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Upgrading M4 Mac Mini SSD: Pre-Soldered 2TB Chip Options
- Thread starter ItsAShaunParty
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guitar_guy7
macrumors newbie
I have to join the discussion.
Since last April I have been putting 2TB SSDs from m4-SSD chinese site into M4 minis, the non pro ones. They also have drives for the pro version. I did 5 times the 2TB dives and once the 1TB drive in a base M4 configuration.
In couple of days I will be fitting another 1 TB drive into a friend's M4 base. My last 2TB card is also already reserved by another client of mine.
All i can confirm is that I didn't have a single issue, so far, with any of the drives or the minis after the upgrade.
All are working flawlessly, SO FAR !
I didn’t test iboff or ebay sellers. or ally Express. I order my drives from M4-SSD.com directly.
I have seen on the iBoff webpage that some of their 512GB drives use 2nd hand nands, while bigger ones use brand new ones. This is off putting in my opinion.
I hear often that people are afraid of storage updates, so I try to convince them otherwise.
Going back to m4-SSD.com case.
My Youtube video from the first mini upgrade is featured on their 2nd webside:
Upgrade Mac mini M4 (Pro) storage yourself — solder-free, cost-effecti
We build third-party SSD upgrade kits for Mac mini M4/M4 Pro—solder-free, cost-effective, and easy to install. Orders over $199 ship worldwide for free. All modules use brand-new chips and include a one-year warranty.m4boosthub.com
Mine is the Hime Hardware one.
M4-SSD told me that they check every single drive before shipping.
So far I have no reason NOT to belive their words.
3 of those minis I upgraded were brand new ones I bought straight from Apple's Polish reseller and performed the swap right away. The config of 24 GB ram and 2TB SSD is the sweet spot IMO.
Take care.
I picked up an iBoff 2TB about a week ago and was told it uses new SanDisk NAND. Installed it, and it’s been working great so far. The support on the iBoff Facebook Messenger page has been excellent—they’re quick to respond and answered all my pre‑sales questions (new NAND, manufacturer details, etc.). I’ve been in touch with them since around 2020, and their communication has always been solid, which definitely helped my decision. Very friendly and very responsive.
The drive comes with a 1‑year warranty, and they mentioned they can diagnose issues after that for a small service fee. My initial speed tests were a bit slower right after the first boot while everything settled, but after that, it’s been performing really well (knock on wood).
Hope this helps someone!
The reason I was looking into this is, is to backup my iphone 512GB into Mac mini M4. MacOS doesn't allow iphone backup into external drive.
Here's another thought": What if I use external drive boot? Say I install MacOS into a 4TB external SSD and boot from that,.... can I backup my iphone into that 4TB SSD?
Here's another thought": What if I use external drive boot? Say I install MacOS into a 4TB external SSD and boot from that,.... can I backup my iphone into that 4TB SSD?
I backup my iPhone to an external SSD connected to my M4 Mini, I forget how to set it up, but it is on YouTube somewhere.
EugW
macrumors P6
Free Up Your Mac: Unleash iPhone Backups onto External Drives
Learn how to free up Mac space by moving iPhone backups to an external drive. Follow our simple guide to ensure your data is safely stored.
Nobody is installing these any more? Or they all died and you can’t access the discussions?
Considering getting one for the M4 pro. Maybe m4boosthub or expandmacmini? What kind of performance?
Considering getting one for the M4 pro. Maybe m4boosthub or expandmacmini? What kind of performance?
You might have missed the huge increase in NAND prices recently. These started at $180 for 2TB. I stopped looking when they hit $380.
At the start, the M4 Pro boards were already more costly ($ per TB) to begin with, probably due to much lesser demand. Along with the NAND price increase the option quickly became no go.
I bought a pair of 8TB boards for my M1 Studio back in November, just checked again it has now almost doubled its price.
My brother had to wait 6 months for the delivery an Amazon Echo 21", which went out of stock just after he bought it and that is an Amazon product.
Populus
macrumors 604
Hey! Quick update! The 2TB NVMe I bought for 180€ and now it’s at 580€… today was sent! I think they were quietly waiting to see if either I canceled the product or forget about it. But I called a few days ago to say that I’m still waiting for it, that I’m not going to cancel the product… and it arrives next week. Yay!
I broke the power button cable an thinking of buying activation locked “for parts” Mac mini. Is the logic board and/or ssd locked too?
You can just buy a replacement cable on AliExpress as far as I know. Should only be a few dollars.
Fishrrman
macrumors Nehalem
Power button replacement cable:
Be more careful next time...!
Be more careful next time...!
vince22
macrumors 6502a
Update, after over a year my M4 mini base ($499 Costco ) with 3rd party 2TB SSD ($180 Aliexpress) still rock'n , best bang for the buck for sure, it would have cost me $1400 straight from Apple.
That is how they make their $$$$$$$$$. At cost or slightly above does not work for most companies.