SD card reader in MacBook Pro 2021 works unreliably

As you can follow in a long thread at macrumors, the returned SD card slot in the 2021 MacBook Pro doesn’t seem to be very reliable.

Many users are reporting that the Mac is having problems regardless of the SD card manufacturer. Either it takes a long time for the card to be recognized, the Photos app hangs, or the entire Finder itself crashes. It does not seem to matter whether the card was formatted in the MacBook itself or in the camera used, for example.

SD Card Reader, uni USB C Memory Card Reader Adapter USB 3.0, Supports SD/Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC, Compatible for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad Pro 2018, Galaxy S20, Huawei Mate 30, and More*

 Price not available Buy on Amazon*

Price incl. VAT., Excl. Shipping

Last updated on 8. February 2022 at 18:54 - Image source: Amazon Affiliate Program. All statements without guarantee.

Anker USB-C SD 4.0 Card Reader, PowerExpand+ 2-in-1 Memory Card Reader, for SDXC, SDHC, SD, MMC, RS-MMC, Micro SDXC, Micro SD, Micro SDHC Card, UHS-II, and UHS-I Cards*

 Price: $ 29.99 Buy on Amazon*

Price incl. VAT., Excl. Shipping

Last updated on 8. February 2022 at 18:54 - Image source: Amazon Affiliate Program. All statements without guarantee.

However, many users who wanted to get closer to the problem reported that all problematic cards for the MacBook Pro work with an external USB-C card reader. So the cause probably lies with Apple.

Those who can still remember the older MacBook Pro with card readers should not be unfamiliar with such reports. Sometimes you had to push the card into the slot at a certain speed or the cards were mounted, but only read-only. The only surprising thing about this story is that six years after the last MacBook Pro with SD card slot, the same problems start all over again.