What causes disk eject improperly

[HobeSoundDarryl]

In my case, "the hardware combinations" are fine on any Mac I have running macOS before BigSur with all other variables being the same: same cable, same drives, same enclosure, same firmware, same user settings, same power supply, etc. Pre BigSur: stable connections. BigSur or newer: unexpected ejections. I can replicate this over and over and over again by simply changing to which kind of computer the same cable is connected. It is IMPOSSIBLE that it is only sleep because I can replicate over and over and over again "unexpected ejections" from Mac and Drive definitely awake, such as when actively transferring files.

As many have reported in many threads, the upgrade to macOS BigSur or newer initiates this problem with select hardware, ALL other variables being identical to before. Select (but not all) drives that served them well suddenly can’t stay connected for long. Many of these people- needing the storage more than the macOS upgrade- then downgraded macOS to a macOS before BigSur and their drive became stable again.

Those situations in particular seem to clearly identify the source of the issue. What is the single variable that changed… and then was changed back again? Otherwise, same cable, same firmware, same drive, same enclosure, same user settings, etc. And... since that is MANY people... they obviously do not have any one bad cable, any one bad enclosure, any one firmware, drive, user error, hub or no hub, one bad port or even one model of Mac.

But WOW! Every thread about this problem- and there are MANY- will always have these people dropping into it trying to shift blame to anything & everything NOT Apple, including the user... as if it just cannot be an Apple error(s)... in spite of it very, VERY obviously not being an isolated event and thus not any one Mac users "mistakes" in settings, choice of cable, enclosure, etc.

• Pre BigSur: general, broad stability of third party drives.
• BigSur & newer: unexpected ejections of select- but not ALL- drives.

Anyone wanting to believe it’s anything other than macOS, I challenge and/or DARE them to keep all variables the same and hook the problematic drive's very same cable to a pre-BigSur Mac or any PC and watch it very likely remain connected in a perfectly stable way… as one expects from a device using a decades-old standard like USB. What's that U stand for in USB again?

Best Advice to those who can't go back to pre-Big Sur but want/need a Mac and a "storage not staying connected" remedy: play the enclosure roulette game... which means buy an enclosure, try it, return it if it won't stay connected, try a different one, repeat, repeat... until you find one that WILL remain connected.

And note:

• this is not a brand problem: a near crucial enclosure from a well-known Apple brand will not stay connected for me; however, another enclosure from that same brand has remained connected for a couple of years now. Many posts by many Mac people in many threads are all using various enclosures by all of the name brands: some work fine, some don't.
• It's also not an old (enclosure/firmware) vs. new issue: in my testing, I dug ANCIENT (retired) enclosures with ancient firmware) out for widest variety of tests and some of the retirees would stay connected while one of my "latest & greatest" ones would not.

Don't buy the "blame the drive or blame "old" firmware" redirection. In fact, hop on Amazon, browse freshly-released 2023-24 enclosures (thus latest hardware & firmware, with manufacturers well aware of this multi-year problem for Macs) and then search reviews for "ejection" and "unexpected ejection" and you'll probably find that for at least some of them, Mac people will be reporting this very same issue... not with only 1 enclosure... but MANY... not in only one brand... but many. Etc.

So, spin the roulette wheel, try a new enclosure, if it doesn't work, send it back and try a different enclosure, repeat, repeat, until you "get lucky." In many- but not all- cases, THAT is the only remedy that will work... until Apple gets around to debugging whatever was broken in Big Sur related to this topic. My own wild guess speculation: I suspect it's legacy algorithms from iOS roots moved over in support of the launch of Silicon Macs... possibly grounded in POWER (sipping) management instead of sleep. But that's only my best guess based on lots of testing and anecdotal observations of other port issues posted by users and some experienced myself.

Basically, my best guess is macOS (since BigSur) works the power down to "save batteries" that don't even exist in desktop Macs to some threshold below what can maintain a stable connection with external drives, thus ejections. Logically, iDevice roots of this code doesn't have assumptions of long-term connections of HD enclosures to a mobile phone or tablet, so bugs from longer-term connections manifest when the same software is doing that power sipping drawdown on Macs.

