Can I upgrade my macbook air's SSD?

I have heard that people have successfully upgraded their MacBook AIr's SSD to a larger capacity. I want to know if its true? If so, can I do it myself or I have to ask technician to help?
I currently have the MacBook Air 13'' 128 G SSD. I'm very satisfied with the blazing speed of SSD. However, I'm a music maker and a photographer. I realized I need more space for putting BIG SOFTWARES such as LOGIC PRO (with upgraded add-on total 50G), Aperture, etc... Apparently, the current 128G SSD cannot satisfy my need.
I DO NOT want to install the software onto my external hard drive because I cannot bring the external hard drive everywhere. So, if any of you can help, please leave opinions.
Thanks!

Upgrading a SSD is 99% of the time a bad idea, not only due to costs, but primarily because people do it for the WRONG reasons.
see here:
Your Solid State Drive and having enough space inside your Macbook Air & Pro
Solid State Drive usage premise, or the “more space / upgrade SSD” question
There have been questions posed and positions taken by many people who are trying to use their Macbook Air or Pro’s solid state drive (SSD) as a mass media storage device, for either pictures, videos, massive music collections or all three combined; but this should not be the working premise of a ‘limited’ SSD and its use.
In which, it’s the case of those users with either 128GB, 256GB, or even 512GB of internal SSD space, that have or are running “out of space”, that questions are raised. The immediate premise of some users can sometimes be “(how to / if) upgrading my SSD” when in fact in nearly all instances another approach is the logical and sensible one that needs to be looked into and exercised.
Any Macbook containing a SSD should be idealized as a ‘working platform’ notebook containing all your applications, documents, and weekly or bi-weekly necessary files. All collections of media files such as pictures, music, and videos, unless directly needed should be kept off the notebook and on an external hard drive or likewise. While the ‘working platform’ premise is also the case with larger internal conventional hard drives of 1TB+, its implementation isn't as critical except in terms of data protection.
Realistically, you should at most coordinate roughly 20 to 25% of your total SSD space to all audio-video personal use media (picture / music / video collections), leaving the remaining amount on an external HD.
Nobody should consider any notebook a data storage device at any time under any circumstance, rather a data creation, sending, and manipulation device; and in the case of a SSD, this is more important for purposes of having sufficient working space on the SSD and reducing SSD ‘bloat’ in which cases someone is wrongly attempting to use the SSD space as a large media storage nexus.
The rare exception to the collective usage and premise of SSD use in which a much larger SSD is truly needed are for those in video and photography professions that require both the extremely fast speeds of the SSD and the onboard storage for large and or many video and photography files. However this also falls under the premise of a ‘working platform’ for such peoples rather than the intent of many who are using the SSD as passive and static data storage for media files very infrequently needed or accessed.
All on-notebook data collections should be logically approached as to necessity, and evaluated as to whether it is active or passive data that likely doesn’t need to be on the notebook, allocations of space-percentages to as-needed work and use, apportioning space for your entertainment media, and questioning whether it should it be on the notebook for more than short-term consumption.
Considerations should be made in the mind of any user in differentiating the necessary system data (System hub) comprising the Mac OSX, applications, necessary documents that both must and should be on your internal SSD, and that of the users personal data (Data hub) comprising created files, pictures, music, videos, PDF files, data created or being created and otherwise, that likely unless being used soon or often should be parked on an external hard drive for consumption, or temporarily loading onto the internal SSD.
You both can and should purchase whichever SSD size you need or see fit, but even in the case of the largest of SSD, unless use-considerations are made, and SSD spaces are allocated as should be the case indicated above, one can easily and immediately run into this quandary of “needing more internal SSD space”, in which instance a different approach in usage must then be implemented.
However it is almost always the case, that such large media files are wanted to be stored internally rather than actually needed, in which case the external HD is both prudent as well as necessary. Additionally costs per MB are infinitely less on an external HD than an internal SSD in any consideration of data expansion needs.
A Professional Example
In the case of a Macbook Air or Macbook Pro Retina with ‘limited’ storage on the SSD, this distinction becomes more important in that in an ever rapidly increasing file-size world, you keep vital large media files, pics, video, PDF collections, music off your SSD and archived on external storage, for sake of the necessary room for your system to have free space to operate, store future applications and general workspace. 
You should also never be put in the position of considering “deleting things” on your Macbook SSD in order to ‘make space’. This is especially what your external HD is for.
Professionals who create and import very large amounts of data have almost no change in the available space on their notebooks internal SSD because they are constantly archiving data to arrays of external or networked HD.
Or in the case of the consumer this means you keep folders for large imported or created data and you ritually offload and archive this data for safekeeping, not only to safeguard the data in case your Macbook has a SSD crash, or gets stolen, but importantly in keeping the ‘breathing room’ open for your notebook to operate, expand, create files, add applications, for your APPS to create temp files, and for general operation.
Slim USB3 1TB external hard drive
External Hard Drives
External hard drives are both extremely cheap and regardless of the size of your internal SSD (or even internal hard drive if the case), you need an external hard drive with your SSD equipped Macbook for several reasons:
1. Data backup and protection.
2. Redundancy for important data.
3. Necessitated ideal space for large media files for collections of pictures, videos, and music etc.
While ever changing in price, typical portable 2.5” external hard drives in USB3 run roughly $65 for 1TB or $120 for 2TB small portable USB3 hard drives. Such drives range in thickness between 5mm and 15mm, with recent improvements in storage of 500GB drives in 5mm profiles.
There is almost no premise in which a small 12mm thick 1 Terabyte USB hard drive cannot be taken along with any Macbook as an external large storage extension inside any Macbook carry case or pouch. Typically such external HD profiles are not much bigger than a deck of cards.
External hard drives are a foregone necessity for purchase with any Macbook for at the very least Time Machine backups, data redundancies, and ideally for large media storage.

