Dec 19, 2017 - The newest member of OWC's Aura family of high performance drives sets the new gold standard SSD upgrade for PCIe equipped Macs, with.
Remember the good ol’ days of carrying a spare battery, upgrading your own RAM, maybe even adding a second hard drive? If you’re an Apple user, those luxuries may be behind us, but upgrading your own solid state drive is still a privilege the Apple overlords allow us to have, for now that is.
Despite retaining the ability to upgrade your own SSD, ever since Apple introduced their proprietary “blade” SSDs in 2010, the task hasn’t been as simple as it once was. Apple talks up read and write speeds, but they rarely dive into the nitty gritty details of the technology behind the SSDs they use — drives specially designed only for Apple computers. After countless questions, both from customers and our own staff, we decided to start our own investigation into the hardware involved. You have to be a bit of a private eye to uncover the secrets behind these drives, and the deeper we looked, the more surprises we found.
Table of Contents. LTR: Gen. 3A (comparable to Gen. 3B (comparable to Gen. 5A SSD Interfaces Compared Every hard drive or solid state drive you’ve used in the past ten years is likely to have used either a SATA interface, or more recently a PCI Express interface. If you’re into vintage computers and you think patience is a virtue that can only be honed by waiting for programs to respond, maybe you’re still rocking a drive with a PATA interface.
If you are, it’s time to get up to speed! Ever faster drive technology, brought about by faster spinning disks, increased cache, advances in controller architecture, and a host of other factors keeps pushing the host interface to become the bottleneck for read and write speeds. Luckily, advances in host interfaces invariably stay ahead of the pace of drive technologies, always allowing room to push speeds a bit farther. What is SATA? SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) refers to the technology standard for connecting hard drives, solid state drive, and optical drives to the computer’s motherboard. The SATA standard’s been in use for many years and is still the most prevalent interface for connecting internal storage drives.
The SATA standard has now undergone three major revisions, resulting in connectors that are identical in appearance (hurray for backwards compatibility), but with bandwidth doubling each time. This can cause some confusion in the event that you connect a hard drive that supports the SATA III standard into a SATA II connector, creating a bottleneck at the SATA II interface that will limit the potential bandwidth of the drive. But as it applies to SSDs, if you’re not using a SATA III connection, it’s safe to assume you’re limiting the potential of your drive. And even if you’re using a SATA III interface, you’re still probably limiting your SSD. In short, SATA just wasn’t made for solid state drives.
SATA Performance Interface Raw Transfer Rate Encoding Effective Data Rate Effective Data Rate SATA I 1.5Gb/s 8b/10b 1.2Gb/s 0.15GB/s SATA II 3Gb/s 8b/10b 2.4Gb/s 0.30GB/s SATA III 6Gb/s 8b/10b 4.8Gb/s 0.60GB/s What is PCIe? Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is a computer bus standard with incredibly high bandwidth potential, and is the fastest bus option that most computers have available. It’s no wonder that manufacturers moved towards PCIe technology for their bandwidth hungry SSDs.
Like the SATA bus standard, PCIe has undergone multiple revisions over the years and is still evolving at breakneck speeds. PCIe 2.0 (which is likely to be the most common PCIe revision found inside in-use computers) maxes out at 500MB/s with a single channel of throughput.
Those speeds may sound a bit slower than SATA III, but PCIe has the advantage of utilizing multiple channels of throughput to accommodate the needs of the connected peripheral. Two channels of throughput (1GB/s) not enough for you? Double the number of channels to four and you’ll realize double the data transfer rates, if the connected device can make use of it that is. PCIe bandwidth can be scaled up to 16 and even 32 lanes for a single device, but that’s uncommon in SSDs and primarily reserved for devices like graphics cards which have larger data transfer requirements. Most PCIe SSDs will have either 2, or more recently, 4 channels of throughput.
In 2011 the PCIe 3.0 revision was released, and finally brings more to the table than just the ability to add additional channels. PCIe 1.0 and 2.0 both use 8b/10b encoding to transmit data (the same as SATA), meaning that for every 8 bits of data sent, the data is sent via a 10 bit line code.
In other words, 2 of the 10 bits are just overhead necessary to transmit the rest of the data. That 20% overhead eats into the potential bandwidth of an interface, resulting real world bandwidth that’s 20% lower.
PCIe 3.0 introduced the much more efficient 128b/130b encoding, resulting in only only 1.5% overhead to eat into the potential bandwidth. PCIe Speed Comparison Chart. Generation 2 The second generation of Apple SSDs saw the expansion of the blade style drives into the MacBook Pro laptops and iMac desktops. 2 drives were faster than than the previous generation, but still used the mSATA III interface — finally approaching the maximum throughput capable of the SATA III specification.
2 drives were characterized by their use of two distinctly different drives; the shorter, wider Gen. 2A drive used in the MacBook Pro and iMac computers, and the taller, thinner Gen. 2B drive used in the MacBook Airs. 2A and 2B drives use the same mSATA 3 interface and the same 7+17 Pin connector type. Despite the use of identical connectors and interfaces, the drives aren’t truly compatible because the space allotted in each computer simply isn’t designed to fit the other drive type. MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 - Early 2013) With the release of the first MacBook Pro with “Retina” screen, Apple began including SSDs standard in the MacBook Pro line, and in fact the only storage device interface is the single 7+17 Pin SSD connector. 2A SSDs used by these MacBook Pro laptops were offered in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 768GB capacities, and manufactured again by Samsung, but also by SanDisk.
Both the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pro laptops use the same drives, and either MBP can have any of the four SSD capacities installed. IMac (Late 2012 - Early 2013) The Late 2012 and Early 2013 iMacs had a rather different arrangement, with a traditional 3.5″ SATA III HDD standard, but the Late 2012 release also unveiled the Fusion Drive.
Apple’s Fusion Drive pairs a larger capacity traditional hard drive with a smaller capacity solid state drive, offering much of the performance benefits of a SSD, but in a more cost effective package. The operating system displays the two drives as a single drive to the user, but behind the scenes optimizes file storage so files that need to be accessed more frequently and files that benefit more from quick read times are stored on the SSD, while the majority of the files are stored on the HDD.
In order to utilize Apple’s fastest SSDs in the Fusion Drive setup, the iMac logic boards now included Apple’s proprietary 7+17 Pin SSD connector, in addition to one of the two SATA III connectors found in previous iMacs, allowing you to install any combination of SATA and Apple SSDs. It’s not necessary to use the SSD in the Fusion Drive arrangement, and the two drives can act independently of each other if desired. The SSD connector can use any of the Gen. 2A options (128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 768GB), while the SATA connector can accommodate any 3.5″ SATA HDD or SSD, or a 2.5″ SATA drive when using a 2.5″ to 3.5″ adapter. One important caveat is that while the 27″ iMac always has the 7+17 Pin connector present on the board, the 21.5″ model will only have the connector if the iMac was originally configured with a Fusion Drive. If a Fusion Drive was not selected at the time of purchase, there’s only an empty space where the PCIe connector would have been, and there’s no way to add the connector to the board, short of replacing the entire logic board. MacBook Air (Mid 2012) As mentioned above, the Gen.
