Seagate Backup Plus Not Showing Up on Mac? Diagnose Before You Fix

First: Identify What Type of Failure You Have

Before trying any fix, figure out what kind of issue you're dealing with — this determines everything that comes next.

A. Seagate Backup Plus drive only invisible in Finder  

→ Likely a display/settings issue (the drive is actually working)

Simply follow the steps below to change the Finder preferences:

B. Seagate Backup Plus drive visible in Disk Utility but not mounted (Grayed out) 

→ Can be mounted normally → no serious issue (macOS can see it, but can't access it) 
→ Cannot be mounted / errors → likely file system corruption

C. Seagate Backup Plus drive not showing up in Disk Utility or Finder 

→ Likely a hardware issue (cable, port, power, or the drive itself). Refer to: Seagate External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? Diagnose the Cause

If your case falls into B or C, follow the diagnostics below.

Safe Diagnostic Order (Do These in This Order)

The steps below are arranged in a safe diagnostic order. You can either follow them sequentially or jump directly to the solution that matches your case above.

Check the cable and power

When you find Seagate Backup not working on your Mac, it's natural to suspect that one of the hardware components is having an issue. Therefore, it's necessary to check whether the USB port, USB cable, your Mac, and the Seagate Backup drive itself are functioning well before proceeding to a solution. These basic checks should apply to the following issues:

Check these if you notice Seagate Backup not showing up on Mac:

If, after trying these fixes, your external drive still won't appear in Disk Utility, it likely has physical damage or hardware problems. In this case, find professionals for help instead.

Mount the Seagate Backup Plus drive manually

Sometimes, the Seagate Backup Plus Portable drive may not mount automatically like it usually does. In this case, you can mount it manually in Disk Utility.

Steps to fix Seagate Backup Plus for Mac not showing up:

Repair Seagate Backup Plus drive via First Aid

If mounting fails, you can proceed to run First Aid to repair the drive. But only start it when you don't have critical data at risk, as repairs are not always safe. Note that First Aid may fix minor file system issues but can also fail if the damage is severe.

Here's how to check and verify the Seagate hard drive using First Aid:

If First Aid is successful, you can manually mount the drive again to access it.

If First Aid is unable to repair the drive, it likely has severe file system corruption or an unsupported file system. Consider reformatting it to set up a new file system.

If the Drive Is NTFS (Windows-Formatted)

If your external hard drive isn't specified as "for Mac," it's often formatted for Windows with NTFS. macOS can read NTFS drives by default, but it cannot write to them without third-party software. This limitation can sometimes make a drive appear unmounted or inaccessible, even though the hardware is fine.

Typically, two reasons can cause the issue:

To handle the NTFS drive safely, you can switch to a compatible NTFS for Mac driver, such as iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, or reformat it with a Mac-compatible format.

If the Data Is Important

If the files on your Seagate drive matter, this is the point where your priority should shift—from fixing the drive to protecting your data. Avoid jumping straight into repairs or reformatting. Actions like repeated mounting attempts or running First Aid multiple times can sometimes make the situation worse, especially if the drive has underlying issues.

Be reminded that recovery success depends on the level of damage. Minor file system issues are often recoverable, but physically damaged drives are much more unpredictable. To improve the success rate, you should also save the recovered files to a different drive and avoid repeated scanning, as it can stress the drive and reduce the chances of successful recovery.

In the following paragraphs, we'll show you how to recover lost data from a Seagate Backup Plus drive with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac. It can retrieve data from a drive that's unrecognized, formatted, inaccessible, corrupted, unmountable, or unreadable. It also supports all macOS versions starting from OS X 10.7 Lion on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

When Reformatting Is Actually Safe

You should only consider reformatting if all of the following are true:

• There is no important data on the drive
  (or everything has already been backed up or recovered)
• The drive appears physically healthy
  No unusual noises such as clicking, buzzing, or repeated spinning attempts.
• No clear signs of hardware failure
  For example, frequent disconnections or persistent I/O errors.

If these conditions are met, reformatting can reset the file system and restore normal use. However, if there's any doubt about the drive's condition, it's better to avoid formatting and investigate further.

For more details on choosing a proper format or other format options, visit: How to Reformat External Hard Drives on Mac?

Why is your Seagate external hard drive not showing up on Mac?

There are various reasons that may cause a Seagate Portable drive not to show up on a Mac, and here are the common ones.

Causes of the Seagate Backup not showing up on Mac:

FAQs