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Where to purchase OEM Apple SSD's?

Tozovac

Tozovac

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 12, 2014
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Is it possible to purchase OEM SSD's from Apple or a 3rd party?

As usual, it's impossible to determine this on Apple's site.

I'm leery of OWC SSD upgrades based on mixed reviews, and Crucial does not appear to offer an SSD upgrade for my macbook air 6,2.

Thanks for any help!
 
Not direct from Apple but they are all over eBay. SSUAX are the original ones. SSUBX are the newer and faster ones.
 
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saulinpa said:
Not direct from Apple but they are all over eBay. SSUAX are the original ones. SSUBX are the newer and faster ones.
Click to expand...

Thanks. How about applicability to my 2014 mba 6,2?

Any limitations need to watch out for ? Or any SSUBX or SSUAX would do?
 
2013-2017 MBA all will take the same SSDs. Any SSUBX or SSUAX will fit but the 1TB as it is too wide. Some sold have a heat sink (black metal) on one side that is not needed for the Air.

I also see them also on Amazon if you are looking for a more reliable vendor.
 
On my 15 retina I replaced the original ssd with n transcend 820, so depending on your model year a transcend 720 or 820 might fit - they are reasonably priced too
 
Transcend will be about half the speed of a SSUBX as it is a x2 PCIe instead of x4. Probably will not notice in real world applications.
 
Last edited:
saulinpa said:
2013-2017 MBA all will take the same SSDs. Any SSUBX or SSUAX will fit but the 1TB as it is too wide. Some sold have a heat sink (black metal) on one side that is not needed for the Air.

I also see them also on Amazon if you are looking for a more reliable vendor.
Click to expand...

Thanks. So if I see one with the heat sink, I would just remove it (are they removable without putting too much work onto the SSD)? Or stay away from those? Thanks for the help.

alex_at said:
On my 15 retina I replaced the original ssd with n transcend 820, so depending on your model year a transcend 720 or 820 might fit - they are reasonably priced too
Click to expand...

Thanks - do you mean the jetdrive lites? Or a complete replaced SSD like this one (an 820, which appears to be OK for my 2014 MBA)?

https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-48...&qid=1521561681&sr=8-1&keywords=transcend+820

Or this one (720):

https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Je...&qid=1521561853&sr=8-1&keywords=transcend+720

I'm feeling too mixed over the OWC SSD replacements - maybe I just picked the wrong reviews but there seem to be too many complaints about overheating?
 
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saulinpa said:
I think an SSD with a heatsink will fit in the Air but haven't tried it. They are not removable.

I don't think that the JetDrive 720 will fit in the Air as it appears too wide. Same reason Apple's 1TB won't fit. Chart shows 820/825 only. https://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-787
Click to expand...

Thanks - looking up Transcend's site at home was my next move.

Some good options here, thanks for posting. My real need is to just access more storage via my mba without having to plug into an external HD. Being that I always have my carrying sleeve/case nearby, I wondered too whether wireless SSD's have become commonplace. I haven't yet found any good options. All I really want is to be able to carry around my full music & photos collections, and speed wouldn't be a huge issue to me.

Has anyone had any experience with something like this?

https://www.wdc.com/products/portable-storage/my-passport-wireless-ssd.html#WDBAMJ5000AGY-NESN
 
Hi guys! I know it's technically not about the MacBook Air.. but would when I buy a SSUBX SSD without a heatsink, would that work properly with the Mac Pro 2013?
 
It's the Mac Pro 6,1 Late 2013. I'm just wondering if the SSUBX SSD I need should have the heatsink or if it's fine without a heatsink :)
 
Back again, looking to increase my 2014 6,2 MBA from 128GB to 1TB as a stop-gap until the 16" MBP goes to the 10th gen processor or until the 14" MBP comes out. Has anyone picked up a used 1TBD SSUAX or SSUBX and successfully installed it in a 2013-2014 MBA?
 
Hey thank you. So your Feb 1 2019 comment was just about Macbooks, not Macbook Airs right?

Do you by chance know of any other "reputable" source to try other than Ebay? That's about the only place I'm seeing them for sale. Sounds also like the SSUBX would be the way to go if I can find one, for better speed overall, unless a great deal appears for a SSUAX.

Thank you again.
 
Tozovac said:
Hey thank you. So your Feb 1 2019 comment was just about Macbooks, not Macbook Airs right?

Do you by chance know of any other "reputable" source to try other than Ebay? That's about the only place I'm seeing them for sale. Sounds also like the SSUBX would be the way to go if I can find one, for better speed overall, unless a great deal appears for a SSUAX.

Thank you again.
Click to expand...
I have used ssuax and ssubx in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 Air.

The OEM Apple drives can only be purchased used as Apple never made them available for resellers.

The ssuax has a lane width of 2 and the ssubx is 4. Will you notice a difference in speed? Unlikely unless you reading and writing large files.
 
Tozovac said:
Thank you@Audit13
Click to expand...
You are welcome.

I was having trouble booting a mid-2014 15" Pro over the weekend so I loaded Catalina onto a ssuax by installing it inside a 2015 Air with no problem.

I also have a mid-2013 air running a ssubx.

The 2013 and 2014 Air are identical except for a slight speed bump (1.3 vs 1.4). All of the parts are completely interchangeable too.
 
Audit13 said:
You are welcome.

I was having trouble booting a mid-2014 15" Pro over the weekend so I loaded Catalina onto a ssuax by installing it inside a 2015 Air with no problem.

I also have a mid-2013 air running a ssubx.

The 2013 and 2014 Air are identical except for a slight speed bump (1.3 vs 1.4). All of the parts are completely interchangeable too.
Click to expand...

I'm planning on sticking with Sierra, as it seems to be the most stable and most compatible option to permit me to use a lot of legacy 32-bit software without having to spend hundreds to upgrade, which I know I will be forced to do if/when I go to a newer MBP. SW like Adobe photoshop CS3, Logic Express 9, etc. Foresee any issues if I clone my 128GB drive onto the 1TB SSUBX?
 
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