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

[ghifar]

hi everyone,
i'd like to upgrade my macbook pro 13" Retina Early 2015(macbook pro 12,1) with samsung 960 evo, but i noticed the notes in SSD upgrade table that Boot ROM with "MBP121.0167.B17" doesn't handle 512B NVMe SSD nor APFS formatted drive and mine is "MBP121.0167.B33". is that mean that i can't install high sierra on samsung 960 evo with my mbpro? or is it mean something else? or is it only that i can't running high sierra with APFS format on samsung 960 with my mbpro? i'm confused.

pls excuse my dumb question.
thanks..

 

[imprimis1]

You're definitely right. Sorry I just got too fast on this. Thanks again for the correction

Thanks for the clear explanations...

There is at least, here, two reports of sleep problems (one of @Someitguy and one of @Nate Spencer)

This sleep problems bothers me..

Again I did not encountered it on a mid 2015 MBPr 15" with a 960 Pro, mostly used in clamshell mode with DC adapter and closed lid on an external display, but also on battery.
On a Late 2013 MBPr 13" I did, at least, encountered a kernel panic after the 3rd deepsleep, and exclusively on battery too (I've not encountered it yet with magsafe plugged but I'll do some more tests).
I'll set the hibernatemode to 25 but still got 1 panic...
I'll keep you informed on that...

PM951 and THNSN5xxxGPU7 have sleep issues, in my personal experience. The former is basically unusable to the ordinary person unless you have a lot of resolve in tolerating long sleep-wake cycles and power states that may be broken with SMC resets or future OS updates. There is a version of PM951 that has an updated firmware that behaves nicely, however.

A caveat with hibernatemode 25 is that you need to allow it enough time, after it enters into the processing of writing the RAM contents to the drive, to complete. If you open it up during the middle, or before it has had a chance to power off after writing to the drive, you run the risk of crashing as with mode 3. You can open it for some length of time before that occurs, but again, not in the middle or towards the end of it. Those values are controlled by standbydelay and autopoweroffdelay values for pmset.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

hi everyone,
i'd like to upgrade my macbook pro 13" Retina Early 2015(macbook pro 12,1) with samsung 960 evo, but i noticed the notes in SSD upgrade table that Boot ROM with "MBP121.0167.B17" doesn't handle 512B NVMe SSD nor APFS formatted drive and mine is "MBP121.0167.B33". is that mean that i can't install high sierra on samsung 960 evo with my mbpro? or is it mean something else? or is it only that i can't running high sierra with APFS format on samsung 960 with my mbpro? i'm confused.

pls excuse my dumb question.
thanks..

Hello,
this is no dumb question.

With the "old" BootRom MBP121.0167.Bxx you cannot just shutdown your Mac, put a NVMe SSD in it... it will not be recognized and you will never be able to update the bootrom while booted on any external USB drive...

So if you want to put any 512B NVMe SSD you definitely have to first install High Sierra on your actual internal AHCI SSD. This will upgrade your Rom.
After that, it's ok to install any 512B SSD.

As for 4K formated SSD, you don't need to update the rom.
I write this message on a MBPr 15" with the old rom, with High Sierra, on a 4K formatted WD Black.

 

[imprimis1]

.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

So, are you saying that there are no confirmed third party SSD's as of yet that communicates with the OS as the Apple SSD's would (2013~2015 mbpr)?

Hello,
I just have worked all day on a a MBPr mid 2015 without updated Bootrom and with a NVMe WD black under 10.12.
It worked like a charm...
My colleague uses the same machine (mid 2015 rMBP) for 10 days with a 960 pro under high sierra with no single problem.
Problems with sleep still remain with 960 evo
So, again, it's just a matter of time to test many combinations

 

[ghifar]

Hello,
this is no dumb question.

With the "old" BootRom MBP121.0167.Bxx you cannot just shutdown your Mac, put a NVMe SSD in it... it will not be recognized and you will never be able to update the bootrom while booted on any external USB drive...

So if you want to put any 512B NVMe SSD you definitely have to first install High Sierra on your actual internal AHCI SSD. This will upgrade your Rom.
After that, it's ok to install any 512B SSD.

As for 4K formated SSD, you don't need to update the rom.
I write this message on a MBPr 15" with the old rom, with High Sierra, on a 4K formatted WD Black.

thanks for your answer, it's very clear now. i just updated to high sierra and the Boot ROM's change.
cheers!!

