Gilles seems like a nice guy, and sure, maybe the logistics for this project turned out to be overwhelming for him, and all sort of unexpected **** happen and ruin the plans. I get all that, and I was prepared to wait a while when I ordered. However, I need honest, straightforward and timely information. But so far, every single notification from him regarding my order (and others', as far as I can tell) has been utter and total BS. That, I do not appreciate at all.
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Upgrading Mac Studio storage
- Thread starter gilles_polysoft
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For those wondering about timelines from other sellers, I ordered an 8tb kit on Sunday night from Fangyuan on AliExpress. Shipped on Tuesday via UPS Worldwide Express and it's scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
$1143 after coupon versus $3800 from Apple.
$1143 after coupon versus $3800 from Apple.
I think it is a lot more about lack of operational competence in running such a scale of business than it is malice... I don't believe for one minute that Gilles is a thief or a scammer. He just has not been able to keep up with the success and what it takes to respond to even enquiries/keeping people up to date.
But that's exactly it! It doesn't take that much, really. There is, what, like a hundred of outstanding orders, give or take? It would take me one afternoon to mail out a meaningful update to each and every one of these customers, once a month. Look up the order, insert name and order number, give a reasonable estimate, tell it like it is, and press send. And yet he says in his last published notice (from June 1st, mind you) that he is unable to respond to email inquires... Why the hell not? And he is directing people to contact him by WhatsApp (which he does not respond to either, btw).
In my view, the only thing that could justify this kind of behaviour is some kind of deep personal or family catastrophe, which I really hope is not the case, and if it is, I take back my remarks and wish him all the luck to overcome it. But something is telling me that it's not really the case, since he is posting cat memes on X as we speak.
Polysoft... has Giles been able to secure nand for outstanding orders? I get the feeling the ill health and other plethora of excuses point to not only inability to produce at the scale they, but more towards lack of chips to actually build the things in the first place.
If Giles came out and said I can't get the nand in reasonable time frames to fulfil your orders, wouldn't that cause mass refunds?
I think burying their heads and lying with excuse after excuse is akin to feeling scammed, regardless of whether the intent was there.
If Giles came out and said I can't get the nand in reasonable time frames to fulfil your orders, wouldn't that cause mass refunds?
I think burying their heads and lying with excuse after excuse is akin to feeling scammed, regardless of whether the intent was there.
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Like others have already said, it's certainly nice Gilles freely re-shipped you something you had already paid and waited 4 months for… It's even nicer that he even responded to you in any way shape or form.
Gilles has now had "about a hundred" kits left to ship for around… 6 months now. There is almost no evidence that he's getting through this backlog. Like your order, these are all kits that were also paid for well in advance, and yet Gilles is unable to even update his own homepage with a basic count of kits remaining to be shipped.
Instead every couple months he posts apologetic updates to his site with a new round of excuses, or pops into this thread he started (and inexplicably keeps linked from his homepage, like the weirdest customer testimonials ever) to write long posts that offer no real answers —before once again going incommunicado for months.
Given that it’s already been more than a month since his last Polysoft homepage update he’s had at least 20 business days at “3-4 kits per day” to try to clear his backlog… so if he updates again (maybe in another month or so lol) and still has “about a hundred” remaining then I think everybody can conclude that all bets are off and Polysoft shouldn’t be considered a going concern in any way shape or form.
Got it in today as expected. About 96 hours from order submission to delivery going from Hong Kong to the US Midwest.
Very easy install with the toughest part being the undoing of Studio lid screws which felt like they were superglued in at first.
The only issue was similar to the one referenced a page or two back with the restore process. The MBP (M5) detected the DFU'd machine right away and tried to restore but either lost connection or it stalled. Ran it again in Apple Configurator using the drag and drop .ipsw for 15.6 and it completed fine.
Follow up!
Good things come to those who wait!
So, I’ve now received a replacement kit, which is working perfectly without any issues. This brings the matter to a positive conclusion for me, and I wish Gilles and his team all the best.
It’s clear that personal and health-related setbacks have hit the company hard. Despite all that, they’re working hard to clear the backlog, which is why I have to give them credit for being a reputable provider.
