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

[xboxbml]

Thanks. I ended up just getting a 1 TB Kingston A2000 instead for now, and will reassess in a year.

The concern I had with the SX8200 was its max power usage, which is around 6 Watts. That might sometimes be problematic in an external enclosure. The A2000 was closer to 4.6 Watts.

View attachment 1933420View attachment 1933419

The Crucial P2 was significantly lower power but after the cache is filled, the QLC variant (which I think may include all of the 2 TB models), it drops to 40 MB/s. Ouch. Not great for an external storage drive. Plus, strangely enough, it wasn't that cheap.

I ended up getting the 1 TB A2000 for CA$95, which is only US$74. Cheap for a DRAM model. I think if I do get another 2 TB drive though, I might just get a Samsung T7 instead. They're relatively inexpensive, and never have USB power issues.

Interesting.. I've never gotten near that figure inside my machine.. Although I don't do 50gb copy tests like that either.. Just basic stuff on this machine anyway, so no issues. I just wanted big internal storage so I have everything onboard..

 

[xanderx007]

I have seen such disclaimer many times before, from the people who creates something for themselfs in 1st place and later decide to share success (results) of his labour with others for free.
All these people has good intentions. Unlike big companies who writes software like Apple or Microsoft small developer can not afford to be sued for any damage cause by inproper software use or due to incompatibility. They charged you nothing for using it.
So they shift responsibility from themselfs to end users - US.
So it is completely your decision and responsibility to use. And it is fear. Cause non of us ever spend a penny for using it or his/her time developing it. From this point of view am on developers side fully.

Which is the point. If a user finds it unnecessary because it doesn't really provide any immediate benefit long term, then why make a big deal out it.

This is not about taking sides. Sure, he's taken his time developing the kext, and if it was of any use to me, then, but golly, I'll thank him for it.

Asking for tribute just because is not a sign of a mature person. Keeping the kext mysterious gives it doubt.

 

[EugW]

Interesting.. I've never gotten near that figure inside my machine.. Although I don't do 50gb copy tests like that either.. Just basic stuff on this machine anyway, so no issues. I just wanted big internal storage so I have everything onboard..

In truth it’s not a complete deal killer to me actually. But the kicker is that the 2 TB isn’t actually that cheap here to my surprise. It costs almost as much for the Crucial P2 bare NVMe drive as it does for the entire Samsung T7 2 TB drive including external enclosure (of course) and both USB-C and USB-A cables. I think there was a US$5 price difference.

EDIT:

It turns out the Crucial P2 pricing is just odd right now. I just checked and the 2 TB is 22% more expensive than it was just a couple of weeks ago. So I'll just wait it out.

 

[terrazoids]

Hi Terrazoids,

Could you confirm Intel 660p is working on Monterey latest edition for you as I keep getting boot errors after installing Nvmefix and Lilu?

Thanks

- i got the same machine Macbook mid 2015 15” and ssd as you
- did you have to do anything special when installing or possible to outline how you got it installed

Hi,

Yes it is working for me. I recently upgraded to from Big Sur to Monterey 12.1, and I installed the latest versions of Lilu and Nvmefix. I also installed ssdpmenabler. Its all working the same as before. I'm getting idling below .01A. The intel 660p 2tb has been a great cheap drive for me so far.

If you're getting errors, think about your adapter (sintech?) inside the computer. If the pins are touching some of the frame in the computer it can cause all kinds of issues. You use electric tape to fix that. Next make sure you have the latest versions of the kexts. After that, clear your Pram and go through the proper install process of the kexts. Verify that they are accepted by the system by looking under extensions in the system profile. Use istats to verify your power saving.

But yes, I can confirm that all is working with this combo under monterey.

 

[User9]

Hi,

Yes it is working for me. I recently upgraded to from Big Sur to Monterey 12.1, and I installed the latest versions of Lilu and Nvmefix. I also installed ssdpmenabler. Its all working the same as before. I'm getting idling below .01A. The intel 660p 2tb has been a great cheap drive for me so far.

