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

[Crazyyou]

Hello together, I‘ve read some post here and maybe someone can help me with my problem. I have a MacBook Pro late 2013 11.1 and it’s Original SSD is not working anymore. It had Mavericks on it. Now I bought an Evo 970 SSD with a adapter where the number 174503 is on it.

I can see and partition the SSD within the disk until tool of my High Sierra Boot Stick. After formatting to Mac OS Extended journaled, I apply to install High Sierra, but my Mac won’t boot from the SSD. I’m not sure how I should bring this to work without buying another stuff. Is there a workaround to update my bootrom/firmware/Mac without an original SSD, but just with the Evo and a Stick?

 

[sandrvoxon]

I have a 256GB one in my 2013 MBP, it runs bootcamp ok, slow to boot, hibernation doesn't work but i've not reflashed the ROM yet. Its a slow on write speed but read speed is good.

I’ll be using on MacBook Pro 13 (2015) with the latest OS. Hope will be good without any issues.

 

[vk2fro]

Hello together, I‘ve read some post here and maybe someone can help me with my problem. I have a MacBook Pro late 2013 11.1 and it’s Original SSD is not working anymore. It had Mavericks on it. Now I bought an Evo 970 SSD with a adapter where the number 174503 is on it.

I can see and partition the SSD within the disk until tool of my High Sierra Boot Stick. After formatting to Mac OS Extended journaled, I apply to install High Sierra, but my Mac won’t boot from the SSD. I’m not sure how I should bring this to work without buying another stuff. Is there a workaround to update my bootrom/firmware/Mac without an original SSD, but just with the Evo and a Stick?

Unfortunatly the only way to make that work is to buy or borrow an original apple SSD and upgrade/reinstall the OS with high sierra, then you can replace the Apple SSD with the Samsung. You'll still need to do a firmware modification for complete compatibility, or remember to shut down after working on the computer so that you won't loose any work when coming out of sleep, as the machine will not resume from a NVME disk unless its running modified firmware.

 

[Crazyyou]

Unfortunatly the only way to make that work is to buy or borrow an original apple SSD and upgrade/reinstall the OS with high sierra, then you can replace the Apple SSD with the Samsung. You'll still need to do a firmware modification for complete compatibility, or remember to shut down after working on the computer so that you won't loose any work when coming out of sleep, as the machine will not resume from a NVME disk unless its running modified firmware.

Thank you very much for your reply, this helps me a lot, but I have two more questions. Do you think that I can go to Apple and let them install a new distribution over their Network? (Not in relation to doing it, more like, is this a legit workaround) I know they have an NetBoot and NetInstall Server in there Store. And how does the modifying look like, is it some custom firmware installation or just the setup of the hibernation mode over the terminal?

 

[vk2fro]

The flashing procedure is well documented in this thread. Basically you dump the firmware of the machine in question, modify it and then flash it back using a special clip and a cheap programmer. Alternatively, you can use the pmset command to disable the power management features that cause a kernel panic on wake. They too are documented in this thread.

The reason we can't simply post up the firmwares for people to flash is A) its copyright Apple stuff, and B) each firmware is married to one particular machine (the ME region) so a machine flashed with a different machines firmware won't run correctly.

However if you don't feel comfortable modifying the firmware, the pmset commands will prevent the machine from crashing at wakeup, however battery drain during sleep will be higher (the machine will never sleep properly)

edit:
My experience thus far with hibernatemode set to 3, was a nearly flat battery the next morning. I have since reprogrammed it to 25, to see if I get better autonomy from the battery while sleeping with the Toshiba XG-5. Else I have a samsung 960 EVO which I can fit, just need to completely wipe it first after backing up as its the boot drive of a hackintosh, and I need to get rid of clover.

 

[Cmd+Q]

After upgrading my 2013 MacBook Pro with a 1TB Samsung 960 Pro about three months ago, I switched to a 1TB Intel 760p this weekend. As I saw a couple of references to that SSD in this thread, I was wanting to let you know that the 760p works without issues on my MacBook Pro with macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 and a patched 146 boot rom.

Going into this entire storage upgrade project I apparently paid too much attention to possible performance gains and drive endurance. The main issues I was hoping to address with the 760p now are a cooler MacBook Pro and longer battery life than with the 960 Pro. And even though the power management features of the 760p are seemingly not used by macOS and the drive's supported power states actually list higher wattages than the 960 Pro, I am happy with the results looking at heat (reduced by 5-10º C) and power consumption (reduced by around 500mA per battery logs via pmset -g rawlog). The performance spot checks with Blackmagic's Disk Speed Test show a slightly lower read performance at 1350MB/s and lower write performance at 1100MB/s.

