Super weird Samsung T7 connection issue

[ixxx69]

My Samsung T7 portable SSD drive will only connect via USB-C, not USB-A.

I have half a dozen 2TB T7's... they've all been bit a little wonky to get formatted correctly (but otherwise work fine), but one has been particularly stubborn.

2020 M1 MBA (Ventura) (TB3/USB-C):

• The only way I can format it is on the MBA via USB-C. Once formatted, it works fine with MBA and Mini via USB-C.
• If I try to connect it to USB-A via a mini-hub, it occasionally appears briefly (literally a split second) before disconnecting.
• All other drives work fine with both USB-C and USB-A (via the hub).

2018 Intel Mini (Ventura) (TB3/USB-C & USB-A):

• If I try to format it on the mini using USB-C, it errors out after 15m of trying (usually says the drive is "in use" even if I literally plug it in and go straight to Disk Utility).
• Aside from formatting, it works fine via USB-C.
• If I plug it in USB-A (directly into back of machine), the computer doesn't see it in disk utility or the desktop.
• All other drives work fine with both USB-C and USB-A (and USB-A via a USB-A hub).

2015 Intel Retina Macbook (Big Sur) (USB-C)

• This is where things get even weirder - the USB-C port (and it may be relevant that the rMB only sports a USB-C port, not a TB3 port) does not work with this problematic drive. The drive simply fails to show up in any way as though it doesn't see it. And of course doesn't work with the USB-A mini-hub either.
• All other drives work fine with both USB-C and USB-A (via the hub).

2013 Mac Pro (Monterey) & 2014 MBA (Big Sur) (USB-A):

• If I plug it in USB-A (directly into back of machine), the computer doesn't see it in disk utility or the desktop.
• All other drives work fine with USB-A.

Ports and cables are working as they work fine with my other T7's.

I have spent hours trying to format in every combination of different partition type and filesystem on the MBA - GUID, MBR, Apple, APFS, MacOS, ExFAT, FAT to see if some combo would then work on the mini or MP - no luck.

While it's possible (maybe even probable) this drive is defective, the reason I didn't immediately go there is that my recollection is several of the drives were finicky when first initializing, including a couple I bought just this past week. And it does work via TB3/USB-C if formatted on the M1 MBA - it's as though there's separate USB-A circuitry that's fried.

Any ideas on what else to try before I go through a pita warranty process?

 

[satcomer]

APFS only came once Silicon Macs became a thing they sell would have different chips that by their standards for DAS drives inside a Mac! Overtime I discovered that DAS traditional hard DAS drives don't seem to do well with APFS so now with traction hard drives I use the older HFS+ format on my M1-2 machines!

 

[chrfr]

APFS only came once Silicon Macs became a thing

This is not true.

 

[satcomer]

This is not true.

Prove me wrong then!

 

[chrfr]

Prove me wrong then!

Ok.
From Apple’s own documentation. Note that macOS 10.13 cannot run on an Apple Silicon Mac:

File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac​

Disk Utility on Mac supports several file system formats:

• Apple File System (APFS): The file system used by macOS 10.13 or later.

 

[satcomer]

Ok.
From Apple’s own documentation. Note that macOS 10.13 cannot run on an Apple Silicon Mac:

File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac​

Disk Utility on Mac supports several file system formats:

• Apple File System (APFS): TheAPFS then out in on DAS traditional hard drive file system used by macOS 10.13 or later.

So if wreck based thing to use only traditional hard drive then report what happens after 10 days!

 

[avkills]

Have you tried bypassing the HUB trying with USB-A?

 

[Fishrrman]

Could be firmware.
Could be something else.
Is there a firmware update for the t7's?
I have a couple of t7 shield drives, they don't complain about connections.

If only ONE drive is giving you problems with some Macs, put a label on it, so that you can easily recognize that particular drive, and avoid the connection schemes that DON'T work.

