Upgrading 2013-2015 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe

[Allistah]

But unfortunately I am too lazy to open my machine back up again to swap the adapter 😛

haha ok, couldn't hurt to ask. Maybe I have to buy one and try myself. Are the longer ones that appear to work well also made by Sintech - do you know?

 

[rockstarjoe]

haha ok, couldn't hurt to ask. Maybe I have to buy one and try myself. Are the longer ones that appear to work well also made by Sintech - do you know?

Yes I bought the long one from Sintech as well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CWWAENG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Trippy Bear]

Okay, so I did have a kernel panic/reboot on my MBP when I woke up this morning. After reading some comments on a Youtube video, this happens after about 7-8 hours. I'm using a generic adapter from Amazon with a Crucial P1 1TB SSD. Gonna order the Sintech adapter and hopefully that fixes any issues.

 

[Skypalace]

Has anybody that purchased a Sabrent Rocket Drive never had a kernel panic (due to the drive)?

I have a 2TB Sabrent Rocket, Simtech short black adapter, in a late 2013 15" Pro Retina, and have never had a kernel panic, either in use or opening/closing. It's been two or three weeks.

 

[Trippy Bear]

I have a 2TB Sabrent Rocket, Simtech short black adapter, in a late 2013 15" Pro Retina, and have never had a kernel panic, either in use or opening/closing. It's been two or three weeks.

Sounds like this Sintech adapter is the way to go. I also have a 2013 15" Pro Retina, but I have a different adapter, and have kernel panics over night, i wake up with the MBP having restarted.

Ordering the Sintech adapter now.

 

[Colin0317]

Is it normal to be at 25% after leaving the laptop in sleep mode for 12 hours after the upgrade? I used the command that is indicated on the pinned post on the 1st page. "sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0 standby 0 autopoweroff 0"

Is there another setting that I am missing? I find that my battery drained fast.

Is the only option to shut down after each use?

I have a mid 2014 13" MacBook Pro. My SSD is a Silicon Power 1TB with Sintech long adapter.

 

[erkoolio]

Hello!

I was finally able to flash the modified bootrom to my MacBook Pro 13" mid 2014.
After several hours on the internet searching for clues and answers I was able to produce a "writing" state for the SPI chip.

I followed the manual from this forum to the letter but hit a wall every time when trying to flash the rom back to Macbook.
It always told me the same messages: Erase failed plaahplaaahplaah.
I needed to connect the programmer first and then the the MagSafe charger. I did not plugin the battery, meaning I unclipped it before all of this.
After that the fan run for a while and after that I was able to flash the modified rom without errors.

Thanks for the manual and this awesome forum for knowledge. Also shout out to flashrom irc channel, they had it right all along - the voltage is wrong if flashing fails.

I would add instructions to try different combinations of plugging in battery, MagSafe and the programmer if the flashing fails.

 

[Allistah]

I wanted to post some clean benchmark numbers for everyone.

I have a mid-2015 MacBook Pro 15". I used a short Sintech adapter and a Sabrent 2TB NVMe drive. Did a complete wipe and fresh install of Mojave. Test 1 was the first thing I ran on the machine. Then Test 2 is after I added 500GB of data to the drive and a reboot. Then Test 3 is just another run after Test 2 just to make sure things didn't change much. The Sabrent has the current 12.2 firmware as well.

 

[knauglab]

Any idea why I may be getting a 20-30 black screen before I get the apple logo?

I had the same issue. A complete new Install of Mojave brought the issue down on my 2013 MacBook Air to 7s. (before 30s). On a 2015 MacBook Air, this was completely fixed after switching TRIM on via Terminal (before like a 20s back screen). Does this perhaps help getting an idea of the reason for the black screen?

However following experience with the Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Macbook Air 2013 and a crucial 500GB P1:
- on the 2013 MacBook Air, I get the VDH002 error.
- same adapter, same HDD in a 2015 MacBook Air ==> No VDH002 error
- other Sintech adapter other crucial P1 500Gb VDH002 error on the 2013 MacBook Air
- original Apple SSD no error on the 2013, no error

The SSD works perfect in the 2013 MacBook Air, except the black screen in the beginning, so same speed as in the 2015 and so go on.