 

[@t0mX]

I can verify that Samsung PM series has compatibility issues.

With a new PM961 (MZVLW1T0HMLH), I'm stuck on drive recognition as well, on latest BootROM, latest High Sierra GM external installation USB drive, System Integrity Protection disabled,Disk Utility still cannot see the drive at all. At first, I thought it was caused by a faulty adapter, but the WD Black SSD can be recognized in the old adapter. Therefore, it is definitely the SSD.

It is not because of TLC NAND, since PM961 is MLC flash. I assume it is because of some unique Samsung firmware in this series of SSD.

Before someone find a solution, I would advise to avoid Samsung PM series SSD for this purpose.

Good Morning guys,

I joined macrumors forum just for this thread too

First of all thank you @gilles_polysoft (du sacré bon boulot!) and everyone else for your contributions to this whole topic. Very interesting stuff going on here.

I am in the exact same situation as Tetet I think (MBP Retina 15" mid-2014 with original 256gb APPLE SSD)

I updated to High Sierra with original apple SSD = no problem. BootRom updated to: MBP112.0142.B00

My SSD is a 2017.05 PM961 NVMe. I can't check the firmware yet as only the macbook can read it (I'm waiting for a Aqua computer Kryom M.2 to PCIe adapter to test my PM961 in another computer.)

I followed the procedure for non-apple SSD install and I'm also stuck with the SSD not appearing in Disk Utils. Disabled SIP (System Integrity Protect).

I will now try the "diskutil" command line and see if the drive is detected. Tetet, can you please try this too?


On a positive note, the speed with the original Apple SSD got a serious increase from Sierra to High Sierra : have you guys also witnessed this?

Thank you and good luck.

EDIT

Diskutil didn't yield any results (view attached screen capture). the disk is not detected at all.
I did add some duck tape around the adapter.

At this point, here are my theories:
- bad PM961 drive
- bad M.2 adapter
- Klapton tape / interference issue
- as stated by Tetet : PM961 firmware issue with High Sierra.

EDIT 2
Was able to make it work with another adapter and a PM961 1TB lenovo disk, here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/page-10#post-25237060

 

[Dustonfoster]

Just installed a Samsung 960 NVME drive in my 2015 retina MacBook Pro. Straight install from a high sierra USB
[doublepost=1506800102][/doublepost]

Good Morning guys,

I joined macrumors forum just for this thread too

First of all thank you @gilles_polysoft (du sacré bon boulot!) and everyone else for your contributions to this whole topic. Very interesting stuff going on here.

I am in the exact same situation as Tetet I think (MBP Retina 15" mid-2014 with original 256gb APPLE SSD)

I updated to High Sierra with original apple SSD = no problem. BootRom updated to: MBP112.0142.B00

My SSD is a 2017.05 PM961 NVMe. I can't check the firmware yet as only the macbook can read it (I'm waiting for a Aqua computer Kryom M.2 to PCIe adapter to test my PM961 in another computer.)

I followed the procedure for non-apple SSD install and I'm also stuck with the SSD not appearing in Disk Utils. Disabled SIP (System Integrity Protect).

I will now try the "diskutil" command line and see if the drive is detected. Tetet, can you please try this too?


On a positive note, the speed with the original Apple SSD got a serious increase from Sierra to High Sierra : have you guys also witnessed this?

Thank you and good luck.

EDIT

Diskutil didn't yield any results (view attached screen capture). the disk is not detected at all.
I did add some duck tape around the adapter.

At this point, here are my theories:
- bad PM961 drive
- bad M.2 adapter
- Klapton tape / interference issue
- as stated by Tetet : PM961 firmware issue with High Sierra.

I have no idea how I got my Samsung drive to show up in disk utility I unplugged and re-plugged in a few USB devices then it randomly showed up

 

[@t0mX]

Is your drive:
1. Retail 960 EVO?
2. Retail 960 PRO?
3. OEM SM961 ?
4. OEM PM961?

Thanks

 

[Dustonfoster]

Is your drive:
1. Retail 960 EVO?
2. Retail 960 PRO?
3. OEM SM961 ?
4. OEM PM961?

Thanks

My apologies for the lack of detail. I was just a little excited.

EVO series.

From reading this forum I thought I’d have to clone my drive to it to work

 

[burnthefires]

Hello,
this is no dumb question.

