In this article to the best external hard drives for Macs, we focus on the top devices for plugging in and expanding the storage space of your MacBook or even your Mac. While there is a lot of love about Macs, Macbooks, and iMacs, they can be tricky at times to manually upgrade, which indicates supposing that you run of space, it is not so simple to open them up and pop in a larger hard drive.

• External Disc Drive For Macbook Air

Mac mini (2018) iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017). LaCie 2TB Mobile Drive External Hard Drive USB-C USB 3.0 - Previous Gallery Image; LaCie 2TB Mobile Drive External Hard Drive USB-C USB 3.0 - Next Gallery Image; Only at Apple. How to Partition an External Hard Drive on Mac. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive (in fact, you should for better file organization), here’s a step-by-step guide: Step 1: Highlight your drive and click “Partition” in Disk Utility.

Right now, our pick for best external hard drive for Mac and PC is the Western Digital My Passport 4TB. It offers the perfect balance of speed, reliability, portability and price. But there are many options out there – scroll down to see our full list of recommendations, and the best external hard drive prices too. This external hard drive for mac is well known for its slim and sleek design. Its capacities are 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and latest 4TB. Moreover, it offers a 200GB cloud storage that is limited for two years. However, this option may not be available in all countries. This external hard drive for Mac can be used interchangeable with Windows OS. External Hard Drives for Macs Mac users need to sync an external hard drive with their computer to use Time Machine, Apple's built-in file backup system. Shoppers can find and choose the right Mac hard drive by thinking about storage and portability needs.

When you are in search of the best external hard drive for Mac for your needs, you should focus on the capacity you need. External hard drives come in all sizes and shapes and you do not want to pay too much for space you will never need, but neither do you want to run out of space all too quickly.

Best External Hard Drive For Mac 2020

1. Western Digital external hard drive

This device comes in capacities from 1TB to 4TB, and also features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, as well as WD’s own backup software. While the speeds of transfers are not the fastest, it provides a good balance between speed, price, and capacity. Other specifications include;

• 4TB capacity
• USB 3.0

Sold at 94 dollars at Amazon

PROS

• Large capacity
• Good data transfer speeds

CONS

• WD backup software is basic

2. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt external hard drive

Supposing that you want to use Mac’s Thunderbolt port, this is a great choice, as it offers double the speeds of standard USB 3.0 drives. It also makes use of a traditional hard drive, instead of an SSD, and while it indicates speeds are not as fast as possible, it at least keeps the price low, while providing large capacities. Other specifications include;

• 1TB and 2TB capacity
• USB 3.0

Sold at 129.88 dollars

PROS

• Low price compared to other Thunderbolt drives
• Mac-formatted

CONS

• Not SSD

3. G-Technology G-Drive external hard drive

This is one of the quickest high capacity hard drives you can plug into your Mac, with a large 4TB of storage space that zips along its USB 3.0, FireWire or eSATA connection. The all-aluminum enclosure enables the drive a premium appearance and feel, while also safeguarding your data from drops and knocks. Other specifications include;

• 4TB capacity
• USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire, eSATA

Sold at 129. 95 dollars at Amazon

PROS

• Slim design
• Sturdy

CONS

• Can be noisy

4. Samsung T3 SSD

Assuming that you really want a super-fast external hard drive for your Mac, then this device is easily one of the best you can choose from. As it makes use of a solid-state drive, the read and writes speeds of this drive are quicker than external hard drives that make use of traditional hard drives. Other specifications include;

• 1TB capacity
• USB 3.1

Sold at 165 dollars at Amazon

PROS

• Very good performance
• Very high capacity

CONS

• Expensive

5. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive

With compatibility for both Windows machines and Mac, this device is very flexible and comes with a rugged case that is dust and water-resistant, along with a built-in USB 3.0 cable. Not only does the device have 256-bit AES security features and Near Field Communication features, but it is your data kept protected from knocks and drops with the rugged shell. Other specifications of this device include;

