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

[platinumestates]

Simple outcome, I think I am gonna end up with the Hynix

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.
View attachment 2369056


Crucial P3 with Long Sintech Adapter
View attachment 2369046
Had the lowest temperature running so far.....will Test P3+ Tomorrow

WD SN750 SE works ONLY with Long Sintech adapter linked above
View attachment 2369051


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.
View attachment 2369052

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

Simple outcome, I think I am gonna end up with the Hynix

Crucial P3+

And the surprise winner (for me at this point) is the Hynix

2600 mb read and write at 2300? I was expecting Hynix to be more or less the same thing as the others but on top of that, with the lowest power draw of all, makes it a no brainer for me.

 

[_SGA_]

Solution to Windows 11 Crash

Hey guys, I just replaced the SSD of my MacBook Air 2014 with NVME ssd using an adapter, than I installed Windows 11 using a bootcamp. Sadly it was booting only in safe mode and every time I try to load Windows normally it were giving me an error "BOOT DISK UNACCESSIBLE".

Sadly there is no information on the internet for this, but I have found the solution.

Solution
Start the Windows in a safe mode. In Power Options go to Edit Plan Settings -> Change advanced power settings -> PCI Express -> Link State Power Managment. Set this to Off and this fixes the problem. Now you can restart the computer in normal mode.

 

[Thesuperserena]

Wanted to post a SSD that worked in case anyone was wondering: Samsung 990 EVO. MBPR 15" mid 2014

 

[camt_spel]

Wanted to post a SSD that worked in case anyone was wondering: Samsung 990 EVO. MBPR 15" mid 2014

Can confirm, I also just replaced the stock SSD from my mid 2014 15' MBPR with a Samsung 990 EVO 1TB.

Here are the differences in specs attached - Before and After. A 187% improvement in Write speeds and a 212% improvement in read speeds (maybe?) Not sure if this is 100% accurate, I'm just going off of the pictures of the read and write disk tests below.

I wonder how the power consumption plays into the switch. Anyone have any information on the 990 EVO?

Always, I am super happy going from a 250gb storage to a 1TB storage and a little faster speeds.

 

[Sarako]

hello, i've been reading a lot this forum and i cant find good options to buy a WD SSD, can't find the 550 where i'm from, there's the 770 and i think its at a good price but haven't seen being recommended here, i have a MBA (mid 2013) with the latest update for her (big sur 11.7.10) i just want to make sure it's gonna work cause i see WD get recommended but idk if the model would make a change.
also im kinda confused, big sur got rid of the hibernation/issues with Nvme ssd's?

 

[Sarako]

Crucial P3+

are u using it with the long adapter? thinking about buying that one for my MBA mid 2013, went and read the forum a lil more and saw that big sur update has the rom update to prevent the hibernation issues

 

[stevenshine]

So, I have read nearly 400 pages of this upgrade guide and all are helpful. But SSD model suggestions are old and not available in my region.

Currently I've ordered this sintech adaptor and for nvme drive ....
Should I go for

1 TB SSD WD BLUE SN570 - PCIe 3/NVMe M.2 2280 (WDS100T3B0C) * which in the sintech adaptor page it said not work but I understand can be okey with newer batch and SSD firmware update.
or
WD BLUE SN580 1TB SSD NVMe M.2 2280 (WDS100T3B0E) SSD ( anyone tried with this ? ).

Any last suggest ? MacBook Pro Mid 2015 15 inch ( A1398 ) model. Gonna be Okey ?

 

[splifingate]

So, I have read nearly 400 pages of this upgrade guide and all are helpful. But SSD model suggestions are old and not available in my region.

Currently I've ordered this sintech adaptor and for nvme drive ....
Should I go for

1 TB SSD WD BLUE SN570 - PCIe 3/NVMe M.2 2280 (WDS100T3B0C) * which in the sintech adaptor page it said not work but I understand can be okey with newer batch and SSD firmware update.
or
WD BLUE SN580 1TB SSD NVMe M.2 2280 (WDS100T3B0E) SSD ( anyone tried with this ? ).

