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

[mx16044]

Hi, I'm new here, this is my first post and definitely not a Mac expert.

Without this thread, I would've purchased OWC Auro Pro X2 1TB to increase my SSD capacity (256GB) so thank you..!!

With short black Sintech adapter and P31 combination - both purchased from Amazon UK, I have not experienced any Kernel Panic or crashes, so far no issues and so much faster than Apple SSD..!!

Here the steps I used:
- Installed Monterey from bootable USB installer on 256Gb to get firmware up to 430.140.3.0.0
- Separately, installed the P31 onto PC system board's NVME slot, booted into Win10 (installed on SATA) and updated to latest firmware from P31 Support page.
- Attached P31 and Sintech together and screwed them to MBP SSD connector.
- Reinstalled Monterey from bootable USB installer- successful
- Installed Win11 using Bootcamp and iso - successful
(NOTE: i used non-TPM iso file and also requires apple driver injection after encountering boot loop)

Overall impressed with the speed and performance with power consumption similar compared with the Apple 256GB SSD , see benchmark below:

Hope this helps others who are having trouble with installation

 

[LioriK]

Your system should be able to detect NVME drive,

you might want to try to update your 980 pro firmware, or pick another SSD

SK Hynix Gold P31 or Kioxia Exceria Plus is my recommendation

Finally I was able to use the Samsun 980 PRO, below are the benchmark I ran with Monterey OS, Do you think I'll get better performance with the SK Hynix Gold P31?
This will help me to decide to replace the Samsung 980 Pro with the SK Hynix Gold P31.

Thanks in advanced.

 

[Audit13]

Finally I was able to use the Samsun 980 PRO, below are the benchmark I ran with Monterey OS, Do you think I'll get better performance with the SK Hynix Gold P31?
This will help me to decide to replace the Samsung 980 Pro with the SK Hynix Gold P31.

Thanks in advanced.

How did you get it to work? Please share, thanks.

 

[LioriK]

How did you get it to work? Please share, thanks.

I just connect the new SSD to the Mac via USB and format it as ASPE, then with Mojave bootable usb I installed the OS on this new SSD.

But now I would like to know if SK Hynix Gold P31 is better then Samsung 980 Pro?

 

[endzie]

Hi, I'm new here, this is my first post and definitely not a Mac expert.

Without this thread, I would've purchased OWC Auro Pro X2 1TB to increase my SSD capacity (256GB) so thank you..!!

With short black Sintech adapter and P31 combination - both purchased from Amazon UK, I have not experienced any Kernel Panic or crashes, so far no issues and so much faster than Apple SSD..!!

Here the steps I used:
- Installed Monterey from bootable USB installer on 256Gb to get firmware up to 430.140.3.0.0
- Separately, installed the P31 onto PC system board, booted into Win10 and updated to latest firmware from P31 Support page.
- Attached P31 and Sintech together and screwed them to MBP SSD connector.
- Reinstalled Monterey from bootable USB installer- successful
- Installed Win11 using Bootcamp and iso - successful
(NOTE: i used non-TPM iso file and also requires apple driver injection after encountering boot loop)

Overall impressed with the speed and performance with power consumption similar compared with the Apple 256GB SSD , see benchmark below:

View attachment 2047927

Hope this helps others who are having trouble with installation

Hello, I am about to embark on this journey and I am a total techie-newbie.

I had a question for you.

- Separately, installed the P31 onto PC system board, booted into Win10 and updated to latest firmware from P31 Support page. (When you did this step, did you use a separate windows PC to update the firmware, or can you install the firmware update from your macbook pro directly?)

 

[mx16044]

Hello, I am about to embark on this journey and I am a total techie-newbie.

I had a question for you.

- Separately, installed the P31 onto PC system board, booted into Win10 and updated to latest firmware from P31 Support page. (When you did this step, did you use a separate windows PC to update the firmware, or can you install the firmware update from your macbook pro directly?)

On a separate Windows PC with Win10 on SATA and free NVME slot. I didn't check if MacBook detected P31 initially, just wanted to have latest firmware to ensure it detected at first attempt.
Sorry if it wasn't clear, my post has been updated.

 

[endzie]

Sorry if it wasn't clear.
On a separate Windows PC with Win10 on SATA and free NVME slot..., my post has been updated.

I figured this was the case. Unfortunately, I don't have a spare Windows PC. Back to the drawing board for me, but thank you for the reply.

 

[mx16044]

I figured this was the case. Unfortunately, I don't have a spare Windows PC. Back to the drawing board for me, but thank you for the reply.

No probs, I'm sure you will know someone who will have a PC with SATA and NVME slot that can help you
You may not have to install the P31 into PC if it's comes with latest firmware, but I just wanted the install to go smoothly without obstacles.

 

[mx16044]

I just connect the new SSD to the Mac via USB and format it as ASPE, then with Mojave bootable usb I installed the OS on this new SSD.

