Yes, and also in case they get stolen or lost - up to 2 TB datas 😅 I'll try this and will let you know if that works, thanks!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MacBook Air M1 and Samsung T5 external SSD issue
- Thread starter adams4piece
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I did connect the T7 SSD on the MBP 2012, deleted its content with Utility Disk and formated it in APFS. It had then three items: The main device (physical disk, Samsung PSSD T7 Media), the APFS container, and the APFS volume. When I disconnect and reconnect the SSD to the MBP 2012 the SamsungPortableSSD Ap still shows up and I'm able to connect to the SSD. In Finder everything is empty (as I deledted everything). But, when I connect the T7 SSD to the MBP 2020 M1 I've got exactly the same problem as before: On Finder it is not empty, there are the Samsung files and when I click on the SamsungPortableSSD App the same happens as before: "DISCONNECTED, No Samsung Portable SSD is connected"
And on Utility Disk it shows now the things differently with only two items left: the main device container (physical disk, Samsung PSSD T7 Media) and the disk container in FAT16 format - no sign AFPS.
Sorry, I don't know what went wrong but clearly something did for you somewhere along the line, as that is not what should happen. My Samsung T3s, T5s and T7s all show nothing left on the drive once I have erased it and specified the new formatting to be APFS.
Dear all,
Samsung has fixed this issue! there is an macOS Big Sur software version available now!
Pay attention as there is some system extension settings steps, when the software asked me to grant acces in privacy settings I couldn't so MacOS prompted me to restart the MacBook Air M1 and change some security settings on system extension (im not an IT expert so I dont really know what it is).
This fixed the issue, now the portable ssd software recognizes the T5 and I can set a password again.
Im happy Samsung did fix it!
Samsung has fixed this issue! there is an macOS Big Sur software version available now!
Pay attention as there is some system extension settings steps, when the software asked me to grant acces in privacy settings I couldn't so MacOS prompted me to restart the MacBook Air M1 and change some security settings on system extension (im not an IT expert so I dont really know what it is).
This fixed the issue, now the portable ssd software recognizes the T5 and I can set a password again.
Im happy Samsung did fix it!
And Samsung is right as far as people that can mount and work with their drives but cannot access the T5s or T7s proprietary software. And you need that software if you want to encrypt your data or update the drive. Yes you could use a windows pc. But that is a half measure. Everything must run as it should. So for a significant portion of people it works.I got a reply from Samsung regarding the issue I had
Drive was recognised by the macOS (big sur) on a MacBook M1
but the software that Samsung provides fro the drive was not detecting the SSD
and therefore I could not put in my password to un-lock the SSD
so this is the solution they have provided me so far:
-----------------------------------
Thank you for contacting Samsung memory Support.
We are sorry to learn that you are having issues detecting your Portable SSD on your MAC.
Please be informed that the new MAC OS version has very high-security protection measures in place, which prompts the computer to send out the message "No Samsung Portable SSD is connected" when you run the Samsung Portable SSD software.
In order to resolve this issue, please follow the instructions below:
Uninstall the portable SSD software, which is installed on your computer.
1. Do not Connect the SSD.
2. Download and install the Activation Software for Portable SSD via the link below:
http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/
3. Restart the computer
4. Go to "Safety and Privacy" of your computer and take the following step:
Please open "Security & Privacy" in the "System Preferences" and press the "Allow" button next to " system software from developer 'Samsung Electronics' has been blocked" message.
5. Restart your computer one more time.
6. Connect the Samsung portable SSD and run the Samsung portable SSD software.
Everything being equal, you should be able to use your SSD without issues.
We do hope to have adequately assisted you.
Should you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
ATTENTION! If u r a BigSur user on an M1 Mac it doesn’t work out as smoothly! When you click “Allow” it will ask you to go to Recovery mode, change the security policy so you can allow users to modify core extensions and then start MacOS again. So at step 5 you will be asked both to shut down and restart! What I did is that first I rebooted. Then I kept the power button pressed until Recovery Mode started. I selected the Startup Security Utility where I modified the security policy to allow users to modify core extensions. Then I rebooted, the installation completed and when I plugged the ssd, the Samsung software recognised it and all is ok.