Any last suggest ? MacBook Pro Mid 2015 15 inch ( A1398 ) model. Gonna be Okey ?

The Sabrent I have in my 2015 MBP is delicious; the SK Hynix P31's I have in my other units are sublime.

 

[natus.w]

So, I have read nearly 400 pages of this upgrade guide and all are helpful. But SSD model suggestions are old and not available in my region.

Currently I've ordered this sintech adaptor and for nvme drive ....
Should I go for

1 TB SSD WD BLUE SN570 - PCIe 3/NVMe M.2 2280 (WDS100T3B0C) * which in the sintech adaptor page it said not work but I understand can be okey with newer batch and SSD firmware update.
or
WD BLUE SN580 1TB SSD NVMe M.2 2280 (WDS100T3B0E) SSD ( anyone tried with this ? ).

Any last suggest ? MacBook Pro Mid 2015 15 inch ( A1398 ) model. Gonna be Okey ?

Got an SN580 here in an 11” MacBook Air, running fine with no issues (1400MBs up and down; with a similar PCIE setup you should see similar results to me)

 

[mr25]

Just bought a 970 Evo Plus and installed Catalina from my MBP early 2015 to the SSD using an external enclosure. The install went fine but when I inserted the SSD within the MAC it wasn't detected. I used the following adapter: Qnine Adapter from Amazon.de I'd presume the adapter is not compatible with the 970 Evo Plus (which is actually stated in the description but there are conflictings posts within the Amazon Q&A saying it is compatible).

My Samsung Evo Plus was manufactured in Thailand in 2023/08. The PN Number is MZVLB1T0HBLR (old Phoenix controller) and model is MZ-V7S1T0. Firmware version is 2B2QEXM7

Wondering if anyone has had any success with this particular SSD model and if yes what adapter was used?

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Just bought a 970 Evo Plus and installed Catalina from my MBP early 2015 to the SSD using an external enclosure. The install went fine but when I inserted the SSD within the MAC it wasn't detected. I used the following adapter: Qnine Adapter from Amazon.de I'd presume the adapter is not compatible with the 970 Evo Plus (which is actually stated in the description but there are conflictings posts within the Amazon Q&A saying it is compatible).

My Samsung Evo Plus was manufactured in Thailand in 2023/08. The PN Number is MZVLB1T0HBLR (old Phoenix controller) and model is MZ-V7S1T0. Firmware version is 2B2QEXM7

Wondering if anyone has had any success with this particular SSD model and if yes what adapter was used?

Is the MBP firmware updated to the latest version?
If so, I remember reading somewhere in this thread that the model of SSD you bought has some incompatibilities. You can solve that by upgrading the SSD's firmware by using the proprietary software provided by Samsung.

 

[mr25]

Is the MBP firmware updated to the latest version?
If so, I remember reading somewhere in this thread that the model of SSD you bought has some incompatibilities. You can solve that by upgrading the SSD's firmware by using the proprietary software provided by Samsung.

Indeed, I have also read that upgrading the SSD's firmware on the the EVO Plus might solve the incompatibility issues but the posts are a tad old and I suspect that these were referring to the current firmware I have on my SSD; 2B2QEXM7. I'm not risking upgrading to the very latest version currently available on the Samsung website which is version 4B2QEXM7. It would be hard to downgrade, if possible at all, should the issues persist and I have not met any success stories specifically mentioning the latter firmware version.

In any case I'm curious what adapter - firmware combination was used on these Samsung 970 Evo Plus for anyone who has had their upgrade successful.

 

[tsialex]

Indeed, I have also read that upgrading the SSD's firmware on the the EVO Plus might solve the incompatibility issues but the posts are a tad old and I suspect that these were referring to the current firmware I have on my SSD; 2B2QEXM7. I'm not risking upgrading to the very latest version currently available on the Samsung website which is version 4B2QEXM7. It would be hard to downgrade, if possible at all, should the issues persist and I have not met any success stories specifically mentioning the latter firmware version.

