This does show that the M1 is more flexible than it appears, though. You'd also need to track down RAM and SSD chips that are at least as fast as Apple's picks if you want to avoid bogging your Mac down. You're removing soldered-on chips and replacing them with components you aren't about to find in a store - this is a difficult procedure guaranteed to void your warranty. MacOS recognizes the upgrades as if it they were official.Īs you might imagine, though, the process is fraught with peril. You could theoretically upgrade to 16GB of RAM if the base 8GB isn't cutting it, for example. MacRumors has learned that technicians in Guangzhou, China have found a way to detach the RAM and SSD chips to replace them with higher-capacity parts. It is very easy to destroy the MacBook in this process, and that’s a financial coin flip most who enjoy MacBooks just won’t take.Apple riled do-it-yourself upgraders when it launched M1-based Macs with seemingly non-upgradable memory and storage, but there's apparently a way to improve your system- if you're willing to throw caution to the wind. In actuality, however, it is unlikely this method will become popular because of the level of skill it takes to successfully pull off mixed with the risk. In that case, the modification also would void the MacBook’s warranty and for non-experts, even making slight adjustments like that are beyond the comfort levels of the average MacBook owner.Īs Engadget says, it’s nice to see that an M1 MacBook is technically more upgradeable than Apple wants you to believe, but given how restrictive the company has been around repair, this seems like a situation it would consider an exploit and if it becomes popular enough, something it could patch out via software or make infeasible due to restricting part availability. Earlier this year, Linus Tech Tips showed that the M1 MacBook Air actually can match - or even beat - the M1 MacBook Pro’s performance with a thermal pad upgrade. This isn’t the first example of experts tinkering with Apple’s very specific and un-upgradeable design. That said, if the parts are successfully sourced, the previous parts correctly removed, and the new ones properly added, the technicians showed that they successfully expanded the computer from 8GM of memory to 16GB, and the 256GB storage drive was expanded to 1TB. Not only will you have to properly source parts that are compatible with the system, but you will also have to remove the RAM and SSD chips that are soldered-on - not something most people would recommend. As expected with something like this, the process is not straightforward and full of pitfalls.

2021 mac mini ram upgrade