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Som there are a couple of past questions with answers on this topic here and the bigger interwebs. My reason for re-opening this issue is that most answers are from around 2013 - 2015 latest. So I am wondering if there has been an update since.

early apple forum that claims success of 16RAM on mid 2010, 15' when booting in safe mode: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2763468?start=105&tstart=0

comments claim that upgrade to 16G RAM was a success (end 2015): https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/148841/16+GB+possible+with+OS+X+Mountain+Lion+or+Mavericks

last answer claims that the only way to do this is by installing linux: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/151681/I'm+experiencing+random+kernel+panics

Mid 2010 can go up to 12G RAM: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/214900/223701

I would really, REALLY like to use 16Gb RAM since my computing demands are quite high. Anybody have any definitive stories? Thanks!

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  • Probably no more definitive than what you've already seen. – JMY1000 Feb 7 '17 at 15:17
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You're not alone in your confusion, and there's four good reasons for it:

  • Some MacBooks can only use Apple's "official" maximum RAM
  • Other MacBooks can actually use more (usually twice as much)
  • Newer MacBooks have their RAM soldered in and cannot be upgraded after being purchased
  • The answer differs depending on the model of mid-2010 MacBook Pro!

You were probably aware of the first three reasons, but the last one often catches people out. To clarify this:

  • 13" mid-2010 MacBook Pro models can actually use 16GB RAM
  • 15" mid-2010 MacBook Pro models cannot use 16GB RAM
  • 17" mid-2010 MacBook Pro models cannot use 16GB RAM

Unfortunately, this means for you the answer is no.

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  • what is fascinating to me, is that apparently when a 16GB RAM update is performed on a mid 2010, 15", it works given that it runs on Linux. This would suggest that there is no machine level constraint. However, my hope was that anybody had tried this experiment with newer OS to confirm that apple at no point updated for this potential awesome upgrade. Will wait 2/3 more days to give other people a chance to prove me wrong, else i'm afraid i'll have to check your answer :( – trdavidson Feb 8 '17 at 21:45

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