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

[kvic]

I believe you're the one 😅

 

[splifingate]

I believe you're the one 😅

And, yes: it was quite unsettling seeing the bow on installation <s>

 

[kvic]

And, yes: it was quite unsettling seeing the bow on installation <s>

Same here on the first sight 😂

When I looked closer and thought it through, I found it fascinating. So I remember it well.

I see two bows or two arcs mirroring each other. The bottom arc touching the motherboard. The upper arc perhaps touching (or approaches to touch) the under cover of the MBP. It accidentally forms a very rigid structure. Firmly secures multiple connections of the NVMe, adaptor and SSD socket. Unintentionally, also provides one additional, sizable structural support to the under cover. Help to protect other components on the motherboard.

Reminds me of Forth Bridge (in Scotland):

While the forces in action are different in the two cases. I find the double bow structure resembling one '<>'. The bridge lasts more than a hundred years. I predict your NVMe installation will last as long without a re-seat. That's a marvellous piece of accidental engineering!

(sorry for the troll. lol)

 

[xboxbml]

Photo of my Sabrent/Syntech-long combo in my 2015 13" MBP (taken Aug 2019)...

...performant as new to this day...still reluctant to take a grinder to it <smile> View attachment 2025571

Wow.. I'd be worried about cold solder joints...

 

[CR500]

errrhh.. CR500 what did you end up with. I was literally about to press the amazon button the P2.... trying hard to avoid over-posting here but it still isn't easy because drives come/go so rapidly... I did read a couple of posts in Q/A on Amazon giving it the thumbs up. CT500P2

I punted and purchased a "parts only" MBP w/1TB drive. Have my fingers crossed that its an OEM drive and isn't trashed. Its supposed to be here on Thursday and I'll swap the drive on Friday.

 

[Aitchey]

Hi im wondering if there is an updated list of drives that do and do not work with the adapters, there is so many available and i don't know which to avoid

 

[kmare]

Thank you for this thread -- was experiencing crashes on resume (presumably deep sleep) on my Macbook Pro 11,2 (2014)
Discovered it maybe related to NVME and old firmware

1. ran silentknight121; reported old firmware (112 0146 b00)
2. swapped nvme SSD for a spare (Original) Macbook Air SSD
3. ran internet recovery, fresh install of Big Sur
4. validate firmware updated to latest 433.120.6.0.0
5. swapped back NVME SSD
6. crash issues seemingly resolved

 

[shinigami41]

I recently used someone elses WIndows machine to create a Win2Go USB with an ISO of Windows 10 and Rufus. That did the job without installing WIndows on the Macbook. I didn't notice a difference in reliability or performance.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[ugk4life]

Hey sorry this may be a stupid question. But is there any way to install the SK Gold P31 without messing with windows, bootcamp or any of that nonsense. Had bootcamp once and never want to install that garbage on my machine again. If that's the case.. does anybody have any recommendations for NVME SSDs for a mid-2015 MacBook Pro that either ships with updated firmware or can be updated without windows? My current SSD is failing and I need to make this replacement rather quick. Oh and I'm looking for 2TBs. I really appreciate this forum. Glad I stumbled across it.

 

[Brad_C]

Hey sorry this may be a stupid question. But is there any way to install the SK Gold P31 .... Oh and I'm looking for 2TBs.

The 2TB P31 works right out of the box. There is no firmware update available for it.

 

[Aitchey]

Hi does anyone know if the Kingston nv1 500 nvme drive will work with a short adapter in a 13" air 2017 ?

 

[CESARTR12]

hola a todos, tengo un pequeño problema con mi MBA A1466 13" de principios de 2013. Pedí un disco duro Skhynix P31 Gold de 1tb pero no me lo quiso llevar, quisiera saber que disco duro podría instale con la misma capacidad que mi Funciona sin problemas

 

[SnackyD]

Searched the threads already but.. does anyone here have the new SK Hynix P41 drive in their MBP? Will it even work?