• 2 TB capacity
• USB 3.0

Sold at 108.99 dollars at Amazon

PROS

• NFC security
• Rugged design

CONS

• Not the fastest drive

6. Western Digital external hard drive

This model features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD’s own software suite. This model is a good performer when it comes to data transfer speeds and does not come close to the top of the leaderboard. Not surprising at all, it does not get to the top speeds of solid-state external drives but is the drive you should consider today. Other specifications include;

• 4TB capacity
• 0 USB

Sold at 94 dollars at Amazon

PROS

• Large capacity
• Type-C connector
• Suite of applications

CONS

• Average performance

7. LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB

You probably have stumbled upon this device when perusing the Apple website for USB-C accessories. Though it is expensive for an external hard drive, do not get us wrong, particularly assuming that you are in the market for the top-end 4TB option. Other specifications of this device include;

• 4 TB capacity
• USB-C

Sold at 129.95 dollars at Amazon

PROS

• Fast USB-C connection
• Great design

CONS

• Quite expensive
• You need USB-C ports to take advantage of speed

8. iStorage diskAshur 2TB external hard drive

Assuming that you are concerned about individuals getting access to your data if your external hard drive is taken away by a stealer, then you will like his model we are about to discuss. Assuming that someone is trying to tamper with your device, you can configure it to self-destruct. Though it might be pricier than other drives of its capacity, the extra security it provides will be well worth it for many of us. Other specifications of this device include;

• 2TB capacity
• USB 3.0

Sold at 267.88 dollars

PROS

• Physical security
• Rugged design

CONS

• Quite expensive

Oct 16,2019 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

We all treasure our precious data on our Mac. Therefore, we do not need to wait for a disaster to strike so that we can learn ways to backup files. One way to backup data is by copying them to an external hard drive. External hard drives are significant when your Mac has a minimal storage, since offers more storage. With this mind, you need to get yourself an external hard drive for Mac. Before purchasing an external drive for your mac, there are things you should consider such as compatibility, speed, storage, transfer speed, portability and price. In this article, we are going to give you best 5 external hard drives for mac picked by media websites.

Part 1: Top 5 Best External Hard Drives for Mac

1.Seagate Backup Plus

Company: Seagate Technology

Seagate backup plus is an ideal mac external hard drive that is highly recommended by most websites. This external hard drive for mac is well known for its slim and sleek design. Its capacities are 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and latest 4TB. Moreover, it offers a 200GB cloud storage that is limited for two years. However, this option may not be available in all countries. This external hard drive for Mac can be used interchangeable with Windows OS. Seagate backup plus is designed with three modes of connectivity namely, USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and thunderbolt. Seagate external hard drive for Mac is formatted to HFS+ file making it compatible with your MacBook or MacBook pro without formatting it. This drive has been recommended over 8 times by the chosen media websites.

Review:

Seagate Backup Plus drives makes your life simple with its huge capacity storage. These external hard drives for Mac are well integrated with Backup software. It also offers a two-year 200GB cloud storage to Microsoft OneDrive. The only flaw of this software is that it lacks security option to protect data.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Price: $76.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.cnet.com

2. Western Digital My Passport Ultra external hard drive for mac

Company: Western Digital Corporation

Western digital My Passport is another best external hard drive for mac. It has been recommended over 8 times on the selected 10 media websites. It offers a minimal storage as low as 500GB, 1TB, and as high as 3TB. This external hard for Mac comes with 3-year warranty. Moreover, it offers two connectivity modes that are USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 that enable data transfer faster. This Western digital external hard drive for Mac is compatible with Windows operating after formatting it to a supported file system such as FAT or NTFS format. The good thing about this external head drive for mac is that it allows you to encrypt and protect its hardware with a password.

Review

WD My Passport ultra is one of the best external hard drives for Mac that offers a high transfer speed with different size capacities. Its price is slightly higher as compared to other external drives.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Price: $74.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.pcmag.com How to format wd easystore for mac.

3. Toshiba Canvio Slim II

Company: Toshiba Corporation

Another portable external hard drive for your Mac is Toshiba Canvio Slim II. It is compatible with Mac OS x. It comes with 500 GB and 1TB storage making it vital to use to backup data as well as transfer data. This external hard drive mac is offers you a 10GB free cloud storage to backup all your videos, photos, music, documents and important files. It allows you to backup mobile content. It is USB 3.0 connectivity and USB 2.o which worth mentioning. Toshiba external hard drive is well furnished with aluminum. It has been recommended over 6 times by the selected media websites.