I also notice what appears to be regular "crashes" and reboots of the ethernet port and thus suspect that perhaps port management software in general occasionally crashes and immediately reboots, which might also be the cause of "unexpected ejections" (some devices handling the temporary disconnect better than others).

Maybe it's a combination of BOTH? Maybe both plus some of the sleep-related algorithms? Only Apple can get in there and actually figure it out... and then fix it.

I miss "just works" Apple (in THIS case, you'll get "just works" BETTER with PC if you dare hook a problematic enclosure to a PC to see for yourself). I miss the U in USB meaning what it is supposed to mean.

 

[svenmany]

It is IMPOSSIBLE that it is only sleep because I can replicate over and over and over again "unexpected ejections" from Mac and Drive definitely awake, such as when actively transferring files.

I have not had my version of the problem since stopping my computer from sleeping. Likely there are different problems. Some people assume them to be the same because they all result in a popup saying disks were ejected.

Anyone wanting to believe it’s anything other than macOS ...

macOS is the most significant player in the issue. But, it's likely a change in macOS that caused some compatibility issue with various docks. Perhaps some expected tolerances are regularly exceeded by dock manufacturers. Debugging the issue would have to be a collaborative effort between Apple and some dock vendor.

 

[kagharaht]

Happened to me leaving the iMac M3 always awake. I experimented with letting it sleep and it happened then also. I also recently Erased all contents and setting and set it up as new again no TM or migration of data because of my Mail crashing issues. I'm gonna let it do sleep default settings and see if it happens after this Erase.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I have not had my version of the problem since stopping my computer from sleeping. Likely there are different problems. Some people assume them to be the same because they all result in a popup saying disks were ejected.

That's great for you. Not everyone is affected in the same ways. For some, remedies revolving around sleep DO seem to resolve the issue. Others try the same and it isn't fixed for them. The common denominator in all cases is Mac and macOS. The crowd with the problem are highly likely NOT using the same cables, same enclosures, same firmware, same hub/dock, same drives, etc. But what they ALL have in common- every single one of them- is Mac & macOS.

And many- myself included- can tell the tale of how it was fine before BigSur and not fine since. And some of that group can share after upgrading to Big Sur or newer and then downgrading after they discover this problem, the problem ceases. I don't know how that can be a "blame others" scenario. Only one variable changed.

macOS is the most significant player in the issue. But, it's likely a change in macOS that caused some compatibility issue with various docks. Perhaps some expected tolerances are regularly exceeded by dock manufacturers. Debugging the issue would have to be a collaborative effort between Apple and some dock vendor.

Or Apple could- oh say- reach out to any of many affected, ask to borrow/rent/buy a cross-section of enclosures, take them into the labs and figure it out... instead of letting this problem linger on and on for many years now. I'd happily drop my problematic enclosure at the local Apple store to then head for some lab somewhere so that Apple could use it to diagnose the bugs, fix them and then everyone is happy again. It USED to work perfectly fine with Macs, now it doesn't, so it seems it could work perfectly fine again if newer Mac code is compared to older Mac code and the bug(s) causing this are found and remedied.

Again, very same enclosure through very same cable can't remain connected to my Mac Studio Ultra for more than about 3 hours. Unplug it and plug it into 3 Macs I also have running a macOS BEFORE Big Sur and it will be perfectly stable again. Hook it to a new PC I have? Perfectly stable. What variable is different?

Anyone reading this, having the problem and wondering if it's any of the multitudes of things that are slung to redirect away from Apple, I offer the simple test again: using the very same cable, connect to any other Mac you might have running macOS BEFORE BigSur or any PC and see if the drive "unexpectedly ejects." If it will on either of those, it shines a brighter blame game light on the drive/enclosure/manufacturer/etc. But if it's stable on all BUT the newer Mac, you have likely diagnosed where the problem lies.

I would bet heavily that almost everyone who does this will see that the drive/firmware/cable/enclosure/age/user settings/user are NOT the cause. Still, I expect many more posts trying to shift blame away from Apple... even though anyone with the problem can easily test as described by hooking it to any Mac or PC and waiting for it to unexpectedly eject. Give it the time you would expect. Then give it some more time just to be sure. At some point in time, you'll realize that all from cable to drive are perfectly fine. It's the Mac that holds the fault.

 

[Bazza1]

There are external drive bugs in macOS...

