Need a 1TB M.2 2230 SSD? – Upgrade Surface, Steam Deck, etc. for $100-220

DIY, Surface  35 Comments

[Looking for the Surface Laptop Studio SSD guide?]

Update: 2022/01/02 – In 2022, M.2. 2230 SSDs are broadly available so it’s no longer necessary to harvest one from a device like a Caldigit nano. Also, the Caldigit nano 1TB is rarely in stock so it’s best to look for alternatives

List of M.2 2230 NVME SSD modules

Notes:

  • Many portable external 1TB/2TB drives such as the Sabrent nano and Caldigit Nano Plus 2GB, use the 2242 form factor which won’t fit in the Pro 8, Pro X, or Pro7+ Steam, and most laptops that use 2230. However, a handful of 2280 and 2242 SSDs can be “trimmed” to fit in 2230 slots.
  • Performance tiers are provided for convenience. For specific workloads, SSDs from lower performance tiers may match or outperform those in higher tiers. For example, the Samsung PM991 often matches or outperforms the Kioxia BG4 in sequential read, but trails in other areas like random write and iops. In general, real-world performance can improve slightly with each tier but most users will only notice the differences between models in adjacent tiers when running benchmarks.

2TB M.2 2230 models:

1TB M.2 2230 models:

512GB M.2 2230 models:

Benchmarks

Warranty Disclaimer:

This process may void the warranty of the Tuff Nano, the Surface Device, or both. In the USA and many other countries, denied warranty claims require proving that any issues were a result of using unapproved parts/techniques rather than a defect from the manufacturer. Avoid hassles by restoring your device to how it came from the factory prior to making a warranty claim. I.e. put the original SSD back in before shipping it off.

Extracting SSD from Caldigit Nano

  • Backup your data. Do it now!
  • Optional: Surface Laptop customers may want to get a few OEM spare parts.
  • Purchase a Caldigit Tuff Nano 512GB or 1TB (alternate link) or one of the other SSDs (do NOT get the 2GB Nano as it uses a 2242 module that won’t fit!)
  • You now have a choice to either transfer your data or start fresh:
    • To start fresh, download the Microsoft Surface recovery image for your system and follow the directions to prepare a bootable USB recovery stick. Note that you will need to reinstall any software.
    • To transfer data, advanced users can clone their existing internal SSD to the external SSD:
      • Disable bitlocker
      • Plug the Nano into the laptop via USB-C port (if you bought a bare SSD, you’ll need a USB->M.2 NVME adapter)
      • Download Macrium Reflect Free or another SSD cloning tool.
      • Run Macrium and follow the directions to clone the C: drive to the external SSD
      • Disconnect external SSD and shut down PC
  • Open the Tuff Nano
    • remove outer rubber sleeve, then pry up both end caps
    • remove two screws on each open end
    • slide the PCB out, then loosen one screw to free the SSD
    • [Photos by Neil]
    • Recommended: remove the thermal pad from the SSD as this can present fitment challenges when installing in your Surface. If it is difficult to remove, try blowing a hair dryer at it for 10 seconds to warm it up first.

SSD Upgrade process:

  • Open the Surface device and swap the SSD per the original manufacturer’s directions:
    • Guide for Surface Pro X (also applicable to Pro 7+ / Pro 8)
    • Video for Surface Pro X (also applicable to Pro7+/ Pro 8)
    • Don’t angle the SSD more than you have to while removing it – doing so may damage the SSD or the socket on the mainboard. Lift just enough so that you can grab ahold of the edge and slide it out of the socket.
    • Recommended: For best fitment, remove the black case from the original Microsoft SSD and transfer it to the new SSD. If you’re careful, you can re-use the old thermal compound. But it is better to clean the old stuff off and apply fresh thermal compound which you can get from any PC repair shop or Amazon.
  • If you prepared a USB stick, plug it in and boot the system. Follow the prompts to restore your PC. Otherwise, just boot the system without a USB stick attached.
  • Once in Windows, enable Bitlocker if it isn’t already enabled.

