Fix External NTFS Hard Drive Read-Only on Mac (Tahoe) – 6 Tips

Why Is an NTFS Drive Read-Only on Mac?

If you connect an external hard drive to your Mac and find it is read-only, the disk may be formatted in the NTFS file system, which is a Microsoft Windows file system. macOS is not fully compatible with NTFS. It allows you to read the disk, but not copy or write files to it.

Check out the 6 possible fixes below to resolve the external NTFS hard drive read-only issue on Mac (Tahoe).

Fix 1. Use an NTFS for Mac App

If you want to change the NTFS drive from read-only to read-write without formatting, you can use professional NTFS for Mac software.

BuhoNTFS, a leading NTFS for Mac tool, lets you easily read, write, delete, move, and create files on NTFS drives.

1. Download and install BuhoNTFS on your Mac.
2. Connect the external NTFS hard drive to your Mac and launch the Mac NTFS writer program.
3. Select your NTFS drive and click the Enable NTFS Writing button on the right panel.
4. You can now freely read and write to the NTFS drive on your Mac as if it were an internal drive.

Fix 2. Repair a Corrupted Hard Drive on Mac

If the external NTFS drive still shows as read-only after using an NTFS for Mac tool, the disk may be corrupted.

Many Mac NTFS tools include a disk repair option to fix corrupted drives with a single click. Alternatively, you can use Mac Disk Utility:

1. Open Spotlight, type Disk Utility, and select the app.
2. If the external drive doesn’t appear in the sidebar, click View > Show All Devices.
3. Select the external drive, click First Aid on the toolbar, and then click Run to check and repair disk errors.

Check if this fixes the read-only issue. If not, try the other methods below.

Fix 3. Convert NTFS to exFAT/FAT32

If you can’t copy or write files to an NTFS drive on your Mac, consider converting the NTFS drive to exFAT or FAT32.

FAT32 and exFAT are fully compatible with both Mac and Windows. If you frequently transfer files between systems, these formats are ideal for you.

You can use professional partition conversion tools to convert NTFS to FAT32 or exFAT without losing data.

Fix 4. Change the Drive Permission to Read-Write

The read-only status may be caused by file permissions set by the drive owner. To change it:

1. Locate the external hard drive in Finder.
2. Right-click it and select Get Info.
3. Scroll to Sharing & Permissions.
4. If it shows read-only, change the privilege to Read & Write.

Fix 5. Check Hardware Connections

Try unmounting and remounting the drive, restarting your Mac, using a different USB cable or adapter, or connecting the drive to another computer to see if it works normally.

Fix 6. Format NTFS to APFS/exFAT/FAT32 with Disk Utility

If all else fails, back up your data and reformat the drive:

1. Open Disk Utility via Spotlight.
2. Select the external drive and click Erase.
3. Name the drive, choose a file system (exFAT, FAT, or APFS), and select a partition scheme.
4. Click Erase to format the disk. You can now read and write to it on your Mac.

An Easy-to-Use Mac Cleaner Tool

To optimize space and free up disk storage, use a professional Mac cleaner.

BuhoCleaner allows you to quickly analyze disk space, uninstall apps, delete large or duplicate files, manage startup items, and more.

The Bottom Line

This post provides 6 effective solutions to fix an external NTFS hard drive read-only on Mac (Tahoe). After applying these methods, you should be able to read, copy, edit, and write files on your NTFS drive without any issues.