...Apple fans will likely pop in with the usual mix of blame the enclosure, blame you, blame your cable, blame your settings, etc (anything & all things other than Apple) but if you dig into this in the many threads, you'll quickly realize it's in macOS and only Apple can fix it by debugging macOS. The ultimate evidence of this are those people who had perfectly stable externals BEFORE an upgrade to Big Sur or newer, then suddenly "unexpected ejections" and- because they needed the drive more than they needed the newer version- then downgraded again and the drive became perfectly stable again: same cable, same user, same drive, same setup, same Mac. What variable changed?

...And I miss "just works."

Yes. All this.

Apple has traditionally relied on some of it's more rabid, basement-dwelling Macolytes primarily lurking in Apple Communities to verbally abuse those who dare to pose a question or bring forward a (recurring and known) issue.
"Apple is perfect and you're obviously an idiot", being the oft-preferred response to a problem.

Apple rarely gets involved at this level (aside from the infamous 'You're holding it wrong" moment from Jobs), and only seems to truly explore - and fix - an issue only after it hits the mainstream press. And alas, that doesn't necessarily include MacRumors.

My move to a M2 Mini (originally running Ventura) resulted in a flurry of these random 'disk ejects' notices - sometimes hours in to work where there hadn't been an issue, and it eventually corrected itself - for no apparent reason. Previous devices using same hardware and cables - no problem.
Now on Sonoma, I get the occasional notice coming out of sleep / hibernate - a reboot most often correcting the issue.

It remains an issue that Apple has no interest / ability in fixing - preferring to create new "Squirrel!" apps and dumbing down the OS to match the sub-standard iOS / iPadOS instead.

 

[eifelbube]

What can cause external Drive or external SSD drive to suddenly eject? It just happened to me. Never happened since I got this new iMac M3 in December. 24/2TB, 8/10, 4port. No TM migration new clean setup since the beginning. Wish it showed an error log or something.

There is an M1 Mac mini running Monterey in my house, and there is an M3 MacBookPro running latest version of Sonoma. I have two Samsung T7 external SSDs. When they are connected to the mini, they never „auto-eject“ but they do when plugged i to the MBP. Same cables used on both Macs (the ones that shipped with the T7).

The issue must be with Sonoma, right?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

There is an M1 Mac mini running Monterey in my house, and there is an M3 MacBookPro running latest version of Sonoma. I have two Samsung T7 external SSDs. When they are connected to the mini, they never „auto-eject“ but they do when plugged i to the MBP. Same cables used on both Macs (the ones that shipped with the T7).

The issue must be with Sonoma, right?

Not necessarily... though I won't shift blame to the Samsungs too readily, based on experience shared in prior posts. If you buy anything I shared, my working hypothesis in what is causing the "ejections" has something to do with POWER management, not sleep (or perhaps power managent WITH sleep). I think algorithms that originated in iPhones that would never have a long-term connection to an external drive by their very nature have bugs. With iPhone, battery is paramount and power management might work the power draws down in search of a minimum to maximize iPhone battery life.

Move that same core stuff to new Silicon Macs and they too are dealing with power management code that might be taking power to attached devices too low for some devices... thus "unexpectedly ejecting" them by basically starving them a minimum amount of power to maintain the connection.

If this wild guess is right, I would think such algorithms would be used MORE on battery-based Macs than desktop-based Macs like my own problem Mac (Studio Ultra). So I wouldn't be surprised to learn that MBs exhibit this problem MORE than desktop Macs... not because they have higher numbers but because they also lean on batteries.

I'd love to know what would happen if you upgrade the M1 Mini to Sonoma to see if it is Sonoma. My guess is that it is NOT... just slightly different behaviors by power management code for a battery-based Mac vs. one with no battery. I can't remember if it is still possible to boot from an external drive into Sonoma. If it is, consider setting up a boot drive for Mini with Sonoma, boot into Sonoma and see if the Samsung will eject from the Mini temporarily running Sonoma. I bet it won't.

However, that's wild speculation on my part. Many tie this problem to sleep. I have another hypothesis that it might be in port management code... that ports basically crash from time to time and "reboot." I can readily see this with the Ethernet port. If the USB ports do it too at times, that would trigger an unexpected ejection. Sleep time offering a much longer window for a port crash & reboot to occur might just be coincidental.

