Canadian company VancouverMac has started offering a service to replace SSDs in MacBooks with M-series chips by re-soldering motherboard components. In this respect reports Published by Tom’s Hardware.
The challenge with replacing an SSD in a MacBook with Apple Silicon processors is that Cupertino literally solders the memory module to the main memory. Therefore, it is impossible to replace the SSD in Apple laptops without damaging the integrity of the motherboard contacts. At the same time, re-soldering an SSD is a difficult task not only at the hardware level, but also at the software level, since after replacing macOS it needs to be taught to correctly recognize a non-factory module. There are very few experts ready to undertake this work.
The procedure to replace SSD in VancouverMac consists of several steps. The specialist first removes the motherboard, then removes the old memory modules and solders new ones. The wizard then connects to the replaced MacBook via USB using another Mac and changes the SSD configuration via the Apple Configurator program. You then need to match the processor and SSD correctly and reconfigure the encryption.
Although VancouverMac charges a lot of money for this procedure, such a change is still cheaper than buying a MacBook with more memory. For example, installing a 2 TB SSD in a MacBook on M1 with the smallest memory in a Canadian service center will cost $ 400 (about 36.7 thousand rubles at the exchange rate as of March 13, 2024). At the same time, when buying a new MacBook with 256 GB and 2 TB, the price difference is at least $ 600 (55 thousand rubles). That is, expanding the memory of VancouverMac will cost $ 200 (18.3 thousand rubles) cheaper than buying a new MacBook with more memory.
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