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

[piddys]

Hi everybody

I have read most pages here and have some questions I hope you can help me with. I'm placed in Denmark.

I have a MacBook Pro 15" 2014 with 16 Gb ram. Big Sur is installed, latest official version, and don't want to install later versions because of reliability, time used to make all things work etc.

So I want to upgrade the 256 Gb original SSD to either a 2 TB or 4 TB and keep staying in Big Sur.

1) What is the most proven to work SSD of 2/4 Tb in size?

2) What specific and best Sintech adapter should I buy?

3) Installation of Big Sur on the new SSD:

a) Take old SSD out and put in new SSD with adapter.

b) I have a bootable USB key with Big Sur. So boot into "recovery mode", format new SSD and install Big Sur from the USB key?

Would that be the way to do it? I also have a MacBook Pro 15 2012, 16 Gb ram and 1 Tb SSD and that's how I usually do it. That MacBook will go to my son after the upgrade on the 2014 version.

All help appreciated.

 

[piddys]

Hi everybody

I have read most pages here and have some questions I hope you can help me with. I'm placed in Denmark.

I have a MacBook Pro 15" 2014 with 16 Gb ram. Big Sur is installed, latest official version, and don't want to install later versions because of reliability, time used to make all things work etc.

So I want to upgrade the 256 Gb original SSD to either a 2 TB or 4 TB and keep staying in Big Sur.

1) What is the most proven to work SSD of 2/4 Tb in size?

2) What specific and best Sintech adapter should I buy?

3) Installation of Big Sur on the new SSD:

a) Take old SSD out and put in new SSD with adapter.

b) I have a bootable USB key with Big Sur. So boot into "recovery mode", format new SSD and install Big Sur from the USB key?

Would that be the way to do it? I also have a MacBook Pro 15 2012, 16 Gb ram and 1 Tb SSD and that's how I usually do it. That MacBook will go to my son after the upgrade on the 2014 version.

All help appreciated.

 

[tripmusic]

Hi everybody

I have read most pages here and have some questions I hope you can help me with. I'm placed in Denmark.

I have a MacBook Pro 15" 2014 with 16 Gb ram. Big Sur is installed, latest official version, and don't want to install later versions because of reliability, time used to make all things work etc.

So I want to upgrade the 256 Gb original SSD to either a 2 TB or 4 TB and keep staying in Big Sur.

1) What is the most proven to work SSD of 2/4 Tb in size?

2) What specific and best Sintech adapter should I buy?

3) Installation of Big Sur on the new SSD:

a) Take old SSD out and put in new SSD with adapter.

b) I have a bootable USB key with Big Sur. So boot into "recovery mode", format new SSD and install Big Sur from the USB key?

Would that be the way to do it? I also have a MacBook Pro 15 2012, 16 Gb ram and 1 Tb SSD and that's how I usually do it. That MacBook will go to my son after the upgrade on the 2014 version.

All help appreciated.

I have the same machine and have macOS Monterey running on it with OCLP with no issues and very reliable. Just to let you know.

I think there are only 2 Sintech adapters... short and long. I'm using the short one. I think I read that the long one adds some thickness and the drive will be tight to the the bottom case.

Don't feel obligated to only buy the Sintech adapter. Posters here have said that pretty much any of the aftermarket ones out now will work just as well as the Sintech and you can save a few bucks.

You can either install to the new drive via USB installer and then migrate your user stuff over, or if you have an external NVMe enclosure, you can just clone/restore the old drive to the new one attached via USB. For the USB installer, I don't think you have to boot into recovery... just select the installer in the boot picker. Then you can use diskutil to format the new drive and then install macOS.

 

[mwidjaya]

Don't feel obligated to only buy the Sintech adapter. Posters here have said that pretty much any of the aftermarket ones out now will work just as well as the Sintech and you can save a few bucks.

True.

I have a random one and works just fine.