Has anyone experienced the same behavior in the 2013 MacBook Air?

 

[Allistah]

I had the same issue. A complete new Install of Mojave brought the issue down on my 2013 MacBook Air to 7s. (before 30s). On a 2015 MacBook Air, this was completely fixed after switching TRIM on via Terminal (before like a 20s back screen). Does this perhaps help getting an idea of the reason for the black screen?

However following experience with the Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Macbook Air 2013 and a crucial 500GB P1:
- on the 2013 MacBook Air, I get the VDH002 error.
- same adapter, same HDD in a 2015 MacBook Air ==> No VDH002 error
- other Sintech adapter other crucial P1 500Gb VDH002 error on the 2013 MacBook Air
- original Apple SSD no error on the 2013, no error

The SSD works perfect in the 2013 MacBook Air, except the black screen in the beginning, so same speed as in the 2015 and so go on.

Has anyone experienced the same behavior in the 2013 MacBook Air?

You guys try resetting the PRAM? I have a 2015 MBP that I needed to send to Apple to get a screen replaced and when I put in a blank drive, I got the long delay before the Apple logo came up. Did they on every boot. Then I reset the PRAM and boom, Apple logo shows up quick like normal. Try that and see if it helps. Remember to hold the key combo long enough to hear the boot sound at least 2 times before you let up the keys to ensure you got it. Hold the CMD-Option-P-R keys while you hit the power button. Then hold the four keys until you hear at least two boot chimes. Report back if this helps or not.

 

[liberace]

Is it normal to be at 25% after leaving the laptop in sleep mode for 12 hours after the upgrade? I used the command that is indicated on the pinned post on the 1st page. "sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0 standby 0 autopoweroff 0"

Is there another setting that I am missing? I find that my battery drained fast.

Is the only option to shut down after each use?

I have a mid 2014 13" MacBook Pro. My SSD is a Silicon Power 1TB with Sintech long adapter.

for example with ssd from my signature a get 9% battery drain while mbp was sleeping 3 full days
as well we can consider bootrom update to let your mbp use hibernation and forget about this terrible battery experience )

Hello!

I was finally able to flash the modified bootrom to my MacBook Pro 13" mid 2014.
After several hours on the internet searching for clues and answers I was able to produce a "writing" state for the SPI chip.

I followed the manual from this forum to the letter but hit a wall every time when trying to flash the rom back to Macbook.
It always told me the same messages: Erase failed plaahplaaahplaah.
I needed to connect the programmer first and then the the MagSafe charger. I did not plugin the battery, meaning I unclipped it before all of this.
After that the fan run for a while and after that I was able to flash the modified rom without errors.

Thanks for the manual and this awesome forum for knowledge. Also shout out to flashrom irc channel, they had it right all along - the voltage is wrong if flashing fails.

I would add instructions to try different combinations of plugging in battery, MagSafe and the programmer if the flashing fails.

do you did this with j6100??or different way?

 

[BombKilla]

Allistah, would you mind running the tests again at QD4 and posting the results? As impressive as QD32 is, that's a number few (if any) of us will ever see in the real world. QD4, on the other hand, would be meaningful to almost all of us most of the time. Thank you in advance.
And FWIW, your most recent benchmark runs were conducted using APFS format and no drive encryption, correct?

 

[Allistah]

Allistah, would you mind running the tests again at QD4 and posting the results? As impressive as QD32 is, that's a number few (if any) of us will ever see in the real world. QD4, on the other hand, would be meaningful to almost all of us most of the time. Thank you in advance.
And FWIW, your most recent benchmark runs were conducted using APFS format and no drive encryption, correct?

Sure, I won't have any problem doing that for you - but there is a little bit of a hangup. The machine is currently out to Apple's repair center somewhere getting the screen replaced (reflective coating was coming off so it was under coverage for free for replacement). I will be getting the machine back Wednesday/Thursday of next week. Once I get it back, I'll be sure to run those tests for you.

Btw, I ran those tests starting at 1 up to 32 and the numbers kept improving until I got to 8. After 8 (16 and 32) there was no improvement - the numbers stayed pretty static. But sure, I can run those for you when I get the machine back.

