Resolved 2010 MacBook Air 11" SSD Upgrade Options?

[TheShortTimer]

Hey all, I could do with some advice and clarifications because this is not area where I'm particularly knowledgable. I'm trying to sort out a replacement SSD for a late 2010 11" MacBook Air that has the stock 64GB drive. The proprietary replacements are of course, unsurprisingly expensive. I came across this video which details how you can easily avoid paying a premium and use standard M.2 SSDs with an adapter.

I found this adapter on eBay which appears to be identical to the Sintech model that was recommended in the video but I'm confused about SSD compatibility. From the description in the listing:

The adapter supports only SATA transfer mode SDD(KEY B), it can not support PCI-E 2X transfer mode SSD(Socket 2 B+M key) and PCI-E 4X transfer mode SSD( socket3 B+M key)

This means that I'll require an SSD with the KEY B interface, as shown below?

Only problem is, I haven't been able to find any M.2 SATA SSDs with the KEY B interface! The B&M SATA drives on the other hand are plentiful. What confuses me even further is that Sintech state that their adapter, which appears to have same connector as the cheaper one on eBay, will work with SSDs that have the B&M notches, so would I need to opt for their version instead?

If you can clue me up on all this, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Needleroozer]

Hey all, I could do with some advice and clarifications because this is not area where I'm particularly knowledgable. I'm trying to sort out a replacement SSD for a late 2010 11" MacBook Air that has the stock 64GB drive. The proprietary replacements are of course, unsurprisingly expensive. I came across this video which details how you can easily avoid paying a premium and use standard M.2 SSDs with an adapter.

I found this adapter on eBay which appears to be identical to the Sintech model that was recommended in the video but I'm confused about SSD compatibility. From the description in the listing:



This means that I'll require an SSD with the KEY B interface, as shown below?

Only problem is, I haven't been able to find any M.2 SATA SSDs with the KEY B interface! The B&M SATA drives on the other hand are plentiful. What confuses me even further is that Sintech state that their adapter, which appears to have same connector as the cheaper one on eBay, will work with SSDs that have the B&M notches, so would I need their opt for their version instead?

If you can clue me up on all this, I'd really appreciate it.

You will be just fine with any SATA-based M.2 SSD.

The important part is that the drive is SATA-based, which means it has a “B” keyslot. Many M.2 SATA SSDs have both slots so that they can fit into “M”-keyed sockets on PC motherboards, which will accept either PCIe-based (NVMe) or SATA-based drives.

 

[glenthompson]

You could just buy a SSD that fits without an adapter like this item from OWC.

 

[TheShortTimer]

You will be just fine with any SATA-based M.2 SSD.

The important part is that the drive is SATA-based, which means it has a “B” keyslot. Many M.2 SATA SSDs have both slots so that they can fit into “M”-keyed sockets on PC motherboards, which will accept either PCIe-based (NVMe) or SATA-based drives.

Got it. Thanks for putting my mind at ease. So the listing is erroneous when it claims that only "B" key SATA SSDs will work? That's so annoying.

You could just buy a SSD that fits without an adapter like this item from OWC.

I could but an ordinary M.2 SATA SSD is considerably cheaper and I'm angling to try and save a bit of money: which would be negated if I shopped at OWC.

 

[Amethyst1]

Another possibility, if you don't mind it being used, is a 256GB SSD pulled from a 2011 MBA via eBay etc. The 2010 and 2011 MBA's SSDs are interchangeable.

 

[Needleroozer]

Got it. Thanks for putting my mind at ease. So the listing is erroneous when it claims that only "B" key SATA SSDs will work? That's so annoying.



I could but an ordinary M.2 SATA SSD is considerably cheaper and I'm angling to try and save a bit of money: which would be negated if I shopped at OWC.

I think the listing can be interpreted as saying that only SATA SSDs will work and PCIe 2x and 4x ones will not.
The parenthetical slot information is indeed extra and is certainly confusing, but a B+M keyed SSD definitely fits in a “B”-keyed receptacle.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Didn't realize that M2.SATA disks are still expensive.... Get the Samsung, then.

SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series M.2 2280 500GB SATA III V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-N6E500BW - Newegg.com

Buy SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series M.2 2280 500GB SATA III V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-N6E500BW with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Plextor S2G M.2 2280 256GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) PX-256S2G - Newegg.com

Buy Plextor S2G M.2 2280 256GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) PX-256S2G with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Intel 540s Series M.2 2280 240GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDSCKKW240H6X1 - Newegg.com

Buy Intel 540s Series M.2 2280 240GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDSCKKW240H6X1 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[TheShortTimer]

Update time: I bought this 256 GB B&M for £30 GBP.

Exactly as @Needleroozer had advised, it fit without any issue into my adapter...

...which in turn then fit without any issue into the MBA.

With the bottom plate reassembled, I powered up the laptop and it wasn't long before Snow Leopard was restored.

Everything seems to be ok and hopefully my experiences will be informative and useful to others who want to upgrade or replace the SSD in their MBA. You do not need to purchase the Sintech adapter because as I've shown here, a cheapo variant from eBay works identically and this in turns means you're not locked into paying premium prices for an Apple unit or an OWC drive. All I need to do now is decide how much drive space will be allocated to El Capitan/High Sierra and Linux Mint.

What's happened to the option to mark threads as resolved? It doesn't seem to be available any more.

 

[Hughmac]

@TheShortTimer don't forget to enable trim in Snow Leopard, use TrimEnabler 1.1 as below.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[MBAir2010]

I have the same MacBook air with 3 ssd drives, the last one i purchased was a Fledging 256GB for $75 w/shipping last April-the drive is great, can support Mojave and sped up the Macbook air considerably!
they also include the screw driver for free, the good pentalobe ones that wont strip out the screws like those cheap amazon ones.
OWC is good but $25 more and does not include the tools.
i hope im not too late with this info!

 

[TheShortTimer]

@TheShortTimer don't forget to enable trim in Snow Leopard, use TrimEnabler 1.1 as below.

Cheers

Hugh

Thanks for that tip, I didn't even know about this program!

Trim enabled.

I have the same MacBook air with 3 ssd drives, the last one i purchased was a Fledging 256GB for $75 w/shipping last April-the drive is great, can support Mojave and sped up the Macbook air considerably!
they also include the screw driver for free, the good pentalobe ones that wont strip out the screws like those cheap amazon ones.
OWC is good but $25 more and does not include the tools.
i hope im not too late with this info!

Thanks but $75 USD - without even including the shipping costs to the UK is much more expensive than SSDs of the same capacity to be found on eBay (or Amazon.)

 

[MBAir2010]

Thanks for that tip, I didn't even know about this program!

Trim enabled.

Thanks but $75 USD - without even including the shipping costs to the UK is much more expensive than SSDs of the same capacity to be found on eBay (or Amazon.)

I got mine from amazon, they go for $50 US now- i usually check were people live before belching buying advice, i forgot this time!
Europe should have something available, we hope

 

[Mrbobb]

Hope am on-topic.

Recently upgraded my 2011 A1370 with the cheapest 512GB I could find, DATARAM SATA III, I just want something to hold me over until M1 Gen 2.

Good news is, Black Magic disc test shows new SSD ~twice as fast as OEM, bad news is, it boots TWICE AS SLOW! What gives, anybody know? Running High Sierra.