M4 Mac mini SSD storage can be upgraded, but it isn’t easy yet

Earlier this week, we reported that the storage in the new Mac mini is actually modular, meaning that it isn’t soldered to the logic board of the Mac, and ultimately would be user accessible. However, that didn’t necessarily mean it’d be easy for users to upgrade the storage on their own – though that didn’t stop one individual.

Popular Mac repair technician dosdude1 has performed the first SSD storage upgrade on the new Mac mini, showcasing that it is indeed possible. In a new YouTube video uploaded on the release day of the new Mac mini, he tore apart and upgraded his base model Mac mini from 256GB to 1TB. Initially, he planned to upgrade to 2TB, but ran into issues while restoring.

Removing original storage

After disassembling his Mac mini, dosdude1 removed his storage module from the device, and essentially swapped the two storage NANDs on the module. For context, Apple uses two 128GB NANDs for their more recent 256GB Mac models. To upgrade to 1TB, dosdude used two 512GB NAND modules.

This whole process involves removing the existing NANDs, which is a little difficult, because of the residual underfill Apple uses to hold down the NAND. Afterwards, he removes the residual solder left over – leaving a clean surface for new NANDs to be soldered. He has to complete this process twice for each of the two NANDs on the module.

Installing new storage

Afterwards, he has to reball the new NANDs, allowing them to be resoldered to the original modules. This process uses a stencil to evenly distribute solder paste into each hole on the bottom of each NAND, then heats it with flux to ensure proper seating.

This process is quite tedious, but once he solders the new NANDs to the storage module, he can reinstall it in the Mac mini, run a restore in Apple Configurator—and that’s it! The Mac mini boots up, with the larger 1TB SSD, quadrupling the original storage.

Making it easier for users

Obviously, this is a highly tedious process – and most people won’t have the microsoldering skills of dosdude. This repair requires a ton of precision to perform correctly.

However, what if it was easier? What if, hypothetically, someone just sold premade modules with higher storage? Well, you might be in luck.

Although it isn’t for sale yet, a company known as Polysoft Services may soon be selling storage modules for the new Mac mini. They’ve already made prototype modules for the Mac Studio, which dosdude himself has tested. They’ll apparently be shipping them to customers starting next month.

If this all comes to fruition, there could be a world where it’s actually really easy for users to upgrade the storage on their new M4 Mac minis, which would be really cool.

Wrap up

Overall, we could soon have a really cool future where users can upgrade storage on their new Macs, without requiring users to have technical repair skills. I just wish Apple would sell the modules themselves, or at least allow users to upgrade storage through the Genius Bar – that way we wouldn’t have to rely on third parties.

I’d highly recommend watching dosdude’s video, it’s a fun watch:

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