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

[Ryker9]

Whats the recommended procedure to replace the SSD on a MBP 2015 13" and keep all your data? Since they aren't regular 2.5 drives I can't easily hook them up to clone them.

I know you can do a internet recovery, but won't that install what came on the laptop and will that work with the NVME and Santech C adapter till I can get it upgraded again? Let me know as I am not familiar how I should go about this.

The easiest method is :
0. Upgrade your mac to the latest version. (particularly if you don't have macOS 10.13 or +)
1. Create a bootable Mojave/High Sierra USB installer
2. Backup your computer with time machine.
3. Replace your SSD.
4. Then boot on your USB device.
5. And finally, restore the backup using Time Machine.

 

[IdentityCrisis]

The easiest method is :
0. Upgrade your mac to the latest version. (particularly if you don't have macOS 10.13 or +)
1. Create a bootable Mojave/High Sierra USB installer
2. Backup your computer with time machine.
3. Replace your SSD.
4. Then boot on your USB device.
5. And finally, restore the backup using Time Machine.

Whats the best way to create the USB installer? Thanks for the info so far.

 

[Ryker9]

Whats the best way to create the USB installer? Thanks for the info so far.

You have to download the latest version of macOS Mojave first.
Then you can use https://macdaddy.io/install-disk-creator/

 

[Audit13]

Delete.

 

[Trunkz]

Irrelevant post.

 

[weckart]

The easiest method is :
0. Upgrade your mac to the latest version. (particularly if you don't have macOS 10.13 or +)
1. Create a bootable Mojave/High Sierra USB installer
2. Backup your computer with time machine.
3. Replace your SSD.
4. Then boot on your USB device.
5. And finally, restore the backup using Time Machine.

Forget TimeMachine. That is a slow and clunky way to back up your drive for a replacement. Just clone the drive using Carbon Copy Cloner to an external drive and clone it back to the new NVMe drive.

 

[IdentityCrisis]

Forget TimeMachine. That is a slow and clunky way to back up your drive for a replacement. Just clone the drive using Carbon Copy Cloner to an external drive and clone it back to the new NVMe drive.

Great point. I'll give that a try.

 

[evertonmedia]

So then is it safe to say that NVME drives do not work with the Late 2013 and Mid 2014 Macbook Pro out of the box without a lot of adjustments (adapter, programming, etc.). The only real safe and guaranteed choice is a:

• Genuine Apple SSD (SSUBX/SSUAX)

These following drives do work but with hibernation issues and other problems (adapter required, programming, etc.):

• Newer Apple Drives SSPolaris Drives (which are NVME) - No adapter required
• OWC Aura - No adapter required for this, heating and other compatibility issues
• Samsung EVO Drives - Adapter required, hibernation issues
• MCE Drives - No adapter required, hibernation issues
• HAT SSDs - No adapter required, hibernation issues
• Intel 760p - Adapter required, hibernation issues

NVMe drives then are only good for 15" Mid Macbook Pro 2015 (some even say "2015 Macbook Pro only")

... Makes me want to trade my Mid 2014 for a Mid 2015.

 

[NorthCarolina]

NVMe drives then are only good for 15" Mid Macbook Pro 2015 (some even say "2015 Macbook Pro only")

... Makes me want to trade my Mid 2014 for a Mid 2015.

Well, I'm using an Early 2015 13" MacBook Pro and it works fine.
As for taking advantage of NVMe performance then yes; I've read that the Mid 2015 15" MacBook Pro is the first to use NVMe read/write speeds.

 

[Trunkz]

So then is it safe to say that NVME drives do not work with the Late 2013 and Mid 2014 Macbook Pro out of the box without a lot of adjustments (adapter, programming, etc.). The only real safe and guaranteed choice is a:

• Genuine Apple SSD (SSUBX/SSUAX)

These following drives do work but with hibernation issues and other problems (adapter required, programming, etc.):

• Newer Apple Drives SSPolaris Drives (which are NVME) - No adapter required
• OWC Aura - No adapter required for this, heating and other compatibility issues
• Samsung EVO Drives - Adapter required, hibernation issues
• MCE Drives - No adapter required, hibernation issues
• HAT SSDs - No adapter required, hibernation issues
• Intel 760p - Adapter required, hibernation issues

NVMe drives then are only good for 15" Mid Macbook Pro 2015 (some even say "2015 Macbook Pro only")

... Makes me want to trade my Mid 2014 for a Mid 2015.

SSUAX and the newer SSUBX aren't NVMe drives. These are AHCI.
The Polaris drives are NVME.

