MacBook Air's and Pro's Upgrade SSD's

[nlinecomputers]

So the number 1 priority in the design goals in the Apple boardrooms is making products disposable?

I don’t think that’s number 1, but it is without a doubt a feature of Apple product design. And a lot of other companies and products not just computers. There wouldn’t be legislation trying to be passed in Congress, various states, or the EU about right to repair if this wasn’t an issue. There’s plenty of small shops that buy consignment bids hoping to get working PCs that have to settle for parts. I certainly find that photo to be possible and likely.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Repair is noble - iFixit

Repair saves the environment. It connects you to your things. And it saves you money. Ditch the throwaway economy. Join the repair revolution.

www.ifixit.com

 

[timeshifter]

There’s plenty of small shops that buy consignment bids hoping to get working PCs that have to settle for parts.

But what kind of organization would have that many two year old MacBooks that they’re turning over? They’re all different colors. I’m not arguing 100% that they’re stolen but it seems plausible.

 

[sapphirescales]

But what kind of organization would have that many two year old MacBooks that they’re turning over? They’re all different colors. I’m not arguing 100% that they’re stolen but it seems plausible.

Stolen or not, if the original owner doesn't unlock them (which requires another Apple device signed into the same iCloud account), they're toast. This is a terrible solution. Louis Rossman had a perfect solution. Request an unlock. Apple then sends an unlock warning to the original iCloud user. If the iCloud user doesn't deny the unlock request within X days/hours, the unlock will proceed. This will protect against stolen laptops being unlocked while preventing these perfectly usable computers from ending up in the landfill.

The truth is, Apple WANTS their computers to be 100% disposable. They want people to have NO option other than to buy a new computer. That's why they've colluded with eBay and Amazon to prevent the sale of refurbished Apple products. Anyone who can't see this is blinded by their love of this evil company or just willfully ignorant.

 

[sapphirescales]

And those problems are in no way, shape, or form limited to Apple products.

False. True if you set a BIOS password the user can't get into the BIOS setup but the computer is still perfectly usable. And Bitlocker? All you have to do is wipe the drive. Apple has activation lock on newer MacBooks, similar to the activation lock on their phones. If the original owners don't unlock them (which isn't an easy or straightforward thing to do), the computers are toast. NO other computer manufacturer does this.

I have an HP Elitebook right now with a BIOS password. It's literally impossible to clear this password. I've tried every method under the sun including contacting HP. Not even HP can clear it. It sucks because I like to set the keyboard timeout time to "never," but the computer is still perfectly usable. You can still boot from whatever device you want using the F9 key. I installed a fresh copy of Windows 11 Pro. I'm keeping it on for a few nights to make sure LoJack or some other anti-theft system doesn't activate itself but I don't suspect that it will. When businesses retire these systems, they don't give a crap about what happens to them after that. They never bother to clear passwords.

 

[britechguy]

False.

You are so willing to live in your own distortion field that there's no point in engaging you.

I'm sure you've never heard, nor will understand, the phrase: "The difference is one of degree, not type."

And the degree of difference is not nearly so huge as you choose to paint it.

 

[nlinecomputers]

But what kind of organization would have that many two year old MacBooks that they’re turning over? They’re all different colors. I’m not arguing 100% that they’re stolen but it seems plausible.

Refurb houses that were purchased from more than one supplier. This is a pile of junk no doubt acquired from many sources. I have my doubts that they are all locked down or all two years old. So I will give you that it is probably a bit of dramatic license but no business is going to put up a YT video of stolen anything. Thieves are dumb but they are not that dumb.

 

[nlinecomputers]

And they probably purchased them even though they knew they were locked with the hope they would somehow find a workaround and get them unlocked and move them out. Only after they have finally given up and admitted they got f'd did they make this video.

 

[NviGate Systems]

@sapphirescales

And those problems are in no way, shape, or form limited to Apple products.

Exactly. I have some Lenovo ThinkPad that have passwords. They boot fine until you realize the boot options are locked. If you pop the hood they go lockdown mode.

So Apple isn't the only one with a fancy brick option. At least with Apple if you are the account owner it can be reset. With PC, it's a main board replacement! So, that's a sorta one off win for Apple for the owner who lost/forgot his password.

