OWC 1TB SSD Upgrade Bundle for 2011 iMacs, Mercury Electra 1.0TB 6G SSD, AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Converter Bracket, in-line Digital Thermal Sensor Cable, Installation Tools, OWCKITIM11HE1TB

This kit (and the online videos) made the SSD replacement in my 2011 iMac very easy. Everything was presented clearly, and it took very little time replacing my hard drive. But be careful! Unfortunately I ruined my iMac after the replacement was finished, and I was in the process of closing the computer back up. When it came time to reattach the monitor's data cable, I guess I didn't have it lined-up properly and was using too much force and broke the connector/end of the cable. Luckily Amazon sells replacement cables for only $12. But when that arrived, the same thing happened. Ordered another cable, which seemed to go in fine, but the screen was still blank. I think I must have damaged the actual plug (on the motherboard) during that first attempt. Turns out I'm not alone. A lot of people have trouble with that particular plug. The other plugs are easier to manage. But all of that isn't the fault of this kit. It's just awkward with that cable because it's kinda dark, hard to see, and you are balancing the screen with one hand while trying to plug the cable back in. Just be real careful when it comes to that cable. Maybe watch a few YouTube videos about it before attempting? HINT: If the OWC website is down (like it was when I was doing the upgrade), you can find their installation videos on YouTube.

This has uplifted my 2011 iMac to almost like-new performance. This included all the parts and tools I needed. I separately bought a $10 ssd enclosure to do the initial copy although you may copy several ways. The instructional video is very detailed and having never opened my iMac, I felt very comfortable performing the upgrade. I highly recommend this kit and while you may save a few dollars buying the parts separately, I found this to be a great value for price and quality. I have used OWC products before and they continue to deliver.

If you're on the fence about buying this SSD, let this review be the sign for you to get it. There wasn't anything wrong with the original hard drive in my iMac, its spinning was just loud enough to wake me up at night when the computer would randomly do its thing. My computer also took almost 2 minutes to boot and would still be sluggish and laggy after booting, especially with programs like Microsoft Word or Adobe Lightroom. I figured it was time to throw in an SSD and fix all those problems. I wish I had done this years ago, now my computer boots in about 15 seconds and has 0 lag when opening apps or getting started. The process is relatively simple, just watch the YouTube videos on how to replace your old drive. Here are a few helpful tips I wish I had known before installing this: 1. Make sure you have a USB to SATA transfer cable so you can clone your old hard drive to your new one; you won't be able to use the drive until it's formatted to your Mac. I luckily saw that it would be needed, but it wasn't something that a non-computer savvy person like me would have immediately thought of. The kit contains everything you need to replace your drive except this cable. 2. AFTER cloning or formatting your new SSD (keep it attached with the USB/SATA cable) but BEFORE taking out your old hard drive, go to Startup Disk in System Preferences and make sure you select the new SSD as the preferred disk to boot off of. I discovered that not doing this will cause a white screen with a flashing folder with a "?" indicating that your Mac is trying to find the old hard drive to boot off of (which if you take out and replace with the SSD without switching the preference, it won't find). I ended up taking my computer apart again, putting the old drive back in, booting it up, switching the boot disk preference to the new SSD, then took the old drive out and put the SSD back in again. Save a lot of frustration by doing this the first time. 3. It'll take a fat amount of time to clone your drive. My system had about 230GB of data to clone and ended up taking about 6 hours. Plan ahead so you don't disrupt your work schedule. So far I absolutely love the new SSD. My Mac has been kicking strong for 10 years, I bet with this I can get at least 5 or more years out of it.

Upgrade kit components worked well. You’ll need an external usb to ssd adapter to copy the hd. Boot into recovery mode and run Disk Manager to do that. See ifixit.com for help.

I really don’t know where to start - EVERYTHING was great - the cost was excellent, the product is excellent, it comes with all the tools necessary to make you feel like a Pro, and the installation videos and Phone service is AMAZING!! In under an hour I was able to get the SSD installed in my Mac and then back up and running - all data was restored quickly and easily from my last Cloud Backup!!! I 100% recommend OWC for upgrades, replacements etc

Helpful tools to use to replace drive; however, OWC SSD quality was terrible. First one failed in 2 weeks (dead and can't turn on my imac), but good customer service that responded immediately with RMA# and replacement shipped after failed one shipped back (paid by customer). 2nd one (replacement) received and replaced, but failed again (turn on with folder icon with question mark) in a week. I thought it could be my imac too old and something wrong, but I replaced with other brand SSD and it running fine. Moreover, I brought my imac and apple store to diagnose overall condition, and nothing wrong found. So, I'd suggest to purchase kit only, but definitely not recommend OWC drive.

Overall kit works well with 2 issues; first the cheap suction cups provided, one broke immediately when I tried to use it. I managed to get the screen off with 1 suction cup, but not ideal. Second there are no provided instructions in the kit for installation of the thermal cable so needed to hunt down a YouTube video. Overall good kit for what I paid ($157 for 1 TB kit), but could be better.

So, my older iMac finally died (it did die once before but miraculously came back to life). Hard drive failed so I though I would have to buy a new computer (thankfully, I do maintain a backup). Found this and figured for the price, it was worth a try. Arrived quickly and as long as you tune into the correct video on the seller's website, relatively straightforward to install. Not easy, but not super hard. If you have any mechanical ability, you shouldn't have any problems. While I was installing things, I also upped the RAM to 32GB (maximum for this machine). Once I got everything installed and back together, I turned the iMac on and...nothing!!! So I called product support and was asked if I formatted it (no, I thought it came pre-formatted). Support walked me through everything (didn't take long), and the machine booted right up after that. I restored from my backup and now the iMac is as good as ever, and even boots up MUCH faster (seconds!). I guess the SSD drive (1TB) and additional RAM make a difference. Would not hesitate to purchase this or from this seller again should the need arise.