The real test to add weight to "Sonoma right?" would be upgrade that Mini so they are both using the same OS and then see what happens. My guess is that it's not Sonoma vs. Monterey but simply how some code in the core systems runs a little differently. For example, I clung to Monterey for a LONG time and also initially tested the crap out of this issue in Monterey. The problem is definitely there too but not for all drives and not for all enclosures.

Another easy test you could run to nearly fully rule out the Samsungs: swap the connections. Put the stable one on the MB and the "unexpectedly ejecting" one on the Mini. If the effect remains the same, it's probably not the Samsungs. While it COULD be Sonoma or it COULD be the MB, I think it's simply how deep code behaves differently for battery-based Macs vs. Desktops... and you are basically getting lucky with your Mini.

 

[Fishrrman]

This is one of those arguments that will go on forever in the forums, because there is no "solution" that appears to work for everyone. There may not be a solution at all.

I've almost reached the point where when someone complains about this, it's not worth trying to help them. Whatever advice one gives probably won't work all the time in any case. And what works for you, probably won't work for someone else.

My guidelines for using external drives:
- don't connect any drives unless you actually need to use them
- when DONE using them, eject and physically disconnect them
- EXCEPTION: backup drives that need to be connected continuously (like time machine, but I don't use tm)
- if you have an external drive with its own power switch, it can remain connected to the bus, but powered off when not in use (that's how I handle my cloned backup)

 

[svenmany]

This is one of those arguments that will go on forever in the forums, because there is no "solution" that appears to work for everyone. There may not be a solution at all.

Another thing along those lines - we'll never know why Apple or dock vendors haven't solved this. I don't doubt they've looked into it and know what's going wrong. They could just be pointing fingers at each other.

Dock vendor - "Hey, it's a macOS problem. Look at the other dock vendors who have the same problem."

Apple - "Hey, some of your docks work and some don't. Produce more consistent hardware. Buy better chips."

We'll just never know.

But, I have no problem with venting about the issue. It's a very frustrating one. I am lucky that my version of the issue is solved by avoiding sleep. I never had actual functionality impact where a disk disconnected while I was using it.

 

[kagharaht]

Hilarious. Soon as i enabled sleep default Pages locked up saving a file. To an external drive. lol ok back to never sleep again.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Another thing along those lines - we'll never know why Apple or dock vendors haven't solved this. I don't doubt they've looked into it and know what's going wrong. They could just be pointing fingers at each other.

Dock vendor - "Hey, it's a macOS problem. Look at the other dock vendors who have the same problem."

Apple - "Hey, some of your docks work and some don't. Produce more consistent hardware. Buy better chips."

We'll just never know.

But, I have no problem with venting about the issue. It's a very frustrating one. I am lucky that my version of the issue is solved by avoiding sleep. I never had actual functionality impact where a disk disconnected while I was using it.

Actually, we WILL know. One day, we'll update a version of macOS and someone with this problem will report that a new test of their problematic enclosure is no longer disconnecting. Then another guy will check and report the same. And another. And another. They'll all be using different enclosures, different firmware, different cables, different brands, direct & indirect connections (hubs), etc... which will clearly show that the problem was NEVER in the external links in the chain. There is one common denominator in this problem... and that's almost certainly where the entire problem lies.

What variable changed from the day before? A macOS update... one in which someone(s) at Apple finally worked through some particular code that is the cause of this, found the bug or bugs and fixed them. Then, as it was before (BigSur) with Macs and these SAME enclosures/same cables/same firmware/etc, it will be again. And the U in USB will again mean what it is supposed to mean with newer macOS Macs.

I bet if the media made this a "don't buy a new Mac until..." theme and/or it meaningfully impacted an Apple exec or two with their own Macs, it would be much like resurrecting "long deleted?" photos: fixed in the very next update that would arrive quickly. A good bit of stink seems to work very well at getting bugs fixed fast... including those where blame was redirected to other players (like the photos thing was trying to be spun as user error)... especially if it seems like the stink is strong enough to impact very profitable revenue.