 

[rydixon]

Have you found a solution? I also have problem #2 above after replacing my sad with a WD Black.

 

[Colin0317]

You guys try resetting the PRAM? I have a 2015 MBP that I needed to send to Apple to get a screen replaced and when I put in a blank drive, I got the long delay before the Apple logo came up. Did they on every boot. Then I reset the PRAM and boom, Apple logo shows up quick like normal. Try that and see if it helps. Remember to hold the key combo long enough to hear the boot sound at least 2 times before you let up the keys to ensure you got it. Hold the CMD-Option-P-R keys while you hit the power button. Then hold the four keys until you hear at least two boot chimes. Report back if this helps or not.

I tried resetting the PRAM and now I get the black screen for about 20 seconds. It was around 7 seconds before, so it doesn’t work in all cases.

Thanks for the tip though.

 

[Allistah]

I tried resetting the PRAM and now I get the black screen for about 20 seconds. It was around 7 seconds before, so it doesn’t work in all cases.

Thanks for the tip though.

Did you ensure that your MBP is running the latest bootROM version? When I did mine, I took note of the bootROM version, then I did a clean format/install of High Sierra (which updated the bootROM, then I did another format/fresh install of Mojave which updated the BootROM again to the latest version. I keep seeing people talking a lot about the use of High Sierra. Also doing a complete wipe of the drive and using GUID partition type with APFS is critical in addition to the bootROM. Or are you trying to restore a backup image of some kind?

Here are some other leads that you may look into..

• Ensure your system is running the latest bootROM version
• Completely wipe the drive and partition using GUID Partition table, with Apple File System (APFS)
• If not current bootROM, Take note of bootROM, Clean install High Sierra first, take note of bootROM again, wipe all over again and clean install Mojave and note the bootROM again.

[doublepost=1560615952][/doublepost]When I got my mid-2015 MBP 15" with duel graphics, it had Yosemite on the drive with an old bootROM. Following some instructions I read somewhere, I looked at the bootROM version, installed High Sierra, looked at the bootROM again, then clean installed Mojave and noted the bootROM again. This is the progression of that process. Just wanted to record it here in case that helps others out.

Laptop: mid-2015 MBP 15" w/dual graphics

Yosemite 10.5.5 (Laptop came with this and version below)
BootROM MBP114.0172.B10

High Sierra 10.13.6 (Clean install, bootROM updated to below version)
BootROM MBP114.0184.B00

Mojave 10.14.3 (Clean install, bootROM updated again to below version)
BootROM 187.0.0.0.0

 

[Colin0317]

Did you ensure that your MBP is running the latest bootROM version? When I did mine, I took note of the bootROM version, then I did a clean format/install of High Sierra (which updated the bootROM, then I did another format/fresh install of Mojave which updated the BootROM again to the latest version. I keep seeing people talking a lot about the use of High Sierra. Also doing a complete wipe of the drive and using GUID partition type with APFS is critical in addition to the bootROM. Or are you trying to restore a backup image of some kind?

Here are some other leads that you may look into..

• Ensure your system is running the latest bootROM version
• Completely wipe the drive and partition using GUID Partition table, with Apple File System (APFS)
• If not current bootROM, Take note of bootROM, Clean install High Sierra first, take note of bootROM again, wipe all over again and clean install Mojave and note the bootROM again.

[doublepost=1560615952][/doublepost]When I got my mid-2015 MBP 15" with duel graphics, it had Yosemite on the drive with an old bootROM. Following some instructions I read somewhere, I looked at the bootROM version, installed High Sierra, looked at the bootROM again, then clean installed Mojave and noted the bootROM again. This is the progression of that process. Just wanted to record it here in case that helps others out.

Laptop: mid-2015 MBP 15" w/dual graphics

Yosemite 10.5.5 (Laptop came with this and version below)
BootROM MBP114.0172.B10

High Sierra 10.13.6 (Clean install, bootROM updated to below version)
BootROM MBP114.0184.B00

Mojave 10.14.3 (Clean install, bootROM updated again to below version)
BootROM 187.0.0.0.0

I did a clean install of Mojave using GUID Partition table with APFS after I swapped out my ssd for the nvme ssd.

