Connection & recognition

Drive not showing up, not recognised, or a cable or port that won’t work. Most of these are fixed in a couple of minutes.

My drive isn’t showing up

Work through these steps in order and check after each one.

  1. Plug it straight into the computer, not through a hub, dock or adapter, and firmly at both ends. Try a different port too.
  2. Use the cable that came in the box. Many phone charging cables carry power but not data.
  3. Desktop drives (Vault): check the AC power adapter is plugged into the drive and switched on at the wall.
  4. Look for it in the system tools. Windows: right-click the Start button and choose Disk Management. Mac: open Disk Utility; if the drive is greyed out, select it and click Mount.
  5. Listed there but you can’t open it? It may need formatting: see Formatting your drive for Mac or PC. Formatting erases the drive.

My computer doesn’t recognise the drive

If the drive powers up but your computer can’t open it, the format is usually the reason.

  • Windows: in Disk Management, a drive marked “Unallocated” or “RAW” needs formatting. A drive formatted for a Mac (APFS) can’t be read by Windows.
  • Mac: a drive formatted as NTFS on Windows opens read-only: you can see your files but not save new ones. Reformat as exFAT to use it on both.
  • Used on a console? PlayStation and Xbox format the drive their own way, so a computer can’t read it until it is formatted again.

See Formatting your drive for Mac or PC. Formatting erases everything on the drive.

Cable or port not working
  1. Use the cable from the box. It carries data at full speed; many other cables don’t.
  2. Check the cable for kinks, fraying or bent connectors.
  3. Try both ends: the USB-C plug and the USB-A adapter on the cable, in different ports.
  4. Skip hubs and adapters. Unpowered hubs often can’t supply enough power for a drive.
  5. Clean the port. Fluff collects in USB-C ports; clear it gently with a wooden toothpick or a puff of air.

If the drive works in one port but not another, the port on the computer is the problem. If the cable is faulty, contact us: it is covered by your 24-month warranty.

The drive works on one computer but not another

This is almost always the format. A drive formatted as NTFS works fully on Windows but is read-only on a Mac; APFS works on a Mac only. exFAT, the format your drive arrives in, works on both. See Formatting your drive for Mac or PC.