I think the point is that Apple CAN make the SSD and RAM upgradable IF they want. Obviously with a more user friendly method but that is not investigated here.
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M1 Mac RAM and SSD Upgrades Found to Be Possible After Purchase
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Resoldering BGA is pretty easy once you have it down.
Its not done ball by ball by hand, it’s done with a template and a heat gun.
LOL. Upgradeable...
Louis Rossman may have a new business model.
Louis Rossman may have a new business model.
I think the really big takeaway is the fact that the memory and SSD can be separated from the M1, that gives hope that future RAM upgrades in the Apple Silicon Mac Pro or equivalent will be possible.
I want to know if you can get more than 16gb in there! That would be a fun experiment.
So yeah, it's a complicated procedure, but its not like this hasn't been done before. Look at the smart Chinese guys upgrading the storage in iPhones or Scotty from Strange Parts (
)
I thought I read an article that said that the Apple M1 CPU architecture is currently only capable of recognizing 16GB of RAM. So, if that is true and even if you successfully replace the RAM with, let's say 32GB will the CPU still see it as only 16? The article also said that Apple was working to make future chip architecture changes that will allow for great amounts of RAM. The other question is where are you going to find larger capacity RAM in that configuration? I think the M! Macs are considered entry level computers, if so, than that explains the 16GB RAM.
It's not too bad if you have the right equipment, ie: BGA rework machine. The trick is precise heating of the components and, of course, dropping the new part into precisely the right place. Get those right and the solder takes care of itself.
I'm pretty sure Louis Rossmann has some videos on YouTube showing how these sorts of component repair/swaps are done.
I would say that is the best way...but currently in the M1 CPU, there are no better specs....as far as RAM. as far as SSD there is 2TB
Step 1: Buy M1 Mac with 8GB Ram.
Step 2: Open up the Mac and carefully desolder the ram.
Step 3: Buy M1 Mac with 16GB Ram.
Step 4: Open up the Mac with 16GB Ram and carefully desolder the ram.
Step 5: Solder the 16GB Ram into the original M1 Mac.
Step 6: Throw away the Mac without the Ram and 8GB Ram.
Step 7: Now you have an upgraded M1 Mac with 16GB Ram and some bragging right.
Step 2: Open up the Mac and carefully desolder the ram.
Step 3: Buy M1 Mac with 16GB Ram.
Step 4: Open up the Mac with 16GB Ram and carefully desolder the ram.
Step 5: Solder the 16GB Ram into the original M1 Mac.
Step 6: Throw away the Mac without the Ram and 8GB Ram.
Step 7: Now you have an upgraded M1 Mac with 16GB Ram and some bragging right.
We haven't heard from that one in quite a while, so most likely nothing is actually wrong.
Yes, I think the important point is the system recognised upgraded parts. This means there is some hope that the Macs that currently have some user upgrade options (iMac 27” and Mac Pro) may still have that ability in the Apple Silicon era. It is a small hope, but slightly more realistic after reading this story.
I realize this is all new, but currently, I would not touch an M1-style Mac. I realize the M1 is a superior performer, or at least in theory. I much prefer the option to upgrade on my terms. My 2017 MacBook Pro is showing it's age, and I will be upgrading towards the end of the year. As it stands now, it will not be an Apple device.
I’d be way more intrigued by attaching 32+ GB of RAM to it and seeing what happened. Interesting proof of concept though.
Louis Rossmann has nothing to b**** about now.
Louis Rossmann has nothing to b**** about now.
Thanks for that! I was wondering about that and discrete GPUs.
you cant buy those and place them into the M1 macs...different size these glued ssd/ram hardware
Sounds like something I was attempting to do with my iBook G4 1.25ghz where you unsolder the motherboard ram in order to use a 2GB memory stick and max out the ram.
So, this means that Apple could *technically* support swappable RAM and storage. From a profitability and user-hostile perspective, it'll never happen.
What if we invented DIMM slots and M.2 connectors 🤔
That is the best comment here. Yeah this exposes nothing new (well except the impressive cajones of the guys throwing their Mac mobo in a reflow oven!), the demo shown here can be accomplished with your credit card and a click on a radio button on the Apple store website!
Now my guess is they are limited to parts that exist in the world (i.e. fit that SoC pinout, etc), so they may only be able to source the same part Apple uses