Buy memory & SSD upgrades designed for your Mac laptop or desktop. Find the right part with our compatibility tool, backed by our 45-day guarantee. May 27, 2012  Mac, PC solid state drives aren't compatible. Apple MacBook Air and PC ultrabooks use new solid state drive (SSD) modules. But don't count on any cross-platform or cross-manufacturer compatibility.

MacBook Air Q&A

Update Published August 13, 2019

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How do you upgrade or replace the storage in the 'Mid-2013,' 'Early 2014' and 'Early 2015/Mid-2017' MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?

This Q&A covers the most recent three lines of MacBook Air models including those currently sold. EveryMac.com provides storage upgrade instructions for earlier MacBook Air models -- the original, 'Late 2008,' and 'Mid-2009,'Late 2010 and 'Mid-2011,' and 'Mid-2012' lines, too.

By default, the 'Mid-2013,' 'Early 2014,' and 'Early 2015/Mid-2017' MacBook Air models all shipped with 128 GB or 256 GB of SSD storage. Some configurations could be upgraded to 512 GB of SSD storage at the time of purchase for an extra US$300, but Apple does not intend for one to upgrade the SSD module after purchase.

Nevertheless, the SSD is a removable module and it is quite possible for a technical user to upgrade the SSD himself or herself.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Left - 11' MacBook Air, Right - 13' MacBook Air)

Identification Help

As these MacBook Air models share Model Numbers with other lines, so this identifier is not suitable for the purpose of upgrading the SSD.

However, these models can be readily identified externally via EMC Number and in software by Model Identifier.

To locate the model identifier in software, select 'About This Mac' under the Apple Menu on your computer and click the 'More Info..' button. If the iMac is running OS X 10.7 'Lion' or later, you will need to click the 'System Report' button after clicking 'More Info..' as well. As always, EveryMac.com has carefully hand documented each EMC number and model identifier for your convenience.

The identifiers for each of these MacBook Air models follow:

EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature -- as well as the EveryMac app -- also can uniquely identify these models by their Serial Number, which is listed on the underside near the EMC number and within the operating system alongside the model identifier. More details about specific identifiers are provided in EveryMac.com's extensive Mac Identification section.

SSD Storage Details

As first reported by AnandTech, the 'Mid-2013' MacBook Air models all use a PCIe-based SSD rather than a SATA-connected one like earlier SSD-equipped MacBook Air models. The 'Early 2014' MacBook Air models are practically identical to their predecessors and use the exact same internal storage.

More specifically, AnandTech shared that the SSD in these lines use a custom Apple design with a 'PCIe 2.0 x2 interface, capable of a theoretical maximum of 1 GB/s in each direction.'

The 11-Inch 'Early 2015' MacBook Air models (MacBookAir7,1) also use the same PCIe 2.0 x2 interface, but as documented by site sponsor OWC, the 13-Inch 'Early 2015' and 'Mid-2017' models (MacBookAir7,2), on the other hand, have a faster PCIe 2.0 x4 interface and provide significantly faster drive speeds as a result.

Storage Installation Instructions

Apple has used less common 'Pentalobe' or 'Five Point Torx' screws to make access more difficult, but with the correct screwdriver, upgrading the SSD is a straightforward procedure.

Site sponsor Other World Computing's helpful videos that covers upgrading the storage in the earlier 'Mid-2012' MacBook Air models are similar enough to use to upgrade these models, too:

11-Inch MacBook Air

13-Inch MacBook Air

This video covers how to install the original PCIe SSD from your MacBook Air in OWC's convenient 'Envoy Pro' external case to repurpose it as an external drive:

By watching the videos for the MacBook Air above, you should be able to determine if you feel comfortable performing this upgrade yourself or if you would instead prefer to hire a professional.

SSD Purchase Options

In the US (and many other countries), site sponsor Other World Computing sells compatible SSDs as well as other upgrades for MacBook Air models.

In the UK and Ireland, site sponsor Flexx sells MacBook Air compatible SSDs with free shipping. The company provides flat rate shipping to France, Germany, and Switzerland and inexpensive shipping for all of Europe, too.

In Canada, site sponsor CanadaRAM sells MacBook Air SSDs with guaranteed compatibility, fast shipping, and no customs duties to worry about.

I guess the argument back from an analogue point of view is that the recordings would be from an analogue source so better, so we may return to that so make sure you like us on facebook because we’ll generate some A-B comparisons over the next few weeks. (Make sure you listen to these on proper speakers or headphones – our Mac speakers just don’t do them justice!) TB or not TB?The 303 sound does hit the spot although I do prefer some of the later presets over the classic square and sawtooth simply as they have a bit more attitude. Roland aira tb-3 software controller for mac free. All the recordings below were made in Logic Pro X via the TR-8’s USB audio connection – which worked flawlessly – and with the TB-3 slaved via MIDI with its audio routed back through the TR-8. Personally I like my 303 a bit harder so was drawn to presets number 11 and 12, the kind of thing you’d get in earlier Chemical Brothers releases. Here’s a classic saw 303 pattern from the TB-3 with a bit of messing from me on both filter and resonance.

In Australia, site sponsors Macfixit and Upgradeable sell MacBook Air compatible SSDs with fast shipping, a money-back guarantee and more.

In New Zealand, site sponsor Upgradeable New Zealand sells MacBook Air SSDs with fast delivery to all corners of the country, precise compatibility, a lifetime warranty, and a money-back guarantee.

In Southeast Asia, site sponsor SimplyMac.sg sells the entire line of OWC SSD upgrades for the MacBook Air series with free delivery -- and optional upgrade service -- in Singapore and flat rate shipping to Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Also see:

• How do you replace or upgrade the hard drive in the original, 'Late 2008' and 'Mid-2009' MacBook Air models? Can you swap the hard drive for an SSD?
• How do you replace or upgrade the storage in the 'Late 2010' and 'Mid-2011' MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?
• How do you replace or upgrade the storage in the 'Mid-2012' MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?
• Which SD Card Slot storage solution is best for the MacBook Air? Which models are compatible? Is this kind of storage safe?

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If you try to start up your Mac from a hard disk, network volume, or Time Machine backup that contains an incompatible version or build of macOS, you might experience one or more of these symptoms:

• Your Mac doesn't finish starting up, or displays a prohibitory symbol at startup.
• You see a message that you're using an unsupported or incorrect version of the Mac operating system.
• Your Mac doesn't respond to your trackpad, mouse, or keyboard.
• Apps unexpectedly quit.
• Your Mac doesn't sleep or wake.
• You don't hear any sound from your Mac.
• The fans in your Mac are louder, because they're spinning faster.
• The image on your display appears to shrink, has black bars around it, or appears tinted.
• You can't use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Which Mac operating systems are compatible?

The version of macOS that came with your Mac is the earliest version compatible with that Mac. To find out whether your Mac is compatible with a later version of macOS, check the system requirements:

If your Mac won't start up from a compatible version of macOS, it might require a specific build of that version. To get the correct build, reinstall macOS or upgrade to a later version of macOS.

Learn more

• To restore a Time Machine backup that was created on a different Mac, use Migration Assistant.