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

[BenPratt]

Mid-2015 15" Macbook pro. I have a Timetec 1TB SSD in it and it causes the computer to slow down and overheat, and use up the battery quickly. I don't care how fast it is. I just need a reliable 1TB SSD that will work well. Can someone who knows what they are talking about please give me a good recommendation for currently available one?
I've already spent far too much time researching and dealing with this issue, and I would really rather not read all 479 pages of this thread. Thank you!
I wish I had kept the original apple SSD that it came with but it is long gone : (

 

[BenPratt]

will the WD Blue SN580 work as well as the SN570 people are recommending here? The 570 is o longer available. Speed is not my most important criteria. Just want it to be stable, run cool, and not use the batter too quickly.

 

[htcmda]

will the WD Blue SN580 work as well as the SN570 people are recommending here? The 570 is o longer available. Speed is not my most important criteria. Just want it to be stable, run cool, and not use the batter too quickly.

I personally have the SK Hynix P31 Gold (2TB version), several others use this nvme drive as well.
I've never even heard of a brand called Timetec.

 

[bolli]

will the WD Blue SN580 work as well as the SN570 people are recommending here? The 570 is o longer available. Speed is not my most important criteria. Just want it to be stable, run cool, and not use the batter too quickly.

Yes, for my MacBook Pro 13" Early 2015 (A1502, DMC2835) the SN580 works well. Had the same problem, that many of the recommended SSDs were not available at my country, so i went with the SN580. So far it runs reliably and not too hot. It also doesn't seem to me to be very energy-intensive. Another post mentioned that the SN580 is very power efficient. Some other people in this thread also report positively on the use of the SN580. You can also use the search icon at the top of the page to search the thread for keywords to find the relevant posts.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Oops I found a better place to ask my question

 

[platinumestates]

Question, if my ssd is corrupt and it has to be replaced, and this I can't even load ANY OS at any point, when I replace the SSD and I boot it up, can I turn on internet recovery mode?

 

[natus.w]

Question, if my ssd is corrupt and it has to be replaced, and this I can't even load ANY OS at any point, when I replace the SSD and I boot it up, can I turn on internet recovery mode?

Internet recovery will only use the OS the computer came with (in lieu of having any system).

Problem is you won’t get NVME support (that was only added with 10.13/14 for most of the machines).

So you likely will have to recover from a bootable disk..

 

[nigelbb]

Internet recovery will only use the OS the computer came with (in lieu of having any system).

Problem is you won’t get NVME support (that was only added with 10.13/14 for most of the machines).

So you likely will have to recover from a bootable disk..

It is possible to use internet recovery to install the version of MacOS that it came with but it's also possible to install the latest version compatible with your particular Mac.

• Command-R: Start up from the built-in macOS Recovery System. Use this key combination to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your system, or to use the other apps in macOS Recovery.
• Option-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall macOS and upgrade to the latest version of macOS that’s compatible with your Mac.
• Option-Shift-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall the version of macOS that came with your Mac or the closest version that’s still available.

Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac

Learn how to use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac.

support.apple.com

 

[platinumestates]

It is possible to use internet recovery to install the version of MacOS that it came with but it's also possible to install the latest version compatible with your particular Mac.

• Command-R: Start up from the built-in macOS Recovery System. Use this key combination to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your system, or to use the other apps in macOS Recovery.
• Option-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall macOS and upgrade to the latest version of macOS that’s compatible with your Mac.
• Option-Shift-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall the version of macOS that came with your Mac or the closest version that’s still available.

Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac

Learn how to use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac.

support.apple.com

Internet recovery will only use the OS the computer came with (in lieu of having any system).

Problem is you won’t get NVME support (that was only added with 10.13/14 for most of the machines).

So you likely will have to recover from a bootable disk..

So, in theory, if the internet recovery does work, and I CAN install Monterey from scratch, it should work? Even if I start with the Catalina, I can upgrade to Monterey and then the NVME will work? What is the NVME for?

 

[tiesbakker]

Hello, I Hope you can help me as well as you helped everyone who has gone before.

