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

[edulterado]

Hi everyone,

I have these three SSDs and I've been using P31 in a MacBookPro11,4 for two years as of now, and I would like to get rid of one of them:

1. SSD Apple SSPolaris 1TB (I have also another SSpolaris with 2TB)

2. SK Hynix P31 Gold 2TB

Cannot see the difference in power consumption getting a peak for both around 530mA in writing, although never used SSDpmEnabler nor NVMeFix. I was planning to use OCLP. Which SSD would be more efficient as to energy cost and battery life?

What about performance? Both performs quite similarly in RND4K in tests and I cannot tell there's an actual difference in daily usage between SSPolaris/Hynix.

Any insights would be very much appreciated.

 

[Skypalace]

Hi all. It's been a few years since I used all the great info on this post to upgrade my MacBook Pro 15" Late 2013 11,3 to a Sabrent 2TB drive using a short adapter, that I taped when I installed.

All has been quite stable, until I recently used another thread info to use OCLP to upgrade from Big Sur to Sonoma 14.7.4

Sonoma is working and I have all functionality, but I've been much less table, getting hangs (system hard hung) every day to two. When I reboot it's NVME issues. See error report below.

Any ideas or suggestions, why upgrade to Sonoma would cause this? Or is it something else and just coincidence? Either way, I'd love to have my stable MacBook back!


panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff80190db356): nvme: "3rd party NVMe controller. Controller fatal bit set. Write. fBuiltIn=1 MODEL=Sabrent FW=ECFM12.2 CSTS=0x3 US[1]=0x0 US[0]=0x73 VID=0x1987 DID=0x5012 CRITICAL_WARNING=0x0.\n" @IONVMeController.cpp:6153
Panicked task 0xffffff90a48fa3d8: 202 threads: pid 0: kernel_task
Backtrace (CPU 0), panicked thread: 0xffffff9570760b30, Frame : Return Address
0xffffffc4b12a3a80 : 0xffffff80170245a1 mach_kernel : _handle_debugger_trap + 0x4b1
0xffffffc4b12a3ad0 : 0xffffff8017189ed0 mach_kernel : _kdp_i386_trap + 0x110
0xffffffc4b12a3b10 : 0xffffff801717948c mach_kernel : _kernel_trap + 0x55c
0xffffffc4b12a3b90 : 0xffffff8016fbe971 mach_kernel : _return_from_trap + 0xc1
0xffffffc4b12a3bb0 : 0xffffff801702488d mach_kernel : _DebuggerTrapWithState + 0x5d
0xffffffc4b12a3ca0 : 0xffffff8017023f33 mach_kernel : _panic_trap_to_debugger + 0x1e3
0xffffffc4b12a3d00 : 0xffffff80177dacfb mach_kernel : _panic + 0x84
0xffffffc4b12a3df0 : 0xffffff80190db356 com.apple.iokit.IONVMeFamily : __ZN16IONVMeController18RequestAsyncEventsEj
0xffffffc4b12a3e20 : 0xffffff80177151bc mach_kernel : __ZN18IOTimerEventSource15timeoutSignaledEPvS0_ + 0x8c
0xffffffc4b12a3e70 : 0xffffff80177150d6 mach_kernel : __ZN18IOTimerEventSource17timeoutAndReleaseEPvS0_ + 0xc6
0xffffffc4b12a3ea0 : 0xffffff801707fcc8 mach_kernel : _thread_call_delayed_timer + 0x508
0xffffffc4b12a3ee0 : 0xffffff8017080d58 mach_kernel : _thread_call_delayed_timer + 0x1598
0xffffffc4b12a3fa0 : 0xffffff8016fbe19e mach_kernel : _call_continuation + 0x2e
Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
com.apple.iokit.IONVMeFamily(2.1)[B90B9155-8BD5-3918-952E-3A6BBFFBA01F]@0xffffff80190d4000->0xffffff80190fefff
dependency: com.apple.driver.AppleMobileFileIntegrity(1.0.5)[90430CCF-0E7B-3F6D-8923-1D07DBD6D3B0]@0xffffff801869c000->0xffffff80186d4fff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.9)[90D69372-DD9C-3FFC-8340-0843F41DD103]@0xffffff8019369000->0xffffff801939afff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOReportFamily(47)[8476E632-A5DB-34EC-A637-30C25D8C1767]@0xffffff80193ab000->0xffffff80193adfff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily(2.1)[1EEEAAAA-95C2-3606-8488-591BE79DB5B4]@0xffffff801949f000->0xffffff80194b5fff

