Apple Silicon Soldered SSD Upgrade Thread

[adrienqua]

Test it with continuity mode : probably a 1.2 or 0.9v condensator so you are fine.
One end is ground ? And the other ?

Hello thank you for your anwser!
Sadly I don't have a multimeter available at the moment. 🙁
Do you think is it better now to clean ssd
nand's pads and put the new ones to see if DFU work?

I think I'd still like to replace it in the end if it's not mandatory.
Gemini told me it seems to be 201 size capacitors rated 10uF, or 2.2uF or 4.7uF.
He also said capacitor's color slightly change based on specs on apple boards.
Does it seem right?

 

[dosdude1]

Hello guys, I'm processing to upgrade my MacBook air m4 13" base model to 1tb ssd.

I've removed both chips and it was pretty hard, I had to bump the temperature to 420°c and it still took some time.
2 small components popped, it was an hassle but I've managed to solder them back.
However a 3rd one popped and I can't find it, can you confirm me if the component is required or not ? It's a brown one similar to the one 3 positions on the left from the missing one.

Are m4 air schemas available yet? Can we say if it's useful or not without them?

This looks like one of the 2.2 uF decoupling capacitors most likely. Not required for operation, but wouldn't hurt to replace of course.

 

[prageethk]

Hello thank you for your anwser!
Sadly I don't have a multimeter available at the moment. 🙁
Do you think is it better now to clean ssd
nand's pads and put the new ones to see if DFU work?

I think I'd still like to replace it in the end if it's not mandatory.
Gemini told me it seems to be 201 size capacitors rated 10uF, or 2.2uF or 4.7uF.
He also said capacitor's color slightly change based on specs on apple boards.
Does it seem right?

Yeah. It should be a larger capacity cap - 2.2uF - 10uF capacity guess seems right.

By the way, see attached boardview and shcmeatics. They should be much similar to yours and you could find an exact spec for your caps.

 

[adrienqua]

Yeah. It should be a larger capacity cap - 2.2uF - 10uF capacity guess seems right.

By the way, see attached boardview and shcmeatics. They should be much similar to yours and you could find an exact spec for your caps.

View attachment 2622225

Wow tyvm!! I was looking for 10uF 201 form factor and I'm starting to doubt if it really exist...
Is it schema diagrams from macbook m2 or m3?

I think I should buy a 4.7uF then.
Can I buy any rated voltage like 6V or 10V? More voltage is the same and just mean better quality, right?

 

[prageethk]

Wow tyvm!! I was looking for 10uF 201 form factor and I'm starting to doubt if it really exist...
Is it schema diagrams from macbook m2 or m3?

I think I should buy a 4.7uF then.
Can I buy any rated voltage like 6V or 10V? More voltage is the same and just mean better quality, right?

These are M3 13 and 15 inch ones. They won't be exact match. Should be pretty close though.

More voltage is fine. Not less though.

 

[adrienqua]

Noooo a pad broke on the ssd... 😭

I was trying to get flat pads to solder back the nands and I was having a really bad time with the copper wick, I have 2 dozens of wicks parts on the desk, I put a looot of flux and some fresh solder each time at 380°c and the wick was 90% of time sticky stuck on the board and had to put more solder and flux...
And the wick was splitting into thin wires quite a lot, does wick tend to do that or is it bad quality?

Anyway here is the broken pad, pls tell me it s recoverable or a ground pin 🙏

Edit: I've checked the M3 board prageethk kindly gave me and it's an unused pin! Do you think the unused pins remain the same for my m4 too?

The sticky wick is a real issue tho, so I'd like to evaluate my setup to not do others mistakes :
1 - I don't have a silicon pad, I kapton taped the motherboard on small food ceramic plate upside down (maybe it act as an heatsink?) => should I buy a blue silicon pad now? Should I buy a pre heater to flatten the pins and solder back the nands ?
2 - Should I flatten the bga 315 pins with wick (every video I saw on m4 use wick) or by using the Quan li 11 sharpened blades like Dosdude1 on bga 110?
3 - I'd like to avoid bridges, does EVERY pad has to be perfectly flat or "kinda flat" is good enough? (broke 1 pin cause I wanted all pins perfectly flat and had regressions then with sticky wick)
4 - When I solder back do I just need a moderate layer of flux or any amount? Won't flux residue under the chip be an issue? (basically every video on m4 put rosin smoke instead on the nands)

Tyvm if someone has the time to read and anwser my questions 😊

 

[prageethk]

Noooo a pad broke on the ssd... 😭

I was trying to get flat pads to solder back the nands and I was having a really bad time with the copper wick, I have 2 dozens of wicks parts on the desk, I put a looot of flux and some fresh solder each time at 380°c and the wick was 90% of time sticky stuck on the board and had to put more solder and flux...
And the wick was splitting into thin wires quite a lot, does wick tend to do that or is it bad quality?

