One of the limitations of Apple’s M1 Macs is that they do not come with user-upgradeable RAM or storage. However, it looks like technicians in China have managed to find a workaround for this limitation as well.

Technicians in Guangzhou, China have discovered that it is possible to remove the RAM and SSD from the M1 chip and replace them with a larger capacity module. The upgraded modules will also be identified by macOS without any issues. The process is applicable for all M1 Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and the Mac mini.

Chinese maintenance engineers can already expand the capacity of the Apple M1. The 8GB memory has been expanded to 16GB, and the 256GB hard drive has been expanded to 1TB. pic.twitter.com/2Fyf8AZfJR

— DuanRui段锐 (@duanrui1205) April 4, 2021

A number of M1 Mac owners in China have been able to upgrade the RAM and storage on their machines. Apple solders the RAM and storage on the M1 Macs, which means the procedure is extremely risky and there’s a high risk of failure. It also goes without saying that doing any such modification on your M1 Mac will void its warranty for good.

Apple offers customers the option to increase the RAM and storage on their M1 Macs while buying it. However, the company charges quite a lot of money for such simple upgrades, with the bump in RAM from 8GB to 16GB costing $200. The upgrade to 1TB storage will cost you $400 and a whopping $800 for 2TB.

Apple soldered the RAM and storage on its Intel-based Macs as well, which meant that upgrading their RAM and storage after purchasing them was not possible. The company only allows users to upgrade the RAM on the iMac, iMac Pro, and Mac Pro. While tricky, it is also possible to upgrade the RAM on Intel-based Macs.

Will you be willing to make such a modification on your M1 Mac to increase its RAM or storage? If so, how much will you be willing to pay for it? Drop a comment and let us know!