Quick Answer
Yes, Seagate external hard drives can be used with Mac computers. Seagate drives are compatible with Mac OS X and macOS. Just connect the drive to your Mac via USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire and it will mount on the desktop, allowing you to access the drive contents like any other disk.
Can I Use Any Seagate Drive with My Mac?
Generally speaking, any Seagate external drive can be used with a Mac. This includes:
- Seagate Backup Plus drives
- Seagate Expansion portable drives
- Seagate Game Drive for Xbox
- Seagate Backup Plus Hub
- Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch
- Seagate Portable external drives
- Seagate Enterprise Capacity HDDs
- And most other Seagate external drives
As long as the drive connects via USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire, it will work fine with a Mac right out of the box. There’s no special formatting or drivers required.
The only exception is Seagate external drives that are designed for use with Windows PCs and come pre-formatted with NTFS (NT File System). Macs can read NTFS drives but can’t write to them out of the box. To get write access, you’ll need to install a free NTFS driver software on your Mac or reformat the drive to a Mac-compatible file system before using it.
How to Connect a Seagate Drive to Mac
Connecting a Seagate drive to a Mac is very simple:
- Plug the Seagate drive into your Mac using the included USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire cable.
- The Seagate drive should mount on the Mac desktop within seconds and appear in Finder.
- If the drive isn’t recognized, turn it off and back on again.
- Once mounted, you can access files just like any internal or external drive.
- Eject the drive before physically disconnecting by dragging its icon to the Trash.
Most Seagate drives today use a USB 3.0 connection. For faster speeds, use a USB-C or Thunderbolt cable and port. Make sure to use the appropriate cable for your Seagate drive interface and Mac port.
If your Seagate drive has a power adapter, remember to plug it in for additional power. Portable USB-powered Seagate drives don’t need a separate power connection.
Benefits of Using Seagate Drives on Mac
There are several advantages to using Seagate external drives with Mac computers:
- Simple plug-and-play functionality – Seagate drives work right out of the box with a Mac with no extra steps required.
- Massive storage expansion – Seagate drives add huge external storage to your Mac for backing up data, storing a photo library, expanding your gaming library, etc.
- Portability – Small portable Seagate drives allow you to take all your files with you on the go.
- Various connections – Seagate offers drives with USB, Thunderbolt, or legacy FireWire ports to match your Mac’s connectivity.
- Advanced features – Some Seagate drives include useful features like backup software, encryption, and folder mirroring.
- Reliability – Seagate drives are rugged and reliable for safely storing all your important data.
So if you need more storage space for your Mac, a Seagate external drive is a smart way to expand capacity.
Formatting a Seagate Drive for Mac
Seagate external drives come preformatted with NTFS (Windows) or HFS+ (Mac) depending on the drive model. You can reformat a drive to change the file system to make it compatible with your computer.
Here are some tips for formatting your Seagate drive to work on a Mac:
- Use Disk Utility in Mac OS to format Seagate drives with APFS, Mac OS Extended, or ExFAT for compatibility with Mac and Windows.
- Always back up important data before reformatting a drive, as this will erase all content.
- NTFS-formatted Seagate drives can read-only be used on Mac. Install a NTFS driver for full read/write access.
- For use as a Time Machine backup drive, format the Seagate drive to Mac OS Extended.
- For sharing large files between Mac and Windows, ExFAT is ideal.
Here are the steps to format a Seagate drive with Disk Utility on Mac:
- Connect your Seagate drive to the Mac.
- Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities).
- Select the Seagate drive in the sidebar.
- Click Erase at the top.
- Choose a format (APFS, Mac OS Extended, ExFAT, etc).
- Give the drive a name.
- Click Erase to confirm and reformat the Seagate drive.
Once formatted, the Seagate drive will be compatible with your Mac computer for seamless usage.
Using a Seagate Drive for Time Machine Backups
Seagate hard drives are great for using with Time Machine to create full system backups on your Mac. Here’s how to set it up:
- Connect the Seagate drive to your Mac and format it to Mac OS Extended using Disk Utility.
- Open System Preferences > Time Machine on your Mac.
- Click Select Backup Disk and choose your Seagate external drive.
- Enable the Time Machine switch.
- Time Machine will create hourly backups to the Seagate drive when it’s connected.
- If the drive becomes full, Time Machine will delete older backups.
Some tips for using a Seagate drive with Time Machine:
- Use a drive that’s 2-4x your Mac’s storage capacity for backups.
- Plug in the drive regularly to allow for continuous incremental backups.
- Store the Seagate drive in a safe place when not making backups.
- Backup important files separately as an extra precaution.
With Time Machine making automatic backups to a Seagate external drive, you can restore files or your entire Mac should you ever lose data or experience a disaster.
Troubleshooting Seagate Drives on Mac
Seagate drives are generally very reliable when used with Macs. But here are some tips for troubleshooting problems if they arise:
Drive not detected
- Check USB/Thunderbolt connections – disconnect and reconnect.
- Try a different cable or port on your Mac.
- Reboot your Mac and drive power.
- Update Mac OS and drivers.
Read/write issues
- Update disk drivers on your Mac.
- Check if drive is NTFS formatted – reformat to HFS+.
- Install NTFS driver software.
Slow transfer speeds
- Use USB 3.0/Thunderbolt ports for fastest speeds.
- Format drive with APFS for optimized performance.
- Fragmented drive files can slow down transfers.
Time Machine backup issues
- Verify sufficient drive space for backups.
- Check drive format and reformat as Mac OS Extended.
- Set drive as trusted for Time Machine in System Preferences.
If troubleshooting steps don’t resolve the issue, contact Seagate support for help diagnosing and fixing the problem.
Seagate Support for External Drives
If you need assistance using your Seagate drive with a Mac, below are some support options:
- Online Knowledge Base – Comprehensive troubleshooting and how to articles.
- Disc Forums – Post questions to Seagate experts and community.
- Social Support – Interact with Seagate on Facebook and Twitter.
- Email Support – Email your issue to Seagate at [email protected].
- Phone Support – Call Seagate support with complex issues.
- Warranty Service – Repair/replacement for drives under warranty.
Providing the serial number and model information speeds up support. Seagate aims to resolve all technical issues with their external drives, including use with Macs.
Conclusion
Seagate manufactures reliable, high-performance external drives that work seamlessly with Macs. By connecting a Seagate drive via USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire, you can greatly expand the storage capacity of your Mac.
Seagate drives provide simple plug-and-play functionality on Mac with no drivers or complex setup required. Whether you need more space for photos, video, backups, or gaming, Seagate has a Mac-compatible solution. With huge capacities up to 5TB or more, you can take all your files with you on the go or equip your home office with desktop-class backup storage.
While Seagate drives are formatted for Windows out of the box, they can easily be reformatted to APFS, Mac OS Extended, or ExFAT using Disk Utility on Mac. Advanced users can take advantage of built-in backup software and encryption capabilities with Seagate’s feature-packed drives. With wide format support, robust designs, pedigree performance, and optional data recovery services, Seagate drives have all the features Mac users need.