Anyway here is the broken pad, pls tell me it s recoverable or a ground pin 🙏

This is an NC pad - you got lucky. Please don't pull more pads.

Get a pre-heater. This will make it a breeze to do board work. Even a cheap heat mat will make a difference.

 

[adrienqua]

This is an NC pad - you got lucky. Please don't pull more pads.

Get a pre-heater. This will make it a breeze to do board work. Even a cheap heat mat will make a difference.

View attachment 2622437

Ah thank you, I had edited my message but you anwsered before!

I think I need a preheater too because it's too hard and risky without it...

Do you think a preheater like that would be suitable (20x20cm)? Can I put the motherboard directly on it without holder?
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005011680691385.html

Also is heat silicon mate only to protect the desk or does it actually help to reduce the natural heatsink of the large motherboard?

 

[prageethk]

Ah thank you, I had edited my message but you anwsered before!

I think I need a preheater too because it's too hard and risky without it...

Do you think a preheater like that would be suitable (20x20cm)? Can I put the motherboard directly on it without holder?
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005011680691385.html

Also is heat silicon mate only to protect the desk or does it actually help to reduce the natural heatsink of the large motherboard?

That would help. I have below one which works well. Temp goes from 50C - 400C.

There are also heating pads like below but I'm not sure their temperature range.

 

[adrienqua]

That would help. I have below one which works well. Temp goes from 50C - 400C.

View attachment 2622641

There are also heating pads like below but I'm not sure their temperature range.
View attachment 2622644

Hello thank you, I've ordered the same pre heater than you on aliexpress because I guess infrared works better than metal plate for this and it seems a good price/quality. Somehow I've already received it!!

What temperature do you recommand on this pre heater to clean the pads with wick and solder back the nands?

Should I clean the thermal paste on the M chip if it's above the heater or doesn't matter? (because I'd like to keep as many thermal paste as possible since it's not replaceable)

 

[prageethk]

Hello thank you, I've ordered the same pre heater than you on aliexpress because I guess infrared works better than metal plate for this and it seems a good price/quality. Somehow I've already received it!!

What temperature do you recommand on this pre heater to clean the pads with wick and solder back the nands?

Should I clean the thermal paste on the M chip if it's above the heater or doesn't matter? (because I'd like to keep as many thermal paste as possible since it's not replaceable)

I use ~300 celcius for board work. I usually remove the covers on the sections of the board otherwise would melt. Underside as well.

Don't worry about the paste. I rearrange the paste in the center of the chips before install.

 

[adrienqua]

Hello thank you, I've ordered the same pre heater than you on aliexpress because I guess infrared works better than metal plate for this and it seems a good price/quality. Somehow I've already received it!!
What temperature do you recommand on this pre heater to clean the pads with wick and solder back the nands?

I use ~300 celcius for board work. I usually remove the covers on the sections of the board otherwise would melt. Underside as well.

Don't worry about the paste. I rearrange the paste in the center of the chips before install.

300°c for the preheater, isn't it very high?
I thought it was more around 120°c, I used 145°c, I was concerned if it wasn't already too high.

EDIT : So I soldered back both nands but DFU didnt work and I had blinking orange led if I plug a magsafe cable.

Then I unsoldered both nands, I've tested without nands and still orange blinking led.
I figured out I miss 1 01005 capacitor since a few days, and today I lost a resistor, it was just probably skewed but I reflowed it and then lost it in solder wick when I removed excess solder.

So now I miss 3 components ( 201 4,7 uF / 4V, 01005 18pF / 25v, and unknow resistor)
M3 layout is different from M4 where I lost the resistor, I don't really know what value I should order...
Edit 2: I think this resistor is a 100K ohm 201, right? Because components around are marked as DEV.