2B drives have a different form factor, but use the same interface and connector as their Gen. 2A counterparts. The 2B read/write speeds are noticeably slower, likely due to engineering constraints from the smaller footprint of the 2B drives. Another likely result of the engineering constraints is the absence of a 768GB option. Samsung and Toshiba manufactured the Gen. 2B drives, which came in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB options, all of which are interchangeable in the Mid 2012 releases of the MBA 11″ (model A1465) and MBA 13″ (model A1466).
Generation 3 It was clear with the Gen. 2 drives that mSATA’s 600MB/s limitation would not allow for further speed increases, so Apple’s next generation of drives began using a PCIe 2.0 x2 interface, bringing about the most substantial performance increases to date.
Performance varies wildly across different devices and drives, but the fastest Gen. 3 configurations can perform at more than double the speeds of the fastest Gen. Generation 3 also saw a consolidation of drive types, with almost all Gen. 3 drives compatible with all Mid 2013 through Mid 2015 releases of Apple computers. Of course, a few exceptions apply; notably the MacBook Air and iMac 21.5″. Not only are the SSDs cross compatible between the different devices, but the different computers do in fact share the exact same drives. The SSDs were manufactured by Samsung, SanDisk and Toshiba, and the same manufacturer part numbers have been found on drives retrieved from all of the different computers.
Samsung seems to have appended unique endings (/0A2, /0A4, /0A6, etc.) to drives used in different devices, but the drives all use the same flash controller and our testing has shown zero performance difference between them. 3 solid state drives are all the same form factor (which we’ll refer to as Gen. 3A), except for the 1TB SSD (Gen. 3B) which is the same length, but roughly twice as wide. 3 drives use the same 12+16 Pin connector and all share a PCIe 2.0 x2 interface, except for the 1TB Gen. 3B SSD which has a PCIe 2.0 x4 interface, likely due to the larger physical size of the drive which allows for less engineering constraints. 3 drives use AHCI technology, but many of the computers that shipped with Gen.
3 drives support NVMe SSDs as well, allowing for upgrades to later generation NVMe drives. MacBook Air (Mid 2013 - Early 2014) As with previous MacBook Airs, both the 11″ and 13″ laptops use all the same drives, which include 128GB, 256GB and 512GB capacities, leaving behind the 64GB option found in earlier MacBook Airs.
Interestingly, while the drives are all limited to a PCIe 2.0 x2 interface, the MacBook Air logic boards all support PCIe 2.0 x4, opening up the possibility to upgrade to the faster four channel drives found in Gen. Mac Pro (Late 2013) The big revision to the Mac Pro desktop saw big changes to it’s storage devices as well. The Late 2013 Mac Pro was the first Mac Pro to have a solid state drive standard, the first to natively use PCIe storage, and to the dismay of many power users, the first to support only a single internal storage device. The Mac Pro supports all capacities (128GB – 1TB) of Gen. 3 SSDs, but originally included drives with heatsinks that are attached with an extremely strong thermally conductive adhesive.
It’s generally a safe bet that if Apple’s engineers decided it was necessary, it’s probably necessary, but it’s worth mentioning that the Mac Pros can use SSDs without heatsinks found in the other devices, and our internal testing showed absolutely no difference in SSD temperature when using drives with and without heatsinks, even under stress test conditions. The Mac Pro’s logic board has the same limitations as the MacBook Air laptops, supporting a PCIe 2.0 x4 connection, allowing for improved performance with later four channel drives. The nMP also supports NVMe SSDs and can upgrade to some of the Gen. 5 drives when running macOS 10.10.3 or later. MacBook Pro (Late 2013 - Mid 2014) The Late 2013 and Mid 2014 MacBook Pro laptops both support all generation 3 drive options, and as with the MacBook Airs, while the included drives were PCIe 2.0 x2, the logic boards all support four channel PCIe connections.
The MacBook Pros also support the NVMe protocol, and like the Mac Pro, require macOS 10.10.3 or later. IMac (Late 2013 - Late 2015) The 21.5″ iMac originally shipped with either a 1TB SATA HDD, a 1TB Fusion drive (128GB SSD and 1TB SATA 3.5″ HDD), or a 256GB standalone SSD. The 27″ iMac offered the same 1TB Fusion Drive as the standard option, with optional upgrades to a 3TB Fusion Drive (128GB SSD and 3TB SATA 3.5″ HDD), or a standalone SSD in either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB capacities. Given that the iMacs have relatively ample free space inside, at least compared the rest of Apple’s product lines, it should come as no surprise that all drive capacities are supported in both the 21.5″ and 27″ iMacs. As with the previous generation, the 27″ iMac always included the PCIe connector on the logic board, while the 21.5″ iMac only included the PCIe connector if originally configured with a Fusion Drive or standalone SSD when ordered. If the connector is not present on the logic board, there’s no way to add it after the fact, short of replacing the entire motherboard. The 21.5″ iMacs and the 27″ from 2013/2014 only support PCIe 2.0 x2 connections.
All iMacs of this era support NVMe, but the speed increase is more limited in the 21.5″ iMacs and the 2013/2014 27″ iMacs, where the two channel interface acts as a bottleneck. Mac mini (Late 2014) Late 2014 was the first Mac mini to support Apple’s blade solid state drives, but it’s extremely limited internal space required a unique solution in order to connect the drive to the logic board. Rather than a 12-16 pin PCIe connector on the logic board where the SSD would connect directly, the Mac mini positioned the SSD on the rear of the plastic hard drive carrier, off to the side of the board, and required a flex cable to connect the SSD. The flex cable has the 12+16 pin female connector on one side and a female 40 pin mezzanine connector which attaches to the 40 pin male connector on the motherboard. This was the first and last time Apple used this smaller connector for PCIe connections in any of their product lines.
PCIe connector on the Late 2014 Mac mini The connector is present on the board regardless of which storage configuration was initially ordered, so it’s possible to add a PCIe SSD to all Late 2014 Mac minis. If the Mac mini wasn’t originally configured with a Fusion Drive or standalone SSD from the factory, the flex cable will need to be purchased in order to add an SSD afterwards. The Mac mini motherboard only supports a PCIe 2.0 x2 interface, but does support an upgrade to NVMe SSDs, but like the 21.5″ iMac, the speed increase is a modest 10-15% due to the two channel PCIe bottleneck. Generation 4 With the release of the first Early 2015 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, Apple unveiled their four generation of blade SSDs. 4 included a few variations, but for the most part was again used across all the product lines of the time, and even stuck with the same 12+16 Pin connector found in the Gen.
