Actually AliExpress was a bit more expansive (1188 eur vs 999 eur for Polysoft )
But better to have something for 1188 than nothing for 999
But better to have something for 1188 than nothing for 999
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Upgrading Mac Studio storage
- Thread starter gilles_polysoft
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Seems there’s now a delivery update for end of the week and next week for 300 units. Will be reporting back if I end up getting it.
That being said, he also adjusted the price to 1079 for new orders. If I were to buy again today I’d buy on aliexpress instead, even if it’s more expensive. The savings are simply not worth the headache.
That being said, he also adjusted the price to 1079 for new orders. If I were to buy again today I’d buy on aliexpress instead, even if it’s more expensive. The savings are simply not worth the headache.
I bought from Polysoft because I was aiming for premium-quality memory — not just something that works, but something built with care and long-term reliability in mind.
That said, I’ve also used SSD adapters from AliExpress in the past. They weren’t exactly premium builds, but… 7 years later, they still work fine, and they didn’t kill my Mac, obviously.
If I had to buy again today, I might lean toward AliExpress too — even if it’s more expensive now. Back when I ordered, it was actually €300 cheaper than it is today, and if I had known how long and messy this would get, I might have made a different choice.
Anyway — fingers crossed I’m in this next batch and that it finally ships.
I honestly don’t think that apart from that added voltage regulator there’s any change as the NAND modules are the same and they can’t really deviate too much from the original PCB so either should be fine while PolySoft ones should have an additional safeguard which I appreciate.
Nope, I don’t really think so either. I was mostly referring to the quality of the PCB — and now that I think about it, that PCB also came from China.
(Not even sure there are any factories left in France that can still produce that kind of hardware.)
For me, the main reason I went with Polysoft is that I’m French — so in theory, if anything goes wrong, it should be easier to deal with locally… 😅
Let’s just hope this was a rough patch, and things are finally getting back on track now. 🤞
(Not even sure there are any factories left in France that can still produce that kind of hardware.)
For me, the main reason I went with Polysoft is that I’m French — so in theory, if anything goes wrong, it should be easier to deal with locally… 😅
Let’s just hope this was a rough patch, and things are finally getting back on track now. 🤞
That's awesome news!
Big red flag that @gilles_polysoft continues to take chargebacks instead of communicating with/refunding customers, as he stated he was.
I’m honestly not so sure that Polysoft’s quality is much better than the one from AliExpress.
Do you know where the Mac Studio is manufactured? China.
The PCB boards sold on AliExpress most likely come from the same manufacturers that produce the original Mac Studio SSD boards.
Also, according to Polysoft’s Kickstarter page:
When I look at what I received from AliExpress, it also shows “Hynix,” so they’re using the exact same NAND chips.
Also, from what PS shows in their videos, they solder each chip individually by hand.
I don’t have any experience in chip soldering, but I’d bet my right hand that the AliExpress sellers are doing it with machines, mostly automated.
Hey all, LONG time reader, brand new poster. Finally made an account so I can share another side to the story.
I ordered my 8tb m2 kit back on April 29th, 2025.
While communication was initially sparse I finically got a my first update from Gilles in July. While part of me thought I had been scammed….. the product and support from the community was too real; and I bought it with my Amex which does let you chargeback within a year.
Learning about the issues he had with a large batch of m2 chips I figured I was just in it for the long haul.
Every company these days has 800 different ways to reach someone to get an answer; while sparse communication is a huge red flag 99 out of 100 times; in this instance it’s truly just supply and demand. And with a whole batch of kits basically being deemed junk from his testing (props to them for testing), they are really just 6 months behind schedule as they continue to work to fulfill those orders….. and I believe it’s just him trying to answer emails.
While I may have done things differently if I got my Mac Studio in July, I trust polysoft and Gilles for what they are doing; I will keep you updated as to when my kit actually arrives. As of what he told me this morning, it will be 3 weeks; so I will keep my fingers crossed there aren’t any further delays.
I ordered my 8tb m2 kit back on April 29th, 2025.
