10/26/2024| 9to5mac
A resourceful YouTuber showed how to easily upgrade soldered SSD drives in newer MacBook Pro models, something many thought was impossible.
Keep browsing our latest news!
Since 2016, Apple has used SSDs soldered to the logic board in MacBook Pro models, preventing users from simply upgrading or replacing their device's drives. However, a YouTuber named iBoff recently provided a solution to this limitation. Through its own method, it is able to install a larger capacity SSD without the need for a little soldering.
Apple has been gradually reducing the repairability of Macs over the years, even before the introduction of Apple Silicon processors. Few people know that the 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models, which lack the Touch Bar and the T1 chip, still come with an expandable SSD. However, starting in 2019, when Touch ID and Touch Bar became available on MacBook Pros, Apple removed the expandability entirely.
iBoff's solution allows the base model M1 MacBook Pro to be expanded from 256GB to up to 2TB, without requiring a complex technical intervention for an upgrade. After replacing the drive, iBoff will reboot the system using Apple Configurator, and you can continue to use the device without any problems. Another advantage of this method is that the speed of the SSD remains unchanged, so the performance of the device remains the same as that of the factory soldered drive.
This new procedure is also interesting because it offers the opportunity for an easier repair. If the soldered SSD fails, the MacBook becomes practically unusable, iBoff explains in his video. While most users will need a service for these types of updates, this development opens up new opportunities for MacBook Pro owners.
