Mac Studio M1 & SSD external Drives Disconnecting

I've started disconnecting my old conventional external WD Hard Drives and upgraded to the SanDisk SSD external drives. They are 1TB and 2TB drives.


Since doing so the last month or so, I've noticed that I consistently get notices alerting me that one or two of my drives are disconnecting and reconnecting on their own. I use 40GB 7-inch USB-C cables to connect to my Thunderbolt ports so I tried to rule out the cables as the culprit. The drives don't tend to give me any grief when transferring data to and from them.


Has anyone else begun to experience this phenomenon? I just want to make certain I am not harming the Mac Studio or the SSD Drives.



Mac Studio (2022)

Posted on Aug 12, 2023 4:55 PM

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Posted on Aug 14, 2023 5:34 PM

I too have had issues with external USB connected solid state drives on my Studio M2. I have tried several brands and formats. They all disconnect at some point. I tried not letting the computer sleep, formatting to different types, different connection schemes, etc. Same results. I have been able to use motorized external hard drive with no issues. Perhaps there is a current sense on the USB port that turns it off when little or no current is sensed? I believe it is an Apple problem?

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Aug 14, 2023 5:34 PM in response to Ronald Baker

I too have had issues with external USB connected solid state drives on my Studio M2. I have tried several brands and formats. They all disconnect at some point. I tried not letting the computer sleep, formatting to different types, different connection schemes, etc. Same results. I have been able to use motorized external hard drive with no issues. Perhaps there is a current sense on the USB port that turns it off when little or no current is sensed? I believe it is an Apple problem?

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Aug 12, 2023 6:29 PM in response to Ronald Baker

What are the external HDDs, now SSDs being used for?

(for backup, extra storage, both)


Are you using the front ports, rear ports or a combination of both?

(please elaborate on the 7 inch cables)


Have you noticed any activities that causes the SSDs to disconnect and reconnect?

(for example log-out/log-in or computer sleep/wake)

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Feb 2, 2024 8:33 AM in response to Ronald Baker

There have been reports of Bus-powered drive enclosures that do not work happily across Mac sleeping, especially more recent Macs with Energy-star certification. When sleeping, a recent Mac reduces the amount of USB power provided to a 'standby' level. Some drives do not take this gracefully, and instead just disconnect.


Turning off sleep is a possible work-around, but may not provide complete resolution of the problem.


Supplying external power to the drive enclosure seems to be an effective work-around for some of these cases.

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Mac Studio M1 & SSD external Drives Disconnecting

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