3 drives, making the Gen. 4 drives a great option for upgrading earlier devices. 4 drives all used a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, with the exception of the drive used in the MacBook Air 11″ which used a newer version (Gen. 4C) of the PCIe 2.0 x2 drives found in the previous generation. I’ll be referring to the 128GB, 256GB and 512GB Gen.
4 drives as Gen. 4A, and the larger 1TB drive as Gen. 4B, similar to the Gen. 3B 1TB drive from the previous generation.
Generation 4 brought massive increases in speeds when compared to their Gen. 3 counterparts, with read and write speeds that are roughly twice that of the previous generation. All the laptops and desktops released during this period could make use of the four channel PCIe connection, but only a few select models could reap the benefits of the PCIe 3.0 technology.
For devices that did support a PCIe 3.0 connection to the SSD, read and write speeds were more than doubled. All in all, the fourth generation of solid state drives represented another monumental leap in drive technology. Then SSDs were manufactured exclusively by Samsung this time around, with the exception of the Gen. 4C drive from the 11″ MacBook Air which was manufactured by Toshiba. The Samsung drives are commonly referred to by the identifier of their flash controller, dubbed UBX — or as it’s printed on the drive, SSUBX. This is quick an easy way to identify the generation four drives from the Gen.
3 Samsung drives which have SSUAX printed on the labels. MacBook Air (Early 2015 - Mid 2017) The last release of the 11″ MacBook Air in Early 2015 brought minor upgrades to a few components, but left the SSD tech virtually unchanged. The drives were the only of Apple’s product lines to keep the PCIe 2.0 x2 technology from the previous generation, but the drives were still modified with firmware changes that rendered them incompatible with earlier MacBook Air laptops.
The new drives were also now branded “Apple” rather than with the third party manufacturer’s name, although the flash chips on the SSD make it clear that Toshiba and SanDisk were manufacturers. Despite the two channel drive, the 11″ MacBook Air actually supports four channel PCIe connections, and they can be upgraded with the Gen. 4A drives found in other devices. In fact, if the 11″ MacBook Air was configured with a 512GB SSD from the factory, it already included the same Gen. 4A drive found in the other Apple computers of the era. The 13″ MacBook Air used the same Gen.
4A drives as the rest of Apple’s product lines, but didn’t support the PCIe 3.0 connection the newer drives were capable of. Despite the lack of PCIe 3.0 support, the Early 2015 release still saw read/write speeds that were 90-120% faster than the 2013/2014 models. The same Gen.
4A drives are still in use in the most recent Mid 2017 release. Like the MacBook Air laptops before them, the Early 2015 – Mid 2017 MacBook Airs lack the space to fit the wider 1TB SSDs, and are limited to the 128GB, 256GB and 512GB options. MacBook Pro (Early 2015 - Mid 2015) The 2015 releases of the MacBook Pro laptops were also relatively minor upgrades, but again the SSDs brought about a huge speed boost, especially for the 15″ model A1398. Both the 13″ and 15″ computers support the full range of drive capacities and supported four channel connections, but the 15″ MacBook Pro also supported PCIe 3.0.
Both the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pros also support the NVMe protocol and upgrading to Gen. 5 SSDs can bring a modest speed boost to the 13″ model A1502, but the 15″ model A1398 with its PCIe 3.0 connection really allows the NVMe technology to shine. Read speeds increase by 40% and write speeds can increase by 60%. IMac (Late 2015) The Late 2015 iMacs see a lot of the same trends found in earlier iMac releases.
The 21.5″ iMac only has a PCIe connector on the motherboard if the computer was originally configured with a Fusion Drive or standalone SSD. To the dismay of many people, the 1TB Fusion Drive now only included a 24GB SSD paired with the same 1TB SATA HDD, and continued offering an option for a standalone 256GB SSD. The 27″ iMac also tweaked the 1TB Fusion Drive to include the smaller 24GB SSD, but the 2TB and 3TB Fusion Drives still included the 128GB SSD. The 27″ iMac also continued offerings of 256GB, 512GB or 1TB standalone SSDs. You might have noticed that there had not been a 24GB SSD option until this point in time, and in addition to bringing about a new capacity, the 24GB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD was also Apple’s first removable NVMe SSD.
Another interesting oddity with the 24GB drive is that it’s actually designated as a 32GB drive on its label, with 25% of the available space reserved and unusable to the user. All SSDs have some portion of their capacity reserved to replace bad blocks that have become unreliable due to the natural wear introduced during the writing process. Reserving a quarter of a drive’s capacity is highly unusual, but considering that the drive is designed to act as a cache for the Fusion Drive and will likely take a lot of wear, it makes total sense that a large segment of the drive would be allocated to replace worn out sections. Unfortunately this is the only NVMe drive available during this period, and NVMe SSDs didn’t become widespread in Apple’s lineup until Gen.
All of the SSDs found in the Late 2015 iMacs are of the new PCIe 3.0 x4 variety, but the A1418 only supports a PCIe 2.0 x4 connection. The 27″ iMac on the other hand is the only device other than the 15″ MacBook Pro to support a PCIe 3.0 x4 connection. Both iMacs support the NVMe protocol though, and can upgrade to later Gen. 5 SSDs for a big speed boost.
Generation 5 The fifth generation of Apple SSDs introduced a few major changes. On the performance front, all the Gen. 5 SSDs support the NVMe protocol, and the devices that included these drives all support PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe connections. These two changes meant that not only are the Gen. 5 drives quite a bit faster, but all the Apple computers of this era saw the same benefits. 5 also saw changes to the form factor, now with two distinct SSD types.
5A drives use a brand new, significantly smaller form factor, and a new 22+34 Pin connector. 5B drives continue to us the 12+16 Pin connector found in the Gen. 3 and 4 drives, and have the same form factor found in the Gen.
3B and 4B 1TB SSDs. Despite the larger connector on the Gen. 5A drive which one might assume could help performance, the Gen. 5B drives have superior read/write speeds, topping out at 2,700 MB/s reads and 2,350 MB/s writes. MacBook Pro (Late 2016 - Mid 2017) Starting with the Late 2016 release, Apple began releasing two versions of its MacBook Pro laptop: the non Touch Bar (nTB) version, and the version with Touch Bar. Only the 13″ MacBook Pro was offered in the nTB version, and notably, the nTB version is the only MacBook Pro of this release that has a removable SSD. All of the MacBook Pro laptops with a Touch Bar share the same PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, but the SSD is soldered to the logic board and is not removable/replaceable.
