MacBook Pro has a problem reading SD cards

One of the major advantages of the latest MacBook Pro, due out in 2021, is the inclusion of an SD card slot which was already in use in older versions of the device. But a number of MacBook Pro owners have complained that they have encountered problems reading such cards on their new computers. They are that the data is too slow to transfer, or the SD cards are not readable at all and the files placed on them are inaccessible.

How common is the problem?

Based on the content of many publications posted online, we can conclude that there are widespread problems with the SD card-reading device in the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch screens that Apple recently unveiled. All indications are that the reports are inconsistent, as computer owners have allegedly encountered different difficulties with different types of SD cards.

What’s faulty about the MacBook

For instance, one MacBook user with a 14-inch display and an M1 Pro chip says his computer is super unstable, taking up to a minute to recognise the card, and it can end up in error. Another Apple tech owner claims that the Finder fails when trying to read an SD card. And there are plenty of such reports.

Such failures make using computers very uncomfortable. Their owners expect to be able to quickly import files from the cards, previewing images, on their new machines. But even with the new, perfectly working SD cards on MacBook Pro equipped with slots for them, there are serious difficulties. It takes a few minutes for the computer to display a photo, and even after a long wait, the process can crash midway through and often causes the Finder to crash.

Users also note that formatting the card in such cases is most often useless. There is also information that the same cards are read normally through a USB-C adapter.

There is only one stable indicator. If a MacBook reads an SD card, it does so all the time, and similarly, when it’s not readable normally, there’s always a problem. It doesn’t matter at all how the media is reformatted, regardless of format: Samsung, Sony, Sandisk, 256, 128, 64, 32 and 16GB, exFAT, FAT32, micro-SD, UHS-I or UHS-II.

There has been no official confirmation from Apple yet that there is indeed a problem. And it’s unclear if it’s hardware or software related. Some users have received reports that the company is aware of the difficulties and that a software update with corrected bugs will appear as soon as possible.

Ways to deal with SD card problems

For now, there are ways to deal with the problem of SD cards not being readable:

• update macOS to the latest version;
• change Finder settings to enable external drives;
• unlock the card;
• back up your data and format the card;
• access it by turning your Mac into recovery mode;
• replace the adapter.

If SD cards open but are too slow, if such solutions:

• use an external device that reads such cards to check the speed;
• clean the card and adapter;
• replace the card to speed up data transfer;
• report the problem to support.