Samsung Portable SSD app not recognizing T7 Shield SSD on MacBook M2 Pro

I have a Samsung t7 shield ssd 1TB. it works normally on my mac m1 2020 after changing the settings in the disk Utilities and the in the privacy and security. I also did on the Start up options >> Utilities >> Start up Security Utilities>> Reduce Security >> allow user management of Kernel extensions.


It shows on the desktop normally but when opining Samsung portable ssd app it says it is discounted. The ssd work normally on MacBook M1 but on MacBook M2pro it doesn't open. I will attach some photos for clarification.



[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 2023)

Posted on Nov 4, 2026 4:12 PM

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Posted on Nov 4, 2026 6:55 PM

You would be better off uninstalling and not using that Samsung app. The fact that you have to reduce security to use it should be enough to tell you this is a bad idea. Drive manufacturers often provide these apps but they often turn out to be incompatible when the macOS is updated ad this can actually cause a loss of access to the data on the drives.


You can and should manage the drives with Apple's Disk Utility and nothing more.


Not knowing what dependencies have been introduced with that Samsung app, what I would do is copy all the external drive's contents to a different drive. Then I would erase/format the T7 with Apple's Disk Utility and completely uninstall (with an uninstaller) the Samsung app and remove it from your Mac. Then I would restore security to its proper settings. And restore the saved files back to the newly formatted T7.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 4, 2026 6:55 PM in response to qawal

You would be better off uninstalling and not using that Samsung app. The fact that you have to reduce security to use it should be enough to tell you this is a bad idea. Drive manufacturers often provide these apps but they often turn out to be incompatible when the macOS is updated ad this can actually cause a loss of access to the data on the drives.


You can and should manage the drives with Apple's Disk Utility and nothing more.


Not knowing what dependencies have been introduced with that Samsung app, what I would do is copy all the external drive's contents to a different drive. Then I would erase/format the T7 with Apple's Disk Utility and completely uninstall (with an uninstaller) the Samsung app and remove it from your Mac. Then I would restore security to its proper settings. And restore the saved files back to the newly formatted T7.

Nov 4, 2026 4:22 PM in response to qawal

If the drive shows on the desktop, the Mac already sees it. The Samsung app is separate and needs its own software allowed.

On the M2 Pro, do the same startup security change you did on the M1. Shut down, hold the power button, open Startup Security Utility, set Reduced Security, and allow user management of kernel extensions. Then in System Settings, Privacy and Security, allow the Samsung extension and restart. Normal copying works without that app.

Nov 5, 2026 11:24 AM in response to qawal

qawal wrote:
Thank you do much! The problem is Samsung T7's does not show the real storage without the app and security password. In Disk Utility it show only as 76,3 MB.

Yes, for Disk Utility to show complete information about the drive, you need to select View => Show All Devices from within Disk Utility. Then select the highest most level for that external drive for information about its total storage capacity.


You also are using the drive formatted as MD-DOS (FAT16), which is sub-optimal for use on a Mac. Unless you need that format for use on a PC, you should from within Disk Utility (AFTER COPYING OFF ALL THE FILES FROM THE EXTERNAL T7 DRIVE), select View => Show all Devices, then select the highest most level for the T7 (device level) and select Erase. When you erase/format it, select APFS and GUID for the format. After doing that, uninstall all the Samsung external drive software from your Mac. Then copy back your saved files to the T7.


Your MS-DOS/FAT16 plus use of Samsung drive tools are somehow hiding the full capacity of the drive from you; or perhaps it is simply that you have the wrong View option from within Disk Utility.


FAT16 limits volume size to 2GB. It dates from the 1980s and should not be used on a large drive like a T7.


Be sure to copy off your data before erasing and formatting the drive.

Nov 5, 2026 7:59 PM in response to qawal

qawal wrote:
Thank you do much! The problem is Samsung T7's does not show the real storage without the app and security password. In Disk Utility it show only as 76,3 MB.

If you want to use the self encrypting SSD's built-in hardware encryption, then you must use the Samsung proprietary software. However, you will likely encounter situations where that proprietary software will fail after a minor macOS update patch leaving you without access to the hardware encrypted data. Plus as @steve626 already mentioned.....the fact you must reduce system security to run that software is telling you Samsung has not properly updated that app to drop the old outdated & deprecated methods.


Before you can get rid of that software, you will need that software to turn off the SSD's built-in hardware encryption feature so that the SSD can be accessed without Samsung's software.


Having macOS manage external drives is the safest option. If this drive will only be used with a Mac running macOS 10.13+, then you can have macOS encrypt the APFS file system on that SSD.



Nov 5, 2026 9:42 PM in response to qawal

"Samsung Portable SSD app not recognizing T7 Shield SSD on MacBook M2 Pro"

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Drive Not Working Between Devices:


A. Remount the Drive:

Click: Unmount on the top-right corner of the screenshot, and then click Mount, when it shows. This can fix a few things when it comes to reading the disk.


B. Change the Format:

Using this with just a Mac, use APFS for the format of your Mac models (macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and After). FAT32 is what to use, if you want to use this across a Windows PC and a macOS platforms.


Screenshot:

Samsung Portable SSD app not recognizing T7 Shield SSD on MacBook M2 Pro

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