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

[benjamin9]

I installed Big Sur on a 1TB Kingston A2000 via an enclosure, then migrated my system and tested it externally before installing it.

Works smoothly since it was installed. Idle current has been constantly below 0.2A (and drops down to zero when the display goes to sleep, regardless of any open applications) and averages around 0.25-0.35A during heavy use.

View attachment 1924181

View attachment 1924182

That actually does sound very tempting, especially as it seems that the A2000 is the most readily available option for me and is quite cheap! Do you run any kext on that system as well? I noticed you mentioned Big Sur, and I'm somewhat new to this so just wanted to ask if you think Monterey will pose any problems in that regard? Finally I just wanted to ask if you know of any guide for doing the enclosure and migration process, and if you had to install any new firmware updates to the drive etc, would be much appreciated!

Kingstons have always had <neutral>, unwritten support for Macs when it comes to RAM upgrades, so I guess they are continuing the tradition with SSDs.

I just wish the A2000 has a 2TB variant.

I remember that on my old unibody MacBook Pro I upgraded my RAM using Kingstons, great memories!

 

[benjamin9]

I have the same machine and can confirm that it does not have PCI 3.0. It has PCI 2. It is the 15 inch model from 2015 that has PCI 3.

I installed the Sabrent Rocket and it has worked very well. No crashes at all. It does drain the battery faster, though installing ssdpmEnabler reduced the extra draw considerably. You can search my earlier posts for details.

Right, I must've misread somewhere, thanks for the clarification! The Rocket seems to be competitively priced as well, I'll have a look! Thanks for the input!

 

[xanderx007]

That actually does sound very tempting, especially as it seems that the A2000 is the most readily available option for me and is quite cheap! Do you run any kext on that system as well? I noticed you mentioned Big Sur, and I'm somewhat new to this so just wanted to ask if you think Monterey will pose any problems in that regard? Finally I just wanted to ask if you know of any guide for doing the enclosure and migration process, and if you had to install any new firmware updates to the drive etc, would be much appreciated!

Check my original post. Also, MBP 11.3 has been dropped from Monterey upgradeability.

 

[enplaned]

Another solution would be to buy a used Apple OEM 512 GB drive from eBay. That should be 100% stable of course, and it will provide good battery life. It will also provide Boot Camp support. Also, an x3 512 GB model will be somewhat faster than yours, at least for writes. The problem is those drives are used and so will be hit-and-miss, some with a fair amount of wear, and others not. Price wise, they go for about US$80 plus shipping, but you have to be sure to buy the right model. Some models are older x2 ones, but there are lots of recent x3 ones available too. However, with your type of usage, having some wear probably isn't going to be a huge deal.

It's possible to determine how much an Apple SSD is worn - see the end of the following post, about a tool available in Homebrew for kicking out info on how much the drive has been used:

How to Check SSD Health on Mac

Curious about your Mac's longevity in terms of its storage? Learn how to monitor your SSD and mitigate common storage issues.

www.maketecheasier.com

Ideally there would be a source of used Apple SSDs where this test was done a-priori, so you'd know how much the drive was used before you bought it. A "certified used SSD" dealer, so to speak. Not aware of anyone doing this, yet.

 

[EugW]

I installed Big Sur on a 1TB Kingston A2000 via an enclosure, then migrated my system and tested it externally before installing it.

Works smoothly since it was installed. Idle current has been constantly below 0.2A (and drops down to zero when the display goes to sleep, regardless of any open applications) and averages around 0.25-0.35A during heavy use.

Oh I misread the original post as 0.2 W, not 0.2 A. That agrees with the original post, which states it's 0.6 Watts at idle, which is not bad, but not quite as good as the OEM drives. Still a decent option though, esp. because the active power consumption seems good.

BTW, there apparently is a bug in one of the earlier firmwares. A later firmware fixes the bug to speed it up.

Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD Review - 8% Faster Thanks to New Firmware

The Kingston A2000 has recently received a firmware update, which makes a big difference in performance. It now rivals the Samsung 970 EVO, at much better pricing. With just $128 for the tested 1 TB version, or 13 cents per GB, the A2000 offers better value than most SSDs on the market.

www.techpowerup.com

Anyhow, I have fully configured my daughter's 121/128 GB MacBook Pro now, and with all her data and with both myself and my wife as additional users on her machine, she still has over 85 GB left so that'll do for now esp. since she has iCloud support with our 2 TB family plan.

