Some users connect SD cards directly to the SD slot (if any) on their MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. And some access it through an external SD card reader. But either way, the SD card should be detected by the computer and then appear in Finder, on desktop, and in Disk Utility. Instructions to possibly fix your SD card reader on your MacBook Pro.My laptop would not read any SD card even after using blowing compressed air and this me.
- Sd Card Slot On Macbook Pro Not Working
- Sd Card Reader Not Working Macbook Air
- Sd Slot Not Working Macbook Pro
- Mac Sd Card Slot Not Working
Summary: Have you encountered the SD card not mounting issue on macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra? This post will show you 8 feasible solutions to mount SD cards on Mac again. In addition, you can also learn about how to recover lost data when SD card won't mount on Mac.
SD cards are widely used to store photos and videos. But sometimes you can't access your files as the SD card won't mount on computers, digital cameras, or Android phone. Focusing on Mac computers, this post offers 8 solutions to fix SD card not mounting on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini or iMac.
- Test SD card on another Mac or with a new card reader
- Restart your Mac computer
- Check the SD card format (file system)
- Update software on Mac
- Check whether the mounted SD card is set to show up on Mac
- Repair unmountable SD card with Disk Utility
- Recover lost data and reformat the SD card
- Look for help from the local repairing professionals
Usually, once you connect an SD card with a USB adapter or an SD card reader on Mac, the SD card should be detected and then mounted by your Mac. It means you can access the SD card and transfer files from it. However, you may find the SD card not mounting on Mac or not seen in Disk Utility. Here is a real example from a forum:
Hello everyone! I'm having some issues mounting an SD card on my 2016 MacBook Pro via a USB-C SD Card reader. The problem is that the card does not mount at all, not in Finder nor on the Desktop. I can't mount the SD card in Disk Utility either. So I'm reaching out to see if any of you might have an idea of how to fix this.
Have you ever experience the above-mentioned scenario? Where is the problem? Why does this issue happen? How to fix it? Just keep reading and get your SD card mounted.
• Check this guide if your SD card is not showing up on Mac.
Solution 1: Test SD card on another Mac or with a new card reader
Whenever you meet SD card problems, the first thing you should check is whether the SD card has a connection issue. You can change a new SD card reader or USB adapter. If the card works well, then it's the faulty SD card reader or USB adapter that stops your SD card from mounting.
While if the SD card won't work on another computer or the new SD card reader/USB adapter, there is something wrong with your SD card.
How to fix SD card reader not working on your Mac?
Here is a guide to fix SD card reader not reading or working on your computer, which works for Windows PC and Mac. Read more >>
Solution 2: Restart your Mac computer
If you encounter a problem with your computer or connected disks, an IT folk always asks 'Have you tried rebooting your Mac computer?'
Why? Because a restart wipes away the current state of your operating system/software and starts everything from scratch. Just remove your SD card from your Mac computer. Completely shut down your Mac computer and remove the power cable (if you own a laptop, please remove the battery). Then turn on your computer and replug your SD card to your computer. The SD card should be mounted after the restart.
Solution 3: Check the SD card format
If the SD card is encrypted by Windows BitLocker, then your Mac won't read SD card. Because BitLocker drive encryption is developed by Microsoft for the Windows operating system and it can't be supported by macOS.
To check this issue, you can insert it to a PC to see if the SD card can be recognized. If you are asked to input the BitLocker password, the SD card is a BitLocker encrypted drive. To resolve this problem, you can decrypt it on Windows, replug it to your Mac and then it can be mounted.
Solution 4: Update software on Mac
Out-of-date software (e.g. disk driver) can cause various issues on Mac, and that SD card won't mount is one of them. It's possible that the operating system will become sluggish and the connected device may not function properly. Then, the external hard drive won't show up on Mac. Fortunately, you can easily update the software on Mac.
1. Update the software on macOS. If you have upgraded to macOS Mojave or above, you should choose 'System Preferences' from the Apple menu, then click 'Software Update' to check for updates. If any updates are available, click 'Update Now'. Then, restart your Mac and insert your SD card again.
2. Update the software on earlier macOS versions. Just launch the Mac App Store, click the 'Update' tab on the top and then choose the 'Update All'.
Solution 5: Check whether the mounted SD card is set to show up on Mac
Some people say their SD card won't mount, they indicate that when they insert the SD card on Mac, they can't see it on desktop or in Finder. But technically, this case can't be called 'SD card not mounting on Mac'. How can you check if your SD card is not mounting for real, or just not showing on Mac? You can try the following actions to determine.
- 1. Check your Finder preference. First of all, you need to make sure your Finder preference is set to correct. Go to Finder > Preferences > General and ensure that 'External disks' are selected. Then go to the Sidebar tab and check External disks option as well. This will show the mounted SD cards as external disks on your desktop and in Finder.
