How to View Photos on an SD Card on a MacBook

Question 1: What devices use SD cards?

• Digital camera
• Camcorder/DVD recorder
• Android smartphone
• Television
• Handheld game device
• Printer

Question 2: How can I access and view files on my SD card?

1. Step 1. Remove the SD card from your device
2. Step 2. Connect the SD card to your PC or Mac
3. Step 3. Locate the SD card drive
4. Step 4. Open the SD card and browse its contents using a photo/video viewing application

Problem 3: Having Issues Viewing Photos/Videos from SD Card on Mac?

• I don't have an SD card slot on my Mac.
• The SD card icon doesn't show up on my Mac's desktop.
• The images on the SD card are missing, but the folders are still there.

Today, we will discuss how to view photos on an SD card on Mac, such as MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. From the three questions at the beginning, we know that there are still many devices using SD cards to store data, and connecting the SD card to a Mac seems simple and practical. Nevertheless, you may still be unable to access the SD card data due to connection issues or SD card issues. Next, we will guide you through several common problems and fixes for an SD card not showing up on your Mac.

How to Connect an SD Card to a Mac & Make It Visible

#1. First, check the SD card slot on either side of your camera. Make sure the lock switch is turned off. Otherwise, your SD card will appear as a read-only file system on Mac, preventing you from making any changes to the card.

#2 Check if your Mac has an SD card slot, and connect that way.

These Mac models have an SD card slot:

- MacBook Pro introduced in 2021 - MacBook Pro models introduced between 2011 and 2015 - Mac mini models introduced between 2011 and 2014 - 13-inch MacBook Air models introduced between 2013 and 2017 - 27-inch iMac models introduced in 2010 or later - 21.5-inch iMac models introduced in 2010 or later

For devices without an SD card slot, you'll need a USB-C to SD card reader to connect it.

How to Fix the Problem of SD Card Not Showing Up on Mac

Problem 3: The SD card disk icon is not showing up correctly on the macOS desktop. This issue could be due to a system setting or a damaged SD card. Both scenarios have solutions. Let's proceed.

Fix 1: Show "External Hard Drive" in Disk Utility

On your Mac, click the Finder icon in the Dock, then choose Finder > Preferences. Under the General tab, you'll see a list of items to display on the desktop. Check the box next to “External disks.”

Fix 2. Repair the corrupted SD card using the Rescue feature:

1. First, open "System Preferences," and then click the "Disk Utility" button. 2. Next, select your external hard drive and choose the "First Aid" option. 3. Following that, the system will ask if you want to run First Aid on the device. Just click the "Run" button to proceed.

How to Recover Lost Photos and Videos from an SD Card on a Mac

#4. The SD card is connected and detected, but缺少 photos and videos. This can be pretty frustrating for most camera users. When you find yourself in this situation, you'll need a tool like Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to do an SD card recovery and get your photos back.

Watch the following video to learn how to use the best SD card recovery software to get back lost photos. If you don't know how to install Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, refer to the instructions in this video:

• 00:11 What Can Cause Data Loss on an SD Card?
• 00:50 Download Tool: Mac Data Recovery Wizard
• 00:58 Select the SD Card and Scan It
• 01:12 Filter the Results

Step 1: Select the SD card

Connect the memory card to your Mac correctly. Launch the Disk Drill for Mac data recovery tool. Choose "SD Card Recovery", find your Canon/Nikon/GoPro/DJI/Sony SD card, and click "Search for lost files".

Note: Before you proceed with data recovery, it is recommended that you click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar and create a backup of your SD card to prevent further data loss. After backing up the SD card, the software can recover data from the SD card backup, and you can remove the SD card and use it again.

Select the location to scan for lost SD card data

Step 2. Filter Lost Data from the SD Card

When the scan is finished, all files will be displayed in the left pane of the scan results. Find the photos, videos, and other files you want.

Step 3: Preview and recover the data

Preview the SD card data and select the files you want, then click on the “Recover” button. To prevent overwriting of data, do not save the recoverable files to the SD card itself.

In short, this is the general way to open and view an SD card on a Mac...

1. Insert the SD card into your Mac's SD card slot, or use a USB-C to SD card reader. 2. Open the Finder app, which has a blue icon with two smiling faces. 3. Click on the drive (volume) that macOS assigned to the SD card in the left pane, then look through the contents of the SD card on the right. 4. If you lost files from your SD card, download a Mac data recovery wizard to restore them.