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

[natus.w]

I can't stand new interface design. And I like the old design a lot. I've also heard that silicon versions of OS can carry out increased wear on the ssd. I will try, thank you. This installer was made in 2020. Compatible. Monterey works fine. I use SX8200 pro 2TB on my mbp13 2015 too.

The OS versions compatible with M series chips (11.x up to 14.x) should be using a universal binary (you shouldn’t have to worry about increased wear as the OS should install the correct kernel by default)

Strange the Catalina image does not see your drive, are you able to use the Monterey installer just to initialise/format the drive? (or create a separate initialised partition to test 10.15?)

Even then installing Monterey isn’t a terrible idea as you should be able to get the latest firmware/SMC releases (which should also improve performance under 10.15..)

 

[Selt3Z]

The OS versions compatible with M series chips (11.x up to 14.x) should be using a universal binary (you shouldn’t have to worry about increased wear as the OS should install the correct kernel by default)

Strange the Catalina image does not see your drive, are you able to use the Monterey installer just to initialise/format the drive? (or create a separate initialised partition to test 10.15?)

Even then installing Monterey isn’t a terrible idea as you should be able to get the latest firmware/SMC releases (which should also improve performance under 10.15..)

I solve the problem. After I installed monterey and put a fresh catalina on the flash drive, the problem disappeared. I don't know what exactly helped. Thank you

 

[xboxbml]

I solve the problem. After I installed monterey and put a fresh catalina on the flash drive, the problem disappeared. I don't know what exactly helped. Thank you

I was gonna suggest making a fresh installer.. I think Apple "signs" versions and they expire after certain period of time... I had that issue once way back when I started messing with MacOS when I got this MBA around 2018. Glad you got it working.

 

[natus.w]

I solve the problem. After I installed monterey and put a fresh catalina on the flash drive, the problem disappeared. I don't know what exactly helped. Thank you

Could have been firmware from the sounds of things or something strange like that (I don’t know what OS was on it before but you can’t use NVME drives on OS versions made before 10.13; updating likely resolved something..)

 

[Selt3Z]

Could have been firmware from the sounds of things or something strange like that (I don’t know what OS was on it before but you can’t use NVME drives on OS versions made before 10.13; updating likely resolved something..)

There was Monterey before. But SSD is a new one from a box.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Did you actually read this thread? Literally the post before yours recommended the WD Blue SN570 as did mine two posts before that one. Great performance, low power consumption & the cheapest 2TB stick that I could find.

Yes, I did - I just missed it

Please be kind, c'mon

 

[Selt3Z]

MP510

Why is it red in the initial post?
You can add ADATA SX8100 to the list. It’s working well.

How thick does the SSD heatsink fit and should I put a thermal pad between the heatsink and macbook cover? Because I guess 4TB will be really hot. Or could it cause damage to the ssd when it hits the bottom of the laptop?

 

[natus.w]

Why is it red in the initial post?
You can add ADATA SX8100 to the list. It’s working well.

How thick does the SSD heatsink fit and should I put a thermal pad between the heatsink and macbook cover? Because I guess 4TB will be really hot. Or could it cause damage to the ssd when it hits the bottom of the laptop?

I believe the firmware revision at the time did not support MacOS boot or the machines, there may have been updates since then.

Capacity doesn’t really scale with heat output, if anything you’re better off monitoring temps yourself and seeing whether they are in range for the drive in the application you’re using it for (there are some posts here detailing heatsink/pad fitment)

 

[xboxbml]

Why is it red in the initial post?
You can add ADATA SX8100 to the list. It’s working well.

How thick does the SSD heatsink fit and should I put a thermal pad between the heatsink and macbook cover? Because I guess 4TB will be really hot. Or could it cause damage to the ssd when it hits the bottom of the laptop?

I put that heat sink that came with mine on it.. I also used the small Sintec adapter.. The long one made the SSD press against the case bottom on my 2015 Air. Not sure if you have that issue on your setup. I wish I had taken a pic of the SSD before I put the sink on to see what controller it had on it. Back when I bought it I found out later through this forum that ADATA had pulled a fast one and changed out what controller they were using with a slower one I think and did not make that known. I had already put the sink on and installed it way before I found that out and once you do that its nearly impossible to get it back off without risking damage so I left it alone.. Been good drive until yesterday when the 12.7.4 update messed it up so had to wipe drive and start all over. Used TM and all back. I don't think it was the drives fault. I think the update did it.

