NTFSToolWestern Digital NTFS drives on Mac: 93% read & write
How Western Digital drives formatted as NTFS work on macOS with NTFSTool, from 140 drives used by real people. Updated every week.
Try 3 mounts on your own drive first. You pay only after reading and writing actually work.
Results by macOS version
Each drive is counted once per Mac. A drive counts as working when NTFSTool mounted it with read-write access.
| macOS | Drives | Read-write success |
|---|---|---|
| macOS 26 Tahoe | 45 | 91% 41/45 |
| macOS 27 Golden Gate | 45 | 98% 44/45 |
| macOS 15 Sequoia | 33 | 91% 30/33 |
| Other macOS versions | 13 | 92% 12/13 |
About Western Digital drives and NTFS
Western Digital portable drives such as My Passport and Elements are commonly sold formatted as NTFS for Windows PCs. macOS can read NTFS drives but can't write to them, so out of the box these drives open read-only on a Mac. NTFSTool adds full write support without reformatting, so your files stay where they are and the drive keeps working on Windows.
Why Mac users choose NTFSTool
- Try 3 mounts on your own drive first. You pay only after reading and writing actually work.
- No kernel extension, no Recovery Mode, no lowered security settings. Apple Pay keeps working.
- Every build is Developer ID signed and Apple notarized.
- 45-day read/write guarantee: full refund if we can't get it working.
Rare hiccups, and how to fix them
Most Western Digital drives never run into any of these. When one does, here is the fix.
Windows didn't shut down fully3% of drives
The drive was last used on a PC with Fast Startup or hibernation turned on. In NTFSTool click “Repair and make writable”, or on the Windows PC hold Shift while choosing Shut Down, then plug the drive into your Mac again.
The file system has errors2% of drives
Usually after the drive was unplugged without ejecting. Use First Aid in NTFSTool to repair it, or run chkdsk /f on a Windows PC, then mount it again.
Read/write errors from the drive1% of drives
The drive itself reported I/O errors. Copy your important files off first, then check the drive's health.
The drive's file system is damaged1% of drives
macOS's own driver refused the volume. Repair it with First Aid in NTFSTool or chkdsk /f on Windows. If repair fails, copy your files off first with data recovery software.
Mounting takes too long1% of drives
Slow, failing or under-powered drives and some USB hubs respond too slowly. Plug the drive straight into the Mac with a short cable and try again.
Questions
Can a Western Digital NTFS drive write on a Mac?
Not by default: macOS mounts NTFS drives read-only. With NTFSTool, 93% of Western Digital drives in our data got full read-write access, and 89% worked the first time they were plugged in.
Do I need to reformat my Western Digital drive to use it on a Mac?
No. NTFSTool writes to the drive as NTFS, so nothing is erased and the drive still works on Windows. Reformatting to exFAT also works, but it erases the drive. NTFS → exFAT →
Which macOS versions were Western Digital drives tested on?
macOS 26 Tahoe (91%), macOS 27 Golden Gate (98%), macOS 15 Sequoia (91%), macOS 13 Ventura (83%), macOS 14 Sonoma (100%), macOS 12 Monterey (100%).
How this data is collected
- Data comes from anonymous diagnostics of NTFSTool Pro users who allow usage data. Only counts are published: no names, serial numbers, file names or anything that identifies a person or a drive.
- The report covers a rolling 90-day window (currently 2026-10-29 to 2026-11-08). Each Mac is counted once; each drive is counted once per Mac.
- A drive or Mac counts as working when NTFSTool mounted an NTFS volume with read-write access. Brands are read from the drive's USB vendor and product name; drives in third-party enclosures are grouped as “Other”.
- Drives whose NTFS file system was already damaged, or that disconnected while mounting, need a disk repair rather than a driver. They are covered under the fixes above and not counted in the success rate. Counting them too, 96% of Macs mounted read-write.
- A brand or macOS version gets its own page once it has at least 50 drives or Macs. Rows with fewer than 10 are grouped together.
Make your NTFS drive writable now
Free download. Try 3 mounts on your own drive first. You pay only after reading and writing actually work.