If you're getting errors, think about your adapter (sintech?) inside the computer. If the pins are touching some of the frame in the computer it can cause all kinds of issues. You use electric tape to fix that. Next make sure you have the latest versions of the kexts. After that, clear your Pram and go through the proper install process of the kexts. Verify that they are accepted by the system by looking under extensions in the system profile. Use istats to verify your power saving.

But yes, I can confirm that all is working with this combo under monterey.

Thanks, I might need to try again since it worked on yours.
1. Where did you kapton your Sintech as my worked without problems so far.
2. What is the order of install? I have ssdpmenabler working at 0.08A but just couldn’t get the other kext working no matter what. Would you mind listing the steps for installing nvmefix? Did you install using terminal or Hackintool?
3. Is there a way to check the firmware of the 660p ssd? Maybe Intel did something with my made in 2021
Thanks

 

[Eugene28]

Thanks, I might need to try again since it worked on yours.
1. Where did you kapton your Sintech as my worked without problems so far.
2. What is the order of install? I have ssdpmenabler working at 0.08A but just couldn’t get the other kext working no matter what. Would you mind listing the steps for installing nvmefix? Did you install using terminal or Hackintool?
3. Is there a way to check the firmware of the 660p ssd? Maybe Intel did something with my made in 2021
Thanks

Are you ok? It seems you confusing Monterey builds. I thougt you figured out NVMEFix not wotking on you system cause you updated to 12.2 Beta and Lilu not compatible with 12.2 beta.
You asking him if its working on latest edition. It is. But for him latest edition 12.1.

 

[enplaned]

Thanks, I might need to try again since it worked on yours.
1. Where did you kapton your Sintech as my worked without problems so far.
2. What is the order of install? I have ssdpmenabler working at 0.08A but just couldn’t get the other kext working no matter what. Would you mind listing the steps for installing nvmefix? Did you install using terminal or Hackintool?
3. Is there a way to check the firmware of the 660p ssd? Maybe Intel did something with my made in 2021
Thanks

Look at the following post, there's a link to a video and a timestamp therein -- you can see where the Kapton tape is applied - makes it pretty clear.

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

If you want to see an adapter + NVME combination (including application of Kapton tape) before you buy/install one, someone has made a video that shows it very well. The video is from a relatively recent entrant into the MacBook Pro/Air replacement SSD business. The video is from Mobile...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[User9]

How do people get around disabling and modifying system partition in Monterey? I noticed Hackintool is not able to disable gatekeeper due to APFS read only and gave red highlights and same with when trying to add in kext. I think this may be my problem as I’ve kapton taped my ssd and reinstalled and still the same. Sorry to be a pest..

 

[DMoody]

Hello!

I installed a new ssd on my MacBook Pro mid 2014 with the WD Blue SN550 + Gigabase SSD Adapter on Amazon.
Last night I installed Big Sur 16.2.1 on it after installing the new SSD and shut it down when I was finished with all the things.
But now I started my Macbook again, but it does nothing. Just shows me the black screen, no sound, nothing is making any noise.
Then I opened it again and put the old ssd in it and still nothing.
The battery is reconnected and everything, I just don‘t know why it is not starting. Also tried SMC and holding the power buttom a while but still..
Battery is working because if I plug it in it shows the green led.

I hope that someone could help me, I really need it for my studies 🙁

 

[xboxbml]

In truth it’s not a complete deal killer to me actually. But the kicker is that the 2 TB isn’t actually that cheap here to my surprise. It costs almost as much for the Crucial P2 bare NVMe drive as it does for the entire Samsung T7 2 TB drive including external enclosure (of course) and both USB-C and USB-A cables. I think there was a US$5 price difference.

EDIT:

It turns out the Crucial P2 pricing is just odd right now. I just checked and the 2 TB is 22% more expensive than it was just a couple of weeks ago. So I'll just wait it out.