Thanks.
-Tim

 

[vk2fro]

For a slight drop in performance, thats a good trade off - mabye the intel 760p is the one to get.

Mind you my machine is presently running mojave beta (it is my secondary machine) so there will be extra debugging processes running (I've been wanting the dark mode for working late at night). It should not be classed as concrete evidence that the toshiba XG-5 drive is a bad choice until I either go back to high sierra, or the beta turns golden master.

 

[robvas]

Will this work in a 2013+ Air?

 

[Jilly Bowman]

I’ll be using on MacBook Pro 13 (2015) with the latest OS. Hope will be good without any issues.

fine on a 2015, just a little slower on write speed than the later ones.

 

[mfbernstein]

Could folks confirm which MacBook Pro Retina and MacBook Air models do support sleep properly on High Sierra without requiring using of the SPI programmer to manually flash the EFI Boot ROM?

 

[tg101]

Hi,

Can anyone confirm that a Macbook Pro 15" 2015 Discrete Graphics can be made to work with the Samsung 970 EVO 1TB - NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD (MZ-V7E1T0BW) or the Samsung 970 PRO Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD Black/Red (MZ-V7P1T0BW)?

I don't want to have to modify the firmware or have any sleep issues or any other weird issues.

If people say it works perfectly I'd do it.

What adapter do I get?

Is it this?
http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1229.html

or this?
http://www.microsatacables.com/2013-macbook-28-pin-ssd-to-m2-ngff-pcie-4x-adapter-apl-m2-896

I'd rather order from microsatacables if possible.

Thank you

 

[Earl Urley]

Go for the Sintech one, I ordered one from microsatacables a long time ago and it never worked, even with Kapton applied.

When I emailed microsatacables they were cool about it, they said just give it back to Amazon and you'll get credit..

What a pity dosdude1's ROMTool won't work for flashing rMBP 2013+ as you need to initialize firmware flash mode, which is easy on a Mac Pro. There's no such method on rMBPs, other than some undocumented flag that Apple uses when they update firmware on system installers.

 

[tg101]

Are you saying that rMBP's past 2013 require some kind of patch? I am looking to run a Samsung 970 EVO NVMe in a stock (un-altered) rMBP 15" 2015 Discrete Graphics.

 

[vk2fro]

2015 models do not need the firmware hackery, they just need the original SSD to have High Sierra installed on it at least once. Only 2013/14 models need modified firmware

 

[tg101]

2015 models do not need the firmware hackery, they just need the original SSD to have High Sierra installed on it at least once. Only 2013/14 models need modified firmware

Really? Are there multiple success stories of this? So I can use any NVMe drive I want? And I will get PCIe x4, and TRIM? Is there any downside? Strange kernel panics, sleep problems, rainbow wheels, etc? Or should I expect this to function 100% as normal?

And to confirm, this is the item that makes it all happen?

http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1229.html

 

[vk2fro]

Yes that is the correct gizmo. The only people who have had problems with strange panics (including myself until I flashed) were those running different brand adapters, or running 2013/14 machines with unmodified boot rom (firmware). Read back from about page 50 - there are plenty of plug and play successes with 2015 models. It is after all, the 2015 models firmware we are pulling the NVMe DXE driver out of and shoe horning it into the 2013/14 models firmware and hardware flashing it.

Good news for me is setting hibernatemode=25 fixed my battery drain - my machine has been off (sleeping) for 2 days now except for a quick google search on the couch, and it is still at 99% with the hacked firmware and toshiba XG-5.

 

[Audit13]

Hi,

Can anyone confirm that a Macbook Pro 15" 2015 Discrete Graphics can be made to work with the Samsung 970 EVO 1TB - NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD (MZ-V7E1T0BW) or the Samsung 970 PRO Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD Black/Red (MZ-V7P1T0BW)?

I don't want to have to modify the firmware or have any sleep issues or any other weird issues.

If people say it works perfectly I'd do it.

What adapter do I get?

Is it this?
http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1229.html

or this?
http://www.microsatacables.com/2013-macbook-28-pin-ssd-to-m2-ngff-pcie-4x-adapter-apl-m2-896

I'd rather order from microsatacables if possible.

Thank you

This person tried with an Air 2017 Air, not MBP, and did not have any luck: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...with-samsung-ssd.2099405/page-5#post-26160692

The same may or may not apply to the 2015 MBP.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

Really? Are there multiple success stories of this? So I can use any NVMe drive I want? And I will get PCIe x4, and TRIM? Is there any downside? Strange kernel panics, sleep problems, rainbow wheels, etc? Or should I expect this to function 100% as normal?