Similar Messages

  • Can I upgrade my MacBook Air 10.6.8 to Yosemite 10.10 safely and how do I do it?

    My MacBook Air is at 10.6.8 and I would like to upgrade the OS to Yosemite 10.10.1. How can I accomplish this and is it safe to do?

    Back up your data, check your applications for compatibility, and download Yosemite from the Mac App Store.
    It isn’t possible to tell if you’ll have a problem in advance.
    (118422)

  • Can my mid 2011 macbook air be upgraded to wifi 802.11ac?

    Can my mid 2011 macbook air be upgraded to wifi 802.11ac? I am considering replacing my 802.11n router with the 802.11ac time capsule. Will this effect my download speed on my 802.11n macbook air (mid 2011)? can it be upgraded?

    No, you cannot change the Wi-Fi hardware in your Mac. The Time Capsule is still worth it due to its ability to make backups of your Mac via Time Machine.

  • Is there a way to upgrade my MacBook Air 2012 to a 512Gb SSD?

    Is there a way to upgrade my MacBook Air 2012 to a 512Gb SSD?
    I have a SSD 128GB and am looking for an aftermarket upgrade.. is this possible?
    Cheers

    Check Other World Computing website.

  • HT1338 How can I upgrade my MacBook Pro from OS X 10.5.8 to most recent Operating System ?

    How can I upgrade my MacBook Pro from OS X 10.5.8 to most recent Operating System ?
    I just bought a Ipad Air and realized than my MacPro does not support Icloud.

    Upgrade Paths to Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
    You can upgrade to Mountain Lion or Mavericks from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
    Upgrading to Snow Leopard
    You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard — Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
    After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.
         Snow Leopard General Requirements
           1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
           2. 1GB of memory
           3. 5GB of available disk space
           4. DVD drive for installation
           5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
               fees may apply.
           6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
               terms apply.
    Upgrading to Lion
    If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
    You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service — this includes international calling numbers. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax.  It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
         Lion System Requirements
           1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
               or Xeon processor
           2. 2GB of memory
           3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
           4. 7GB of available space
           5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
    Upgrading to Mountain Lion or Mavericks
    To upgrade to Mountain Lion or Mavericks you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion or Mavericks (Free) from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
         OS X Mountain Lion — System Requirements
           Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
             1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) — Model Identifier 7,1 or later
             2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) —
                 Model Identifier 5,1 or later
             3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later
             4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) — Model Identifier 2,1 or later
             5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later
             6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later
             7. Xserve (Early 2009) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later
    To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
    Are my applications compatible?
             See App Compatibility Table — RoaringApps.
         For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.

  • Is it possible to upgrade my macbook air 13" from 1.86 GHz 128 gb flash and 2GB memory to the 2.13 GHz  256 and 4GB memory, how much would it cost?

    Is it possible to upgrade my macbook air 13" from 1.86 GHz 128 gb flash and 2GB memory to the 2.13 GHz  256 and 4GB memory, how much would it cost?

    About the only thing that "might" be able to do is upgrade the SSD. OWC sells SSD upgrades for that unit. You would have to contact Apple though to verify that no warranty issues would apply when making the upgrade.

  • How can I restore my Macbook Air?

    Hi! I forot the ID that I purchased for Mac OX. How can I restore my Macbook Air?

    iForgot iCloud Password
    Your Apple ID: Manage My Apple ID.
                            Apple ID- All about Apple ID security questions.

  • How can I unfreeze my Macbook Air?  I have tried restarting but it simply opens on the frozen email page.  Any suggestions?

    How can I unfreeze my Macbook Air? I have tried restarting but it simply opens on the frozen email page.
    I have tried a few multople key combinations.  I would be very grateful if someone could post one that might ensure that any applications quit before re-starting.

    Try Force Quit.
    Press   command + option + esc  keyboard keys together at the same time.
    Wait.
    When Force Quit window appears, select Mail if not already.
    Press Force Quit button at the bottom of the window.
    Wait.
    Mail will quit.