My bootROM version is 153.0.0.0.0

Is this the latest BootROM for 2014 13" MacBook Pro? How would I go about updating it?

Thank you for your post, it is much appreciated.

 

[Allistah]

I did a clean install of Mojave using GUID Partition table with APFS after I swapped out my ssd for the nvme ssd.

My bootROM version is 153.0.0.0.0

Is this the latest BootROM for 2014 13" MacBook Pro? How would I go about updating it?

Thank you for your post, it is much appreciated.

Can you tell me what MacBook Pro you have? Year and size?
[doublepost=1560642304][/doublepost]

I have a mid 2014 13" MacBook Pro. My SSD is a Silicon Power 1TB with Sintech long adapter.

Interesting that it takes so long to boot up. You don't have any other partitions on that drive? No Bootcamp or anything else? There is just the single partition for MacOS?

I also think you have the latest bootROM. Maybe do some Google searching.

Also, double check that you have the drive selected in the startup System Preferences. I know it will show up and may be all by itself, but make sure you click/select it.

Also, it could be an issue with the adapter and/or the drive you have so maybe seek out others that have that drive to see if they have any issues related to yours.

 

[BombKilla]

Installed a Sabrent 2.0TB NVMe SSD into a Mid-2015 15" rMBP (11,5, A1398, EMC 2910) using the short Sintech adapter mentioned on Pg. 1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FYY3H5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I wanted to share some power consumption and performance results.

<<<< Update: Based on the previous work of others, NVMe impact goes beyond increased SSD current draw vs. AHCI. Do not assume that the 5% increase in NVMe current means a 5% decrease in battery life. @lucaros stated a real-world -20% runtime impact NVMe SSD use in a 2015 rMBP, and that seems to be the reality of the situation.>>>>

The Sintech adapter came with the pre-installed insulating tape and worked with no issues or modifications needed. It had a stenciled graphic that was new to me, but it worked well nonetheless (the traces all line up with the Pg. 1 photo).



As evidenced by the left-side intake airflow tunnel, Apple put a lot of effort into convection-cooling the SSD. The Sabrent is probably OK without needing any help, but I added a small thermal pad directly on the Phison E12 controller that sinks directly to the rMBP's case (it made an excellent witness mark). The pad is small enough to not impede airflow under the SSD or over any part other than the controller:



Why did I use the thermal pad? Looking at reviews of Phison SSDs, it seemed their heat-bloom was significant and dominated by the controller. This was a chance to add conductive cooling while retaining most of Apple's forced convection cooling (including Sabrent's heat-spreader label in the airflow path).

Did it work? SSD temps in the above tests never exceeded 90°F (starting temp 73°F). Diglloyd's DiskTester Sequential Test Suite was then run (4GB total test size per iteration, reads and writes, repeated five times for 15 file sizes from 32KB through 512MB). In 6 minutes of continuous activity, SSD temp never broke 100°F (at SSD power up to 5.3W). More to come, but the initial results are promising.

 

[Allistah]

Installed a Sabrent 2.0TB NVMe SSD into a Mid-2015 15" rMBP (11,5, A1398, EMC 2910) using the short Sintech adapter mentioned on Pg. 1

Did it work? SSD temps in the above tests never exceeded 90°F (starting temp 73°F). Diglloyd's DiskTester Sequential Test Suite was then run (4GB total test size per iteration, reads and writes, repeated five times for 15 file sizes from 32KB through 512MB). In 6 minutes of continuous activity, SSD temp never broke 100°F (at SSD power up to 5.3W). More to come, but the initial results are promising.

Do you know how hot the drive got before you installed the thermal pad to know how much of a difference it made? I was thinking about this too. I heard that this drive starts to thermal throttle so I was curious about giving it some way of getting rid of heat.

I have the same exact laptop, same adapter board, and the same exact drive and got similar numbers so that's good to see. This morning I bought three other branded adapter boards to see if any of the other ones will make a difference in speeds or stability. Once I get those next week and get the laptop back, I'll be doing that testing and posting results. Thanks for the post, some great information!!

 

[liberace]

I did a clean install of Mojave using GUID Partition table with APFS after I swapped out my ssd for the nvme ssd.

My bootROM version is 153.0.0.0.0

Is this the latest BootROM for 2014 13" MacBook Pro? How would I go about updating it?

