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

[kvic]

Should I congratulate you or what? Good luck on your ride until the end.

There are also numerous reports (for those who care to report) in this thread that they get kernel panics six months or a year into using the short adaptor.

As I said before in this thread, I believe these kernel panics are due to the short adaptor's poor mechanical structure, seems nobody correlate the two together until I pointed this out. And in those few cases that I answered seems everyone solved the problem by re-seating their installation. Have people wondered with a slightest engineering mind why a re-seat solved the problem? And why a 'de-seat' happened in the first place to the short adaptor installation?

A design that's 90% time fine (SHORT adaptor) vs another design that's 99% time fine (LONG adaptor). I'll always pick the latter, anytime.

 

[trifero]

I can´t be happier with my short adaptor. I don´t think there´s any difference with long ones. I have used both of them.
A long adaptor is a short adaptor with more plastic. That´s all. I even cut a log one for a best fix.

 

[otosan]

Well,

one of my first installation was on my colleague mBP 2015 13" , and two mBA 2015 also 13" of my sisters back in 2019

all went with short adapters, and none is sintech.

fast forward to 2022, all unit still used as a daily driver, my sisters are both teachers in university and private tutor, so the macbook travel along with them everyday,

and my colleague is still with me in our company. He drive motorbike everyday with his macbook in the backpack.

so, no, i can't correlate any kernel panic issue to a short adapter structure/design. But i might correlate that to : bad/sloppy installation (be it short or long, it is bad if your ssd is bending/curving, or loopsided in term of allignment ), less reliable bootrom, and maybe a bad choice of ssd~

that being said, last year, i re-install the oem ssd to all my installations above to manually update the bootrom to the 4xx version when it available before putting back the nvme ssd. So that they can update to any available OS in the future. And my installation always come with a thermal pad placed on top of the NAND and controller.

so for any nvme users here that do their installation before BigSur is come out to the market, you better put back your original ssd and update your bootrom. Else, it won't get updated. And if it's still under 195, you wont even be able to update to Monterey, and later on, Ventura using your nvme drive.

 

[kvic]

so, no, i can't correlate any kernel panic issue to a short adapter structure/design. But i might correlate that to : bad/sloppy installation (be it short or long, it is bad if your ssd is bending/curving, or loopsided in term of allignment ), less reliable bootrom, and maybe a bad choice of ssd~

I assume you were responding to my earlier comment.

So what's the point? Your failure to correlate possible cause.. lack of intelligence..or what?

I didn't recall seeing any of your posts (by using google) when I was doing research on adaptor/NVMe back in Sep/Oct 2020. I guess whatever you've said in this thread before that had little influence on my choice.

I don't see the point you guys keep telling me you're fine with short adaptor. It's your choice. For me, I would pick the long adaptor if I had to do it again. It's as simple as that.

EDIT:

In case, new comers to this thread wonder what adaptor/NVMe I would pick now if I wanted to redo my setup.

NVMe surely will be SK Hynix Gold P31. No compromise in performance. Very efficient power consumption wise.

For adaptors, as said before, I'll go for LONG adaptor for better mechanical structure and support. Hence, pins between adaptor, NVMe, apple socket will always be in contact (yes, I meant always 24/7 under all weather conditions..)

Do note that: few people in this thread used LONG adaptors. So the bias was coming from more than three years old at least. Those old long adaptors in the past were very tight (because a bit over in the length) and will require a little modification.

This might have changed since (or may be not) to new batches currently on shelf. Just keep this in mind.

 

[smoothbit]

Does anyone else with a 2TB Crucial P2 have very long boot and shutdown times? I usually sleep my machine, but it can be annoying when I need to restart.

 

[joinxtc]

I have an MB Retina - Late 2013 A1502, that comes from the factory with 128G.
I bought a Kingston NVMe 500G NV1 SSD (SNVS/500G) to which I was able to clone the drive.This drive currently has MacOS Catalina installed.

When connecting the new SSD to the MB, it doesn't recognize it. Only if i connect it through the USB box its possible to boot.
What can happen? Is the SSD I bought incompatible?

The MB brings the recovery mode to install OSX Mavericks… is it possible to update this?

thanks!

 

[trifero]

I don't see the point you guys keep telling me you're fine with short adaptor. It's your choice. For me, I would pick the long adaptor if I had to do it again. It's as simple as that.

It´s exactly the same point as you telling about the long adaptor. As simple as that.

 

[kvic]

It´s exactly the same point as you telling about the long adaptor. As simple as that.

That's fine.

We have to agree to disagree on the adaptor choice.

I'll be watching from time to time. I hope your endeavour can persist.

 

[trifero]

I have an MB Retina - Late 2013 A1502, that comes from the factory with 128G.
I bought a Kingston NVMe 500G NV1 SSD (SNVS/500G) to which I was able to clone the drive.This drive currently has MacOS Catalina installed.

When connecting the new SSD to the MB, it doesn't recognize it. Only if i connect it through the USB box its possible to boot.
What can happen? Is the SSD I bought incompatible?

The MB brings the recovery mode to install OSX Mavericks… is it possible to update this?

thanks!

