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Some SD Cards Not Working Properly With 2021 14 and 16-Inch MacBook Pros
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LOL
My point still stands.
Explain how an SD card can work in every other card reader (including other Macbooks) but not in these new Macbooks?
Clearly there is something wrong with these new "faultless" Macbooks, right?
I see so many people say pros need sd card readers. Meanwhile actual pro users saying they don’t even use sd card. I can only say what I do, and my pro friends and I wouldn’t assume what “imagined pros” use.
Do you know newer cameras have usbc for exports?
Do you know CFast and other external camera storage exist and are widely adopted by higher end users?
Do you know not all pros using macbook pros are videographer and photographers?
No, pros do not need integrated sd card readers. Some might want one. Even if they do use sd card, a dongle is such an insignificant part of their daily gear.
And NO, I don’t speak for all pros, but it is not a correct assumption that all pros uses sd cards or need a dedicated sd card reader.
Only apple has data on how often the sd card slot is actually used in the macbooks. Personal, I hope they remove the legacy ports and bring back the fourth thunderbolt. That is what a lot of pros need. I would gladly take 6 thunderbolt ports so I don’t need a thunderbolt dock. That thing is a lot larger than a sd card reader dongle
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About half my cards work in the SD slot, about half don't (or only read at less than 5MB/s, or hang part way).
All of them work at full speed using a card reader attached via a dongle or a hub to a USB-C port.
If I could figure out which brand, size and type of card would reliably work, I would just go buy some.
This is not the end of the world, as one can always use a dongle, but there is not much point having an SD card slot if you can't rely on it. A few posters have reported having card failures (i.e., rendered unreadable or unusable) after using them in the SD slot, which heightens the risk factor. Perhaps just coincidence, who knows.
At present I am ignoring the presence of the SD card slot; I am assuming it does not exist.
All of them work at full speed using a card reader attached via a dongle or a hub to a USB-C port.
If I could figure out which brand, size and type of card would reliably work, I would just go buy some.
This is not the end of the world, as one can always use a dongle, but there is not much point having an SD card slot if you can't rely on it. A few posters have reported having card failures (i.e., rendered unreadable or unusable) after using them in the SD slot, which heightens the risk factor. Perhaps just coincidence, who knows.
At present I am ignoring the presence of the SD card slot; I am assuming it does not exist.
I’m literally a pro who uses an SD card, and not as part of a camera setup. I know dozens of other pros who use SD cards. I don’t get how people don’t understand that their needs are not universal. You don’t need and SD cards? Great, there are a bunch of other ports there for you to use. But for those of us who do use them, it’s a really nice thing to have. Apple worked directly with a bunch of professionals on what they want out of a laptop and clearly enough of them said SD card for it to have been included.
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For a problem to be this random points mainly to one thing: Bad design of the physical pins inside the reader, leading to intermittent or unreliable electrical connections. It’s shocking how common this is in all kinds of memory card readers. And USB ports. Sometimes you can get it to make better contact by slightly backing the device out of the port, or putting pressure on one side or the other. If that or cleaning the contact patches on the card helps it work better, it’s proof that the card reader has faulty pin design. I got a tiny USB SanDisk micro SD reader recently and it wouldn’t read most of the cards I tried in it. The pins inside made such weak contact with the card that it would practically fall out on its own. Put the same cards in a tiny Lexar micro SD reader; they all worked. The pins had a solid grip on the card. Enough that a fingernail was often helpful in getting the card out.
Those of you complaining that you’ve always found SD cards unreliable should focus more of your attention on the card readers you’ve been using. A lot of them are just straight up trash, even big brand names. The cards themselves are rarely the problem.
Those of you complaining that you’ve always found SD cards unreliable should focus more of your attention on the card readers you’ve been using. A lot of them are just straight up trash, even big brand names. The cards themselves are rarely the problem.
I'm so relieved that others have seen this same issue. Been running into error "100060" and more recently error "-36" almost every time I try to move files from my SanDisk microSD cards using the card reader slot on my M1 Max 16". Spent nearly 2 hours on the phone with Apple Support today on the issue and they didn't mention any knowledge of an existing issue, but it was escalated to a senior advisor who pledged to work with me and continue to investigate it. Moments ago I sent him a link to this story. Absolutely maddening on a brand new machine.
The SD card reader slot on the new 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models is not functioning as expected with some SD cards, according to multiple reports on the MacRumors forums.
In a long complaint thread, MacRumors readers have detailed the issues that they're having with some SD cards, and there seems to be little consistency between reports and affected SD cards. Some SD cards crash and can't be accessed, while some have unusually slow transfer speeds. MacRumors reader Wildct explains the issue:In some situations, there's just an error message when attempting to use the SD card, sometimes Finder crashes, and sometimes the SD card takes many minutes to be accesible. From MacRumors reader 2Stepfan:Based on the thread, formatting does not appear to be the issue, though it could be a factor. There also does not seem to be a common thread between which cards work and which do not, but multiple users have reported that using an SD card reader over USB-C works when the SD card slot does not. From MacRumors reader wilberforce:Some readers who have contacted Apple have been told that the company is aware of the issue and that a fix is coming in a future software update, but it is not clear if this is a hardware issue or a software issue. Some users who had problems replaced their MacBook Pro and did not continue to have issues, so it's not known exactly what might be going on.
