WD My Passport drive ejects after Mac Mini sleep

Question

WD My Passport drive ejects after Mac Mini sleep

Hello. I recently bought a Western Digital 5TB HDD My Passport Drive for my M4 Mac Mini running Tahoe 26.3.1. The drive works perfectly, but whenever my computer goes to sleep, and I wake it up, I get a message that my drive was improperly ejected.

The drive is connected to the computer using a USB-A-to-USB-C dongle. I attempted to use a USB-B to USB-C cable, but got the same problem.

I also have a Time Machine HDD connected (LaCie 2TB), but it does not have this problem at all. If it helps, the Time Machine drive is connected via USB-C without a dongle.

I disabled the "Put Hard Disks to Sleep When Possible" setting in MacOS, and I also disabled the "Sleep Timer" setting in WD Drive Utilities.

Could someone please help me with this? I don't wanna go through the hassle of wiping the drive and returning it if it keeps giving me this problem.

Posted on Mar 15, 2026 7:50 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Allan Jones

Level 10

84,790 points

Mar 16, 2026 11:14 AM in response to BlueSockDragon

WD Passports are not issue-free based on reports here. Many problems turn out to be power issues.

To test for power issues, disconnect all other USB devices, leaving only the WD, the keyboard and the mouse connected. See if the WD still acts up in that config. If it acts normally, that suggests it wants more power.

If that is the case, a POWERED hub or dock should fix the problem. A powered hub/dock is one with an independent power supply so your Mini does not have to supply all the power to turn the drive motor.

I see then on Amazon for about US$20 and up. Search for "powered USB hub."

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Answer 2

Mar 16, 2026 6:22 AM in response to BlueSockDragon

macOS Tahoe tends to require high quality cables & adapters...best they are from a reputable brand. That would be the first thing I would do.

Second, would be to try connecting the WD to a USB3 hub (powered would be best) to compare results.

Did you purchase this WD drive from a reputable vendor? I've seen reports where some vendors with third party marketplaces may be selling used drives made to look new and it can be very difficult to identify them.

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Answer 3

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,572 points

Mar 15, 2026 10:28 PM in response to BlueSockDragon

The solution to that is pretty simple, don’t let the Mac sleep. In the setting apps, set it so the display goes dark after the amount of minutes you decide on.

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Answer 4

Mar 17, 2026 7:17 AM in response to BlueSockDragon

BlueSockDragon wrote:

Yes, I bought the HDD from Best Buy sealed in the box. Though admittedly, the plastic body of the drive kinda looked like it had been used for a short amount of time and then replaced...

If its from a physical store, then its probably Ok. If you bought it online, then who knows since Best Buy sells stuff on their website from third parties. Sometimes it can be hard to tell which products are from Best Buy themselves and which are from third parties.

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Answer 5

Mar 16, 2026 9:00 PM in response to HWTech

Yes, I bought the HDD from Best Buy sealed in the box. Though admittedly, the plastic body of the drive kinda looked like it had been used for a short amount of time and then replaced...

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