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Easiest way to add more storage to MacBook Air or ProThe easiest way to get more storage space on a MacBook is to just use an external hard drive. You can also buy more iCloud storage space if you want. How to Upgrade Storage On MacBook Pro And AirFirst, you need to know the year when the laptop was built. To do that, click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen, and in the drop-down menu, click on the first menu item: About This Mac. In the pop-up window note the year of the MacBook, e.g., Early 2015 or 2020. Now, depending on which MacBook you have, pick from the options below. Upgrade MacBook SSDI recently upgraded storage on one of my Apple computers: MacBook Pro 13-inch 2015. The whole process took me around two hours, but most of it was waiting for data to be transferred. I did this because I wanted to run VMs on my Mac, which is hard, if not impossible, when the storage is only 128GB. Here’s how I did it. Purchase an SSD upgrade drive on AmazonThere are many SSD drives available, but you need specific ones for MacBooks because Macs have different socket types than PC laptops. The best SSD brands for Macs are OWC and Feather. I decided to go with Feather because it is a little cheaper. Shop or Read Reviews on Amazon Feather offers two types of SSDs: Feather M13 Standard and Turbo. Initially, I wanted to go with a 256GB drive (twice more than I had on my Mac), but the difference between 256 and 512GB was so little (around $30), so I decided to buy the bigger drive. Here is a table of supported MacBooks. As you can see in most cases, you should use Standard, and only for MacBook Pro 15-inch Mid 2015 go with Turbo. MacYearStandard or TurboMacBook Air 11-inMid 2013SMacBook Air 11-inEarly 2014SMacBook Air 11-inEarly 2015SMacBook Air 13-inMid 2013SMacBook Air 13-inEarly 2014SMacBook Air 13-inEarly 2015SMacBook Air 13-inMid 2017SMacBook Pro 13-inLate 2013SMacBook Pro 13-inMid 2014SMacBook Pro 13-inEarly 2015SMacBook Pro 15-inLate 2013SMacBook Pro 15-inMid 2014SMacBook Pro 15-inMid 2015TVerify macOS versionIn order for everything to work as expected, your Mac has to have macOS High Sierra or higher. To verify the current operating system, click on the Apple logo in the menu bar and then on About This Mac. The very first line on the screen would contain the name of OS installed. In my case, it was Catalina. Take a backup of old MacBefore the upgrade, please take a backup of your Mac. The whole idea of replacing the SSD drive is to replicate the contents of the old drive on the new one, so you don’t need to reinstall everything, and the data does not get lost. I have detailed instructions on how to make backups with Apple’s built-in utility called Time Machine. The only thing you need is an external hard drive. The recommendations on which drive is the best as well the size of the drive you need can also be found in the same article, so I am not going to mention them here. Also, make sure to test the backups. I had several issues with Time Machine when some copies were unusable. Replace SSDReplacing SSD in a MacBook is very easy. The Feather toolkit comes with little instructions pamphlet, which I didn’t read all the way through (as always). The steps are as follows: 1. Shutdown the Mac and unplug it from the power. 2. Using the red screwdriver, remove the screws from the bottom panel of the Mac. You can use the Feather box to collect the screws; they are so tiny that it is easy to lose them. And don’t be like me: I accidentally hit the box with my elbow, and it fell on the floor. After 15 min searching, I was only able to recover 9 out of 10 screws. 3. Remove the bottom cover. 4. Remove the screw that holds the SSD chip. Use the blue screwdriver. 5. Very gently pull the old SSD chip. Use slow rocking motions instead of pulling straight. 6. Put the new Feather drive into the slot. 7. Put back all the screws. Old SSD location in MacBook Pro 13″ Early 2015New Feather M13 SSD installedTransfer data to the new driveAccording to Feather instructions, I supposed to turn the Mac on and follow prompts to set it up. I plugged in the drive with a Time Machine backup, and when the next prompt appeared, I selected to transfer information from a Time Machine backup. Use Migration Assistant to restore from Time MachineThen I selected the drive containing the latest data. Set the password for the user account I was using on my Mac (typed in the old password). It took about 40 minutes to restore 128GB backup to my new 512GB drive. When my MacBook Pro restarted, I had a new drive running macOS High Sierra and my old user account. Issues after transferring apps and dataSince the backup I had was taken from the computer running macOS Catalina, many applications were not able to run. For instance, Safari and Mail apps were Catalina versions and were backward compatible with High Sierra. Broken apps after Migration AssistantTo fix the issue, I had to upgrade the OS back to Catalina. After the upgrade, most apps were running as expected. Some apps, however, had other issues. For instance, transferring Office from the old drive to a new one resulted in a loss of the license. Fortunately, I had Office 365 license, so all I had to do is to log in with my account. However, if you had Office 2016 or older, you may need to check how to transfer the license before upgrading SSD. Upgrading older MacBook modelsIf your MacBook was built in 2012 or earlier, you have even more options for storage upgrades. For years I’ve been using Crucial.com when I needed to upgrade RAM or hard drives. What’s good about this site, they know upgrade options for each model, and they also have a tool that can scan the computer and provide some suggestions. So, use the link I provided, pick the right Mac model, order RAM and storage, and follow the install guide. Pros and cons of the approachPros