Can I also 'ignore' the 01005 18pF, not a big deal? Because something was causing the orange led blinking and couldn't manage to know if it was the skewed resistor I lost afterwards. :/

At this point I just wanna my macbook to work again, I'll do anything 🥲

BTW does someone know how to force dfu on m4 air? Which pads do I need to short?

 

[Lloydz1914]

Hi All,

I'm having a problem with an upgrade,
I have a A2442 with a M1 Max that a client ask me to upgrade to 4Tb from 2TB. I ordered 4Tb chips because I saw somewhere that the M1 was easier to do and it would work.
I already did this process on some T2, but this is my first M apple.
So i did everything, removed the older, soldered the new that were identified as erased, but the machine goes from 5V, 20V and boot loops. Thought that it could be because it had the wrong information, so formatted like I saw on this forum, with the P13, iphone 13 format. Resoldered and the result was the same.
Tried to put the original ones but 1 of them got corrupted during format and can't be used now.
So I grabbed a A2442 donor board with 4 kicm227, and transplanted the nands exacly on the same position as it were on the prior board - same result, bootloop and don't respond to force DFU.
Removed the nand again from the board, measured every solder point and I can't see wait it went wrong. Can anyone help me?

 

[Lloydz1914]

ok so sucessfuly go to force dfu, restore and gives error 35. i'm using a a2159 with Sequoia, hope it's not because of that. And error ocorred while formating the nand. Maybe firmware? does anyone have the 1TB config for the A2442 with the KICM227 or simply the blank firmware?

 

[prageethk]

ok so sucessfuly go to force dfu, restore and gives error 35. i'm using a a2159 with Sequoia, hope it's not because of that. And error ocorred while formating the nand. Maybe firmware? does anyone have the 1TB config for the A2442 with the KICM227 or simply the blank firmware?

Look at the logs for MacUpdater. Use Console app.

 

[Lloydz1914]

Look at the logs for MacUpdater. Use Console app.

I don't know how to do it, but I'll ask my boss for help.
Meanwhile soldered back the 4x1TB programming them with blank file from dosdudes site and the mac begins the restore process and simply reboots, tried two times. I don't know if this sintom is because it expect 8 nands.

I'm already trying to buy more but they simply disappeared from the market. If anyone in EU wants to sell them?

 

[adrienqua]

Hello, I had a very hard time on my m4 air.

The PP2V58 rail was dead shorted at 0V. I was very afraid it was the PMU but after unsoldering the 2 coils to cut the rail, the pmu was healthy. I've somehow managed to magically fix the short will voltage injection using a AAA eneloop battery (I was using the ipa evaporation method but it fixed itself).

It's really an hassle to plug back the flex cables jus to do a test and I really feel that plugging in and out the power button flex cable will break it if I do it multiple times.
Do you know how to force DFU on M4 air ? I'm not sure if the pin have changed.

On the M3 air, do you need to short SOC_FORCE_DFU to PP1V25_S2 ?? (I'm not really sure)
Here is the M3 schematic, I wouldn't want to make a mistake after all this hassle.

 

[clarodelbosque]

Hello. I’ve been looking to upgrade my MacBook Air SSD (A2337, KICM223), but they seem to have become super scarce, and the few I’ve found on AliExpress look overpriced (around $270 USD for a pair of used 2TB). Where do you folks actually source new NANDs? Do you think prices will come down anytime soon, or that availability will improve? thanks

 

[IvyKing]

Wow tyvm!! I was looking for 10uF 201 form factor and I'm starting to doubt if it really exist...
Is it schema diagrams from macbook m2 or m3?

I think I should buy a 4.7uF then.
Can I buy any rated voltage like 6V or 10V? More voltage is the same and just mean better quality, right?

A 10uF cap in an 0201 package would only be 10uF in the range of 0.3V or less as the voltage coefficient would drop the actual capacitance down to 1 - 2uF at 1V.

 

[mr_roboto]

A 10uF cap in an 0201 package would only be 10uF in the range of 0.3V or less as the voltage coefficient would drop the actual capacitance down to 1 - 2uF.