NVMe drives work on Late 2013 & Mid 2014 MacBook Pro's. They simply require an adapter to make them plug'n'play.

Hibernation issues occur in Pre-2015 MacBook Pro's because those older macbook's have not had the newer NVMe driver added to the bootrom. You can correct this by flashing your bootrom with the updated NVMe driver or workaround it by disabling hiberation using pmset.

Well, I'm using an Early 2015 13" MacBook Pro and it works fine.
As for taking advantage of NVMe performance then yes; I've read that the Mid 2015 15" MacBook Pro is the first to use NVMe read/write speeds.

Not correct. You are referring to the move to PCI3.0x4 in 2015 and newer hardware; thus allowing faster read & write speeds.

 

[weckart]

Not correct. You are referring to the move to PCI3.0x4 in 2015 and newer hardware; thus allowing faster read & write speeds.

Sort of correct. Only the 15" 2015 MBPs have PCIe3.0 x4. You are stuck with PCIe2.0 x4 in the 13" 2015 MBP, which limits sequential read/write speeds to about 1500MB/s but for most use cases, that won't be an issue.

 

[evertonmedia]

SSUAX and the newer SSUBX aren't NVMe drives. These are AHCI.
The Polaris drives are NVME.

NVMe drives work on Late 2013 & Mid 2014 MacBook Pro's. They simply require an adapter to make them plug'n'play.

Hibernation issues occur in Pre-2015 MacBook Pro's because those older macbook's have not had the newer NVMe driver added to the bootrom. You can correct this by flashing your bootrom with the updated NVMe driver or workaround it by disabling hiberation using pmset.

Not correct. You are referring to the move to PCI3.0x4 in 2015 and newer hardware; thus allowing faster read & write speeds.

Right, never said the SSUAX/SSUBX were NVME.

That said, I've read this entire thread as well as reviews for drives online and it seems that people still deal with issues on the Late 2013 and Mid 2014 Macbooks.

Just to clarify, upgrading to or installing High Sierra or Mojave (which is the OS installed on my 15" MBP 2014) will flash the bootrom correct?

Then by definition, the SSPOLARIS and NVME drives will work without issue (meaning no hibernation issues, etc) according to you. That doesn't seem to be what everyone is reporting.

 

[amenjas]

So then is it safe to say that NVME drives do not work with the Late 2013 and Mid 2014 Macbook Pro out of the box without a lot of adjustments (adapter, programming, etc.). The only real safe and guaranteed choice is a:

• Genuine Apple SSD (SSUBX/SSUAX)

These following drives do work but with hibernation issues and other problems (adapter required, programming, etc.):

• Newer Apple Drives SSPolaris Drives (which are NVME) - No adapter required
• OWC Aura - No adapter required for this, heating and other compatibility issues
• Samsung EVO Drives - Adapter required, hibernation issues
• MCE Drives - No adapter required, hibernation issues
• HAT SSDs - No adapter required, hibernation issues
• Intel 760p - Adapter required, hibernation issues

NVMe drives then are only good for 15" Mid Macbook Pro 2015 (some even say "2015 Macbook Pro only"


I want to ask whether this hibernation issue occurs on macbook air 13” early 2015 1.6 ghz 4gb ram with mojave installed.
I am planning to upgrade with samsung 500gb NVMe 970 evo with latest sintech adapter. Plz confirm should i go with this configuration.Thank you.

Right, never said the SSUAX/SSUBX were NVME.

That said, I've read this entire thread as well as reviews for drives online and it seems that people still deal with issues on the Late 2013 and Mid 2014 Macbooks.

Just to clarify, upgrading to or installing High Sierra or Mojave (which is the OS installed on my 15" MBP 2014) will flash the bootrom correct?

Then by definition, the SSPOLARIS and NVME drives will work without issue (meaning no hibernation issues, etc) according to you. That doesn't seem to be what everyone is reporting.

hi

I want to ask whether this hibernation issue occurs on macbook air 13” early 2015 1.6 ghz 4gb ram with mojave installed. I am planning to upgrade with samsung 500gb NVMe 970 evo with latest sintech adapter. Plz confirm should i go with this configuration.Thank you.

 

[weckart]

hi

I want to ask whether this hibernation issue occurs on macbook air 13” early 2015 1.6 ghz 4gb ram with mojave installed. I am planning to upgrade with samsung 500gb NVMe 970 evo with latest sintech adapter. Plz confirm should i go with this configuration.Thank you.

It will support NVMe without issue but you might want to reconsider your choice of hard drive. The EVO 970 runs quite warm and will drain your battery. It is better suited to a desktop computer imho.

