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I have a spare 256GB SSD from my 2015 Macbook Pro that I would like to re-use in my PC. I have an Acer laptop that comes with an M2 slot. Are adapters available that would allow me to reuse this SSD in my PC?

IconDaemon
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Spaai009
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  • You would have to determine if the Acer laptop can use this SSD. The fine folk at this Apple-centric site may not have an answer for you. See assistance from Acer. – IconDaemon Jun 25 '20 at 20:23
  • Also Dupes: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/293419/119271; https://apple.stackexchange.com/q/320020/119271; https://apple.stackexchange.com/q/370296/119271 – Allan Jun 25 '20 at 20:46
  • @Allan. After evaluating each "dupe" url, it is of my opinion that this particular question, about the Macbook Pro, is unique to those other posts because the adapter is different - and none of those posts would resolve the user's needs (the person would need a different adapter). – eduncan911 Jul 06 '21 at 22:43

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Heavily edited answer:

In theory, the answer is yes. But as @benwiggy has pointed out in his comment, as a practical matter, the answer is: "It depends". Apple's proprietary design of the SSD's connector/interface means that an adapter will be needed to use it in a device with one of the industry standard M.2 interfaces. In other words, you can only re-use an Apple SSD in another machine IF you have the correct adapter. Making this still more difficult is the fact that Apple changed the SSD interface design periodically, and so the adapter required may be unique to a model or model year.

Your question has now been closed as duplicative, but in reviewing the duplicated Q&A, it will be noted:

  1. that Q&A pertains to a Macbook Air early 2014 which requires a different adapter than your Macbook Pro 2015, and

  2. some of the links are now broken, meaning some of the recommended adapters and sources are no longer available.

However, ferreting through one of the manufacturer's websites (Sintech) provided in this answer led to this page of macbook SSD adapters which may be of some use. I saw no prices provided on Sintech's website, but another answer stated that his cost was $13.99. You can factor cost & your research time into your tradeoffs for buying a new drive vs. buying an adapter to re-use the Apple SSD. You might also want to consider the environment in your decision.

Seamus
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    You've linked to an adaptor for m2 to SATA, not m2 to Apple's own connector. – benwiggy Jun 25 '20 at 17:15
  • @benwiggy: Good information, thanks. I didn't know they had made it this complicated. – Seamus Jun 25 '20 at 21:41
  • @Seamus Thanks, I did find converters from sintech but they're far too thick to be used in a laptop. Looks like they're meant for desktops. This is what I found. Looks like I will be sticking to an external enclosure to continue using my apple ssd for now. – Spaai009 Jun 27 '20 at 02:00
  • @Spaai009: Sorry to hear that... but I can imagine that there's little incentive for a manufacturer to invest in a converter/adapter whose purpose is to reclaim non-standard parts manufactured by Apple. I suppose the fallout is more of these parts wind up in a landfill somewhere... – Seamus Jun 30 '20 at 13:52
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The SSD module in a 2015 MacBook Pro uses an Apple-proprietary "12+16-pin" connector, which is different from the normal standard m2 connector used on Windows PC computers.

There is a market for adaptors that allow the fitting of generic m2 blades into a Mac's 12+16 socket; but I suspect that adaptors going the other way will be rare.

You can buy 256 GB m2 modules for less money than an adaptor is likely to cost you, even if you find one.

benwiggy
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  • To be clear, are you saying that you can buy a 256GB NVMe SSD for less than the price of the adapter? – Hashim Aziz Jan 09 '21 at 12:22
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    I can see NVMe m2 256 GB SSDs selling for around £30. An adaptor for using Apple's 12+16pin SSDs in an m2 slot seems to go for much more than that - as much as £70, if you can find one. Adaptors going the other way, to use m2 SSD in a Mac, go for a fiver. The market for using non-standard Apple parts in PCs is very small. – benwiggy Jan 09 '21 at 12:39