What are the risks of upgrading Mac mini storage?

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Level 1

14 points

What are the risks of upgrading Mac mini storage?

What am I missing? If I buy a 2TB upgrade, I will probably void the warranty on my Mac Mini M4 if I open it up. Also, lots of things can go wrong when installing a 2TB upgrade storage, even if the folk on YouTube make it look easy. If I use external storage, I don't void my warranty and or bugger up my M4. In terms of transfer speed, the difference in speed is not always significant, and external storage can still offer advantages in terms of price, capacity, and portability. The vast majority of folk aren't really going to notice the difference. So again, what am I missing. I get it if your Mac is outside of the warranty period. But again things can go wrong with a DIY botched job.

Perhaps I'm being a tad thick, perhaps there is a massive plus that I'm not seeing. I'm not trying to be argumentative or negative. You've paid your money, the Mac is yours. I don't don't see the advantages versus the risk.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on May 27, 2025 11:51 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Ian R. Brown

Level 7

23,736 points

May 27, 2025 12:59 PM in response to Thayne WT

The people on YT are idiots just like those who climb up high buildings to get selfies.

There is no reason to open up the Mac and risk destroying it when a cheap NVMe in a Thunderbolt enclosure is to all intents and purposes just as efficient, completely safe and can be kept for use on another Mac should you sell the old one.

Some folk just like to live dangerously.

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Answer 2

Thayne WT Author

Level 1

14 points

May 27, 2025 02:09 PM in response to Ian R. Brown

Thanks, I couldn't get my head around it. I use external NVMe's, absolutely fine.

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Answer 3

tbirdvet

Level 6

16,721 points

May 27, 2025 01:44 PM in response to Thayne WT

No issue using external storage. Many use the drive to easily store Pictures, Music and Movies. If you want to use a larger external drive as your main boot drive you can do that also. The only small issue is that you will not be able to have the AI feature as it is not supported on an external boot drive.

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Answer 4

Thayne WT Author

Level 1

14 points

May 27, 2025 02:12 PM in response to tbirdvet

Thanks, I use NVMe's and they work fine for my use case. It's one of those monkey see monkey do type scenarios. It would be interesting to know how many people have had a go an buggered up their machine.

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Answer 5

John Galt

Level 10

153,598 points

May 27, 2025 02:44 PM in response to Thayne WT

👍

The people on YT are idiots just like those who climb up high buildings to get selfies.

Also 👍

Clicks = cash

Also consider the amount of AI-generated junk on YT. All clickbait. The legacy "news media" is no different. 100% worthless junk, most of which capitalizes on fear, while the remainder capitalizes on prurient entertainment. Ignore all of it.

Perhaps I'm being a tad thick

If only everyone were that thick 😄

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Answer 6

May 27, 2025 03:49 PM in response to Thayne WT

Even if you found the right parts to upgrade internal storage on a M4 Mac mini – and didn't destroy the hardware in the process of installing them – you wouldn't be out of the woods.

All Apple Silicon Macs encrypt and decrypt the contents of their SSDs in real time, using keys held within the Apple Silicon chip. On the only Apple Silicon Macs where the SSD is upgradable – the desktop minitower and rack mount M2 Ultra Mac Pros – after replacing all of the existing flash modules with very expensive new ones from Apple, you must use a second Mac running a special tool to revive the first one before you can even begin to reinstall macOS, and restore your data from backups.

I bet the same is true of the M4 Mac minis, M4 Pro Mac minis, and Mac Studios. If you were to replace the internal flash modules at great trouble, risk, and expense, you'd still need to get the contents of the new modules "in sync" with the keys in the Apple Silicon chip for the upgraded Mac to be anything more than a paperweight.

Something that some of the Internet reports might gloss over …

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