While communication was initially sparse I finically got a my first update from Gilles in July. While part of me thought I had been scammed….. the product and support from the community was too real; and I bought it with my Amex which does let you chargeback within a year.
Learning about the issues he had with a large batch of m2 chips I figured I was just in it for the long haul.
Every company these days has 800 different ways to reach someone to get an answer; while sparse communication is a huge red flag 99 out of 100 times; in this instance it’s truly just supply and demand. And with a whole batch of kits basically being deemed junk from his testing (props to them for testing), they are really just 6 months behind schedule as they continue to work to fulfill those orders….. and I believe it’s just him trying to answer emails.
While I may have done things differently if I got my Mac Studio in July, I trust polysoft and Gilles for what they are doing; I will keep you updated as to when my kit actually arrives. As of what he told me this morning, it will be 3 weeks; so I will keep my fingers crossed there aren’t any further delays.
I’ll say this much: I bought an (used) OEM 4TB kit a while back from someone on eBay who had purchased an 8TB kit from Polysoft. I only paid $200 for it, which I considered it to be a scorching deal. The eBay seller has a YouTube video demonstrating how he swapped it. I basically followed the video just in case I doubted its ease of execution.
I appreciate your optimism. I was hopeful in the early months of waiting as well. The reality is that Gilles has not been honest/forthcoming with customers time and time again.
He claims to be processing refund requests but many of our requests have been ignored for months. We are forced to file chargebacks instead.
Why would he risk his payment processor freezing his payouts/dropping him as a merchant by taking so many chargebacks instead of just communicating/refunding orders, as he claims to be?
I see more and more tech reviewers getting the kit, maybe for free, from Polysoft for recent machines like the M4, so kits are being made... but the order of how they are being distributed; and communication around that information.... is next to nothing.
Makes sense to hand out units to influencers to generate new orders, if that's indeed what he's doing. Somebody has to pay for the hundreds of failed units that he had to manufacture again.
Also, the 3 weeks he quoted you this AM is ~ 2 weeks longer than the delivery date range he is now claiming on his store for your order batch, which he updated yesterday.
I'd file that chargeback while you still can.
Gonna give it until December (8 months is my cut off) I really do want to believe this is the last delay!
Not quite ready to fold and buy from allied from a place that won’t have a warranty or potentially do the testing to find bad chips.
I also ordered it such a long time ago it’s hundreds cheaper than any other option. I’ve made it work using the 1tb it came with, so I like to think Christmas comes early when it shows up in a few weeks.
In the meantime, my AliExpress order arrived at Customs last night. Ordered on November 6th, and in 5 days it's here in Italy. Now, of course, there's the customs clearance time, but compared to what we read about other shipments, I would say we are much, much better.
Here is a speed test from the aliexpress order from FANGYUAN store
Ordered a Studio Drive M1 8TB from Polysoft on Sep 18, 2025. The order was canceled on Oct 16, 2025 at my request, and a credit slip was created the same day (not sure what that actually does). I’ve sent several emails since then, but it’s been complete radio silence—still no refund back to my card (paid via Link/Stripe).
Has anyone successfully received a refund from Polysoft in a similar situation? Did it only go through after they provided an ARN or other Stripe reference IDs?
Has anyone successfully received a refund from Polysoft in a similar situation? Did it only go through after they provided an ARN or other Stripe reference IDs?
He issued a store credit to you because he does not intend to refund you.
He’s been lying about processing refunds for a while now.
File a chargeback, if it isn’t too late.
Thank you for the reply. I’ve just filed a report with SignalConso. I hope this can be resolved without too much hassle.
SignalConso sounds great but does not guarantee any result/outcome.
Filing a chargeback via your credit card company, if you are still able to, would nearly guarantee your refund.
Indeed SignalConso and Filing a chargeback are complementary
What we are witnessing now is someone who simply don't care about his customers. He needs to be stopped, because he is still making orders as we speak. This is not funny anymore.
The actual fact that you are waiting from April till now for your order is unacceptable by any standards. Stop trusting and get your money back.