 

[piddys]

I have the same machine and have macOS Monterey running on it with OCLP with no issues and very reliable. Just to let you know.

I think there are only 2 Sintech adapters... short and long. I'm using the short one. I think I read that the long one adds some thickness and the drive will be tight to the the bottom case.

Don't feel obligated to only buy the Sintech adapter. Posters here have said that pretty much any of the aftermarket ones out now will work just as well as the Sintech and you can save a few bucks.

You can either install to the new drive via USB installer and then migrate your user stuff over, or if you have an external NVMe enclosure, you can just clone/restore the old drive to the new one attached via USB. For the USB installer, I don't think you have to boot into recovery... just select the installer in the boot picker. Then you can use diskutil to format the new drive and then install macOS.

Hi

Thanks for the helpful answer.

I think I will go with this 2 Tb, Western Digital Black SN770 (WDS200T3X0E)

I can see on Sintech own website that you can buy a heatsink for the SSD that looks that it will fit in the MacBook. Have anyone tried that? Or isn't it necessary?

So Mac OS Monterey is rock solid? No issues what so ever? From what I can read there are som small issues with Ventura, so I guess it's best to be one OS version behind.

 

[tripmusic]

Hi

Thanks for the helpful answer.

I think I will go with this 2 Tb, Western Digital Black SN770 (WDS200T3X0E)

I can see on Sintech own website that you can buy a heatsink for the SSD that looks that it will fit in the MacBook. Have anyone tried that? Or isn't it necessary?

So Mac OS Monterey is rock solid? No issues what so ever? From what I can read there are som small issues with Ventura, so I guess it's best to be one OS version behind.

I wouldn't worry about using heatsink, especially because with your machine, the drive isn't even going to be running at the drive's top speeds anyways. If you're concerned about heat, then go with the SN570. It should run cooler than the SN770. My temps with the SN570 are usually around 30C... never more than 40C.

Ventura introduced a bunch of issues for running on unsupported machines. From what I hear, OCLP+Monterey is the sweet spot right now for unsupported Macs. I've had it running solid on a 2014 rMBP for a few weeks now. Everything works as intended.

 

[capac]

Hello,
At the beginning of this year I have decided to install a 1 Tb Kioxia Exceria G2 on my late 2013 Macbook Pro. After about seven months I have noticed that the SSD lifetime left indicator, as shown in hard drive monitoring software like DriveDx, is now at 90%. A 10% decrease seems a lot for just seven months of activity. I haven't used OCLP to add third-party NVMe power management, and now I'm beginning to think it may be necessary to perserve the SSD lifetime. Any thoughts? All help is very appreciated, thanks.

 

[piddys]

I wouldn't worry about using heatsink, especially because with your machine, the drive isn't even going to be running at the drive's top speeds anyways. If you're concerned about heat, then go with the SN570. It should run cooler than the SN770. My temps with the SN570 are usually around 30C... never more than 40C.

Ventura introduced a bunch of issues for running on unsupported machines. From what I hear, OCLP+Monterey is the sweet spot right now for unsupported Macs. I've had it running solid on a 2014 rMBP for a few weeks now. Everything works as intended.

Thank you very much for your reply.
Maybe I should try Monterey out.

Would it run just as smooth on my MacBook Pro 15" mid 2012 with 16 Gb Ram, GT650m and 2 Tb SSD?

The 2014 basically has a newer intel cpu, pci M2 SSD, GT750m and retina display.
Probably the performance gain in the 2014 mostly comes from the PCI M2 with 1000-1400 Mb/s speed vs. the 2012's SATA 600.

 

[RustyVenture]

Hey, I've got a late 2013 15" macbookpro11,3. I got a good deal on it, but it has the ORIGINAL OWC Aura 1tb drive in it (i.e., not the ones currently available new, but the first one OWC put out). I understand that this is a SLOW drive (compared to M.2 NVME) and I'm wondering whether for my use case it's worth upgrading to something like a Samsung 970 Evo plus, maybe 2tb given the drop in prices.