In any case I'm curious what adapter - firmware combination was used on these Samsung 970 Evo Plus for anyone who has had their upgrade successful.

Samsung changed the controller for the 970 EVO Plus when a new revision was released back in 2021, the first revision have the original Phoenix controller and these have firmwares that start with the prefix 2B.

For new revision of the 970 EVO Plus, Samsung changed to a newer controller, the Elpis one, and these use the firmwares that start with the prefix 4B.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/pmvc9k

You can't use a firmware from one to the other, is not even possible to cross-flash it.

Interestingly enough, Samsung still made later production runs after 2021 with the original Phoenix controller, I have a 2TB made in 2023 with the Phoenix controller.

 

[mr25]

Samsung changed the controller for the 970 EVO Plus when a new revision was released back in 2021, the first revision have the original Phoenix controller and these have firmwares that start with the prefix 2B.

For new revision of the 970 EVO Plus, Samsung changed to a newer controller, the Elpis one, and these use the firmwares that start with the prefix 4B.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/pmvc9k

You can't use a firmware from one to the other, is not even possible to cross-flash it.

Interestingly enough, Samsung still made later production runs after 2021 with the original Phoenix controller, I have a 2TB made in 2023 with the Phoenix controller.

Thanks for the link.

As in your case, my SSD manufactured in 2023 also uses the Phoenix controller and hence the 2B prefix of the firmware version.

Now that I confirm I have the latest firmware installed and that I managed to install Catalina on the SSD attached to an enclosure, it must definitely be the adapter which is somehow incompatible (unless I am missing something else which might not be that obvious)

 

[nigelbb]

Simple outcome, I think I am gonna end up with the Hynix


Simple outcome, I think I am gonna end up with the Hynix

Crucial P3+
View attachment 2369365
View attachment 2369366

And the surprise winner (for me at this point) is the Hynix
View attachment 2369367
View attachment 2369368
2600 mb read and write at 2300? I was expecting Hynix to be more or less the same thing as the others but on top of that, with the lowest power draw of all, makes it a no brainer for me.

I returned my 2TB Hynix P31 Gold module as performance was inferior to WD Blue SN570 & SN580. It was also running hotter (50C vs 40C).

 

[natus.w]

Thanks for the link.

As in your case, my SSD manufactured in 2023 also uses the Phoenix controller and hence the 2B prefix of the firmware version.

Now that I confirm I have the latest firmware installed and that I managed to install Catalina on the SSD attached to an enclosure, it must definitely be the adapter which is somehow incompatible (unless I am missing something else which might not be that obvious)

You mostly seem to have answered your own question.

Is it not enough ask to buy another adapter? (they’re cheap enough (10-13EUR, maybe less; we cannot account for all of the Chinese factories configuring and producing these so quality will vary wildly..)

 

[Dr. Frank]

I think it does. But 8TB cost is around the price of the macbook unit itself in my country, lol. If you are willing to dig that deep into your wallet, you might consider getting an upgrade for the macbook instead.

Hardware-Übersicht:



Modellname: MacBook Pro

Modell-Identifizierung: MacBookPro11,3

Prozessortyp: Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Prozessorgeschwindigkeit: 2,3 GHz

Anzahl der Prozessoren: 1

Gesamtanzahl der Kerne: 4

L2-Cache (pro Kern): 256 KB

L3-Cache: 6 MB

Hyper-Threading Technologie: Aktiviert

Speicher: 16 GB

Systemfirmwareversion: 478.0.0.0.0

SMC-Version (System): 2.19f12

 

[Dr. Frank]

It does work!
8tb:


Gerätename: Corsair MP600 PRO NH

 

[mr25]

You mostly seem to have answered your own question.

Is it not enough ask to buy another adapter? (they’re cheap enough (10-13EUR, maybe less; we cannot account for all of the Chinese factories configuring and producing these so quality will vary wildly..)

I did buy another adapter. Arrived on Friday. SSD now installed and recognised without any issues. This is the cheapo adapter I have ordered: Adapter. I re-installed Monterey on the new drive and enabled Filevault. So far I haven't experienced any stability issues. The only noticeable change is that the battery is draining overnight whilst the laptop is on sleep.

