How Long Will Your MacBook's SSD Last Before It Dies?

The SSD in your Mac cannot be replaced... So if it stops working or dies, that's not good. However, how long will it last? How many years will you be able to use the Mac before the SSD stops working? In this video we explore this topic in greater details, and also give you some tips and tricks to prolong the life of your SSD.

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:46 Why Is This A Problem?
01:19 How the SSD In Your Mac Works
02:49 The Problem with SSDs
04:05 How Your Mac Looks After it’s SSD
06:40 How Much Data Can Your SSD Write Before Dying?
09:42 What SSDs Do Apple Use?
10:37 How Long Could Your SSD Last Before Failing?

#macbook #macbookpro #createdtech
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[LensofAlex]

Thanks mate, definitely took a weight of my chest. Was looking to get a M1 Pro but was concerned when I heard that SSD fail. By far the most comprehensive and clear video on the topic.

[RDSD]

TLDW:

With a MacBook with 256GB of storage, writing 50GB of data per day, the SSD will last 8.2 years

500GB: 16years
1TB: 32 years
2TB: 64 years

Almost no one writes 50GB per day, every single day, so the time to failure can be doubled.

[SFAutor]

The SSD in my MacPro (late 2013) is still in use today and has been doing the job reliably ever since, with 8 hours per day.

[jlinwinter]

The SSD on a Macbook Pro 2016 I was using broke in late 2021. Everything else about it works. I used an external ssd for booting+main system drive for a few months until I got tired of having to rely on an external drive. I think the only thing your analysis misses is background processes that indiscriminately writes to the ssd without user control. The Mac virtual memory system is becoming very advanced, with the M1 using unified memory and virtual memory. The user cannot control how many bytes the system will write - even if you only browse the web, etc you can't control whether the os will write/commit to the ssd when you are only lightly using the system.

[madychan]

Great informative video! Allow me to add a correction on your assessment of 2% storage availability.

In this scenario, this will lead to a phenomenon called write amplification, where the SSD erases and rewrites the stored data across all the cells to accomplish its wear leveling objectives.

This as you can see amplifies writes as it has to rewrite an existing data to a different cell, erase the previous one and write the new data on that previous location and so on. No modern SSDs will ever write and rewrite a new data on the same location as it would kill the SSD quicker

[teemuvesala]

Most likely other hardware dies long before the SSD. My 128GB SSD on my Windows PC from 2011 still working, and modern SSDs are way more durable and also larger..

[wzent]

This was an amazing breakdown bro! You explained it so well. Feel better now, but still saving everything to my external. Only using about 30 percent of my internal SSD

[davidpichevin]

My 600 dollar Samsung m.2 NVME drive, in my PC, died in just 3 years of desktop use, failing into read only mode, but not before corrupting entire folders of data. Make sure you have efficient backup no matter what you use.

[tommyo]

that pencil / paper analogy was too good!

[ferrianrp]

Hi, i just wanna share my experience when i used MBA M1 (8GB RAM). I'm Android Developer and my workflow are
- Android Studio
- Chrome 5++ tabs
- Emulator
- Spotify
it's used 7GB RAM and 4GB+ Swap memory.

And i calculated that almost 3TB written in SSD every WEEK. That's make me frustated and worry when my laptop gonna die in future.
What i suggest to people is, get more RAM storage when your have heavy daily work.

Now i have bought MBP 14" base model and using it with that daily work it's just under 200GB per week

[AnunayMintoo]

My 2012 mid macbook after the ssd upgrade works LIKE SUPER FAST it can even handle games like Asphalt 9, csgo etc....Pretty happy with the decision ;)

[KIsaac-wpdq]

Thank you man . I've been searching for almost 2 years when the m1 macbook launched.

[yifangui]

This video is so informative I can't handle it. Please don't ever stop making these super helpful content!

[TheosisTradition]

I‘m quite new to MacBooks, but I own a Windows laptop from 2016 with a built in SSD and it works as good as day one.

[onegenius]

THIS IS ONE REASON WHY I DON'T OWN AN MAC! SOLDERING SSDs, MEMORY IS NOT RIGHT! I'M AN 36yr TECH, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO UPGRADE. ITS CRAZY THAT MAC USERS DON'T GET ENRAGE OVER THIS.

[rodaraguz]

Thank you so much for this video. So well edited and great info. Lots of stuff I didn't know but learned and the video is just beautifully made. Such a good quality video!

[francinesambola]

Thanks for this video man. I've seen several other videos talking about MacBook SSD as if it is something that will break at any moment. I almost changed my mind about purchasing one haha. This video made me realize it is not something to worry that much about.
Thank you a lot for your vital explanation (btw, I'm commenting from my sister's computer and account 😅😅😂)

[AVClarke]

I've owned several MacBooks over the years, with old mechanical hard drives and SSDs, and I can assure that something else will break or malfunction on your MacBook before the hard drive will.

[mohdfadhlan]

Please do aware that Apple is using multiple NAND chip to achieve SSD's total capacity; 256GB capacity use 2x128GB NAND chip while 1TB capacity use 8x128GB NAND chip. So, each 128GB NAND chip have around 75TBW each. Failure to 1 NAND chip will make Macbook unusable.

[ThatMakesSenseToMe]

I’ve been trying to watch less tech news. But this is genuinely helpful. I’ve been considering whether to switch my workflow to working on internal SSD or keep using externals. Obviously price is an issue, but it is good to know that even copying a couple hundred gigs at a time a couple times a week won’t likely burn through a 2 TB internal SSD