Some Mac owners who have replaced their machine's storage with Aura SSDs from OWC are not able to install macOS High Sierra at this time due to an incompatibility issue that prevents the update from successfully converting the drives to the new APFS format.

The Aura SSDs show up as "Rotational" drives instead of Solid State, and when attempting to install macOS High Sierra, users are seeing an error message about a firmware update before the installation process crashes.

owcaurassdupgrade
Several customers who have purchased Aura SSDs have complained on a macOS High Sierra beta blog post, as the issue long pre-dates the macOS High Sierra release. One customer was told that new firmware would not be developed until the High Sierra golden master was released, but new firmware has apparently not made it out yet.

OWC offers Aura SSDs for a range of Macs, including many MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro models. According to the company, Aura SSDs compatible with the following machines are affected:

- MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2013)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)
- MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Apple is aware of the issue with select third-party SSDs, and the OWC engineering team is working directly with Apple on a fix. OWC expects "a very timely solution."

Tag: OWC

Top Rated Comments

Weaselboy Avatar
Weaselboy
109 months ago
It is probably because those drives were setup as RAID0 internally.

Here is an excerpt from the THESSDREVIEW ('http://www.thessdreview.com/mac/macreviews/owc-aura-1tb-pcie-ssd-review-mid-2013-later/'):

The OWC Aura contains two SMI 2246 XT 4-channel controllers which are situated in a RAID configuration through a Marvell 9230 RAID controller. There are four unbranded 256MB MLC synchronous NAND flash chips which, once paired, create a RAID 0 volume with a 1TB capacity.
The whole setup was a kludge from the beginning.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dan9700 Avatar
dan9700
109 months ago
That makes no sense if you swap the ssd with original then replace it back you wouldnt have the OS what a dumb fix
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
OldSchoolMacGuy
109 months ago
Surprising. Generally OWC has the best customer support in the business and is all over this kinda stuff.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robeddie Avatar
robeddie
109 months ago
Agreed. No clue why someone would buy OWC over Crucial, especially considering that OWC is more $$$. Been running my Crucial M4 in my MacBook Pro for 5 years now and never had so much as a hiccup.
Umm, we're talking about AURA SSD's which is only one of two vendors that make SSD's for macbooks from 2013 onward. So for anyone with a 2013, 2014, or 2015 macbook pro or macbook air, Crucial does NOT make compatible ssd's for those models.
It's either OWC, or these guys -

http://www.transintl.com/super-blade-flash-storage-ssd.html
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pike R. Alpha Avatar
Pike R. Alpha
109 months ago
Why OWC need Apple to resolve this is a mystery to me.

Tip: simply repack the latest FirmwareUpdate.pkg that comes with macOS High Sierra as a stand alone installer and run it. That's how easy it is.

FirmwareUpdateStandAlone-1.0.pkg ('https://uploadfiles.io/wn0l7')

md5 = 24a1731b514c633c7aff07b5d739828c

You can make it yourself by running:

./installSeed.py -a update -f FirmwareUpdate.pkg -t / -u /tmp/FirmwareUpdate

./munkipkg.py --create /tmp/FirmwareUpdateStandalone

cp /tmp/FirmwareUpdate/Scripts/postinstall_actions/update /tmp/FirmwareUpdateStandalone/scripts/postinstall

cp -R /tmp/FirmwareUpdate/Scripts/Tools /tmp/FirmwareUpdateStandalone/scripts/

./munkipkg.py /tmp/FirmwareUpdateStandalone

Used scripts:

https://github.com/Piker-Alpha/HandyScripts/blob/master/installSeed.py
https://github.com/munki/munki-pkg/blob/master/munkipkg
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
jclo
109 months ago
Updated this with a specific list of machines affected. It's limited to some MacBook Air and Mac Pro models. Other machines with Aura SSDs should be able to install High Sierra with no problems.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Read Full Article • 148 comments
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Read Full Article
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
Read Full Article • 154 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Read Full Article • 37 comments
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Deliver Next-Level Battery Life

Friday February 6, 2026 5:14 am PST by
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker. Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
Read Full Article • 107 comments