SSD Hard Drive Specifications for MacBook Air 13" Model 6.2

I need to replace my SSD Hard Drive with one from Corsair with the following specs.


Form Factor

M.2 2280

Dimension

80mm x 22mm x 3mm


Does anyone know if this will fit, before I order it? Apple support doesn't give out that information, was told it is "proprietary"


Thanks

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on May 26, 2019 11:15 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 26, 2019 11:33 AM

The MBAir uses a proprietary SSD connector and does not work with regular M.2 SSDs. There is a third party sintech adapter which can make a regular M.2 SSD work, but there are some things to be aware such as an Apple macOS update could render it unusable since Apple doesn't support such third party products. There is more than one version of the adapter so you have to be very careful to get the correct one. This is a risky option. I'm not sure if the SSD in question will fit or not even with the adapter. You definitely want to do more research before choosing this option as I've only barely touched the surface here.


You also have to be extremely careful with third party SSDs for compatibility with a Mac. You should verify whether they provide a platform independent method to update the SSD's firmware. Many third party SSDs only supply a Windows only utility to update the SSD firmware or they make it extremely difficult to discover the platform independent firmware updater.


A better option is to use an OWC SSD which is made to fit the Apple SSD slot on the MBAir as this has been thoroughly tested & is supported by OWC. Keep in mind even this option can render your system unusable if Apple pushes out a macOS update or firmware update. This has already happened in the past. Make sure to keep your original Apple SSD as it may be required to upgrade the system firmware if an update renders your third party SSD incompatible.


Also check out the fine print on the OWC product page for the SSD as there may be two SSD options for your laptop. One SSD (the newer model which is faster) requires the laptop to already have High Sierra OSX 10.13.x installed in order to work as it requires the laptop to have a firmware update installed by High Sierra. The information on the some of the OWC product pages doesn't clearly mention this important bit of information.

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 26, 2019 11:33 AM in response to brucefromcommack

The MBAir uses a proprietary SSD connector and does not work with regular M.2 SSDs. There is a third party sintech adapter which can make a regular M.2 SSD work, but there are some things to be aware such as an Apple macOS update could render it unusable since Apple doesn't support such third party products. There is more than one version of the adapter so you have to be very careful to get the correct one. This is a risky option. I'm not sure if the SSD in question will fit or not even with the adapter. You definitely want to do more research before choosing this option as I've only barely touched the surface here.


You also have to be extremely careful with third party SSDs for compatibility with a Mac. You should verify whether they provide a platform independent method to update the SSD's firmware. Many third party SSDs only supply a Windows only utility to update the SSD firmware or they make it extremely difficult to discover the platform independent firmware updater.


A better option is to use an OWC SSD which is made to fit the Apple SSD slot on the MBAir as this has been thoroughly tested & is supported by OWC. Keep in mind even this option can render your system unusable if Apple pushes out a macOS update or firmware update. This has already happened in the past. Make sure to keep your original Apple SSD as it may be required to upgrade the system firmware if an update renders your third party SSD incompatible.


Also check out the fine print on the OWC product page for the SSD as there may be two SSD options for your laptop. One SSD (the newer model which is faster) requires the laptop to already have High Sierra OSX 10.13.x installed in order to work as it requires the laptop to have a firmware update installed by High Sierra. The information on the some of the OWC product pages doesn't clearly mention this important bit of information.

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SSD Hard Drive Specifications for MacBook Air 13" Model 6.2

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