However, it’s important to keep in mind that this process is very risky and of course will void Apple’s warranty. The photos show the RAM and SSD modules removed with screenshots showing the upgraded storage showing in macOS. The discovery, being attributed to the engineer Yang Changshun from Guangzhou, China has been shared across Chinese social media and was detailed by with images (via MacRumors).
#Macbook memory upgrade soldering how to#
However, just like we’ve seen with aftermarket iPhone and iPad hardware upgrades, someone has allegedly cracked how to replace memory and storage with M1 Macs correctly recognizing the upgrades.
Over the years, that’s become less of an option and for the M1 Macs, it was thought to be impossible with the RAM and SSD directly soldered to the M1 chip. With older Macs, if users didn’t want to pay for more RAM or more storage up front, it was possible with a variety of models to upgrade those components later on. In an interesting development, an engineer in China has reportedly discovered how to successfully upgrade both the SSD and RAM on M1 Macs – but of course, it’s a very risky and difficult move. I still have two 11-year-old Apple laptops in active service, and I’m little interested in machines that will be obsoleted in a couple of years.While the three M1 Macs released in late 2020 have been widely praised for a host of advancements, one criticism has been that the hardware is not upgradeable or repairable after purchase with the major components soldered to the board. The soldered-on, non-upgradable RAM was already the biggest inhibiting factor inclining me away from a MacBook Air for my next system upgrade and toward the 13″ MacBook Pro, and soldered-in storage would be the deal-breaker. He notes that Larry O’Connor, Founder & CEO, Other World Computing has also called the rumored move “disappointing,” but observes that change like this would be right in line with Apple’s evident ongoing trend to promote buy and replace cycles with non-expandable/serviceable (at the enduser level) products, getting users to buy computers that are only useful for a year or two. O’Grady acknowledges that the new Toggle DDR NAND Flash woujld be faster than the current crop of SSDs, but he’s not a fan of planned obsolescence and doesn’t like buying a computer that has a fixed amount of RAM or storage since it seriously limits upgrade options later on. On the SSD issue, Jason is referencing a report from the Japanese Apple-centric blogsite Macotakara that says according to an unnamed Asian electronics component company source, Apple appears to be fixing to adopt the 400-Mbps interface “Toggle DDR2.0,” a 19-nanometer process for NAND flash memory for new MacBook Air to replace the Blade X-gale, SATA 2.6 SSD used in the current MacBook Air models, packaged in a smaller chip and soldered on, which would eliminate end-user upgrades. O’Grady says there are two things that disturb him about the upcoming third-generation MacBook Air: it could ship still without a backlit keyboard, and it’s rumored that the Air’s SSD may be soldered onto the motherboard along with its processor and system RAM. Why Apple Soldering MacBook Air SSDs To The Motherboard Is A Really Bad Idea