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Summary
Learn how to fix the issue of Mac computers unable to read SD cards. Unlock using Disk Utility, use Renee Undeleter Recovery Tool, or reformat the card. Expert tips included.



In recent years, with the popularity of digital devices, people increasingly use SD card to store and transfer data. However, sometimes we encounter a common problem that the SD card cannot be recognized when using Mac computers. This brings a lot of trouble to our use, especially when we urgently need to get the data in the SD card. So, how to solve this problem? Don’t worry, next, we will introduce the way to unlock SD card using Disk Utility to help you solve this problem easily. Through the following sections, we will detail the specific steps, so that you can easily restore the use of SD card and enjoy the convenience of data again.

Ways to unlock the SD card

If you find that your Mac computer can’t read the SD card, a common problem may be that the SD card is write-protected. Here are some additional ways to unprotect your SD card from write protection:
Method 1: Check and remove the physical write-protect switch
First, check to see if there is a lock switch on the left side of your SD card. Make sure the lock switch slides up to unlock it. If the SD card is locked, you will not be able to modify or delete the contents of the card. If the locking switch is loose and moves easily, it may be that the switch slides into the locked position when the card is placed in the host device. In this case, you will need to replace the SD card.
mac can't recognize sd card
Method 2: Use CMD to remove digital write protection
In Windows 10/8/7, you can use CMD to unprotect SD card from digital write protection. Please follow the detailed steps below:
Step 1: Find the drive letter of the SD card on your computer.
Step 2: Press Win + R keys, type cmd and press Enter key to open the command prompt.
press win and r to run cmd
Step 3: In the command prompt window, type the following command:

diskpart

list disk

select disk n

(n represents the drive number of the SD card)

attributes disk clear readonly

By following these steps, you can try to unlock the SD card and make it readable.
TipsIf the SD card is write-protected, you can check and release the physical write-protect switch

Recover Lost Files on Mac System with Renee Undeleter

Above we introduced how to unlock SD card. But even after unlocking the SD card, sometimes you will encounter the problem of not being able to read the SD card on your Mac computer. This may be due to card file system corruption, virus infection and other reasons.
For such situations, we can use Renee Undeleter as a recovery tool to solve it. Renee Undeleter is a data recovery software specially designed for Mac systems, which can help us recover from data loss caused by various reasons.
Step 1: First, we need to download Renee Undeleter and install it on the Mac computer.
Step 2: Next, insert the SD card into your Mac computer and open Renee Undeleter.
In the software interface, select the Whole Partition Scan option.
select whole partition scan in renee undeleter on mac
Step 3: Select the drive where the SD card is located and let Renee Undeleter start scanning the data on the SD card.
click to select a target drive in whole partition scan in renee undeleter on mac
Step 4: Wait for the scan to complete, and you can see all deleted or lost files on the scan results page. You can use filters to filter the file types that need to be recovered, or you can directly select all files for recovery. Select the files that need to be recovered, click the Recover button, select the storage path, and wait for the recovery to complete.
double click to select files in whole partition in renee undeleter on mac
With the above steps, we can easily use Renee Undeleter to recover unrecognized SD card from Mac computer. Meanwhile, Renee Undeleter can also help us recover data from other storage devices, such as hard disk, USB flash drive and so on.
Overall, Renee Undeleter is a powerful data recovery software that can help us solve all kinds of data loss problems. If you encounter the problem of unrecognized SD card when using Mac computer, you may try to use this software to recover your data.

Restore Mac computer's ability to read SD card by reformatting it

In the previous sections, we introduced the use of Renee Undeleter software to solve the problem of Mac not recognizing SD card. But sometimes, even after fixing it with the software, the SD card still cannot be read normally. At this time, you need to consider reformatting the SD card to restore the Mac computer’s ability to read it. This chapter will introduce how to solve this problem by reformatting.
Step 1: Connect the SD card to your Mac device.
Step 2: Click “Go” and then double-click the “Utilities” folder.
go to utilities on mac
Step 3: In the Utilities folder, double-click the Disk Utility icon.
Encrypt USB Drive in Mac OS open disk utility in macos
Step 4: In the Disk Utility window, select your SD card on the left panel.
Step 5: If you don’t see the SD card device, click the view icon and select Show all devices.
Step 6: After selecting your SD card, click on the “Erase” button at the top to format the SD card on Mac.
how to format usb or sd card on mac
Step 7: You can rename the SD card, select the file system, and customize other settings as needed.
Step 8: Finally, click on the “Erase” button to start erasing the SD card. Please note that this operation will delete all data on the SD card, please make sure to back up important files in advance.
With the above steps, we can try to reformat the SD card to regain the ability of Mac computer to read it.

Expert Tips and Tricks to Solve SD Card Not Recognized by Mac Computer

Whether it is used to store photos, music or videos, SD card is a very commonly used storage device. However, this portable storage device becomes useless when your Mac computer fails to recognize the SD card. In addition to the above solutions, below you will find some expert tips and tricks to help you restore your Mac computer’s ability to read SD card.
Check the physical connection of the SD card
First, you need to make sure that the SD card is properly connected to the Mac computer. If using the built-in SD card slot, then make sure the SD card is inserted and not loose. If a USB card reader is being used, then check that the card reader is inserted into the USB port of the Mac computer and is not loose.
Try restarting your Mac
Sometimes, restarting your computer can solve some problems. Try restarting your Mac computer and then insert the SD card again and see if it is recognized. If it is still not recognized, then try the next step.
Reinsert SD card
Sometimes, the SD card may just have a temporary connection problem, you can try to re-insert the SD card by pulling it out and inserting it once more to see if it can be recognized by the Mac computer.
Restore the ability of your Mac to read your SD card by reformatting it
If none of the above methods work, then the last solution is to restore the ability of the SD card to read Mac computers by reformatting it. However, this will result in all the data in the SD card being emptied, so be sure to back up your data before doing so.
Reformat SD card via terminal command
If you are familiar with terminal commands, you can also reformat the SD card through the terminal. Open a terminal and run the command “diskutil list” to view the device identifier of the SD card, then run the command “diskutil eraseDisk FILE_SYSTEM name /dev/ identifier ” to reformat the SD card.

Conclusion

All in all, there are several ways to try to solve the problem when your Mac computer can’t read the SD card. First of all, using Disk Utility to unlock the SD card may be the easiest way, but it may not be effective. At this point, you can try to use Renee Undeleter to solve the problem of unreadable SD card. Finally, if none of the above methods work, you may need to reformat the SD card to restore the Mac computer’s ability to read it. Alternatively, you can also follow expert tips and tricks to solve the problem of SD card not being recognized by Mac computer. No matter which method you use, you need to pay attention to backing up your data to prevent data loss. We hope the solutions provided in this article can help you solve the problem of Mac computer can’t read SD card, so that your Mac computer can read your SD card smoothly.