What happens when you try to UPGRADE an M1 MacBook to M2? 

next test: swap the logic boards for two identical m1's and two identical m2's (m1 to m1 and m2 to m2). see if there are hardware locks on the other components

The M2 changed the way keyboard and trackpad are connected (used to be SPI on the M1). Most likely this is the reason it refuses to boot up in the M1 chassis.

To anyone who doesn't know: ZIF = zero insertion force. This means that the connector doesn't need to be forced into the slot at all to be seated. These are usually accompanied by some sort of lever to clip down onto the ribbon cable.

Luke, as an Electronics Engineer (who has performed many maintenance tasks and upgrades on computers over the years) I have to say, you’re crazy; but in a good way! Great video, I hope you get lots of hits for your considerable efforts.

Oh, let's see how hard Apple made this. 😏🍿

Senior systems analyst here, although I haven't looked at the specifics of the two devices relating to this, this is almost certainly going to be a battery related issue. Both of these motherboards will be expecting to be connected to a specific battery size and voltage that almost certainly differs between the two models. While they can in theory boot up with either battery, Apple will have most likely locked the power requirement to be within a very specific range and as such anything out of that will not power up.

I just imagined an alternative universe where Apple offered upgrades, like say you can get your M1 Macbook upgraded to M2 for 500$ but when they introduce major feature revisions you have to do the full upgrade. Because as it stands most people will keep their Mac through maybe 2-4 model iterations before upgrading. The old boards could be refurbished or put into repaired laptops. That could actually be a way to capture a bit of revenue from users who won't spend 1200$+ for the next version. It's a win win

I see the problem: the case color doesn’t match making them incompatible!🤓

The editing is getting stronger and stronger with each new video lately. Nice work,@Luke Miani!

This video was awesome. I loved the energy and genuine shock when the M2 board didn't boot. There are a few minor component differences and I am sure it was something with initial BIOS load validation or some such nonsense. Either way, extremely entertaining, cheers.

I feel like Luke has gotten much more comfortable with being on camera over the years. i see much more of his personality in this video than I would have seen in a video from three years ago. i love watching the channel grow :)

It's either a hardware lock or a power issue. The power consumption between the M1 and M2 chips are different so the batteries are going to be designed differently to handle the different loads. It would be interesting to see if that is actually the case

Great video so interesting and fun to watch. I remember old laptops when you could replace almost everything.

Maybe voltage and ampere of the battery are different. Or the capacitors are different. The M2 has a slightly higher watt consumption with consistent battery lifetime to the m1

Great video. Luke always has original ideas. Never boring.

Hi I own Mac book pro 13. I just a year old. Unfortunately mother board is not working Apple technician mentioned need to replace entire mother board. But he did mentioned data back up not possible. Is there any way for data back up?

that's really weird. I haven't gotten my hands on any m2 machines yet but with the m1 you can get a bare logic board to boot with nothing but the charger plugged in (you can confirm it booted based on the current draw using a usb-c power meter). So you could've started disconnecting things from the board until it would boot. I agree it's most likely the keyboard/trackpad that was the issue, although I also wouldn't be surprised if they did something funny with the battery. Fantastic video and great idea overall, would love a follow-up where you try to find out the culprit

One possible cause may be that the displays might need different firmware drivers and when you swap out the boards, it is likely that the boards detect an incorrect hardware conf for which it has no firmware and fails to boot

The M series as well as iOS Devices are serialized, meaning there is a gatekeeper within the computer that is loaded with a random group of serials, if one is missing and a new one is installed, it won't work. Same as what happened to the iphone. it's Software related. There is a dedicated chip for this.

Mutiple componets have their own ids, and i believe the massive amounts of differnt ids may have prevented it from booting too. (Display id, battery, etc.)

Could it be the display's plug pinouts are different which somehow causes a short and prevents the machine to power on?

Loved the video Luke! It felt different than the normal video out there and I really enjoyed it.

Hello, last time I repasted my Macbook Pro 16 Intel, it didn't turn on either. I had to do a SMC/NVRAM reset to make it turn on. Don't know if it's the case for M1/M2 Macs.

Did you place the screws back in before booting? Cause some laptops use screws to complete the circuits in logic board. Also other companies make sure their logic board works only with the original chassis. How? idk. I could very easily find out if i had such devices to play around with and time. I completely love disassembling laptops much more than desktops. Great work.

