2017 MacBook Air SSD upgrade

[oldmacs]

Hi all,

Looking to upgrade my Mum's Mid 2017 MacBook Air (128gb) to a bigger SSD - either 256gb or 512gb SSD.

I was looking at the OWC Aura Pro X2, but am concerned about higher battery consumption + problems with firmware updates not installing because its not an Apple SSD.

So that led me to consider second hand Apple SSDs.

Anyone got any advice or experience with the OWC drives or any other reasons for or against the OWC drive or the second hand Apple SSD route?

Thanks

 

[Audit13]

I recommend using an NVMe drive and adapter if you don't want to go with an OEM drive.

The OWC drive is an NVMe drive with the proprietary Apple connector. This means the drive can only be reused in another Mac. Getting a standard m.2 NVMe drive with adapter means the drive can be easily re-used in another Mac, PC, or external enclosure.

The air must be running a High Sierra or newer bootrom in order to use the OWC or NVMe drive.

The air should have no problem accepting futurebootrom updates with an NVMe drive if the air is running a Catalina bootrom.

 

[glenthompson]

I went with the OWC drive to upgrade my 2015 Air. Easy upgrade. Only downside to using the NVMe drive with an adapter is adding another vendor into the mix.

 

[Audit13]

The adapter is known to work flawlessly. I've used NVMe drives in the 2015 and 2017 with excellent results.

Upgrading 2013/2014 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe

This thread is about upgrading MacBook Airs & Macbook Pros (2013-2015) with new high speed and/or high capacity NVMe SSDs. This thread was one of the first to talk about MacBook Pro NVMe SSD upgrades on Macrumors, and was started by user "maxthackray", which we can thank and give tribute for...

forums.macrumors.com

Cheapest OWC is $139 for 240 GB. The NVMe sabrent Rocket for 256 is $50 of Amazon. Adapter from Amazon is under $10.

 

[oldmacs]

The adapter is known to work flawlessly. I've used NVMe drives in the 2015 and 2017 with excellent results.

Hows battery life in particular been?

 

[oldmacs]

I went with the OWC drive to upgrade my 2015 Air. Easy upgrade. Only downside to using the NVMe drive with an adapter is adding another vendor into the mix.

Have you noticed any difference in battery life?

 

[Audit13]

Hows battery life in particular been?

I had an NVMe drive in my own 2015 13" Air. Battery life dropped by about 15% when I was on High Sierra. With the updated bootrom included with Catalina to natively support 3rd party NVMe, it may be better but it's hard to tell since my battery is only at 90% with a few hundred charge cycles.

 

[glenthompson]

Have you noticed any difference in battery life?

I don't tend to run for long periods on battery so haven't noticed any significant difference. Since I only use the Air for occasional travel and it's typically out of the backpack, do what I need, then shut it down. In most cases it lasts until I get home then I charge it there. I use my iPad the most when traveling.

 

[xboxbml]

Hi all,

Looking to upgrade my Mum's Mid 2017 MacBook Air (128gb) to a bigger SSD - either 256gb or 512gb SSD.

I was looking at the OWC Aura Pro X2, but am concerned about higher battery consumption + problems with firmware updates not installing because its not an Apple SSD.

So that led me to consider second hand Apple SSDs.

Anyone got any advice or experience with the OWC drives or any other reasons for or against the OWC drive or the second hand Apple SSD route?

Thanks

Personally, I would not go with OWC for their drives. They do consume more power than most others, AND they are very expensive compared to what else is out there. Check my sig for my details. This ADATA 2tb has worked well. Comes with 5 year warranty. Had mine almost a year. It also does consume a bit more power than others, but most others don't have 2tb..