Once you have confirmed that the new SSD is working, you can install the old SSD from your Surface into the Tuff Nano case and use it as a portable backup drive. When installing into the Tuff Nano, it is best to re-use the Tuff Nano thermal pad that was previously removed.

Happy upgrading!

Resources/Guides:

Surface Laptop 3 / Laptop 4

Surface Pro X / Surface Pro 8

Surface 7+

Surface Laptop Go

General

Thanks to \u\SmashedTX and \u\Wiidesire for inspiring this article and especially to Neil for the updated photos.

danchar

35 thoughts on “Need a 1TB M.2 2230 SSD? – Upgrade Surface, Steam Deck, etc. for $100-220”

    • Hi are you referring to this update to improve heat resiliency?https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=rv9hd

      If so, these firmware updates only work when the SSD is the primary boot device and attached directly to an M.2 slot AFAIK. I don’t believe they function the same when a USB interface is in between like in the Caldigit.

      And these updates may not function when certain flags are unset on the host controller (determined by the UEFI firmware). IIRC, most Surface devices are not setup to allow these types of updates, so you need to pop the SSD out and put it into a laptop that can run the updates.

      If the heat issue crops up on Surface, MS will likely issue their own firmware update for the models that shipped with BG4. I believe MS updates use a different mechanism than Dell.

      Relevant thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/eqlzgs/toshiba_kioxia_bg4_ssd_firmware_update/

      Like

      Reply

      • Hi Danchar,

        Excellent post! Just purchased an SPX and hoping to upgrade the to the Kioxia BG4 1TB but a bit weary on the recent firmware update that is being discussed.

        Is it highly recommended to update the firmware on the drive? Have you heard or has anyone experienced any issues using a drive that is not using the updated firmware?

        Appreciate any help.

        Like

        Reply

        • I wouldn’t worry about it. I believe MS is now using BG4 drives in several 512GB and 1TB models so if this ever becomes an issue on Surface, I expect MS will issue firmware updates too.

          Like

          Reply

    • Very nice guide and lovely photos! Thanks for sharing!

      I hope you don’t mind, but I’d added a couple of your photos here (with credit) posted inline so as to not use up your bandwidth.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Just to confirm, even if you have an i5 process in the surface laptop 3, a 1tb drive upgrade is still compatible right? There’s no issue with only the i7 drives being able to use 1tb and i5 stuck with 512. I can’t see why. I don’t need processor speed, just fast storage space, so hopefully I can get the 1tb with this refurb and be set.

    Like

    Reply

  5. I got my 1TB in. Thanks for this post which helped me realize 1TB was possible. But after watching this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPUYfBJaJ14 I went ahead and transferred the tuft nano thermal foam to the oem surface SSD and put it back in the tuft nano case, then cleaned out the oem enclosure and got some XTM50 from best buy. I put on a thick layer (that stuff isn’t watery at all, almost spongelike, really nice to work with) and sealed it all back up. Typing on my new 1TB system now. Glad to have found this page and that vid. It’s a much better solution than the bulging Z and Shift key on the keyboard that I briefly had when I left the tuft nano thermal foam pad on. Now the keyboard it exactly like it was before, and the hot 1TB drive has excellent thermal paste passing heat to the aluminum enclosure to help it pass heat. Everything looks brand new except the inevitable small marks to the plastic pieces that hold hide the tiny T5 torx screws (got them in a nice $8 kit on amazon with 160 pieces; can’t believe how good of a deal it was; has apple, torx, min screwdrivers, tweezers, plastic pics, all in a hard case). I wish I could buy new plastic feet for the surface even though I barely marked mine, and I think some replacement double-sided tape or some other gentle adhesive may be in order. I could see those falling out in a few years. Cheers.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Great work! I’ll definitely add the link to the video and clarify the instructions to indicate it is best to transfer over the black case rather than re-use the thermal pad – especially on the Laptop 3. I believe the fitment on the Pro X is a little more forgiving here…

      Like

      Reply
  6. Pingback: Upgrade Surface Laptop Go to 1TB for $220 – Dan S. Charlton
  9. Pingback: Upgrade Surface Laptop Studio to 2GB using standard 2280 SSD – Dan S. Charlton

      • Hi Dan
        I just purchased a surface pro 8 i7 16 256. I would like to upgrade the ssd to 1tb. It looks like the caldigit is nowhere to be found in 1tb and most other options are well over $200. Can you point me in the direction of a good ssd to upgrade with. Thanks!