I just use my MBP for web browsing, email, and word processing. I intend to OpenCore it to Ventura (it has Big Sur, but support will end later this year).

Will I notice much of a difference by upgrading??? Thanx!

 

[mwidjaya]

it has the ORIGINAL OWC Aura 1tb drive in it

If this drive is healthy, I don't see why you want to change it.

Have you run a speedtest on it?

With third party NVMe, you are still limited by what the pcie lanes allowed on the mbp11,3. I doubt you will see great difference. Save your money/effort.

 

[RustyVenture]

Hi, attached is the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test I ran. Hope I did it correctly.

Some have claimed that this original Aura drive is actually slower than the lower capacity ones Apple included. Also, some say this Aura drive can't do bootcamp.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to reply and look at my followup!

PS: I think the main purpose of this drive was to increase capacity, not speed which was apparently worse.

 

[mwidjaya]

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test I ran

That write speed (super slow) is concerning. You might want to check it's health further. Is it full? Not enough free space/ headroom? Is TRIM enabled?

Grab DriveDX (evaluation copy) and see what it says about OWC disk.

Apple original blade for 11,3 would look something like this speed.

 

[RustyVenture]

The disk is only about half full. I'll come back tomorrow with more findings.

In the meantime, thank you so much for your guidance!

 

[RustyVenture]

Attached is the AmorphousDiskMark readout which looks better than Blackmagic, but clearly not as good as what you showed me. DriveDX wouldn't run on it and had a note saying S.M.A.R.T on Aura wasn't supported. No idea how to (or if I can) enable trim.

Thanks again for your time and expertise!

Edit: OWC Aura SSD : 2x lanes only, RAID0 of 2x slow controllers, no TRIM, no SMART

 

[leviatemps]

Hi everyone,
I am going to upgrade my macbook air early 2014 8gb ram with a WD 770 1TB ssd.
I also plan to change the battery to put in a new one.
a total of ±130$ in fees.

The end goal is to dualboot macOS and windows and to buy an external screen that I can plug my mac into and have a workstation.

Do you think it's profitable? Will Windows 11 run correctly with this config or should I go directly to a new laptop?
My Mac after 8 years of good and loyal service is still running pretty well and I want to give it a little makeover so that it will last for another 2-3 years (it will have taken me through all my medical studies 😍).

 

[ItsHal]

Hi everyone,
I am going to upgrade my macbook air early 2014 8gb ram with a WD 770 1TB ssd.
I also plan to change the battery to put in a new one.
a total of ±130$ in fees.

The end goal is to dualboot macOS and windows and to buy an external screen that I can plug my mac into and have a workstation.

Do you think it's profitable? Will Windows 11 run correctly with this config or should I go directly to a new laptop?
My Mac after 8 years of good and loyal service is still running pretty well and I want to give it a little makeover so that it will last for another 2-3 years (it will have taken me through all my medical studies 😍).

I had the same MacBook till I finally called it A day with it to day so for now using my MacBook Air 2015.
If it was still going strong I would prob still use it I had Windows 10 running on it and it was fine.
If you looking to make it last defo get A new battery i was told to get one from here MacBook Pro 13" Mid 2014 battery

 

[Andy1248]

Today I tried Kingston NV2 250G on my 13" MacBook Air 2017 and the laptop will not recognize the SSD. I honestly don't know if it's the adapter or if it's the SSD. The adapter I bought is not Sintech, but the reviews on it had several users saying that it works with their 2017 MacBook Air.

Edit: the adapter is confirmed to work with WD SN570, so likely the problem is that the Kingston NV2 is incompatible with Apple's controller.

The Kingston NV2 does not work for me either. Macbook air 13 inch 2014 and 11inch 2015.

Also cannot get the Patriot P300 to work either.