But now I would like to know if SK Hynix Gold P31 is better then Samsung 980 Pro?

I don't have 980 Pro so I can't comment but according to some folks on this thread, the 980 Pro get very warm and uses more power, hence why I went with P31. I'm happy with the P31 performance and for the past 2 weeks, I've not encountered any no issues.

 

[otosan]

Finally I was able to use the Samsun 980 PRO, below are the benchmark I ran with Monterey OS, Do you think I'll get better performance with the SK Hynix Gold P31?
This will help me to decide to replace the Samsung 980 Pro with the SK Hynix Gold P31.

Thanks in advanced.

The post above you is from user with same macbook model. But he uses P31,

from the speedtest alone, i think we can tell that the P31 perform better.

As for power consumption, i think it's been unanimously agreed that P31 is one (if not the) of the best NVME drive for power consuption.

Samsung tend to use more.energy and heat up more.

But you can try to install SsdPmEnabler first and see how it goes for you. If you are happy with your 980 Pro, i'll suggest to save the hassle and just keep using it. Hehe

 

[Brad_C]

I have a 2TB P31 that I bought to replace a 1TB Crucial P2. The P2 was ok when I bought it, but in a little over a year it degraded to the point it was far slower than the original Mac SSD. I replaced it with the P31, which only has ~2,600 hours on it so far, but it is a better drive for my use case and exhibits none of the behavior of the P2 that drove me nuts.

I did a firmware update on the P2 in the Mac using a Win2Go USB I created on someone else's windows machine. The P31 came with the latest firmware out of the box.

If the P31 supported OPAL encryption I'd put one in my desktop too, but it loos like the KC2500 is the right drive for that one.

 

[Jedi82]

Hy guys! It's been a long time. I red all the latest pages of this thread and I think as for now that maybe I made a little mistake choosing my new ssd (some months ago). Here are my info:

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
Bootloader 433.140.2.0.0
MacOS Bigsur
Crucial P2 500GB

Is this ssd maybe too much for my system? Can I improve my battery duration and reduce the heat maybe if i change my ssd with a best one? Thanks guys!

Oh and this is my speedtest as per now:

 

[otosan]

Hy guys! It's been a long time. I red all the latest pages of this thread and I think as for now that maybe I made a little mistake choosing my new ssd (some months ago). Here are my info:

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
Bootloader 433.140.2.0.0
MacOS Bigsur
Crucial P2 500GB

Is this ssd maybe too much for my system? Can I improve my battery duration and reduce the heat maybe if i change my ssd with a best one? Thanks guys!

Oh and this is my speedtest as per now:

Specs wise, P2 should suit Late 2013 model just fine, but it actually should give you better speed than what you get in your screenshot. Theoritically it should reach around 1400-1300,

if anything, P2 is outside of my preference because :
- it uses QLC NAND (mean shorter lifetime and slower speed)
- the SLC cache is small (mean lower sustain sequential performance) - if i recall, it's one of worst performer among DRAMLESS PCI 3.0 NVME SSD
- the power consumption is not better than old P1

If you want reduce heat and battery consumption, try installing SsdPmEnabler (and NVMEFix) first.

 

[pingzhang95]

I just connect the new SSD to the Mac via USB and format it as ASPE, then with Mojave bootable usb I installed the OS on this new SSD.

But now I would like to know if SK Hynix Gold P31 is better then Samsung 980 Pro?

I try to install same Samsung 980 pro on MacBook Pro mid 2015, why you use Mojave bootable usb? Can I use Monterey bootable usb?

 

[dwalk52]

I'm happy to report success using SSDPMenabler on a SK Hynix Gold P31 with a MacBook 11,1 late 2013 model. Before SSD PM enabler I briefly saw idle around 0.98mA and now it seems to be floating around 0.50mA. Had an ADATA SX8200 that worked well but had high battery consumption before the P31, so I'm hopeful that battery life will be improved.

 

[Audit13]

I try to install same Samsung 980 pro on MacBook Pro mid 2015, why you use Mojave bootable usb? Can I use Monterey bootable usb?

High Sierra is the oldest OS that can be installed on an internal NVMe drive and Mojave is the last OS with 32-bit application support.

32-bit app compatibility with macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later - Apple Support

About the transition to 64-bit technology and how it affects 32-bit apps.

support.apple.com

 

[pingzhang95]

Hi, I'm new here, this is my first post and definitely not a Mac expert.

Without this thread, I would've purchased OWC Auro Pro X2 1TB to increase my SSD capacity (256GB) so thank you..!!

With short black Sintech adapter and P31 combination - both purchased from Amazon UK, I have not experienced any Kernel Panic or crashes, so far no issues and so much faster than Apple SSD..!!

