Nov 16, 2020 • Filed to: SD Card Solutions • Proven solutions

1. Sd Slot Not Working On Imac Pro
2. Sd Slot Not Working On Imac Air
3. Sd Slot Not Working On Mac
4. Sd Slot Not Working On Imac 21.5
5. Sd Card Reader Not Working On Macos High Sierra

If it is your first time experiencing your SD card not showing up on your Mac, you are probably panic-stricken. My advice, relax and read on.

Not, there just was something inside in the second slot, and the RAM was not go inside correctly. Samsung and Kingston RAMs are in same size, just one 4GB and second one 8GB, totally 12GB. Now working fine. I was trying so many times, and finally after checking all pins, I put it inside correctly. Another case for SD card not working on Mac is that the SD card is write protected. When you try to write content to the locked SD card, you cannot modify the files on the locked SD card. To work on the SD card again, you need to safely eject the SD card and adjust the lock slider tab on the card to unlock the card.

The SD card errors can result from minor factors, such as dust, any other substance coating the contact points, or imperfect insertion into the slot. These are usually the first areas to address before you even get worried.

There are also other causes surrounding the issue of your SD card not showing up on Mac. How can we fix this issue? Or How to solve the device not support the SD card? Let’s together find the solutions.

First. Check and Open SD Card on Mac

So, you have your SD card at hand, and you are stuck as the SD is not reading. Well, first things first, check on the following:

Step 1. Examine your SD card physically.

Check that there is no damage, i.e., scratches on the shiny contact points or greasy coatings of any kind like food substances, dust or mud.

Clean your SD card with a clean and soft dry cloth. Do it thoroughly, especially on the corners around the contact points. However, don’t use water or lick the fabric with saliva. The moisture can destroy it when you insert it to the device.

Step 2. Insert the SD card to the Mac computer.

To avoid write protection, make sure the switch on the side is on.

The slot is usually thin and wide. To embed, make sure the contact points are facing down, and they should go in first.

Push in the SD card on your Mac. You will hear a sound produced if it is insecure. It holds the card so that it doesn’t slip out.

Step 3. Go to disk utility to check if Mac detects it.

For that, type disk utility in the spotlight. Click on the icon on the right or go through /applications/utilities/.

If you’d like to see it on the desktop, change preferences on Finder Preferences. Under the General tab, select External disks. Do the same under the sidebar tab.

After the steps, you can now open the SD card and access the contents through the Finder app. Enter into the SD card folder. On the right pane, contents get displayed.

However, if the above processes don’t work for you and your SD card is not reading, take a look at the next part.

Second. Fix SD Card Not Showing Up or Reading on Mac

Like every other advanced piece of technology, the SD card is bound to be affected by inevitable glitches in one way or another.

In reality, many technical reasons are associated with your SD card not showing up on your Mac.

Damage to the SD card reader slot.

It can be very frustrating because the damage might be too small even to notice. So how would you know? You can try inserting your SD card into another machine and see if it responds.

The operating system errors.

If your OS prevents your SD card from being recognized, reinstall it and try restarting your Mac. It should generally solve the issue for you.

Viral infection of the SD card

A virus can most likely affect your SD card if you share it with several people, especially Windows users with no virus protection. Viruses are dangerous.

An unsupported SD card format.

Your SD card should conform to SD 1.x, 2.x, and 3.x standards for it to work. To investigate this, check out your SD card’s manufacturer website. There are also file systems that your macOS version might not support.

The Corruption of your SD card firmware.

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If your SD card gets corrupted, how would you know? You can check if your SD card has the signs as follows.

• A black screen appears, displaying the error 'SD card is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted or unreadable'.
• Most of the contents in your SD card are missing.
• An error message 'Read/Write error on SD card' appears. You can't open any folders.
• Materials on your SD card are visible, but you can’t copy them.
• When you are trying to access your images or files, an error message 'memory card error' pops up.
• The SD card has been recognized, but is blank on your computer, even though you had data stored in it.

Considering the issues mentioned above, how can you repair a corrupted SD card or perform any other fix? Looking at some of the possible solutions, they include:

Method 1. Restarting your Mac

There are three ways of doing so:

Step 1. Click on the Apple icon and choosing to restart on its menu.

Step 2. Press the Power button and on the dialog box that appears, click on 'Restart'.

Step 3. Simultaneously hold on Control + Command + Eject/Power button. It is the most reliable option, as it’s not dependent on the OS.

