Will this aftermarket ssd adapter work with the UX31?

Hi,

I have an asus zenbook ux31A with the infamous sandisk ssd. I found an aftermarket ssd adapter on ebay that seems to be marketed specifically for ux31's.

Could someone take a look at this and let me know if this part would allow me to use a standard mSATA ssd?
mSATA SSD Convert to 2 5" SATA 22Pin Adapter Asus UX31 UX21 SanDisk XM11 Laptop | eBay

Thanks.

 

That part looks to be a board that will let you put the UX31's SSD into a 2.5" drive bay, perhaps for data recovery.

The discussion here indicates that the UX31 SSD is a non-standard mSATA implementation where the chips are only one side of the board.

I have encountered the mSATA U100 and agree that it should never have gone into production. Your best (only?) upgrade option is to search for the Adata XM11 which is the other SDD used in the UX31.

John

 

I found this adapter and is currently waiting for it and a new ssd to ship.
NGFF SSD Adapter as SanDisk SD5SE2 SDSA5JK ADATA XM11 for Asus Zenbook UX31 UX21 | eBay

I will try to get back to you guys when I have more information!

 

Any luck with the adapter? I'm thinking of getting a similar one but I am really concerned about added thickness.

 

I emailed Sintech, the manufacturer of the adapter, whether it would fit. Their reply implied that it must fit, since they had had no complains so far... However, they did not have any Asus laptops available to see whether it could actually close. Still a wonder to me how they designed the adapter.
Conclusively, I am also hoping for somebody's personal experience and waiting for willd's reply before ordering both the adapter and a new SSD.

The adapter mentioned in the first post will not help you, as it is meant to put an ux31/ux21 disk in a regular pc. I found another adapter on the market which converts a regular Sata port to the Ux31/Ux21 ssd port, that one will NOT work for sure as it lacks power supply and I have read a report on being unable to close the bottom of the laptop after installation, which defies the whole purpose of the adapter.

 

Today, I installed an adapter like M.2 NGFF SSD to 18 Pin Blade Adapter for Asus UX31 UX21 Zenbook or Sintech NGFF M.2 BM Key SSD to 18Pin Adapter Card with a Crucial M550 256GB M.2 Type 2280 CT256M550SSD4
to my ux31a (BIOS 219) and it seems to work fine. Check out the reviews, they´re all positive.

 

Does the laptop close properly without further modification?

 

Yes it does. But I removed the adapter-screw and fixed ssd and adapter together with tape. No probs yet.

 

my bad
one of the review had my answer

 

I have bought the Sintech NGFF SSD adapter ( NGFF SSD Adapter as SanDisk SD5SE2 SDSA5JK ADATA XM11 for Asus Zenbook UX31 UX21 | eBay or NGFF SSD adapter as sandisk sd5se2/SDSA5JK ADATA XM11 SSD from U [ST5112] - $19.99 : sintech adapter shop ) and installed it in my UX31E with a Premier Pro SP900 ASP900NS38-256GM-C 256 GB SSD.

The bottom case still closes, though since I have the idea that at least the screw and maybe also the top of the ICs on the SSD card touch the case I isolated that part of the case with isolation tape (not duct tape). Works like a charm since 2 months, it is such a relieve to have a decent amount of storage.

 

I bought an adapter from Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00XL7R69M?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

and a M.2 Kingston SSD

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00V01C376?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

but the pins don't quite match up.

http://imgur.com/a/c5UAq

The SSD is lying right on the adapter in this photo; I know it looks like it's just a bit closer because the pins are more spread out but if you look at the smaller tongue you'll see they're closer together than the adapter socket. Are there two M.2 standards that are just very slightly different or have I stumbled upon a knockoff adapter with a manufacturing defect?

 

pineapplecharm, I just figured you tried using M-keyed SSD in B-keyed adapter. =\ You do need a B or B+M keyed drive indeed.

 

Thanks for the reassurance. It's hard to see clearly when things are so small!

Sadly however, after installing the new drive the laptop went into full-on brick mode, not even the power LED coming on. After swapping back to the old SSD and disconnecting the battery for a full reset it did come back to life but I'm rather suspicious now. Is the new SSD drawing too much power perhaps? I haven't been able to find any specification for what the motherboard can supply.

Edit: According to this, I bought the wrong drive. Needs to be SATA not PCIe

http://superuser.com/questions/674500/asus-ux31e-zenbook-ssd-non-standard-cant-upgrade-hdd

 

Not being funny but who designs this stuff to fit in the wrong slot??? I thought that was the whole point of dividing the tongues up like that. I will read up further and hopefully, finally, order the right thing.

Edit: Finished reading up. What the hell, I deliberately went for an M key to match the connector! Have ordered a B key. Thanks again!