Be patient, even if it’s hard…
lol. lmao even.
If you got your M4 kit in mid-March I’m guessing you ordered in… maybe November 2025? And then waited ~3 more months with your defective part after reaching out in early April?
I would be very curious what the magic words/phrases/contact methods were that finally elicited any form of response from Polysoft. Like you yourself said, a “reputable provider” should be able to offer a “prompt response” —the complete lack of any such abilities or efforts on Polysoft’s part is the rake they seem happy to just continually step on.
Congrats on successfully waiting multiple months in radio silence for a warranty replacement though.
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Whelp, 33 working days in France since Gilles' last homepage update on June 2, which means at "3–4" assembled each day he should be through the backlog of "about a hundred left to send out" —unless of course there are some fun new excuses. I wonder what the reasons will be this time though, anybody got any bets……
Unfortunately, nand prices have increased and increased. While we have done all we can to absorb these costs, it is now at the point we must ask you for an additional $750, and delivery expectation of 2029.
P.S My dog is sick.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
At some point those excuses ring hollow. We're not talking about weeks or months of these excuses, or going dark, but years? Why is he even accepting orders when he's been unable to fulfill orders made 3, 5, 6 months ago?
Scammers will keep leading people on, offering glimmers of hope, to string people along and get more money from unsuspecting souls. I'm not saying he's a scammer, but I would definitely be calling the authorities for them yo investigate and make that determination
ascender
macrumors 603
I managed to get an M4 Max before the price rise, but the only one I could get was a 1TB SSD so have just ordered a 4TB upgrade kit from Fangyuan. Thanks for the heads-up about this reseller.
4sallypat
macrumors 603
tl;dr - Newbie to upgrading Studio question:
Normally I would buy a new device when I have a need and was recently thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Studio but finances say otherwise (recently just retired).
If I get a 2TB kit from Fangyuan, does it ADD storage onto my existing 512GB base M1 Studio ?
Or do I have to wipe and restore the entire device ?
Sorry I normally don't do upgrades on my Macs but $500 is cheaper than getting a used Studio....
Normally I would buy a new device when I have a need and was recently thinking of upgrading to a new Mac Studio but finances say otherwise (recently just retired).
If I get a 2TB kit from Fangyuan, does it ADD storage onto my existing 512GB base M1 Studio ?
Or do I have to wipe and restore the entire device ?
Sorry I normally don't do upgrades on my Macs but $500 is cheaper than getting a used Studio....
You have to wipe and restore the entire device. You would have 2TB (total) if you upgrade.
4sallypat
macrumors 603
Pressure
macrumors 603
You just take the current single NAND blade out. You don't need to wipe that.
Then you need to install the two new NAND blades and do a reinstallation on those. You can backup from iCloud.
If anything happens to your upgraded storage or you need to send the device back to Apple, you can always insert the single 512GB NAND blade again.
ascender
macrumors 603
I'm running into similar issues on an M4 Max. I've dropped then a message so will see what they say.
ascender
macrumors 603
Took a bit longer to complete than planned because I ordered the wrong memory upgrade....
Fangyuan - amazing service from start to finish. I added 4TB to my M4 Max for circa £700 all in. No customs charges and my kit was received in under 5 working days from them to the UK.
Once I got the correct kit, the installation was an absolute breeze. Very quick and worked first time following the instructions. DFU for me worked automatically and restored the latest version of Tahoe so I didn't have to muck about with any manual images.
Taking the Mac Studio apart is also very easy - instructions from Fangyuan are spot-on and you also get all the tools you'll need.
Fangyuan - amazing service from start to finish. I added 4TB to my M4 Max for circa £700 all in. No customs charges and my kit was received in under 5 working days from them to the UK.
Once I got the correct kit, the installation was an absolute breeze. Very quick and worked first time following the instructions. DFU for me worked automatically and restored the latest version of Tahoe so I didn't have to muck about with any manual images.
Taking the Mac Studio apart is also very easy - instructions from Fangyuan are spot-on and you also get all the tools you'll need.