After that, try inserting your SD card once again. With this method, most people can find their SD card recognized on Mac now. If not, you need other solutions.

Method 2. Mounting your SD card in Disk utility

Even after modifying your Mac preferences, your SD card might still not be visible on the desktop. It means it’s only visible from the disk utility, thus not mounted.

Step 1. You can access Disk Utility through the spotlight. Simply type it on the search box or use the shortcut command + space.

Step 2. On the left pane, select your SD card. The right side of the screen will display the details.

Step 3. On the top sections towards the right is the mount option. If mounted, there will be an option of unmounting. Click on it to mount your SD card.

Method 3. Perform a First Aid check on your SD card

The First Aid check on Disk Utility is complete when you suspect something could be wrong with your SD card or any other external disk plugged in on your Mac.

Step 1. Go to Disk Utility.

Step 2. Select your SD card from the left pane.

Step 3. On the top options, First Aid is on the far left, click on it.

Step 4. Disk Utility performs a check on the partitions to verify its contents.

If the SD is going to fail, Disk Utility will inform you, and you should perform a backup before it’s too late.

Method 4. Repair your SD card

Perform a repair on your SD card if it did not mount successfully.

Step 1. Through Applications > Utilities open Disk Utilities.

Step 2. Select your SD card from the sidebar.

Step 3. On the details pane, click on the First Aid at the top and wait for the repair process until it completes.

Step 4. When complete, a drop-down sheet displays detailed information. Select the Repair Disk option on the bottom right.

In some cases, Disk Utility might fail to repair your SD card. In such a case, it will warn you of failure so you can make a backup.

Method 5. Repair Disk Permissions

As from MacOS X Yosemite and earlier, you can perform a repair of disk permissions on your start-up disk. You should do this because your internal hard disk permissions could in some ways be hindering your SD card from reading.

Step 1. Launch Disk Utility and select your Hard Disk from the sidebar.

Step 2. On the details pane, click on First Aid.

Step 3. Under the drop-down sheet, on the left bottom side, click on 'Repair Disk Permissions'.

Method 6. Format your SD card

The option to format your SD card certainly sounds scary. However, do not be dismayed. Formatting your device, even though you may not have been able to perform a backup, is not the end for you. The article later addresses a means to recover files.

Step 1. Go to the Utility Disk. After selecting your drive, click on 'Erase' at the top.

Step 2. Disk Utility will choose a format for you. You can also select your preference, depending on how you plan to use the SD card.

Step 3. You are required to name the drive. Let it be a memorable name.

Step 4. On the security options, move the slider to where it is least secure to allow you to recover any lost files. It is also the fastest way of performing the erase.

After that, click on the erase button on the bottom right. When erasing is complete, you can now make the recovery of your files.

Third. Learn What SD Card for Mac Is and How It Works?

If you are still wondering how the SD card works, then you are in the right place. The SD card is a nifty little device that can pack a tone of storage capacities of more than 1 TB.

With an SD card adapter used together with a microSD card, it gives you the flexibility to also access files it may have from any other source.

But what does SD stand for? It stands for Secure Digital, a standard that describes non-volatile memory. Mac computers come with the SD card slot, also known as Secure Digital or Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC) card slot through which you can insert your SD card.

So, there are formats and standards discussed above. Also, the SD card slot has its measures such as:

• The SDXC standard that supports 4GB to 2TB in capacity.
• MMC standard.
• The UHS-II standard supports up to 2TB that’s only available to iMac pro.
• The SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) standard supporting 4 to 32 GB.
• The average SD supports 4MB to 2GB.

You can use these cards with adapters that conform to the specified physical standard.

All these storage media use specified file systems for them to store data. File systems store data in a breakdown of various clusters, depending on the type of file system.

The most known file system is the FAT32 format. It is available up to 32GB in capacity. For media that exceeds this, uses the exFAT file system. Cards of smaller sizes utilize the FAT16 file system.

Last. Recover Lost Data from SD Card on Mac

In this case, formatting is one method of restoring your SD card functionality, but you probably can't view the files or have no backup and thus data gets lost. Here Recoverit comes in.

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Recoverit Data Recovery software is an efficient software in the recovery of files from your SD card on Mac.

• With precision, it lets you select the file format types as you like.
• Preview files before you save a batch of data onto the desired location.
• When scanning for images, it offers a sneak preview of images, videos, and documents in a larger window.
• The files you recover are usually intact. Also, it can retrieve raw data.
• Recovered files come with their original names and paths.

