Mac cannot read Mavic formatted SD card

[pangdemonium]

I have a SanDisk Extreme Plus 32gb which I formatted on the Mavic Air. Recorded video fine with no problems. I took the card out and tried to read it directly on my MacBook Pro and an error message came up saying "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer."

I was able to plug the Mavic into the Mac directly and get my videos off. I don't want to have to do this every time though (especially when I don't have any battery left).

After I formatted the SD card on my Mac (exFAT), I can record video/photos on my Mavic but the app will say something like "Format SD card recommended" and not give me the number of remaining photos/videos on the card.

Anyone know why this is happening and how to fix it?

 

[Qoncussion]

It sounds like you did everything right. So as far as troubleshooting goes, the first thing I would do is try a different card reader (essentially, remove all external variables between the card, the computer and the drone - in your case that would be the card reader or the USB port it was plugged into on the computer).

 

[pangdemonium]

I'm using the built in MacBook Pro SD card reader and tried a few different micro -> sd card adapters. Tried an old SD card to USB reader as well. No luck.

I formatted a Samsung Evo Select 128gb card in my mavic and that card can be read by the Mac just fine. I wonder if the 32gb is being formatted in FAT32 and the 128gb is formatted as exFAT.

 

[digiteye]

I'm using the built in MacBook Pro SD card reader and tried a few different micro -> sd card adapters. Tried an old SD card to USB reader as well. No luck.

I formatted a Samsung Evo Select 128gb card in my mavic and that card can be read by the Mac just fine. I wonder if the 32gb is being formatted in FAT32 and the 128gb is formatted as exFAT.

I believe that you just answered the question. That thing has never worked for me, no matter what device I used for recording.
Try a USB card reader, perhaps one came with your card and see if it works through USB port. I use this one on the photo, I can plug it in any device.

 

[pangdemonium]

I tried the card on my wife's work laptop (Dell+Windows) and it worked. Also noted that it was formatted as FAT32.

Funny how the mavic is designed for apple but can't even read the cards properly

 

[Snoek]

I have exactly the same problem with a brand new Mavic Air and a Sandisk 128Gb Extreme memory card. I have tried several adaptors to connect it to my MacBook Pro internal SD card slot and used a USB adaptor for the slot.
I previously used this card in a GoPro but I cannot see how that should cause the problem as I formatted it in the Mavic Air (I saw other threads online suggesting this might be a problem so have ordered a brand new card).

Has anyone found a solution?

 

[Chrisbarbers]

I had the same issue here, I believe it was the type and class of card, I have no issues in my GoPro with it, but the MA wouldn't use it... swapped to a higher performance smaller GB card and works fine... I also use a Mac.

 

[ajlholt]

I have a SanDisk Extreme Plus 32gb which I formatted on the Mavic Air. Recorded video fine with no problems. I took the card out and tried to read it directly on my MacBook Pro and an error message came up saying "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer."

I was able to plug the Mavic into the Mac directly and get my videos off. I don't want to have to do this every time though (especially when I don't have any battery left).

After I formatted the SD card on my Mac (exFAT), I can record video/photos on my Mavic but the app will say something like "Format SD card recommended" and not give me the number of remaining photos/videos on the card.

Anyone know why this is happening and how to fix it?

 

[ajlholt]

I have a similar problem. I have used the Mavic to record video and stills onto the supplied 32GB Micro SD card. I can transfer them onto a PC with no problem. When I try to view or transfer them onto my Mac running 10.13.4 I get a message saying: "The operation can’t be completed because one or more required items can’t be found. (Error code -43)"
It must be something to do with how the msd card has been formatted. Anyone have any idea how to resolve this?

 

[mtnbkr123]

Is this still a known issue?

I am sitting here with an unopened MA FMC, and four 64 GB Sandisk Extreme cards. All can still be returned for a week. I am on the fence as to whether I keep any of it. I was planning to edit using my MBP. This may tip the scale in favour of returning the MA if this is still an issue.

Thanks.

 

[Kilrah]

I've had to format the card a couple of times with both the MA and the computer (don't remember if I did it from Windows or Mac OS) and it eventually worked.