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Use SD CardsIf the idea of opening the laptop and replacing its internals is terrifying for you, there is another option that provides instant storage upgrade without having any technical skills. First, check your Mac and see if it has a slot for SD cards. MacBooks Pro until 2015 and MacBooks Air until 2017 must have one. So, now all you need is to find an SD card compatible with your Mac. Again, there are many models on the market, and I recommend the Transcend JetDrive Lite family. These cards are unique for two reasons: 1. They fit neatly into the MacBook, so there is no need to take them out at all. You can always have them inside even when carrying the laptop to and from work or school. So, in a way you are getting a second drive which is always inside the Mac unlike external hard drives that hang on a cable. 2. They already preformatted for Macs, so you can use them right away. The proper fitness of an SD card is very important. For instance, look how the SD card I am using with my digital camera sticks out from my laptop: SD card not fitting properlySo, pick the right card from the list below:
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Use Flash DrivesAs we all know, flash (thumb) drives come in various shapes and sizes. Some of them so small, so they do not extend much when plugged into the computer. For instance, this device so small, so it’s almost invisible, and you can leave it always plugged in. Shop or Read Reviews on Amazon You can see it in action in this clip: Pros and cons of the approachThis flash drive works with MacBooks that have USB ports. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a USB-C one that could work with newer Apple laptops. Pros
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Use Cloud StorageAll the ways to upgrade storage discussed so far apply only to older Macs, but there is an option that works with all models. Instead of storing files on the local drive, set up cloud storage so that it uploads the data to the remote server and removes the local copy from your drive. Strictly speaking, this is not an upgrade. It’s more of getting a potentially unlimited size folder where you can store all the data needed. The most obvious choice is using iCloud that comes with macOS. By default, the iCloud drive size is limited at 5GB. It is possible to buy more storage for a relatively low price. For instance, the 200GB plan will cost $2.99 per month, and I expect prices to go down significantly in the future, as server storage gets cheaper. To turn on storing documents in iCloud without taking space on the local drive, follow steps below:
Another option (my favorite) is DropBox. DropBox has a SmartSync feature which allows storing content locally, online-only, of in mixed-state folders. If you pick the online-only content option, then file names and some file information will appear in the DropBox folder, but the content will be stored in the cloud. As soon as you open the file, the content gets downloaded to the local disk. When you finish with the file, it will get removed from the local drive to free up space. DropBox is a little more expensive than iCloud, but it comes with a couple of advantages over iCloud:
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Other Macbook Storage Upgrade OptionsThere are other upgrade options which I have to mention here. However, it is hard to call them clean upgrade solutions. Cleaning AppsThere are multiple apps that promise to clean junk accumulated on the Macs and free up space. Again, this is not an upgrade solution, and the results vary from one Mac to another. In any case, if you have only 128GB storage, cleaning options are rather limited. If you are interested in such solutions, read my detailed review of CleanMyMac. Also, you can clean the drive by yourself. Network Attached StorageNetwork Attached Storage or NAS are drives that can be accessed through local Wi-Fi. It’s the best option for Time Machine. However, there are two problems with NAS:
External Hard DrivesAnd finally, if you need more space, buy an external hard drive. Unlike SanDisk Ultra Fit flash drive, the external hard drives connect to the laptop using a cable, and they are not really portable. How do I increase storage on my Mac?Move or delete files. Delete music, movies, podcasts, or other media, especially if it's media that you can stream or download again as needed.. Delete files in your Downloads folder. ... . If you use the Mail app for your email, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail from the menu bar in Mail.. Can we increase the storage of MacBook?You can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.
Why is my Mac storage so full?This usually happens if you have too many outdated files, old logs, caches, and apps you no longer use. What makes the situation challenging is that most of these Mac storage gobblers are system files you never actually see.
Is 256 GB enough for MacBook Air?Is 256GB Enough for a MacBook? If you're buying any model of MacBook (whether it's a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro) and plan to use it as your main machine, you should buy a model with more than 256GB of storage. Even if you only double the internal storage to 512GB, you'll thank yourself in a few years.
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