Thank you for your post, it is much appreciated.

it is usual that mbp without 'proper' nvme driver takes extra 15-20 sec to recognize the nvme drive during boot

Installed a Sabrent 2.0TB NVMe SSD into a Mid-2015 15" rMBP (11,5, A1398, EMC 2910) using the short Sintech adapter mentioned on Pg. 1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FYY3H5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I wanted to share some power consumption and performance results.

The Sintech adapter came with the pre-installed insulating tape and worked with no issues or modifications needed. It had a stenciled graphic that was new to me, but it worked well nonetheless (the traces all line up with the Pg. 1 photo).

View attachment 843127 View attachment 843128 View attachment 843129

As evidenced by the left-side intake airflow tunnel, Apple put a lot of effort into convection-cooling the SSD. The Sabrent is probably OK without needing any help, but I added a small thermal pad directly on the Phison E12 controller that sinks directly to the rMBP's case (it made an excellent witness mark). The pad is small enough to not impede airflow under the SSD or over any part other than the controller:

View attachment 843131 View attachment 843132 View attachment 843133

Why did I use the thermal pad? Looking at reviews of Phison SSDs, it seemed their heat-bloom was significant and dominated by the controller. This was a chance to add conductive cooling while retaining most of Apple's forced convection cooling (including Sabrent's heat-spreader label in the airflow path).

Did it work? SSD temps in the above tests never exceeded 90°F (starting temp 73°F). Diglloyd's DiskTester Sequential Test Suite was then run (4GB total test size per iteration, reads and writes, repeated five times for 15 file sizes from 32KB through 512MB). In 6 minutes of continuous activity, SSD temp never broke 100°F (at SSD power up to 5.3W). More to come, but the initial results are promising.

just another experience its not necessary at all
Phison based nvme in mbp is not boiling on user usage at all (only if its samsung)
ofc if you gonna do some synthetic than yes but while all this happening you cpu will gain temperatures much faster

 

[BombKilla]

Allistah, I didn't do any "before" testing in the rMBP. My only previous testing with this drive was in a cMP 5,1, in a carrier with a supplemental heat sink (post #4562). I see that Liberace said it isn't necessary and hopefully, he is correct. But, if this model does throttle, perhaps this mod will delay the onset or effect of a slowdown. I'll certainly pass on any additional findings.

Do you know how hot the drive got before you installed the thermal pad to know how much of a difference it made?

<<<<Removed my battery runtime calculations; I failed to read the previous work done by others and learn from their experience. NVMe impact goes beyond increased SSD current draw vs. AHCI. @lucaros stated a real-world -20% runtime impact of using an NVMe SSD on a 2015 rMBP, and that seems to be the reality of the situation.>>>>

 

[knauglab]

Okay, so I did have a kernel panic/reboot on my MBP when I woke up this morning. After reading some comments on a Youtube video, this happens after about 7-8 hours. I'm using a generic adapter from Amazon with a Crucial P1 1TB SSD. Gonna order the Sintech adapter and hopefully that fixes any issues.

Hi,
I got the same with the Sintech adapter, but I the error message did not show any indication for HW, actually I assume it was a combination of Mojave and the Epic Games launcher, because I got the same on my 2015 iMac, which is completely stock, the same day. So far it did not repeat. ..

 

[coen22]

I went and bought the Corsair MPS510 for my MacBook Pro 15" 2015. However, I'm having issues. Kernel seem to be gone for now, but I'm having x2 link width. I already re-applied it twice. I did use the small sintech adapter without any extra thermal pad. What can I do?

 

[knauglab]

You guys try resetting the PRAM? I have a 2015 MBP that I needed to send to Apple to get a screen replaced and when I put in a blank drive, I got the long delay before the Apple logo came up. Did they on every boot. Then I reset the PRAM and boom, Apple logo shows up quick like normal. Try that and see if it helps. Remember to hold the key combo long enough to hear the boot sound at least 2 times before you let up the keys to ensure you got it. Hold the CMD-Option-P-R keys while you hit the power button. Then hold the four keys until you hear at least two boot chimes. Report back if this helps or not.

Yes, I have done this, no change at all on the behavior...