Well, I paid 249.99 for my 2TB 9/2020.. Looks like they're going for about 240 now..interesting.. I swear I saw them for more a while back. Well, good luck to you. Hope it works out well.

 

[EugW]

Well, I paid 249.99 for my 2TB 9/2020.. Looks like they're going for about 240 now..interesting.. I swear I saw them for more a while back. Well, good luck to you. Hope it works out well.

The Crucial P2 2 TB was CA$199.99 (US$156) in November, 2021.

BTW, I wonder if any of the 2 TB ones are TLC. Cuz the TLC ones are faster than the QLC, although think all the 2 TB ones may be QLC. I don't think there is any way to tell from the packaging though.

The Seagate Barracuda Q5 is QLC, but they're up front about that. It's written right on the packaging. It uses the same Phison E13T low power controller as the Crucial P2, so the performance should be the same.

I'll wait until either the P2 or Q5 drops back down to under CA$200 and I'll buy then. I've since cancelled my Kingston A2000 order.

I installed a new ssd on my MacBook Pro mid 2014 with the WD Blue SN550 + Gigabase SSD Adapter on Amazon.
Last night I installed Big Sur 16.2.1 on it after installing the new SSD and shut it down when I was finished with all the things.
But now I started my Macbook again, but it does nothing. Just shows me the black screen, no sound, nothing is making any noise.
Then I opened it again and put the old ssd in it and still nothing.
The battery is reconnected and everything, I just don‘t know why it is not starting. Also tried SMC and holding the power buttom a while but still..
Battery is working because if I plug it in it shows the green led.

I hope that someone could help me, I really need it for my studies 🙁

Damn. Good luck.

 

[tshelby73]

Have a 2014 macbook air with a swapped in 512gb apple ssubx from a newer mac. Been running macos fine for years. Decided to install windows 10 bootcamp on it and finally got it to install with build 5011. The problem is it won’t install or update past 5011. It always freezes at 93% then rolls back. Do i need a windows driver for the newer ssubx drive.

 

[xboxbml]

The Crucial P2 2 TB was CA$199.99 (US$156) in November, 2021.

BTW, I wonder if any of the 2 TB ones are TLC. Cuz the TLC ones are faster than the QLC, although think all the 2 TB ones may be QLC. I don't think there is any way to tell from the packaging though.

The Seagate Barracuda Q5 is QLC, but they're up front about that. It's written right on the packaging. It uses the same Phison E13T low power controller as the Crucial P2, so the performance should be the same.

I'll wait until either the P2 or Q5 drops back down to under CA$200 and I'll buy then. I've since cancelled my Kingston A2000 order.


Damn. Good luck.

Yeah, I got this drive and not long after that the story broke. I had put the heat sink on mine and I really didn't want to risk messing it up just to find out which one it was. I'm guessing it's the TLC but not sure. This machine is of course not taking full advantage of this drive due to hardware limitations on machine, but my read/write speeds are twice the original so I'm not complaining.

 

[enplaned]

View attachment 1933670Hello!

I installed a new ssd on my MacBook Pro mid 2014 with the WD Blue SN550 + Gigabase SSD Adapter on Amazon.
Last night I installed Big Sur 16.2.1 on it after installing the new SSD and shut it down when I was finished with all the things.
But now I started my Macbook again, but it does nothing. Just shows me the black screen, no sound, nothing is making any noise.
Then I opened it again and put the old ssd in it and still nothing.
The battery is reconnected and everything, I just don‘t know why it is not starting. Also tried SMC and holding the power buttom a while but still..
Battery is working because if I plug it in it shows the green led.

I hope that someone could help me, I really need it for my studies 🙁

The screw that is holding down the SSD, is it touching anything metal that it's not supposed to?

I think that screw should be smaller and it should be a Torx screw. The one that's there looks out of place.