- 2. Go to Applications folder > Utilities > Disk Utility. After launch Disk Utility, you need to identify if your SD card is listed on the left-hand side of the interface. If the SD card is listed but grayed out, the card is not mounted due to some file system errors.
Meanwhile, chances are that the SD card won't show up on Mac. In this situation, the card might have been physically damaged.
Solution 6: Repair unmountable SD card with Disk Utility
If your SD card is listed in Disk Utility but can't be mounted, you can try right-clicking the card and select the Mount button. If this operation doesn't work, it means the file system of the SD card is corrupted. Don't worry! There are still ways to repair it.
- 1. Go to Application/Utilities/Disk Utility.
- 2. Click 'View' in the top menu bar (Or click 'View' on the top window). Then select 'Show All Devices'.
- 3. Select the unmountable SD card from the left sidebar and click 'First Aid' on the top of the Disk Utility window.
- 4. Click 'Run' to perform hard disk diagnostics and fix the not mounting/not working Seagate Backup Plus.
Solution 7: Recover lost data and reformat the SD card
It's very common if Disk Utility is unable to repair disks on Mac because Disk Utility is built in repairing minor errors on a disk. Under this circumstance, the simplest solution is to reformat your SD card. But this operation will cause irreparable data loss problem. So hope you have backed up before. If you forgot, with a Mac data recovery tool, you can also restore lost data from unmountable SD card.
Step 1: Recover lost data from the unmountable SD card
Here recommend you iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, it is a free SD card data recovery software.
It can recover data from unmountable SD memory cards, including SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards that are used in digital camera and computers. You can recover files from SD cards formatted with APFS, HFS+, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32. So, try this SD card recovery software on macOS Big Sur 11/Catalina 10.15/Mojave 10.14/High Sierra 10.13/Sierra 10.12/10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.
• How to recover data from unmounted SD card on your Mac?
This video will guide you on how to recover data from unmountable SD card on Mac:
Step 2: Reformat the unmountable SD card
The SD card can be formatted by Disk Utility. Follow the below tutorial to complete the format process:
• How to format an SD card on your Mac?
Solution 8: Look for help from the local professionals
If you say SD card not mounting and mean that you can't even see the SD card on Mac, you are out of luck. When SD card is showing up nowhere of the Mac, the SD card might be physically damaged or have hardware issues. In this case, you can only send the SD card to local professionals for help.But if the SD card appears in Disk Utility, just not mounting though, you have an opportunity to prevent data loss by using data recovery software, like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
Summary: Have you encountered the SD card not mounting issue on macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra? This post will show you 8 feasible solutions to mount SD cards on Mac again. In addition, you can also learn about how to recover lost data when SD card won't mount on Mac.
SD cards are widely used to store photos and videos. But sometimes you can't access your files as the SD card won't mount on computers, digital cameras, or Android phone. Focusing on Mac computers, this post offers 8 solutions to fix SD card not mounting on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini or iMac.
Sd Card Slot On Macbook Pro Not Working
- Test SD card on another Mac or with a new card reader
- Restart your Mac computer
- Check the SD card format (file system)
- Update software on Mac
- Check whether the mounted SD card is set to show up on Mac
- Repair unmountable SD card with Disk Utility
- Recover lost data and reformat the SD card
- Look for help from the local repairing professionals
Usually, once you connect an SD card with a USB adapter or an SD card reader on Mac, the SD card should be detected and then mounted by your Mac. It means you can access the SD card and transfer files from it. However, you may find the SD card not mounting on Mac or not seen in Disk Utility. Here is a real example from a forum:
Hello everyone! I'm having some issues mounting an SD card on my 2016 MacBook Pro via a USB-C SD Card reader. The problem is that the card does not mount at all, not in Finder nor on the Desktop. I can't mount the SD card in Disk Utility either. So I'm reaching out to see if any of you might have an idea of how to fix this.
Have you ever experience the above-mentioned scenario? Where is the problem? Why does this issue happen? How to fix it? Just keep reading and get your SD card mounted.
• Check this guide if your SD card is not showing up on Mac.
Solution 1: Test SD card on another Mac or with a new card reader
Whenever you meet SD card problems, the first thing you should check is whether the SD card has a connection issue. You can change a new SD card reader or USB adapter. If the card works well, then it's the faulty SD card reader or USB adapter that stops your SD card from mounting.
While if the SD card won't work on another computer or the new SD card reader/USB adapter, there is something wrong with your SD card.
How to fix SD card reader not working on your Mac?
Here is a guide to fix SD card reader not reading or working on your computer, which works for Windows PC and Mac. Read more >>
Solution 2: Restart your Mac computer
Sd Card Reader Not Working Macbook Air
If you encounter a problem with your computer or connected disks, an IT folk always asks 'Have you tried rebooting your Mac computer?'