P.S. We won a 2019 MacBook Air 128 GB in a raffle in 2020 and we didn't foresee the need for such a machine so soon, so unfortunately we sold it cheap to a woman who had about 200 GB with of Photos images. It turns out with iCloud it wasn't a problem for her at all since she doesn't always need all of her originals locally at all times. She still loves the machine and storage hasn't been a problem for her, to my pleasant surprise. The drawback on that one though was the storage was non-upgradable. I'm happy with our new old 2015 13" MacBook Pro, as we got it at bargain basement pricing and of course, it has upgradable storage. Fingers crossed it gets macOS 13, too, but just having Monterey is fine at this price.

It's possible to determine how much an Apple SSD is worn - see the end of the following post, about a tool available in Homebrew for kicking out info on how much the drive has been used:

How to Check SSD Health on Mac

Curious about your Mac's longevity in terms of its storage? Learn how to monitor your SSD and mitigate common storage issues.

www.maketecheasier.com

Ideally there would be a source of used Apple SSDs where this test was done a-priori, so you'd know how much the drive was used before you bought it. A "certified used SSD" dealer, so to speak. Not aware of anyone doing this, yet.

One eBayer said in his listing the SSDs were checked with a couple of drive tools to be good, except the mentioned drive tools don't exist on macOS. I suppose they could be using Boot Camp to check it though.

I emailed another eBayer and the response was only that wear varies. Uh, thanks.

 

[0134168]

Do you know DriveX?

 

[EugW]

Do you know DriveX?

DriveDX you mean? Yes, but that eBayers I was talking didn't mention DriveDX.

 

[0134168]

DriveDX you mean? Yes, but that eBayers I was talking didn't mention DriveDX.

Yes. DriveDx. I wasn´t referering to the Ebayers, just in general. Lots of information.

 

[xanderx007]

Oh I misread the original post as 0.2 W, not 0.2 A. That agrees with the original post, which states it's 0.6 Watts at idle, which is not bad, but not quite as good as the OEM drives. Still a decent option though, esp. because the active power consumption seems good.

BTW, there apparently is a bug in one of the earlier firmwares. A later firmware fixes the bug to speed it up.

I mentioned in one of my comments that it idles at 0.0A when the display goes to sleep, but that may just be a fluke. And since I got this just recently, I guess I got one with the latest firmware, but, I'll check later.

Update:

The article indicated that the firmware is S5Z42105. Mine is S5Z44106, so it's updated.

One eBayer said in his listing the SSDs were checked with a couple of drive tools to be good, except the mentioned drive tools don't exist on macOS. I suppose they could be using Boot Camp to check it though.

I emailed another eBayer and the response was only that wear varies. Uh, thanks.

I use Disk Drill (free version even on my previous laptop) to monitor my disk. My Apple SSD was on 95% upon replacement (not bad for something that is 7 years old on heavy use). I'm having second thoughts on buying an enclosure for it, it's a bit impractical to spend around 50$ enclosure++ for a 500GB SSD, so I might wait a bit for cheaper alternatives to become available.

 

[enplaned]

I use Disk Drill (free version even on my previous laptop) to monitor my disk. My Apple SSD was on 95% upon replacement (not bad for something that is 7 years old on heavy use). I'm having second thoughts on buying an enclosure for it, it's a bit impractical to spend around 50$ enclosure++ for a 500GB SSD, so I might wait a bit for cheaper alternatives to become available.

Enclosures for Apple SSDs are, so far as I can tell, hard to find - unsurprisingly, since the Apple form factor(s) are relatively rare.

OWC sells one - like everything else, it's really expensive.

OWC Envoy Pro - SSD Enclosure for 2013-Current Macs

Portable, bus-powered USB 3.0 enclosure for Apple flash SSDs. Offers speeds up to 500MB/s in an award-winning aluminum design. Includes 1 year warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

That's the better part of $100 (plus tax, yadda yadda) vs the $16.99 I just spent on an NVME m.2 enclosure at Amazon.

Then there are various Chinese options, the viability of which I do not know. Acasis has one, there are some no-name brands, I've spent longer than I really should have chasing these down on AliExpress. Sintech seems to have one, but doesn't appear to sell it in the US at the moment.

Some of them are available thru Amazon, but generally they're still pretty expensive. The Acasis enclosure is $100 on Amazon (so, also expensive):

ACASIS USB C 3.0 SSD Enclosure for Narrow Apple Flash SSDs MacBook Air from 2010 to 2011 Portable Storage Enclosure Compatible with M.2 Nvme SSD with Adapter

ACASIS USB C 3.0 SSD Enclosure for Narrow Apple Flash SSDs

www.amazon.com

But if you poke around on AliExpress it appears to go for as low as $60, though like everything else on AliExpress there's a degree of opacity and it's unclear to me whether the $60 deal is for the current Acasis or some earlier version.

