB/s... but that is not the case.

So if someone has the possibility to get the Sabrent Rocket in the mentioned configuration, one should not think twice...

I have Corsair MP510 1TB SSD with Phison E12 controller 1GB DRAM and Crucial P2 1TB with Phison E13T TLC version SSD.
The MP510 Idle is 0,16A (0.11A with NVMe/Lilu kext installed). The P2 Idle is 0,10A (NVMe/Lilu installed makes no different, Idle still 0,10A).
I'm using P2 in my MBP 13" mid 2014. It runs much cooler than MP510. Never had any issue with both SSDs. Was testing P2 with Blackmagic for 10 times gives the same Write/Read speed 1200/1300Mb/s.

 

[Aurora112]

I have Corsair MP510 1TB SSD with Phison E12 controller 1GB DRAM and Crucial P2 1TB with Phison E13T TLC version SSD.
The MP510 Idle is 0,16A (0.11A with NVMe/Lilu kext installed). The P2 Idle is 0,10A (NVMe/Lilu installed makes no different, Idle still 0,10A).
I'm using P2 in my MBP 13" mid 2014. It runs much cooler than MP510. Never had any issue with both SSDs. Was testing P2 with Blackmagic for 10 times gives the same Write/Read speed 1200/1300Mb/s.

Crucial P2 1TB Phison QLC
MacBook Pro 11.1 (late 2013)
no Kext installed.

the behavior of this P2 variant is strange, I would not want to claim that the QLC memory is the problem without more details. Write rates of 20MB/s in Blackmagic after 3 runs.

I could not change the unreliable behavior of this P2 varient in dual boot even by PRAM/SMC reset. Since other SSDs don't have this problem, I rule out a hardware defect on the Macbook at this point.

Isn't it true that some NVME SSDs are supposed to be identical in construction?

Corsair MP510
Sabrent Rocket
SiliconPower P34A80
and others?

Phison probably provides a standard design of the PCB, so if the customer adopts this 1:1, you would think that the behavior of the SSDs are then the same...

 

[TutanRamon]

Hi, someone test the Adata XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 4TB? It's compatible to our MACs? I wanna upgrade my Macbook Pro 15 (Late 2013) and my MAC PRO 6,1 for a lot of time. Thanks!!

 

[BaneDark]

Crucial P2 is kind of weird. It jerks and hangs.

One time dualboot is no longer possible, the other time you see the colored windmill too often. Bootcamp installation was not possible - and I can safely rule out a defect in the adapter. With re-inserted ADATA MACOS just flies around my ears, but I need more bytes, who does not know it.

But - and maybe that is the reason - Crucial P2 saves so much energy. Between 0.09A and 0.16A, with a maximum of 400mA at high load. This is unbelievable!
Who has ever seen a thirsty man sprinting?

Silicon Power P34A80 is basically hotter, but a better usability of the system is not given. Blackmagic's values - even after 2 days with fresh Mojave - leave a lot of room for improvement.
Overall, the MacBook is hotter - is this due to the double-sided configuration?

In any case, all three NVME drives have the same controller manufacturer, Phison E12 or 12S.

Sabrent Rocket 1Tb is the best of the three drives.
Purchase date later this week because this SSD comes with exactly the configuration it has been tested everywhere.

TLC,DRAM,Phison E12, Toshiba 64L.

Current 0.16A - 0.25A in normal operation (29°C), under stress (35°C) up to 0.5A.


I still have a lot of question marks about the Blackmagic test.
Why the SSDs, although at least two use the same controller, show such different behavior would be interesting to know.

If I had one wish I would lock Crucial (best powermanagement) and Sabrent (fast, consistent, nice and fluffy) in a room and only open it again when ONE decent product has come out.

Reasonable usability, good and consistent read/write rates, as well as
maximum power saving

One must not forget that all drives are advertised in the product description with at least 2 times as high write/read rates as they can actually be shown in the Macbook.
You'd think that all drives could manage 1300MB/s... but that is not the case.

So if someone has the possibility to get the Sabrent Rocket in the mentioned configuration, one should not think twice...

How did you manage to get Rocket in this particular configuration? Thanks!

 

[xboxbml]

Hi, someone test the Adata XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 4TB? It's compatible to our MACs? I wanna upgrade my Macbook Pro 15 (Late 2013) and my MAC PRO 6,1 for a lot of time. Thanks!!

I have not tested that model, but the SX8200 Pro works well for me in my Air. I'd be interested to know as well. I have the 2TB but would like to go 4TB if it does work..

 

[sanichor]

Crucial P2 is kind of weird. It jerks and hangs.

One time dualboot is no longer possible, the other time you see the colored windmill too often. Bootcamp installation was not possible - and I can safely rule out a defect in the adapter. With re-inserted ADATA MACOS just flies around my ears, but I need more bytes, who does not know it.

