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NVMe enclosures don't seem to work with my Mac mini M4 Thunderbolt ports and I'm at a loss

Under Windows and Linux, and when using the front ports of my Mac mini, the enclosures work perfectly fine. I've tried UGREEN CM400 and the ORICO PWM2-G2 and both deliver the same kind of problems under macOS. On Windows and Linux they both excel, I tried sending over 40GB of data in multiple files at once, one large 10GB files back and forth, no problem under Windows or Linux, or when I'm connecting them to the front. But when I try and connect them to the actual Thunderbolt 4 ports, oh god, it takes an ungodly amount of time to even mount the thing! It gets very hot even when idling really quickly. Formatting it to APFS takes minutes, if it'll format at all. When it does successfully get formatted and I try to copy something over, I'll get a number of different errors. I'm trying it all out again as I'm typing, now I got a new error about device disappearing. Disk Utility is empty. Upon reconnecting and trying to reformat, some weird -69825 error pops up, sometimes error 43. Sometimes it just doesn't connect at all and I gotta reboot the Mac. Sometimes it'll say the disk is not readable by my computer, when that pops up and I try to connect it to the front, everything works just fine, the files are there, nothing's corrupted. I tried out two different NVMe SSDs, 2TB XPG and a 2TB Lexar, both yield same results.. I really don't know what to do anymore. Are my Thunderbolt ports faulty? Should I send the Mac back to Apple?

Mac mini, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 19, 2024 9:16 AM

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4 replies

Nov 19, 2024 2:06 PM in response to SIGJNF

I run several NVME drives but all are in Thunderbolt enclosures and have no issues. Mine use WD blue or black series drives in Acasis enclosures. All connect fine and no disconnects. I have had some disconnects when using a USB 3.2 enclosure with an NVME drive in some of my past Macs but none recently with my Mac Studio or Mac Mini M4. Mac computers are very sensitive the drive design. I have found WD NVME drives to provide consistent function.

Nov 20, 2024 5:49 AM in response to SIGJNF

One thing to note with DIY enclosures, it is a well known fact that not all combinations of NVME/enclosure will work on all computers. Combos that work on a PC may not work on a Mac. Combos that work on a Mac may not work on a PC. Some combos, while they may work can be very slow and unreliable. Also, many enclosures are just plain not reliable in all case. Check their ratings.


You need to check the manufacturers for tests on the different platforms or contact directly to determine the right combo for a given computer.


Personally, the NVME that I have found to be most reliable are Samsung 980/990 Pro and WD Black 850. The enclosures I have are not USB4 or Thunderbolt (so far) but USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sabrent enclosures that are working quite well with Samsung 980 Pro.

NVMe enclosures don't seem to work with my Mac mini M4 Thunderbolt ports and I'm at a loss

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