Apologies I hadn’t reached reading as far. Yes apparently there is also new software 1.7.3 that is 22Mb (instead of the usual 9 or 10). Of course Samsung has conveniently hidden it in one of its multiple sites. I had to follow the link from the post I quoted on my previous post to find the version marked “BigSur users only”Dear all,
Samsung has fixed this issue! there is an macOS Big Sur software version available now!
Pay attention as there is some system extension settings steps, when the software asked me to grant acces in privacy settings I couldn't so MacOS prompted me to restart the MacBook Air M1 and change some security settings on system extension (im not an IT expert so I dont really know what it is).
This fixed the issue, now the portable ssd software recognizes the T5 and I can set a password again.
Im happy Samsung did fix it!
I have the same issue but with WD drives, I have bricked 2 and a third I was able to save before it happened. I have the new m1 mbp.
My MBP was purchased 2 weeks ago and the problem started for me after the update that came across last week.
I have an old 2008 imac that is able to still mount one drive enough that I am able to recover my 3 tB of recordings, but it is taking 50+ hourse so far because that old computer is so slow.
I didn't have any problems for the first week. I am using some 5tb WD easystore usb3 drives. work fine on every computer windows, linux and mac until now. And the common problem with all the drives is the m1. one was NTF formatted, one was APFS formatted and one was exFat. they are all screwed up and one I can not even get the drive to hardware to show up in disk utility. Apple support just wants to blame western digital. because we were able to identify the actual current problem is with the partition, but the m1 is responsible for the problem!
I am considering returning this to apple. So far I have way to many hours wasted and money lost to attempt much more. I was going to try a powered hub, but I can't operate like that. If I have to have a powered hub, I might as well be using a desktop.
And I was considering spending the money to use SSD for my main external, but here you guys are having problems with the bus powering an SSD also.
I have an old 2TB toshiba usb3 drive that seems to be working fine. as long as I don't try to move too many files at once. It mounts and has not had any errors, but I keep getting the wait a minute pinwheel while I am using anything on the external drive.
My MBP was purchased 2 weeks ago and the problem started for me after the update that came across last week.
I have an old 2008 imac that is able to still mount one drive enough that I am able to recover my 3 tB of recordings, but it is taking 50+ hourse so far because that old computer is so slow.
I didn't have any problems for the first week. I am using some 5tb WD easystore usb3 drives. work fine on every computer windows, linux and mac until now. And the common problem with all the drives is the m1. one was NTF formatted, one was APFS formatted and one was exFat. they are all screwed up and one I can not even get the drive to hardware to show up in disk utility. Apple support just wants to blame western digital. because we were able to identify the actual current problem is with the partition, but the m1 is responsible for the problem!
I am considering returning this to apple. So far I have way to many hours wasted and money lost to attempt much more. I was going to try a powered hub, but I can't operate like that. If I have to have a powered hub, I might as well be using a desktop.
And I was considering spending the money to use SSD for my main external, but here you guys are having problems with the bus powering an SSD also.
I have an old 2TB toshiba usb3 drive that seems to be working fine. as long as I don't try to move too many files at once. It mounts and has not had any errors, but I keep getting the wait a minute pinwheel while I am using anything on the external drive.
I just got a new M1 MBP and my T5's are dog slow - 32mb read and write!
Looking at the system, they are coming up at 480mb on the USB.
I've installed the latest Samsung software off their site, sorted the kernel extensions thing (that was a faff!) and tried three different cables.
Is it the drive or something else?
Help!
SORTED - Turns out I needed a better specced USB 3 lead. (I thought USB was meant to be simple!)
Last edited:
I look for that Samsung T5 2TB drive (I have base model M1 Mac Mini).
