M2 MacBook Air suddenly doesn't recognize external USB-C Blu-Ray drive

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M2 MacBook Air suddenly doesn't recognize external USB-C Blu-Ray drive

Working with a 2022 M2 MacBook Air on Tahoe 26.6.2. I have an external USB-C Blu-Ray drive which I have used to write well over 100 data Blu-ray Discs backing up data vi Toast Titanium. The drive is powered solely by USB-C and has worked fine.

I connected it yesterday and the computer will not recognize it at all. The drive powers up and spins but nothing happens. I connected it to a Windows laptop and put a Blu-Ray movie in and it powered up and played fine. I don't believe the drive is the problem and the MacBook USB-C port works fine otherwise.

I bought another Blu-Ray drive and got the same result - not detected. These drives are not mounting and not showing in Disk Utility.

I did make sure to enable accessories to connect (always) in Settings > Privacy & Security > Security > Settings.

Google turns up nothing beyond the obvious (make sure it's plugged in, etc.). I'm completely stumped. I don't see anything about any OS updates that might have removed functionality or anything like that and that's all I can think of.

Any help or direction is appreciated!

Posted on Oct 9, 2026 4:03 AM

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Answer 1

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Allan Jones

Level 10

85,042 points

Oct 9, 2026 5:49 PM in response to Errk!

Does this happen when on battery power? If so, try connecting the computer to its charger/power supply and testing.

Another check: what other USB devices are connected to the computer when this happens?

As most of the problems with external optical disk players seem to arrise from power demand to run both the drive's electronics and a motor turning the platter, one good fix is to get a SELF-POWERED USB hub and place it between the drive and the computer. "Self-powered" means the hub has its own independent power supply, taking the load off the computer's few USB ports.

What brands and models are the drives?

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Answer 2

Errk! Author

Level 1

20 points

Oct 9, 2026 10:49 PM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks so much for replying. This does happen even when connected to power/charging.

After confirming that the drive works the only thing I could think of is that there is a power draw issue. The only thing is that this happened out of nowhere, unless there was a recent OS update that caused it. This drive in particular has both read and written while the computer was on battery power.

That said, I like that suggestion and I'll pick up a self-powered USB hub and give that a shot.

Have there been any documented changes that would not allow a USB-C powered drive to work any longer?

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Answer 3

Errk! Author

Level 1

20 points

Oct 11, 2026 3:09 PM in response to Allan Jones

I picked up a self-powered USB hub and it didn't make a difference; Mac OS still isn't seeing the disc in the drive. The drive is spinning and clearly reading the disc but it's just not appearing in Windows.

Again I've verified that the USB port is working fine as is the drive (by plugging it into other computers).

Is there any other setting in Mac OS that would prevent the drive from mounting or being shown as a mounted drive?

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