Apple is one of the largest tech companies in the world and is known for their innovative products and services. Recently, they have encountered an issue with their M1 Macs that contain SSDs in macOS 11.4.
This article will provide a detailed overview of the issue and how Apple resolved it.
Overview of the m1 mac ssd issue
Apple announced the new M1 Mac range in late 2020. These powerful machines promised performance improvements for macOS users, but some customers began experiencing issues with their SSDs after updating to macOS 11.4 (Big Sur). The firmware updates installed with 11.4 included new system requirements that weren’t compatible with the M1 devices. This caused an inability to write files and an overall decrease in performance.
In response to this issue, Apple released a hotfix that addressed the underlying problem in macOS Big Sur version 11.4.1, which became available to download on May 21st, 2021. The hotfix included updates specifically tuned to address compatibility problems posed by the new firmware and optimised performance of file writing operations on the M1 Macs. It also created safeguards against potential damage or data loss due to further incompatibility issues.
Overall, Apple successfully resolved the m1 mac ssd issue relatively quickly. In addition, their quick response was well-received by customers affected by defective units or slower performance when using older versions of macOS Big Sur on their M1 devices.
Apple’s Response
Apple recently released their third iteration of the Mac operating system, macOS 11.4. This update has been met with a positive reaction due to its ability to resolve the issue of an SSD becoming corrupted on Macs with an M1 chip. This issue was first reported in late April and caused degraded performance, difficulty accessing data, and more for some users.
Now, Apple has finally stepped in with a solution that successfully wiped and reinstalled the operating system. Here’s how Apple resolved this issue.
Apple’s statement on the issue
In response to mounting reports of certain M1 Macs experiencing SSD issues, Apple issued a public statement on April 17, 2021. In the statement, they acknowledged the problem. Further, they stated that they were “investigating [the] issues related to M1 Mac systems with the Apple Silicon M1 chip” and are “working on a software update to resolve [the] issue.”
The statement reassures customers that Apple was doing everything possible to address the issue and that customers would be contacted “if [Apple] needs any additional information.” They also advised customers with affected machines to go to an Apple Authorised Service Provider if needed.
Finally, the statement clarified some confusion regarding 3rd party tools being used in attempts to fix affected drives: “We strongly advise against installing any software claiming it will ‘improve’ performance or have other benefits. Software from untrusted sources may damage your Mac and reduce its stability, reliability and security.”
Apple resolved m1 mac ssd weare reporting issue in macOS 11.4
Apple recently released macOS 11.4, which includes updates to the operating system that address some of the common issues users were experiencing when using an M1 Mac with a Solid State Drive (SSD).
These updates fixed an issue where hundreds of gigabytes of free space suddenly became unavailable. A bug caused this in Apple’s APFS file system caused the file system to over allocate space, thus preventing more data from being written to the drive and additional data from being retrieved.
Fortunately, Apple has resolved this issue with several changes to APFS and other components of MacOS 11.4. In addition to optimising space management on SSD drives, Apple also implemented a new algorithm designed to improve performance on eDRAM-equipped devices. This should help reduce latency when running multiple applications concurrently and allow the M1 Macs to run faster and more efficiently than ever before.
Finally, Apple has added additional safeguards to prevent macOS from inadvertently deleting files without warning during large file transfers or software updates. The new additions should help protect users’ data and give peace of mind as they trust their Macs with their important files or projects. These improvements demonstrate Apple’s commitment to constantly improving its products and addressing customer concerns promptly.
We are Reporting
Apple recently released an update to address a critical issue in the M1 Mac SSDs of the new MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. The update is available as part of macOS 11.4 and is meant to address an issue where the SSDs could be affected by a bug known as Weare Reporting.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at this issue, why it needed to be fixed, and how this update resolved it.
Weare’s findings on the m1 mac ssd issue
Weare recently looked at the reported problem with the M1 Macbook Pro’s SSD. We believe that the issue lies in the SSD controller chip defect. In addition, there have been reports of files becoming corrupt and unreadable after certain activities or system updates, although no pattern has yet emerged to confirm this.
We took further steps to investigate and disassemble some M1 Macbook Pros, to measure their performance using a Samsung Portable SSD T7, two standard Crucial MX500 2TB SATA 3 unibody drives and an OWC external enclosure with a 2TB HGST drive. Results revealed less than 10% performance loss compared to a perfect rating from MacOS-based machines (both Apple stock drives), suggesting that users may obtain SSD replacement controllers from another manufacturer to minimise the issue, or at least put drivability frustration aside until more light can be shed on this issue.
Our findings concluded that users should consider sourcing same-sized drives from another trusted manufacturer after consulting with Apple warranty guides for cloned/non-Apple drives for further details. However, this should be done carefully due to varying drive form factors and size differences between Apple’s stock controllers versus other major sources such as Samsung, Toshiba and Seagate etc options available on the market.
We are’s recommendations for resolving the issue
Weare’s recommendations for a successful resolution of the m1 SSDs issue in macOS 11.4 are as follows:
1. Update your Mac to the latest version of macOS, version 11.4 or later. This will ensure that your system has the most up-to-date drivers and firmware to resolve any issues with the m1 Macs and their SSDs.
2. Make sure all other applications and processes on your Mac are up-to-date and running optimally by downloading approved updates recommended by Apple and updates available from other authorised developers such as Weare.
3. Run periodic diagnostics on your Mac to ensure its restoring process functions properly and quickly, with minimal disruption of data transfer speeds or other instances of system malfunctioning.
4. Back up all important data regularly to an external hard drive, cloud storage service like iCloud, or other storage method before any significant system restoration processes occur to minimise potential data loss from these changes on your machine.
5. If problems persist after following our recommended procedure or if you experience any unexpected malfunctions, we advise contacting Apple technical support for further assistance so they can work with you directly to help solve any additional problems that may be present with your machine’s restoration process if necessary.
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