There are other brands on AliExpress, some obvious private label version of the Acasis, others something else entirely, but I've never seen a price below $60 and often they're above it.

So, yeah, enclosures for Apple SSDs, expensive and murky so far as I can tell. If anyone knows different, I'd be delighted to know.

 

[EugW]

Anyone here NOT having problems with the Crucial P2?

 

[0134168]

Anyone here NOT having problems with the Crucial P2?

In feeel SO tired… xD

 

[0134168]

Leaving the thread.

 

[edevmon]

One-year-after Report
Retina MacBook Pro 13'' (mid-2014)
Sintech Short adapter
Sillicon Power A80 2TB NVMe SSD
Rom: 432.40.8.0.1

Original post (English): https://forums.macrumors.com/thread....2034976/page-303?post=29185213#post-29185213
Blog post (Spanish): https://emiliodevesa.com/2020/11/05/ampliar-el-ssd-del-macbook-pro-retina-13-mid-2014/

+ No Kernel Panics, ever
+ 500TBW SSD life expectancies
+ 5-year warranty
+ Great storage upgrade that let's me work without any external device plugged in (great for mobility)
+ Improved speed, specially important when editing video/audio on Final Cut Pro X or Logic Pro X

Wear level

Power consumption
My machine is not compatible with SsdPmEnabler. According to iStats SSD readings, it hovers around 0.17A - 0.29A usually, but peaks up to 0.4A sometimes under load.

Other considerations
So far, so good. I'm still running macOS Catalina 10.15.7 for the following reasons:
- Interface changes don't appeal to me
- Some people experienced bricking and I don't have an Apple Store nearby in case it fails to update
- I relay on my computer for a lot of work stuff and studies, as well as it is my main device along with my iPhone

I was hesitant of upgrading because it was around 300€ for an upgrade on a 6+ year old computer, but it turned out to be a good decision since M1 Macs (air/pros) are still not suitable for me: performance is great but large storage options are unbelievably expensive. Anyway, I think this machine has still a lot to offer and I'm happy I did this upgrade. It takes only a few minutes and it's really easy.

Next thing planned for later this year: new battery.

The laptop screen suffers the anti-reflective coating problem, only noticeable when screen is off, but I don't think I'll spend money on that. Does anyone know if the Apple repair program is still alive? I live in Spain.

 

[EugW]

Never had a problem in 1 month of intensive use with the P2 in my macbook pro 15" 2014 . 24h working.

Ah I see. Good to know. That was with the low power kext, right?

In feeel SO tired… xD

Sorry, I previously missed your post above. My apologies.

 

[EugW]

View attachment 1924994
The laptop screen suffers the anti-reflective coating problem, only noticeable when screen is off, but I don't think I'll spend money on that. Does anyone know if the Apple repair program is still alive? I live in Spain.

I believe the delamination repair program is up to four years after the purchase date, but I don't know what the rules are for each country. See here:

MacBook Pro Anti-Reflective Coating Repair Program Remains in Effect, But 2013-2014 Models No Longer Eligible

Apple continues to authorize free display repairs for eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro models with anti-reflective coating issues for up to four...

www.macrumors.com

However, if it's bad and out of warranty, you can remove the anti-reflective coating yourself completely. People have been saying it works using baby wipes, or with a microfibre cloth with Listerine containing alcohol, but it takes 15-60 minutes of rubbing the screen, and you have to be very careful. While most have been successful, I've seen a few examples where the screen was damaged after that, either because of two much stress on the screen - pressing too hard, or else because they used way too much liquid which then leaked into the screen.

The other drawback is the screen becomes more reflective after that, but that is a small price to pay for a better looking screen.

BTW, that reminds me of the time I decided to cheap out and get my glasses from Lenscrafters using their highest tier lenses. Optics were fine, but within a year, I had the delamination issue with those lenses. Since then I have only gone with top tier brands like Nikon, Zeiss, Shamir, or Essilor, etc. and haven't had the problem since even after several years of use. With those brands, the only time I could see the anti-reflective damage was when it was scratched by metal or stone or something.

I guess Apple cheaped out with their displays those years, and learned the hard way the problems caused by crappy anti-reflective coatings.

