MacBook Air 2017 m.2 SSD

Hello all, has anyone have any experience with using m.2 ssds with there MacBook Air. I am looking at 1 tb evo 860 Samsung 860 EVO 1TB M.2 SATA Internal SSD (MZ-N6E1T0BW) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07822Z77M/?tag=macforums0e4-20

Not sure what adapter is needed. I just assumed that Apple is using a PCIe but I am reading Mac Air SSDs connecters May be proprietary. Does anyone have any experience with this. I bought a 128Gb since I knew even 256 is not even enough for my needs and would be carrying around an external HD anyways.

Are you sure you can put 2 ssd's into a MacBook Air? It can be done with some MacBook Pro's...but have not heard it can be done with a Macbook Air.

Also...a 2017 MacBook Air is essentially a "speed-bumped" 2015 MacBook Air.

Here's the SSD that a 2015 MacBook Air needs:




Here's the SSD from your Amazon link.



Obviously they're not the same!

- Nick

Hello all, has anyone have any experience with using m.2 ssds with there MacBook Air.

Click to expand...

Not me but have a look here where they used to have all the info on upgrades and replacement stuff:
www.xlr8yourmac.com




- Patrick
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Apple use proprietary connectors and there are no adapters. JetDrive 820:-


https://us.transcend-info.com/Products/No-787

harryb2448 said:

Apple use proprietary connectors and there are no adapters. JetDrive 820:-
https://us.transcend-info.com/Products/No-787

Click to expand...

Nice.

EDIT:
Unfortunately their sources for "Where to buy" don't seem to work as the listed suppliers I checked don't list them, but another link does at:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ld-keywords=JetDrive™+820?tag=macforums0e4-20

which does list the:
OWC 1.0TB Aura SSD Flash Internal Drive Upgrade Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CU2UY4W/?tag=macforums0e4-20






- Patrick
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That’s a bummer. The transcend and OWC are so pricy.

The adapters I am referring to are like this one https://m.ebay.com/itm/M-2-M-Key-PC...?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10&_mwBanner=1

pigoo3 said:

Are you sure you can put 2 ssd's into a MacBook Air? It can be done with some MacBook Pro's...but have not heard it can be done with a Macbook Air.

Also...a 2017 MacBook Air is essentially a "speed-bumped" 2015 MacBook Air.

Here's the SSD that a 2015 MacBook Air needs:

View attachment 28073


Here's the SSD from your Amazon link.

View attachment 28074

Obviously they're not the same!

- Nick

Click to expand...

Sorry if my wording was confusing. Just wanting to swap my current ssd out. Not add a mother one

kickadoor said:

Sorry if my wording was confusing. Just wanting to swap my current ssd out. Not add a mother one

Click to expand...

No problamo...thanks for clarifying. Yes...the SSD replacements or upgrades for the MacBook Air (and MacBook Pro's) are more expensive than other products.

- Nick

kickadoor said:

That’s a bummer. The transcend and OWC are so pricy.

The adapters I am referring to are like this one https://m.ebay.com/itm/M-2-M-Key-PC...?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10&_mwBanner=1

Click to expand...

Well the specs at that page says it should work, but why not contact the seller and ask, and be very specific about your plans and specs.


EDIT:
Then there are some comments and facts like this:

First you may want to look at this Vid: 2017 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display Unboxing and Teardown jump to the 10:00 time point which shows the PCIe SSD Apple is using. It's very different from the M.2 SSD's.

Apple's PCIe NVMe SSD's use a custom device driver so while you might be able to get the adapter and NVMe SSD to physically fit it won't be recognized by the OS.

While I haven't tried anything in this new iMac I can tell you I've tried the newer MacBook Pro retina series which has a 2 lane NVMe SSD and it didn't work.

Click to expand...

https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/411888/NVME+M.2+SSD+with+adapter


And add this:
https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...e-ssd-drives-via-the-use-of-a-sintech-adapter



Hmmm…???




- Patrick
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pm-r said:

Well the specs at that page says it should work, but why not contact the seller and ask, and be very specific about your plans and specs.




- Patrick
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Click to expand...

I may just give it a shot with a m.2 drive from someone with a very generous return policy lol. I’ll report back what I find.

kickadoor said:

I may just give it a shot with a m.2 drive from someone with a very generous return policy lol. I’ll report back what I find.

Click to expand...

Definitely would love to hear how things work out.

Regarding the adapter linked from eBay above...this is still not the correct adapter for the 860 drive mentioned in post #1. The MacBook Pro/MacBook Air end is correct...but the EVO drive end is not the same as the 860 (960 EVO pictured in eBay link).

