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FalconFlight

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 18, 2016
2
0
I've read several forums regarding the macbook SD card reader having trouble mounting sd disks and a few that say the disk will mount but will show up as read only.

Anyone have any tips on fixing the SD card reader so that I can read and write an SD disk?

I've tried resetting PRAM, cleaning with compressed air, different disks, using a toothpick, but the disks still shows up as read only.

Any help would be appreciated.
 

hwojtek

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,274
1,277
Poznan, Poland
It's a known issue with cards, not with the reader. MicroSD adapters are most prone to this, but regular SD as well. If the write lock lever on the card is just slightly different from the reference design (fraction of millimeter thicker for example), the card becomes read-only on insertion into a Mac portable. The smallest movement of the lever disables writing and the SD reader slot is really tight in Macs.
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,279
13,379
Sometimes the easiest solution is a usb3 card reader.
They can be had for around $10 or so, and for some reason seem less flaky than the built-in reader.
 

FalconFlight

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 18, 2016
2
0
Sometimes the easiest solution is a usb3 card reader.
They can be had for around $10 or so, and for some reason seem less flaky than the built-in reader.
Yeah, I may have to resign to that. I purchased a BaseQi adapter because I didn't want anything that would stick out of my computer or lug around. Seemed like a great solution.
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It's a known issue with cards, not with the reader. MicroSD adapters are most prone to this, but regular SD as well. If the write lock lever on the card is just slightly different from the reference design (fraction of millimeter thicker for example), the card becomes read-only on insertion into a Mac portable. The smallest movement of the lever disables writing and the SD reader slot is really tight in Macs.
Thank you for responding. I'm using a BaseQi adapter with a microSD card that doesn't have a lock lever, but I'm guessing that since I've had the laptop for a while I'm guessing the sensor is bad.
 
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