Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

6

Time Required

                          1 - 2 hours

Sections

4

  • Ensure NVMe Compatibility with MacBook Air SSD Replacement
  • 1 step
  • Lower Case
  • 2 steps
  • Solid-State Drive
  • 2 steps
  • SSD - Alternate option using M.2 NVMe SSD
  • 1 step

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1

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  • BackMacBook Air 13" Early 2017

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What you need

Step 1

              Check Compatibility
  • MacBook Air Late 2010 - Working - High Sierra, Catalina, M2 Samsung Evo 860, Adapter
  • MacBook Air 2011 - Unknown
  • MacBook Air 2012 - Unknown
  • MacBook Air 2013 - Unknown
  • MacBook Air 2014 - WD_black 500 + Sintech adapter, running MacOS Big Sur
  • MacBook Air Early 2015 - WORKING- Mojave 10.14.3 to Big Sur 11.0.1- Crucial P1 SSD NVME, Adapter.
  • MacBook Air 2017 - WORKING - High Sierra, Catalina and Big Sur - Samsung Evo 960, Adapter.
  • MacBook Air 2018 and forward - will not work, No removable drive

MacBook Air Late 2010 - Working - High Sierra, Catalina, M2 Samsung Evo 860, Adapter

MacBook Air 2011 - Unknown

MacBook Air 2012 - Unknown

MacBook Air 2013 - Unknown

MacBook Air 2014 - WD_black 500 + Sintech adapter, running MacOS Big Sur

MacBook Air Early 2015 - WORKING- Mojave 10.14.3 to Big Sur 11.0.1- Crucial P1 SSD NVME, Adapter.

MacBook Air 2017 - WORKING - High Sierra, Catalina and Big Sur - Samsung Evo 960, Adapter.

MacBook Air 2018 and forward - will not work, No removable drive

1024

Step 2

              Lower Case
  • Before proceeding, power down your MacBook. Close the display and lay it on a soft surface, top-side down.
  • Use a P5 Pentalobe driver to remove ten screws securing the lower case, of the following lengths:
  • Two 9 mm screws
  • Eight 2.6 mm screws

Before proceeding, power down your MacBook. Close the display and lay it on a soft surface, top-side down.

Use a P5 Pentalobe driver to remove ten screws securing the lower case, of the following lengths:

Two 9 mm screws

Eight 2.6 mm screws

Step 3

  • Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.
  • Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Wedge your fingers between the display and the lower case and pull upward to pop the lower case off the Air.

Remove the lower case and set it aside.

Step 4

              Solid-State Drive
  • Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the SSD to the logic board.

Remove the single 2.9 mm T5 Torx screw securing the SSD to the logic board.

Step 5

  • Gently lift the end of the SSD about half an inch and pull it straight out of its socket on the logic board.
  • Don’t lift the SSD more than half an inch—doing so may damage the SSD or its socket on the logic board.
  • When reinstalling the SSD, be sure it is properly seated before reinstalling its retaining screw.

Gently lift the end of the SSD about half an inch and pull it straight out of its socket on the logic board.

Don’t lift the SSD more than half an inch—doing so may damage the SSD or its socket on the logic board.

When reinstalling the SSD, be sure it is properly seated before reinstalling its retaining screw.

Step 6

              SSD - Alternate option using M.2 NVMe SSD
  • Carefully insert the new SSD into the adapter, using the length of old drive as a reference for when the SSD is fully in the adapter. The lengths should be the same.
  • Insert the SSD and the adapter into the Socket, pushing inward in a straight fashion.
  • When reinstalling the SSD, be sure it is properly seated before reinstalling its retaining screw.
  • NVMe Drives can cause kernel panics due to sleep /hibernation issues. This can be turned off with the following command.
  • From a Terminal, use the following command to disable hibernation: —-“sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0” —- If you later want to enable hibernation, use: “sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3”

Carefully insert the new SSD into the adapter, using the length of old drive as a reference for when the SSD is fully in the adapter. The lengths should be the same.

Insert the SSD and the adapter into the Socket, pushing inward in a straight fashion.

NVMe Drives can cause kernel panics due to sleep /hibernation issues. This can be turned off with the following command.

From a Terminal, use the following command to disable hibernation: —-“sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0” —- If you later want to enable hibernation, use: “sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3”

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

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                    Dan

Member since: 02/18/2019

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l.cichon85 - Jun 12, 2019

Reply

I have a Macbook air 2017 1466this model https://support.apple.com/kb/SP753?local…

macOS Mojave ver 10.14.6. will your manual work?

Maikp735KR - Jun 12, 2019

Yes, this Manual will work for your Device.

Greets - Maik

Blacy - Jul 5, 2019

Reply

Thanks!

A little observation: the time estimate for the operation is 5 hours, is an error?

Dan - Jul 5, 2019

5 hours will include the time needed to install OSX on the new drive. Swapping the drive is extremely fast

Francisco Rojas - Jul 19, 2019

Reply

Hi!.. Does anyone knows if the crucial SSD will work with the Macbook Air 13” 2017?