LIMITATIONS
eMMC Storage
- eMMC-based storage is commonly found in Netbooks, tablets, and low-end systems. Note that such technology is now supported by macOS. However, limitations still apply. See Enabling eMMC and MMC Cards for more information.
SATA, M.2, NVMe, U.2 and SAS
TRIM
- Normally, the TRIM function is supported for Apple and Non-Apple SSDs. However, few SSDs have TRIM broken under macOS, and as a result, the SSD dies under heavy load. These SSDs can be used with TRIM disabled, at slower boot times, or as Data Storage Drive(s). See Recommendations and SSDs to avoid section for more information.
Samsung PM981, PM991, Micron 2200S, SK Hynix PC711, and Intel 600p NVMe SSDs
- SSDs with these controllers (NVMe) are not compatible with any macOS/OS X version and do not work out of the box. All these SSDs are known to cause Kernel Panics and performing a clean installation on these SSDs is not possible unless you use an SSDT. A clone method can be used to install macOS on these SSDs. In addition to the SSDT, you'll need to use NVMeFix.kext to fix the random Kernel Panics. Please note that these SSDs may still cause Kernel Panics even when using the required fix.
- Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe SSDs also had the same issue (mentioned above). However, with updated firmware, it works like a charm. Please make sure to update the firmware to the latest before proceeding with an installation. See Updating SSD Firmware for more information.
- Booting to the macOS installer may not be possible on some SSDs such as SK Hynix PC711. You'll need to disable such SSDs using an SSDT or
nvme=-1 boot arg. See Disabling Unsupported SSDs on macOS and How to add Boot Args for more information. - Intel 600p SSDs are prone to Kernel Panic and issues such as decreased R/W speed, freezing can be seen under macOS.
Intel Optane and Micron 3D XPoint
- Intel Optane Technology uses Intel Rapid Storage Technology instead of AHCI and therefore it is not possible to use Intel Optane under macOS/OS X, regardless of the platform, either Desktop or Mobile.
- Laptops with Intel Optane and Micron 3D XPoint are completely unsupported in all macOS versions. There are few successes with it, but it is highly recommended to remove such drives to prevent any boot and stability issues.
- In Windows, do not install
Intel Optane drivers (part of Intel Rapid Storage Technology). Installing these drivers can change the BIOS SATA Mode from AHCI to Intel Optane and therefore you may not be able to boot into macOS further.
Intel Rapid Storage Technology and RAID
- Intel Rapid Storage Technology provides RAID support (SATA, NVMe, and U.2) with no requirement of any additional RAID Hardware, but rather utilizes the chipset feature. However, macOS requires AHCI mode and therefore Intel Rapid Storage Technology isn't supported under macOS/OS X. A solution is to either use a dedicated Hardware RAID (such as LSI, Areca, and High Point) or Software RAID within macOS/OS X.
- Software RAID under macOS/OS X can work for Data Drives but not for booting macOS (Bootable RAID). The software bootable RAID is only supported up to macOS Catalina and will not support macOS on Big Sur and newer. If you need to use RAID as a bootable macOS, consider installing a compatible dedicated Hardware RAID. See Installing macOS on Bootable RAID for more information.
SATA and RAID Controllers
- Most of the SATA Controllers are supported out of the box. However, there are a few SATA Controllers which require an additional driver to work with.
SATA Cards
RAID and HBA Cards
- A few selected RAID and HBA Cards are supported with support kext. However, to use them as a boot drive, the Card BIOS and the Controller firmware must be using the same mode, either Legacy for Legacy computers and UEFI for UEFI computers.
- Most of the RAID Cards do not support booting macOS even when using the support kext either from the vendor or from the community.
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