The only way to upgrade the storage on the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is to replace the entire logic board. The non Touch Bar MacBook Pro that does have a removable SSD uses the new Gen. 5A variety of drive, and is the only Apple computer to do so. The Late 2016 MacBook Pro offered either a 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD, while the Mid 2017 release also introduced a 128GB option. All of these Gen.
5A drives are compatible with both releases though. If you’ve got this far and are looking for more, I’m sorry to say this is the end of the line. This post has attracted more attention than our average post so I’m currently in the process of adding more and better information. I’m planning on adding lots more info, speed tests, part numbers and more upgrade guides. This post ain’t dead yet, so check back soon. In the meantime, if you have and questions or comments, leave them below because I probably already have the answer.
Hello Cody I am so thankful to see this article you posted, like John Albergo said, this article has most useful info that I have saw from other websites, it helps me a lot. Thank you But I still have some questions that I hope you could help me out. In the article, you mentioned NVMe is supported for Macbook Pro after Late2013 iMac after Late2013 (21.5” has two channel bottleneck) Mac Mini after Late2014 ( has two channel bottleneck) Mac Pro after Later 2013 And you also mention NVMe is supported when running macOS after 10.10.3 But Read more ». I just found your amazing post on Apple SSD’s and it is a treasure trove on informations! Great work and thanks!
I have a MBP 13″ Retina, Mid-2014, and after reading your article, i still have a few questions: 1) Will the Mid-2014 MBP be able to accommodate the 12-16 pins 1 TB SSD Gen3B or 5B? Since the drive is larger, is there room inside the laptop? 2) I understand that the MacBookPro 11,1 is has PCI 4x, and NVMe. Is there a substantial speed advantage to go with the Gen 5B 1TB model over the Gen 3B, since Read more ».
Cody, do you know whether my MBA 6,2 (mid 2013) which original 256GB SSD had controller link width x2, should support link width x3 with Transcendent TurboJet 820 960GB SSD? I have Sierra OS X installed on my MBA. Would upgrade to High Sierra increase the speed to x3 (NvME)?
Do you think I should rather go to Samsung SSD and upgrade to High Sierra in order to get full performance of chipset controller? Also, could you please advice compatible and high speed / low power consumption 1 TB SSD for my MBA? Many thanks!! Great article. I’m left wondering something about the 2015 MacBook Pro Retina.
I’m considering purchasing either the 13″ early 2015 MacBook Pro A1502 or the 15″ mid 2015 MacBook Pro A1398. In either case I will likely go with the highest memory and processor speed with a 1 TB drive. I like the 13″ for size and lower weight but am concerned about longevity vs the 15″. You state that both the 13″ and 15″ support NVMe, but the 15″ supports PCIe 3.0 (implying that the 13″ only has a PCIe 2.0 interface).
Also stating that because of the 15″ Read more ». Cody, truly incredible and diligent work on this guide, I am extremely impressed. It is quite clear that you are the only man who can finally answer this question, so here I go. I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a brand new factory sealed 2017 MacBook Air model number MQD32LL/A from Best Buy on one of their one day sale’s for $600.00 I truly didn’t need the machine, but just couldn’t pass up the opportunity at that price. Now that I have it the 128Gb SSD that comes from the factory is clearly inadequate my use.
If Read more ». Cody, Out of respect for your guide I separated my other question from my question about the SSD, as I was not sure if you wanted it included with posts that were more specific to your guide. Again, I am sure you’re opinion and recommendation will serve me well. If you were going to use the SD slot as a storage option, even though it is not secure and potentially volatile, how would you go about maximizing the slots deminished potential, in the most productive fashion. Again, I thank you in advance for your kindness and incredibly hard and diligent Read more ».
Hi – thanks for this awesome page, a proppa treasure trove of info! I’m struggling though with the iMac late 2014 27inch 5k (15,1). Above you say that this supports 4 lane apple SSD’s (which pushed me to attempt an upgrade), but everything I’ve seen points to it only supporting 2 lanes. It comes with an SSAUX SSD (2 lanes).
From discussions on a separate forum, I know that people have tried an SSUBX 4 lane model SSD and they still only see 2 lanes. I’ve upgraded my original SSD with a 512gig SSPOLARIS SSD and I see the switch Read more ». Thanks for this guide. I had a question about the mid 2012 MacBook Air.
I had been looking to upgrade my ssd and had been hearing of issues with using non proprietary drives when I was looking into options like the Samsung Pro 860. While you explained everything pretty thoroughly, I still wanted to know if the drives available here are comparable to the Samsung Pro 860 manufacturer model sold on Amazon? And what are the main differences between this and the Transcend JetDrive 520? Based on what I am reading, the products here seem to be, essentially, factory sourced Read more ». Excellent article Cody!
Very thorough and I love the detail you provide which Apple sadly doesn’t. Do you have or can you recommend a link that explains the issues surrounding why a mac will boot from some SSD PCIe drives but not from others? I’m trying to learn what a drive needs in order to boot without an external boot manager (Obviously I’m referring to non-mac SSD drives and I am aware that they need pin converters but the cost savings are just too good to not make an attempt at an non-apple drive upgrade). Thanks again for the Read more ». Hi, First of all I have to say that this is absolutely the best manual of Apple SSDs in the entire internet. Thanks a lot for this! Moreover, I would appreciate if someone could please help me a bit with advice.
I have a MacBook Pro 13” (Late 2013) with the stock 256GB Gen 3A PCIe 2.0 x2 drive running the latest macOS High Sierra. I need more storage space, hence I want to replace my existing stock drive with a 512GB one. In addition, it would be great to have not only more space, but also more speed. Given Read more ». First of all, a big thanks. It is important to know what is going on hardware-wise when Apple’s Internet Recovery uses only old Operating Systems on Internet Recovery and even then needs to have the drive GPT-formatted in order to allow for Disk Utility to see it and to install a new OS to it / restore a backup onto it.
I managed to run a Samsung 970evo in my Mac Book Pro 11,3 (15in Mid-2014 A1398). However, the external monitors now stay black. I assume this is because now PCIe X4 is used instead of PCIe X2 Read more ».
Big massive thanks for this article, couldn’t believe that Apple went for such a clumsy politics on ssd blades and Cody’s report helped me a lot in orientation. I ignored all this compatibility issues before reading here few days ago. I unfortunately purchased a new Mac Mini in november 2017 from Apple Store (Mac Mini late 2014!) with a 250Gb SSD installed by the manufacturer and I want to replace it with an 1To or 2To faster SSD. Does the Mac Mini late 2014 really accept the Gen 2.0×2 only as stated in the article or (as suggested by Read more ».Mac Mini Late 2014 recent purchase NVMe upgrade.