With the "old" BootRom MBP121.0167.Bxx you cannot just shutdown your Mac, put a NVMe SSD in it... it will not be recognized and you will never be able to update the bootrom while booted on any external USB drive...

So if you want to put any 512B NVMe SSD you definitely have to first install High Sierra on your actual internal AHCI SSD. This will upgrade your Rom.
After that, it's ok to install any 512B SSD.

As for 4K formated SSD, you don't need to update the rom.
I write this message on a MBPr 15" with the old rom, with High Sierra, on a 4K formatted WD Black.

Thanks for the previous answer, but it's the above that got me wondering. Is the firmware update working differently than on the cMP? I downloaded High Sierra on my MBPr but it wants to jump straight into installation, without any firmware update prompt like it was on my 5.1 Mac Pro.

Also could you please ELI5 the process of formatting a disk to 4k block size? I think i'm gonna go with the KC1000(best value?) but I'm afraid my MBPr is the only device with M.2(with adapter ofc), though i could order the PCIe version and format it in my cMP or even a PC if it makes it any easier to format.

 

[ghifar]

Just installed a Samsung 960 NVME drive in my 2015 retina MacBook Pro. Straight install from a high sierra USB

I’d like to know How’s the benchmark with your 960 EVO on mbpr2015?

 

[gilles_polysoft]

Thanks for the previous answer, but it's the above that got me wondering. Is the firmware update working differently than on the cMP? I downloaded High Sierra on my MBPr but it wants to jump straight into installation, without any firmware update prompt like it was on my 5.1 Mac Pro.

This is with High Sierra that the firmware update process is different. It occurs during installation.
With High Sierra, the installation starts, it copies files on the root of the hard drive (firmwares payloads, preinstall and postinstall scripts, etc).
The firmware update seems to occurs at the first reboot of the mac after the installation of high sierra. Screen seems to stay black at this moment.
You just don't have any visual return of the firmware upgrade process.
By curiosity I just shut down a high sierra install during the first reboot and made a copy of the files at the hard drive root. The firmware update files seem very similar to files copied to the /System/Library/CoreServices/FirmwareUpdate folders on a "classic" firmware update process.
I'm quite confident we may build an independant firmware update tool based on thoses files like it has been done for the 4.1/5.1 MacPro.

Also could you please ELI5 the process of formatting a disk to 4k block size? I think i'm gonna go with the KC1000(best value?) but I'm afraid my MBPr is the only device with M.2(with adapter ofc), though i could order the PCIe version and format it in my cMP or even a PC if it makes it any easier to format.

Well i'm not at work and am writing this of my memory and on an iphone so it may lack some precisions :
- first, download a small and recent linux distribution (xubuntu 17.04 is fine)
- "burn" it to a fast 8GB usb key (there are lots of tutorials on this : you need to convert the iso format and write to the usb key with "dd". There are also automated tools like unetbootin)
- put the NVMe drive into your mac, and start it with the linux usb key plugged while pressing the alt key
- choose the "efi" logo corresponding to the linux usb key and start from it
- while prompted, chose "try xubuntu" (live session)
- once on the linux desktop, you can set the display resolution to one usable and connect the mac to the internet (either with wifi or with an usb to ethernet adapter)
- open the terminal and install the needed tools :
sudo apt-get install nvme-cli smartmontools
validate with "Y"
- verify your SSD is recognized and manage 4K blocs by typing :
sudo smartctl -a /dev/nvme0
You should have two lines under "Supported LBA sizes"
one with data 512B starting with ID 0
one with data 4K starting with ID 1
(if you don't, stop here...)
The 512K should being selected with an asterix*
- format the SSD with 4K blocs with the command :
sudo nvme format -l 1 /dev/nvme0
(WARNING : this or course erase alldata on the internal NVMe SSD)

retype the smartCTL command to verify that the LBA 4K size is properly selected.

You can then restart your mac on a Sierra or High Sierra install disk.

 

[maenpaa24]

Just installed a Samsung 960 NVME drive in my 2015 retina MacBook Pro. Straight install from a high sierra USB
[doublepost=1506800102][/doublepost]

I have no idea how I got my Samsung drive to show up in disk utility I unplugged and re-plugged in a few USB devices then it randomly showed up

Hi! Is Your mbpr from 2015 13" or 15"?

 

[zeveto]

Hi guys,

I'd like to replace the anemic ssd on my MacBook Air mid 2013. Do you think that a samsung eve with 250 go is a good choice ? What about the performance ? Could you advise me about a good adapter please ? thank's.

