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Upgrading M4 Mac Mini SSD: Pre-Soldered 2TB Chip Options

ItsAShaunParty said:
Thanks for the comments!

I wish I could, but I can't pay those absurd prices for SSD upgrades. I'd resent my computer. But I get what some of you said -- maybe I should pay it. But I won't.

Those prepared chips are exactly what I was looking for! That said, your comments have brought me back down to earth. I foresee all kinds of issues.

Here’s my current plan (feedback is welcome):
  • I’ll start by using external storage for now.
  • I heard about a script that allows Apple AI to run on external devices, so I’ll look into that.
  • For internal upgrades, I’ll wait and see how things develop. When a reliable company like OWC offers a tested solution, I think I’ll feel comfortable pursuing a version of what they provide.
Thanks again for all the advice! Please continue to discuss!
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Basically, you must have a 2TB internal for less money than Apple charges. An external solves all of your self imposed problems as long as you boot off the internal. You save money, you can run AI, you have a decent amount of storage at speeds equaling, perhaps exceeding, what your 256gb can do.

Instead you keep opting to void your warranty and, like another mentioned, lose your hacked internal with the potential of an Apple update. Go for it.
 
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Ray2 said:
Basically, you must have a 2TB internal for less money than Apple charges. An external solves all of your self imposed problems as long as you boot off the internal. You save money, you can run AI, you have a decent amount of storage at speeds equaling, perhaps exceeding, what your 256gb can do.

Instead you keep opting to void your warranty and, like another mentioned, lose your hacked internal with the potential of an Apple update. Go for it.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I follow. My plan, for the time being, will be to boot off of the external. I'll see if I can run AI on that, too, using a script.
 
Ray2 said:
Basically, you must have a 2TB internal for less money than Apple charges. An external solves all of your self imposed problems as long as you boot off the internal. You save money, you can run AI, you have a decent amount of storage at speeds equaling, perhaps exceeding, what your 256gb can do.

Instead you keep opting to void your warranty and, like another mentioned, lose your hacked internal with the potential of an Apple update. Go for it.
Click to expand...
I don't understand the obsession talking about voiding warranty.

Apple can refuse to service a unit if it contains modified components. The storage unit is removable. If you can remove the original one and put in a new one, you can also remove the new one and put in the original one. Do that before you send it to Apple. Then it will contain all the original components with the original software. If they want to deny you warranty, they must show that your problem was caused by your replacement SSD. They can't deny warranty for an unrelated issue or if they can't show proof.

The user runs the risk of voiding warranty - the replacement module could have a short and destroy the motherboard. But it is not a given. That would be for the buyer to vet the source and decide on the risk. The risk is no different than deciding to plug in a USB cable into the Mac. A malfunctioning cable can also damage a USB port. And you're on your own if you got your cable from non-Apple sources.

But there seems to be an obsession to use warranty as an excuse to discourage people from doing device modifications. It implies the user should have no right to service or modify the device on their own. I do not understand why someone would agree with that belief, unless their interests are aligned with Apple's corporate interests.
 
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RumorChaser said:
I don't understand the obsession talking about voiding warranty.

Apple can refuse to service a unit if it contains modified components. The storage unit is removable. If you can remove the original one and put in a new one, you can also remove the new one and put in the original one. Do that before you send it to Apple. Then it will contain all the original components with the original software. If they want to deny you warranty, they must show that your problem was caused by your replacement SSD. They can't deny warranty for an unrelated issue or if they can't show proof.

The user runs the risk of voiding warranty - the replacement module could have a short and destroy the motherboard. But it is not a given. That would be for the buyer to vet the source and decide on the risk. The risk is no different than deciding to plug in a USB cable into the Mac. A malfunctioning cable can also damage a USB port. And you're on your own if you got your cable from non-Apple sources.

But there seems to be an obsession to use warranty as an excuse to discourage people from doing device modifications. It implies the user should have no right to service or modify the device on their own. I do not understand why someone would agree with that belief, unless their interests are aligned with Apple's corporate interests.
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I think the guy replied earlier on with soldering in mind, then as the discussion became clear a card swap is now an available method, guy didn't read through the thread and made another reply assuming soldering is still in the equation.
 
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Jaap said:
They use the same Kioxia, Hynix and Sandisk chips as the real Apple SSD's use, which are TLC.
See https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-silicon-soldered-ssd-upgrade-thread.2417822/
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The Toshiba (Kioxia) BGA315 can be crossed used on iPhone, which is more in demand. The SanDisk can only be used on Macs / iPads and costs less. But the vanilla NAND Apple uses in the original M4 mini board are SanDisk NANDs anyway.

Note that this is different on the M4 Pro mini, especially the 8TB config. It needs to use 2TB modules which seems to have to be Samsung / Hynix, and that whether or not they are TLC is not well known.
 
GianL said:
LOL. For some reason AI translates "external enclosure" in such a hilarious way.
Be careful with AI :)
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He actually did say “urine bag” in Chinese. It is a sort of funny slang for any electronics that externally attach, namely battery banks for phones, but in this scenario he used it to refer NVMe enclosures. The expression is accurate in describing how they are useful but are very much in the way.
 