Process name corresponding to current thread (0xffffff9570760b30): kernel_task
Boot args: keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 -lilubetaall ipc_control_port_options=0 -nokcmismatchpanic

Mac OS version:
23H420

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 23.6.0: Thu Dec 19 20:44:50 PST 2024; root:xnu-10063.141.1.703.2~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: DD6A0411-F372-3E5D-ADC5-479B6944818C
roots installed: 0
KernelCache slide: 0x0000000016c00000
KernelCache base: 0xffffff8016e00000
Kernel slide: 0x0000000016ce4000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff8016ee4000
__HIB text base: 0xffffff8016d00000
System model name: MacBookPro11,3 (Mac-2BD1B31983FE1663)
System shutdown begun: NO
Panic diags file available: YES (0x0)
Hibernation exit count: 0

System uptime in nanoseconds: 3126184628523
Last Sleep: absolute base_tsc base_nano
Uptime : 0x000002d7df1fdafc
Sleep : 0x000002b63aaa0f40 0x000000004c44bf11 0x000002b57c0f3721
Wake : 0x000002b64c5a65c4 0x000000004ba24b54 0x000002b64303d548
Compressor Info: 3% of compressed pages limit (OK) and 4% of segments limit (OK) with 1 swapfiles and OK swap space
Zone info:
Zone map: 0xffffff80a37cd000 - 0xffffffa0a37cd000
. PGZ : 0xffffff80a37cd000 - 0xffffff80a57ce000
. VM : 0xffffff80a57ce000 - 0xffffff8571fcd000
. RO : 0xffffff8571fcd000 - 0xffffff870b7cd000
. GEN0 : 0xffffff870b7cd000 - 0xffffff8bd7fcd000
. GEN1 : 0xffffff8bd7fcd000 - 0xffffff90a47cd000
. GEN2 : 0xffffff90a47cd000 - 0xffffff9570fcd000
. GEN3 : 0xffffff9570fcd000 - 0xffffff9a3d7cd000
. DATA : 0xffffff9a3d7cd000 - 0xffffffa0a37cd000
Metadata: 0xffffff802c7bd000 - 0xffffff804c7bd000
Bitmaps : 0xffffff804c7bd000 - 0xffffff804f7bd000
Extra : 0 - 0

 

[dogen]

Any ideas or suggestions, why upgrade to Sonoma would cause this? Or is it something else and just coincidence? Either way, I'd love to have my stable MacBook back!

Have you ticked the NVMe support option in the OCLP preferences? You could also try resetting the NVRAM via OCLP. There's a very long thread on OCLP with Sonoma that you might have a look at if you haven't already. One other thought: ask an AI to analyze the panic report in light of OCLP and your third-party SSD?

 

[Meddvedd]

Skypalace said:
All has been quite stable, until I recently used another thread info to use OCLP to upgrade from Big Sur to Sonoma 14.7.4

The Big Sur is the latest official OS for MacBook Pro 15" Late 2013 11,3.
And it works slower and worse than Mojave but allows to install newer software.
As for me, The very long thread is not about routine day-by-day work.
I couldn't find any really happy case of Sonoma on MBP 2013-2014 in the whole very long thread since 2023...

 

[DJHorse96]

Hi i am trying to upgrade my 2014MBP 15" A1398

I bought a generic adapter and a Crucial p3 1tb drive, the bootrom is on 431

I tested a Toshiba NVME from an ThinkPad and worked but when I try the P3 is is not detected I tried the capton tape on the adapter but no luck

 

[macpro_mid2014]

The Big Sur is the latest official OS for MacBook Pro 15" Late 2013 11,3.
And it works slower and worse than Mojave but allows to install newer software.
As for me, The very long thread is not about routine day-by-day work.
I couldn't find any really happy case of Sonoma on MBP 2013-2014 in the whole very long thread since 2023...

Off Topic, but:
I've been using OCLP since Ventura on my three not supported Macs listed in my sig. without any issues so far.
In the sig. you can also find the SSD each Mac uses.
Thanks

 

[Skypalace]

Have you ticked the NVMe support option in the OCLP preferences? You could also try resetting the NVRAM via OCLP. There's a very long thread on OCLP with Sonoma that you might have a look at if you haven't already. One other thought: ask an AI to analyze the panic report in light of OCLP and your third-party SSD?

Thanks for the reply.

If you mean "3rd Party NVMe PM" in Settings / Extras, yes it's already set. I don't see any other NVMe options.