 

[pidoras]

One thing you need to make sure of before doing any benchmark is :

Does the macbook still doing indexing ? (you can hit spotlight, and type something to check) ,

MacOS will do full indexing after each clean install/update. And it use considerable amount of CPU & Disk IO performance.

If you do benchmarking within this time window, result would be slower.

And during this period, CPU also will be running hotter.

I normally use iStat Menus to monitor my CPU, Disk, Temperature & Power status.

As for you Macbook Model,

it should be able to hit around 1500Mb/s read speed easily, and around 1300Mb/s write.

Although, i would say that WD is not really a good choice. It use it's own controller, which happen to use more energy and doesn't really have perfect compatibility with macOS. Especially, i saw that you choose to use PCI 4.0 SSD. That is way too overkill for A1502 Macbook. The SSD bandwith can hit 7000Mb/s, while the macbook barely able to reach <50% of that number.

I would suggest you to pick another SSD. Use PCI 3.0 version. And look for one that have maximum speed around 1500-2500 Mb/s. One of the best option for price and performance would be Kioxia (Toshiba) Exceria. It have maximum speed of 1700Mb/s (just perfect for the macbook mainboard) and it has 512MB-1GB DRAM, a rare stuff for budget SSD. It random R/W also quite stellar.

During normal use (Zoom Meeting and Browser) , my CPU temp average is 45-50° and my SSD temp average is 35-40°. Power consumption for SSD is around 0.1-0.5W

Hello, are you using KIOXIA EXCERIA? Should I buy it for my MacBook Air 13 2015?

 

[natus.w]

Hello, are you using KIOXIA EXCERIA? Should I buy it for my MacBook Air 13 2015?

What model is available in your region?

There have been some updates to the range since then and you may not have the same components as the one stated..

 

[Flyview]

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!

Just wanted to update my experience with a 1TB WD SN580.

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! It went from 0.22A idle on stock Big Sur, to 0.12A on Big Sur with ssdPmEnabler and down to 0A with NVMeFix through OCLP.

 

[leodoct]

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.

Hi there. I have the same MBP. Which adapter you used? I have a long adapter from Ali Express (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.104.36821802wQwTvv) and the WD SN580 worked for a couple of hours installing Monterey and suddenly the MBP freezes. After that the disk disappeared from disk utility and any other disk software. DriveDX, DiskDrill, Data rescue. etc. When i plug in the original Apple SSD everything OK. If i connect the WD SN580 via USB 3.0 to NVME adapter everything OK. I thing that my adapter failed for some reason, i cannot understand why it worked for a while and then stopped. Anyway can you send me a link or a photo or any info of your adapter to buy the same. Thanks

 

[natus.w]

Hi there. I have the same MBP. Which adapter you used? I have a long adapter from Ali Express (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.104.36821802wQwTvv) and the WD SN580 worked for a couple of hours installing Monterey and suddenly the MBP freezes. After that the disk disappeared from disk utility and any other disk software. DriveDX, DiskDrill, Data rescue. etc. When i plug in the original Apple SSD everything OK. If i connect the WD SN580 via USB 3.0 to NVME adapter everything OK. I thing that my adapter failed for some reason, i cannot understand why it worked for a while and then stopped. Anyway can you send me a link or a photo or any info of your adapter to buy the same. Thanks

Do you have another adapter to try? (another long one may be OK, but if the fit is not good a short one will probably be your last resort..)

I do not know where you are located but they are sufficiently cheap enough so replacing it should not be an issue..

 

[leodoct]

No i do not have another adapter but i had bought two pieces of the same as the link. They have the same behavior NOT RECOGNIZED.. Very strange. I am from Greece and i have many options at about 20 Euros and more, but i want to buy something that works for sure, so i probably go to order Sintech official from Germany (https://www.sintech-shop.de/ngff-m-2-nvme-ssd-adapter-karte-fuer-upgrade-2013-2015-macbook/a-10805) to be sure.