MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

@spidertnt, that's interesting about using an NVME SSD instead of the Apple one. I don't have one to use, and the last 2 I bought to try weren't compatible. I would definitely want to try that if I knew which brand to buy.

@mon2, here are the PCIE bus diode readings. SSD was not installed for readings.

PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P<0>, .386
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<0>, .384
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P<1>, .385
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<1>, .383
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P<2>, .386
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<2>, .384
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P< 3>, .390
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<3>, .386

While the PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P< 3> reading differs slightly from the rest, I don't know if it's enough to prevent the SSD from being detected. Good thought though. I had looked at this before but it's good to put the values here.

[dellxps15]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B099CBVJP6/...ing=UTF8&psc=1

i tested this one and work on A1502 and air with same slot.

edit : for mat it should say color: pci-e

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

@spidertnt, Based on your experience I have ordered a WD Black 770 NVME that is supposed to be compatible with the MacBook Air. I tried 2 other NVME drives previously that did not work. This would be a good option if it does. I'll confirm when the drive arrives.

@mon2, PCIE bus diode readings with no SSD inserted.

PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P<0>, .386
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<0>, .384
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P<1>, .385
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<1>, .383
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P<2>, .386
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<2>, .384
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P< 3>, .390
PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_N<3>, .386

PCIE_SSD_R2D_C_P< 3> is a bit out of range but I don't think it is enough to make a difference. Still looking to see why this is happening.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

Sorry, I didn't realize the thread had rolled to page 2.

@dellxps15, if the WD 770 doesn't pan out I'll take your advice and buy the TimeTec SSD. I can always use these in a Windows PC if I need to.

[mon2]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

The readings look fine for the PCIe transmitter pins to the SSD.

Proceed to now test the PCIe receiver pins using the same diode mode method.

For now, remove the SSD while checking the following:

PCIE_SSD_D2R_N<0>
PCIE_SSD_D2R_P<0>

PCIE_SSD_D2R_N<1>
PCIE_SSD_D2R_P<1>

PCIE_SSD_D2R_N<2>
PCIE_SSD_D2R_P<2>

PCIE_SSD_D2R_N<3>
PCIE_SSD_D2R_P<3>

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

Sorry, I had mixed up the results. the previous ones were D2R. These are the R2D measured at R3710 - R3717.

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<0> .519
PCIE_SSD_R2R_P<0> .514

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<1> .515
PCIE_SSD_R2D_P<1> .515

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<2> .515
PCIE_SSD_R2D_P<2> .518

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<3> .522
PCIE_SSD_R2D_P<3> .519

On a parts board I have, I get the following results

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<0> .380
PCIE_SSD_R2R_P<0> .383

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<1> .384
PCIE_SSD_R2D_P<1> .383

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<2> .381
PCIE_SSD_R2D_P<2> .383

PCIE_SSD_R2D_N<3> .382
PCIE_SSD_R2D_P<3> .384

Not sure if these readings should be closer to the parts board or whether they are OK. One board is an "-A" (2013) revision while the other is a "-B" (2014) revision. They are at least all in the same range of each other.

[mon2]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

The diode readings look ok to me and confirm that the connections are not floating. If there was a disconnect of the trace / BGA ball to the referenced signal, the diode reading would be OL.

Confirm the voltage to ground of XDP_SSD_PCIE0_SEL_L @ R1884. This should be a logic low to select the PCIe SSD. This is an active_low signal. Based on an earlier post, the signal is HIGH so the SSD is not being selected.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

Thanks @mon2. That was my thought as well when I posted the value originally.
I see that this signal comes from the SSD itself and I may have not had the SSD installed at the time I measured. I made sure that it was in place this time and the XDP_SSD_PCIE0_SEL_L does now measure at 0.0v. The SSD is trying to tell the computer it's ready but it's not working. I'm running out of ideas.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

Diode mode for the 4 XDP_SSD_PCIE(x)_SEL_L lines measure .454, .455, .456, and .454 respectively. they appear good to the processor.

[dellxps15]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

stupid question, but did u inspect the connector inside ? sometimes it burn inside pins.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

@dellxps15 I did inspect the connector, not a stupid question at all. it's not real easy to see inside but from what I can tell the connector is OK. The SSD fits tightly inside as it should. The pins all appear to be soldered well to the board.

[dellxps15]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

do u have an usb drive with big sure installed in it ? u can boot from usb and check what it say under system repository.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

I do have a short USB drive with Big Sur on it and I it works quite well in this case.
I can't find anything that says "System Repository" but under "System Information - Storage" it shows only the flash drive that I booted from.

[dellxps15]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

with updated firmware posted earlier (not mine) does it boot to big sure recover? with command+option+R ?
does it see ssd in disk utility here ?

edit : yes i mean system information

edit2: down the ssd, there are some test point small pads, check if all these pads are in perfect health... like shining like new.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

I would need to give that a try but I'm not too optimistic about it.
I installed the WD 770 SSD in the computer and it doesn't recognize it either. I then installed the WD SSD into my Mac Mini 2014 and it sees it fine and allowed it to be formatted for use, so I know it's not a compatibility issue. The Apple SSD was recently purchased for this 2014 MacBook Air and it works in every other computer I put it in. I'm pretty sure the drive itself is not the issue. Something is preventing it from being recognized and I'm beginning to think it's a serious issue that may never be resolved. ASD shows there is a problem with the drive being read.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

OK, I think I found something...

I was comparing an 820-3437A (2013) to an 820-3437B (2014) and found the voltages and diode mode values are quite different for PCIE_CLK100M_SSD_N/P. Though the boards are different revisions I don't expect that the values would be greatly different.

Voltage

2013 2014
---------------------
.37V. .18V (N)
.39V .19V (P)

Diode

2013 2014
---------------------
.291 .055 (N)
.288 .055 (P)

These signals appear to come straight from the Haswell processor. If this is the issue, I don't believe that it can be repaired. It's possible there is a loading issue but there are not many components on this line.

Any thoughts?

[dellxps15]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

that cpu pch problem must be last verdict. i would focus on the damage it had before... liquid ?

ofcourse if u have microscope, inspect all that gold pads (related to ssd traces) and check if all of them looks shining, or if they have one small corrosion.
once i fixed a dead air that looks perfect, but cpu ic vin had a very small looging of corrotion. i tested trace and it was gone even if just 15% of the circle pad had corrision spot. i run a wire and mac worked perfectly.

[ACS-Repair]

Re: MacBook Air 1466 Internal SSD not detected

Thanks @dellxps15. No liquid damage on the board, it is very clean. The original board problem was a shorted capacitor on the PP3v3_S0 bus.

I realized later that I had left the SSD installed on both logic boards when I did the diode mode testing. This morning I removed the SSDs from both and tested again. These are the results.

Diode

2013. 2014
---------------------
.295 .287 (N)
.299 .291 (P)

It would appear in this case that the logic board is OK and that Samsung SSD (2014) is loading the circuit compared to the Sandisk SSD (2013). I swapped the SSDs and checked again but the SSD is still not being recognized. That was a red herring!

I changed U3740 to see if that could be the problem but still no go. It doesn't make any sense.