        Like

        Reply

        • Hi Marty, with supply-chain shortages, I think it would be better to get a 512GB model or simply wait until more variety is available in the 1GB size. I need to research a little more and revise the article accordingly, but my understanding is that a some proportion of SSDs available on ebay are “used sold as new” and don’t perform as expected.

          Like

          Reply

  12. Hello , I bought a Microsoft Surface pro 8 and it came with a Samsung SSD ! It’s the i7 16gb 256gb version. Isn’t it suppose to come with Kioxia ssd ?

    Like

    Reply

  13. I found a 1tb Micron 2100 SSD for $85. You list the Micron 2100 in the medium performance tier. I am finding very little resources to compare it with the higher tier Kioxia BG4 KBG40ZNS1T02. My question is, how much of a trade off really is there? Any info or resources you can point me to would be appreciated. Thanks.

    Like

    Reply

    • Hi Dan, so my question is, would I be seriously hurting the performance of my surface pro 8 if I installed the middle tier Micron 2100? It’s an inexpensive 1tb, but its a trade off for speed? Thanks.

      Like

      Reply

      • Evan,
        Aside from benchmark tools, video editing, and certain games that load gigabytes of textures, I doubt you’d notice much performance difference between these drives in most applications. Certainly, web browsing and office apps would be unaffected.

        Like

        Reply

  14. Hi there,

    I followed your instructions/Guide. The Whole thing went smoothly. However, now that i have the 1TB SSD in my laptop, and the original 256GB SSD is in my caldigit… When I open my File explorer in windows, My laptop still says that Disc C Only has 256 GB total. For reference, I cloned my whole Dic C onto the 1TB caldigit, as was mentioned in the beginning of the instructions.

    Anyways im very new to all of this, and im just wondering if this is normal? Should it not say 1TB now? Or should there not be a new disc drive folder or something? hmnmn…

    Cheers,
    Laura

    Like

    Reply

    • Hi Laura, I think all you have to do now is open “Disk manager” and expand the main partition to cover the full 1TB. Try one of these articles: https://www.google.com/search?q=disk+manager+partition+resize

      Some of the clone tools do this step automatically, some don’t.

      An alternate approach is to use the same disk manager tool and create a separate ~700GB partition to go alongside the 256GB partition – that way you can keep Windows OS stuff separate from data, movies, photos, etc. Its really a personal preference on how you want to set it up.

      Like

      Reply

  15. This article led me to buy a Samsung MZVLQ1T0HBLB 1TB, thinking it would be in form 2230 form. Unfortunately, this is a mistake, it is a full-fledged 2280. All those Samsung models are very confusing, and Samsung’s website doesn’t even list all model numbers. Such a headache. This is what this model looks like: https://www.ebay.com/itm/125126368886. It doesn’t fit in my Samsung Book Pro 360 13”.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Sorry about that Xavier, I’ll update the blog to have the proper model number so nobody else makes the same mistake. I’m very impressed that you were able to slide the 2280 SSD in half to get it to fit. Very clever!

      Like

      Reply
  16. Pingback: How to Fit a 1TB 2280 NVMe SSD into a Samsung Book Pro 360’s 2230 Slot – Xavier de Carné

  17. Hi Dan,
    I noticed that you changed estimated release date for 512GB M.2 2230 highest performance tier models like Kioxia BG5 and Sk-Hynix BC901. It was Q2 previously. Why do you think we will be waiting few more months for a products that are already announced few months ago?
    Best regards,
    Mike

    Like

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.