You seem to be in opposite world? As far as I can tell, Class II and III MLCC caps don't lose capacitance as DC voltage approaches 0, they lose it as DC voltage approaches their rated voltage. A 4V or 6V rated cap operated down around 1V shouldn't lose much (if any) of its rated capacitance.

 

[IvyKing]

You seem to be in opposite world? As far as I can tell, Class II and III MLCC caps don't lose capacitance as DC voltage approaches 0, they lose it as DC voltage approaches their rated voltage. A 4V or 6V rated cap operated down around 1V shouldn't lose much (if any) of its rated capacitance.

My bad on wording, my intent was to convey that a 10uF 0201 cap would need to be carrying 0.3V or less to get close to the rated 10uF capacitance. At 1V or more, the part could be 2uF or lower.

A lot of people think that a cap rated for 4V will have the full listed capacitance at 4V.

 

[mr_roboto]

My bad on wording, my intent was to convey that a 10uF 0201 cap would need to be carrying 0.3V or less to get close to the rated 10uF capacitance. At 1V or more, the part could be 2uF or lower.

That seems extremely pessimistic based on the research I did. There's some graphs in this Kemet PDF about the topic which seem instructive:

https://forum.digikey.com/uploads/short-url/eP9w2HSwC8OoMHTM2VOB0cUv6Jy.pdf

Figure 1 is the DC bias derating curve for a X7R 1210 4.7uF 50V cap. It shows that at 12.5V (1/4 the rated voltage) there would be only a ~5% drop in capacitance.

The derating curve for any given MLCC cap should depend a lot on its exact materials and construction choices, so I doubt that 25% of rated voltage always implies 5% capacitance drop, but it does make it feel unlikely that a 10uF 4V cap operated at ~1V would lose 80% of its capacitance.

A lot of people think that a cap rated for 4V will have the full listed capacitance at 4V.

People think that because it is true for a lot of capacitor types, as far as I know.

As the Kemet PDF describes, there's specific issues in Class II and III MLCC ceramic caps which cause this effect. They use a particular family of ceramic materials as the dielectric, and as DC bias across the cap rises closer and closer to its voltage rating, more and more titanium ions become locked in the ceramic's crystalline lattice instead of being free to move. This reduces the ceramic's dielectric constant, which reduces the overall capacitance of the device.

(this is all a side discussion of course, since as far as I know the only option for an 0201 4.7uF is the type of MLCC cap affected by this issue. But if Apple specced 0201 4.7uF 4V, I'd guess a 10uF 4V should be fine as a replacement, though I'd really want to verify that ESR is similar. This is all for DC power bypassing, so matching ESR curves is quite important.)

 

[IvyKing]

The derating curve for any given MLCC cap should depend a lot on its exact materials and construction choices, so I doubt that 25% of rated voltage always implies 5% capacitance drop, but it does make it feel unlikely that a 10uF 4V cap operated at ~1V would lose 80% of its capacitance.

The properties of an X5R dielectric is not going to vary by a huge amount amongst makes, sizes, etc. There is a limit of how much energy can be stored in a given volume. With a given case size, the voltage for a given drop in capacitance should drop with the inverse of the square root of the capacitance. For example, a curve for capacitance change vs voltage for 0.1uF caps should give a good approximation for the change of 10uF capacitors when the voltage is divided by 10. One chart I have shows a 0.1uF 0402 cap losing 65 to 70% at 20V, which implies that a 10uF 0402 cap will lose 65-70% at 2V. A 0201 cap will have at most 1/4 the volume, so we can scale the voltage down by 2, which then implies that a 10uF 0201 cap will have 3 to 3.5uF at 1V at best.

Bottom line is that a 4.7uF 0201 cap will have close to the same capacitance as a 10uF 0201 cap when biased to 1V.

 

[iMuhtaseb]

This question might be asked in one of the 23 pages but I’m too lazy to check lol

Has there been a development in harvesting used NANDs? I know nands must be blank or factory state.. have we been able blank out or erase used nands with P15 or whatever?

 

[Lloydz1914]

Hi all, is there any difference in formating using the P13 and the P15? I have been able to erase the nand by selecting the ipad, after that they give the message referindo the general state. However I've been having trouble with an A2337 always gives me the 35 error unable to format the nand even with the firmware from an original machine or blank ssd, does anyone have the firmware to flash using the kicm 233 and the kicm 227?