Many of the reports are about older SD cards and there may be a particular issue with some 128GB cards, but for the most part, complaints are all over the place in terms of SD card brand, speed, and capacity.
One user reported that the macOS Monterey 12.1 beta had fixed the issue, but another person on Reddit said that the most recent beta did not address it, so we also don't know if macOS Monterey 12.1 might have a fix.
Those affected who are unable to use their SD cards with the SD card slot can access their cards by using an SD card reader dongle, which is not an ideal solution but at least provides a way to get SD card content onto an M1 Pro or M1 Max Mac.
Article Link: Some SD Cards Not Working Properly With 2021 14 and 16-Inch MacBook Pros
Where I cannot tolerate a loss of photos, I use cameras with dual card slots and typically record simultaneously to two cards, such as an XQD card and a fast UHS-II SD card (depending on the camera). For convenience, I usually copy from the SD card to a Mac and at least one separate drive; once I have multiple confirmed backups I reformat both cards in camera.
It is very convenient to use the SD card, although I do not have to. I can use the XQD card via dongle (which is a bit faster). If the XQD card fails or has a corrupted file (hasn't happened yet) I would have to use the SD card. At that point there is no way I would put it in a dodgy card slot.
It would be nice to have a reliable functioning SD card slot. Less reliance on dongles, which can get forgotten, misplaced, or not work.
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I bought a Lenovo USB-C multiport hub for my previous MacBook Pro that included a card reader, and it imports photos into Lightroom faster than the built-in reader on my 14” M1 Pro MacBook Pro. I haven’t had any issues with it not reading the cards but it’s definitely slower.
Actually I thought of this already. On several of my cards that work very slowly in the SD slot, I tried adjusting their position in the slot slightly, pushing in, out, up, down slightly, thinking it might be a bad contact. Made no difference. All work perfectly in three different card readers without hesitation. Also does not explain why the card is recognized, Finder sees all the files, but takes forever to read a file. 100 photos take half an hour to copy.
Cards are sometimes a problem. I have had two full size SD cards fail, and about five Micro-SD cards fail. This is in about 50TB of recordings. All are the "extreme" or "best" SD cards from brand names like Sony, Samsung and Sandisk (and bought from reputable merchants like B&H in order to avoid fakes).
Yes, those free Sandisk microSD adapters that come with the microSD cards are garbage.
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honestly I’d much rather not prefer that port anyway along with others. Only useful port I liked it return of MagSafe.
Maybe they should do like any other pc manufacturer and just make sure they work.
Apple’s quality control has hit a point where it is not trustworthy anymore. The old mantra of “It just works” is now a distant memory. I sure do miss Steve Jobs and his meticulous oversight of the company. It is sorely missing now.
And yet other readers and laptops have no issues with a decades-old technology. C'mon...to screw up an SD-card reader really requires effort.
It’s not like Steve’s Apple didn’t have its own massive screw ups. Remember the iPhone 4 that dropped signal when held like a phone? Or the laptops that killed their relationship with Nvidia because the graphics cards were selfdestructing?
Sometimes products have issues, that’s just a part of life.
Apple should start spending Mount Cashmore on hiring quality testers so that these embarrassments can be avoided
The SD card reader slot on the new 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models is not functioning as expected with some SD cards, according to multiple reports on the MacRumors forums.
In a long complaint thread, MacRumors readers have detailed the issues that they're having with some SD cards, and there seems to be little consistency between reports and affected SD cards. Some SD cards crash and can't be accessed, while some have unusually slow transfer speeds. MacRumors reader Wildct explains the issue:In some situations, there's just an error message when attempting to use the SD card, sometimes Finder crashes, and sometimes the SD card takes many minutes to be accesible. From MacRumors reader 2Stepfan:Based on the thread, formatting does not appear to be the issue, though it could be a factor. There also does not seem to be a common thread between which cards work and which do not, but multiple users have reported that using an SD card reader over USB-C works when the SD card slot does not. From MacRumors reader wilberforce:Some readers who have contacted Apple have been told that the company is aware of the issue and that a fix is coming in a future software update, but it is not clear if this is a hardware issue or a software issue. Some users who had problems replaced their MacBook Pro and did not continue to have issues, so it's not known exactly what might be going on.
Many of the reports are about older SD cards and there may be a particular issue with some 128GB cards, but for the most part, complaints are all over the place in terms of SD card brand, speed, and capacity.
One user reported that the macOS Monterey 12.1 beta had fixed the issue, but another person on Reddit said that the most recent beta did not address it, so we also don't know if macOS Monterey 12.1 might have a fix.
Those affected who are unable to use their SD cards with the SD card slot can access their cards by using an SD card reader dongle, which is not an ideal solution but at least provides a way to get SD card content onto an M1 Pro or M1 Max Mac.
Article Link: Some SD Cards Not Working Properly With 2021 14 and 16-Inch MacBook Pros
Sounds similar to the external monitor woes folks have with the M1. Seems like the QA testing for all the various combinations was rushed.
Because SD cards are still the most common form of camera and drone storage and dongles suck.