How to Fix SD Card Not Mounting on Mac?

 You must be familiar with the SD card. It can be found in digital cameras, smartphones, and can also be connected with your computer for use. However, when you connect your SD card with the Mac via a USB adapter or an SD card, you may find the SD card is not showing up on Mac and seems to be unmounted. How to fix this issue? This post will offer you 5 feasible solutions. In case they don’t work for you, there are more solutions to fix SD card not mounting on Mac.

Solutions to fix unmounted SD card on Mac

Solution 1: Check the connection

Connection is always the first thing to check if there’s any SD card problems. It’s likely the SD card is not mounting because of connection issue, such as faulty card reader or the USB adapter. You can simply try the SD card with another adapter or card reader, or you can try it with another Mac. If the SD card doesn’t work fine with new devices, then it’s not the connection but something is wrong with the SD card.

Solution 2: Restart your Mac

Giving your Mac a restart could also be a quick way to fix the unmounted SD card. A simple restart can wipe away the current state of your operating system or software and starts everything from scratch. You just need to disconnect the memory card with the Mac, then turn off the computer and remove the power cable. After that you can reboot your Mac and reconnect the SD card with it. Hopefully, the memory card will mount this time.

Solution 3: Check if the SD card is encrypted

One possibility is that the SD card is encrypted by Windows BitLocker. The BitLocker drive encryption is developed by Microsoft Windows and it’s not supported by macOS. To confirm whether the card is BitLocker encrypted or not, you can insert your card on a PC and see if it’s recognized. If the PC asks you to enter the BitLocker password, the SD card is a BitLocker encrypted drive for sure. But don’t worry, you can decrypt it on Windows and then normally use it on Mac again.

Solution 4: Make sure the computer is set up well

By saying the SD card is not mounting, some people actually mean they can’t see it on Mac desktop or in the Finder. More technically, this scenario is called the SD card is not showing up on Mac. How to determine whether the SD card is invisible or unmounted? You can do the following:

1. Check the Finder preference. First of all, you need to make sure your Finder preference is set up well. Go to Finder > Preferences > General and ensure that “External disks” isticked. 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.

Solution 5: Update software on Mac

The outdated software can also be the culprit, let’s say, the disk driver. Lucky you, this issue can be easily solved. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Update the software on macOS. If the macOS you are using is macOS Mojave or above, 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”.