iMac A1419 (27-inch Retina 5K) SSD Upgrade

[@steffenhalama5558]

This tutorial is nothing short than excellent. I was able to replace my broken ssd in my Imac from 2016 following it. Tricky part was to disassemble the power supply. What is also not needed, because it's possible to remove it together with the motherboard.

[@adhill]

Thanks! Shouldn't you clarify that this is for the *blade* SSD and not the main drive? The main drive is significantly easier to replace.

[@skrambledagg]

the other drive is an HDD

[@ChristopherShawnPike]

@@skrambledagg Originally it is a HDD (spinning hard drive). I replaced that one already with a SATA SSD. The iMac is a bit faster, but now I am looking at doing this on. I guess you could say the SATA upgrade was just practice for doing this upgrade.

[@fbmrqs]

To the genius who made replacing the storage on this iMac such a nightmare… May all the eggs you eat have the yolks burst. May all your pens run out of ink mid-sentence. May all your socks develop tiny holes in the toes. May your phone always be at 1% battery when you need it most. May your favourite TV show always be spoiled just before you watch the latest episode. I can go on.

[@cyberlizardcouk]

So much easier to simply cut a door in the back using a Dremel.

[@maccentric]

When removing the power supply, you mention there's two cables, but only show one being removed. It appears the lower cable just slipped out on it's own. Might be useful to mention that as it could confuse someone unfamiliar. I would also have mentioned draining the power by holding the power button down for 5-10 seconds after unplugging the iMac. There's a lot of juice stored in those capacitors. Maybe wear rubber gloves.

[@thardyryll]

To remove SSD: Disassemble the entire computer. Sort of like removing the engine in your car to replace the stereo.

[@diyers]

Correct me if I am wrong, alternatively, you can use an adaptor for the most common M.2 SSD's that mac M2 socket

[@hornplayer1228]

The microphone hole was nicely covered by the adhesive strip making it useless. That can be fixed when reattaching the screen after it falls off on a hot day.

[@69Aviles]

Hello there Q there its a possibility to add a m.2 with thunderbolt and run Mac os whit it externally Please help

[@MrPlaguewrath]

Hey do you think there will be a great difference in performance between using a usb c external ssd hard drive and using it as internal and install MacOs on it , than replacing the actual fusion drive with new ssd?

[@ichbinderichbin]

Your video documentation is the best "how to do" video I've ever seen! Thanks a lot 🙏

[@stephencawker1565]

Can you please run a Black magic speed test for this brand of ssd please... i mite buy this one,,it looks good!

[@Mortdrag]

Very usefull video. Thanks! I have a question. Do i have to reinstall the OS after changing or all boot files located on HDD? iMac late 2017 with 3TB Fusion drive. And what about files on hdd should I backup them before changing?

[@marcusroth2428]

Why would you put a used blade SSD into this iMac?

[@JustBlogg]

Hi. Could you please let me know if I should "unmount" the Fusion Drive first before the upgrade? And will I be able to format the iMac SSD and HHD after the replacement? Thank you.

[@DouglasYan]

hi ,I have a retired orginal SSD from a macbook air A1466, can I install it into imac 27 end 2015?

[@spiderx6170]

Dose all iMac 5K 2017, include 1TB HDD only model, has PCIE SSD blade slot on motherboard?

[@sherekoki]

great job..question what kind of encloser I need if I want to used this SSD like external drive ? can you help please ?

[@truthteller50]

If I add this to my Mac (doesn't currently have an SSD in that slot), and keep my HDD, will it show as having two drives when I boot up?

[@jcmvico]

Good morning, your tutorial seems very interesting to me, can you tell me the iMac 27" type that you have used. I have the iMac 27" late 2015

[@dmasimplicitystudio7334]

Hello pls is iMac late 2020 SSD upgradeable

[@toshimon6276]

The engineers that designed this should be required to do the process a 100 times then the next version will be done right.

[@jameslaumeyer4214]

Broski I’ve got an engineering degree and had no problem taking it apart and putting it back together. It’s a well designed machine that is hard to screw up unless you’re sloppy/tired and crack the screen.

[@optimumpcyt]

​@@jameslaumeyer4214 but it's supposed to be easy for you because you are a smart guy with an engineering degree. The average joe can't do this. And i have an actual computer degree so i have seen it all and these machines are designed with no screws to take the cover off so you literally have to cut through the glue and void your warranty. It's trash. Yes it may be a good design durability wise but i believe the op was referring to ease of upgrade when he mentioned the design.

[@eduardomanfredini8552]

The fact that it is adhesive just makes me crazy. Once I opened my machine I’ve never properly closed it again. I use external tape. Completely understand you.

[@jascam1]

This must be a fusion (hybrid SSD/HDD) system. You never said why you're upgrading the NvMe SSD?

[@mikepeebles]

Dremel a cutout on the back and make it much easier to access the ssd.

[@hardlines2635]

Why keep the old HDD ?

[@pedroblancou]

Ununderstandable. The SSD will only function as a buffer. S:

[@grantcoop]

Would this work on the late 2015 imac 27’ model as well/

[@gregclare]

Some information on the purpose of the upgrade would be helpful. I assume it isn’t to replace the hard drive with SSD drive, as you reinsert the HDD. But, you also commented that the larger SSD would act as a drive? Real confusing what the purpose of this upgrade is!

[@Thorsanbauer]

Based on the fact that the pcie is 2.0 bottleneck is there a significant differance compared to sata ssd?

[@TheMillerChen]

is it support M.2 SSD gen3 or gen4?

[@estebanleiva3772]

Same question here, did you get any answer?

[@TheMillerChen]

@@estebanleiva3772 not yet. still waiting

[@narbig7]

Excelente video! Cómo puedo saber si mi imac tiene slot para m.2? Es el mismo modelo pero viene solo con Disco Duro

[@AngelAmayax]

-Necesitas un adaptador, por default no tiene un m2, pero es muy barato.

[@paultinajero9733]

​@@AngelAmayaxhola bro, tu sabes cuánto puede valer una imac 2014 retina 5k core i5 24gb ram 27" con cristal craquelado?

[@voyagestours]

Excelente vídeo me suscribo 👍

[@chiphamthien1918]

Thank you so much.

[@HotChili17]

Too bad Apple couldn't manage to put the SSD on the front side of the motherboard. Would save like an hour of work and significantly reduce the chance of breaking something in the process. Their designs since 2012 have gone downhill significantly, Macbook Air was good till 2017. I think that will be my last Mac, after owning many since 1986.

[@user-rh3jr4co9g]

Do not fall for KingSpec HDD. The SLC cache or whatever is making the speed tests look nice does not work under the load the Mac puts it under. Terrible 100% CPU when idea, 80% in kernel, while R/W pefromace goes to

[@Rufer56]

Before looking videos like this I had a slow but valuable iMac 27" late 2015 ... Now I have a useless no value brick!😮‍💨

[@tokagehideto]

I hope apple is paying you well 😘

[@KitchenPlatform]

I thought it would be a easy process 😢

[@GreatPtaah]

Это не мастер. Это слабые знания и отсутствие опыта. Вскрывать обычным ножом нельзя. Скотч будет крайне трудно отклеить. Микрофон заклеил. Сервисмен без опыта и мозгов.

[@mikepeebles]

Stupid Apple with their form over function design bullshit.