But - and maybe that is the reason - Crucial P2 saves so much energy. Between 0.09A and 0.16A, with a maximum of 400mA at high load. This is unbelievable!
Who has ever seen a thirsty man sprinting?

Silicon Power P34A80 is basically hotter, but a better usability of the system is not given. Blackmagic's values - even after 2 days with fresh Mojave - leave a lot of room for improvement.
Overall, the MacBook is hotter - is this due to the double-sided configuration?

In any case, all three NVME drives have the same controller manufacturer, Phison E12 or 12S.

Sabrent Rocket 1Tb is the best of the three drives.
Purchase date later this week because this SSD comes with exactly the configuration it has been tested everywhere.

TLC,DRAM,Phison E12, Toshiba 64L.

Current 0.16A - 0.25A in normal operation (29°C), under stress (35°C) up to 0.5A.


I still have a lot of question marks about the Blackmagic test.
Why the SSDs, although at least two use the same controller, show such different behavior would be interesting to know.

If I had one wish I would lock Crucial (best powermanagement) and Sabrent (fast, consistent, nice and fluffy) in a room and only open it again when ONE decent product has come out.

Reasonable usability, good and consistent read/write rates, as well as
maximum power saving

One must not forget that all drives are advertised in the product description with at least 2 times as high write/read rates as they can actually be shown in the Macbook.
You'd think that all drives could manage 1300MB/s... but that is not the case.

So if someone has the possibility to get the Sabrent Rocket in the mentioned configuration, one should not think twice...

I also have the Crucial P2 and I didn't suspect it could block the install of Boot Camp before your post. The partition created by the Boot Camp Assistant is missing. I'll try to transfer a clone from my original 128go Apple SSD with Winclone and see what happens. If it works I will expand it.

 

[Aurora112]

How did you manage to get Rocket in this particular configuration? Thanks!

Keep in mind i talked about sabrent rocket 1TB, black/blue label!

Rocket NVMe SSD

M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Up to 3,400/3,000 MB/s. NVMe 1.3 compliant with APST/ASPM/L1.2 power management support. Supports SMART, TRIM, and firmware updates with wide flash compatibility. Resiliency ensured through wear-leveling, bad block management, over-provisioning, ECC, RAID, etc...

www.sabrent.com

These days there are many fake news. Therefore, look and check for yourself what is being said.

Sabrent is not a semiconductor manufacturer from my point of view, like Kingston, Corsair, Samsung, WD, Toshiba (now Kioxia). The probability that they have built up their own expertise - before the market launch of their first NVME SSD should have been zero. That means they have fully acquired and adopted the standard design from Phison - which doesn't have to be bad, as you can see.

Since Sabrent also offers the Rocket under a different name - SB-RKTQ-1TB -
as QLC variant, I don't see any logical reason for cheating.

As for my Sabrent Rocket, just luck - if the fake news would be true.

 

[Aurora112]

Hi, someone test the Adata XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 4TB? It's compatible to our MACs? I wanna upgrade my Macbook Pro 15 (Late 2013) and my MAC PRO 6,1 for a lot of time. Thanks!!

no test at this time.
Does it make sense to put rgb light in the macbook?
Guessing if something lives in it - like minions - for them it can make a difference ;-) just fun!

At first glance the SSD has low IOPS, doesn’t it?

My tip would be without fear to stick your own nose deep into the data sheets...

From my point of view, there is a risk with controllers that are manufactured by the NVME SSD vendor itself.
So I would definitely manage to install an NVME SSD with Phison or Silicon Motion controller.

I installed my old ADATA Gammix S11 (the first of its kind) in my Macbook 11.1 years ago. Still fast and never had any problems!

 

[Aurora112]

See sig.. Yeah, ADATA uses more power than others but I get good performance and lots of space with this 2tb, and this 2015 MBA only has 2 lanes..

Looked at it again this weekend now that the Macbook 11.1 has the latest bootrom.

With the latest bootrom, the ADATA Gammix S11 (Silicon Motion Controller) can no longer be called a toaster.

Current power consumption in IDLE between 0.16A and 0.21A, burst under 1A - with the old bootrom version, the power consumption was at least twice as high on average.

It seems that Apple did manage some great changes in that particular field. Thanks so much!

 

[rvanassche]

update of my problem.


I have a Macbook air 6,2 (11p model EMC 2631) from 2014.
the internal SSD is full dead : disk utility wont see it when I try to install some version of MacOS on it. There is no already MacOS installed on this macbook air.

I did buy from amazon as advised here in this thread :
A SINTECH Adaptateur convertisseur M.2 NVME SSD

And I had already since a few days : One SSD KINGSTON A2000 250Go M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe (SA2000M8/250G)


MacOS Mojave installer from USB sees the SSD but refuses to format it to APFS (lack of firmware) it is the same with BigSur.