Big massive thanks for this article, couldn’t believe that Apple went for such a clumsy politics on ssd blades and Cody’s report helped me a lot in orientation. I ignored all this compatibility issues before reading here few days ago. I unfortunately purchased a new Mac Mini in november 2017 from Apple Store (Mac Mini late 2014!) with a 250Gb SSD installed by the manufacturer and I want to replace it with an 1To or 2To faster SSD. Does the Mac Mini late 2014 really accept the Gen 2.0×2 only as Read more ». Great page and thread.
Excellent for a relative Mac newbie. I’m in the UK in case that makes a difference.
Can anyone advise me please? What are the 1TB upgrade solution options for my early 2015 Macbook Pro Retina 13″ A1502 (S/N C02PLDM5FVH7)? The original SSD is dead (Samsung SSUBX 512GB MZ-JPV5210/0A4).
I’d like a larger drive than 512 but I’m looking for a good bang for the buck solution rather than the fastest solution, but of couse a speed increase over the SSUBX would be welcome also. I could manage with 512GB to keep costs down. I’d have no Read more ». Both my college-age kids have MacBook Pros. Daughters is Retina Mid-2014 13″ – MGX72LL/A. – MacBookPro11,1 – A1502 – 2875. Encouraged by post saying that Enver was able to run a Samsung 970evo in his Mac Book Pro 11,3.
Notwithstanding the cable issues and getting external monitors to work (we’ve all been there) is it likely that the aforementioned Samsung 970evo will work in the 11,1 version of MBP? What’s changed? EveryMac seems to list the 11,3 as having the same Apple-proprietary PCIe 2.0 x2 connector. I really appreciate the level of detail you went in to in breaking this Rotten Apple down. I changed circa 2k05 due to Windows crashes, and enjoyed my 2k09 and 2k11 MBPs which are still kicking. DJ lessons for someone left me bewildered and pissed off at a soldered on RAM chip when I was talking upgrades; the soldered SSD is absolutely ridiculous. Now I am left scouring the used market for the only MBP with a removeable SSD – the few models around 2k17, and with a 16GB RAM Logic Board weird to say.
I call Apple support per Read more ».
Do you love your Macbook? Does it just need a bit more speed? Or are you trying to extend it's life? The biggest speed increase comes from a Macbook Pro SSD upgrade. Sound scary or hard? It's not really, we know you don't believe us, so we created this guide! It has everything you need to know, to make upgrading to an SSD easy.
Read it now, save it for later or just work out how much it will cost compared to a new Macbook Pro. Keep scrolling, everything you need is contained here, provided free, no catches. You can even a copy, click that link and we'll send you the PDF on Messenger.
Don't forget to like and share if all this information has been helpful, that would be awesome.buying one of our SSDs would be even better:-). Introduction There are two speed bottlenecks in a Macbook Pro notebook. Fix both and you can make your Mac run like new.
Applications will open quicker, starting up is snappy, and the overall result is extending the life of your Mac. First bottleneck is RAM. You need at least 8GB of RAM for the current macOS. 10GB or 12GB is nice. 16GB is awesome.
If it is a choice between 16GB and an SSD, choose an SSD. You really only need 8GB and an SSD for a super speedy Mac. (Did you expect that bit of truth from the Mac memory upgrade guys?) The second bottleneck is your the hard drive. Replace it with an SSD, and the speed increase is incredible. That is what this guide is all about.
A RAM upgrade is easy, a Mac SSD upgrade is a bit harder, but with this guide you'll be an expert with all the knowledge to make an SSD upgrade simple. For general use, most modern Macbooks have enough CPU power. I am typing this article on a 2010 Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB SSD drive. I'm running two browsers (Firefox and Chrome.
I edited the images for this article in Photoshop, uploaded them to our server using Cyberduck, and I'm running Mail and Excel in the background. I dont have to wait for the CPU to catch up, there is no spinning beachball, there is no lag. I have an SSD It is not the raw speed of the SSD, it is how it works. A traditional hard drive is like a record player, when you send data from the HDD to the CPU the computer has to find it, it hunts around the platters looking for all the data. With an SSD, there is no waiting, this is because your data is effectively in a spreadsheet.
The SSD knows where it all your data is instantaneously. No spinning beach ball. The SSD is also made from flash chips that are almost as fast as the RAM. So when your Mac runs out of ram and pages to the SSD (uses the SSD as RAM) then it does not slow down, because an SSD is really like a big RAM drive!
That's why I (and you) can get away with 8GB of RAM. Start using your Mac the way it was designed to be used.fast and no waiting. There is a reason most new Macs only come with SSDs.
Lets us show you how. This guide is just an example of how we try to over deliver our customer service. When you buy from Upgradeable, local tech support is just a phone call away. We have helped thousands of people with Apple computers upgrade their Macs. All that experience is distilled in this guide. We have tried to show exactly what you need to do in simple steps.
We call this our 'Four R method', because each step starts with the letter R. REPLACE, RESTART, READY and RESTORE.
Choose the method that suits you best, and we'll show you how to do it, tell you the hardware you need and back you up with awesome customer technical support. With the introduction of Retina screen on the 2012 Macbook Pro, Apple moved to a M.2 shaped SSD that was non standard. These cloning instructions are for an Aura X2 SSD in a Retina Late 2013 Macbook Pro through to the 2015 Macbook Pro. Early 2013 and 2012 Retina is the same except SSD is an Aura not an Aura X and SSD initialisation could be different due to MacOS.
Mojave and High Sierra use APFS and Sierra, El Capitan and below use Extended Journal. This cloning method uses a MacOS installer USB to boot and then Disk Utilities to clone using the Restore function. RESTORE If you are installing macOS from USB, then insert macOS USB, hold down option key and restart Mac. If you are using Recovery mode, plug in your Time Machine or Mac drive, restart the Mac holding down the option key. Select Time Machine or recovery disk. This will create the macOS Utilities page that has options such as Disk Utility and install a new macOS. Whichever method you choose, the new SSD first has to be (erased) first via Disk Utility.
Caution: If you use (Command + R) and a spinning globe of the world appears, the Mac has not used the Recovery partition but is using Internet Recovery. This is to be avoided, turn off power to abort, as the macOS it will install is the earlier version that originally shipped with your Mac.
See for detailed information. Software and tools you need There are many options when starting fresh. You can install the current version of macOS or a later version that is more compatible with your apps and programs. You can put the latest macOS on your new SSD then use the to copy over data and programs. You do not have to connect to another Mac, you can connect to a Time Machine or external startup disk to transfer files!.
(Phillips #00, Torx T6 and Spudger). Familar with how to or have an. If you want advice or check with an expert, please call, chat or email.
