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

[xboxbml]

Which is better a short or long Sintech adapter? Does it really make a difference?

I think it depends on what drive you're using and what you're putting it in.. I had bought the Syntech long adapter for my 2015MBA originally. When I put the SX8200Pro in it(9/2020), the bottom case cover was pressing down on the drive itself, which can cause failures down the line. I got the Syntech short adapter a couple days later and no issues. I was gonna send the long one back but hung onto it..not sure why.. I picked up the 15" 2015MBP last summer and the long adapter worked perfect in that one, and the P31, so at least it didn't go to waste..

 

[xboxbml]

I have a 2015 Macbook Pro 13 inch A1502, if I decide to buy this Sintech adapter with a non-apple ssd, will I experience "Kernel panics" or hibernation/sleep/power issues?

I've got the 15" mid 2015MBP. I've had no issues with this SK Hynix P31 Gold 2TB SSD. Along with the new battery the previous owner had just put in it, this thing works well. If you have the AMD Radeon R9 M370X 2 GB GPU in it don't OCLP it and load Sonoma or Sequoia. At least if you value connecting an external monitor in any way and watching HDCP content on it(Apple purchased movies etc). That DOES NOT work. Only plays on built in display.

 

[LongReach_2910]

Not really sure how to check that. I'm actually in the middle of reloading Monterey back on it and restoring TM backup on the 2015 Air.. I had done OCLP/Sequoia on it on 1/6 and wasn't liking the little stuttering at times it was doing. It was my main machine since I bought it I think in 2017/18, and I just wanted it back to "supported" version for now. I found I bought the 2TB SX8200Pro on 9/11/2020, so I haven't had it quite the 5 years. I've NEVER had an issue with it. It survived a wine spill somehow in early 2021 I think.. Threw it in a replacement chassis and kept on going.. It came with a 5 year warranty. I think the best ones do. It does draw a bit more power than others I think.

I have a 2015 Macbook Pro 13 inch A1502, if I decide to buy this Sintech adapter with a non-apple ssd, will I experience "Kernel panics" or hibernation/sleep/power issues?

 

[xboxbml]

I have a 2015 Macbook Pro 13 inch A1502, if I decide to buy this Sintech adapter with a non-apple ssd, will I experience "Kernel panics" or hibernation/sleep/power issues?

Like I said, I've had NO issues at all on the 2 2015 models I have. Just make sure you use one of the recommended drives in this thread that are known to work(page 1 is a good place to start), and a good quality adapter like a new Syntech. The old original ones several years ago had an issue with contacts causing panics. They added kapton tape over them to fix that issue. Newer ones should be fine. My reload just finished and the system report-SMART status says Verified. So it thinks the drive is still fine. I don't have any 3rd party tools/apps to look at more detail regarding the drive state like TBW or wear leveling data... I'm using 749gb of the drive and have 1.3tb free. 324gb of it is iTunes purchased movies and 200gb is my iCloud photos library, all downloaded onboard. I have both machines setup that way. Almost identical now. Obviously the MBP 15" has a better screen, but when connecting external big TV monitor to watch movies and games on Xfinity/TV, it's pretty much the same.

 

[mslilyelise]

Are you positive this model works? I tried the Samsung 980 Pro a while back and while it initially seemed to work fine, I discovered some issues after activating Filevault that made the system very unstable and haven't dared to try any newer samsung drive since.

For people looking for a more recent model, I confirm that the WD BLACK SN850X works great, but unless you find it at a very good price or are looking for a capacity > 2TB, the WD BLUE SN580 is still my goto for a fairly recent drive that gives you the best value for money up to 2TB.

Confirmed working on OCLP Sequoia, see attached. No issues to report. There was an issue with OCLP and certain Macs not playing nice together when FileVault is enabled, that could have been the issue you encountered. I had that issue on a different MBA 7,2 on Sonoma, turned off FileVault and the system worked normally, that system had its stock Apple SSD. Haven't tried FileVault since.

 

[xanderx007]

Not really sure how to check that. I'm actually in the middle of reloading Monterey back on it and restoring TM backup on the 2015 Air.. I had done OCLP/Sequoia on it on 1/6 and wasn't liking the little stuttering at times it was doing. It was my main machine since I bought it I think in 2017/18, and I just wanted it back to "supported" version for now. I found I bought the 2TB SX8200Pro on 9/11/2020, so I haven't had it quite the 5 years. I've NEVER had an issue with it. It survived a wine spill somehow in early 2021 I think.. Threw it in a replacement chassis and kept on going.. It came with a 5 year warranty. I think the best ones do. It does draw a bit more power than others I think.

I have iStat Menus, but you can also use SSD Reporter.

Mac SSDReporter - check & monitor your SSD / Flash Storage health

mac app to monitor SSD health

www.corecode.io