If I format the SSD with the Mac OS extended format. The Installer copies files to the new HDD (about 12 Gb are copied whithout any error on screen, maybe next time i will use ⌘L during the process: I have seen at least during one of my many tests today :Unable to get fs for /macOS installer data )... first reboot : NO SSD , only the USB installer is here, the new Kingston SSD is not bootable ?
When I ask disk utility from BigSur installer to check the Kingston : it seems ok : EFI is ok, HFS ok, all is clear.. but NO : after the first reboot of any installer (Mojave, Catalina, BigSur) the ssd is not seen on the initial picker and not booted to continue the installation...

Via Terminal (from the installer) I can see the SSD Volume: it contains the part of MacOS Bigsur for the installation when the SSD volume will be booted, about 12 Gb.

What did i Wrong ? (Internet recovery offers me the Mac OS/X Lion installer that won't see the NVME)

 

[macpro_mid2014]

update of my problem.


I have a Macbook air 6,2 (11p model EMC 2631) from 2014.
the internal SSD is full dead : disk utility wont see it when I try to install some version of MacOS on it. There is no already MacOS installed on this macbook air.

I did buy from amazon as advised here in this thread :
A SINTECH Adaptateur convertisseur M.2 NVME SSD

And I had already since a few days : One SSD KINGSTON A2000 250Go M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe (SA2000M8/250G)


MacOS Mojave installer from USB sees the SSD but refuses to format it to APFS (lack of firmware) it is the same with BigSur.

If I format the SSD with the Mac OS extended format. The Installer copies files to the new HDD (about 12 Gb are copied whithout any error on screen, maybe next time i will use ⌘L during the process: I have seen at least during one of my many tests today :Unable to get fs for /macOS installer data )... first reboot : NO SSD , only the USB installer is here, the new Kingston SSD is not bootable ?
When I ask disk utility from BigSur installer to check the Kingston : it seems ok : EFI is ok, HFS ok, all is clear.. but NO : after the first reboot of any installer (Mojave, Catalina, BigSur) the ssd is not seen on the initial picker and not booted to continue the installation...

Via Terminal (from the installer) I can see the SSD Volume: it contains the part of MacOS Bigsur for the installation when the SSD volume will be booted, about 12 Gb.

View attachment 1775914

What did i Wrong ? (Internet recovery offers me the Mac OS/X Lion installer that won't see the NVME)

What is the System Firmware Version on your MBA?

 

[rvanassche]

What is the System Firmware Version on your MBA?

the MBA has no MacOS installed, I can't have this information.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

the MBA has no MacOS installed, I can't have this information.

I suspect the System Firmware Version is too old. That is why the MBA cannot "see" the SSD.

UPDATED: if this is the case, you have to buy a 128Gb original Apple SSD on eBay so you can update the System Firmware Version to the latest version before you can use the NVMe SSD.

 

[rvanassche]

I suspect the System Firmware Version is too old. That is why the MBA cannot "see" the SSD.

but why the (mojave, catalina, bigsur) installer can see it, initialize it, copy 12 gb of datas ?

 

[rvanassche]

I suspect the System Firmware Version is too old. That is why the MBA cannot "see" the SSD.

UPDATED: if this is the case, you have to buy a 128Gb original Apple SSD on eBay so you can update the System Firmware Version to the latest version before you can use the NVMe SSD.

but I see "Fully tested and secure erased." on many used original SSD on Ebay...

 

[macpro_mid2014]

but why the (mojave, catalina, bigsur) installer can see it, initialize it, copy 12 gb of datas ?

The installers can see it then you should be able to format it as APFS. You cannot because of "(lack of firmware)".
Your MBA is probably running a firmware pre-High Sierra (no support for APFS) and no support for internal NVMe.

UPDATED: I think macOS running from the memory stick recognizes the NVMe as "external" disk. When the MBA boots, it cannot see the NVMe because of the old firmware.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

but I see "Fully tested and secure erased." on many used original SSD on Ebay...

Yes, with the original Apple SSD, you can use BIG Sur on the memory stick to format and install BIG Sur in the original Apple SSD. It WILL update the Firmware with the most recent version. If old firmware is the cause, it will start to recognize the NVMe.

 

[rvanassche]

Yes, with the original Apple SSD, you can use BIG Sur on the memory stick to format and install BIG Sur in the original Apple SSD. It WILL update the Firmware with the most recent version. If old firmware is the cause, it will start to recognize the NVMe.

I have put an external SSD with Sierra .. the MBA has accepted to load it. I did a update of Sierra : It has updated the firmware ( large grey load graphic on boot) and I can get the information on the boot rom version.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

It is too old!
with a firmware old like that you must use an INTERNAL original Apple SSD to be able to update the firmware to a newer version!
While using the external boot disk, download and run SilentKnight from eclecticlight.co
It will tell you which is the most recent version you should have been using!