 

[mtnbkr123]

I've had to format the card a couple of times with both the MA and the computer (don't remember if I did it from Windows or Mac OS) and it eventually worked.

Thanks. I wonder how much BS this is going to be for me with my MBP...

 

[ajlholt]

Here is my latest. I took out the supplied 15GB U3 MSD HC 1 card and formatted it exFAT in my Mac. The card was then not recognised by the Mavic. I re-formatted it MS-DOS(FAT) in the Mac and it is now recognised by the Mavic and files can be played and copied with the Mac. My conclusions thus far are that if you want to be able to read and copy the Mavic files with a Mac, format the card MS-DOS(FAT) in your Mac and then use it with the Mavic. Do not format it in the Mavic. I am very unimpressed that this is the case and I would like someone from DJI to come and explain to this post why Mavic formatted cards cannot be read with a Mac running the latest 10.13.4.

 

[Snoek]

I have 2 identical SanDisk Extreme Plus 125GB microSDXC memory cards (which I bought separately).

-My first card was formatted and used regularly in my GoPro Hero 6.
-When I got the Mavic Air I used that card, formatted it in the Mavic Air and it recorded perfectly.
-However, that card would not work in my Mac, it just gave me the error that it could not read the card (although it worked perfectly in the drone).
-I also tried multiple SD card adaptors as well as my MacBook Pro’s internal SD socket and USB sockets.

-Then I bought a brand new (identical) card and formatted this directly in the Mavic Air
-This has worked absolutely perfectly in my MacBook both internally and through USB
-I only format it or make changes in the Mavic

I am convinced that the Mavic Air doesn’t like SD cards that have been used by any other device. It’s an expensive solution but I’d recommend buying a new card and using it exclusively for your Mavic Air.

 

[SpearmintGiraffe]

I have had so many problems with formatting and reading cards between my Mavic Air and iMac. It the least pleasurable experience in owning this drone.
I don't understand why DJI don't publish definitive up-to-date information on this subject. Why should we all have to guess settings and formatting methods? It just smacks of laziness.

I re-formatted a SanDisk Extreme Plus 64GB on my iMac, but only because after I deleted the MA files I had saved, the disk still showed as being full. I tried to delete these several times but each time I checked the disk was still full. So I guessed by re-formatting in ExFAT, it would somehow delete and empty the card. This worked and the disk then showed full capacity.

I then shot some footage, and although it saved and then was able to be accessed and viewed through the DJIGo4 app, when I tried to read those files on the iMac, it just came up as Disk Not Readable, as many have explained here.

I was ready to use the 720p footage that had been saved automatically to my iPhone, when I thought I'd simply try connecting the drone to a USB port on the iMac with the bundled cable. I'd always taken the card out before (which is the most stupid fiddly job anyway).

Miraculously, the Error message didnt appear this time - instead 2 drives appeared in Devices which could be read like any other. For me the problem was very simply solved.
I'm going to keep the memory card in the drone, and delete the files I don't want in the app.

I hope this fix works for others having this problem - and you don't need to take that darned card out of that impossibly inaccessible slot!!

 

[DanMan32]

Only problem with that solution is that you have to power the AC.

 

[ac0j]

Only problem with that solution is that you have to power the AC.

I wouldnt think for very long. How long does it take a mac to dump an SD card?

 

[RicGPDX]

I've been using Disk Utility to format my cards (SanDisk 95 MB/s). I simply erase them using ExFAT formatting, which is best for large files on large storage media. The Mavic will automatically create the needed folder structure when it first writes to the card. This works best for the workflow I use.

Ric

 

[Thomas B]

I do not reformat my SanDisk Extreme SD cards. I just delete the old files from the folder and empty trash before ejecting the card from my iMac.

 

[RicGPDX]

I do not reformat my SanDisk Extreme SD cards. I just delete the old files from the folder and empty trash before ejecting the card from my iMac.

As long as you're deleting all the folders, that should be okay. I did notice an index-type file in one of the other folders that should be cleared.