As the 1st Macs to feature solid-state storage, it has transitioned from 1.8" ATA-IDE to 1.8" SATA I, then II, then III, then onto custom-pinout M.2 SATA modules, to the more recent M.2 PCIe modules. The compatible MacBook Air SDD timeline is most complex. May Be SATA or PCIe Modules Depending On Model Adapters are available to convert a standard M.2 SSD blade to Apple's custom pinouts if needed, but it's best to buy direct replacements from OWC, Transcend, or Fledging who make Apple compatible modules. As with other Mac's, solid-state modules supplanted standard drive form factors, first with custom M.2 SATA and then as by 2014, custom pinout PCIe NVME SSD modules.
We reccomend the Western Digital Black or a Crucial P1 Series SSD blade.įor New Macs with USB-C Thunderbolt3 Portsįrom the original white MacBooks and early MacBook Pro's through around 2012, a standard 2.5" SATA SSD was generally an easy upgrade. Companies like OWC, Fledging, MCE Technologies, and Dataram make Mac-specific SSD blades appropriate for your particular model/year of Macintosh laptop or desktop.įor Apple users with modern Thunderbolt 3 equipped Macs, you can build your own SSD backup drive using standard pinout ultra-fast NVMe PCIe SSD modules and either a very affordable 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen2 USB-C enclosure or a costlier 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 drive case designed to hold standard M.2 form-factor solid-state modules.
Mac Compatible SATA & NVMe PCIe SSD Bladesįor upgrades inside your Mac, you need CUSTOM PINOUT Apple compatible SSD modules.
They're also ideal for building a DIY external SSD Macintosh backup drive with a low-cost USB or Thunderbolt enclosure.ĭelivers Peak Read / Write SSD Performance
When used with a 2.5" to 3.5" drive adapter, sled, or tray it's also the right choice for older Mac Pro towers and iMac computers which used full-size 3.5 inch drives. Shopping for the best SSD for Mac? Internal or external, there's a great range of SSD upgrades you can perform on your Macintosh desktop or MacBook laptop to bring it up-to-speed with high-performance storage.įor upgrading many legacy Mac's and MacBooks, a very affordable off-the-shelf 2.5" laptop-size 6Gbps SATA III SSD is the right choice. Apple doesn't hide any of these screws beneath feet or pads, so at least they are all obvious and easy to find.Apple Compatible Solid-State Drive Upgrades Remove the eight pentalobe screws from the bottom of the case, keeping track of where each goes (not all screws are the same length so that is important). Unplug the MacBook Air from power, lay down a soft and static-free cloth and flip the laptop over. Many MacBook Air SSD kits include the needed screwdriver, otherwise you can find inexpensive multi-bit versions online (I paid $7 for mine). My model used pentalobe TS4 screws on the case and a single pentalobe TS5 screw to secure the SSD. Apple’s primary method to keep people from opening up the MacBook Air is the use of five-point pentalobe security screws - standard screwdrivers are incompatible. A flat prier tool to help lift components out of their socket, and a most importantly, a screwdriver with pentalobe bits. There are really only two tools you’ll need for this job. If you’re swapping a working SSD for a higher capacity model, you might want to opt for a kit that includes an external drive enclosure so you can use the old SSD as external storage. I bought a 256GB SSD for an 11-inch MacBook Air (mid-2012), and it was $75. Just make sure you know the model of your MacBook Air, as there were variations from year to year. There are reputable websites that specialize in Apple laptop components and they offer replacement SSDs in various capacities. You can’t just stick any SSD off the shelf of your local big box store into a MacBook Air. Nice machine, love the display, but the complete lack of upgradability is one of a few concerns raised about that model. Unless you have a new, 2018 MacBook Air, in which case Apple permanently soldered the storage. What Apple doesn’t mention is that the SSD in a MacBook Air can actually be replaced by the user, and it’s a relatively easy procedure.
In addition, if it’s a mid-2012 model or earlier, the MacBook Air is on Apple’s “Vintage” list, meaning the company has discontinued support. Apple has always said the MacBook Air contains no user serviceable parts, so what do you do if the SSD in your laptop fails? What if you need more storage capacity? You can take it to an Apple Store for service, but that can be expensive and leave you without the machine for a few days. SSDs are far faster and tend to be longer lasting than traditional hard disk drives, but they are not infallible. Apple’s MacBook Air has always been a solid and reliable little laptop - even more so when the company ditched the hard drive that was in the original for solid state storage.