The other thing I would watch out for is if there's enough room in the MacBook Air for the SSD + the adapter. If the length of the space for the SSD is almost exactly the length of the drive...then the combined length of the adapter + drive may be too long. Hopefully there is enough room...would be cool to be able to use less expensive drives.

Amazon 860 EVO link:



- eBay adapter link (EVO 960 pictured):



- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Definitely would love to hear how things work out.

Regarding the adapter linked from eBay above...this is still not the correct adapter for the 860 drive mentioned in post #1. The MacBook Pro/MacBook Air end is correct...but the EVO drive end is not the same as the 860 (960 EVO pictured in eBay link).

The other thing I would watch out for is if there's enough room in the MacBook Air for the SSD + the adapter. If the length of the space for the SSD is almost exactly the length of the drive...then the combined length of the adapter + drive may be too long. Hopefully there is enough room...would be cool to be able to use less expensive drives.

Amazon 860 EVO link:

View attachment 28075

- eBay adapter link (EVO 960 pictured):

View attachment 28076

- Nick

Click to expand...

Thanks for heads up. I was just looking at the same thing. I do not really need nvme speeds. I am happy with the stock, I just want more storage which is what the Samsung 850 should do, I’ll just have to figure out what adapter will work with it. We shall see. I will reply back here with my findings, with whatever I figure out. Those OWC drives are too pricy for me and have horrible reviews. I want the storage out of really nothing more than convenience.

Look thru this thread. I installed a Samsung 950PRO NVMe M.2 drive in my 2015 MacBook Air using a Sintech adapter. No issues...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-air-2017-ssd-compatibility-with-samsung-ssd.2099405/

In the thread it shows how the M.2 drive looks installed with the Sintech adapter. I did not have any clearance issues and the MBA operated better than expected. I'm very pleased with the results. I have also put in the Disk Speed Test results comparing the Apple SSD speed to the new NVME M.2 speed. Well worth the cost/effort to do this.

Look thru this thread.

Click to expand...

Nice and informative thread thanks MacDr.




- Patrick
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Lots of great info @MacDr. Not only informative but you offered lots of great advice to the other participants of that thread.

MacDr said:

Look thru this thread. I installed a Samsung 950PRO NVMe M.2 drive in my 2015 MacBook Air using a Sintech adapter. No issues...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-air-2017-ssd-compatibility-with-samsung-ssd.2099405/

In the thread it shows how the M.2 drive looks installed with the Sintech adapter. I did not have any clearance issues and the MBA operated better than expected. I'm very pleased with the results. I have also put in the Disk Speed Test results comparing the Apple SSD speed to the new NVME M.2 speed. Well worth the cost/effort to do this.

Click to expand...

Excellent! I went a head and ordered the adapter you suggested. Why did you go with the pro vs evo? There seems to be a lot of conflicting info out there from the pro being faster to no difference besides warranty?

I went with the PRO because it is faster than the EVO. Since there was no information on whether or not the Samsung PRO series would work on a MacBook Air I decided to go with the 950 PRO first since it was half the price of a 960 PRO 1TB. That way if it did not work then I wouldn't feel nearly as bad for what I spent getting the NVMe M.2 drive.

I'm looking to put in a 960 PRO 1TB NVMe M.2 drive this summer into my MacBook Air but since you're looking to do this sooner than me, I'm very interested in hearing about your experience. Right now I'm loving the drive performance that my 950PRO has in my 2015 MBA.

Compared to the original Apple 256GB SSD, the M.2 NVMe drive is close to 3x faster... you get spoiled by the improved drive performance!

pm-r said:

Nice and informative thread thanks MacDr.




- Patrick
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Click to expand...

chscag said:

Lots of great info @MacDr. Not only informative but you offered lots of great advice to the other participants of that thread.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm glad I'm able to provide some info and help!

I took out my Samsung 950 PRO NVMe M.2 drive this evening and swapped in my original Apple 256GB SSD drive and then ran Disk Speed Test so that I can show the comparison in drive performance between the two. The result you see on the left is the original Apple 256GB SSD drive and the one on the right is my Samsung 950 PRO 512GB NVMe M.2 drive. You can see the huge difference between the two. I will have my Samsung drive reinstalled tomorrow after work.

I took out my Samsung 950 PRO NVMe M.2 drive this evening and swapped in my original Apple 256GB SSD drive and then ran Disk Speed Test so that I can show the comparison in drive performance between the two

Click to expand...

Good grief!!! What an amazing difference.

I wonder what's all involved between the two SSD drives for such a speed difference????




- Patrick
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