SD Card Not Reading on a Mac? 7 Solutions Without Data Loss!

Faulty or incompatible SD cards, loose interface connections, out-of-date card reader drivers, a corrupted file system on the SD card, or problems with your Mac's setup or software may prevent the SD card from being read properly on your Mac.

SD cards are one of the most popular portable storage devices, widely used in cameras and car recorders to store important photos and videos. However, the card's small size and light weight make it susceptible to damage, resulting in data loss. This post will introduce 7 proven methods to fix an SD card that is not reading on a Mac error.

To protect your precious memories from a damaged SD card, we present 7 effective solutions for situations where the SD card is not reading on a Mac and offer a professional way to recover corrupted SD card data - note that this measure needs to be considered ASAP.

Restore Data from an SD Card That Is Not Reading on a Mac🔥

When you find the SD card not showing up on your Mac, the first thing you should consider is how to avoid losing stored files on it. In this case, a trusted SD card recovery software can help. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac can recover files from a corrupted SD card that is not reading by your Mac, including photos, videos, documents, etc.

It helps you find all recoverable data on the problematic SD card with its deep scan feature. Even if the SD card becomes RAW format or is erased, the EaseUS software can help return the wanted files. Download the EaseUS SD card recovery software for Mac and follow the instructions below to recover the SD card data:

Step 1. Select the SD card

• Correctly connect your memory card to your Mac. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.
• Go to "SD Card Recovery", find your Canon/Nikon/Go Pro/DJI/Sony SD card, and click "Search for lost files".

Note: Before data recovery, you'd better click "Disk Backup" from the left sidebar to create a backup of your SD card to avoid further data loss. After backing up the SD card, the software can recover data from your SD card backup, and you can remove the SD card and use it again.

Step 2. Filter lost SD card data

After the scan, all files will be presented in the left panel in the scan results. Find wanted photos, videos, and other files.

Step 3. Preview and recover data

Preview the SD card data and select the wanted files. Then, click the "Recover" button. Don't save the recoverable files to the SD card itself in case of data overwriting.

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After saving the recovered SD card data on your hard drive, you can perform the following 7 fixes to solve the SD card not reading error:

1. Fix 1. Check Physical Damage on the SD Card
2. Fix 2. Check Your Finder Desktop and Sidebar Settings
3. Fix 3. Check if the SD Card is Locked
4. Fix 4. Restart Your Mac to Fix System Glitches
5. Fix 5. Mount the SD card in Disk Utility Manually
6. Fix 6. Use First Aid Feature to Check Errors on the SD Card
7. Fix 7. Format the SD Card via Disk Utility Without Data Loss

Note that these methods vary in difficulty and time, and it is recommended that you save important data with EaseUS software before fixing SD card problems to avoid losing data permanently.

Fix 1. Check Physical Damage on the SD Card

You can tell if an SD card is physically damaged by looking at it, especially at the read ports. If you have more than one computer or more than one SD card, you can detect the point at which the Mac is not reading the SD card - damaged SD card or errors on your Mac. For instance, your SD card is not readable on a Mac but can be read on a Windows PC or another Mac, or your Mac can read another SD card, which means the SD card may be damaged.

Fix 2. Check Your Finder Desktop and Sidebar Settings

A common setup problem can lead users to believe that the SD card is not being read successfully when it is plugged into the Mac. Refer to the following steps to confirm if this is the case for you:

Step 1. Launch Finder and click "Settings > General".

Step 2. Check the "External disks" option.

Fix 3. Check if the SD Card is Locked

Some SD cards have physical buttons on the side that lock them in place, preventing the Mac from reading their Contents. If the physical switch is on the lockside of your SD card, slide the switch to the offside.

The first three methods will give you a quick fix for some common problems with unreadable SD cards, but if you've determined through these three methods that your SD card or Mac may be suffering from some deeper error, download the EaseUS software for first aid for important data on your SD card.

Fix 4. Restart Your Mac to Fix System Glitches

Restarting your Mac can fix temporary system glitches or crashes, which may lead to an SD card not reading on a Mac. Click the Apple icon at the top menu and select "Restart" to reboot your Mac. Then, try connecting the SD card again and check if it is readable.

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Fix 5. Mount the SD card in Disk Utility Manually

When mount errors occur, such as the common error "com.apple.DiskManagement.disenter error", your SD card is not reading on a Mac. Here's how to mount an SD card via Disk Utility:

Step 1. Launch "Disk Utility", click the view sidebar, and select "Show All Devices".

Step 2. Select the SD card in the "External" sidebar, then click the "Mount" option at the top menu.

If the "Mount" button is gray and you can't mount a disk on your Mac manually, check this guide and find the solutions:

Fix 6. Use First Aid Feature to Check Errors on the SD Card

The macOS built-in feature called First Aid can help users check disk errors safely. Check out the following steps to check errors on your SD card that is not reading on your Mac:

Step 1. Launch "Disk Utility" and select the SD card.

Step 2. Click the "First Aid" button at the top menu, and click "Run" to confirm the First Aid process.

Wait for the First Aid process to finish, and it will send you a message like "First Aid found corruption that needs to be repaired"; in this case, click the "Repair" option.

Fix 7. Format the SD Card via Disk Utility Without Data Loss

The last solution to solve the SD card not reading problem is formatting it, which can solve the unreadable problem caused by incompatible file systems. Before formatting the SD card, you should pay attention to the fact that formatting will delete all data on the SD card, so if it stores essential data, back up it first.

Then, follow the steps below to format your unreadable SD card:

Step 1. Launch "Disk Utility" and choose the "Erase" button when selecting your SD card.

Step 2. Select a macOS-compatible file system for the formatted SD card, give it a new name, and click the "Erase" button.

Conclusion

In this post, we introduce 7 fixes to solve the unreadable problem on an SD card when plugging into a Mac, including checking physical damage on the SD card, checking Finder settings, unlocking the SD card, restarting your Mac, mounting the SD card manually, using First Aid feature, and formatting the SD card.

To avoid data loss on the SD card, it's suggested that using the professional and trusted SD card recovery software EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to recover your SD card data first.

People Also Ask

Here are questions people frequently ask related to "How do I fix the SD card not reading on my Mac?":

1. What should I do when the first aid process fails to repair my SD card?

When the First Aid process has failed, you can try the following fixes:

1. Fix 1. Restart your Mac and relaunch Disk Utility's First Aid feature
2. Fix 2. Check compatibility between the SD card and macOS
3. Fix 3. Run the FSCK command on your Mac
4. Fix 4. Use Terminal to mount your SD card

2. Why is my Mac not seeing video files on the SD card?

Many errors may lead to your video files not showing on an SD card, such as:

1. ⚠️Video files on the SD card are hidden.
2. 🔒Some sectors on the SD card are locked.
3. 🗑️The SD card video data is missing or deleted.
4. ❌The SD card has been corrupted.