What are the risks of upgrading Apple silicon storage?

Question

Tilga kaip idėją padidinti savo Apple silicon įrenginio atmintį. Į ką verta atkreipti dėmesį?

Answer 1

Replacing or increasing storage space in an Apple silicon device such as the M1 Mac Mini is quite an undertaking, and an extremely technical one at that. Dealing with sensitive devices, employing a hot air station, making sure that only a few sets of NAND will be needed because some are bound to fail – it all comes with the job. Moreover, it is required to swap in the NANDs which were configured for use with Apple’s Configurator, which poses the risk of disabling the device if it is performed incorrectly.

Comments

This is not so much, in my mind, about the upgradability, it is about replacing your SSD when it fails. And if you look at the specs of Apple’s SSDs, the TBW, the larger ones have a larger TBW. I would also urge everyone reading this to contact their State representatives about “Right to Repair.” This would allow repair shops to be able to upgrade or replace your SSD on your Mac Mini or MacBook without voiding your warranty.

Now, do this on a Mac Studio!

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This is not something that the average Mac owner should EVER do on their own. This is for tech pros ONLY!

For everyone else, just spend $80 to get a powered USB-C hub and throw a $75 2TB NAND NVMe M.2 SSD into it. FAR easier, faster, cheaper, and safer.

But if you're a tech nerd, then what they do in this content is the move!!!

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This is something I've hoped people would do for quite a while! I wonder if someday this could be a service people could offer to people who might not have solderers and computer chips handy

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I saw Rossmann's content the other day, explained how a Mac mini was effectively bricked when the SSD got damaged because of the BIOS also being stored on those chips. So I thought this would never ever be possible to upgrade. Probably also serialized to the system and such. Amazingly, it is possible!

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Very nice... you did a great job. I request you turn it into a step by step guide with instructions, tools required and precautions. A lot of such business can spring up that can repair and upgrade these machines.

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iBoff did a comprehensive explanation on how the M1 SoC treats the SSDs, which can be used in the "upgrade" process. And yes they also referenced Luke's previous attempt in their content.

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That was excruciating to watch!  Big up to DosDude. Big fan! Let's hope Apple doesn't block these NANDs in future OS updates, ergo "non-genuine Apple parts"

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This is legitimately cool, but this is high-level work.  If it was above the Luke's skill-level, it's going to be well beyond the normal user's realm.

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this could be revolutionary in macbook repairs of dead ssds!

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Would definitely love to see you guys upgrade an M2 MacBook Pro

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Where did you get those blank nands from?

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Key if desolder is high temp and short duration. Get some heat shielding tapes around.

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There is a small cheap device for programming NAND, controllers etc. YOu just need to program the chip before solder it to the MB. 3 mins operation, fast and easy. Works like a charm with every chips.

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So I've been a mac tech for 25 years, but back in the day it was only basic soldering...may have to invest into this, as it is only going to be more micro soldering from here out. This is actually fairly manageable - just small. Probably easier than trying to get an old SCSI array rebuilt from a partial tape backups - HAHA!