Luke is so thorough, so much respect for the effort he puts into his videos!

Try swapping the battery’s as well. Apple serialized the batteries in their phones. It probably won’t work without the proper battery. Test it by unplugging the battery and connecting power to see if it turns on.

Need to change the track pad also I have actually had a few m2 with bad touchbar. M2 topcase is too expensive, so used topcase from iCloud locked m1 found that trackpad and Touch ID both need to be changed to make this work Screen is also interchangeable may loose ambient light sensor

I would almost entirely wager this is based on keyboard/trackpad if either of those are different. Signals for power on/power off can come from either of these and if pin outs on the connectors, or the signal voltages differ on those lines, or communication protocols are different, I would absolutely expect this sort of behavior. I LOVE these kind of expiriments. And even if it doesn't sound relevant now, I know in a year or so it might be, once the used market is a bit more saturated. I would be more likely to wonder if the opposite is true (M1 board in the M2 chassis).

It’s confusing yes but at the same time it’s a simple answer. Apple made their boards to only work with the certain chasis. They did this on purpose just like their phones. This is another example of Apple not accepting right to repair.

There is probably some additional hardware that prevents you from swapping it over, hardware lock/ hardware paring to the mother board so it doesn’t recognize all the connected components not letting it start up or PSU isnt compatible since the m2 takes more power

Random thought, i once remove my mbp logic board to repaste the cpu after assembly the device didn't boot up until I connected the power cable. I didn't see you connect power cable after doing logic board swap. Don't know is that the case?

What this could be useful for is when the M3 MBA13 comes out in October of this year but the 15 inch doesn't come out for another 1 months after that, then a M3 MBA 13 logic board swap into an existing M2 MBA 15 would be a real treat?

"Today's video is dumb, pointless and frankly serves no real purpose" dude say no more. I'll watch it to the end

nice anti repair move Apple.

The display connections likely. I had the beautiful surprise with MBP11,3 display with MBP11,5 board

You can also try to swap the charing port and battery because the charing ports voltages I think are different and the m2 battery is also different so try this

I’m surprised it didn’t work considering that nearly the entire computer is on that logic board. Also if Apple were to offer an “upgrade” logic board it would still be very expensive since all of the core components are within that single board. It’s more like replacing the computer than “upgrading”.

It looks like Apple has gone to tremendous lengths to make sure people can't just swap parts in these computers making people have to buy a new machine if a part fails or to have Apple fix it for a charge if out of warranty!

i wonder if it’s possible to replace soldered on components in the last few intel macs with components that were offered, like switching from 4GB vram to 8GB, or a different gpu model that was used, etc. would it recognize it and work or are they hardwired to a particular configuration. and what about interface compatible but out of the offered range parts, like 16GB vram or a different cpu generation

4:55 You really had me crying out loud there! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

It may be that some of the connection points have different pin configurations from the M1 unit to the M2 unit. It would only need to take a few differences to prevent the M2 logic board from working in the M1 unit. Also additionally, the bios microcode might not allow such a change.

Ex-Genius here. 1. The screw you removed from the heat sink we call it "super screw" 2. The swap didn't work because you don't have access to System Configurator (not to be confused with Apple Configurator). System Configurator is only available through AST2 and must be run on all post 2018 macs that had the MLB replaced.

I believe it will be more interesting to see and to try, if it's possible to upgrade the logic board from Intel to M1 or M2

Isn't every component on a modern Mac serialized? My guess the board detected that the generations were not matching up.

Next video: making a m2 12 inch MacBook!

You need to swipe the T2 chip, which stores the unique signature of the whole system in the "secure enclave", not the touch id button alone.

Please, the external hard drive is Seagate 4 TB, can it work on the iPad Air 2 (iOS +13) Is it necessary to format the external hard drive on the Mac in order for it to work on the iPad Air 2 ???

Yeah...The gates love to come off of those zif connectors. I use a spudger like that, but I also put my finger over the gate so it doesn't pop off. When they pop off I hate soldering another on. Getting that gate back on is a pain in the ass.

Did you test if the M1 would work in the M2 case? Wondering if it is a power delivery issue due to M2 using more power than the M1.