 

[Ryker9]

So with the SX8200 I lose 1% battery overnight with pmset settings, seems good, drive is quite cold : 28° idle and 37° max. (even cooler than Apple's SSD). I will probably do the EFI upgrade so I just bought SOIC 8 CLIP, a breadboard, and cables and I will use my Raspberry Pi 3B+ to flash the firmware, I think it's a cheap solution to do the upgrade, probably the cheapest. ( the Pi has other usages and don't require to power the chip since the Pi can provide 3.3v).

What are the risks of flashing using SOIC8 CLIP method ? Can I blow up the chip if I do a bad wiring or there is any sort of protection ? Of course I will double check everything before powering up my Mac.

 

[amenjas]

It will support NVMe without issue but you might want to reconsider your choice of hard drive. The EVO 970 runs quite warm and will drain your battery. It is better suited to a desktop computer imho.

I already ordered it because it was cheaper than 960evo. Sintech adapter yet to reach. Will it work fine with bootcamp windows 10?

 

[davidrj]

So with the SX8200 I lose 1% battery overnight with pmset settings, seems good, drive is quite cold : 28° idle and 37° max. (even cooler than Apple's SSD). I will probably do the EFI upgrade so I just bought SOIC 8 CLIP, a breadboard, and cables and I will use my Raspberry Pi 3B+ to flash the firmware, I think it's a cheap solution to do the upgrade, probably the cheapest. ( the Pi has other usages and don't require to power the chip since the Pi can provide 3.3v).

May I ask which MacBook and which adapter you are using? I just switched from the Evo 960 to the SX8200, for now I'm still using the short black adapter until the long one and the JSER arrive, then I will test them both.

Some people in this thread report no hibernation issues with stock pmset settings on 2013-2014 machines which made me curious, so I just put in the default settings too myself. My MBA2013 just slept for around 5 hours and woke up fine, let's see if it "survives" the overnight sleep.

Also, please keep me updated on your flashing of the boot rom, I also have a Raspberry Pi 3 which I considered using but I'm afraid of bricking my board.

 

[Ryker9]

May I ask which MacBook and which adapter you are using? I just switched from the Evo 960 to the SX8200, for now I'm still using the short black adapter until the long one and the JSER ones arrive, then I will test them both.

Some people in this thread report no hibernation settings with stock pmset settings on 2013-2014 which made me curious, so I just put in the default settings too myself. My MBA2013 just slept for around 5 hours and woke up fine, let's see if it "survives" the overnight sleep.

Also, please keep me updated on your flashing of the boot rom, I also have a Raspberry Pi 3 which I considered using but I'm afraid of bricking my board.

I'm using a rMBP mid-2014 13' with JSER adapter. I also didn't have any problems at first, but it worked only twice. Don't forget to unplug the Mac during the night because I think that the Mac never enter into deepsleep when plugged in (due to Power Nap).

If you have a Pi, you can check this: https://ghostlyhaks.com/blog/apple-efi/31-efi-removal-step-by-step?showall=,1 basically it's for password removal on EFI firmware, but the first steps are exactly the same for flashing, only firmware modification differs.

 

[davidrj]

I'm using a rMBP mid-2014 13' with JSER adapter. I also didn't have any problems at first, but it worked only twice. Don't forget to unplug the Mac during the night because I think that the Mac never enter into deepsleep when plugged in (due to Power Nap).

If you have a Pi, you can check this: https://ghostlyhaks.com/blog/apple-efi/31-efi-removal-step-by-step?showall=,1 basically it's for password removal on EFI firmware, but the first steps are exactly the same for flashing, only firmware modification differs.

Thanks for the answer! Well, just switching the drive would be too easy to solve all the hibernation issues once and for all I guess. Nevertheless, 1% loss overnight is absolutely fine by me, so I'm going to wait for you to successfully flashing the firmware before I dare to do it myself.

I suppose you used standby 0, autopoweroff 0 and hibernatemode 0?

 

[Ryker9]

Thanks for the answer! Well, just switching the drive would be too easy to solve all the hibernation issues once and for all I guess. Nevertheless, 1% loss overnight is absolutely fine by me, so I'm going to wait for you to successfully flashing the firmware before I dare to do it myself.

I suppose you used standby 0, autopoweroff 0 and hibernatemode 0?

I will try this next month once I receive all the parts.
I used these parameters.

 

[evertonmedia]

Thanks for this info. I will most likely go the SSUBX route. Expensive, but seems the safest and most guaranteed to work without any workarounds, hacking or hibernation issues. I will keep my eye on this thread. Thanks for your responses.