I have swapped the broken ssd from my friends Macbook Pro 12,1 (13 inch, early 2015). Using a NVME adapter (Link to aliexpress) and a Samsung 980 SSD. The SSD was installed succesfully, but i cannot get the ssd show in the recovery enviroment.

I am able to detect the ssd, format it, read/write to it, and benchmark it etc., but it does not show up in the recovery enviroment. The drive also shows up in disk utility as a pci-express drive, and samsungmagician shows a pcie gen 2x4 connection, and no availible firmware updates.

I have tried formatting the drive to APFS and mac os extended (journaled), both GUID. Both with the same result.

I have tried to find similar post with this thread, but I have not found a solution among them (though I must admit i have not read all 479 pages).

Does anyone know what the problem could be?

Thanks very much in advance.


Supplemental data:
The SSD firmware is: 4B4QFXO7
The Macos version is: 10.13.6
The boot rom version is: 188.0.0.0.0
The SMC version is: 2.28f7
disk speed: 1512 mb/s read, 1462 mb/s write

Some context: I created an external ssd to troubleshoot the macbook, as i got it after an incident involving lemonade. The macbook seems to be in complete working order. Likely due to this issue, i can only boot of the network recovery system.

 

[tiesbakker]

Hello, I Hope you can help me as well as you helped everyone who has gone before.

I have swapped the broken ssd from my friends Macbook Pro 12,1 (13 inch, early 2015). Using a NVME adapter (Link to aliexpress) and a Samsung 980 SSD. The SSD was installed succesfully, but i cannot get the ssd show in the recovery enviroment.

I am able to detect the ssd, format it, read/write to it, and benchmark it etc., but it does not show up in the recovery enviroment. The drive also shows up in disk utility as a pci-express drive, and samsungmagician shows a pcie gen 2x4 connection, and no availible firmware updates.

I have tried formatting the drive to APFS and mac os extended (journaled), both GUID. Both with the same result.

I have tried to find similar post with this thread, but I have not found a solution among them (though I must admit i have not read all 479 pages).

Does anyone know what the problem could be?

Thanks very much in advance.


Supplemental data:
The SSD firmware is: 4B4QFXO7
The Macos version is: 10.13.6
The boot rom version is: 188.0.0.0.0
The SMC version is: 2.28f7
disk speed: 1512 mb/s read, 1462 mb/s write

Some context: I created an external ssd to troubleshoot the macbook, as i got it after an incident involving lemonade. The macbook seems to be in complete working order. Likely due to this issue, i can only boot of the network recovery system.

Hello Everyone,

Short update: I am an idiot. Intalling from internet recovery loads the recovery envoriment that was originally shiped with (Yosemite). this obiviously does not have the NVME drivers required to read the new NVME drive.
I ook the usb stick i also used for installing the external hard drive, and the disk showed right up

Thanks for all the info in the form that made me come to this realisation.

 

[chayden]

You can certainly do that (you can either make a bootable backup using CarbonCopyCloner, SuperDuper! or some other imaging tool, or use an an external enclosure for the original drive & Migration Assistant to restore the partitions into a fresh image)

Should be able to do that as well (machine natively supports UEFI booting so you should be able to restore that to a prepared partition)

Good news. I have successfully upgraded my laptop. The performance improved significantly. Before in black and after in white

 

[platinumestates]

What is this stick and how do I get it? I loaded my hard drive but it is not being recognized

 

[platinumestates]

I have loaded in my SSD, the mac Will start an internet recovery, but it does not yet recognize the SSD. Anyone know how I can get it to do that?

 

[natus.w]

I have loaded in my SSD, the mac Will start an internet recovery, but it does not yet recognize the SSD. Anyone know how I can get it to do that?

What machine? (if it’s loading the factory OS it likely does not support NVME booting, you’ll have to go with a later version (10.13 or post 10.13)

What is this stick and how do I get it? I loaded my hard drive but it is not being recognized

Create a bootable installer for macOS – Apple Support (AU)

You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users who are familiar with entering commands in Terminal.

support.apple.com

 

[platinumestates]

What machine? (if it’s loading the factory OS it likely does not support NVME booting, you’ll have to go with a later version (10.13 or post 10.13)

Create a bootable installer for macOS – Apple Support (AU)

You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users who are familiar with entering commands in Terminal.

support.apple.com

Hi Natus, yes, the problem is, the OLD SSD, won't load ANY OS, let alone 10.13 or post, the new SSD has already been formatted to APFS, cloned etc, but how can I get a newer OS booted onto my old mac so it can possibly recognize this new SSD?