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ItsAShaunParty said:
This question has been floating around, but I haven’t seen an updated answer in about a month.

I have an M4 Mac Mini with 32GB of RAM on the way. It comes with a 256GB SSD, but I’d like to upgrade the internal drive (not just plug in an external). I also don’t want to deal with soldering.

Is there anywhere I can buy a chip with 2TB storage already soldered and ready to install? Has anyone done this upgrade successfully?

However, did I read that people are getting external drives to run faster than internal ones and can use AI on the external? Maybe that's better... or am I making this up? I need more sleep.
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I have a M2 Mac Mini which only has a single NAND chip so it runs slower than a 512 Gb. I wish I had bought the 512 GB. I only bought 8 Gb of RAM too but running three CCTV cams into Security Spy 24 hours a day, a couple of dozen tabs open on Firefox, FielMaker Pro, Labelling software, Photoshop, Affinity Designer and Telegram, it has never run out of RAM memory.

Not so with the M4 Mac Mini but buying a 256 Gb SSD with your M4 is a mistake imho.

I do have to use CleanMyMac once a week because I was foolish enough to buy a 256 drive in the first place though.

I have a TB1 Rocketstor that works really well for lots of storage using bare drives. SSD and HDD. Obviously not as fast as TB4/USB-C but it's fast enough for copying 20 or 30 Gb from one drive to another.

When I am working on a job using Photoshop or iMovie I just move it onto the startup drive and copy it off when the job is finished.

Saving a couple of hundred dollars/pounds because you think Apple charges too much is a bit daft when you don't get the computer you want/need.

Do you know a student at Uni? If you do, cancel your order and buy through the Apple education store and you will probably save £/$200. Probaly more as they will probably discount the extra RAM too.

Unless you are a heavy user of video editing software, Photoshop or 3D modelling, I doubt you need 32Gb of RAM either.
 
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Why are they selling NANDs without the boards? Is it just a matter of time or is there some limitation?
 
Chancha said:
Just doing a card swap should not void the warranty, unless you have physically broken something internal that’s beyond repair.
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It absolutely does.
The serial number of your device is linked to the amount of storage it has when you purchased it.
If Apple releases a software update that requires a serial number check, you’re very possibly out of luck.
If something completely unrelated to the solid-state drive breaks in the computer, you’re out of luck.
It’s not a card swap, it’s an unauthorized warranty voiding process.
I’m sorry to say, however upgradable it may appear, it’s not a 2010 MacPro. If Apple ever wants to, they can shut that down real quick.
 
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RumorChaser said:
I don't understand the obsession talking about voiding warranty.

Apple can refuse to service a unit if it contains modified components. The storage unit is removable. If you can remove the original one and put in a new one, you can also remove the new one and put in the original one. Do that before you send it to Apple. Then it will contain all the original components with the original software. If they want to deny you warranty, they must show that your problem was caused by your replacement SSD. They can't deny warranty for an unrelated issue or if they can't show proof.

The user runs the risk of voiding warranty - the replacement module could have a short and destroy the motherboard. But it is not a given. That would be for the buyer to vet the source and decide on the risk. The risk is no different than deciding to plug in a USB cable into the Mac. A malfunctioning cable can also damage a USB port. And you're on your own if you got your cable from non-Apple sources.

But there seems to be an obsession to use warranty as an excuse to discourage people from doing device modifications. It implies the user should have no right to service or modify the device on their own. I do not understand why someone would agree with that belief, unless their interests are aligned with Apple's corporate interests.
Click to expand...
It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing, it’s about what it is.
When you buy a product from Apple, the serial number is directly linked to the specification you ordered.
This means that if Apple ever releases an update that internally checks that your system actually matches with what the serial number is (which is exactly what they have been doing on the iPhone for years) you could be left with a bricked machine.
If saving money is the name of the game here, not voiding the warranty should be at the top of the list of priorities.
It is just simply not smart to do this on a brand new main machine.
 
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I think the people overly concerned about warrantee can rest assured their point - if there is one - has been made.

"BUT SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN!"

Yeah, you could vastly overpay for commodity storage.
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
This means that if Apple ever releases an update that internally checks that your system actually matches with what the serial number is (which is exactly what they have been doing on the iPhone for years) you could be left with a bricked machine.
Click to expand...

Let's just imagine a universe where Apple did something as consumer hostile as this. Consider the blowback—intentionally bricking someone's machine as a result of remotely spot-checking the configuration. The only thing more ridiculous than it happening in the first place would be the MacRumors Apple Defense Squad® that would celebrate it. It's like half the users here aspired to be a high school hall monitor or something.

Given I don't put much credence in Apple's "we're all about privacy" marketing theater, I'm more predisposed than most to believe they are capable of doing something as bogglingly stupid. One would hope their allergy toward bad press would cause an adult in the room to stand up and say, "you know, we shouldn't do this" before a figurative switch got flipped.

Hardware hacking has risks, no question. Know what you're doing / know your limits is the first rule of thumb. Sacrificing your warranty, or making a noob mistake and bodging the whole process, is a very real possibility. But Apple gets no say in what I do with a machine after I pay my hard earned money and leave the store with it.
 
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