 

[Transfusion]

Mmm, is there any disadvantage because of that fact? By the way, do you know any other opal compliant nvme 4k/512b block size ssd drive that fits on these apple machines?

Thank you again, because you have been of great help for me.

I was looking into self-encrypting drives with the TCG Opal standard a while ago. I don't have an SED drive of any kind yet so please don't buy anything based on what I say in this post, which is all guesswork. From https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Self-Encrypting_Drives it seems the two main features of opal are 1) transparently encrypting/decrypting any data on the drive with a Media/Data Encryption key generated on the drive itself. 2) set an authentication key which the user is prompted for in BIOS before booting the OS if the motherboard is compatible. since both 960 evo and pro are Opal compatible and already work with macOS I guess that if encryption is going on by default, it must be behind the NVMe abstraction and the OS isn't aware at all of the encryption. From the datasheets SM951(NVMe model only, not AHCI) and SM961 are also both opal-compliant.

I just found out there are sister models to the Toshiba XG3 and XG4 that support Opal and which are 4Kn sector compatible http://www.db-tech-showcase.com/wp-content/dbts_museum/Toshiba/Toshiba_catalog_EN.pdf , however they are OEM drives only and of course very hard to get hands on.
, for example XG3: THNSF5256GPU7 (Opal-compat. SED) vs THNSN5256GPU7 (normal drive, no SED.)
My question then is, according to the NVMe spec, http://nvmexpress.org/wp-content/up...ite_Paper-TCG_Storage_Opal_and_NVMe_FINAL.pdf , the Key is generated on the drive itself. Some actions like Secure Erase will regenerate the key, the logic being that you cannot access all your data anymore which is encrypted with the old key. When I first receive my drive and plug it into non SED compliant motherboards, is a key generated automatically? What happens if I do secure erase with hdparm, can I still reinstall an OS again on presumably non compliant systems like my MacBook? (Presumably setting authentication password won't work since it requires communication with BIOS/EFI)

 

[maenpaa24]

I was looking into self-encrypting drives with the TCG Opal standard a while ago. I don't have an SED drive of any kind yet so please don't buy anything based on what I say in this post, which is all guesswork. From https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Self-Encrypting_Drives it seems the two main features of opal are 1) transparently encrypting/decrypting any data on the drive with a Media/Data Encryption key generated on the drive itself. 2) set an authentication key which the user is prompted for in BIOS before booting the OS if the motherboard is compatible. since both 960 evo and pro are Opal compatible and already work with macOS I guess that if encryption is going on by default, it must be behind the NVMe abstraction and the OS isn't aware at all of the encryption. From the datasheets SM951(NVMe model only, not AHCI) and SM961 are also both opal-compliant.

I just found out there are sister models to the Toshiba XG3 and XG4 that support Opal and which are 4Kn sector compatible http://www.db-tech-showcase.com/wp-content/dbts_museum/Toshiba/Toshiba_catalog_EN.pdf , however they are OEM drives only and of course very hard to get hands on.
, for example XG3: THNSF5256GPU7 (Opal-compat. SED) vs THNSN5256GPU7 (normal drive, no SED.)
My question then is, according to the NVMe spec, http://nvmexpress.org/wp-content/up...ite_Paper-TCG_Storage_Opal_and_NVMe_FINAL.pdf , the Key is generated on the drive itself. Some actions like Secure Erase will regenerate the key, the logic being that you cannot access all your data anymore which is encrypted with the old key. When I first receive my drive and plug it into non SED compliant motherboards, is a key generated automatically? What happens if I do secure erase with hdparm, can I still reinstall an OS again on presumably non compliant systems like my MacBook? (Presumably setting authentication password won't work since it requires communication with BIOS/EFI)

When I first receive my drive and plug it into non SED compliant motherboards, is a key generated automatically?

Yes, from factory the data in the drive is always encrypted. In the simplest scenario, when you secure it, you are encrypting the internal key which is called DEK (Data Encryption Key) with your passphrase, which is technically called KEK (key encryption key). If you do not secure the drive it will be encrypting and decrypting the data you read/write from/to it with neither BIOS/EFI nor OS being aware of that fact.

What happens if I do secure erase with hdparm, can I still reinstall an OS again on presumably non compliant systems like my MacBook?

hdparm can not manage opal drives. However, it can manage sata password, which I think it also allows you to do a secure erase, which is basically changing the DEK as you have said.

