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Why is my SD card reader is not showing up in Disk Utility?

I am new to the MacBook world, with the MacBook Air with M1 chip. I've purchased the USB adapter from Apple. when I plug in the card & card reader to the MacBook it does not recognised it being there, so I cannot format the disk to be able to return it to my cars dash-cam. Can anyone offer any advice please?

Best Answered by

iBoysoft author Jessica Shee

Jessica Shee

Answered on Thursday, March 9, 2023

Improper connection, damaged SD card reader, and wrong Disk Utility settings will make your SD card not show up in Disk Utility. To determine and fix your problem, here's what you should check:

  • See if the metal contacts face down and point to your SD card reader.
  • Check if your SD card or SD card reader is physically damaged.
  • Check if there's something in the USB port of your Mac computer, like dust.

Also, if your SD card reader is not working, or is physically damaged, your SD card would not show in Disk Utility. Follow these steps to check if the SD card reader is recognized or not:

  1. Make sure your SD card is properly connected to your Mac computer.
  2. Go to Apple menu > About This Mac > System Report.
  3. Find Card Reader under the Hardware list, then click on it.
  4. You can see your SD card reader's information there if it works.

If unfortunately, you can't find any information about your SD card reader in the said place, then it might be a hardware issue, and your card reader is not working. You can either replace it with a new one or send it to a repair center.

If you find that your SD card reader can be recognized by your Mac computer, then the wrong Disk Utility setting might be the culprit. Here's what you should do:

  1. Connect the SD card through your card reader to your Mac computer.
  2. Launch Disk Utility (you can find it by navigating to Launchpad > Other).
  3. Click the View option, and choose Show All Devices.

Now, check if your SD card still not showing up in Mac Disk Utility. Hope you can fix this problem by reading this answer.

Read more: How to Fix SD Card not Showing up, Reading or Recognizing on Mac

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