 

[Flyview]

I went ahead and did the upgrade today on my late 2013 15" MacBook Pro running Big Sur. Installed a WD SN580 1TB SSD. Had to boot from a Big Sur installer on an external drive to recognize the new drive. Time Machine did not let me recover directly with everything, which is apparently a problem since Catalina or before. So I did a Big Sur install first then used "Migration Assistant" from my Time Machine backup. Pretty much everything worked and was as I left it other than some more specialized software that I believe required me approving some kexts first. Happy with the speed and capacity bump!

 

[xboxbml]

I went ahead and did the upgrade today on my late 2013 15" MacBook Pro running Big Sur. Installed a WD SN580 1TB SSD. Had to boot from a Big Sur installer on an external drive to recognize the new drive. Time Machine did not let me recover directly with everything, which is apparently a problem since Catalina or before. So I did a Big Sur install first then used "Migration Assistant" from my Time Machine backup. Pretty much everything worked and was as I left it other than some more specialized software that I believe required me approving some kexts first. Happy with the speed and capacity bump!

Good job! Yeah I actually had to restore mine the other day that way as well. Internet recovery to 12.7.4 then Migration Assistant. Not sure why that was..

 

[Flyview]

Good job! Yeah I actually had to restore mine the other day that way as well. Internet recovery to 12.7.4 then Migration Assistant. Not sure why that was..

Thanks! I'm taking a look at some details now and noticed that the drive uses a constant 0.22A at idle while the stock one was basically at 0A. People have used ssdPmEnabler (seems out of date) and NVMeFix.

Does anyone know how to install NVMeFix on a MacBook Pro with Big Sur? It looks like most people are using it on Hackintosh setups. The GitHub page doesn't give specific instructions it just says it has to be "injected by the bootloader".

EDIT:
I installed SsdPmEnabler for now and it reduced the SSD idle power usage from 0.22A to 0.12A. It also made it run cooler by about 5c. Note I had to allow full disk access to Terminal in order for the installation instructions to work.

Attached screenshot is from before SsdPmEnabler and after.

Would still love to try NVMeFix if someone can help me install it properly.

EDIT2:
I am now using Open Core Legacy Patcher with MacOS Sonoma, which includes NVMeFix, and my idle power draw from the SSD has gone to 0, like the stock Apple SSD!

 

[white7561]

Hi guys. So I want to upgrade my dad's old 11 inch MBA . It's the mid 2012 model. I saw on the first post that it's got this mixed connector. So which adapter should I get? And what kinds of SSD would be great for it? Thanks!

 

[0134168]

Hi guys. So I want to upgrade my dad's old 11 inch MBA . It's the mid 2012 model. I saw on the first post that it's got this mixed connector. So which adapter should I get? And what kinds of SSD would be great for it? Thanks!

#1

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'm on a slightly older SanDisk Ultra 3D 1TB NVMe on my 2015 15" MBP now (repurposed)

It's been totally flawless -- IIRC it's essentially a WD SN550

Just wanted to add the data point for folks

 

[white7561]

#1

Macbook Air 2012 (tried on 11 inch model) has a mixed connector which can use both SATA (stock one) and PCIe x2 (NVMe) drives, thus it is possible to gain 800+ MB/s (WD SN550) with an NVMe SSD and the right adapter for it. Hibernation has no issues so far on macOS 10.15.7, the external icon is easely fixed with Innie.kext.

You can upgrade the storage of those models with any SATA M.2 AHCI SSDs - e.g Crucial MX500 sata M.2 - and M.2 to Apple 6+12 adapters. Transcend and OWC also sell upgrades.

The issue is I don't know which adapter can use NVMe drives and which can only use SATA M.2 SSDs. I did one for my MBA 2014 and it was all fine because the info for 2013++ models are pretty much complete.

 

[natus.w]

Thanks! I'm taking a look at some details now and noticed that the drive uses a constant 0.22A at idle while the stock one was basically at 0A. People have used ssdPmEnabler (seems out of date) and NVMeFix.

Does anyone know how to install NVMeFix on a MacBook Pro with Big Sur? It looks like most people are using it on Hackintosh setups. The GitHub page doesn't give specific instructions it just says it has to be "injected by the bootloader".

EDIT:
I installed SsdPmEnabler for now and it reduced the SSD idle power usage from 0.22A to 0.12A. It also made it run cooler by about 5c. Note I had to allow full disk access to Terminal in order for the installation instructions to work.

Attached screenshot is from before SsdPmEnabler and after.