So yes, you will be able to install any OS and use the drive after erasing it whenever you do not enable the encryption protection by encrypting the DEK.

Take this with caution because I am not an expert so I might be wrong.

Regarding to the nvme drives which are 512b and 4k sector compatible and OPAL compliant, I would really like to find one that works with the macbook pro 13 from 2015. As you have said those from Toshiba meet my requirements but being OEM makes them hard to be purchased. In addition, they might present some firmware incompatibilities as described in this forum.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

Thanks for the previous answer, but it's the above that got me wondering. Is the firmware update working differently than on the cMP? I downloaded High Sierra on my MBPr but it wants to jump straight into installation, without any firmware update prompt like it was on my 5.1 Mac Pro.

Hello,
just tried this morning a manual update on a rMBP mid 2015.

Quickly : if I try to update the BootRom-EFI from a NVMe SSD (with 4K sectors), it doesn't work.
If I try to update the BootRom-EFI from the stock AHCI SSD, it works.

Here is how I manually upgraded the firmware :

I first ran the 10.13 Installer, and stopped it at the first reboot.
I then restart the Mac on an external disk and archived the "FirmwarePackageExtended" folder at root of the hard disk.



Then I restarted from a internal AHCI disk with 10.12 "Sierra"
I ran the following commands :

sudo /FirmwareUpdatePackageExpanded/FirmwarePackageExpanded/Scripts/preinstall
sudo /FirmwareUpdatePackageExpanded/FirmwarePackageExpanded/Scripts/postinstall_actions/update

It also work on a 10.11 "El Capitan" internal AHCI disk, but you need to copy the FirmwareUpdateLauncher exec from the BaseSystem.dmg disk image :
sudo cp FirmwareUpdateLauncher /usr/libexec

 

[maenpaa24]

Hello,
just tried this morning a manual update on a rMBP mid 2015.

Quickly : if I try to update the BootRom-EFI from a NVMe SSD (with 4K sectors), it doesn't work.
If I try to update the BootRom-EFI from the stock AHCI SSD, it works.

Here is how I manually upgraded the firmware :

I first ran the 10.13 Installer, and stopped it at the first reboot.
I then restart the Mac on an external disk and archived the "FirmwarePackageExtended" folder at root of the hard disk.

View attachment 722884

Then I restarted from a internal AHCI disk with 10.12 "Sierra"
I ran the following commands :

sudo /FirmwareUpdatePackageExpanded/FirmwarePackageExpanded/Scripts/preinstall
sudo /FirmwareUpdatePackageExpanded/FirmwarePackageExpanded/Scripts/postinstall_actions/update

It also work on a 10.11 "El Capitan" internal AHCI disk, but you need to copy the FirmwareUpdateLauncher exec from the BaseSystem.dmg disk image :
sudo cp FirmwareUpdateLauncher /usr/libexec

I then restart the Mac on an external disk and archived the "FirmwarePackageExtended" folder at root of the hard disk.

So you have an external disk where MacOS is installed and you boot from it in order to grab the FirmwarePackageExtended that is on the Macbook's internal drive while updating, right?

It also work on a 10.11 "El Capitan" internal AHCI disk, but you need to copy the FirmwareUpdateLauncher exec from the BaseSystem.dmg disk image :
sudo cp FirmwareUpdateLauncher /usr/libexec

Where is the BaseSystem.dmg diskimage located?
[doublepost=1506952589][/doublepost]

Hello,
I just have worked all day on a a MBPr mid 2015 without updated Bootrom and with a NVMe WD black under 10.12.
It worked like a charm...
My colleague uses the same machine (mid 2015 rMBP) for 10 days with a 960 pro under high sierra with no single problem.
Problems with sleep still remain with 960 evo
So, again, it's just a matter of time to test many combinations

So, can we read from this that there are no problems with 960 pro at all in other macbooks? Or is it that the macbook pro 15 mid 2015 is the only one that has no problems at all with any drive?

 

[gilles_polysoft]

So you have an external disk where MacOS is installed and you boot from it in order to grab the FirmwarePackageExtended that is on the Macbook's internal drive while updating, right?

Yes, right.

Where is the BaseSystem.dmg diskimage located?

at the same place, at the root of the destination drive during install, in the "macOSinstalldata" folder.