Use SSD as a second drive. $89.00 OR In the Retina model of the mid 2012 Macbook Pro Apple changed the SSD they used to a proprietary M.2 drive. Proprietary here means an industry standard M.2 drive is not compatible. OWC have created a third party SSD that is fully compatible and five times faster. All the SSD kits here include SSD, the Envoy external case and tools required for the upgrade. If you are looking for the SSD by itself please contact Upgradeable for a quote. SSDs compatible with mid 2012 Macbook Pro Retina and early 2013 Macbook Pro Not compatible with Late 2013 MacBook Pro - model ID: MacBookPro11,1.
$349.00 OR The SSD used in the MacBook Pro with Retina 13' & 15' Late 2013 to Mid 2015 was updated by Apple and is not compatible with earlier models. The SSD, as in the previous model, is a proprietary M.2 drive. An industry standard M.2 drive is not compatible.
We recommend the OWC Aura Pro X a third party SSD that is fully compatible but requires macOS High Sierra or Mojave. All the SSD kits here include SSD, the Envoy external case and tools required for the upgrade. If you are looking for the SSD by itself please contact Upgradeable for a quote. SSDs compatible with MacBook Pro with Retina 13' & 15' Late 2013 - Mid 2015 Compatible with these model ids: Model ID: MacBookPro11,1, MacBookPro11,2, MacBookPro11,3, MacBookPro11,4, MacBookPro11,5, MacBookPro12,1. $449.00 OR Let us do all the work! Not everyone wants to do their own installation.
We offer an installation service at our Sydney Pymble office. An Apple qualified technician does all our hardware and software work. We match Crucial's warranty, so our labour warranty is also 3 years. This means if you have to claim your Crucial warranty, we will not charge a second installation fee! How can I get my new SSD installed?
Below we have a full range of SSD drives with installation included. Just choose the size you want, there are no hidden extras. The price you see is the price you pay. In Store Services Menu.
How to install macOS Note: It appears Apple has removed the feature to get a new macOS via Internet Recovery. All key commands now install the original macOS that came with your Mac. For example; if you have an older Mac that shipped with Lion, then internet recovery will install that version on your Mac. The only way to get a newer version of macOS is via macOS Utilities on Time Machine or a recovery partition on a Mac drive (such as your old hard drive). From mid 2010-2011, most Macs shipped with part of the macOS embedded in the logic board. This allowed the Mac to do an Internet Recovery, go to the Apple website, download some software, and boot to the macOS Utilities page.
From this page you could initialise a new drive and install the latest macOS. Changes from the release of High Sierra mean that the only macOS you can install via Internet Recovery is the version you have embedded on your logic board (the macOS that shipped with your Mac). We are still testing different scenerios, if you have experienced something different, please let us know.
Why is this an issue? From Sierra and High Sierra, Apple has a new drive format structure. When you upgrade to High Sierra, Apple changes your drive format structure to APFS. High Sierra will only reliably work on a drive formatted as APFS.
To control how the latest macOS is installed, Apple has locked down ways to install it. If you internet recover your macOS, you can not format your drive as APFS and you can not install the latest macOS. To get the latest macOS you need a recovery partition created with one of the latest macOS (like High Sierra). With the dramatics out of the way, there are various ways to install macOS on your Mac, Apple provides many options. This quick guide is designed to answer questions you have and provide a bit of clarity on the different processes. This is based on our experience and is always being revised.
If you can add to these guides, please contact us accordingly. How to get the latest macOS on a new SSD? If you don't have a Time Machine or a working mac drive with the latest macOS then you only have one option.
You have to create a. If you have a Time Machine or a working Mac drive, you can boot off either device to start the macOS Utilities page which gives you the option of Disk Utility (to the new SSD) and also install a new macOS. That macOS will be the version of macOS that is backed up on the Time Machine or the macOS that created the recovery partition.
So if your drive or Time Machine was created with Sierra, then that is the macOS you can download and install. You can not install High Sierra or Mojave. The latest macOS is only available via an upgrade path. So install Sierra, and then use App Store to upgrade to High Sierra or Mojave. To use Time Machine restart your Mac while holding down the option key. If you restart the Mac holding down Command + R it could use an old recovery partition or Internet Recovery. If you are using a recovery partition you can restart the Mac holing down the option key (recommended as you can see which drive it reboots from) or holding down Command + R.
Using your old drive to get a new macOS Your current hard drive will most likely have a recovery partition. Plug your new SSD into the Mac using a USB-SATA cloning cable. Reboot the Mac holding down keys Command (⌘)-R.
This should make the Mac boot from the recovery partition. If a spinning globe of the world appears, then it is going to Apple website to install an older version of MacOS, so cancel that operation or shut the Mac down via a hard power off (hold down power button). You need to restart holding down the option key, select the recovery partition on the drive that appear. What should happen is the Mac will build The 'macOS Utilities' page giving you the option of installing a new macOS (there are also options to restore from Time Machine and Disk Utility). Using your Time Machine to get a new macOS Plug the Time Machine directly into your Mac.
Hold down the option key and reboot the Mac. Holding down the option key loads the boot manager and the Time Machine drive should appear onscreen. Select the Time Machine and the macOS Utilities page should come onscreen. You will have the option of installing a new macOS (there are also options to restore from Time Machine and Disk Utility).
If a spinning globe of the world appears, then it is going to Apple website to install an older version of MacOS, so cancel that operation or shut the Mac down via a hard power off (hold down power button). Your Mac is not seeing the Time Machine. Make sure there is a physical connection not wifi. Is the Time Machine turned on? Try holding down keys Command (⌘)-R and restarting with the Time Machine plugged in. Options for older Macs You can install MacOS via original Apple disks. Apple no longer makes MacOS disks, DVD, CD or physical media.
All MacOS software is delivered digitally. If you have original software media for an macOS like Snow Leopard you can install that software and then upgrade via the App Store to the current version. Use the current for more information. If you are using Leopard, you need to first buy Snow Leopard OSX 10.6 media from Apple to upgrade the MacOS digitally. You can buy from an Apple Store or calling Apple Support. Common problems installing a new macOS The Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted This issue is nearly always caused by an incorrect date on your Mac. If you have disconnected the battery, the date could have reset.
Part of macOS Utilities is Terminal. It is found as an option in the top menu.
Select Terminal. If you are connected to the internet then type: ntpdate -u time.apple.com This should update the time. If not, then use this manual method: date which is February 1st 20:00 (or 8pm) 2019. So mmddhhmiyy all two digits. MacOS High Sierra or Mojave is not available If you can not see the latest operating system in macOS Utilities then you have booted off the wrong partition.
Either there is an old partition on Time Machine or on the Mac drive. This usually happens when the Mac is restarted using Recovery Mode (command + R).
Apple and most of the internet recommends this method, however it does not give you control over which partition the Mac recovers from. Holding down the option key and restarting the Mac goes into boot manager, and you can see all the drives the Mac can boot from.
