The modules are in fact labeled that way, and they are available. I used SN for a unit that isn't mine, and had no problem going through checkout all the way to submission.
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Upgrading Mac Studio storage
- Thread starter gilles_polysoft
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Maybe you could share that serial with a few of us or maybe could help figure out the new serial numbers?
I would like to increase my 1 to a 2 or 4.
I just ripped them from ebay listings (this is why you shouldn't show them in your pictures I guess).
The main concern I have at this point is that using the wrong serial number will tie it to a different iCloud account.
I'm happy to test, but not with a few hundred dollars on the line for a 512 module, much less the potential risk for me to be able to restore... hence my interest in downgrading to a trusted user's module first.
I wasn't thinking of riping anybody off. No one in the serial number business seems to have decoded the numbers yet.I just ripped them from ebay listings (this is why you shouldn't show them in your pictures I guess).
The main concern I have at this point is that using the wrong serial number will tie it to a different iCloud account.
I'm happy to test, but not with a few hundred dollars on the line for a 512 module, much less the potential risk for me to be able to restore... hence my interest in downgrading to a trusted user's module first.
![s-l1600.jpg]()
What would be the purpose of that? If your intention is to boot off external, you can already do this by disabling boot lock via Recovery Mode.
And it is already established that the internal SSD must be present for any Apple Silicon Mac to work, regardless if you boot from the internal.
Yes sure. as long as you use a supported single 512GB module.
Unfortunately no. early boot process involves the M1 chip to read data from the integrated NANDs befores to pass hand to an external SSD.
No M1 nor M2 mac can boot not work without internal nands.
I was hoping that too, but after discovering that both Mac Mini M2 and M2 pro use BGA315 nands (the same as in iPhone 14), I think there is no hope future NANDs cards for any Mac Pro will be compatible with M1 mac studio.
JCID does not support M1 macs.
Basically what JCID does on T2 is it copies sysconfig-like block which configures RAID volume for T2. For some reason, DFU restore is not able to re-bind clean Nands into a partition, that's why it is needed. After Volume is created, T2 is able to format it and install BridgeOS + create volume for User data. Second reason for that is that T2 is also used as an SSD controller: its DRAM used as a cache, it calculates "smart" based on NAND condition. Also, these "NANDS" are in fact a SIP IC which have its own controller, NAND memory and small cache embedded. You can see similar type chips in MS Surface laptops or Toshiba/Kioxia m.2 1-chip drives
Upgrading M1 Pro/Air does not require anything but Apple Configurator + Chips replacement. Most likely thats because there are just 2 channels, no matter what capacity you have, there will be always two SSD NAND on board, even on cheapest 256GB models.
M1 Studio might use some sort of hybrid RAID-like mode like on T2, again, requires configuration on chips, however it is not really clear if these would be the same block, and you can simply use JCID to clone 4TB config to an upgraded SSD(For example, this blind sysconfig clone function is used if you have just one shorted NAND but it is readable under freezer / higher current power supply).
Basically what JCID does on T2 is it copies sysconfig-like block which configures RAID volume for T2. For some reason, DFU restore is not able to re-bind clean Nands into a partition, that's why it is needed. After Volume is created, T2 is able to format it and install BridgeOS + create volume for User data. Second reason for that is that T2 is also used as an SSD controller: its DRAM used as a cache, it calculates "smart" based on NAND condition. Also, these "NANDS" are in fact a SIP IC which have its own controller, NAND memory and small cache embedded. You can see similar type chips in MS Surface laptops or Toshiba/Kioxia m.2 1-chip drives
Upgrading M1 Pro/Air does not require anything but Apple Configurator + Chips replacement. Most likely thats because there are just 2 channels, no matter what capacity you have, there will be always two SSD NAND on board, even on cheapest 256GB models.
M1 Studio might use some sort of hybrid RAID-like mode like on T2, again, requires configuration on chips, however it is not really clear if these would be the same block, and you can simply use JCID to clone 4TB config to an upgraded SSD(For example, this blind sysconfig clone function is used if you have just one shorted NAND but it is readable under freezer / higher current power supply).
Personally, I regret I bought a Mac Studio with only a 1 TB SSD. If I would do it again, I would go for 2 TB.
I recommended people buy the absolute biggest SSD they could afford, and was told I was crazy for suggesting that. With macOS and applications, I think I am at at least 50%, and I have the 2TB.
If I had watched the YouTube video about the lifespan of a 2 TB SSD vs a 1 TB SSD, I wouldn't have made this mistake.
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Am I guessing right, that OP wants to keep secret about ”right order” and ”wrong order”?
since everybody gets it right at second time?
Does tha mac need to be booted when the first is inserted?
Then off and adding the second?
since everybody gets it right at second time?
Does tha mac need to be booted when the first is inserted?
Then off and adding the second?
Yep, at least with Thunderbolt drives. But you will get only 32 gbps with TB3 or TB4 drives.
Do you really think that if I wanted to keep something secret, I would post it here on MacRumors ? 🙃
You can read all my posts here: I share everything I find out and it's a pleasure to help others.
It's quite the opposite: some people have used my work on NVMe SSDs to develop their own business (Fledging is one example).
Also, the "right" order of the SSD modules in the Mac Studio is something that is publicly available :
- Go to the Apple support website : https://support.apple.com/en_US/manuals/macdesktops
- Find the Mac Studio manual : https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/2000/MA2118/en_US/mac-studio-2022-07300334A-repair.pdf
- see page 63 : you will find the correct SSD order
Here is the picture on page 63 : the module ending with "00" goes on the left (power button), the module ending with "01" goes on the right side.
No.