So, can we read from this that there are no problems with 960 pro at all in other macbooks? Or is it that the macbook pro 15 mid 2015 is the only one that has no problems at all with any drive?

I haven't tested all combinations, which is huge work...

WD Black, Kingston KC1000, Intel 600P are compatible and work in every case and without any sleep problems in all tested macs (from mid 2013 to mid 2015 even 2017 MBA).

Polaris Samsungs (960 Evo, 960 Pro) were thoroughly tested without any problems in early-mid 2015 MBPr.
And I have yet only tested the 960 evo in mid 2013 MBPr in which it shows sleep problems (other people reported sleep problems with 960 and 2013 MBA too).
[doublepost=1506982426][/doublepost]

I’d like to know How’s the benchmark with your 960 EVO on mbpr2015?

The write speed is better on small files, but on 5 GB test size it gives 2600MB/s read 750 MB/s write

 

[wawon]

I haven't tested all combinations, which is huge work...

WD Black, Kingston KC1000, Intel 600P are compatible and work in every case and without any sleep problems in all tested macs (from mid 2013 to mid 2015 even 2017 MBA).

Polaris Samsungs (960 Evo, 960 Pro) were thoroughly tested without any problems in early-mid 2015 MBPr.
And I have yet only tested the 960 evo in mid 2013 MBPr in which it shows sleep problems (other people reported sleep problems with 960 and 2013 MBA too).

I also test with 960 Evo (internal NVMe M.2) and 2013 MBA under High Sierra too. I don't find any slepp problems, but find re-boot problem. Normal boot (from power-off to press power button) is alaways OK, but re-boot (from power-on, select from menu or press button to re-boot) sometimes fail to find boot drive (internal 960 Evo NVMe M.2), "?" marked folder blinks.

I also found this re-boot problem, 960 Evo with late2013 rMBP 13, 960 Evo with Mid2014 rMBP 15. Don't you find re-boot problems?

 

[vsi]

Hello Gilles,

WD Black, Kingston KC1000, Intel 600P are compatible and work in every case and without any sleep problems in all tested macs (from mid 2013 to mid 2015 even 2017 MBA).

So in my case with a late 2013 (11,2) mbpr, the best option is to stay away from samsung ?
I read WD Black have poor performances, so would you say Intel 600p is my best option ?
Any chance you kept the benchmark of those drives on your mid 2013 mbpr ?

Many thanks for all your investigations !

Vincent

 

[maenpaa24]

The write speed is better on small files, but on 5 GB test size it gives 2600MB/s read 750 MB/s write

Lower write speed than in the macbook air with the same drive??

The machine where you have tested it is mbpr from 2015 13" or 15"?

 

[burnthefires]

Hello,
just tried this morning a manual update on a rMBP mid 2015.

Quickly : if I try to update the BootRom-EFI from a NVMe SSD (with 4K sectors), it doesn't work.
If I try to update the BootRom-EFI from the stock AHCI SSD, it works.

Here is how I manually upgraded the firmware :

I first ran the 10.13 Installer, and stopped it at the first reboot.
I then restart the Mac on an external disk and archived the "FirmwarePackageExtended" folder at root of the hard disk.

View attachment 722884

Then I restarted from a internal AHCI disk with 10.12 "Sierra"
I ran the following commands :

sudo /FirmwareUpdatePackageExpanded/FirmwarePackageExpanded/Scripts/preinstall
sudo /FirmwareUpdatePackageExpanded/FirmwarePackageExpanded/Scripts/postinstall_actions/update

It also work on a 10.11 "El Capitan" internal AHCI disk, but you need to copy the FirmwareUpdateLauncher exec from the BaseSystem.dmg disk image :
sudo cp FirmwareUpdateLauncher /usr/libexec

Much appreciate all the detailed info, even though my concern about the firmware update was merely a curiosity. I remember how it looked on my cMP ("turn off, hold the power button and wait for a long beep") and was just wondering why the update process differs on the MBPr and isn't optional.

Waiting for the adapter to ship from China, and the KC1000 to arrive, will report any achievements.

Thanks again.

 

[Audit13]

Hi guys,

I'd like to replace the anemic ssd on my MacBook Air mid 2013. Do you think that a samsung eve with 250 go is a good choice ? What about the performance ? Could you advise me about a good adapter please ? thank's.

This is the adapter I just ordered: http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1139.html

Hopefully, it's the right one for my late 2013 MBP.