Hard Drive Replacement Question

[Meb3891]

I have a 2014 MacBook Air. I also have a late 2013 retina MacBook Pro which just died on me. Both computers have SSDs. Does anyone here know if I can simply take the hard drive out of the MBP and put it into my MBA?

Assuming the hardware is compatible will the drive be plug and play or is there something I need to do on the software front to make it work?

 

[Jhieminga]

I had a quick look at some repair guides and it appears that the SSDs in both models use the same physical connector, so in that respect you should be able to swap out the drive. Whether that will enable you to boot the MBA straight away.... I doubt it, but someone with more knowledge of the software side of things will need to comment on that aspect.

 

[Meb3891]

Thanks for your thoughts! Anyone else know what I can expect on the software side? Will the necessary drivers load on boat or would I be required to reinstall the OS or something to get it to work?

 

[Phil77354]

I'm curious as to why you would do that? You'll end up with a 2014 Air that lacks a drive, which you'll presumably then replace. Why not just buy a new drive for the Pro? The SSD from the Air is 7 years old, if you plan to continue to use the Pro for a significant amount of time then wouldn't a new drive be a better choice?

 

[Meb3891]

The MBP was my main computer but it is unfortunately dead and the cost of repairing it doesn’t make sense given the age and new M1 Chips coming out.

The SSD from the MBP is fully functional, a larger drive than the MBA and has all my data on it. I wasn’t using the MBA and was planning on selling it.

Now I just want to use the MBA for a few months to tide me over until I can purchase a new MBP. So I was thinking swapping the drives would be the fastest, cheapest fix for now.

 

[Phil77354]

Makes sense. If you have your computers backed up to the cloud, then you should be able to restore the MBP with the swapped drive, although I don't know if it would boot up immediately after being installed.

 

[Meb3891]

Anyone else know what needs to be done on the software side to get everything up and running?

 

[Adenitz]

If both MBA and MBP had the same MacOS, I think it will boot right away inside the MBA chasis. The MacOS already have all necessary drivers.
Just try it, there is very little chance something can go wrong.

 

[Audit13]

Nothing needs to be done. Just swap the drives, select the proper start up drive in the Air, and you should be good to go.

I've done this a few times with Airs from mid-2013 to 2017 and 13" Pros from later 2013 to early 2015.