How to Enable NTFS Writing on M1 Mac? | In the recent release of computers, the Apple Silicon M1 Mac is the latest MacBook introduction in the Apple laptop collection. Just like its Intel sibling, the M1 Mac still has the read-only NTFS drive restriction as to its default. This Mac version does not support editing files or folders on NTFS external hard drives that connect to it, and it is also unable to enable NTFS writing. This article will show you some solutions to deal with such problems.
Solutions to Enable NTFS Writing on M1 Mac
Below are some of the ways you can enable writing functionality on NTFS drives on M1 Mac. They include:
#1 NTFS for Mac Software
To breach the compatibility between NTFS devices and your M1 Mac, you can use few software options. The most effective is iBoysoft NTFS for Mac program. This software can read and write to NTFS drives that are connected to your Apple silicon M1 Mac. This NTFS read-only solution is a fully compatible solution that works well across the various operating system versions on the M1 Mac. To start using this software solution and enjoying the benefits it provides, here are the requirements.
- Download iBoysoft NTFS for Mac app from the official site of iBoysoft and install it following the instruction from the installation wizard.
- On completion of the installation, enable system extension, and then restart your M1 Mac.
3. After restarting, connect the NTFS drive to your Mac and use the software to read and write to your NTFS drives on your Apple silicon M1 Mac.
The above steps are the requirement you need to follow if you want to start enjoying the benefits that come with the iBoysoft NTFS for Mac software. On installation and restart, you can now read and write to any external NTFS drive on the M1 Mac.
#2 Terminal
Using the Terminal program to enable writing support to NTFS drives is another action you can take to enable NTFS writing on your M1 Mac. To enable NTFS writing on M1 Mac via Terminal, follow the steps below.
- From your Finder program, search and select the Terminal command window. You should find the Terminal option under ‘Utilities’.
- Launch Terminal and type in the following command sudo nano /etc/fstab to access the /etc/fstab system configuration file. This is useful for editing nano text editor.
3. Continue by typing the command LABEL=NAME none ntfs rw, auto,nobrowse.
Note: replace ‘NAME’ with the NTFS drive name before entering this command.
- Press ‘Ctrl+O’ before pressing the enter button to save the fstab system configuration file.
After completing the above steps, you can proceed to close the Terminal and enjoy the ability to read and write on NTFS drives without any limitation.
#3 exFAT/FAT32 Format on M1 Mac
The exFAT and FAT32 file systems are compatible file systems with the M1 Mac. Converting NTFS drives into exFAT/FAT32 file systems makes them writable automatically. The conversion process is detailed below.
- From the ‘Finder’ program, search and select the ‘Disk Utility’ option.
- Select the NTFS drive from the left side panel of the ‘Disk Utility’ menu.
3. Select ‘Erase’ on the top menu of the Disk Utility menu
4. Select either ‘exFAT’ or ‘FAT32’ file system option from the drop-down option and then click Erase.
5. This reconfigures the external drive to your file system selection. Make sure that the external drive does not contain any data or you have backed up it before you are going to carry out this reformatting. This is to avoid losing your important data.
Final Words
The three methods mentioned in this article can be used to fix the NTFS drive read-only issue on M1 Mac. Among them, using NTFS for Mac software is the simplest way. On the internet, there are software solutions that provide the compatibility to read and write to NTFS drives on Mac. However, there are a handful of software solutions that are compatible with the Apple silicon M1 Mac. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is one standout software you can trust.