I always have this idea of swapping apple silicon internal into a prior gen MacBook Pro frame (specifically the 15”). I liked the design and I think it’s an irony that apple decided to drop the design (except the touch bar) when they finally have the hardware that can finally work in the thin tapered design.

Luke .. great Video. Having read all the suggestions below …. Is it worth having another go?

Why are you not plugging it in to power. Mine will never post without power adapter even though the battery is full. For the fist power on only, then the batt will work fine.

There are a few parts I may guess could be the culprit: screen, battery, keyboard, trackpad, maybe even the WiFi connection via the cables. I recently swapped the motherboards of two old Dell laptops for fun and it refused to display an image because of the screen. The issue was I had to fully drain the CMOS battery and then it would boot. I have no doubt Apple found any way possible to lock down the MacBooks from being upgraded/repaired.

Finally a girlfriend appears from the cracks in the walls! The 'Luke Miani is probably gay' rumours are finally over. Love your videos Luke! 👍

Fyi there could be a voltage difference between the circuits in the m2 chip that could require either less or more power. The total reason could be the supply of voltage going to the main power board causing a voltage miscommunication that interferes with initializing the new m2 board. In addition there would be several components that are not compatible with the board just like any other laptop. Yes it may be apple but they want you to buy a new laptop instead of fixing your broken or current one. Usually when the system boots it does a system check to see if any components are compromised then boots once validation is complete. But if you didnt here the fans spin on startup thats because there is a voltage issue.

There's also a slight possibility that the pin configuration on the battery connector is a bit different, but I might be wrong

Would be more interesting if we could use 2018 chasis and screen on m1/m2. Would be a huge upgrade

The "Power-up" problem could have been then Touch Bar, since the touch bar logic is an iPhone processor that also controls Security of the MacBook Pro. Not sure...

could you swap the intel logic board with an m1 logic board in the 2017 macbook pro?

Does M1 motherboard work with M2 model parts?

@4:57 i don't think its a stupid experiment at all! it'd be nice if someone with a dead M1 could buy spare parts for an M2 down the line and effectively upgrade. or M2s with broken screens/bent chassis like some animals apparently manage to create, get transplanted into eventually less desirable M1s. so, lets see if its possible. do continue...

clearly the different screws are incompatible. Okay but actually maybe the SoCs check the other components connected to it, and if a certain one or maybe too many are different, it won't boot?

Is it down to the T2 chip? Or serial part pairing?

Mac OS generally works by doing a scan for expected hardware and checking it can make system calls to it before continuing boot. I’m guessing Apple has made each config SUPER specific. This is as opposed to previous Apple hardware. My 2015 iMac is is composed on 95% the same hardware as my late 2014 iMac. My guess is that the parts on each upgrade for M series macs has, at the very least, slightly different hardware ids My question remains “can this be hacked around?” Here is my experience, again with the iMacs I own. You can swap displays on these things, and they are “backwards compatibles” for RAM modules and other things. The only trick is because of that system call test issue, you can hit boot issues. But if you add hardware IDs to opencore (the boat loader for older macs that allows you to boot newer versions of Mac OS, as long as the OS itself supports your hardware. Example, 2012 and earlier macs recently got bumped down because Mac OS removed support for a specific codec that the intel chips of that era and before need to boot properly (something to do with graphics) so those won’t run. Anything newer will run fine, as long as you have reasonable expectations for your hardware. My Late 2015 is kind of just on the edge of not running Ventura all that well. But good enough for me ymmv, but anything newer than that is going to work fine.) My question is, once hackers get access to M1 in the same level as they have intel Macs, could the ID numbers for relevant parts in the old Mac and if that would facilitate the upgrade. Given the priorities of Apple Software, it would. It surprise me at all if the old system check method was still the exact way the new Macs worked.

You have to consider which devices are security locked. I know on iPhones, that means the camera is locked to the motherboard so swapping the camera stops features from working for security reasons, so if its the same in the MacBook, then changing the touch ID and motherboard won't work, you'd have to extract the camera module and swap them over too. A bit like those people that swapped their Mac Studio modules and wondered why the Studio wouldn't boot.

Me suffering and worrying for fear of breaking the RAM clips in my dad’s 2011 ASUS and this guy opening and playing around with two laptops worth several thousands each 😂

Do they have some kind of POST Integrity checks that allows the boot only after checks are working?

