Can you connect an M.2 SATA to an M.2 NVMe port?

As people already know they are physically compatible, you can plug an M.2 SATA (aka M+B key) into an M.2 NVMe (M key).

My question is will it work?

Solution 1:

A slot that can do SATA will have the M key and/or B key.

A slot that cannot do SATA will not have either the M or B key, but others instead, making it physically impossible to insert a SATA-only card.

A card with multiple keys can only use the lowest common set of features. With B+M, that’s PCIe x2, SATA and SMBus.

Because an M.2 NVMe SSD typically wants PCIe x4, there’s only one possibility: M key.

It might be noteworthy that slots with multiple keys are very rare, if they exist at all.

If a card physically fits the slot, it will work. That’s the entire idea behind the key notches.

Solution 2:

Just because an M only slot fits into M+B slot does not necessarily mean it will work.

Here is an example : M-Slots for M+B and M only

Solution 3:

NVME drive uses pci-e signal, while SATA m.2 still uses SATA signal. They are quite different. Most ssd enclosures only support either one protocol, while most motherboard m.2 ports usually support both standards at same time. (There are some exceptions.) If your port is m.2 b+m, then you can only use sata m.2 ssd. If your port is m.2 key m, you should be able to use nvme ssd, and you *might* be able to use sata m.2 ssd.

Solution 4:

Support for NVME is largely determined by the BIOS. For a motherboard with a m.2 slot, it can work with m.2 SATA SSDs that usually have the B and M cut-outs and the slot normally has only the M key on the right side. A m.2 NVME SSD will slot in but usually won't work unless the BIOS has an option to set the m.2 slot to either SATA or NVME. If a motherboard has a m.2 slot and was made before 2016 it's unlikely to support NVME, but check your motherboard manufacturers' website for a BIOS update that may add support for NVME.