 

[Bloome72]

After having purchased an 2TB ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro back in September 2020 (along with the short Sintech adapter), I finally got around to installing it in my 2014 MacBook Pro with a stock 1TB last night (procrastinated and then needed a swollen battery replacement). Ran the Blackmagicdesign Disk Speed Test before and after and here are the results:

Write: 488.8 MB/s ----> 1290.9 MB/s
Read: 959.3 MB/s ----> 1508.4 MB/s

Just started using the computer this morning and I've opted to start from scratch with a fresh OS install but I'm pretty happy with those test results.

Is there a better app to test disk speed with? I noticed that it's been a while since Blackmagicdesign has updated their app.

 

[Dimvol]

By modern standards, this is not much. This is about half of what is promised in Samsung advertising. But in normal operation, this is not felt at all.

 

[StellarVixen]

After having purchased an 2TB ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro back in September 2020 (along with the short Sintech adapter), I finally got around to installing it in my 2014 MacBook Pro with a stock 1TB last night (procrastinated and then needed a swollen battery replacement). Ran the Blackmagicdesign Disk Speed Test before and after and here are the results:

Write: 488.8 MB/s ----> 1290.9 MB/s
Read: 959.3 MB/s ----> 1508.4 MB/s

Just started using the computer this morning and I've opted to start from scratch with a fresh OS install but I'm pretty happy with those test results.

Is there a better app to test disk speed with? I noticed that it's been a while since Blackmagicdesign has updated their app.

Amorphous DiskMark. I do not know if it is better than Blackmagic one, but it is regularly updated. It's the fork of Crystal DiskMark for Windows.

 

[Bloome72]

Amorphous DiskMark. I do not know if it is better than Blackmagic one, but it is regularly updated. It's the fork of Crystal DiskMark for Windows.

Thanks! I tried that as well and it yielded the same results.

So far so good with my upgrade. The laptop is running smoothly.

 

[Ksull90]

I see that some of you are saying the new 2TB SK Hynix gold p31 comes with the new needed firmware needed for macOS, what about the 1TB. And if not, would I be able to use and enclosure and a pc running windows to update the firmware, then install in in my MBP and format it for macOS?

 

[Brad_C]

would I be able to use and enclosure and a pc running windows to update the firmware

I don't believe a firmware update while in an enclosure is possible. I've certainly never managed to get any vendor update software to recognise a device in an external enclosure.

 

[otosan]

By modern standards, this is not much. This is about half of what is promised in Samsung advertising. But in normal operation, this is not felt at all.

It's not the ssd that limiting your speed. It's your macbook. 2014 model max bandwith is around 1500-1600 max. So, yeah you wont get near any number advertised by the ssd maker (in this case Samsung)

if you want something faster, you gonna need 15" Macbook Pro of Mid-2015 model, or 2017 Function Keys Model.

For your model, that's already the best you can get.

 

[KoG506]

Just upgraded my MacBook Pro mid 2014, MacBookPro11,1, to macOS Monterey via the OPENCORE PATCHER app and everything works just fine on my "stock" MacBook. Anyone know if I were buy the sintech adapter and a 500GB or 1TB M.2 will work? I am new to this. TIA

EDIT: I am on Monterey 12.5, I think I'll be going with the Samsung 970 Plus M.2.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Just upgraded my MacBook Pro mid 2014, MacBookPro11,1, to macOS Monterey via the OPENCORE PATCHER app and everything works just fine on my "stock" MacBook. Anyone know if I were buy the sintech adapter and a 500GB or 1TB M.2 will work? I am new to this. TIA

EDIT: I am on Monterey 12.5, I think I'll be going with the Samsung 970 Plus M.2.

All SSDs discussed on the last 20 pages will work on your model.

If you want to use OCLP to install Monterey, please take a look at this thread:

macOS 12 Monterey on Unsupported Macs Thread

This thread will be dedicated to the discussion of running macOS 12.0 on unsupported Macs At the time of writing, WWDC has wrapped up and Developer Seeds have been sent out. We're eagerly awaiting for all our community developers and enthusiasts to test out the new version of macOS We will...

forums.macrumors.com

BUT, the short answer is that it will work on your model. I have a similar model and had no issues when I installed Monterey when the first release version was available (12.0.1).