Make sure you choose the right one! If you are recovering using a Time Machine, do not select a recovery partition, select the external USB time Machine.
Can not boot from Time Machine From OS X Lion v10.7.3 or later, you can start up from your Time Machine disk. Hold down the Option key as your Mac starts up. When you see the Startup Manager screen, choose “EFI Boot” as the startup disk. The system should create the macOS Ulitilies page. From here you can use disk utilities to format a new SSD, you can restore from Time Machine or install a new macOS from the Apple servers. If you can not boot from the Time Machine, it is certainly something to do with your EFI.
We are still troubleshooting this, we will have a new section on EFI shortly. You can google macOS EFI update to see the issue some mac users are having. It appears Apple updates the EFI in the background during macOS updates.
If it fails, there is no warning or notification. So there are a lot of Macs with outdated EFI.
If your EFI is current, we have not seen any issues with High Sierra/Mojave or booting from Time Machine. If you are having issues installing High Sierra or Mojave, please check if your EFI is update. USB Installer is corrupted The error message when installing OS X is 'This copy of the install OS X El Capitan application can't be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading'. This is a check Apple has introduced with system installation. They don't want old OS versions installed, better to move everyone to new OS, and new hardware (buy a new mac). There is a simple work around.
Reset your system date to OS release date or close to OS release date and you can now install the OS. If you are in OS Utilities, the top menu should have a drop down that has Terminal.
Run terminal and then type this in: For El Capitan install use: date enter You can check the date is now 2015 by typing: date enter, it should now display: October 1st 20:00 (or 8pm) 2015. The date after El Capitan's release. You can now install El Capitan without an error. Dates for other systems are: Yosemite: date Mavericks: date. How to use Migration Assistant Apple includes an awesome app called Migration Assistant that we have used to help customers start over with a fresh macOS but keep all their data and applications. Apple allows a lot of different installation and migration options. We will discuss the main ones here, but if this does not answer your migration question, please contact us for more specific information about the upgrade you are planning.
What is Migration Assistant.why should I use it? Migration Assistant allows you to transfer applications, settings and data from another Mac. MacOS can see 'another Mac' as your old hard drive or a Time Machine back up. A mac can boot from an external drive, for example, if you put your old hard drive into an external enclosure, you can boot from it, and run that hard drive and it would be exactly the same as your old mac.because it is! If you just want a new macOS, start fresh with no legacy upgrade data, then you can use Migration Assistant to reinstall all your data and apps, and you will have the benefit of a new macOS with all the apps and data from your old drive. How to use Migration Assistant After you have installed the new macOS, the system starts and asks for generic information: country, keyboard type etc.
The next part of the installation setup is Migration Assistant. If you have installed a new SSD, you can use either your old hard drive in an external enclosure or a Time Machine back up as a source for Migration Assistant. The example in the image below, a Time Machine disk is connected and to be used Select the machine you want to restore from in Time Machine Then select the type of data you want to migrate That is it!
You should have a new macOS with all your applications and data restored back on the system. Limitations of Migration Assistant The new Mac can not be on Lion (v10.8) or earlier. If you are migrating to an old version of OSX such as Lion, then you need to use another method.
This method is not recommended if the macOS are too far apart in release. It is ok if you are moving from Sierra to High Sierra. But if your computer is on Lion, your application and core system files will not be compatible with High Sierra or Mojave.
Time Machine: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly We have renamed this section the good, the bad and the ugly. These are the undocumented or little known Time Machine features that can make your life easier or harder when upgrading to an SSD. THE GOOD First the most asked question we get: Does Time Machine back up the operating system or macOS? If your Time Machine is backing up your whole drive, yes the macOS is backed up. You have a complete back up of your Mac. You do not have to download macOS to use your Time Machine. In Sierra and High Sierra we have seen Time Machine go off to the Apple website to verify or update core files.
It is not totally understood what is happening, but it is not uncommon for Time Machine to get additional files from the Apple website before restoring a Time Machine back up. Usually these files are to do with the recovery partition on the Time Machine or the Disk Utilities page. Restore on a new macOS You can install a new macOS onto your Mac and then restore a Time Machine backup and not overwrite the new macOS. In our tests, we have found Apple has separated out the OS and the data. If Time Machine sees there is a macOS installed on the SSD, it will not overwrite these files, but just restore the data. You can enjoy a new macOS on your new SSD, and then restore your data without affecting the new macOS.
This is good for customers with High Sierra/Mojave on Extended Journal formatted drives. You can reinstall High Sierra/Mojave on a new SSD with APFS format, then restore from Time Machine and you will keep the APFS format, have all your data moved over. The bad is for customers that have installed an older macOS, such as Lion, via internet recovery. If you then restored from Time Machine on top of this Lion macOS then Time Machine will not overwrite the Lion files, and you will create a Mac that can not boot on the new SSD.
If you install the wrong macOS on your new SSD, the SSD must be erased using Disk Utility, and then the Mac can be restored from Time Machine. Rebooting off Time Machine Time Machine does not have a recovery partition, however you can use it to restore your Mac or install a new macOS. If you want to use Time Machine in this way, plug the Time Machine into the Mac, then restart the Mac holding down the Option key. This loads the boot manager and you can see all drives attached to the Mac. The Time Machine should display as an external drive. Select it and the Mac will build a macOS Utilities page that will have Disk Utility (to initialise a new drive or erase a current drive) and install a new macOS.
THE BAD The biggest issue we currently have with Time Machine is restoring onto a new SSD with High Sierra or Mojave. We have written about this before: to run High Sierra or Mojave on an SSD without problems the SSD must be formatted to APSF, not macOS Extended Journal.
If you have a mechanical hard drive and have upgraded to High Sierra or Mojave, most of the time this drive is formatted as Extended Journal. When you restore from Time Machine onto a new SSD, Time Machine recreates the whole structure. It will name the SSD the same as the old hard drive (even if it is preformated and named different) and it will format the drive as the same as the one on the Time Machine, which is usually Extended Journal.
There is no way to change to APFS without erasing the SSD. This is the problem. Currently we have two work arounds.
The easy one is clone the drive do not restore from Time Machine. By cloning, you can format the new SSD as APFS, and then the clone will copy all the old files onto the new SSD with the right APFS format.
The second work around is installing a fresh OS using a macOS installation USB and then restoring Time Machine on top of the new OS. Time Machine will restore the data but not overwrite the new OS.
THE UGLY This one might be a bit pedantic but it annoys the hell out of me. When you restore from Time Machine it restores everything including the disk name. It is the disk name duplication that kills me every time. You erase your new SSD, give it a clever name like Ernie because your current hard drive is called Bert. You restore from Time Machine and the SSD is now called Bert. What happened to Ernie? Ok, I know, you can go and rename the drive to Ernie but what if this is a second drive.