So what is real speed?
Now I use Lacie Mobiledrive (2Tb hdd) and it is so slow. read/write 70/50 MB/s or slower.
I cannot use my Photos library because it is too slow.
Is Samsung T5 ok to purchase (200euros) ?
So what is real speed?
Now I use Lacie Mobiledrive (2Tb hdd) and it is so slow. read/write 70/50 MB/s or slower.
I cannot use my Photos library because it is too slow.
Is Samsung T5 ok to purchase (200euros) ?
If you don’t connect to an external dock you won’t get maximum performance but even directly connected to the M1 USB-C port you will still see much faster performance than the HDD external.
The T7 costs just a bit more than the T5, I paid €283 for the 2TB, but it is twice as fast, 1000MBps. Connected to my M1 Air directly with the included USB-C to USB-C cable, a 700GB 105k image Photos library flies like the wind. I wiped the Samsung software and formatted the entire drive to APFS. The included software can be downloaded from Samsung, if required.
For those who might be considering, or using an expensive SSD for Time Machine, save your money and get a regular HDD. TM does not need a fast drive, just a big one. I got 2x 5TB Seagate USB portables for €120 each, 1 of which is kept in a separate location.
For those who might be considering, or using an expensive SSD for Time Machine, save your money and get a regular HDD. TM does not need a fast drive, just a big one. I got 2x 5TB Seagate USB portables for €120 each, 1 of which is kept in a separate location.
Last edited:
I may have missed it but surprised not to see any mention here of this thread:
USB on M1 Macs isn't actually 10Gb/s? (Also definitely not USB4)
USB on M1 Macs isn't actually 10Gb/s? (Also definitely not USB4)
Hi - new to the forum but though id chip in here - having the exact same problem with my M1 MBP too - been on the phone with apple support trying all sorts and also in the apple store - no one knows how to fix it. also had the same issue as previously mentioned when trying to update firmware on the Samsung app...
Really bizarre, but like the idea of a dual usb port that might help - will check this out!
Good luck to OP and also other users experiencing this, its really frustrating!
Having the same issue, and finally found a workaround (after many hours trying everything I could read about on the internet).
I grabbed a usb-c to usb-a cable I found laying around, and plugged it into a mini USB-c hub dongle I had (that has an SD card reader, 2 usb-a ports and a usb-c pass through). That worked and my T5 finally showed up on my new M1 Max MBP.
I have a Samsung Portable SSD T5 with Ubuntu 22.0.4 LTS installed and I recently got a MacBook Air with the M1 Chip. I have been trying to boot into the External SSD Drive without success, it does not even appear in the Startup disks list. However, it was working on my old MacBook Air with the Intel Chip.
Please, what do you suggest I do?
Can someone please help me here?
Thanks in advance !!!!
Please, what do you suggest I do?
Can someone please help me here?
Thanks in advance !!!!
If the Samsung T5 booted your Intel Mac it won't boot a Silicon Mac. I don't follow Linux closely but I am pretty sure you may need to run it an a VM at this time. Linux on Silicon Mac.
As the post above this one indicates, booting into Linux on an Apple Silicon Mac is not a simple process and you will not be able to use your Intel Linux environment to start up the Apple Silicon Mac at all; it's not an issue with the Samsung drive whatsoever.
Remove the SPF protection (hold down the power-button on m1/m2 on boot so that it enters the boot menu) - Select Options and then reduce the security settings...
Download the new version of the software via -> https://semiconductor.samsung.com/c...load_tab_0101_anchorpar6-st_semi_down_list_ex
Enjoy and have fun - you'll find that the device needs a firmware update.. make a backup first as you'll need to remove the security feature beforehand
Download the new version of the software via -> https://semiconductor.samsung.com/c...load_tab_0101_anchorpar6-st_semi_down_list_ex
Enjoy and have fun - you'll find that the device needs a firmware update.. make a backup first as you'll need to remove the security feature beforehand