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External Hard Discs Slow on M1 Mini

I have 2 USB 3.0 external portable hard drives connected to my M1 Mini. Both are directly connected to the Mini's rear ports. One via USB-A and one USB-C. Both are noticeably slower than when they were on my 2014 Mini. The USB-C drive doesn't even show up on System Information, although it does appear on the desktop and Disk Utility.


I've heard that the M1 controllers don't like talking to external drives and default to a super slow mode. And the only workaround is a hub that uses more compatible controllers. Also that APFS will make a Hard Disc drive run slower vs Mac OS Extended.


Any thoughts on an inexpensive work-around would be appreciated

Mac mini, macOS 11.5

Posted on Aug 31, 2021 7:34 AM

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Posted on Aug 31, 2021 9:26 AM

That sounds rather good for a basic portable drive assuming you mean MB/s. Both manufacturers, Western and Seagate, omit read-write speeds from their data sheets, probably because that’s not their strongest point. I would ignore Blackmagic and continue using. Or shop for newer, faster ones that put some numbers in their specs. Be wary though that most add fine print that make their boasts, essentially useless. All the best!

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 31, 2021 9:26 AM in response to Michael Vejar

That sounds rather good for a basic portable drive assuming you mean MB/s. Both manufacturers, Western and Seagate, omit read-write speeds from their data sheets, probably because that’s not their strongest point. I would ignore Blackmagic and continue using. Or shop for newer, faster ones that put some numbers in their specs. Be wary though that most add fine print that make their boasts, essentially useless. All the best!

Aug 31, 2021 11:45 AM in response to Michael Vejar

Yes, by at least x2. Expect at least 200 MB/s, more depending on the file type.


However, they’re noisier, bulkier and need a separate power supply. I had https://storage.toshiba.com/consumer-hdd/external/canvio-for-desktop for years but have since packed it up to the basement and replaced it with a portable. Not because of any performance issue, but to simplify life (discontinuing backups, retiring Time Machine, no user data on internal SSD, moving essential files to the cloud and non-essential to external).

External Hard Discs Slow on M1 Mini

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