Not saying it will work, saying it's worth a shot.

 

[User9]

Would anyone know if boot argument debug 0x144 is needed for NVMeFix? and what does it do? Still couldn’t get it to work and install fresh in Monterey. I have tried everything including all kext dropping apps and none can properly bypass Monterey’s security.

Would anyone have any suggestions?

 

[User9]

Hi,

Yes it is working for me. I recently upgraded to from Big Sur to Monterey 12.1, and I installed the latest versions of Lilu and Nvmefix. I also installed ssdpmenabler. Its all working the same as before. I'm getting idling below .01A. The intel 660p 2tb has been a great cheap drive for me so far.

If you're getting errors, think about your adapter (sintech?) inside the computer. If the pins are touching some of the frame in the computer it can cause all kinds of issues. You use electric tape to fix that. Next make sure you have the latest versions of the kexts. After that, clear your Pram and go through the proper install process of the kexts. Verify that they are accepted by the system by looking under extensions in the system profile. Use istats to verify your power saving.

But yes, I can confirm that all is working with this combo under monterey.

Would you mind sharing the terminal commands that you have used to reactivate the Monterey apfs snapshot function once all changes made? I am now stuck on this last step. Thanks

 

[tshelby73]

So i haven't found anything particulary useful about my situation regarding Windows 10 on a 2014 rmbp w upgraded ssd from a 2015 rmbp (SSUBX). If you are having problems installing/running Windows 7/8/10 (any build) then know that you are not alone. 🙂 [yes i've used the forum search, google and various other engines]

To be a little more exact:

I have a 2014 13" retina macbook pro - it came with SDNEP (Marvell controller, 2x pciex) 128GB drive.
I dont want to mess with firmware (i use the sleep feature constatly) so i've chosen to upgrade to a genuine Apple ssd - Samsung SSUBX 512GB. Everything went well, macos cloned just fine, speeds were as i'we expected...
...Until one day i've decided to install Windows 10 via BootCamp Assistant - little did i know what a sh*tstorm i've released upon to myself.

First Try: Create USB Windows installer via Bootcamp assistant, boot from created usb drive -> Windows installer fails to start. (tried all builds from 150X - 1909, earlier builds tend to go further in the install process)
Second attempt: Same "bootcamping" as before but i've removed the ssd (the upgraded one) - whoilá the Windows installer starts perfectly but 'course there's nowhere to be installed - i think i got this "" idea from an apple support thread.
Third attempt: ok i realized that this problem has to do something w windows drivers, so i downloaded bootcamp drivers for 2015 rmbp - this gave some progress - i can install windows but after the installer reboots for the first time it stuck on "Setting up services/devices or Please wait w circle animation"
Fourth attempt: Try install windows2go on a pc box - it ran fine on my rmbp w installed ssubx until it didn't. - "Please wait" on windows start screen.
Fifth attempt: Installed windows on an external usb ssd w a neat trick involving using virtualbox for starting the windows install but cut it before the first reboot on install. - This also works - for some time, same as before.

So beware that if you try to install an ssd from a 2015 machine in a 2013-2014 macbook pro it could "cripple" your machine somewhat. (running windows natively)

So i haven't found anything particulary useful about my situation regarding Windows 10 on a 2014 rmbp w upgraded ssd from a 2015 rmbp (SSUBX). If you are having problems installing/running Windows 7/8/10 (any build) then know that you are not alone. 🙂 [yes i've used the forum search, google and various other engines]

To be a little more exact:

I have a 2014 13" retina macbook pro - it came with SDNEP (Marvell controller, 2x pciex) 128GB drive.
I dont want to mess with firmware (i use the sleep feature constatly) so i've chosen to upgrade to a genuine Apple ssd - Samsung SSUBX 512GB. Everything went well, macos cloned just fine, speeds were as i'we expected...
...Until one day i've decided to install Windows 10 via BootCamp Assistant - little did i know what a sh*tstorm i've released upon to myself.