(sometimes a particular problem is "resistant" to all fixes, and the best way to handle it is to "learn to live with it"...)

 

[ixxx69]

My bad for not stating it, but the Samsung T7 is a portable SSD drive that comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable as well as a USB-C to USB-A cable. I guess I just assumed that anyone who might be able to help would already know that. I've edited my original post to make that clear.

Have you tried bypassing the HUB trying with USB-A?

I tried to be very clear and thorough, but I guess I wasn't clear enough - yes, all of these attempts were first using the Macs' built-in ports. I only mentioned the hub as I tried that as well.

 

[Boyd01]

2018 Intel Mini (Ventura) (TB3/USB-C & USB-A):

• If I try to format it on the mini using USB-C, it errors out after 15m of trying (usually says the drive is "in use" even if I literally plug it in and go straight to Disk Utility).

I don't know what could be wrong, but FWIW, I have four 2tb t7's and one 2tb T7 Shield that I use on my 2018 Mini. No problems formatting or using any of them on my 2018 Mini. Never tried USB-A (no reason to). I am running Monterey now on that Mac but formatted them when I was still on Catalina. They are all APFS.

No hubs, but a "full house" on all the ports. Every now and then, when I have 4 external SSD's connected, the Mini will randomly disconnect one of them but it doesn't happen very often.

 

[chrfr]

My bad for not stating it, but the Samsung T7 is a portable SSD drive that comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable as well as a USB-C to USB-A cable. I guess I just assumed that anyone who might be able to help would already know that. I've edited my original post to make that clear.


I tried to be very clear and thorough, but I guess I wasn't clear enough - yes, all of these attempts were first using the Macs' built-in ports. I only mentioned the hub as I tried that as well.

You can download Samsung's software for the T7 here: https://semiconductor.samsung.com/us/consumer-storage/support/tools/
This is the tool you can use to check for firmware updates, and I think it'll work better on the Intel Mac than the Apple Silicon ones.
If you have access to a Windows computer (or Windows running in bootcamp) you can run Samsung Magician which will give you more access to some diagnostic features than are available in the Mac version of the Samsung portable SSD software. That download is also available on the Samsung page listed above.
I would not rule out that this particular disk is just faulty; I assume you've tested multiple cables with it too.

 

[ixxx69]

You can download Samsung's software for the T7 here: https://semiconductor.samsung.com/us/consumer-storage/support/tools/
This is the tool you can use to check for firmware updates, and I think it'll work better on the Intel Mac than the Apple Silicon ones.
If you have access to a Windows computer (or Windows running in bootcamp) you can run Samsung Magician which will give you more access to some diagnostic features than are available in the Mac version of the Samsung portable SSD software. That download is also available on the Samsung page listed above.

Thank you for this. I had found the mac software, but it was useless - only useful for turning on/off the built-in encryption (which is already off of course). I have access to a Windows machine, but not until next week. I'll give it one last try.

If anyone else actually thinks they know what the issue might be (other than a faulty drive), please share.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I have a couple of t7 shield drives, they don't complain about connections.

Are you happy with them?

After a bit of a "knee jerk" reaction I've just ordered a couple of the std T7s 2TB for €120 each. They'll be used as SD backups from my 2023 M2 MBP (MacOS 13.4.1). Knee Jerk as I only really had a used HDD 2"5 that was slow, inadequate.

I normally research this stuff and now see that PCIe (eg. Samsung 980 Pro 2TB) can be bought for similar money €130, than the ext housing on top of course. Write speeds just appear astronomical vs a T7.

So in 2023 is investing in PCIe the better way to go? Only ordered the T7s today so cancelling be easy as they haven't been shipped yet.

 

[gilby101]

Write speeds just appear astronomical vs a T7

That would depend on the enclosure and protocol support. The T7 is USB 3.x gen2 (max 10 gbps) whilst you could put the 980 in a Thunderbolt enclosure. T7 (and T5) work fine for me.