Well, there is "NVMe Booting" in Settings / Build / General but it's grayed out, and it's successfully booting from NVMe, just having those occasional crashes.

Yes went through that ling thread re Sonoma w OCLP, that's what I used to install it.

@Meddvedd said Big Sur is latest supported and problems w later. I had to install more recent, chose Sonoma as best compromise to be able to update some of the software I use, Parallels is a big one (for running Windows), also Microsoft Office apps were years out of date and no longer supported on Big Sur.

Reset NVRAM, will see how it goes. Thanks again @dogen

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Thanks for the reply.

If you mean "3rd Party NVMe PM" in Settings / Extras, yes it's already set. I don't see any other NVMe options.

Well, there is "NVMe Booting" in Settings / Build / General but it's grayed out, and it's successfully booting from NVMe, just having those occasional crashes.

Yes went through that ling thread re Sonoma w OCLP, that's what I used to install it.

@Meddvedd said Big Sur is latest supported and problems w later. I had to install more recent, chose Sonoma as best compromise to be able to update some of the software I use, Parallels is a big one (for running Windows), also Microsoft Office apps were years out of date and no longer supported on Big Sur.

Reset NVRAM, will see how it goes. Thanks again @dogen

Last year, I traveled with my MBP11,2 and when I returned home, it gave me some panics (I don't recall if they were related to NVMe or not).
To solve that I opened the back pane and resettled the SSD, which solved the problem.

 

[rugio]

Can 4TB M.2 SSDs be used in a MBP retina mid 2015?

I have a 15-inch rMBP 2015 that I upgraded following earlier suggestions in this now-gargantuan thread in 2021, using a Sintech NGFF M.2 NVME adapter and a Sabrent Rocket 2TB NVME. Worked flawlessly these past almost 4 years. But now I have run out of storage space.

I don't know the bootrom number and can't check at the moment as I am waiting for a new battery to come in.

I vaguely remember something about there being an upper limit of 2TB, which is why I am asking now about 4TB.
(Did someone say it wasn't recommended to use SSDs over 2TB due to problems with overheating for larger SSDs? I can't recall). (But I dual boot on this laptop with Mojave and Windows 10 using Bootcamp, so I am not sure whether the SSD size issue actually had to do with that.)

And if 4TB is doable, are there particular brands or models that are recommended, or others that are best avoided?

edit:
running Monterey, not Mojave
bootrom is 489.0.0.0.0

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Can 4TB M.2 SSDs be used in a MBP retina mid 2015?

I have a 15-inch rMBP 2015 that I upgraded following earlier suggestions in this now-gargantuan thread in 2021, using a Sintech NGFF M.2 NVME adapter and a Sabrent Rocket 2TB NVME. Worked flawlessly these past almost 4 years. But now I have run out of storage space.

I don't know the bootrom number and can't check at the moment as I am waiting for a new battery to come in.

I vaguely remember something about there being an upper limit of 2TB, which is why I am asking now about 4TB.
(Did someone say it wasn't recommended to use SSDs over 2TB due to problems with overheating for larger SSDs? I can't recall). (But I dual boot on this laptop with Mojave and Windows 10 using Bootcamp, so I am not sure whether the SSD size issue actually had to do with that.)

And if 4TB is doable, are there particular brands or models that are recommended, or others that are best avoided?

4TB is doable. I remember reading some users reporting the use of 4TB NVMe in this thread.

 

[Chesco]

Good afternoon.
I assume this topic has already been discussed, however, I can't find any information on the forum.
I recently purchased a 2017 MacBook Air and would like to upgrade its 120GB drive to a faster 1TB drive.
I've previously had very good results on my 27" iMac by installing a WD_Black SN850X, with incredible results.

The question I have right now for my MacBook Air is whether, when choosing a WD_Black SN850X Nvme drive with a heat sink, the thickness or width of this heat sink will make it impossible to close or replace the bottom cover of the computer.

Have any of you installed this type of NVMe drive with a heat sink?
Thanks.

 

[curnalpanic]

I doubt anyone has been successful in squeezing in a heatsink in such a thin laptop.

Does it work without a heat sink? I had a Samsung 970 evo in my 2015 MBP for a long time without a heat sink and it was fine.