 

[natus.w]

Hi Natus, yes, the problem is, the OLD SSD, won't load ANY OS, let alone 10.13 or post, the new SSD has already been formatted to APFS, cloned etc, but how can I get a newer OS booted onto my old mac so it can possibly recognize this new SSD?

Do you not have another machine you can make disk images on? (you should be able to either get someone here to make one or failing that, purchasing a pre-made image is an option)

I’m also wondering if this is a case where the machine needs a native Apple SSD to update the firmware, if that is the problem buying one shouldn’t be an issue (you should be able to get a 128GB for well under 50 from a reputable seller or spares supplier)

 

[platinumestates]

Make sure your SN750 firmware also updated. WD has a tendency to be hit or miss in term of firmware version compatibility.

I have the SN750 SE, how do I update the firmware?

 

[platinumestates]

inserted into a mid 2015 MBPro. Crucial P3+

Which adapter did you connect it with?

 

[platinumestates]

Another success story here, WD 1TB SN 570 and this adapter working without a hitch on a Mid 2015 MacBook Pro 15".

Isn't it fortuitous that the length of the SSD with the adapter is exactly the same length as the OEM SSD?

What are your read / write speeds?

 

[platinumestates]

inserted into a mid 2015 MBPro. Crucial P3+

How is the battery drain / heat on it a year later? I am thinking of getting the p3+ as well.

 

[platinumestates]

i've got two different adapters each from different manufacturers, both of them work their magic with sn750 on Ventura as well as Sonoma; none of them works well with sn580 on either OS (crashes after a couple of hours, i couldn't give you the exact steps to reproduce the crash, seems random). IMHO, it has nothing to do with physical connectivity.

yes, i've checked the drive on a Windows pc, the western digital dashboard shows the firmware is already up to date.

temps are fine ranging from 30 to 45 give or take under constant surveillance of MacFanControl

i just leave the OCLP setting as is, the option is checked by default.

thank you for your advice. i got what you mean, it might be too soon to jump to the conclusion and call the sn580 the culprit. since this macbook pro is my daily driver i might as well settle with sn750 and be done with sn580.

Can you share which adapters you have? I have the SN 750 SE, but this one is not working with it.

V VOILA REVE M.2 NVME MacBook SSD Convert Adapter for Upgraded MacBook Air Pro Retina Mid 2013-2017, AHCI SSD Upgraded Kit for A1465 A1466 A1398 A1502

www.amazon.ca

 

[platinumestates]

inserted into a mid 2015 MBPro. Crucial P3+

how was the power draw on battery?

 

[platinumestates]

So far, have tested 3 SSD's cause of a scorched earth policy, Don't ask.

Summary, mid 2015 MBP A1398 15 inch with these stats. Basically my Apple SSD was KAPUT, so I only loaded Monterey straight from Internet recovery onto my SSD's using an enclosure after formatting them. No need to have load the OS onto the firmware before changing the SSD internally, in fact I even removed the internal SSD when doing the OS loading so, as long as you have the same computer I do have no fear. Otherwise eh.

Crucial P3 with Long Sintech Adapter

Had the lowest temperature running so far.....will Test P3+ Tomorrow

WD SN750 SE works ONLY with Long Sintech adapter linked above

And the Sabrent I connected with the Short sintech https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08QF7MFB2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details, ran the hottest from the loading in the SSD enclosure to internal.

I will be testing the Crucial P3+ and Hynix Gold P31 tomorrow and will settle on a card based on power draw and read write speed. From the look at the moment, it might be the Crucial p3+ but we shall see

 

[natus.w]

I have the SN750 SE, how do I update the firmware?

You’ll have to use WD’s Toolbox (Windows only)