Would still love to try NVMeFix if someone can help me install it properly.

You should be able to copy it to the /Library/Extensions path (SIP may need to be disabled for it to work)


https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ch-bar-for-ssd-upgrades.2231881/post-32308192

 

[Flyview]

You should be able to copy it to the /Library/Extensions path (SIP may need to be disabled for it to work)


https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ch-bar-for-ssd-upgrades.2231881/post-32308192

That link refers to installing SsdPmEnabler which I've already managed to install that way. Do you think the same procedure will work for nvmeFix?

 

[Flyview]

Yes, the procedure is the exact same.

GitHub - acidanthera/NVMeFix

Contribute to acidanthera/NVMeFix development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

"It may be installed to /Library/Extensions on 10.15 and earlier, or injected by the bootloader on all versions."

I'm on 11.7 (Big Sur) so I thought it had to be "injected by the bootloader". I tried by copying it to /Library/Extensions like SsdPmEnabler and it complained that it needed Lilu. I did the same for Lilu and got a kernel panic and had to re-enable SIP in recovery to be able to boot and then remove Lilu. What am I doing wrong?

EDIT:

Looks like I was right, it has to be injected:

Macbook Pro 14,1, MacOS 12.0.1 not boot with lilu.kext · Issue #1877 · acidanthera/bugtracker

Hi. I need some help according to my laptop. HW: Macbook Pro mid-2017 13" non touchbar version (14,1) OS: macOS 12.0.1 lilu.kext: 1.5.7, 1.5.6, 1.5.4 I upgrade my laptop storage with an NVME adapte...

github.com

Still unsure on how this is actually done.

 

[natus.w]

The issue is I don't know which adapter can use NVMe drives and which can only use SATA M.2 SSDs. I did one for my MBA 2014 and it was all fine because the info for 2013++ models are pretty much complete.

The stock SSD uses a 7 + 17pin connector, the firmware for the mid 2012 does not seem to be compatible with NVME booting so you’ll have to use a SATA M.2 drive and the appropriate bridged adapter.

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

 

[natus.w]

"It may be installed to /Library/Extensions on 10.15 and earlier, or injected by the bootloader on all versions."

I'm on 11.7 (Big Sur) so I thought it had to be "injected by the bootloader". I tried by copying it to /Library/Extensions like SsdPmEnabler and it complained that it needed Lilu. I did the same for Lilu and got a kernel panic and had to re-enable SIP in recovery to be able to boot and then remove Lilu. What am I doing wrong?

Disregard the last reply, you should be able to load it like so.

Macbook Pro 14,1, MacOS 12.0.1 not boot with lilu.kext · Issue #1877 · acidanthera/bugtracker

Hi. I need some help according to my laptop. HW: Macbook Pro mid-2017 13" non touchbar version (14,1) OS: macOS 12.0.1 lilu.kext: 1.5.7, 1.5.6, 1.5.4 I upgrade my laptop storage with an NVME adapte...

github.com

 

[Melikootje]

I got a question. Ive got a mac mini a1347 and i wanna upgrade the ssd. Now ive read here about faulty wired adapters so im wondering if this adapter from AliExpress would work?

a.aliexpress.com/_EuOS7AV

If not, would this one suffice?

amzn.eu/d/j7v5HJv

Note to mods: feel free to delete this post

 

[Melikootje]

I got a question. Ive got a mac mini a1347 and i wanna upgrade the ssd. Now ive read here about faulty wired adapters so im wondering if this adapter from AliExpress would work?

a.aliexpress.com/_EuOS7AV

If not, would this one suffice?

amzn.eu/d/j7v5HJv

Edited so it wouldnt include links, thus wont be filtered as spam

 

[white7561]

The stock SSD uses a 7 + 17pin connector, the firmware for the mid 2012 does not seem to be compatible with NVME booting so you’ll have to use a SATA M.2 drive and the appropriate bridged adapter.

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

Do we know which bootrom ver is required? I think mine is at 420 or 422. But I know that the latest is 429 . I can't upgrade mine using the stock SSD since it's dead. Do you think 420/422 bootrom will allow bootrom updates via third party SSD? Thanks

 

[natus.w]

Edited so it wouldnt include links, thus wont be filtered as spamView attachment 2360647

Being hard wired there shouldn’t be as many issues as a laptop (which has its own constrained power source)

Most of these should be OK, the risk of permanent damage should be low (if you are concerned you can look at reviews to determine the quality of each unit..)