Apple isn't the only one who is making non repairable machines. That's pretty much an industry standard at this point.

 

[Randomal]

Hi
I'm looking at new SSD drives to replace low capacity SSD's in existing macbooks and wondered if anyone had a 'go-to' brand and model to use in apple macbooks?

It seems there is only one brand that fits directly, which is OWC, but they are very expensive, otherwise we need an adapter (PCI-E NVME M.2 SSD Adapter Converter Card M-Key for Apple MAC Air PRO 2013-2017)[http://www.pc-adapter.net/product/862.html]
but then the problem becomes which SSD to go for as trying to find out the coolest runners isn't easy - any ideas at all? Apparently samsungs run pretty hot and when i looked into sabrent rockets but then found many users experiencing problems 12 months further on

it would be helpful to hear anyone who uses a reliable cooler SSD in macbook upgrades approx 2013 - 2017 models seem most popular for enquiries

thank you

If you looking for sipplier for SSD on macs in the UK try these two companies

SolderFix - Microsoldering Repair Service

Expert microsoldering repair work on electronic equipment and components. Solder Fix offers component level repair on a wide range of computer and electronic equipment.

www.macupgrades.co.uk

The Bookyard - Apple Repair & Spare Parts In The UK

www.thebookyard.com

At the end of the day the clients just want the laptop fixed, they not intreted in the reason why i can not be fixed.

 

[Randomal]

Also if you need to run new macOS on older mac use OpenCore

https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.Macintosh

 

[sapphirescales]

They boot fine

Yeah, that's the difference as I've already said. MacBooks won't boot at all without the password and you can't reinstall the OS or boot to an external device. Worse case scenario with a PC you can image the drive and put it in and use it like normal. You just can't modify BIOS settings like keyboard backlight timeout and such. The computer is still perfectly usable.

Apple isn't the only one who is making non repairable machines. That's pretty much an industry standard at this point.

Wow, you must not have worked on a modern Apple computer then. Apple ties their parts together and uses proprietary software to make it impossible to replace parts and have them work without flashing the firmware of the new part with their proprietary software (that they don't make available to anyone). You can take 2x new identical MacBooks and swap the screens and they won't work. If you swap the keyboards the function keys won't work. NO ONE else does this. And while soldered RAM is more common nowadays, almost no one solders the SSD to the motherboard. And JEDEC just certified a new type of RAM connector that will make it possible to have removable RAM on super thin and light laptops.

 

[britechguy]

And JEDEC just certified a new type of RAM connector that will make it possible to have removable RAM on super thin and light laptops.

And given the myriad discussions here about hinge problems, among other things, it's my personal opinion that "super thin and light" has already been stretched well beyond functional limits in the field. And that's with all repairability issues "from the technician side" aside. Who wants things that are this flimsy and breakage prone in real-world conditions?

 

[NviGate Systems]

Yeah, that's the difference as I've already said. MacBooks won't boot at all without the password and you can't reinstall the OS or boot to an external device. Worse case scenario with a PC you can image the drive and put it in and use it like normal. You just can't modify BIOS settings like keyboard backlight timeout and such. The computer is still perfectly usable.


Wow, you must not have worked on a modern Apple computer then. Apple ties their parts together and uses proprietary software to make it impossible to replace parts and have them work without flashing the firmware of the new part with their proprietary software (that they don't make available to anyone). You can take 2x new identical MacBooks and swap the screens and they won't work. If you swap the keyboards the function keys won't work. NO ONE else does this. And while soldered RAM is more common nowadays, almost no one solders the SSD to the motherboard. And JEDEC just certified a new type of RAM connector that will make it possible to have removable RAM on super thin and light laptops.

Which pill should I take? The red one or the blue one?

 

[gadgetfixup]

I've been reading threads like this for more than 20 years. Plug and play for sure was gonna kill the computer biz. Now the repair industry is dead, Apple killed it. Yeah okay, meanwhile those that adapt are upgrading ram and storage everyday on later Macs. It's not as simple as swapping an M2 but frankly I'm kinda tired of parts changers with nothing more than a couple screwdrivers and pair of tweezers driving repair pricing into the ground. The days of screw-jockeys and parts changers might be slowing down but for repair techs? Nah, still plenty of work out there.

There is still a huge demand for older Macbooks that still have a lot of miles left on them.