Make sure that you have upgraded your Mac to Mojave or later with the original drive installed before beginning.

A MacBook Pro or MacBook Air from late 2013 onwards (not USB-C models) that has been updated to macOS Mojave or later.

A Torx T5 screwdriver, to remove the screw securing the SSD and slide it out of the slot.

A Pentalobe screwdriver is needed to remove the screws on the base of the MacBook Pro.

Some of the best NVMe SSD’s currently available, with tested macOS compatibility, are the Samsung 970 EVO, the Samsung 970 PRO, the Sandisk Extreme and the WD Black. Note that certain SSD’s have compatibility issues with macOS – including the Samsung PM981 and the Samsung 970 EVO Plus (the original 970 EVO works fine, though).

A USB memory stick of at least 8GB capacity, to use for installation of macOS on the new SSD.

This is a full length card that holds the SSD much more securely than the short, connector-only adapters that many sellers are selling online. The best adapter currently available is the Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card. The SSD connector on the MacBook Pro motherboard is not a standard NVMe interface, so you need an adapter. Original Apple drives are almost impossible to buy new, so you’re limited to buying used drives on sites like Ebay for inflated prices.

They can be bought everywhere online or in IT stores.

NVMe drives are much easier to source.

Many of the current NVMe drives are faster than the stock Apple drives that shipped in the MacBook Pro.

macOS versions from Mojave and later support NVMe drives as boot device in MacBook Pro models released from late 2013 to 2015 and MacBook Air models from 2013 to 2017.

Original Apple SSD’s for the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are very expensive, especially compared to the price of standard NVMe SSD’s designed for Windows PC’s.

Ssd macbook pro early 2013