SD Card reader will not mount cards after Tahoe 26.0.1 update - MacBook Pro M1

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Level 1

5 points

SD Card reader will not mount cards after Tahoe 26.0.1 update - MacBook Pro M1

The built-in SD Card reader refuses to recognise cards inserted (tried 3, all of which work with my camera).

Tried a USB plug-in SD card reader - the disk mounts but pop-up says 'MacOS can't repair the disk, I can open and copy files but can't save changes to files. It recommends backing up the disk and reformatting.

Tried Disk Utility: First Aid - 'Failed' Erase - 'Failed'

No way to reformat cards.

Anyone having similar issues? Any ideas how to resolve?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Oct 7, 2025 6:48 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 8, 2025 6:43 AM in response to FinaFoto

Typically they're FAT32 for ≤32 GB and exFAT for ≥64 GB cards. Standard camera brand, presumably? The SD cards formatted in my Canon cameras (R8, M6II, PowerShot V1, Vixia HF G60) all work fine in the internal reader and a Prograde USB-C reader (dual, with a CFe slot for the R1 cards).

I doubt it would make a difference, but you might try booting in safe mode, which disables 3rd party extensions and performs some system cleanup, and seeing if cards mount.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Oct 13, 2025 8:24 AM in response to FinaFoto

May be extreme, but you can try reinstalling macOS.

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Oct 9, 2025 5:28 AM in response to FinaFoto

A head-scratcher, indeed. Safe Mode clears caches, so I wonder if you have an extension or piece of 3rd party software for memory card data recovery, something like that, that is incompatible with Tahoe and was inactive until the card mounted.

What about trying to connect the camera directly by cable (assuming it has the capability)?

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Answer 4

FlyerNZ

Level 1

10 points

Nov 11, 2025 2:12 PM in response to FinaFoto

Update to Tahoe 26.1 solved my issue reading exFat SD card 132GB (MacBook Pro m3)

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Answer 5

FinaFoto Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 9, 2025 5:16 AM in response to neuroanatomist

Thank you - I really appreciate your advice.

I rebooted in 'safe mode' - SD drives did not mount (still).

However, when I then restarted in normal mode - with the SD card inserted - it was seen and mounted!!

But...after ejecting it then reinserting, it is still not being detected :-(

And, as before, if I plug in a USB SD reader, the system detects it as a damaged, read-only drive.

Proper head-scratcher.

As mentioned, these cards are fine and visible/mountable in another older mac with SD card reader.

Really don't know what else to do.

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Answer 6

Oct 7, 2025 10:49 AM in response to FinaFoto

Any idea how are the cards formatted? I typically format SD cards in my various cameras, and have no problem mounting them using the internal slot in my MacBook Pro, or an external reader (standalone or a Stone Pro Thunderbolt dock).

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Answer 7

FinaFoto Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 13, 2025 8:19 AM in response to neuroanatomist

Hello. The SD will not mount with a direct link to the camera either :-(

What's more, I've also unfortunately found bugs in Photoshop too after the Tahoe update. Cannot drag and reposition layers and cannot drag any object on the canvas - irrespective of layer. Duplicate keyboard shortcut (Option+Click) changes icon but no dragging!

Totally regret the update to Tahoe. I've wasted so much time trying to make this work and dragging good people like you into this nightmare too.

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Answer 8

_vek

Level 1

8 points

Oct 30, 2025 12:07 PM in response to FinaFoto

Hello, I'm wondering if you had any update to your issue with the SD card/SD card reader? I just came across this post and I'm panicking because the card is not readable now across multiple devices and the reader itself doesn't recognize any other SD cards/adapters.

I'm fearful to brick anymore cards and lose more data after fully swapping ecosystems to Apple. D:

Thanks in advance!

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