The modules need to be inserted both at the same time, in the right order. Think of it as a RAID of 8x NANDs modules (4x in each card), with only the 2x first NANDs containing a configuration.
Those 2 modules are stricly physically identical. The NANDs inside are just programmed a different way.
They work together in the order they were programmed.
And once the NANDs modules are properly working and recognized by the SOC, if they are blank or if they come from another Mac Studio, they need to be reformated and encrypted with Apple Configurator with the private key that is unique to each M1 processor in order to work.
This is interesting.
the Mac knows the order of installing, even if there’s no power.
So to detect the order, it uses battery?
the Mac knows the order of installing, even if there’s no power.
So to detect the order, it uses battery?
Hmm, maybe I got this: it is just a language issue:
It is not about temporal order, it is about spatial order (in cinema terms).
It doesn't matter in which order you put them, as long as you put them in the right places?
It is not about temporal order, it is about spatial order (in cinema terms).
It doesn't matter in which order you put them, as long as you put them in the right places?
In fact the SOC, the M1, has some dedicated communication lines with each of the NANDs.
In the case of the M1 "standard" (found in the iMac / Mac mini / MacBook Air and Pro 13"), there are two PCIe dedicated channels to communicate with the 2 NANDs.
In the case of the M1 Pro / Max / Ultra (found in the MacBook Pro 14" and 16" and in the Studio), there are 8x dedicated PCIe channels to communicate with either 4 NANDs (512GB and 1TB configs) and 8 NANDS (2TB 4TB and 8 TB configs)
The lines are hard wired : 4x lines to each daughter boards.
At boot, the SOC is waiting to read sysconfig :
- on NAND 1 on the channel 1
- on NAND 2 on the channel 2
If I don't make any mistake, NAND 3 to 4 (or 3 to 8) don't have sysconfig.
That's also what I get from his comments; when moving the 2TB modules they already had "something" installed inside, and these files must appear on the first two NAND blocks of slot 00. This is similar to pre-built NAS systems where the OS is installed on at least the first 2 HDD bays as RAID-1, then the data volumes are spread/stripped even more across more disks but the system still only spans those first two disks.
Hi there,
Mac Studio M2 and Mac Pro M2 were just announced.
As I was hopping, Apple does sell NAND storage upgrades for the Mac Pro M2 :
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MR393AM/A/apple-2tb-ssd-upgrade-kit-for-mac-pro
We might guess that those will work in the Mac Studio M2 too.
As for the Mac Studio M1 I think they won't work because different nand may be used :
- BGA110 nands (same as in iPhone 13) in the Mac Studio M1
- BGA315 nands (same as in iPhone 14) in both the Mac Studio M2 and Mac Pro M2
Mac Studio M2 and Mac Pro M2 were just announced.
As I was hopping, Apple does sell NAND storage upgrades for the Mac Pro M2 :
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MR393AM/A/apple-2tb-ssd-upgrade-kit-for-mac-pro
We might guess that those will work in the Mac Studio M2 too.
As for the Mac Studio M1 I think they won't work because different nand may be used :
- BGA110 nands (same as in iPhone 13) in the Mac Studio M1
- BGA315 nands (same as in iPhone 14) in both the Mac Studio M2 and Mac Pro M2
I'm wondering if anyone has tried these in a Mac Studio M2 yet. couldn't find a YouTube video yet. It's nice to have the ability to upgrade the machine later, even if the apple storage upgrade kits are not cheap.
Extrapolating the upgrade pricing from new or later, the built in 512GB storage appears to have a value of £400 according to apple. Mac Studio M2 Max also has a theoretical base price (without storage) of £1,699 according to apple
2TB Upgrade Kit: £1,000 (£0.50 per Gigabyte) - single NAND board
4TB Upgrade Kit: £1,600 (£0.40 per Gigabyte) - dual NAND boards
8TB Upgrade Kit: £2,800 (£0.35 per Gigabyte) - dual NAND boards
Built to order pricing:
===
Mac Studio M2 Max 512GB: £2,099 (£1,699 base + £400 storage) - single NAND board
Mac Studio M2 Max 1TB: £2,299 (£1,699 base + £600 storage) - single NAND board
Mac Studio M2 Max 2TB: £2,699 (£1,699 base + £1,000 storage) - single NAND board?
Mac Studio M2 Max 4TB: £3,299 (£1,699 base + £1,600 storage) - dual NAND boards
Mac Studio M2 Max 8TB: £4,499 (£1,699 base + £2,800 storage) - dual NAND boards
Assuming these upgrade kits do work on the Mac Studio, I'm super curious if you can build the machine with 2TB (single NAND board) and then buy the 2TB upgrade kit (single NAND board) to get 4TB later, although this technically works out £400 more expensive (0.50/GB) than building the machine with 4TB to begin with (0.40/GB). Seems apple have put a lot of thought into this to make sure there is no way to save money by upgrading later
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Your example should work if you ordered the machine with 2TB.Assuming these upgrade kits do work on the Mac Studio, I'm super curious if you can build the machine with 2TB (single NAND board) and then buy the 2TB upgrade kit (single NAND board) to get 4TB later, although this technically works out £400 more expensive (0.50/GB) than building the machine with 4TB to begin with (0.40/GB). Seems apple have put a lot of thought into this to make sure there is no way to save money by upgrading later
It is, however, much cheaper to get a 8TB NVMe drive at only $1200.
Greetings thanks for the great post!
Wanted to loop back with an update that Apple does allow users to purchase Mac Studio (2022) SSD Modules at the following website:
Enter your Mac Studio serial number then select desktop repair and SSD Modules.
Below are the part numbers and prices:
Please note Apple only allows shipping to select countries ATM.