Both drives are called Bert, how do you know which one is which? It is important, because you need to set the new SSD as the start disk in preferences. You can not rename the drive in disk utilities but you can change the name on your desktop. So go to the desktop, you will see two drives, both with the same name. You can click twice on the name slowly and it will highlight so you can rename it. Then go to Disk Utilities see which drive you changed.
You should be able to see details like SSD brand name, which will make it obvious which is the new SSD. That way you can work out which is the new SSD and which one should be renamed Ernie. 8GB USB You need at least an 8GB USB drive. It does not have to be a super fast USB 3.0 version, and older one can be repurposed.
It does not have to be a USB. You can use an external hard drive (note: any data on the drive will be lost as it gets formatted).
Go into Disk Utilities and rename the USB to 'upgradeable'. You can erase and rename. The MacOS creation method will reformat the drive, so it does not need to be any specific format type like Fat32 or Mac Journaled. What is important is the name of the drive, as it is used in the code below. How to use the USB When the USB or external drive is plugged in, restart the Mac holding down the Option key. The USB will appear on screen as Install MacOS.
Select and hit return. You do not need to select a network.
If you are installing the macOS on a new SSD it will need to be initialised. Go into Disk Utility, Erase and name. Proceed to install macOS. Please note Apple have added a new format type in High Sierra and Mojave. If you are starting with a new macOS, like Mojave, then Apple recommends you use APFS and not Mac Extended Journal. APFS is a new format specific designed for High Sierra and above macOS and optimised for SSD drives.
How to initialise an SSD When you get your new SSD it is uninitialised. This means it can be used in a Mac or PC. It needs to be initialised before use. In the PC world they call this formatting the drive.
In the Mac world it is called Erase and it is a function of Disk Utilities Disk Utility is a tool included in many places. It is found in the Utilities directory in Applications.
It is included in any macOS install app. It is found in the recovery partition on a drive when a Mac is restarted holding down the keys Command + R. It is also a part of the Internet Recovery boot up. There are many reasons why you would want to erase a drive, this guide is focused on initialising a new SSD, however for readers who are looking at general information we have added the following warning. Warning: Erasing a disk will delete all data on the disk.
Never initialise/erase a drive that has data on it that you want to keep. I know that sounds obvious but you would be surprised with the support calls we get:-). Four steps to initialise a new SSD. New APFS format in High Sierra and Mojave Starting from macOS High Sierra, Apple have a new format called APFS. It is recommended to format your new SSD in APFS if you will be using High Sierra or above. APFS is optimised for SSD drives. If you are using macOS Sierra or below, the recommended format is still Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
How to clone with SuperSuper! Please note: this process cannot be used to clone a Windows partition created by Boot Camp. We recommend by Twocanoes Software. It is commercial software requiring a license to use, however it is not affiliated with our company and that is not an affiliate link. Before cloning, the SSD needs to be initialised, if that has not been done, please follow our instructions above.
The process is really only two steps.download and run. Is very simple but powerful piece of software. Simple Questions answered Is the SSD the same physical size as my current hard drive? Both the standard Apple 2006-2012 Macbook and Macbook Pro hard drive are an industry standard 2.5 inch notebook drive.
They are physically exactly the same physical size. Can I use any SSD here to upgrade my 2012 (Retina) to 2017 Macbook Pro? From the Retina 2012 Macbook Pro Apple started using a proprietary version of a M.2 SSD.
We recommend the OWC Aura SSD and have listed these SSD's separately. Does the 2013-2017 Macbook Pro use a standard M.2 SSD? It is only standard in it's physical size. A standard M.2 drive will not work. Apple has made their drives proprietary. Are the 2.5 inch SSD drives faster or better the larger the size? All our current SSDs are the same speed and quality.
The 250GB is as fast as the 2TB. Do I need a bracket to install the SSD? Can I do this install myself? We have had customers of every type of experience: students to pensioners do this upgrade.
It is only slightly more complicated than a RAM upgrade. Do I need any special tools? For the pre 2013 models you need a small phillips screwdriver and a Torx 6 screwdriver. These are standard tools, found in many kits and available at hardware stores like Bunnings. Everything you need is in our.
The Aura SSD kits include all the tools you require. Can I clone a bigger drive onto a smaller SSD? If you have 900gb of data on a 1TB hard drive, you can not clone this onto a 525GB SSD. The cloning software we recommend does not selectively clone.
It is all or nothing. Does the hard drive and the SSD have to be the same size? As long as the source (current hard drive) has less data than size of the new SSD. So 300GB on a 1TB hard drive will clone onto a 525GB SSD.
What size SSD should I buy? We recommend you look at how much data is on your hard drive and then get an SSD at least 20% bigger than the data you have. We have found the optimal free space for an SSD to work with virtual and swap files is 20%. Aim for 30 to 40%. It all depends on your work flow and how much data you store and delete.
Can SuperDuper! Clone a windows parition? We recommend Winclone for this type of clone.
Revision log (what has changed) If you have read or downloaded this guide in the past, you might want to know what has changed, how have we updated this guide. February 2019 Updated dates for server download error. Updated how to make a MacOS installer USB details to Mojave. Added work around for the El Capitan corrupt error: 'This copy of the install OS X El Capitan application can't be verified.' Changed Retina Macbook Pro cloning instructions to use a MacOS USB installer.
Added MacOS installer USB to accessories. Now have a secure website we can link to, changed link from a Google search to a direct link to their website. January 2019 Fixed wording that sounded like we give you a free cloning cable. Cables must be bought separate.
They are part of SSD kits, but not included in standard SSD drives. August 2018 Why you can not restore from Time Machine if your Mac has High Sierra on a drive formatted with macOS Extended Journal (part of Time Machine: the good, and the ugly) July 2018 We now do not recommend using Time Machine to restore on to your new SSD if you have a mechanical hard drive formatted with macOS Extended Journal. You can only clone. April 2018 Updating How to Install macOS page. We are troubleshooting installs everyday, and updating information on these pages. It appears a lot of issues revolve around updated EFI. Please check your EFI before doing too much troubleshooting.
Booting off Time Machine with an out of date EFI now seems to be problematic March 2018 In Four R method Time Machine: Replaced default format of extended journal to APFS must be used for High Sierra) Updated the High Sierra create a USB installer script: we had it wrong. Added two new topics: Using. February and March 2018 New APFS format structure. We added the Apple recommendation to use APFS for High Sierra. Updated the How to Initialise an SSD and updated the Disk Utilities image to show all the new format options. January 2018 We added information about Time Machine recovery partition. If you have a Mac that can not use Internet Recovery, then the recovery partition on Time Machine can be used to restore an macOS.
Areas updated were Fresh macOS and How to Install macOS. December 2017 Updated scripts to High Sierra.