Crucial Ssd Mac App

Crucial Memory and SSD upgrades - 100% Compatibility Guaranteed for apple - FREE US Delivery. On the left side of the Disk Utility window, you’ll see an External section that indicates any external storage drives attached to your Mac. Because your Crucial SSD is plugged in via the SATA-to-USB cable, it will appear here. Underneath the name of your Crucial SSD, you will see the partition you named when you formatted your drive. Learn how to quickly and easily install a Crucial® SSD (solid state drive) in a desktop, laptop, notebook, or Mac system.

We all love saving tons of photos, videos, and even movies on our laptops. So the default in-built storage on a MacBook can quickly run out, especially if you’ve been using it for a while. That’s why it’s handy to get an external drive too on which you can easily transfer all your big files. This will ensure your computer always has sufficient space. So without further delay, let’s go ahead and find out the best external SSDs for Mac.

#1. SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable External SSD

Enjoy seamless transfers with this USB C SSD that gives up to 550MB/s read speeds. This external SSD for Mac is rugged and resistant to both water and dust with an IP55 rating.

Along with being compact and pocket-sized, it’s also durable and shock-proof. So your data can stay safe during minor falls or drops. It comes with a 3-year limited warranty. You can choose from varied capacities from 250 GB to 1 TB, according to your needs.

Pros

  • Water and dust resistant
  • Shock-proof
  • 4 storage capacities available
  • Good price

Cons

  • Slower read/write speeds

Price: $329.99 for 2TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#2. Samsung X5 Portable SSD 2TB – Thunderbolt 3

Take your storage to the next level with this SSD. Designed with Thunderbolt 3 ports, the X5 is made for busy professionals who want to render high-resolution content quickly. Its thermal management and password protection features ensure safety and security.

Further, it offers impressive read/write speeds of 2,800/2,300 MB/s. So you can transfer a 20GB 4K UHD video from your computer to the SSD in as little as 12 seconds, depending on your system configurations. The innovative design is inspired by supercars!

Pros

  • Thermal management
  • Impressive read/write speeds
  • 3 storage capacities available
  • Sleek look

Cons

  • Expensive

Price: $699.99 for 2TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#3. Seagate STJD1000400 1Tb Solid State Drive

This high-speed, portable solid-state drive is perfect for streaming stored videos directly to your Macbook. It’s an excellent choice for backing up your data on the go.

Moreover, its a mini USB 3.0 SSD with a lightweight, minimalist design that’s convenient to carry every day Finally, you can enjoy long-term peace of mind with the included three-year limited warranty.

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Multiple storage capacities available
  • Good price

Cons

  • No USB C – you’ll need a separate adaptor

Price: $144.99 for 1TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#4. LaCie Water Resistant Rugged 2TB SSD

For those who want ultimate protection on their external SSD for Mac, this rugged one can withstand the pressures of life! It can survive a 3-meter drop and a two-ton car crash. Moreover, it is IP67-rated dust water-resistant.

You can take advantage of a one-month complimentary membership to Adobe creative cloud apps when you get this drive. Further, it comes with a 5-year limited protection plan so you can have long-term peace of mind about it’s functionality.

Pros

  • Drop protection
  • Multiple storage capacities available
  • 5-year protection plan for data recovery

Cons

  • Slightly pricey

Price: $451.99 for 2TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#5. Crucial 1TB X8 Portable SSD

Incredible performance with read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s makes this one of the best SSDs for Mac. It has a durable design featuring an aluminum core. It offers drop protection for up to 7. 5 feet, and can also withstand extreme temperature. It’s shock and vibration proof so you can carry it around in your bag with ease.

Finally, you can rest assured about quality because this SSD is backed by Micron, one of the well-known storage tech manufacturers in the world. It also includes a 3-year limited warranty.

Pros

  • Withstands extreme temperatures
  • High-speed
  • Sleek design

Cons

  • Only available in 2 capacities

Price: $164.95 for 1TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#6. WD 2TB My Passport Go SSD Cobalt

Check out this pocket-sized SSD for Mac and Windows computers. It’s convenient to carry and is also capable of surviving drops up to 2 meters. The protective bumper acts as a cushion and absorbs shocks and bumps.

It offers a transfer rate of 400MB/s which is pretty decent. Further, it comes with a 3-year warranty and you can get it in 2 cool color options namely cobalt blue and amber. All in all, it’s an excellent everyday choice for your storage needs.

Pros

  • Protective bumper
  • Good price
  • Color options

Cons

  • Transfer rate on slower side

Price: $329.99 for 2TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#7. Samsung T5 2TB Portable SSD

For the stylish and modern professional, this is one of the best SSDs for your Mac! With a USB 3.1 interface, the T5 provides transfer speeds of up to 540 MB/s depending on your system. So transfers and backups of large-sized data including 4K videos and high-resolution photos will be much quicker and faster.

Furthermore, the impressive performance comes in a compact package that’s easy to carry with you. Perhaps the best part is the classy color options such as blue, gold, and red.