Why? Because a restart wipes away the current state of your operating system/software and starts everything from scratch. Just remove your SD card from your Mac computer. Completely shut down your Mac computer and remove the power cable (if you own a laptop, please remove the battery). Then turn on your computer and replug your SD card to your computer. The SD card should be mounted after the restart.
Solution 3: Check the SD card format
If the SD card is encrypted by Windows BitLocker, then your Mac won't read SD card. Because BitLocker drive encryption is developed by Microsoft for the Windows operating system and it can't be supported by macOS.
To check this issue, you can insert it to a PC to see if the SD card can be recognized. If you are asked to input the BitLocker password, the SD card is a BitLocker encrypted drive. To resolve this problem, you can decrypt it on Windows, replug it to your Mac and then it can be mounted.
Solution 4: Update software on Mac
Sd Slot Not Working Macbook Pro
Out-of-date software (e.g. disk driver) can cause various issues on Mac, and that SD card won't mount is one of them. It's possible that the operating system will become sluggish and the connected device may not function properly. Then, the external hard drive won't show up on Mac. Fortunately, you can easily update the software on Mac.
1. Update the software on macOS. If you have upgraded to macOS Mojave or above, you should choose 'System Preferences' from the Apple menu, then click 'Software Update' to check for updates. If any updates are available, click 'Update Now'. Then, restart your Mac and insert your SD card again.
Mac Sd Card Slot Not Working
2. Update the software on earlier macOS versions. Just launch the Mac App Store, click the 'Update' tab on the top and then choose the 'Update All'.
Solution 5: Check whether the mounted SD card is set to show up on Mac
Some people say their SD card won't mount, they indicate that when they insert the SD card on Mac, they can't see it on desktop or in Finder. But technically, this case can't be called 'SD card not mounting on Mac'. How can you check if your SD card is not mounting for real, or just not showing on Mac? You can try the following actions to determine.
- 1. Check your Finder preference. First of all, you need to make sure your Finder preference is set to correct. Go to Finder > Preferences > General and ensure that 'External disks' are selected. Then go to the Sidebar tab and check External disks option as well. This will show the mounted SD cards as external disks on your desktop and in Finder.
- 2. Go to Applications folder > Utilities > Disk Utility. After launch Disk Utility, you need to identify if your SD card is listed on the left-hand side of the interface. If the SD card is listed but grayed out, the card is not mounted due to some file system errors.
Meanwhile, chances are that the SD card won't show up on Mac. In this situation, the card might have been physically damaged.
Solution 6: Repair unmountable SD card with Disk Utility
If your SD card is listed in Disk Utility but can't be mounted, you can try right-clicking the card and select the Mount button. If this operation doesn't work, it means the file system of the SD card is corrupted. Don't worry! There are still ways to repair it.
- 1. Go to Application/Utilities/Disk Utility.
- 2. Click 'View' in the top menu bar (Or click 'View' on the top window). Then select 'Show All Devices'.
- 3. Select the unmountable SD card from the left sidebar and click 'First Aid' on the top of the Disk Utility window.
- 4. Click 'Run' to perform hard disk diagnostics and fix the not mounting/not working Seagate Backup Plus.
Solution 7: Recover lost data and reformat the SD card
It's very common if Disk Utility is unable to repair disks on Mac because Disk Utility is built in repairing minor errors on a disk. Under this circumstance, the simplest solution is to reformat your SD card. But this operation will cause irreparable data loss problem. So hope you have backed up before. If you forgot, with a Mac data recovery tool, you can also restore lost data from unmountable SD card.
Step 1: Recover lost data from the unmountable SD card
Here recommend you iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, it is a free SD card data recovery software.
It can recover data from unmountable SD memory cards, including SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards that are used in digital camera and computers. You can recover files from SD cards formatted with APFS, HFS+, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32. So, try this SD card recovery software on macOS Big Sur 11/Catalina 10.15/Mojave 10.14/High Sierra 10.13/Sierra 10.12/10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.
• How to recover data from unmounted SD card on your Mac?
This video will guide you on how to recover data from unmountable SD card on Mac:
Step 2: Reformat the unmountable SD card
The SD card can be formatted by Disk Utility. Follow the below tutorial to complete the format process:
• How to format an SD card on your Mac?
Solution 8: Look for help from the local professionals
If you say SD card not mounting and mean that you can't even see the SD card on Mac, you are out of luck. When SD card is showing up nowhere of the Mac, the SD card might be physically damaged or have hardware issues. In this case, you can only send the SD card to local professionals for help.But if the SD card appears in Disk Utility, just not mounting though, you have an opportunity to prevent data loss by using data recovery software, like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.