---

I've been looking locally and I see people selling OEM Apple drives made by Toshiba for cheaper than I was expecting. However, from what I gather, these were harvested from 2013-2014 MacBook Airs, and are much, much slower than the later Samsung drives from MacBook Pros. I guess that's why they're cheaper.

BTW, I have been looking at the storage usage by my various machines and it seems with general purpose machines, the bulk of my storage utilization is by Photos. This space utilization with Optimize Storage turned on with iCloud is unsurprisingly highly variable depending upon how much storage the machine has. For example, my 251 GB MacBook is using 75 GB for Photos, but for everything else outside of Photos, it's only 28 GB.

 

[Adelima]

I believe the delamination repair program is up to four years after the purchase date, but I don't know what the rules are for each country. See here:

MacBook Pro Anti-Reflective Coating Repair Program Remains in Effect, But 2013-2014 Models No Longer Eligible

Apple continues to authorize free display repairs for eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro models with anti-reflective coating issues for up to four...

www.macrumors.com

However, if it's bad and out of warranty, you can remove the anti-reflective coating yourself completely. People have been saying it works using baby wipes, or with a microfibre cloth with Listerine containing alcohol, but it takes 15-60 minutes of rubbing the screen, and you have to be very careful. While most have been successful, I've seen a few examples where the screen was damaged after that, either because of two much stress on the screen - pressing too hard, or else because they used way too much liquid which then leaked into the screen.

The other drawback is the screen becomes more reflective after that, but that is a small price to pay for a better looking screen.

BTW, that reminds me of the time I decided to cheap out and get my glasses from Lenscrafters using their highest tier lenses. Optics were fine, but within a year, I had the delamination issue with those lenses. Since then I have only gone with top tier brands like Nikon, Zeiss, Shamir, or Essilor, etc. and haven't had the problem since even after several years of use. With those brands, the only time I could see the anti-reflective damage was when it was scratched by metal or stone or something.

I guess Apple cheaped out with their displays those years, and learned the hard way the problems caused by crappy anti-reflective coatings.

---

I've been looking locally and I see people selling OEM Apple drives made by Toshiba for cheaper than I was expecting. However, from what I gather, these were harvested from 2013-2014 MacBook Airs, and are much, much slower than the later Samsung drives from MacBook Pros. I guess that's why they're cheaper.

BTW, I have been looking at the storage usage by my various machines and it seems with general purpose machines, the bulk of my storage utilization is by Photos. This space utilization with Optimize Storage turned on with iCloud is unsurprisingly highly variable depending upon how much storage the machine has. For example, my 251 GB MacBook is using 75 GB for Photos, but for everything else outside of Photos, it's only 28 GB.

I installed a screen protector on my MBP with staingate problems. It doesn't outright hide the problem, but definately reduces it (it's not been on long enough for me to tell whether it stops the problem getting worse, but I imagine it at least stops the keyboard leaving prints on the screen.)

In terms of the P2, I haven't had anymore crashes since my original post (other than when I installed SSDPmEnabler, which causes a kernal panic, so if you do get a P2, go for NVMEfix instead of SSDPmEnabler.) I'll post an update in a month (before my return time runs out) or so if I experience anymore instability/weirdness. If anyone does consider the P2, definately go for the 1tb version, because anything lower has too small a cache, which will cause slowdowns eventually as the drive fills up.

If anyone does find a good cheap enclosure for 2014 mbp SSDs, can you post a link, as I'm interested in getting one, but I can't justify spending so much on one.

 

[enplaned]

I've been looking locally and I see people selling OEM Apple drives made by Toshiba for cheaper than I was expecting. However, from what I gather, these were harvested from 2013-2014 MacBook Airs, and are much, much slower than the later Samsung drives from MacBook Pros. I guess that's why they're cheaper.

There's some truth to the Toshiba's being slow, but there are also slow Samsungs, as I understand it.

The following is an incredibly comprehensive writeup about the different generations of Apple SSDs:

Apple Proprietary SSDs: Ultimate Guide to Specs & Upgrades | BeetsBlog

Apple’s SSDs are confusing. Are they M.2 drives? What connector do they use? AHCI or NVMe? What drive can I use to upgrade? We have answers. We’ll tell which SSDs work in which MacBook Pros, iMacs, Mac minis and more.

beetstech.com

Actually, the above is such a great article, I would argue that a link to it should maybe be in the first post in this thread - just as background material for people who want to know more. But I'm not sure how one would make such a recommendation and how such a link would be added to the first post.

