The M4 Mac mini got here with a shock — a slotted and upgradeable SSD. This is the way to set up one, get it working, and what to anticipate for pace.
Mac mini upgradeability has various over time. The 2012 and earlier than fashions had been the gold customary, with each upgradeable RAM and storage. The 2014 mannequin had upgradeable storage, however not RAM. The 2018 had RAM slots, however lacked upgradeable storage.
When the M1 mini shipped, nothing was upgradeable. And whereas Apple does not strictly approve of SSD upgrades on the M4 Mac mini, it is a minimum of doable.
We have upgraded one in every of our Mac minis with an aftermarket SSD. This is how we did it, and the way it’s going.
What comes within the expandmacmini.com improve package
We have chosen a SSD from expandmacmini.com. They provide a 2TB SSD for the core Mac mini, that initially retailed for $259, and now prices about $320. So far, we’ve not seen something from any vendor for the M4 Professional Mac mini because the bodily traits of that drive are totally different, however we’re positive that is coming ultimately.
Taking the Mac mini aside
We’re not going to present a step-by-step right here, the oldsters at iFixit have achieved a superb job with a breakdown of the steps. Use that information.
We do have a couple of suggestions, although, We do not advocate eradicating the ability cable from the unit, and as a substitute go away that plate sitting subsequent to the Mac mini.
Fan, decrease plate, and extra, unscrewed to get to the Mac mini SSD
Additionally, it is pointless to unscrew the Wi-Fi module. There’s been plenty of complaints about horrible Wi-Fi with the brand new under-mounted docks — now you realize why. The antenna is true there on the backside of the unit.
I did not look after the screwdriver that got here with the drive — however that is okay. Torx drivers or units are cheap, and it is best to most likely have a pleasant one anyway.
Even with the included screwdriver, simply take care to supply even, downward power to show the screws, and you will be fantastic.
After the reassembly
All that continues to be is a DFU restore. To get this achieved, plug the Mac mini right into a show of some kind with the HDMI port. Then maintain the ability button down.
Whereas holding the ability button down, plug the Mac mini into energy. Launch the ability button when the ability gentle blinks amber.
This is the essential half. Plug the Mac mini into one other practical Mac, with one finish of the cable on the center Thunderbolt port. The restore will fail if it is on something however the center port.
On the host Mac, a window will pop up asking you if it is okay to connect with the Mac in DFU mode. Permit it to attach, and select “restore.”
DFU restore underway
The required obtain of the 16GB file varies dependent in your web pace, and Apple’s server load. After obtain, the restore course of takes about 5 minutes.
Velocity testing
I have not been residing with this mixture for very lengthy, however preliminary pace assessments show promising. The unique drive wasn’t pokey, with about 2.8 gigabytes per second learn and write pace.
Earlier than any iCloud account affiliation, and earlier than any indexing, we hit about 4 gigabytes per second learn and write pace. This is not as quick because the M4 Professional Mac mini, however it’s sooner than any exterior drive via Thunderbolt, and vastly sooner than the inventory drive within the M4 Mac mini.
This does not make the day-to-day efficiency really feel perceptibly snappier, actually. If you need that, you most likely ought to have purchased extra RAM than you probably did whenever you acquired the machine. However, the pace is sweet simply the identical.
Inside is handy and quick, exterior could also be inexpensive
I first acquired concerned in Apple service within the ’80s, dabbled within the ’90s whereas within the service, and continued via the beginning of the century. Admittedly, this has waned some as Apple stuff has turn out to be much less and fewer upgradeable and routinely repairable.
I’ve already been requested how a lot technical ability is required to do an improve like this, and if my background in service is important. None of this is so simple as upgrading a Home windows desktop, however it’s additionally not required to have that background in service.
The principle barrier to entry is not ability, however is having a second Mac helpful for the DFU course of, however for many studying this, that is not a lot of a barrier.
I’ll say that it isn’t honest that the screws in Apple gear hold getting smaller as my eyes become old.
An ice dice tray that I’ve used for years for small screws
Anyway, the price effectivity of SSD upgrades are a tough matter on the subject of the Mac mini. On the M4 Mac mini, a 2TB SSD provides a $800 premium to the entire when bought from Apple.
This improve is much lower than that, at $259 shipped to your door.
However, a 4TB Teamgroup M.2 PCI-E 3 SSD retails for about $205, with a USB4 enclosure coming in at round $80. For $280ish, you’ll be able to have twice the storage, exterior, with much less pace.
However, inside storage is handy. I do not assume it is $800 handy, however $289 handy as a substitute is a price proposition finest left to the reader.
This all mentioned, we’re retaining the manufacturing facility SSD. Not solely is there nothing actually that may be achieved with it, we will hold on to it in case the Mac mini ever wants to return to Apple for restore.
The operation is not warranty-voiding, however we’re additionally sure that it is the very first thing Apple goes guilty if one thing goes mistaken with the pc.
Replace March 12, 9AM ET I have been residing with this, and punishing the SSD for over two months, and there have not been any points. It is had a number of OS updates since then as properly, and every thing has been flawless.
There’s been a lot web commentary about this improve since they debuted. We nonetheless do not advocate shopping for generic from Aliexpress. That is the primary cause we selected the seller we did.
We’ll proceed to revisit this — and different upgrades which were promised wish to the M1 Mac Studio — all through 2025.
Replace Could 23, 2025 9:30 AM ET As requested, one other two-month replace. I am nonetheless not having any points in any respect on the drive, and I’ve crossed over the 100 terabytes written line.
We’ll replace once more in a couple of months.