 

[Jjjavop]

Hi, as of today I have a crashed ventura stock ssd in a 2015 mbp, so I'm trying to upgrade it to a 1tb one.

I saw online that the sintech MGFF adapter works best (it's also the fastest coming from Amazon) .

From the OP comparison, I saw that the crucial p2 is praised (they are also pretty cheap so.. Why not! Also I don't care about performance.)

Can you confirm that I will be able to reinstall ventura on the P2 + adapter?
Will I be needing OCLP? If so, do I need an usb/nvme adapter to install it?

Thank you very much and have a nice day

 

[ItsHal]

Hi, as of today I have a crashed ventura stock ssd in a 2015 mbp, so I'm trying to upgrade it to a 1tb one.

I saw online that the sintech MGFF adapter works best (it's also the fastest coming from Amazon) .

From the OP comparison, I saw that the crucial p2 is praised (they are also pretty cheap so.. Why not! Also I don't care about performance.)

Can you confirm that I will be able to reinstall ventura on the P2 + adapter?
Will I be needing OCLP? If so, do I need an usb/nvme adapter to install it?

Thank you very much and have a nice day

1.Follow Mr. Macintosh video to install Ventura on Unsupported Macs
2.sintech is best but can get other adapters that work
3.Crucial p2 is from what I have seen here is very hit and miss so best to get A drive that is know to 100% work.

 

[Jjjavop]

OK thank you!

Do you think I could go wrong with either a sabrent rocket or a wd sn570?

I could also go for a samsung 970 evo plus, but those are a bit more pricey

Thanks

 

[ItsHal]

OK thank you!

Do you think I could go wrong with either a sabrent rocket or a wd sn570?

I could also go for a samsung 970 evo plus, but those are a bit more pricey

Thanks

Both them drives shod be ok the wd sn570 is tried and tested.
I was told to go for the WD SN570 but ended up getting A Samsung 980

 

[Jjjavop]

Both them drives shod be ok the wd sn570 is tried and tested.
I was told to go for the WD SN570 but ended up getting A Samsung 980

OK thanks

 

[ns194]

Thanks to everyone here for the trove of information on upgrading these laptops. I'm just posting to report success with my mid 2014 MBP 13, to help confirm the best path forward for other users. Here's what I did:

1. Ordered a 1TB SK Hynix P31 Gold from Amazon. It came with the firmware revision 41062C20, which works out of the box
2. Wiped the laptop's original SSD and installed the latest version of Big Sur, checking the boot ROM version (478.0.0.0.0) with SilentKnight
3. Installed the P31 with the recommended Sintech adapter (along with a new laptop battery which I also needed to replace)
4. Installed Big Sur
5. Reset the SMC and NVRAM

That was it for me. Hibernation and sleep work fine, no kexts required (but I don't care about trying to run Monterey or Ventura via OCLP on this machine). Flawless install and the computer is clearly working much faster!

 

[hipeboy]

Hi everyone,

I plan to upgrade my MBP 13" early 2015 (MacBookPro12,1) 128GB SSD to a m2 NVME with 1TB.
I already got the adapter from Sintech here in Europe. Sharing the link here: https://www.sintech-shop.de/en/ngff-m-2-nvme-ssd-adapter-card-for-upgrade-2013-2015-macbook/a-10805

I have been reading this topic and know that this has probably already been mentioned in some posts but I would like to know what are the 3 best NVME options for my MBP model as of today considering Performance / Price and Power Consumption (low battery drain). The actual Apple SSD unit is showing ~500MB/s write and ~1000MB/s read using BlackMagic Disk Speed Test.

From the OP charts noticed that the Crucial P2 was leading these stats but some recent users' posts are reporting issues with those units.

Saw some good references to SK Hynix P31 Gold but would like to get the inputs from members with the same MBP device as mine.

Thanks in advance

 

[Mars911]

Anyone used Patriot or Silicon Power or Timetec SSD?