This kind of work blows my mind: An Apple fan saved $2,200 by manually upgrading their Macs storage but admitted the process was really hell

Date:
Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:05:47 +0000

Description:
An Apple user manually upgraded their MacBooks storage and saved $2,200 by doing so

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter A Reddit user manually upgraded their MacBooks storage chips The process involved soldering, 12 hours and
some nerves The move saved them $2,200 after Apple recently increased its prices How much is too much to pay for laptop storage? After Apple s shocking price rises , things might feel so bad that youre tempted to roll up your sleeves and perform an emergency DIY upgrade job on your MacBook. Thats exactly what one Apple fan did and they saved themselves a cool $2,200 in
the process.

Posting on Reddit , user arduinoRPi4 explained how they took their MacBook Pro with 2TB of storage and boosted it all the way to 8TB, quadrupling their available storage with a serious improvement that means they can store anything I want. They spent around $800 on parts, which saved them $2,200 (around 1,650 / AU$3,170) compared the exorbitant $3,000 (about 2,240 / AU$4,320) it would have cost to pay Apple for a similar upgrade. Of course, this being Apple, opening a MacBook Pro and increasing its storage yourself
is far from straightforward. The post revealed that it took them 12 hours and some nerves to make the change and no wonder, as doing so requires removing the existing storage modules from the MacBook Pros mainboard and soldering alternative chips in their place. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

As well as that, the poster indicated that they had to fill in the power components on the other side as well in order to complete the upgrade. That was really hell, they admitted, adding that these parts are TINY packages.

All the work was done while they were on vacation in Shenzhen, China, where they borrowed a lab from a friend who does component level repair. They used
a hot air station and microscope soldering and stencils to do the work, which involved soldering power management integrated circuits into place, followed by 4TB of NAND storage chips on each side of the laptop for a total of 8TB. You may like Apples Mac mini now has a higher starting price Apple price
hikes live all the latest on new Mac, iPad and HomePod prices MacBook price rises could be far worse than iPhone 18 Pro, analysts predict It looks like excellent work Image 1 of 2 (Image credit: arduinoRPi4 on Reddit) (Image credit: arduinoRPi4 on Reddit) If youve got the resolve, patience and skill for a spot of laptop surgery like this, the savings can be enormous. A
14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max chip and 2TB of storage will set you back $4,099 / 4,099 / AU$6,399 at Apples increased prices. Change the storage to 8TB and that tweak will add a hefty $3,000 to your bill, bringing the total
to an eye-watering $7,099 / 7,099 / AU$10,899.

The difference is even starker when you apply this change to Apples entry-level MacBook Pro. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 chip and 2TB of
storage currently costs $2,499 / 2,499 / AU$3,949. Add 8TB of storage and the total shoots up by a colossal $4,600. Thats partly due to the expensive storage addition and partly because it requires changing the M5 chip to an M5 Max, which is the only chip that can be configured with 8TB of storage. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

A $3,000 upgrade is well out of reach for most MacBook buyers (much less a $4,600 one), so it should perhaps be unsurprising that an enterprising user with plenty of experience and a little time on their hands felt motivated to manually upgrade their storage.

Most posters in the thread were highly impressed with their work, with comments like very impressive, I could never being typical. One user was especially effusive in their praise, saying This kind of work blows my mind.

That said, other users werent happy that a task like this is even needed at all. Crazy that you have to go this level of modifying just to upgrade your storage, said one, indicating that Apples increased storage prices are not exactly the most popular move its ever made.

But with the artificial intelligence (AI) goldrush pushing up component
prices worldwide and Apple unwilling to compromise its famously high margins, increased costs are here to stay, at least for the time being. And while
thats still the case, there will probably be plenty more people willing to take on the considerable task of upgrading their laptops storage with a few off-the-shelf components and a soldering iron to hand. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best MacBooks and Macs for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best MacBooks and Macs 1. Best MacBook overall: MacBook Air 13-inch M5 2. Best budget MacBook: MacBook Neo 3. Best Mac: Mac mini (M4) 4. Best MacBook Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 5. Best Mac for professionals Mac Studio M4 Max



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/this-kind-of-work-blows-my-mind-an-apple-f an-saved-usd2-200-by-manually-upgrading-their-macs-storage-but-admitted-the-pr ocess-was-really-hell


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