The TL;DR of the relevant info from that article is:

The Apple OEM drives in the 2013-2015 MBPs or 2013-2017 MBAs span the 3rd and 4th generation SSDs the article discusses. Gen 3 drives were made by Samsung, Toshiba and SanDisk, whereas Gen 4 drives (which were faster) were made only by Samsung. But Gen 3 and Gen 4 used the same connectors and are interoperable.

So, my late 2013 13 inch Macbook Pro has a Gen 3 drive in it (which I know is a Samsung), whereas my mid-2015 15 inch MBP has a Gen 4 Samsung in it. So the difference in read/write speeds between those two computers is not just that they have different levels of PCI thruput, but also because the drives are of two different generations.

What I believe this means is yes, Toshibas are slower, but some Samsungs are too, depending on whether the Samsungs are Gen 3 or Gen 4. There are no Toshibas or SanDisks that are Gen 4.

For what it is worth, I have also seen some Apple SSD enclosures that specifically state they will not work with Toshibas. So, these different OEM drives are sufficiently different that they're not fully interoperable for outside-of-Mac applications.

 

[EugW]

There's some truth to the Toshiba's being slow, but there are also slow Samsungs, as I understand it.

The following is an incredibly comprehensive writeup about the different generations of Apple SSDs:

Apple Proprietary SSDs: Ultimate Guide to Specs & Upgrades | BeetsBlog

Apple’s SSDs are confusing. Are they M.2 drives? What connector do they use? AHCI or NVMe? What drive can I use to upgrade? We have answers. We’ll tell which SSDs work in which MacBook Pros, iMacs, Mac minis and more.

beetstech.com

Actually, the above is such a great article, I would argue that a link to it should maybe be in the first post in this thread - just as background material for people who want to know more. But I'm not sure how one would make such a recommendation and how such a link would be added to the first post.

The TL;DR of the relevant info from that article is:

The Apple OEM drives in the 2013-2015 MBPs or 2013-2017 MBAs span the 3rd and 4th generation SSDs the article discusses. Gen 3 drives were made by Samsung, Toshiba and SanDisk, whereas Gen 4 drives (which were faster) were made only by Samsung. But Gen 3 and Gen 4 used the same connectors and are interoperable.

So, my late 2013 13 inch Macbook Pro has a Gen 3 drive in it (which I know is a Samsung), whereas my mid-2015 15 inch MBP has a Gen 4 Samsung in it. So the difference in read/write speeds between those two computers is not just that they have different levels of PCI thruput, but also because the drives are of two different generations.

What I believe this means is yes, Toshibas are slower, but some Samsungs are too, depending on whether the Samsungs are Gen 3 or Gen 4. There are no Toshibas or SanDisks that are Gen 4.

For what it is worth, I have also seen some Apple SSD enclosures that specifically state they will not work with Toshibas. So, these different OEM drives are sufficiently different that they're not fully interoperable for outside-of-Mac applications.

What I was reading was that the Toshibas were slower than the Gen 3 Samsungs, which are in turn slower than the Gen 4 Samsungs. Presumably that is why they are much cheaper.

BTW, would an OEM Apple Polaris physically fit in a 13" 2015 MacBook Pro? The interface is the same but the drive is physically wider. Judging by the pictures, it would likely physically fit, although according to the power usage table on the first page, the write power utilization would be higher. Idle power usage is low though.

From what I gather, it fits in at least some 15" MacBook Pros but not some 13" MacBook Airs. I didn't see a post about the 13" MacBook Pro.

 

[EugW]

^^^ The Mac Pro SSD thread has a good summary too, which is more specific in terms of the naming. (I searched and didn't find it posted in this thread.)

PCIe SSDs - NVMe & AHCI

This is a general info thread for blade SSDs that can be used in the Mac Pro. This is a WikiPost so anyone with the proper credentials may edit it. NVMe SSDs can be used as a boot drive in the MP5,1 and MP6,1 with the latest firmware installed (beginning with version 140.0.0.0.0 for MP5,1 and...

forums.macrumors.com

SSUAX & SRIUP: Based on Samsung XP941 with UAX controller (S4LN053X01) and Toshiba with Marvell 88SS9183 controller: AHCI
2D MLC
Available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB
PCIe 2.0 x2 (128GB, 256GB, 512GB) & PCIe 2.0 x4 (1TB)
Speeds: ~1,000 MB/s read, ~800 MB/s write
Sector size: 4 KBytes per sector
Compatibility status: Good