Pros

  • Good speed
  • Value for money
  • Color options

Cons

  • Looks a bit delicate and may not have drop protection

Price: $319.85 for 2TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#8. Sabrent Rocket Nano 512GB USB 3.2 SSD

For ultimate portability, check out this ultra-slim SSD. It’s sleek and durable – an ideal travel companion whether for work or leisure. Easily transfer your media with the smooth plug-and-play technology.

It provides speeds of up to 1000MB/s, depending on your system configurations. Further, you can get it in 3 convenient storage capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2TB. You can also choose either black or silver color options.

Pros

  • Slim and compact
  • Good price
  • Color options

Cons

  • No drop protection

Price: $299.99 for 2TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#9. G-Technology 2TB G-DRIVE mobile SSD

How To Install Crucial Ssd

Carry your data worry-free on this shock and vibration resistant SSD for Mac. The durable design comes with iP67 dust and water resistance.

The USB C connectivity offers transfer rates of up to 560MB/s. Further, you can buy with confidence given the industry-leading 5-year limited manufacturer’s warranty.

Pros

  • Dust and water-resistant
  • Shock-proof
  • 5-year warranty

Cons

  • Bulky

Price: $329.95 for 2TB capacity
Check out on Amazon

#10. Seagate Barracuda Fast 500GB SSD

With reliable performance and a speed of up to 540MB/s, you can enjoy smooth data transfer on this external SSD for Mac. It features a minimalist design and green LED accent light.

It’s a perfect solution for carrying media on the go or even for external Xbox or PlayStation storage. It offers seamless installation and loading. Moreover, you get a limited product protection plan too.

Pros

  • Minimalist design
  • LED light indicator
  • Reliable performance

Cons

  • No drop protection

Price: $109.99 for 500 GB capacity
Check out on Amazon

Summing Up

Well, as you can see, there’s a wide variety of external SSDs for Mac. Most come with warranties so are a valuable accessory to get. Let us know in the comments below which one you prefer and why.

I have been writing about tech for over 10 years now. I am passionate about helping people solve their tech problems with easy and practical solutions. At iGeeksBlog, I write and edit how-to guides and accessory reviews for all things Apple. My work has previously appeared in Live IT and Woman’s Era magazines. When not working, I love reading and traveling.

  • https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/mehak/
    Using 'Rebuild' Feature of Database Utility in Mac Entourage
  • https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/mehak/
  • https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/mehak/
  • https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/mehak/
Summary: This a full guide to external SSD not recognized on Mac issue, which includes both reasons and solutions to this issue, as well as how to recover lost data when external SSD is not showing up on Mac.

You can't access a Sandisk, Crucial, or Samsung T3 when the external SSD is not recognized or detected by Mac, whether the external SSD was working for a long time or it's a new SSD you bought recently. However, hard drives not working or showing up issue is so prone to happen even when you unplug the external SSD from the Mac and later on plug in the SSD again. It's definitely frustrating, especially when you have important files stored on it.

How can you fix the unrecognized external SSD and access your files stored on it? You will find the answer and troubleshoot this problem in this post.

Why is external SSD not recognized on Mac?

Various reasons are leading to external SSD not showing up issue on Mac. Here we conclude four main causes as below:

1. The SATA to USB 3.0 adapter/Dock is malfunctioned.

Usually, you need to buy an additional dock, disk case, or SATA adapter to access an SSD drive. During this process, if the externally connected SSD is not recognized by your Mac, it's likely that the adapter is not compatible with the disk's SATA interface, or the dock/drive caddy is faulty.

2. The external SSD is new and uninitialized.

This happens when users externally connect the SSD to backup or transfer files on the internal hard drive. But many newly bought SSDs are not initialized with a file system, which means there is no entrance for macOS to recognize and communicate with this SSD, and for sure, the external SSD won't show up.

3. The external SSD has a file system that can't be recognized by Mac.

Possibly, the SSD that you try to access is formatted with a file system. However, it's not a file system that your Mac can recognize. For example, it is formatted with a Linux file system. In this case, your macOS can't recognize the external SSD surely.

4. New software or firmware needs to be updated.

This happens frequently for Samsung portable SSD T5/T3, because you need to install Samsung portable SSD Software to unlock disk's password and update certain firmware for this SSD. And if the necessary software and extension are not downloaded, you may receive 'No Samsung portable SSD is connected' from its software.

5. The external SSD is not set to show up on Mac.

Sometimes, your external SSD actually is recognized by the Mac, but some setups stop the SSD from showing up in the Finder, on the desktop, or even in the Disk Utility.

Crucial Ssd Driver Download

6. The external SSD is corrupted.

Another possible cause is that you have unsafely ejected your SSD, which makes the external drive corrupted after some core data like partition table or file system is damaged. Also, you need to be clear that the life span of an SSD is limited depending on how frequently you use it.

7. Other Hardware problems.

How to fix external SSD not recognized on Mac?