First Try: Create USB Windows installer via Bootcamp assistant, boot from created usb drive -> Windows installer fails to start. (tried all builds from 150X - 1909, earlier builds tend to go further in the install process)
Second attempt: Same "bootcamping" as before but i've removed the ssd (the upgraded one) - whoilá the Windows installer starts perfectly but 'course there's nowhere to be installed - i think i got this "" idea from an apple support thread.
Third attempt: ok i realized that this problem has to do something w windows drivers, so i downloaded bootcamp drivers for 2015 rmbp - this gave some progress - i can install windows but after the installer reboots for the first time it stuck on "Setting up services/devices or Please wait w circle animation"
Fourth attempt: Try install windows2go on a pc box - it ran fine on my rmbp w installed ssubx until it didn't. - "Please wait" on windows start screen.
Fifth attempt: Installed windows on an external usb ssd w a neat trick involving using virtualbox for starting the windows install but cut it before the first reboot on install. - This also works - for some time, same as before.

So beware that if you try to install an ssd from a 2015 machine in a 2013-2014 macbook pro it could "cripple" your machine somewhat. (running windows natively)

i was able to get build 1511 to install but I can't upgrade past that for the life of me. Did you ever get anywhere with this?

 

[Bladiko]

OK. I eventually put a SK Hynix Gold P31 into my MacBookAir6,2. Here are the steps I took in order:

1. Update the OS of MBA6,2 to macOS Big Sur
2. Create a bootable macOS installer on a USB drive
3. Install Parallels Desktop for Mac (free 14-day trial)
4. Install Rufus for Windows in Parallels and use Rufus to create a Windows To Go USB drive
5. Cancel Parallels Desktop for Mac (before the end of free 14-day trial)
6. Remove the OEM hard drive and insert P31 + Sintech adapter
7. Boot with Windows To Go USB drive
8. Install SK hynix Drive Manager in Windows To Go and download the latest P31 firmware
9. Use Drive Manager to bring the firmware of the P31 drive to the latest
10. Boot with macOS installer USB drive, format the P31 drive, and install a fresh macOS or migrate a Time Machine backup
11. Done!

Thank you for this. It really helped me yesterday. simple steps to follow that work. The only difference is i didn't use parallels since i already had bootcamp.

 

[enplaned]

Thank you for this. It really helped me yesterday. simple steps to follow that work. The only difference is i didn't use parallels since i already had bootcamp.

Did you notice if the firmware update actually updated anything? I "updated" mine on my PC recently and it didn't seem to change the firmware number - from which I gathered that in fact mine had come with the latest firmware already.

 

[xanderx007]

View attachment 1933670Hello!

I installed a new ssd on my MacBook Pro mid 2014 with the WD Blue SN550 + Gigabase SSD Adapter on Amazon.
Last night I installed Big Sur 16.2.1 on it after installing the new SSD and shut it down when I was finished with all the things.
But now I started my Macbook again, but it does nothing. Just shows me the black screen, no sound, nothing is making any noise.
Then I opened it again and put the old ssd in it and still nothing.
The battery is reconnected and everything, I just don‘t know why it is not starting. Also tried SMC and holding the power buttom a while but still..
Battery is working because if I plug it in it shows the green led.

I hope that someone could help me, I really need it for my studies 🙁

Have you checked if you've updated the firmware before you installed Big Sur?

 

[Bladiko]

Did you notice if the firmware update actually updated anything? I "updated" mine on my PC recently and it didn't seem to change the firmware number - from which I gathered that in fact mine had come with the latest firmware already.

I downloaded the latest firmware and used to tool to update it, for some reason it doesn't replace the existing one so using the tool i selected the newer one and activated it. Initially I thought it was the same, but on close inspection i noticed a one letter difference in the firmware names so i guess it was different. before the macOS Monterey installer wasn't able to recognize it but after i activated the new firmware installation was quick.