Step 1. Find and select your SD card from the Mac drives displayed on the screen.

Step 2. Click on Start for the software to begin scanning files.

Step 3. The preview window helps you get a sneak peek of your data. You can choose your preferred files if you don't want to recover everything. Finally, press the Recover button on the bottom right of the interface.

You also have the option of doing a deep scan of the files at the bottom.

The process of troubleshooting an SD card can seem tedious, but it is enriching. Furthermore, the steps might seem much at first as this article goes out of its way to give extra details, but the information will always be useful in the longer run.

In case files are not visible on your SD card, don’t panic if you have no backups. It is a common characteristic of an SD card that can’t read data. Just follow the instructions, and an option to recover lost files will be available.

Lastly, if this article has been of any help to you, please don’t forget to share it widely with everyone.

Summary: SD card not showing up on Mac indicates you can't see the SD card on desktop, in Finder, or Disk Utility. This post will tell you how to fix SD card not showing up on Mac.

It's a common problem that SD card not showing up when connected to Mac. Then, where you can find the SD card on Mac? By checking the following lists, you'll know how to find and open an SD card in these cases:

• 1. SD card not showing up on Mac desktop.
• 2. SD card not showing up in Mac Finder
• 3. SD card showing up in Disk Utility but not mounting
• 4. SD card not showing up in Mac Disk Utility
• 5. Files on SD card not showing up on Mac

SD card not showing up on Mac desktop, how to fix?

By default, the detected external disks will be mounted on the desktop of Mac. This setting works for SD cards, memory cards, external hard drives, USB flash drives and much more. However, sometimes such settings may have been changed by accident. As a result, the external drive won't show up on Mac as you expected.

Here is how to change the settings showing SD cards, so that you can find and open the SD card on Mac desktop.

• 1. To show the SD card on Mac's desktop, open Finder.
• 2. Click on the Finder at the top menu of your Mac and choose Preferences….
• 3. Click on the General tab.
• 4. Check the External disks option.

Then, you'll be able to see the SD card on the Mac desktop.

SD card not showing up in Mac Finder, how to fix?

All attached and detected internal disks and external disks can be accessed in the sidebar of Finder. If your SD card is not showing up in the Finder, you can also check if the Finder Preferences have been set up properly.

• 1. Open Finder.
• 2. Click on the Finder at the upper left of your Mac and choose Preferences….
• 3. Click on the Sidebar tab.
• 4. Check External disks option under Locations so that you can locate SD card on Mac's Finder.
• 5. Launch the Finder and check if you can find the SD card showing up in the Finder sidebar.

If the SD card is still not showing up, the storage devices might be hidden by accident. Here is how to unhide the SD card.

• 1. After you properly connected the SD card to your Mac, wait a second so that Mac can recognize the SD card.
• 2. Then open the Finder by clicking the smile face on your desktop.
• 3. Find Locations in the left sidebar. If no storage device is listed here, the SD card is hidden in the Finder.
• 4. Simply point your mouse at the Locations, and then click Show. Then your SD card will show up and the option will become Hide.

Then the SD card will appear in the Finder. But if you still cannot see it on the desktop and in the Finder, where else to find the SD card on Mac? You can check if the SD card is showing up in Disk Utility.

SD card showing up in Disk Utility but not mounting, how to fix?

One case is that the SD card is showing up in Disk Utility, but it's grayed out. The SD card is not mounting. That's probably the reason why you can't view SD card on your Mac.

Though the unmounted SD card might suffer from SD card corruption, luckily, the SD card is recognized by Mac Disk Utility. So, you can try thoese solutions to fix the corrupted SD card, which helps mount SD card on Mac.

Solution 1: Mount the SD card manually

You can right-click on the SD card and choose the Mount icon beside it, or click on the Mount button on the top of Disk Utility window. Either way, you can mount the card and access pictures, videos or other files stored on it.

Solution 2: Repair the SD card with First Aid

If the SD card is showing up but you can't mount the SD card manually, then the SD card is corrupted for some reason. An effective strategy is to repair it with First Aid in Disk Utility. First Aid can repair disk-related issues on Macs, which include SD cards failing to show up on your Mac.

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To use First Aid:

Step 1: Launch Disk Utility by going to Launchpad and then Others.

Step 2: Select the SD card that happens to be unmountable and click First Aid at the toolbar.

