Allow accessory to connect

[herbert7265]

Hope somebody can help me with this topic...!

When using the SD card slot of my MacBook Pro M2 Max (Sequoia 15.6.1) to download images from a SD card I always get the message "Allow accessory to connect" when I have the card previously formatted in camera (to delete former images). So far, so good.

The problem I face: The message pops up and I can press "Allow" when working in my account on the computer, all works fine. But when working in the account of my wife the message only pops up for a short moment, no time to press "Allow" or anything else, then the message disappears again and the card does not get connected.

My account is an Administrator account, the account of my wife a standard user account? Can this be part of the issue? If so, then that does not really make sense, as using the SD card reader should be possible on all accounts, at least from my point of view.

Any ideas how to fix this issue?

Herbert

 

[MarkC426]

Have you tried this


If you format the card every time you use it, you may have to do the above each time.

 

[Fishrrman]

Try this:

Open System Settings.

Go to Privacy & Security.

Scroll down to the bottom (on the right).

There should be a setting there that says "allow external accessories to connect" (or something like that, I don't have my MBP in front of me).

Once you set that to "always" (or something like that), you shouldn't be bothered by those popups again.

Give this a try.
I think it's "the answer" you're looking for.

 

[bogdanw]

Apple Support - If your Mac asks you to allow an accessory to connect
https://support.apple.com/102282
Apple Support - Change Privacy & Security settings on Mac - Allow accessories to connect
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-privacy-security-settings-on-mac-mchl211c911f/mac

 

[herbert7265]

@Fishrrman @bogdanw

To solve the issue in general I changed now the related setting to "Automatically Allow When Unlocked", that seems to work.

But it does not "answer" the question why the former setting works on an admin account, but not on a standard user account. But at the end of the day it may not matter...!

Herbert

 

[zayanhani]

that's weird… I’ve seen something similar with USB devices but not with SD cards. could be some new security thing with Sequoia maybe? have you tried switching her account to admin just to test if the prompt stays up longer? maybe it is tied to user privileges somehow 🤔

 

[herbert7265]

that's weird… I’ve seen something similar with USB devices but not with SD cards. could be some new security thing with Sequoia maybe? have you tried switching her account to admin just to test if the prompt stays up longer? maybe it is tied to user privileges somehow 🤔

Hmm, with a huge smile in my face... knowing my wife very well I think every other "workaround" is preferable over the option to give her admin rights on the computer! Maybe then not recognizing a SD card is the least problem I will face...! 🤣

But seriously, for the moment it works with the changes I made, maybe one day I will dive a little deeper into the topic. Also, maybe it's just a glitch and will be corrected in a future version of the Mac OS.

Herbert

 

[xbpr]

It does seem tied to having multiple users logged in at once. Last time this happened to me (while logged into an admin account), I restarted the machine and was the only one logged in. The popup appears and stays. If I log another user in and try the same thing, the popup appears and immediately disappears.

 

[herbert7265]

@xbpr

It does seem tied to having multiple users logged in at once. Last time this happened to me (while logged into an admin account), I restarted the machine and was the only one logged in. The popup appears and stays. If I log another user in and try the same thing, the popup appears and immediately disappears.

Sorry for my late feedback, but I was busy with some other things the last days.

Your seem to be right! I made a test and it is as you described. After restarting the computer and logging in only as the (not admin) user the the popup appears and stays. As soon as I log in also with my admin account the popup appears and directly disappears again. That's weird!

So, the only solution I see at this moment is to go back to the setting "Automatically allow when unlocked", that way it works fine when both users are logged in.

Thank you very much for your hint, really valuable.

Herbert

 

[Ruggy]

Slightly off topic for the OP but I think it's appropriate to say this (because of the thread's title):
If you are connecting to a USB charger in a public place like an airport and you get this message: say 'no'.
It might ask you if you want to, 'trust this device': say no.
If it's just a dumb charge port there no reason for it to ask this question. It means something at the other end wants to transfer files or talk to your device and that means it's trying to install malware or steal data.
I'm not just being a bit scary, this is a thing, check it out.
Also never use a cable left in a public socket: always use your own.
If you say 'no' you will still be able to charge, it's just the access to your device and transfer of data you are denying.