 

[Bladiko]

UPDATE re: P31 GOLD.

I was able to get it to work, finally. It's a bit of a convoluted process. None of the external SSD enclosures I tried would allow the firmware update utility to work, but I could use the drive normally while in the enclosure. Without the drive plugged into the motherboard, I couldn't update the firmware and as such, couldn't use the drive. Here's what did finally work:

1. Download a Windows 10 ISO and Rufus.
2. Install Windows 10 as bootcamp or virtualbox and boot into that Windows 10.
3. With your new Windows 10 install, disable the Windows Defender Firewall + Virus scanning <---- this is critical as it will stop Rufus from creating the Windows to Go.
4. Create a bootable Windows 10 to Go drive using Rufus
5. Download the P31 firmware update utility and .ebin file for your drive; store them on your Windows to Go drive somewhere.
6. Put the P31 in your computer's drive slot.
7. Boot from the Windows To Go drive ("Option" during boot) and update the firmware for the drive.
   1. Note: my firmware version did not appear to change, but I was able to format the drive and use it once updated.
8. I used internet recovery to format the drive and install a fresh copy of Big Sur.

So far, the drive is lovely - battery life has been good, speeds are exceptional, and no problems with sleep/wake.

I used roughly the same steps and I was able to update the firmware. I clean installed macOS Monterey 12.1 smoothly and restored my previous system with no hitch. everything works well so far, good speeds too and no problems with sleep/wake. I'm now trying to install bootcamp Win10 Pro i see how it goes.

 

[terrazoids]

Thanks, I might need to try again since it worked on yours.
1. Where did you kapton your Sintech as my worked without problems so far.
2. What is the order of install? I have ssdpmenabler working at 0.08A but just couldn’t get the other kext working no matter what. Would you mind listing the steps for installing nvmefix? Did you install using terminal or Hackintool?
3. Is there a way to check the firmware of the 660p ssd? Maybe Intel did something with my made in 2021
Thanks

Ok sounds like you've got yourself in a bit of a mess.

So go back to the beginning and proceed in order.

1) Remove any third party kexts from your system. Reset your Pram.

2) Now verify that theres nothing wrong with the sintech adapter. Go into system profiler and check that the nvme drive shows 4x lanes running, not 2. If there was a problem with the pins not being properly taped you'd see frequent crashes upon waking the computer or you might see the ssd operating with only 2 lanes running. Checking with istats, your ssd should be reading around .16, .17A idle.

3) If everything is fine here, go ahead and install ssdpmenabler. You don't need the terminal commands. Just use hackintool, use hackintool's function for installing kexts. Then go to security preferences and 'ok' the third party extension. The system will want to reboot.

4) Reboot into recovery mode, open terminal and execute "csrutil enable --without kext"

5) Reboot. Verify that ssdpmenabler is installed in the system profiler / extensions. Verify with istats that your idle reads around .06A

6) Now repeat the process with both Lilu and Nvmefix. Use hackintool to install, go to security pref., and reboot.

7) Again with verify that the extensions are loaded in the profiler, and check idle with istats, should be below .01A

All of this assumes you are using the intel 660p, a macbook pro 11,5, latest versions of ssdpmenabler, nvmefix, and lilu, and Monterey 12.1.

 

[terrazoids]

Would anyone know if boot argument debug 0x144 is needed for NVMeFix? and what does it do? Still couldn’t get it to work and install fresh in Monterey. I have tried everything including all kext dropping apps and none can properly bypass Monterey’s security.

Would anyone have any suggestions?

Try to get it working without any boot arguments, I didn't need them. Just the three kexts, Lilu, nvmefix and ssdpmenabler.

 

[terrazoids]

3. Is there a way to check the firmware of the 660p ssd? Maybe Intel did something with my made in 2021
Thanks

With the firmware, you can check in system profiler what its on. I'm on the latest 004c. You'll need windows to update it. So you can do that with with boot camp at some point.