And to confirm, this is the item that makes it all happen?

http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1229.html

Hello,
as a remember :
- NVMe drives work out of the box on any 2015 mac without issue.
- you don't need any BootRom modification, the Bootrom upgrade provided with 10.13 gives full NVMe compatibility
(BootRom modification is only necessary to have full hibernation on 2013-2014 macs)
- Sintech rev.B or C adapters are the only way to go. Avoid at any price any other adapters, they have reboot issues.
- the Sintech adapter is provided with kapton tape insulation
- you will have PCIe 3.0 speed with x4 lanes. Trim of course.


all those NVMe were tested to work :
- Adata SX7000
- Intel 600p
- Intel 760p
- Intel 6000p
- Kingston A1000
- Kingston KC1000
- MyDigitalSSD SBX
- OCZ RD400
- Samsung SM950
- Samsung PM950
- Samsung 960 Evo
- Samsung 960 Pro
- Samsung 970 Evo
- Samsung 970 Pro
- Toshiba XG3
- Toshiba XG4
- Toshiba XG5
- WD Black gen 1

One only particular model of NVMe SSD doesn't work, probably because of a custom firmware : Samsung PM981.

This person tried with an Air 2017 Air, not MBP, and did not have any luck: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...with-samsung-ssd.2099405/page-5#post-26160692

Seems that in the post you refer, the person didn't use a sintech adapter but a know bad adapter (chenyang, known to make kernel panics with samsung drives), and worse, without proper insulation with kapton tape

 

[vk2fro]

Seems that in the post you refer, the person didn't use a sintech adapter but a know bad adapter (chenyang, known to make kernel panics with samsung drives), and worse, without proper insulation with kapton tape

I was just reading that thread - apparently he/she used duck tape. Good stuff, but not useful for this purpose LOL

 

[Jilly Bowman]

I was just reading that thread - apparently he/she used duck tape. Good stuff, but not useful for this purpose LOL

Yes Duck tape or similar Gaffa tape is far too thick and will not allow the adapter to seat properly. Having said that , the only reason we use Kapton tape is that it is thin and strong. scotch or sellotape will do just as well.

 

[vk2fro]

It has another great property too, its heat resistant. Laying the stuff down on a pcb prior to desoldering a chip with hot air prevents other parts from coming loose during the "surgery"

 

[Jilly Bowman]

It has another great property too, its heat resistant. Laying the stuff down on a pcb prior to desoldering a chip with hot air prevents other parts from coming loose during the "surgery"

agreed, in fact that is what Kapton tape is actually for.

 

[tg101]

OK, this is crazy. I didn't know this is now possible in all 2015 Macbooks

So I buy this:

http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1229.html

This model # is ST-NGFF2013-C, it ends in "-C", so this means Revision C, so this is what I want?

This comes with kapton tape? So I take the tape, and apply it to the underside of the 970 EVO, to shield it from the surface of the adapter?

Now, is there any problem about excess heat with the 970?

Will my battery life remain the same as if I had a 1TB Apple branded SSD?

 

[imax2k2]

Guys one of you who has done the rom update from a chip to the late 2013 models, could you please post a guide, I want to attempt to try to do this.

Thanks.

 

[ohnggni]

Guys one of you who has done the rom update from a chip to the late 2013 models, could you please post a guide, I want to attempt to try to do this.

Thanks.

I'm sorry not to offer you a step-by-step guide. It's too hard for me to write them. (English is not my "mother tongue") But I try my best to write the easy guide. Please see the following and if you have any inquiries, please let me know again.

Anyway, the procedure consists of two parts.

Firstly, you have to make the modified bootrom.
In order to do that, you can extract 2015 Macbook's firmware from macOS combo update package and you can use 'Pacifist' app to obtain it. Please see the location in the package file through the file attached. After that you extract NVMe driver part from the file and you replace the original bootrom's part with it. For more detail, you can refer to vk2fro's footprints as in the following link. Please see the step no.1 to 8.

Secondly, you have to flash the modified bootrom into your macbook's EFI-Rom.
You need to buy two devices for flashing jobs. SPI programmer, CH341a and EFI-Rom converting board for J6100 port. Additionally, you should do some soldering jobs, which is soldering header pins into the converting board. Of course, header pins (4pins * 2) are included in the board package. It's very simple and you need to do that to combine the board with CH341a. Regarding purchasing the devices and connecting and flashing, you can see my recent post for more information.

The most important thing is to back up your original bootrom. Once you surely secure it, you might feel free to flash the mod.