Now, sit back and wait for the repair process to finish. Hopefully, it works its magic.

Solution 3: Format your SD card

If you still have not any luck in getting your Mac to mount the SD card successfully, it's time to reformat it. Reformatting gives the corrupted SD card a chance to rebuild the disk structures. It is a very sound strategy to solve most of SD card problems like SD card not showing up on Mac properly.

• How to format an SD card on Mac?

But before you go any further, you need to pause to think about the data stored on your SD card. Reformatting will erase all of the data stored on the SD card and leave you a blank SD card. So, do you have any data on the SD card that you are desperate to keep? If you have, you should rescue files off the SD card first.

If you have performed a regular Time Machine backup of your SD card files beforehand, you should be able to recover lost data from Time Machine.

If not, you should utilize a reliable and trusted piece of SD card data recovery software to recover lost data first. iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, for example, is highly recommended here. Keep reading to see what it can do for you.

• How to recover data from SD card on Mac?

SD card not showing up in Disk Utility, how to fix?

By default, you will see all disks and volumes at the left sidebar in Disk Utility window. But if the settings are changed somehow, you can't see the SD card in Disk Utility. Then you might think your SD card is not showing up here.

Try these steps to make the SD card visible in Disk Utility.

1. Launch Disk Utility.

2. Click View at the top menu bar.

3. Choose Show All Devices.

4. Check if your SD card shows up in Disk Utility.

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If you still see the SD card not showing up in Disk Utility, another option is to restart your Mac. A simple restart often can fix this problem.

However, if both solutions fail to show up your SD card in the Disk Utility, you can try to connect it to a Windows PC. Then you can check if Windows disk management can recognize it. If unfortunately, the SD card is not showing up on Windows PC either, likely, your SD card or card reader is physically damaged.

If SD card reader not working

You can try another card reader to access the SD card. If it's recognized and working, then it's the old card reader that stops your SD card from showing up. Using other media devices like a camera and accessing the SD card via USB port would be a solution.

If SD card is physically failed

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If you have important files stored in this SD card, please send it to a local data recovery specialist for help. If not, buy a new one and replace it.

Files on SD card not showing up on Mac, what to do?

Another trouble you might find that your SD card is detected by your Mac but your pictures or videos files don't show up. It is common when you connect an SD card from a digital camera or a mobile phone. We also have included three quick solutions here to help you out.

1. Try a different card reader, a different USB port, even a different Mac computer or operating system and see if the pictures or videos on the SD card will show up. If yes, you're suggested copying the pictures, videos and other files off the SD card.

2. Check if you have set up your Mac to hide files. You can follow the detailed steps to recover and show hidden files on Mac.

3. Recover data from SD card with a data recovery software, such as iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.

• How to recover data from SD card on Mac?

Understanding why SD card not showing up on Mac

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. However, sometimes, it seems that Mac doesn't see the SD card because you can't find it anywhere.

Why isn't the SD card showing up on Mac then? Well, many factors are possible. And some might leave your Mac not recognizing the SD card.

You use the SD card in the wrong way. When you insert the card into a card slot, make sure that the metal contacts face down and point toward the card reader. If you plug it in the wrong direction, the SD card won't show up and the card slot will be damaged. So, it's important to learn how to use SD cards on Mac in the right way.

Your card reader is out of date. Many SD card manufacturers like Lexar and Sandisk produce new types of memory cards with new features all the time. But your old card reader may not read new designed SD cards. You can't open the SD card on Mac computer until you replace it with a new SD card adapter.

The SD card format is not compatible with your card reader. Many users need an extra adapter to access their memory cards like Standard SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC, and Micro SD cards. But different card readers have different tech specifications. So, make sure that the card reader conforms to the SD card's transfer rate, read-write speed, dimension, type, storage capacity, etc.

Other reasons. SD card not showing up on Mac could be caused by virus infection, macOS system error, or even an SD card corruption.

What's more, you should also examine the SD card carefully to see if it is overly dusty or greasy. If so, you can give it a quick wipe down with a clean, dry cloth and try again. Alternatively, you can try another SD card reader/slot to decide which one is to be blamed for the issue.

Conclusion:

Hopefully the 'SD card not showing up on Mac' issue has now been solved after you have followed our instructions. If you say 'SD card not showing up on Mac' but actually you mean the SD card can't be mounted, simply recover data from the SD card with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac and then reformat it.