RAM upgrade for 2021 MacBook Pro M1

titaniumg wrote:

I have figured out that I only have the one RAM slot.

Not sure how you managed to figure that out. M1 Macs don't have ram slots at all. If you do have a RAM slot, then you don't have an M1 Mac.

But I want to double my RAM from 16GB to 32GB.

M1 Macs do not support more than 16GB of RAM. Configurations available when Apple was selling them topped out at 16GB. If you bought the 14" or 16" MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro or Max CPUs they could be upgraded up to 64GB, but again, this is not upgrade-able after purchase. MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

Can I replace the 16GB card with a new 32GB card? When I search the Apple site for RAM for my computer, it offers nothing. Am I completely out of luck? Please tell me…..I can’t find the answer anywhere.

The M1 Macs have no removable RAM cards. RAM is built in to the M1 CPU chip and cannot be altered in any way after purchase.

If you absolutely need more ram, then you'll need to sell or trade in your current Mac and buy one with more RAM. Again noting that RAM cannot be changed after purchase on Apple Sillicon Macs.

Even the minor deities on Mount Cupertino cannot increase the RAM after the computer leaves the assembly line. The last Macbook Pros that had upgradeable RAM were the 2012 models.

Most people wanting more RAM do not have a RAM issue but something else. If you have symptoms or trouble areas that made you want more RAM, please describe them so we can see if something other than RAM is at play. History says that is more likely the case.

The last MacBook Pro with user-replaceable memory (in sockets) was issued in mid 2012. Since then EVERY portable Mac has its memory soldered to the board for maximum reliability.

In the Apple-Silicon Macs, eliminating unreliable connectors has allowed Apple Engineers to apply multiple speedups so that the memory can be to be speeded up to the speed of Graphics RAM memory, and the special graphics RAM has been eliminated and Unified memory is used instead. Every model Apple-Silicon Mac, even the 42 lb silver tower Mac Pro, has Unified, non-upgradeable memory.

titaniumg wrote:

Thank you so much. Horrible news, but well delivered. I don’t have any problems. I want to run some software that requires 32GB to run. Guess I can’t do that with this computer.

It requires 32GB of RAM? Never seen any app require such a high amount of ram. It may suggest or recommend 32GB for some odd reason. But "requiring" it seems a bit strange.

With that said, unless it checks for the specific amount of RAM, which is highly doubtful, I'm pretty sure it will work just fine on the M1's 16GB. It may be a bit slow, but you probably won't really notice it. The M1's RAM is super efficient and high performance and can be supplemented with the high speed SSD storage space if it is absolutely necessary.

Try installing it, nothing to be lost if it doesn't work.