M4 MacBook Pro + External SSD Issues?

[nicolaselhani]

Hello,


I have a new M4 Max MacBook Pro 16”
I also purchased a new Sabrent SSD Enclosure (EC-SNVE) https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Type-C-Tool-Free-Enclosure-EC-SNVE/dp/B08RVC6F9Y?th=1 with a new Sabrent 8TB SSD https://www.amazon.com/SABRENT-Inte...685100&sprefix=sabrent+8t,aps,242&sr=8-3&th=1
Some facts of my problem:

1. The drive connects and is formatted in APFS (Encrypted)
2. Once I open a folder from the drive in Finder, it shows icon previews of about 20% of the files then freezes and then within 1 minute macOS gives a “Disk Not Ejected Properly”
3. I tried different USB-C to USB-C cables. Same problem.
4. I tried different ports on the MacBook Pro. Same problem.
5. I returned the enclosure thinking it was a faulty enclosure, got a new one. Same problem.
6. I tried it on a friend’s new M4 Max MacBook Pro 14”. Same problem.
7. Went back to the store and tried to demonstrate the issue to the seller on their new M4 Mac Mini but to my surprise everything worked perfectly!


Is it a compatibility issue with MacBook Pro’s?
Is it a Power delivery issue related to the cabe? If I get a Thunderbolt 4 Cable with better Power Delivery should it help?
Is it because I have an 8TB drive inside?


Any help or pointers would be really helpful.


Thank you,


Nicolas

 

[DaveEcc]

I've used zero of those products, so have no first hand knowledge, but there was another recent storage thread and someone mentioned replacing the 2TB SSD their OWC enclosure came with and adding 8TB drive. An OWC rep popped into the thread and pointed out they're not aware of any 8TB drives that meet the thunderbolt power specs, and using them in a bus-powered enclosure was a gamble. An enclosure with an alternate power source would be able to support the drive's power needs, but not something bus powered. This would imply it's fairly likely that it's not the enclosure, the cable, or even the drive at fault, but the combination of bus-powered enclosure and a power hungry 8TB drive.

From this, I'd suggest trying a smaller drive as a first step, especially if you happen to have one handy.

 

[genexx]

I've used zero of those products, so have no first hand knowledge, but there was another recent storage thread and someone mentioned replacing the 2TB SSD their OWC enclosure came with and adding 8TB drive. An OWC rep popped into the thread and pointed out they're not aware of any 8TB drives that meet the thunderbolt power specs, and using them in a bus-powered enclosure was a gamble. An enclosure with an alternate power source would be able to support the drive's power needs, but not something bus powered. This would imply it's fairly likely that it's not be the enclosure or the cable or even the drive at fault, but the combination of bus-powered enclosure and a power hungry 8TB drive.

From this, I'd suggest trying a smaller drive as a first step, especially if you happen to have one handy.

This is possibly a reason but:
do yourself a favor and use highly Apple compatible Hardware as the Acasis TBU405 Case with a WD SN850X NVME.

To my experience a Case with the same Chipset like the Sabrent Case, the Inateck FE2025 , it is only 10Gbit per Second btw., had diverse and the same Problems also with different NVME at my MBA M2.

The Acasis TBU405 is alo available as an "Air" Version which is cheaper and not Compatibel with USB3 but TB3/4 and USB4.

You can also Boot from the Acasis Case and it is so much faster...

The Power Draw of 7,4W Max for the WD SN850X 8TB should not be a Problem:

Power Draw:	1.1 W (Idle) 4.4 W (Avg) 7.4 W (Max)

You may should ask Acasis if the Double Sided would Lead into Space Issues:

Form Factor:	M.2 2280 (Double-Sided)

There are also some other facts to take into account as the use of Energy States.
If the Case or the NVME, are not fully Apple Compatibel, you end up with High Energy Consuming aka Heat.

The WD SN850 / SN770 / SN850X with the Acasis Case are working as intendet.

If you use the External Case as a Boot Drive (only possible with TB Cable and best with TB Case) you should not use the so called DFU Port.

At my MBA M2 the Acasis TBU405 Air Case used as Boot Drive with the WD SN770 is also sleeping and the Case is cold after Sleep and gets mostly just Hand Warm when used.

 

[nicolaselhani]

I want to thank you both @DaveEcc and @genexx for bringing to my attention the fact that this is actually a Power Delivery issue confirming the Mac mini working and not the MacBook Pro. I looked into your suggestions for enclosures and drives but thought let me just dig in a bit more and here's what I found:

At first I realized that the Sabrent 8TB Rocket Plus consumes a maximum of 8.7 Watts which shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s obvious that since the enclosure worked with the 8TB on a Mac Mini but not on a MacBook Pro that it’s a Power Delivery issue.

After digging in, it turns out the Sabrent enclosure EC-SNVE needed a Firmware Update. As you can see in the thread below:

EC-SNVE - Fimrware Update Required??? | Sabrent

Firstly its insane one cant write out the question and copy and paste into this text field. Forcing me to waste time and retype my question. Talk about lack of proper planning. I have 3 of these EC-SNVE enclosures. 2 purchased in 2023 and 1 in 2021. The firmware update for download on the...

sabrent.com

By scrolling all the way to the last posts by Sabrent employees, they provide a Dropbox link to the latest firmware by inserting the enclosure into a Windows machine without the SSD installed inside of it:

EC-SNVE - FW Update 8-27-24.zip

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Once the firmware update was done, the enclosure and the 8TB function perfectly on a MacBook Pro!

Hopefully this helps anyone searching for this information in the future.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Fishrrman]

$999 for an 8tb SSD?
That wasn't worth it...

(I went to the provided URL, perhaps I read it wrong)

 

[genexx]

That was quick, out of Stock now...

@Fishrrman I have checked the link for the Sabrent also, and the WD SN850X is the most compatible for Mac...not only 450 Bucks less... so you have some bucks left for a Thunderbolt Case as well...

 

[nicolaselhani]

View attachment 2456669

That was quick, out of Stock now...

@Fishrrman I have checked the link for the Sabrent also, and the WD SN850X is the most compatible for Mac...not only 450 Bucks less... so you have some bucks left for a Thunderbolt Case as well...

wow price difference between the WD and Sabrent is crazy! The sabrent is about 6000TBW vs 4800 for the WD but the WD has higher IOPS and speeds

Good to know for the future. Especially regarding compatibility with Mac!