BTW, ~500 page thread here, albeit for MacBook Pro, not air:

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

This thread is about upgrading MacBook Airs & Macbook Pros (2013-2015) with new high speed and/or high capacity NVMe SSDs. This thread was one of the first to talk about MacBook Pro NVMe SSD upgrades on Macrumors, and was started by user "maxthackray", which we can thank and give tribute for...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Chesco]

I haven't had good experiences with Samsung NVMe drives due to issues with Trim. The boot time was almost 2 minutes. However, with the WD_BLACK SN850X, it's 15 seconds.

 

[zgagato]

Hi all. It's been a few years since I used all the great info on this post to upgrade my MacBook Pro 15" Late 2013 11,3 to a Sabrent 2TB drive using a short adapter, that I taped when I installed.

All has been quite stable, until I recently used another thread info to use OCLP to upgrade from Big Sur to Sonoma 14.7.4

Sonoma is working and I have all functionality, but I've been much less table, getting hangs (system hard hung) every day to two. When I reboot it's NVME issues. See error report below.

Any ideas or suggestions, why upgrade to Sonoma would cause this? Or is it something else and just coincidence? Either way, I'd love to have my stable MacBook back!


panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff80190db356): nvme: "3rd party NVMe controller. Controller fatal bit set. Write. fBuiltIn=1 MODEL=Sabrent FW=ECFM12.2 CSTS=0x3 US[1]=0x0 US[0]=0x73 VID=0x1987 DID=0x5012 CRITICAL_WARNING=0x0.\n" @IONVMeController.cpp:6153
Panicked task 0xffffff90a48fa3d8: 202 threads: pid 0: kernel_task
Backtrace (CPU 0), panicked thread: 0xffffff9570760b30, Frame : Return Address
0xffffffc4b12a3a80 : 0xffffff80170245a1 mach_kernel : _handle_debugger_trap + 0x4b1
0xffffffc4b12a3ad0 : 0xffffff8017189ed0 mach_kernel : _kdp_i386_trap + 0x110
0xffffffc4b12a3b10 : 0xffffff801717948c mach_kernel : _kernel_trap + 0x55c
0xffffffc4b12a3b90 : 0xffffff8016fbe971 mach_kernel : _return_from_trap + 0xc1
0xffffffc4b12a3bb0 : 0xffffff801702488d mach_kernel : _DebuggerTrapWithState + 0x5d
0xffffffc4b12a3ca0 : 0xffffff8017023f33 mach_kernel : _panic_trap_to_debugger + 0x1e3
0xffffffc4b12a3d00 : 0xffffff80177dacfb mach_kernel : _panic + 0x84
0xffffffc4b12a3df0 : 0xffffff80190db356 com.apple.iokit.IONVMeFamily : __ZN16IONVMeController18RequestAsyncEventsEj
0xffffffc4b12a3e20 : 0xffffff80177151bc mach_kernel : __ZN18IOTimerEventSource15timeoutSignaledEPvS0_ + 0x8c
0xffffffc4b12a3e70 : 0xffffff80177150d6 mach_kernel : __ZN18IOTimerEventSource17timeoutAndReleaseEPvS0_ + 0xc6
0xffffffc4b12a3ea0 : 0xffffff801707fcc8 mach_kernel : _thread_call_delayed_timer + 0x508
0xffffffc4b12a3ee0 : 0xffffff8017080d58 mach_kernel : _thread_call_delayed_timer + 0x1598
0xffffffc4b12a3fa0 : 0xffffff8016fbe19e mach_kernel : _call_continuation + 0x2e
Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
com.apple.iokit.IONVMeFamily(2.1)[B90B9155-8BD5-3918-952E-3A6BBFFBA01F]@0xffffff80190d4000->0xffffff80190fefff
dependency: com.apple.driver.AppleMobileFileIntegrity(1.0.5)[90430CCF-0E7B-3F6D-8923-1D07DBD6D3B0]@0xffffff801869c000->0xffffff80186d4fff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.9)[90D69372-DD9C-3FFC-8340-0843F41DD103]@0xffffff8019369000->0xffffff801939afff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOReportFamily(47)[8476E632-A5DB-34EC-A637-30C25D8C1767]@0xffffff80193ab000->0xffffff80193adfff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily(2.1)[1EEEAAAA-95C2-3606-8488-591BE79DB5B4]@0xffffff801949f000->0xffffff80194b5fff

Process name corresponding to current thread (0xffffff9570760b30): kernel_task
Boot args: keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 -lilubetaall ipc_control_port_options=0 -nokcmismatchpanic