I fully expect my problematic enclosure (only with a single Mac running macOS since BigSur) to revive and work fine again right after some macOS update... just as it is using the same everything (cable/firmware/etc) when connected to older, pre-BigSur Macs or a PC. I 100% doubt it is some conspiracy of vendors purposely or accidentally doing something in firmware that ONLY affects macOS and only macOS above BigSur. They would lose money in sales and cost of returns if they didn't resolve something within their control.

I'm entirely convinced the fix is within Apples control... and will be magically accomplished when someone gets around to reviewing some code that includes the bugs that causes this. The bullet in the update might- just might- even acknowledge it with something like "fixes a bug that affected a small number of users with third party storage that would occasionally eject unexpectedly." Else, the community will just discover they were the "small number" and pass the word along to the other 2 or 5 people affected.

 

[ultratiem]

What can cause external Drive or external SSD drive to suddenly eject? It just happened to me. Never happened since I got this new iMac M3 in December. 24/2TB, 8/10, 4port. No TM migration new clean setup since the beginning. Wish it showed an error log or something.

Rumour is the some Apple silicon chips and hardware has issues with how they distribute the lanes to each physical port (I can’t recall here I read about it; it may have been eclectic light). When I got my M1 Mac Studio, my USBC 10 Gbps external drive could just not connect or stay connected. I was testing Ventura betas when it was first announced at WWDC and every version would restore functionality then drop it. It was a ********. Sonoma betas had the same issues. Even the final releases and subsequent version showed those problems (I can pull the BR# if you wish).

The specific issue was that the drive would disconnect after a few seconds. Often plugging it back and the system wouldn’t even recognize it. Then next beta it worked. Then next beta, back to disconnects. I tried three different chipsets, all of them suffered the same problem (Sabrent, ugreen and I forget the third). I asked around and no one had the issue it seemed. But those that I asked all had true TB externals drives. So I purchased a TB4 external drive and no issues. Since then, I have connected my USBC external (ugreen) without issue as well (after updating its firmware). So Apple clearly fixed it in some cases and so did some of the drive’s manufacturers.

If you’re still suffering it may be that the firmware on your drive has not fixed it. But it seems USBC drives are a mixed bag. I would suggest getting a TB or USBC4 enclosure.

 

[platinumaqua]

Try getting a Thunderbolt dock with its own USB controller (so NOT an USB-C hub) and connect your drives there instead

 

[kagharaht]

Like this one?
TB Dock

 

[platinumaqua]

Like this one?
TB Dock

This is an USB-C hub.

Thunderbolt docks usually have MSRP above $100.

The dock I'm using is Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock

Kensington, Caldigit, Elgato, Belkin, OWC all have Thunderbolt 3 docks

 

[kagharaht]

I found a OWC for 100 bucks or so. I can't believe I have to buy one of these things to prevent the sudden disk eject. Oh well.

 

[svenmany]

I found a OWC for 100 bucks or so. I can't believe I have to buy one of these things to prevent the sudden disk eject. Oh well.

I've used the CalDigit TS3+ and TS4. I've had disconnect issues with both. The TS4 cost me close to $400.

If you do decide to try this route, see if you can buy from someplace that offers a refund if it doesn't work out. For example, if you buy from Amazon, you would have to decide whether you'd be justified in claiming that the dock you received is defective. If you do claim it's defective, Amazon would take it back.

There is a chance that these more expensive docks would solve some issues. I've almost never had a disconnect while the computer was awake with my CalDigit dock. But, I do have the issue when waking from sleep.

 

[svenmany]

I forgot to mention, if you buy a CalDigit TS4, don't forget to apply the update which is supposed to address sleep and eject issues.

TS4 macOS Firmware Update Procedures – CalDigit

www.caldigit.com

 

[platinumaqua]

I've used the CalDigit TS3+ and TS4. I've had disconnect issues with both. The TS4 cost me close to $400.

If you do decide to try this route, see if you can buy from someplace that offers a refund if it doesn't work out. For example, if you buy from Amazon, you would have to decide whether you'd be justified in claiming that the dock you received is defective. If you do claim it's defective, Amazon would take it back.

There is a chance that these more expensive docks would solve some issues. I've almost never had a disconnect while the computer was awake with my CalDigit dock. But, I do have the issue when waking from sleep.

both of them have newer chipsets that support USB tunneling so it's as if the devices were connecting to the ports on the computer. I'm not surprised that the disconnects still happened.