Good luck!

 

[Josh396]

I have a mid-2014 15" MacBook Pro (MacBookPro11,3) running Big Sur 11.6.3. I'm looking to upgrade to a 1 TB SSD. I purchased the Sintech long adapter card and the SK Hynix P31 1TB drive. I have a PC that I was able to mount the P31 drive to and update the firmware.

However, when I boot from internet recovery on my mac to format it the P31 drive isn't visible. I've tried reseating the drive a few times and that hasn't resolved the problem.

Am I doing something wrong? I noticed a few people were using a bootable drive to install OS X on the new drives. Can you use the internet recovery method to format a new drive? I know I've done it in the past on other Macs but maybe there's an issue doing that with the NVME upgrade.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

I have a mid-2014 15" MacBook Pro (MacBookPro11,3) running Big Sur 11.6.3. I'm looking to upgrade to a 1 TB SSD. I purchased the Sintech long adapter card and the SK Hynix P31 1TB drive. I have a PC that I was able to mount the P31 drive to and update the firmware.

However, when I boot from internet recovery on my mac to format it the P31 drive isn't visible. I've tried reseating the drive a few times and that hasn't resolved the problem.

Am I doing something wrong? I noticed a few people were using a bootable drive to install OS X on the new drives. Can you use the internet recovery method to format a new drive? I know I've done it in the past on other Macs but maybe there's an issue doing that with the NVME upgrade.

Thanks in advance for any help.

As far as I remember, you need to use a USB stick to install macOS on the new SSD. Internet Recovery cannot do that for you.

Download macOS and use createinstallmedia to create an installation USB. Then, you can format the new drive and install macOS.

You can use Mr. Macintosh's blog or MDS (https://twocanoes.com/products/mac/mac-deploy-stick/). I prefer MDS because it downloads the .app file, not the .pkg. Inside the .app you can find createinstallmedia (https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201372)

Good luck!

 

[whack3r24]

Hola all. I have a:

Macbook Pro retina 13 Early 2015
2.7GHz Dual-core Intel i5
8GB 1867 MHz DDR3
1TB apple storage.

macOS Monterey

I wanted to upgrade the SSD speed as my older macbook pro retina 13 early 2013 had 500GB but the speed of it was noticeably faster compared to my current model.

I bought the WD SN850 NVMe SSD and tested it with 2 Sintehc NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapters.

WD_BLACK SN850 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 NVMe Gaming SSD up to 7000 MB/s read speed

Prepare for the next evolution of speed with the WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD, giving you supreme PCIe Gen4 technology for your PC so you don’t lag out on the next generation of games.

www.amazon.co.uk

Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card, for Upgrade 2013-2015 Year Macs(Not Fit Early 2013 MacBook Pro)

NOTICE:because too many customers can use it,I suggest you to try it again if your MAC can't detect nVME SSD. Pls notice to insert card fully into SSD slot and you must prepare bootable USB disk(see third point) with High Sierra to format M.2 SSD first, it can't support recover from internet. mai...

www.amazon.co.uk

Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card For Upgrade 2013-2015 MacBook

NOTICE:because too many customers can use it,I suggest you to try it again if your MAC can't detect nVME SSD. Pls notice to insert card fully into SSD slot and you must prepare bootable USB disk(see third point) with High Sierra to format M.2 SSD first, it can't support recover from internet. mai...

www.amazon.co.uk

I noticed the following...

The CPU temperature ran 10-15 degrees hotter (it's why I tested 2 adapters to confirm)
The disk speed readings didn't significantly increase. I know the macbook limits the read and write speeds but was I wrong to think there would be a more noticeable increase?

Just wanted to get some advice if anyone had the same issues or any suggestions? Did all of your SSD upgrades cause an increase in CPU temp?

TIA for any responses