Review on 🔧 Sintech M.2 NGFF NVMe SSD Card - Upgrade Mac Mini Late 2014 Year A1347 MEG Series (Only for Late 2014 Year, not Compatible with Other Years) by Todd Cowdrey

My setup was a bit tricky as I had a 1TB Fusion drive with a failed HDD. I had to buy a tool kit, gut the entire Mac Mini, and remove both drives from the drive bay. In fact, the built-in part of the SSD had to be cut through with a razor blade. The new M.2 holder fits perfectly in the empty drive bay. I added a new 500GB M.2 drive and shut down the machine. From there you can boot into a screen called Internet Recovery, which works independently of any hard drive. Internet Recovery allowed me to format a new M.2 drive and install Big Sur OS. Luckily I had a time machine backup from the day the hard drive failed. It took a long time to restore via USB, but the Mac Mini looks exactly like the original system again. I expect the Mac Mini to last a few more years as it still looks brand new from the outside. I'm glad I didn't have to pay $1,000 for a new Mac!