NVME SSD and Apple Macs - Known Issues

NVME SSD and Apple Macs - Known Issues

Known Issues

 

NVME and Apple Macs have a few known and manageable issues that it can be useful to know about in advance. Most of them are due to running new technologies (NVMe) on an old platform (outdated firmware/software).

 

1.      Boot ROM version/Mac OS, High Sierra or Mojave, must be up to date to recognize an NVME SSD

·         Why: Feather M13 uses NVMe technology which requires working with latest and greatest software/firmware

·         Solution: Upgrade your Mac OS to High Sierra or Mojave first before installing your NVME SSD. If you do not have a functioning drive, we can send you our installation kit (Apple OEM drive, tools, Mac OS USB Installer) and please follow our installation guide here.

2.      ~30 seconds for Apple Logo to appear during startup

·         Why: During startup, Mac OS searches for Apple OEM drive first and would only recognize non-OEM drives if it fails to find any OEM drives after many attempts

·         Solution:  Here is our instruction on how to “bless” your drive:

3.      Hibernation issue, the computer does not wake up after sleep (only happens on NVMe SSDs with MacBooks from 2013 and 2014)

·         Why: Mac OS writes to a certain SATA address that NVMe does not have during sleep

·         Solution can be found here.

4.      Do not boot from Internet Recovery Mode

·         Internet Recovery Mode still uses old Apple firmware that does not read NVMe drives. Always boot from a clean Mac OS image from a USB installer instead.

5.      Boot camp, possible but it’s a bit complicated. 

Boot Camp Compatibility.
For Aura X2, Feather M13 and Flexx LX300 SSD.
Not compatible with Boot Camp when installed in any of the following Mac hosts:  MacBookPro11,1 / MacBookAir6,1 / MacBookAir6,2 / iMac15,1 (Late 2014) / iMac18,2 / iMac18,3 / iMac19,1 / iMac19,2