Technicians in China have been successful in upgrading the memory and storage of the M1 chip, suggesting that Apple’s custom integrated silicon for the Mac may be more flexible than previously thought.
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Reports from maintenance technicians being able to expand the memory and storage of M1 Macs began to circulate on Chinese social media over the weekend, but now international reports have started to clarify the situation.
Technicians in Guangzhou, China, found that it is possible to disconnect the RAM from the M1 chip and its nearby SSD module and replace them with larger capacity components, which are recognized correctly by macOS, without breaking the device.
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As proof, a large number of images showing the process of a basic model M1 MacBook Air with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage being upgraded to 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage, and this change being shown correctly on macOS Big Sur, were shared online.
The RAM and SSD components on Apple’s M1 Macs are welded in place, making the procedure extremely challenging, and there is a high chance of failure. This invasive unofficial update also undoubtedly violates Apple’s warranty.
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Apple has made it increasingly difficult for users to update their own Macs over the years, and the Mac M1 was thought to represent a final solidification of that change, with all the computing components of the Mac M1 being tightly integrated physically. The possibility of upgrading the memory and storage of M1 Macs, although in an invasive and risky procedure, appears to be a significant discovery.
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Due to the difficulty of upgrading RAM or SSD, almost all M1 owners will likely still have to rely on the memory and storage configuration they chose at the point of purchase, with updates being confined to a minority of enthusiasts, although it has been suggested that the memory and storage upgrades of the M1 Mac in Asia will be available through unofficial channels.
M1 Mac owners may be eager to see if the process behind these updates is refined over time and becomes a more viable option.