How to safely eject a USB drive on a Mac

Unplugging a drive while macOS is still writing to it can corrupt files. Eject it first.

Ways to eject

• Finder sidebar: click the eject button next to the drive.
• Keyboard: select the drive in Finder and press ⌘ E.
• Desktop: drag the drive’s icon to the Trash, which turns into an eject symbol.
• Right-click the drive and choose Eject.

When its icon disappears, it’s safe to unplug.

From the notch

NotchMind, which I make, shows a drive in the notch when you plug it in, with an eject button. When it’s done, the notch says Safe to disconnect. See external drives in the notch.

“The disk wasn’t ejected because one or more programs may be using it”

1. Close files and windows from the drive, and quit apps using it.
2. Try ejecting again.
3. Still stuck? Choose Force Eject if macOS offers it, or log out and back in, then eject.

“Disk Not Ejected Properly”

You see this after a drive is unplugged without ejecting. Plug it back in, check your files, and eject properly next time.