The dock I'm using (Elgato TB3 mini dock) and the mini docks from OWC, Belkin, and Startech use an older chipset so there is a discrete USB controller onboard the dock and won't use the computer's built-in controller.

 

[svenmany]

The common denominator in all cases is Mac and macOS.

I started thinking about this assertion. I really don't know if some of the docks have issues for some people running other operating systems. It's going to be hard to prove that no windows or linux user has had disconnects with external docks. So, it's hard to prove that the common denominator is Mac and macOS.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

This issue is in no way limited to dock connections. Plenty of Mac owners experience this with direct connections. And others do with both powered and unpowered docks too. I know we want to imply the problem is in third party pieces but the wide variety of setups & situations just don't support that idea.

As to "hard to prove no windows or linux user has had disconnections", I agree. I'll even go better than that and suggest that perhaps everyone has- on one occasion or another- experienced the oddball unexpected ejection on everything. However, this problem is very different... very regular. For example, my problematic drive pretty much can't stay connected for more than 3 hours. I could run the experiment a thousand times and be completely confident it will unexpectedly eject anywhere between 1 second and about 3 hours, whether I let the Mac or it sleep during that time or not... UNLESS... I hook it to a pre-BigSur Mac or any PC and then it is as stable as it was before I went Silicon.

To prove "no windows or linux" with great confidence, I'd need to scientifically sample millions of them to then extrapolate the scope of the issue in all types of computers everywhere. Instead, I lean on qualitative posts all over the internet talking about this problem and seeing many others noticing that their problematic drive is fine when connected to a PC or a pre-BigSur Mac... including their own if they are set up to dual boot. Dual boosters in particular really tell the story here: all variables include the Mac hardware itself is identical (Mac, Port, cable, firmware, enclosure, brand, drive). The ONE thing that changes is which version of macOS is "in charge."

If in doubt, go do a broad search for this topic. There seems to be countless threads here, on Apple's forums and elsewhere. I probably went through all of them while on a quest to find a user workaround solution as I really need my own problematic drive to work. The body of evidence implies wide varieties of hardware, cables, firmware, etc- both HDD & SSD, HDD RAID & SSD RAID- in which brand isn't a culprit (another drive from the same brand that made my problematic one has remained connected for a couple of years now) or age (some ancient drives I dug out of retirement to try to figure this problem out seemed to have no trouble staying connected- which also says it's probably not 'old' firmware, as some of that firmware was from the 2000s), etc. I also tested through 3 hubs myself- powered & unpowered, every port, etc... as have many other people with this same problem. For all such efforts by seemingly countless people, there is only ONE common denominator in every single case.

Now all that offered, I'll grant you that it MIGHT still be something OUTSIDE of Apple's box. The best evidence I have to narrow in on macOS is the many tales of upgrading to BigSur or newer, immediately crashing into this problem with previously dependable enclosures, then downgrading again and the problem ceasing... which seems to shout that it was NOT coincidence that the drive or cable or firmware happened to go bad right at the same time these many people upgraded macOS: ELSE, it would still be failing AFTER downgrading too. And since all other variables (cable, firmware, drive, etc) remains the same in those situations, it's unlikely it is cable, firmware, drive, etc.).

I know that for some of us, Apple can do no wrong so anything that is wrong has to be something or someone else... but the only common denominator with this problem is either Mac Silicon or macOS since BigSur. I mostly assume it is NOT Silicon as some drives are just fine and a hardware flaw would likely affect far more of them. So that leads me to macOS.

Anyone wanting to deny the possibility is challenged to unhook a problematic drive of their own that won't remain connected and then plug that same cable connection into any PC or any older Mac running macOS BEFORE BigSur. I'd bet quite large that the drive will suddenly become stable. And since such an experiment would rule out that it is NOT only your Mac, only your cable, only your firmware, only your settings or only you (user error)... because many others have the same problem. So redirection back at individual cases seems unproductive (but relentless) as anything that MIGHT resolve this for one doesn't fix everyone else's problem with the same.

