External CD/DVD drives detected as USB but no discs mount in macOS Tahoe 26.2

Question

Level 1

8 points

External CD/DVD drives detected as USB but no discs mount in macOS Tahoe 26.2

I’m having an issue with external CD/DVD drives not working in macOS Tahoe 26.2, and I want to see if others are experiencing the same thing or have found a fix.

Hardware:

MacBook Pro (Apple Silicon)
Tested on two different Macs
Tested with two different external USB CD/DVD drives
Multiple USB cables and adapters

OS:

macOS Tahoe 26.2 (build 25C56)

What’s happening:

The external drive lights up and clicks when a disc is inserted.
The drive appears in System Information under USB, so the Mac sees the hardware.
However:
- The disc never mounts in Finder
- Nothing appears in Disk Utility
- DVD Player / VLC / other software cannot see the disc
- No new disk device appears in /dev

Terminal results:

drutil list → shows no drives
drutil info → returns nothing
ls /dev | grep -i disk → only internal disks, no new device when a disc is inserted

What I’ve tried:

Two different external CD/DVD drives
Multiple CDs and DVDs
Multiple USB cables and adapters
Two different Macs
Restarting with the drive connected
Disk Utility (Show All Devices)
DVD playback software
Terminal tools (drutil)

All attempts produce the same result: the drive is detected as a USB device, but macOS never recognizes or mounts any inserted disc.

Question:

Has Apple removed or broken support for external optical drives in macOS Tahoe (26.x), or is there a known workaround or driver that restores disc mounting? Is anyone else on Tahoe 26.2 able to successfully use an external CD/DVD drive?

I’d appreciate any confirmation, workarounds, or official documentation on whether optical media is still supported.

Posted on Jan 14, 2026 5:20 PM

Reply

Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

91,534 points

Jan 14, 2026 5:49 PM in response to KRB1776

Go to Finder > Settings... > General tab > make sure that CDs, DVDs and iPods is checked.

Go to Finder > Settings... > Sidebar tab > make sure that CDs, DVDs and iOS Devices is checked.

Then go to Apple > System Settings... > Privacy and Security > scroll down to "Allow accessories to connect" Allow.

Allow USB and other accessories to connect to your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

TheLittles

Level 10

203,337 points

Jan 14, 2026 8:13 PM in response to KRB1776

"External CD/DVD drives detected as USB but no discs mount in macOS Tahoe 26.2: I’m having an issue with external CD/DVD drives not working in macOS Tahoe 26.2, and I want to see if others are experiencing the same thing or have found a fix."

-------

Getting External Optical Drives to Work:

A. Go Apple-for-Apple:

When connecting this and it does not have a USB-C port, then use an adapter by Apple. Over the years, it can make all the difference. Go here: USB-C to USB Adapter - Apple

B. Turn Off VPNs:

Do you have any VPNs turned on? If so, turn them off.

C. Single-Out this User:

What happens when you create a new Administrator user on this Mac, and then try using it? If there is no issue, then it is an issue with your current user. Is there is the same issue, then that would indicate that it is a system-wide issue.

D. Remove Profiles:

Go Here: Change Device Management Settings on Mac - Apple Support

E. Boot in Safe Mode:

In Safe Mode, login item do not open at login, a broken caches may be fixed. So, try it while booted in to, and then restart and try it in this same user. Go Here: Start up your Mac in Safe Mode - Apple Support

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Answer 3

KRB1776 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 14, 2026 6:45 PM in response to den.thed

Thanks for the suggestion. I double-checked all of those settings and they were already enabled:

Finder > Settings > General: “CDs, DVDs, and iPods” is checked
Finder > Settings > Sidebar: “CDs, DVDs, and iOS Devices” is checked
System Settings > Privacy & Security: “Allow accessories to connect” is set to Allow

Unfortunately, even with all of these enabled, the behavior is the same:

The external drive appears in System Information (USB)
The drive powers on and clicks when a disc is inserted
But no disc mounts in Finder, nothing appears in Disk Utility, and no device shows up in /dev
drutil list and drutil info also show no optical drives

This has been tested on two different Macs, with two different external CD/DVD drives, multiple discs, cables, and adapters, all running macOS Tahoe 26.2 (25C56).

At this point it seems like macOS is detecting the hardware but not attaching the optical media driver at all. If anyone has confirmed a workaround, driver, or knows whether external optical drives are no longer supported in Tahoe, I’d really appreciate the insight.

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