Some SD cards not working with 2021 MacBook Pro, users report

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited December 2021
Owners of both the new 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro have uncovered issues with the ability to mount and utilize some SD cards.




Some users report that the device can access the SD cards, but the transfer speeds seem unusually slow. Other users state that even the ability to mount the cards is inconsistent, and not even traceable across manufacturers or models.

Users on the MacRumors' forums have begun chronicling the issue. MacRumors users note that there doesn't seem to be an underlying reason why a card does or does not work.

One forum-goer, named wilberforce, noted that they could not find a pattern regarding brand, size, type, format, or age. They also stated that they could access 100% of the cards with a third-party external card reader.

Another user details that it can take a device up to a full minute to mount an SD card successfully.

AppleInsider could not reproduce the errors mentioned but only had a limited supply of cards on hand to test.

Monday's report notes that while it hasn't found an underlying reason for the problems reported, many of the cases it has received have been about older SD cards. Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

Users on Reddit's r/macbookpro board have also reported the issue.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    maltzmaltz Posts: 454member
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    mikeybabespulseimages
  • Reply 2 of 28
    12Strangers12Strangers Posts: 68member
    maltz said:
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    That would be a very old card if it was only 128MB. They’re correct with the capacity. I am wondering what format these problem cards are using. 
  • Reply 3 of 28
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Yeah, I've seen this.  Formatted the SD using this MacBook Pro, but sometimes it just doesn't see it.
    MacCat20
  • Reply 4 of 28
    waveparticlewaveparticle Posts: 1,497member
    crowley said:
    Yeah, I've seen this.  Formatted the SD using this MacBook Pro, but sometimes it just doesn't see it.
    This is not informative. lol
  • Reply 5 of 28
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,421member
    maltz said:
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    No, 128MB is ancient. 

    We have many 256GB and 512GB SDXC cards. We even have 1TB microSD. 


  • Reply 6 of 28
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    waveparticle said:
    crowley said:
    Yeah, I've seen this.  Formatted the SD using this MacBook Pro, but sometimes it just doesn't see it.
    This is not informative. lol
    It wasn't intended to be. lol?
    pulseimages
  • Reply 7 of 28
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,093member
    maltz said:
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    Uhm... no.  Heck, many companies of digital devices throw in a free 32GB SD card, so anyone still using something like 128MB has legacy issues.  I buy nothing less than 256GB now as they are relatively cheap now.  128GB certainly are cheap.
    pulseimageswilliamlondon
  • Reply 8 of 28
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Bosa said:
    $100 says a name brand SD card won’t have any issues. These are mostly cheap SD cards 

    There are many crappy SD cards out there. It not up to Apple to make all the cheap, crappy SD cards work with their premium machine 
    SanDisk 1TB card for me, bought direct from SanDisk.  Just doesn't appear in Finder sometimes.
    dewmegatorguyBrianJewett
  • Reply 9 of 28
    12Strangers12Strangers Posts: 68member
    crowley said:

    SanDisk 1TB card for me, bought direct from SanDisk.  Just doesn't appear in Finder sometimes.
    What format? APFS, HFS+, FAT32, exFAT, ntfs, ZFS, XFS, BTTR?

    When it doesn’t show up in finder does disk utility see it?  If so, you should be able to mount it from there.
  • Reply 10 of 28
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    12Strangers said:
    crowley said:

    SanDisk 1TB card for me, bought direct from SanDisk.  Just doesn't appear in Finder sometimes.
    What format? APFS, HFS+, FAT32, exFAT, ntfs, ZFS, XFS, BTTR?

    When it doesn’t show up in finder does disk utility see it?  If so, you should be able to mount it from there.
    APFS Encrypted.  And no, not in Disk utility either.  Sometimes it shows up fine, others it's as if it just isn't there.
    gatorguy
  • Reply 11 of 28
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,320member
    maltz said:
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    SDUC can go up to 128 TB.
  • Reply 12 of 28
    pulseimagespulseimages Posts: 600member
    Cards can become corrupt. I’d rather lose a 32GB card compared to 128GB and up.
  • Reply 13 of 28
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,727member
    Bosa said:
    There are many crappy SD cards out there. It not up to Apple to make all the cheap, crappy SD cards work with their premium machine 
    That was my initial reaction too: it's probably some bargain bin cards which weren't properly designed to spec.  Similar to the USB issues I was having with my M1 MBP which cleared up when I switched to a better USB-C hub.  But this time it genuinely sounds like a problem on Apple's side.  Hopefully it's just a driver issue, which would be easy to resolve with a software update.

  • Reply 14 of 28
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    sflocal said:
    maltz said:
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    Uhm... no.  Heck, many companies of digital devices throw in a free 32GB SD card, so anyone still using something like 128MB has legacy issues.  I buy nothing less than 256GB now as they are relatively cheap now.  128GB certainly are cheap.
    Yes you buy new, but do you keep transferring your old files from those new. It is not about buying but about using.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 15 of 28
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    12Strangers said:
    crowley said:

    SanDisk 1TB card for me, bought direct from SanDisk.  Just doesn't appear in Finder sometimes.
    What format? APFS, HFS+, FAT32, exFAT, ntfs, ZFS, XFS, BTTR?

    When it doesn’t show up in finder does disk utility see it?  If so, you should be able to mount it from there.
    It does not matter. The new macOS has notorious problems with discovering cards or even flash drives. They could be HPFS and still have issues. I have seen that. Similarly, the problems exist with flash drives. You take the same to Linux computer based on old Mac hardware (including HPFS formatted drives) and it just mounts them no matter what.
    williamlondonMacCat20
  • Reply 16 of 28
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    netrox said:
    maltz said:
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    No, 128MB is ancient. 

    We have many 256GB and 512GB SDXC cards. We even have 1TB microSD. 


    And support of ancient cards should cease because of what? Do you transfer your libraries with every technology novelty to  new cards or drives?
    edited December 2021 williamlondon
  • Reply 17 of 28
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    In general this seems to be OS problem like we have seen before. Many years ago even standard USB had problems in Mac OS X. So nothing new here in macOS. Backward compatibility with technology lacks with Apple. The funny part is that you take their hardware and install fresh Linux desktop software and all those peripherals that did not work with macOS start working right away suddenly. Seriously, I have checked that myself reusing some Apple hardware. Still good to go and while Apple does not support it others do. 
    MacCat20
  • Reply 18 of 28
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    maltz said:
    Capacities below 128GB seem to be particularly problematic.

    I assume that's supposed to be 128MB?
    Nope.
  • Reply 19 of 28
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,727member
    maciekskontakt said:
    The funny part is that you take their hardware and install fresh Linux desktop software and all those peripherals that did not work with macOS start working right away suddenly. Seriously, I have checked that myself reusing some Apple hardware. Still good to go and while Apple does not support it others do. 
    Linux has had likely in the hundreds of thousands of hobbyists (plus commercial developers) provide support for a huge range of hardware, so that doesn't surprise me.  The downside is that often the latest and greatest PC hardware isn't supported.  Though it's certainly much better now than in the days where "men were men and wrote their own drivers".
    MacCat20
  • Reply 20 of 28
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    pulseimages said:
    Cards can become corrupt. I’d rather lose a 32GB card compared to 128GB and up.
    Mine include a few 32GB, more often 64GB, and a couple 128GB. They are all UHS2, V60 and V90, and all for photography. Anything larger is both expensive and unneeded. 
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