Mac OS version:
23H420

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 23.6.0: Thu Dec 19 20:44:50 PST 2024; root:xnu-10063.141.1.703.2~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: DD6A0411-F372-3E5D-ADC5-479B6944818C
roots installed: 0
KernelCache slide: 0x0000000016c00000
KernelCache base: 0xffffff8016e00000
Kernel slide: 0x0000000016ce4000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff8016ee4000
__HIB text base: 0xffffff8016d00000
System model name: MacBookPro11,3 (Mac-2BD1B31983FE1663)
System shutdown begun: NO
Panic diags file available: YES (0x0)
Hibernation exit count: 0

System uptime in nanoseconds: 3126184628523
Last Sleep: absolute base_tsc base_nano
Uptime : 0x000002d7df1fdafc
Sleep : 0x000002b63aaa0f40 0x000000004c44bf11 0x000002b57c0f3721
Wake : 0x000002b64c5a65c4 0x000000004ba24b54 0x000002b64303d548
Compressor Info: 3% of compressed pages limit (OK) and 4% of segments limit (OK) with 1 swapfiles and OK swap space
Zone info:
Zone map: 0xffffff80a37cd000 - 0xffffffa0a37cd000
. PGZ : 0xffffff80a37cd000 - 0xffffff80a57ce000
. VM : 0xffffff80a57ce000 - 0xffffff8571fcd000
. RO : 0xffffff8571fcd000 - 0xffffff870b7cd000
. GEN0 : 0xffffff870b7cd000 - 0xffffff8bd7fcd000
. GEN1 : 0xffffff8bd7fcd000 - 0xffffff90a47cd000
. GEN2 : 0xffffff90a47cd000 - 0xffffff9570fcd000
. GEN3 : 0xffffff9570fcd000 - 0xffffff9a3d7cd000
. DATA : 0xffffff9a3d7cd000 - 0xffffffa0a37cd000
Metadata: 0xffffff802c7bd000 - 0xffffff804c7bd000
Bitmaps : 0xffffff804c7bd000 - 0xffffff804f7bd000
Extra : 0 - 0

From my (and my clients) perspective for Pro and Air 2013 & 2014 it is best to use the fanxiang AP2000 Pro drives as they are dedicated for the Macbooks and imacs from that years.
Here is the link:

Fanxiang AP2000Pro PCIe3*4 NVMe M.2 SSD For Mac

With powerful performance of up to 3500MB/s read and 2500MB/s write, it improves workflow on high-performance desktops and laptops, making it ideal for Apple PC users who want to upgrade. The fanxiang AP2000 Pro SSD provides next-generation performance with a mainstream Gen 3x4 NVMe controller...

www.fanxiangssd.com

I didn’t have any issues with sleep or waking up. No panics. Both on dedicated OS and OCLP.
those drives have a 5 years of warranty.

As of now i have installed about 10 of them. the oldest is more than a year old.
they come in sizes from 512 GB to 2TB.


I can recommend them trully.

 

[Meddvedd]

Is it

AP2000 Pro drives

DRAM-cacheless? No words in description

 

[fduvall]

From my (and my clients) perspective for Pro and Air 2013 & 2014 it is best to use the fanxiang AP2000 Pro drives as they are dedicated for the Macbooks and imacs from that years.
Here is the link:

Fanxiang AP2000Pro PCIe3*4 NVMe M.2 SSD For Mac

With powerful performance of up to 3500MB/s read and 2500MB/s write, it improves workflow on high-performance desktops and laptops, making it ideal for Apple PC users who want to upgrade. The fanxiang AP2000 Pro SSD provides next-generation performance with a mainstream Gen 3x4 NVMe controller...

www.fanxiangssd.com

I didn’t have any issues with sleep or waking up. No panics. Both on dedicated OS and OCLP.
those drives have a 5 years of warranty.

As of now i have installed about 10 of them. the oldest is more than a year old.
they come in sizes from 512 GB to 2TB.


I can recommend them trully.

@zgagato - Do you have experience with MBP 13" early 2015s? I currently have a Samsung EVO 970 1TB and considering upgrading to a 2TB SSD. The Fanxiang is a bit cheaper and seems comparable if not better. TIA

 

[zgagato]

@zgagato - Do you have experience with MBP 13" early 2015s? I currently have a Samsung EVO 970 1TB and considering upgrading to a 2TB SSD. The Fanxiang is a bit cheaper and seems comparable if not better. TIA

Yea, usually i put nvme drives in 2015s because of the speed in the 15 inch. In 13 inch the speed is going to be the same. It is cheaper indeed. It is better because you don’t need an adapter.