 

[mattlabbe]

Hi all,

I bought a drive/adapter combo from a seller on eBay and it installed/boots fine, however, I get kernel panics and have to reboot on wake if it's left to sleep for too long. This is despite having already set the relevant pmset parameters, standby, hibernatemode, autopoweroff to 0. I have even set the delay of the standby and autopoweroff to 12 and 48 hours respectively, for good measure.

This my pmset -g output

System-wide power settings:
Currently in use:
 standbydelaylow      43200
 standby              0
 womp                 1
 halfdim              1
 hibernatefile        /dev/null/sleepimage
 powernap             1
 gpuswitch            2
 networkoversleep     0
 disksleep            0
 standbydelayhigh     43200
 sleep                20 (sleep prevented by coreaudiod, sharingd)
 autopoweroffdelay    172800
 hibernatemode        0
 autopoweroff         0
 ttyskeepawake        1
 displaysleep         20
 Standby Battery Threshold 50
 acwake               0
 lidwake              1

This also happens when my MacBook is plugged in, which I think should disable standby as well?

I'm at a loss for what more to do. I went from a debilitating 120GB drive to a 512GB now, but I don't know if I can change my workflow to shutdown after each use.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

Hi all,

I bought a drive/adapter combo from a seller on eBay and it installed/boots fine, however, I get kernel panics and have to reboot on wake if it's left to sleep for too long. This is despite having already set the relevant pmset parameters, standby, hibernatemode, autopoweroff to 0. I have even set the delay of the standby and autopoweroff to 12 and 48 hours respectively, for good measure.

Hi,
Your pmset settings seems fine (for a 2013-2014 mac).
Please can you send a link of the ebay auction, and precise which model of mac and SSD you have, and also post photos of your adapter ?
Only sintech rev. B or C adapters have the proper wiring and do work well.

 

[94739472]

Hi, i’m planning to upgrade
Intel 760p M.2 SSD 512 Gt SSD to my macbook pro retina 13” early 2015. I wonder should i get the sintech short on long adapter (black version)?

 

[gilles_polysoft]

So then is it safe to say that NVME drives do not work with the Late 2013 and Mid 2014 Macbook Pro out of the box without a lot of adjustments (adapter, programming, etc.).

There are two types of NVMe SSDs as for Mac :
- SSD with apple proprietary form factor (aka "Gumstick 12+16") : Apple Polaris NVMe SSDs, OWC Aura v2, Transcend Jetdrive 850/855
- brand new M.2 NVMe SSD with Sintech rev. B or C. adapters

The lasts one being cheap, easily available everywhere new and with full warranty.
Note that there are a lot of M.2 adapters still sold today that simply do not work and don't have the proper wirings, you definitely don't wan't anything else than Sintech rev. B or C.

Tested M.2 NVMe models include :
- all Samsung 960 Evo / 960 Pro / 970 Evo / 970 Pro
- all Kingston A1000 / KC1000
- all WD Black rev. 1 or rev. 2
- all Intel 600p / 660p / 760p
- all Toshiba XG3 / XG4 / XG5 / XG5-p / XG6
- all Adata SX7000p - SX8200p
- all MyDigital SBX - PBX
etc.
(in fact the only known not to work NVMe SSD here was a Samsung PM981 with custom firmware for lenovo)

All of thoses NVMe drives do work out of the box with every 2013-2015 Macbook Pro (and MacBook Air up to 2017), because since summer 2017 every mac with at least Sierra (10.12) installed have their BootRom upgrade to support NVMe SSDs if you do software updates.

2013-2014 macs present hibernation problem due to their NVMe DXE driver which can be manually patched.

The only real safe and guaranteed choice is a:

• Genuine Apple SSD (SSUBX/SSUAX)

Those genuine Apple SSD are a simple choice, but they are not sold separately by Apple and not produced anymore : so you can't find and buy a new and guaranteed new one anywhere. Your only choice is used, second hand or grey market SSD which have not any sort or warranty, and are very expensive.
They also don't exist in 2TB capacity.

NVMe drives then are only good for 15" Mid Macbook Pro 2015 (some even say "2015 Macbook Pro only")

... Makes me want to trade my Mid 2014 for a Mid 2015.

Sure 15" Mid 2015 MacBook Pro are a good choice, also because they have PCIe 3.0.

Or you can patch the BootRom, or wait for Apple to publish future BootRom update who would include the complete NVMe DXE driver, which they did for the Mac Pro 5.1...