Here the steps I used:
- Installed Monterey from bootable USB installer on 256Gb to get firmware up to 430.140.3.0.0
- Separately, installed the P31 onto PC system board's NVME slot, booted into Win10 (installed on SATA) and updated to latest firmware from P31 Support page.
- Attached P31 and Sintech together and screwed them to MBP SSD connector.
- Reinstalled Monterey from bootable USB installer- successful
- Installed Win11 using Bootcamp and iso - successful
(NOTE: i used non-TPM iso file and also requires apple driver injection after encountering boot loop)

Overall impressed with the speed and performance with power consumption similar compared with the Apple 256GB SSD , see benchmark below:

View attachment 2047927

Hope this helps others who are having trouble with installation

what is the P31 firmware version?

 

[pingzhang95]

I have a 2TB P31 that I bought to replace a 1TB Crucial P2. The P2 was ok when I bought it, but in a little over a year it degraded to the point it was far slower than the original Mac SSD. I replaced it with the P31, which only has ~2,600 hours on it so far, but it is a better drive for my use case and exhibits none of the behavior of the P2 that drove me nuts.

I did a firmware update on the P2 in the Mac using a Win2Go USB I created on someone else's windows machine. The P31 came with the latest firmware out of the box.

If the P31 supported OPAL encryption I'd put one in my desktop too, but it loos like the KC2500 is the right drive for that one.

Is it Ok to use bootcamp windows10 with P31 2TB?

 

[trifero]

Is it Ok to use bootcamp windows10 with P31 2TB?

Only in UEFI mode.

 

[Brad_C]

Is it Ok to use bootcamp windows10 with P31 2TB?

Dunno. I know Win8.1 works in UEFI mode with the P31. I triple boot MacOS, Win8.1 & Linux using rEFInd, but it spends most of its time in Linux. MacOS and Win8.1 are just for the rare occasion I need bare metal.

Love the drive though.

 

[endzie]

I'm trying to verify that I have the correct bootrom version before I upgrade to a SSD.

I just updated to the latest OS (Monterey). I ran the hardware review, but I don't see the boot rom listed?



Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro11,4

Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 6 MB

Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled

Memory: 16 GB

System Firmware Version: 430.140.3.0.0

OS Loader Version: 540.120.3~19

SMC Version (system): 2.29f24

Serial Number (system):

Hardware UUID: A4A4FBCC-ACD1-5434-8FAE-1513DEFB1A32

Provisioning UDID: A4A4FBCC-ACD1-5434-8FAE-1513DEFB1A32

 

[Audit13]

@endzie , the System Firmware Version: 430.140.3.0.0 looks fine.

 

[endzie]

@endzie , the System Firmware Version: 430.140.3.0.0 looks fine.

Thank you kindly!

 

[endzie]

Well, thanks to everyone on this thread I was able to upgrade my SSD today!

I purchased a Hynix Gold P31 1 TB SSD, and a sintech short adapter both from Amazon. I'm also pleased to report that the P31's from (Amazon) at least in my case, are being shipped with the latest firmware.

Mid-2015 Macbook Pro Retina 15" 2.2 Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i7.

• I updated to the latest MacOS Monterey to (430.140.3.0.0). Was previously on Mojave.
• Created a boot disk with Monterey installed on a 16 gb thumb drive
• Performed a back-up to time machine
• Installed the P31 SSD w/ adapter
• Turned on the computer with the boot disk installed
• Pressed CMD (I have the intel version)
• Reformatted the SSD drive to (AFPS)
• Installed Montery
• Ran my latest time machine back up to restore my computer

The only issue I ran into, was it took a couple of reboots for the computer to finally recognize the boot drive and it took almost 3 hours to restore the computer from time machine. I think that was caused by my slow back up drive.

I forgot to run a speed test with the stock drive so apologies, but here are my numbers.

Not sure if they are any good.

 

[trifero]

Well, thanks to everyone on this thread I was able to upgrade my SSD today!

I purchased a Hynix Gold P31 1 TB SSD, and a sintech short adapter both from Amazon. I'm also pleased to report that the P31's from (Amazon) at least in my case, are being shipped with the latest firmware.

Mid-2015 Macbook Pro Retina 15" 2.2 Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i7.

• I updated to the latest MacOS Monterey to (430.140.3.0.0). Was previously on Mojave.
• Created a boot disk with Monterey installed on a 16 gb thumb drive
• Performed a back-up to time machine
• Installed the P31 SSD w/ adapter
• Turned on the computer with the boot disk installed
• Pressed CMD (I have the intel version)
• Reformatted the SSD drive to (AFPS)
• Installed Montery
• Ran my latest time machine back up to restore my computer

The only issue I ran into, was it took a couple of reboots for the computer to finally recognize the boot drive and it took almost 3 hours to restore the computer from time machine. I think that was caused by my slow back up drive.

I forgot to run a speed test with the stock drive so apologies, but here are my numbers.

Not sure if they are any good.

Nice!