You have the latest firmware on your Macbook?

 

[Brad_C]

Does anyone else with a 2TB Crucial P2 have very long boot and shutdown times? I usually sleep my machine, but it can be annoying when I need to restart.

I went from a 256G Apple drive to a 1TB Crucial P2 to a 2TB P31. I noticed an increased boot time at every change. Not what I'd call "very long" but sometimes an extra 5-10 seconds. Having a look in the logs it seems related to TRIM/Discard activity on boot. Can't put my finger on the shutdown. Certainly considerably longer than the "almost instant" boot/shutdown with the original Apple Drive.

Thats with MacOS. Linux & Windows there has been zero difference.

 

[joinxtc]

You have the latest firmware on your Macbook?

Boot ROM Version: 433.140.2.0.0
SMC Version (system): 2.16f68

 

[trifero]

Boot ROM Version: 433.140.2.0.0
SMC Version (system): 2.16f68

You have the latest. It should work.

 

[otosan]

Does anyone else with a 2TB Crucial P2 have very long boot and shutdown times? I usually sleep my machine, but it can be annoying when I need to restart.

Try to rebuild your kextcache

Open terminal :

sudo kextcache -i /

 

[otosan]

I have an MB Retina - Late 2013 A1502, that comes from the factory with 128G.
I bought a Kingston NVMe 500G NV1 SSD (SNVS/500G) to which I was able to clone the drive.This drive currently has MacOS Catalina installed.

When connecting the new SSD to the MB, it doesn't recognize it. Only if i connect it through the USB box its possible to boot.
What can happen? Is the SSD I bought incompatible?

The MB brings the recovery mode to install OSX Mavericks… is it possible to update this?

thanks!

When you install it inside, and hold option during boot,

does it recognized ? does it appear in boot list ?

How do you clone your Catalina ?

I suggest using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner

 

[otosan]

I have an MB Retina - Late 2013 A1502, that comes from the factory with 128G.
I bought a Kingston NVMe 500G NV1 SSD (SNVS/500G) to which I was able to clone the drive.This drive currently has MacOS Catalina installed.

When connecting the new SSD to the MB, it doesn't recognize it. Only if i connect it through the USB box its possible to boot.
What can happen? Is the SSD I bought incompatible?

The MB brings the recovery mode to install OSX Mavericks… is it possible to update this?

thanks!

Btw, your recovery will bring Mavericks,

unless

you also hold option : Command + Option + R (this will give you Catalina or BigSur - from your BootRom, i'd say BigSur)

 

[smoothbit]

Try to rebuild your kextcache

Open terminal :

sudo kextcache -i /

Thanks, I tried that and it didn't work due to the root directory not being owned by root. "Repair Disk Permissions" no longer exists, do you know of another way to fix that?

Ah-ha, I just needed to do the following:

csrutil disable
sudo chown root:wheel /
sudo kextcache -i /
csrutil enable

Now my computer starts and shuts down as fast as it did with the original Apple SSD, thanks for the tip.

 

[otosan]

Thanks, I tried that and it didn't work due to the root directory not being owned by root. "Repair Disk Permissions" no longer exists, do you know of another way to fix that?

Ah-ha, I just needed to do the following:

csrutil disable
sudo chown root:wheel /
sudo kextcache -i /
csrutil enable

Now my computer starts and shuts down as fast as it did with the original Apple SSD, thanks for the tip.

Glad it help. It normally does the trick, especially after an OS version update every now and then.

I forgot to tell about the csrutil. Fortunately you found it somewhere elses, hahaha.

 

[trifero]

Try now the

Thanks, I tried that and it didn't work due to the root directory not being owned by root. "Repair Disk Permissions" no longer exists, do you know of another way to fix that?

Ah-ha, I just needed to do the following:

csrutil disable
sudo chown root:wheel /
sudo kextcache -i /
csrutil enable

Now my computer starts and shuts down as fast as it did with the original Apple SSD, thanks for the tip.

Try now the ssdpmEnabler, by the great @kvic If it works on your NVme, you will save a lot of power. Hours of battery.

GitHub - kvic-z/SsdPmEnabler

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

github.com

 

[Paul McDaid]

Hi All,

First time post from here from sunny Ireland. I am sure this question has been asked before, but I feel I have to ask it again to be sure that I get this right, so sincere apologies if IS a repetitive question. I was gifted an absolute mint condiiton MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). It has the base configuration SSD of 128gig. I am looking at buying this SSD.

Crucial P2 500GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe Internal SSD - Up to 2400MB/s - CT500P2SSD8

Whether you're at work, gaming, or on the go, slow boots can be frustrating. Luckily for you, SSD Crucial P2 is here With massive storage capacity and NVMe performance, P2 has the speed and reliability you need to unleash your PC's potential.

www.amazon.co.uk

I asked a question on Amazon was the SSD compatible and they said no. I take it because it needs the adaptor? I have an adaptor, see picture below. Is this the correct adaptor?

latest macOS installed 12.0.1 (21A559)

Any advice or tips would be excellent.

Thanks folks.