Solution 1: Check whether the external SSD is properly plugged in

Since all SSDs use SATA interface, so when an external SSD is not recognized by Mac, the first and foremost solution is to check whether the external SSD is properly plugged in. So simply do these checks:

  • Check if the cable is working by connecting the external SSD with a different cable.
  • Check whether your SSD is using SATA Ⅰ, Ⅱ, or Ⅲ so that your adapter/dock/case is compatible with your external SSD.
  • Try a different SATA to USB adapter and make sure it works by plugging in a different drive.
  • Try to connect the external SSD directly to your Mac if it's a type C drive, rather than accessing it via a USB-C adapter.

Tips: If the unrecognized external SSD is a Samsung T5/T3 SSD, and you got the 'System Extension Blocked' and 'No Samsung Portable SSD is connected' messages when executing Samsung Portable SSD Software, simply go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > choose Allow button next to the message: System software from developer 'Samsung Electronics' was blocked from loading.

Solution 2: Reboot your Mac computer

Sometimes, Mac externalSSD not mounting issue is caused by the system issues. But you easily fix them by restarting. The restarting process will refresh your macOS's memory and starts it up fresh, which works efficiently especially when the USB port is busy. Simply choose the Apple menu and click Restart.

If you are interested in, you can learn what happened inside when Mac doesn't recognize an external drive with details.

Solution 3: Find the unrecognized external SSD in Disk Utility

When an external SSD is not showing up on Mac, the most necessary step is to check whether the external SSD can be found in Disk Utility. If the external SSD can be found in Disk Utility, you make sure that the drive doesn't have any hardware problems. But if you can't find it listed in Disk Utility, the external SSD might be physically damaged.

So simply Go > Disk Utility > View > Show All Devices to check the external SSD.

  • If your external SSD is using Windows NTFS format, macOS won't mount the drive in writable mode. To write to an NTFS drive, you need to download a free NTFS for Mac driver.
  • If you have used this external SSD on other computers for some time and now it is unrecognized by macOS, the file system of the SSD is either unsupportable or corrupted, you need to recover lost data from this external SSD and reformat the drive.
  • If you newly bought this SSD and it is not initialized, you can't see the partitions of the external SSD in Disk Utility but receive an error message 'the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer'. In this case, you need to make sure you don't have any data on this drive and then initialize it in Disk Utility by erasing.
Crucial ssd mac install

Solution 4: Repair the unrecognized external SSD with First Aid

If your external SSD shows up in Disk Utility but not mounted, you can right-click the drive and select Mount menu and then the SSD will show up on Mac. If the Mount button is grayed out or you fail to mount the external SSD, try running First Aid to verify and repair disk errors.

Step 1: Launch Disk Utility.

Step 2: Choose the grayed out external SSD from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Select the 'First Aid' tab on the top.

Solution 5: Reformat the unrecognized external SSD without data loss

If all solutions above don't work, the external SSD might be corrupted and you need to reformat it. The thing is, reformat will cause data loss. But actually, whether the external SSD is not recognized due to logical disk errors or hardware problems, the most important thing is your files on the drive. So, to prevent data loss, you need to get your files off this external SSD first if you forget to back up. Hopefully, you can recover lost data from the external SSD with the help of professional Mac data recovery software.

iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is highly recommended here to recover lost data from unrecognized external SSD. It's a free and professional data recovery tool, which can recover lost data from corrupted, formatted, unreadable, and unmountable SSD. This software works on macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.

Moreover, iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac supports main storage devices including hard drives, external hard drives, USB flash drives, SD cards, memory cards, etc. and multiple file formats such as documents, audios, pictures, videos, emails, etc.

Tutorial to recover lost data from unrecognized SSD on Mac with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac

Step 1: Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.

Step 2: Select the unrecognized external SSD and click 'Next' to scan lost files on the drive.

Step 3: Preview the scanning results, choose files we need, and click 'Recover' to get lost files back from the unrecognized external SSD.

Step 4: Have a check to ensure we have recovered all lost files.

After your important data is recovered, you can go ahead to fix this issue by reformatting without data loss.

Tutorial to reformat the unrecognized external SSD

Crucial Ssd Mac App Upgrade

This guide to reformat external SSD will remove all data on the external SSD, please make sure you have recovered all useful files with iBoysoft Data Recovery.

Step 1: Launch Disk Utility.

Step 2: Select the external SSD on the left part of the window.

Step 3: Click 'Erase' on the top of the Disk Utility window.

Step 4: Complete related information (name, format, scheme), then click Erase.

Solution 6: Send the external SSD to a local technician for help

If unfortunately, the external SSD can't show up in Disk Utility or the solutions above failed to fix external SSD not recognized issue, the drive might have some hardware problems. You need to contact the manufacturer for technical support or product replacement.

• Fix SSD not showing up in Windows 10/8/7

Some SSD support pages you may need:

  • Samsung: https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/support/warranty/
  • Crucial: https://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/support?cm_re=top-nav-v2-_-flyout-support-_-support-home
  • Intel：https://supporttickets.intel.com/?lang=en-US
  • WD: https://www.westerndigital.com/support
  • Kingston: https://www.kingston.com/en/company/warranty
  • Toshiba: https://www.toshiba-memory.com/warranty/