  • Can I use my Macbook Air with my apple TV?

    I have just purchased and Apple TV box to use with my phone and Ipad. I was just wondering is i can also use my macbook air (late 2010) with it as well. I can stream my itunes through the apple tv and play all my songs but i was wondering if I could mirror the screen onto my TV. I am useless with all the macbook jargon i have seen in other posts so need some simple help. I am operating on Lion 10.7.5. I have read that nwer software could help but i would like to know for certain before purcahsing the latest software.
    Thank You

    Yes, but you must update to OS X Mavericks using the Mac App Store. When you do, you will see this icon in the menubar:
    I hope I solved your question.
    Austin

  • Can I return my MacBook Air past the return date?

    Hi, I have a question that I've been googling but I haven't been able to find an answer to anywhere. Can I return a MacBook Air past the return date to an Apple store if it is still in shrink-wrap and I have a receipt? Thanks.

    I would think you cannot return a product after the return date has passed.
    Call the Apple Store and ask them.

  • Can I return my macbook air after two months?

    Can I return my macbook air after two months?

    where did you buy it from?
    apple's return policy is 14 days

  • How can I connect a MacBook Air (new) to a Sony Bravia TV

    How can I connect a MacBook Air (new) to a Sony Bravia TV

    This Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter will let you see and hear your Mac on your HDTV - http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428&cs_id=1042802 &p_id=5311&seq=1&format=2

  • Can I see my macbook air desktop on apple tv?

    Can I see my macbook air desktop on apple tv?
    Thank you,

    Welcome to the Apple community.
    No, unfortunately you cannot currently do that.
    You may be able to do this under the next operating system "mountain lion", subject to any hardware restrictions there maybe.

  • How can i purchase a macbook air in Nigeria? apple has no shop in the entire country and independent dealers charge ridiculously sometimes more than double the prices of mac products without guarantee of getting it with required specifications. its sad cl

    how can i purchase a macbook air in Nigeria? apple has no shop in the entire country and independent dealers charge ridiculously sometimes more than double the prices of mac products without guarantee of getting it with required specifications. its sad cos Nigeria has a very large apple market plus phones and most recently ipads especially. its been frustrating trying to get a macbook, even have to wait for when someone will travel out of the country, then you send the person(thats if you have the money at that time). Please somebody help inform apple maybe they can do something about this, its really disappointing.

    This is a user-to-user technical support forum. You're not addressing Apple here. Use the apporpriate link on fhe Feedback page to let Apple know how you feel:
    http://www.apple.com/feedback

  • HT1444 how can I upgrade my macbook from 10.5.8 version to the latest version

    how can I upgrade my macbook from OS X 10.5.8 version to the latest version?

    Start by checking if you can run Snow Leopard:
    Requirements for OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'
    http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
    Whilst Apple have withdrawn Snow Leopard from their stores, you can still get it from Apple by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE (if you are in the USA) and they will supply the SL DVD for $20 for a single user, or $30 for a family pack that covers up to 5 Macs.  You can also purchase the code to use to download Lion from the same number (Lion requires an Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 or Xeon processor and 2GB of RAM, running the latest version of Snow Leopard), or you can purchase Mountain Lion from the App Store - if you can run that:
    http://www.apple.com/osx/specs/
    If you are outside the US call your national Apple Helpline:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57
    If you're in the UK, use this number: 0871 508 4400
    When you have installed it, run Software Update to download and install the latest updates for Snow Leopard.
    To use iCloud you have to upgrade all the way to Mountain Lion:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4759

Maybe you are looking for

  • IMac 27 " recognizes Cineman screen but nothing happens

    I just got an iMac 27", slightly used but still under warranty for one more year. In the hope I might use two screens side by side to speed up my photo editing, Bridge to InDesign layout and so on, I have connected my 27 inch Apple Cinemascreen to it

  • IT0041 - employee with more than 12 date types;

    Has anyone had an instance where an employee has had more than 12 valid Date Types on IT0041?  If so, how did you enter their 13th date type?  We have just created our 12th date type in the table and we will probably be creating a 13th date type in t

  • How much disk space is needed for downloading trial version of adobe illustrator?

    how much disk space is needed for downloading trial version of adobe illustrator?

  • Who to convert the daet from mm.dd.yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy

    hi  team,                     i am working on script: hr_ben_conf.  standard program is hrben0015..... in the script i have different plans like dental plan---- mm/dd/yyyy. medical plan---- mm/dd/yyyy. ltd plan - mm.dd.yyyy. for ltd plan i am getting

  • Security, and pin blocking!

    hi there, i jus got a new nokia today the 5300, and im trying to put a block on my text messages, and media....i cant seem to figure that out.. can some one help. i have done the security pin, and i still allows people to roam through my stuff, and i