SSUBX: Based on Samsung SM951 with UBX controller (S4LN058A01): AHCI
2D MLC
Available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB
PCIe 3.0 x4
Speeds: ~1,500 MB/s read, ~1,425 MB/s write
Sector size: 4 KBytes per sector
Compatibility status: Good

SSPOLARIS: Based on Samsung SM961 or PM961 with Polaris controller (S4LP077X01): NVMe
2D & 3D MLC or TLC
Available in 24GB, 32GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB
PCIe 3.0 x4
Speeds: ~2,700 MB/s read, ~2,350 MB/s write
Sector size: 4 KBytes per sector
Compatibility status: Good

SSPHOTON: Based on Samsung PM971 with Photon controller: NVMe
48-layer MLC
Available in 32GB and ? (LPDDR4 DRAM)
PCIe 3.0 x2 ?
Speeds: 1,500 MB/s read, 900 MB/s write ?
Sector size: 4 KBytes per sector
Compatibility status:Good

 

[EugW]

OK, I found a seller in my own country (ie. not the US) selling the SSUBX 256 GB model for a very reasonable amount, so I just ordered one of those. As mentioned, it wasn't really necessary as 128 GB would have been fine for my kid, but I guess this will provide some more breathing room for a decent price. It was around half of what it would have cost to get the SSUBX 512 GB SSD shipped from the US, and that amount of storage would have been overkill anyway for my kid. Most local sellers selling the 512 GB are charging crazy high prices.

Third party drives are cheaper, but this way I won't have to worry about bugs, instability, kexts, and power issues.

If anyone does find a good cheap enclosure for 2014 mbp SSDs, can you post a link, as I'm interested in getting one, but I can't justify spending so much on one.

If you mean for something like a stock 128 GB or 256 GB Apple OEM SSD, that seems pointless. The enclosures would be expensive enough that it would just make more sense to buy a third party SSD with appropriate (cheaper) case.

For what it is worth, I have also seen some Apple SSD enclosures that specifically state they will not work with Toshibas. So, these different OEM drives are sufficiently different that they're not fully interoperable for outside-of-Mac applications.

Hmm... That's interesting.

 

[Kaida]

I had BootCamp in all Nvme´s I have tried.

Yes, Apple ssd shows up as sata.

1 more thing i noticed is in the option boot menu, nvme is shown like an usb, orange and not like an hdd.. usage wise no problem, i have been using SN500 SN550 SN750 on my minis with no problem

 

[dbgt]

Does anyone knows whats the difference between the 2 Sintech long version adapters?

Sintech ST-NGFF2013C (black version): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Replace-MZ-JPU128T-SD6PQ4M-128G-MacBook/dp/B01CWWAENG

Sintech ST-NGFF2013D (blue version): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Compatible-2013-2017-PRO（Late-2013-2015-Blue/dp/B08JTDLMXJ

Is one better, newer than the other? It seems the black version has the black film cover over the pins, which the blue version doesnt, but comes with the tools required. Is that it?

 

[enplaned]

Does anyone knows whats the difference between the 2 Sintech long version adapters?

Sintech ST-NGFF2013C (black version): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Replace-MZ-JPU128T-SD6PQ4M-128G-MacBook/dp/B01CWWAENG

Sintech ST-NGFF2013D (blue version): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Compatible-2013-2017-PRO（Late-2013-2015-Blue/dp/B08JTDLMXJ

Is one better, newer than the other? It seems the black version has the black film cover over the pins, which the blue version doesnt, but comes with the tools required. Is that it?

I thought the small one was the one to get from the standpoint of both being more adaptable to SSDs that are two-sided, and also from a heat standpoint (?).

 

[xboxbml]

Does anyone knows whats the difference between the 2 Sintech long version adapters?

Sintech ST-NGFF2013C (black version): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Replace-MZ-JPU128T-SD6PQ4M-128G-MacBook/dp/B01CWWAENG

Sintech ST-NGFF2013D (blue version): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Compatible-2013-2017-PRO（Late-2013-2015-Blue/dp/B08JTDLMXJ

Is one better, newer than the other? It seems the black version has the black film cover over the pins, which the blue version doesnt, but comes with the tools required. Is that it?

I don't know the difference between the two, but I can tell you the long black one(or either for that matter) is not suited for MacBook Airs... I have 2015 MBA and I got the black one first. It did work, BUT the case bottom was pressing down quite hard on the SSD when installed. I got the Sintech short one after that.