Anyone with this problem and a Mac old enough to be able to boot into macOS before BigSur too, I encourage you to create a boot drive and try it both ways. That's EASY to do (boot into 2 versions of macOS and then give it a while to see if you get the unexpected ejection). I'll again bet large that the problematic drive on < BigSur macOS will suddenly stop "unexpectedly ejecting." Put the < BigSur Mac to sleep a hundred times and I bet it won't unexpectedly eject. Then, boot back into BigSur or sooner and watch the unexpected ejections resume.

That seems to shout where this problem lies... regardless of how hard some of us will try to redirect it away from faulting Apple. Identifying the proper source of a problem is the most fundamental key to developing a solution. Redirection spin just hides the problem and never gets it addressed. I'm quite confident about the source of THIS commonplace problem. Too much evidence and testing on a wide variety of "everything else" leaves only a few possibilities.

If in doubt- or brand denial/defense- but experiencing this issue, take my dare: hook yours to any PC or any Mac running < BigSur and see if it becomes perfectly stable. Then, you'll know the few variables left that it can be too.

 

[Fishrrman]

Once again, see my reply 33 above...

Apple isn't going to "fix" this.
Not with a software update.
Not with a hardware re-design.

Each user will have to find his/her own solution, or perhaps "an accommodation" that works for them.

 

[svenmany]

I know that for some of us, Apple can do no wrong so anything that is wrong has to be something or someone else

This seems to be a common retort. No one thinks Apple can do no wrong. Be upset at the situation, not at the people disagreeing with you.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm not really upset at anyone- just wanting to be sure we don't marginalize the problem to where it might seem like it is only dock connections, which in my prior posts I had already confirmed clearly that it was not. I wish it was only docks. Then we could blame docks and be right... and resolve the problem by connecting problematic drives direct to our Macs to bypass the problem. I'd LOVE it to be docks, or one kind of cable, or one brand of enclosures or one kind of firmware or one drive chipset or one brand of drives, or one user setting, etc. I'd LOVE to solve this problem by changing any of that.

What I don't appreciate is misinformation... as that allows blame to be widely spread which then takes the focus off of what will ultimately fix this issue. There is no benefit in implying it's other things when simple tests can rule out those other things. There is only ONE thing that is common to EVERY single case of this issue.

Anyone doubting the culprit I offer can easily test their own problematic drive with other tech to see if they can replicate the same problem with a PC or any Mac pre-BigSur. I strongly believe they will find that all is fine in the easy experiments... until they bring it back to a BigSur or newer Mac, where it is highly likely to resume the unexpected ejections.

One of the main things that brought me to Mac over 20 years ago was "just works." And we all know what the U in USB means. I miss both with latest-gen macOS with issues like this. I recently fired up a 2010 iMac to again test this very thing and the problematic drive remained connected to that oldie for 2 days, through multiple manual and automatic sleep cycles, etc- STABLE as ever. Bring it back to Mac Studio Ultra running latest macOS and it can't stay connected for longer than about 3 hours. All variables that tend to get blame in these threads remain the same... but I actually tested through multiple cables, docks & no docks, powered & unpowered hubs, etc trying to find ANY way to resolve the issue. All roads lead me back to the one common variable that is consistent in all cases.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Once again, see my reply 33 above...

Apple isn't going to "fix" this.
Not with a software update.
Not with a hardware re-design.

Each user will have to find his/her own solution, or perhaps "an accommodation" that works for them.

Unfortunately, after this many years of it being allowed to persist, I'm tending to agree with you. The ONE remedy that does absolutely work for all is basically playing enclosure roulette: buy a new enclosure, try it and see if it won't unexpectedly eject and then keep the one that doesn't. This is what I resorted to doing. If one buys an enclosure and it too unexpectedly ejects, return it and try another... and another... and another. Eventually you win the roulette spin.

My trusty <brand> enclosure that would not stay connected is replaced by another <same brand> enclosure that has remained connected for a few years. Unfortunately, the one that won't stay connected has much greater capacity but I can only use it with pre-Big Sur Macs or any PC without ejection worry.

I hold out hope though that one day- for whatever reason- Apple will get around to debugging the code at the root of this one and then word will spread how a new test of unexpected ejection drives has them working again. I'd like to confidently use my big storage one with my "latest & greatest" Mac in the same way that it worked just fine with the Mac this one replaced for a couple of years.