Macbook Pro Retina 13 (late 2012) SSD replacement, putting in a SATA 2.5' SSD drive?

Macbook Pro Retina 13 (late 2012) SSD replacement, putting in a SATA 2.5' drive?

Before you jump in and say no it can't be done please read the below information to see it can be done.

The late 2012 Retina is a mixed breed laptop, the old generation used SATA drives and you could upgrade yours to a SATA SDD, while the new generation macbook use a "stick like ssd" that connects directly to PCI-Express.

Now, the late 2012 Retina is a hybrid between those, it still uses SATA but the connector looks like mini-SATA and similar to PCI-Express but the pinouts are mixed around.

If one could find an adaptor from the main board connector to SATA and get the pinouts connected right it would be possible to connect a SATA SSD, there is even enough room under the trackpad.

Photos of the SSD tray: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Late+2012+SSD+Tray+Replacement/12822

I'll post pictures of the pinouts later.

Has anyone found an adapter like this?

Solution 1:

Just managed to upgrade my Late 2012 Retina Macbook Pro using a Samsung mSATA 512GB SSD and an 7+17 pin adapter like this one:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Lightweight-mSATA-to-17-Plus-7-Pin-SSD-Adapter-for-MacBook-Pro-Retina-OS/32429243180.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.2.huLuZr&ws_ab_test=201556_2,201527_1_71_72_73_74_75,201409_2

WORKS!

PS. Use "sudo trimforce enable" in the Terminal, to get trim and full speed.

PS1. Newer Retina Macbook Pros use the 18+8 pin adapter like this one (don't know if they fit, late-2012 Retinas have a lot of room unlike the newer models): http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Lightweight-mSATA-to-18-Plus-8-Pin-SSD-Adapter-for-MacBook-Pro-Retina-F-OS/32420956007.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.2.hligL2&ws_ab_test=201556_2,201527_1_71_72_73_74_75,201409_2