Seems a long shot, but...is there a difference between the batteries that power management might be detecting?

Please do the framework laptop upgrade just to show how easy it is possible for companies to actually make swappable boards.

For someone with a repair shop I think its a great video. Customers do usually have some crazy requests

Hey Luke. I've been following you for a while from the UK. I do repairs and tried the same thing in a customer's machine. It's actually possible to swap the board, but you must swap the trackpad in order to turn it on. The keyboard and other components are actually fine. I just thought to let you know. I love your videos on content. Keep up the good work.

Luke where do you get this musics? I love the way that you make your videos, so great!

Luke seems more animated than usual in this video. I can only come to the conclusion he was hitting his sponsor’s sauce before recording. 🍸

I'm honestly not sure why you thought this would work. I would assume Apple links most of the hardware at the most base level. Also, it is possible that there is just one little chip in the screen assembly or keyboard/trackpad or even the speakers that Apple somehow checks on boot or power and won't boot without "Seeing" said chip. But I appreciate your devotion to the attempt. Went above and beyond for sure.

Interesting, checking some voltages on the board would have made this more informative :)

Hi Luke, I'm sure you're asked this question all the time - and I've seen you answer it after a fashion in some of your videos - I need to buy a new MacBook Pro 16" with a 32GB 1TB but should I limp on with my 2019 MBP i9 32GB 1TB which is in need of a major refurbishment under Apple Care Plus (due to wear & tear on location) and wait until the M2 Pro chip's release - or just buy the MBP M1 Pro now (B&H has them in stock) and sell my current laptop fully refurbished with 7-8 months of Apple Care to reassure buyers? In short M1 Pro now or M2 Pro in 5 months?

I'm curious if you can add another 256 Gb module in the empty space and upgrade it to a 512 Gb. Would it be possible? maybe get it from another dead MacBook Pro.

The parts are all serialized to go with a specific Mac. You ain't getting around that unless if you are creating a repair on GSX, Luke. Good luck being an authorized service provider just so that you can create a repair on that one.

my guess it is now paired to the battery. did you try to turn them on without the battery plugged in to the logic board.

Try disasebling MB pro 16 2019. There are a lot ribon cables + like 30 screws need to be removed to remove logic board.

After your expandable Macbook Studio experiment I was certain this wouldn’t work. I still watched buddy……thanks for your video and keep it up! 🙏

M2 can consume 6W more than M1, maybe some other component checks the wattage of the logic board.

that motor roaring when you said shut up at 5mins in, perfecto.

This the type of content I subscribed for.

No one, not a single soul Luke’s brain “I wonder if I can put an M2 chip in the M1 pro”

If it is a different interface on the keyboard and trackpad, you could try not plugging in the zif ribbon cables for the keyboard and trackpad. Assuming you can still plug in the power button/fingerprint reader, the computer should boot up without any keyboard and trackpad connected, although you obviously would not be able to login unless you plugged in a usb keyboard. Do not respond to impostors of this channel who reply here. They will take all of your money. Be careful.

One has a missing memory chip and the other the cover does not cover the thunderbolt ports as well.

It’s funny how Luke is being a little more sassy than ever 🤣

Did you happen to try connecting the MacBooks to an external display to verify that there was no power and not just a simple case of no video signal to the displays?

Swap individual components one at a time to see what is causing the issue

I love the 27 inch retina display on the apple imac 5k, but apple doesn't sell the 27 inch imac m1, can you make a video on how to mod an old 5k imac into a 5k m1 imac. because the 5k screen is awesome

do not connect the lcd screen cable. Connect to an external monitor. display output pin is re-programmed, which could short one of the power rail.

The ssd only having 1 module instead of two makes the ssd speeds substantially slower

I fully expect every part to be serialized, from the cameras, to the screen, and the battery, requiring a complete swap.

Luke always does some cool and weird stuff!

That was a very cool explaination!

Everyone else: M2 MBP IS BORING lol Luke: imma swap da boards baybee

Wow, that was a lot of work. You put in a lot of time man. Thanks for the great video. And for the other folks... don't try this at home :)

Great video! And fun to watch

I was thinking that Luke is going to swap the SoC between the two, and wondered when did Luke start to do BGA stuff.