 

[herb2k]

Hi All,

First time post from here from sunny Ireland. I am sure this question has been asked before, but I feel I have to ask it again to be sure that I get this right, so sincere apologies if IS a repetitive question. I was gifted an absolute mint condiiton MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). It has the base configuration SSD of 128gig. I am looking at buying this SSD.

Crucial P2 500GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe Internal SSD - Up to 2400MB/s - CT500P2SSD8

Whether you're at work, gaming, or on the go, slow boots can be frustrating. Luckily for you, SSD Crucial P2 is here With massive storage capacity and NVMe performance, P2 has the speed and reliability you need to unleash your PC's potential.

www.amazon.co.uk

I asked a question on Amazon was the SSD compatible and they said no. I take it because it needs the adaptor? I have an adaptor, see picture below. Is this the correct adaptor?

latest macOS installed 12.0.1 (21A559)

Any advice or tips would be excellent.

Thanks folks.

A few posts up someone was talking about using the exact same Crucial P2... Yes, you will need an adapter - it will work.

 

[trifero]

Hi All,

First time post from here from sunny Ireland. I am sure this question has been asked before, but I feel I have to ask it again to be sure that I get this right, so sincere apologies if IS a repetitive question. I was gifted an absolute mint condiiton MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). It has the base configuration SSD of 128gig. I am looking at buying this SSD.

Crucial P2 500GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe Internal SSD - Up to 2400MB/s - CT500P2SSD8

Whether you're at work, gaming, or on the go, slow boots can be frustrating. Luckily for you, SSD Crucial P2 is here With massive storage capacity and NVMe performance, P2 has the speed and reliability you need to unleash your PC's potential.

www.amazon.co.uk

I asked a question on Amazon was the SSD compatible and they said no. I take it because it needs the adaptor? I have an adaptor, see picture below. Is this the correct adaptor?

latest macOS installed 12.0.1 (21A559)

Any advice or tips would be excellent.

Thanks folks.

Just same mac and Nvme model here. Woeks li9ke a champ, with an adaptor. Those in the pictures are right.

This is the one I bought

OLVINS Tarjeta adaptadora SSD NGFF M.2 nVME actualizar para MacBook Air A1465 A1466 (año 2013-2016) y para Mac Pro (año 2013-2015 tardío)

OLVINS Tarjeta adaptadora SSD NGFF M.2 nVME actualizar para MacBook Air A1465 A1466 (año 2013-2016) y para Mac Pro (año 2013-2015 tardío)

www.amazon.es

An advice. Install ssdpmEnabler, you will save a lot of power=hours of autonomy.

GitHub - kvic-z/SsdPmEnabler

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

github.com

 

[otosan]

Yes that would w

Hi All,

First time post from here from sunny Ireland. I am sure this question has been asked before, but I feel I have to ask it again to be sure that I get this right, so sincere apologies if IS a repetitive question. I was gifted an absolute mint condiiton MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). It has the base configuration SSD of 128gig. I am looking at buying this SSD.

Crucial P2 500GB M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe Internal SSD - Up to 2400MB/s - CT500P2SSD8

Whether you're at work, gaming, or on the go, slow boots can be frustrating. Luckily for you, SSD Crucial P2 is here With massive storage capacity and NVMe performance, P2 has the speed and reliability you need to unleash your PC's potential.

www.amazon.co.uk

I asked a question on Amazon was the SSD compatible and they said no. I take it because it needs the adaptor? I have an adaptor, see picture below. Is this the correct adaptor?

latest macOS installed 12.0.1 (21A559)

Any advice or tips would be excellent.

Thanks folks.

Yes, it will work.

Generally speaking, green adapter is an earlier build version, and normally we would recommend one with black color PCB, but green one will work as well.

And you might want to bump your OS version to 12.5.1 , earlier Monterey still have some bugs here and there.

 

[trifero]

Yes that would w

Yes, it will work.

Generally speaking, green adapter is an earlier build version, and normally we would recommend one with black color PCB, but green one will work as well.

And you might want to bump your OS version to 12.5.1 , earlier Monterey still have some bugs here and there.

ALWAYS use latest OS´s.

 

[luc59]

Hi all, just an appreciation post to thank everybody in this thread since I spent hours scrolling this thread before successfully updating the SSD of my machine.

MacOS version: Monterey 12.15.1
Mac: MacBookPro12,1
Processor: Intel Core i5 1.7 GHz
Boot ROM Version: 430.140.3.0.0
SSD: WD SN550 1TB + Sintec short adapter

I have a MBP Pro Retina 13" early 2015 with 128GB SSD.
I updated from Mojave 10.14.6 to Monterey then replaced the SSD and installed Boot Camp in order to check the firmware version which was already up to date, everything else went smoothly.

You can see above the speed test before and after.

Now the last thing I'm considering is installing a kext for power management.
I installed iStats and currently it's 0,35 A under heavy use.
Would you recommend me ssdpmEnabler or nvmefix for my config please?

Thank you very much!

 

[Paul McDaid]

A few posts up someone was talking about using the exact same Crucial P2... Yes, you will need an adapter - it will work.

Thank You!