Users running macOS Sequoia are encountering problems ejecting external drives, with devices refusing to unmount due to errors about files or processes still being used. This issue persists even after closing all applications.
The problem affects various setups, including SSDs, USB drives, and external hard drives, across different Mac models running Sequoia 15.1.1.
Potential Causes and Workarounds
Several potential culprits and temporary solutions have been identified:
QuickLook
QuickLook, the file preview feature, can lock external drives. A workaround is to kill the QuickLook process using the following Terminal command:
/usr/bin/killall -KILL QuickLookUIService
Spotlight Indexing
Spotlight might be continuously scanning the drive. Add the drive to Spotlight's exclusion list (Settings > Spotlight > Search Privacy) to prevent indexing. However, this disables Spotlight search functionality for the drive.
Restarting
Restarting the Mac can temporarily allow for safe ejection, but this isn't a convenient long-term solution.
Diskutil (Use with Caution)
The diskutil command-line tool can force unmount drives, but this risks data corruption and should be used as a last resort.
Ongoing Issue
This problem isn't new and has reportedly affected earlier macOS versions. Users have submitted bug reports, but Apple hasn't officially acknowledged or addressed the issue yet.
Recommended Steps
- Identify the locking process using
lsof /Volumes/in Terminal. - Kill the process (e.g., QuickLook) with the
killallcommand. - Add the drive to Spotlight's exclusion list.
- Avoid force ejecting unless absolutely necessary.
Hopefully, Apple will release a fix in a future update. In the meantime, these steps can help mitigate the issue.
