Samsung Portable SSD software doesn't work properly on MacBook Air M1

First mistake was installing the Samsung software in the first place.

No computer made today, that includes windows machines, require

any special software or drivers to use and external USB drive.

There are always numerous complaints all over Apple Communities

about external drive problems that all eventually boil down

to installing the manufacturer's drivers or software as they tend

to circumvent what macOS does when accessing disks.

Follow factory instruction and fully uninstall the software and

start over.

And as far as any special "security software" they may offer,

it is not needed either as Apple already supplies you with

File Vault disk encryption utility.

I had the same issue. This is not a Samsung issue, its a Big Sur issue. The first time you are to install the software it prompts you to go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and under the General tab you are to find a Notification under the "Allow apps downloaded from:" section. If you miss that at the first installation it will never appear again unless you switch macOs in recovery mode and disable kernel extensions blocking. Unistall the Samsung Portable SSD utility using the script inside the Application contents. Follow the guidelines in the medium article to disable the feature mentioned above. Then reinstall the Samsung Portable SSD utility and you will get the notification saying the extension has been blocked. Click on go to Security & Privacy settings and under The General tab you will see the text I described earlier. Unlock the settings and click on details. Tick on Samsung Electronics close the details window and restart your Mac as prompted. Then, remove your Samsung Portable SSD and open the Samsung Portable SSD utility. Connect your SSD press refresh and you should be fine. Lastly, reboot to recovery mode and enable the kernel extensions blocking feature.

Enjoy!

Hey, I ran into the same issue as well, but did the following and it worked:

1. Uninstall any current versions you have already installed (not by dragging and dropping into the recycling bin) but by following the steps below:

Steps to remove:

1. Click/Open Finder
2. Click on your name
3. Show hidden folders by clicking SHIFT + Command + Period
4. Open the library folder
5. click on Application Support
6. Click on Portable_SSD folder
7. Double click on the file called CleanupT7PlusAll.scpt
8. This will open like a terminal and click on the play button to run/uninstall all current versions of the Samsung software.

Once that is done you need to ensure you are installing the correct version of the T7 Touch SSD found at https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/portable/

Note: There are 3 options to download for Mac and the correct one if you're using Mac Big Sur is the 3rd option which has the version beside it that mentions 1.7.3

The exact name: Portable SSD Software 1.0 for Mac (The macOS Big Sur user's only)

Version 1.7.3 | 22.8M

Install that and the final step in your installation it will ask you go to the Security and Privacy options in your Mac and allow the software from being blocked.

Once that is done, reboot your PC and test it out, it should work.

There is a new software available from Samsung (version 1.7.3) which resolves the issues around our T7 and T7 touch not being recognized. Download the latest software from Samsung site or here http://ssd.samsungsemi.com/ecomobile/ssd/update3.do?fname=/SamsungPortableSSD_Setup_Mac_1.7.3.zip

note I installed this latest version and it worked with no issues. I can setup my fingerprint and more.

Hey Everyone,

I created a quick video on Youtube to show you all how I got my software installed and working.

https://youtu.be/PrjbtzNedVA

Note - The SD Video has been uploaded, but it will be HD within 10 minutes as that's still processing.

Again the steps I took to resolve my issue:

1.    Uninstall any current versions you have already installed (not by dragging and dropping into the recycling bin) but by following the steps below:

Steps to remove:

1.    Click/Open Finder

2.    Click on your name

3.    Show hidden folders by clicking SHIFT + Command + Period

4.    Open the library folder

5.    click on Application Support

6.    Click on Portable_SSD folder

7.    Double click on the file called CleanupT7PlusAll.scpt

8.    This will open like a terminal and click on the play button to run/uninstall all current versions of the Samsung software.

Once that is done you need to ensure you are installing the correct version of the T7 Touch SSD found at https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/portable/

Note: There are 3 options to download for Mac and the correct one if you're using Mac Big Sur is the 3rd option which has the version beside it that mentions 1.7.3

The exact name: Portable SSD Software 1.0 for Mac (The macOS Big Sur user's only)

Hi,

did you go to System preferences and Security and Privacy then under the General tab you should see something saying Samsung was blocked and asking you to allow it.

once allowed it will work.

if you've enabled password protection on that drive please remove it and try again. I had the same issue so I removed the password using a PC. the SSD drive works fine for me without the PSSD software. Use just cant use the PW protection. hopefully, Samsung will fix this soon.

Hi, Samsung has released an updated version of their T7 SSD software called “Portable SSD Software 1.0 for Mac (The macOS Big Sur user's only)”

This might resolve your issue.

url - https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/portable/

visit the URL and look for the one I mentioned above.

Here is the site to download the file from Samsung

https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/portable/t7-touch/

expand the download files area under T7 and T7 Touch and install the one that’s says for BigSur (version 1.7.3)

Dear all,

Samsung has fixed this issue! there is an macOS Big Sur software version available now!

Pay attention as there is some system extension settings steps, when the software asked me to grant acces in privacy settings I couldn't so MacOS prompted me to restart the MacBook Air M1 and change some security settings on system extension (im not an IT expert so I dont really know what it is).

This fixed the issue, now the portable ssd software recognizes the T5 and I can set a password again.

Im happy Samsung did fix it! :)

Thank you. Second confirmed here. 1.7.3 installed and is recognising my T7 Touch without issue here.

Sure enough, running the app on my Intel machine (Catalina) gave no update notification, but on the M1 (Big Sur), the app told me of the update.

I'm guessing Samsung will merge the branches in time.

You’re welcome, if you’re still having issues, I’d try to email Samsung at this email address and they can try to escalate to the team that manages the software.

I’ve emailed them back and forth and a few days later version 1.7.3 was out.

[Email Edited by Moderator]

I understand, I at first had the exact same issue, I missed clicking on Allow and it never reappeared until I installed version 1.7.3. Which magically brought the option there to click on allow.

since I can’t post the email I used to email samsung (as Apple removes it from a post) I’ll email samsung to let them know users are still experiencing issues and hopefully they can come out with a fix soon.

if I hear anything back from them will post an update.

having seen this in macrumors forums, as well as in iBoysoft's new post about "Fix Samsung External SSD Not Working on Apple Silicon M1 Mac". The password unlocking and the updating Samsung Portable SSD Software parts should be helpful.

I could make my Samsung Portable SSD T3 recognized by my MacBook Pro M1 by removing its specific Samsung Password, because the Samsung software to use password-protected SSD can't be installed under Mac Os Big Sur.