Review

Toshiba Canvio Slim is a useful external hard drive that offers a bigger storage capacity besides its large backup storage. It also has a password feature that ensures that your data is protected around the clock. Its USB2.0 connectivity performance is not up to par.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Price: $79.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.thewirecutter.com

4. G-Technology G-Drive Slim

Company: G- Technology.

Just as the name suggests, this external hard drive for mac is slimmer than the other mentioned hard dive. It records a high speed and excellent performance. G-Drive slim which people who are looking for external storage to save pictures a photos and music with a maximum storage of 500GB. It uses a USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 cable connectivity. Moreover, its transfer goes up to 125mb/s, which seems a high speed when you are transferring files. This Mac external hard drive is formatted with HFS+ files system making it compatible with MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Furthermore, it comes with a 3-year limited warranty. G-Technology G-Drive Slim has an aluminum casing and a plastic case around the USB port. It is light thus convenient to carry it around. At least 4 media websites from the selected 10 recommended it.

Review

G-Technology G-Drive Slim is a speedy external hard drive for your Mac. It records high transfer and read speed as compared to any USB 3.0mac external hard drive. To add on it is portable and offers enough external storage. One demerit of this external hard dive for mac is that it does not come with any packaged software.

Rating: 4/5

Price: $69.95 for 1TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.pcmag.com

5. Transcend StoreJet

Company: Transcend Information

If you are looking for a Mac external hard drive, that lets backup files within a click, then look no more. Transcend StoreJet will exactly does that. This software is well designed and integrated with a military shock resistant. You can quickly transfer your data files from Mac to this external hard drive mac either with UB 2.0 or USB 3.0 connectivity. Transcend Jet external hard drives for mac are available in different capacities, which include 500GB, 750GB, 1TB and 2TB. From the 10 sources it has been mentioned at least three times.

Review

It is the best mac external hard drive especially for those people who travel more often. It has silicon shell with an incredible casing that enable it resist shock. It performance is also good. However, this external hard drive for mac is slightly heavier as compared to other Mac external hard drives.

Rating: 4/5

Price: $69.95 for 1TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.techspot.com

Sources:

Part 2: How to Recover Data from External Hard Drive

With external hard drive for Mac, people are used to store their business data or personal data on it. However, the wrong protection will cause the data lost from your external hard drive. As accidentally deleted data, lost or formatted data from external hard drive. Under these circumstances, you will need a external hard drive data recovery tool to help you retrieve your lost data from external hard drive.

Your Safe & Reliable External Hard Drive Recovery Software

• Recover lost or deleted files, photos, audio, music, emails from any storage device effectively, safely and completely.
• Supports data recovery from recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera and camcorders.
• Supports to recover data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.

Recoverit External Hard Drive Data Recovery capable of restoring deleted/lost files or formatted partition from external hard drive, hard drive (HDD and SSD), USB flash drive, memory card, digital camera, camcorder, iPod, Music Player and many kinds of mobile devices (Nokia, Blackberry phones and Phones with older Android OS than ICS).

How to recover data from external hard drive on Mac

Download and install Recoverit data recovery on your computer, connect your external hard drive to the computer. Follow the next simple steps to retrieve your data back.

Step 1: Launch Recoverit data recovery, please select a data recovery mode. To recover data from external hard drive, you can select 'External Devices Recovery' mode to start.

Please make sure your external hard drive has connected to your computer, click 'Next' button to process.

Step 2: Please select your external hard drive to scanning lost data. Click 'Start' button to finding data.

Step 3: Recoverit data recovery will start a quick scan to search lost data. You can preview some recoverable files after the scan. If you cannot find your files, you can go to scan agian with 'All-Around Recovery' mode.

Step 4: With 'All-Around Recovery' mode which can help you deeply search and scan more files from external hard drive. While it will take more time to completed scan.

Step 5: After the scan, you can check all recoverable file. Go to preview some specific recoverable files and click 'Recover' button to get your data back.

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