In brief: Apple's latest iPhone 17 lineup has been receiving plenty of positive reviews, but, like its Android rival Samsung, there's no way of adding extra storage via an SD card slot. However, one YouTube channel has shown it is possible to upgrade a base 256GB iPhone Pro Max to 1TB – though you might not want to endure the effort and risk.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199 for the base 256GB model. Moving to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB costs an extra $200 each step up, with the $1,999 variant at the top of the stack.
YouTube channel DirectorFeng set out to upgrade the 256GB storage in the cheapest iPhone 17 Pro Max model to 2TB, thereby saving around $800.
The first step is to open the phone and remove the components to access the NAND flash storage module. This alone looks to be an arduous task, especially for anyone who lacks the correct tools and is inexperienced in this sort of thing – there are a lot of different screws.
The process highlights the new design elements in the iPhone 17 Pro Max, including the vapor chamber cooling system and small logic board.
Removing the SSD module from the SoC is something few people will be able (or willing) to do. The SoC uses stacked modules, with the NAND module soldered to the top of a DRAM module.
DirectorFeng uses a CNC milling machine to completely grind away the flash chip to expose the bare pads. The old solder balls are also painstakingly scraped off and the area is cleaned.
It's at this point the modder realizes that the 2TB of NAND purchased for the upgrade isn't compatible with the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The channel says a 2TB upgrade is coming, but for this video a 1TB upgrade will have to suffice.
A new layer of solder balls is applied to the 1TB module, allowing it to be fixed in place. It's then a matter of reassembling the phone and hoping for the best.
After flashing iOS onto the new drive, the iPhone 17 Pro Max loads and DirectorFeng confirms the storage is now reading as 1TB. It's certainly not an upgrade for the faint-hearted, but it proves such a thing is possible.