External Hard Drive Disconnects Randomly From Mac? (Fix?)
Last updated on October 13th, 2023 at 02:54 am
Posted in Bug Fixes by Tyrone on July 21, 2023
External drive disconnects Mac
External drive disconnects randomly from Mac? Does this happen when computer enters Sleep mode? Accessory fails to show up in Drive Utility and you can’t reconnect it? This has happened to others!
External Hard Drive Disconnects From Mac?
This issue has been reported by NGW (macOS 13.4.1 c):
“…my external Seagate One Touch seems to disconnect and cannot be found again when the Mac is put in sleep mode. Restarts don’t fix it. It is not seen in drive utility, but somehow after 1/2 hour or so it magically reappears and reconnects itself.”
We couldn’t replicate the issue but have found similar complaints on Reddit:
“I have a 1TB Western Digital My Passport External SSD, connected via USB-C. When connected via USB-C, I get random disconnects when the system goes to screen saver. I have disabled sleep mode on the system as well as set the disk to not sleep.”
How To Fix External Hard Drive Disconnects Randomly
This issue can be caused by various causes. Here are the most common troubleshooting options:
1. Remove macOS 13.4.1 c
The most recent Ventura Security Response update appears to be buggy and Apple has pulled it. If you managed to install it and are experiencing connectivity problems between your external hard drive and Mac, uninstall the Rapid Response update:
- 1. Open System Settings and click for General -> About.
- 2. Click on macOS Ventura version.
- 3. Remove Security Response.
2. Disable Sleep Mode
External hard drives might disconnect when Mac enters Sleep mode and could fail to wake when the OS does. If you encounter this unexpected behavior you can do the following:
– Don’t allow the external disk to enter sleep mode.
– Turn off Sleep mode systemwide on your Mac:
- 1. Press command + Space to open Spotlight Search.
- 2. Type Terminal and open.
- 3. Type and execute the following command:
sudo pmset -b displaysleep 0
(Updated, October 13)
3. Turn Off WiFi
Apparently, external drive disconnecting randomly occurs in macOS Sonoma too. This could be caused by the drive not being sufficiently shielded (a hardware issue). It seems that units which are housed mainly with plastic or rubber and not metal are prone to this problem.
The Fix: requires you to turn of WiFi on the computer that the drive is connected to. More details available here. (Thanks Diego)!
Have you managed to fix external hard rive disconnects from Mac? Do you have a better solution or an other problem to report? Share your feedback in the comments.
Related: For more macOS Ventura 13.4.1 issues and available workarounds check our detailed review.
Mac OS problem: External SSD disconnecting randomly is caused by the drive not being sufficiently shielded (mainly plastic/rubber not metal). I received this answer from OWC that experienced the same problem with some of their drives in the past. The problem can be COMPLETELY 100% eliminated by turning off WIFI on the machine that the drive is connected to. Off course that may not be a viable solution for most users but it proofs the shielding issue. Other than that the problem cannot be fixed on drives that present this problem. Drives that have a thicker metal housing appear not to have this problem.
Thanks for the detailed feedback Diego. We appreciate your contribution and have added your information to the main content of the article. Let’s hope it will help others too.