Ready to unplug your USB drive, but unsure whether your Mac has finished with it? Use Finder’s eject button to release the drive before disconnecting it. Here are the built-in options, plus what to do when the drive is hidden or an app won't let go.
Eject your USB drive in Finder
Open Finder. Under Locations in the sidebar, click the Eject button beside your USB drive.
Wait until all mounted volumes belonging to the USB drive disappear from Finder. Unplug the drive from your Mac. Tip: A drive with multiple mounted volumes needs every volume released before you disconnect the physical device.
Use the keyboard shortcut
Already have the drive selected? Command-E ejects the selected disk or volume.
- 1.Open Finder.
- 2.Select your USB disk or volume.
- 3.Press Command-E.
- 4.Wait until all of the drive’s mounted volumes disappear.
- 5.Unplug the drive.
Reveal a hidden USB drive
This restores drive icons hidden by Finder’s visibility settings. Choose Finder > Settings. Click Sidebar. Enable External disks to show external drives in the sidebar.
For a desktop icon too, click General. Enable External disks there. Return to your Finder window. Click the Eject button beside the USB drive.
Wait until all of its mounted volumes disappear. Disconnect the drive.
Try another built-in eject option
Prefer the menu bar? Select the USB drive in Finder or on the desktop, then choose File > Eject. Wait for all its mounted volumes to disappear before unplugging it.
A visible desktop drive icon gives you two more options. Right-click it and choose Eject “Drive Name”, using your drive’s displayed name, or drag the icon onto Trash in the Dock. Either action ejects the selected drive.
To use Disk Utility, open it, select the external disk or volume, and press Command-E. On macOS Tahoe 26, Command-2 switches to Show All Devices when you need to see the device hierarchy.
Close apps that block ejection
If macOS says an application is using the disk, release its files before trying again.
- 1.Save your work.
- 2.Quit applications using files stored on the USB drive. If an application cannot be quit, close its documents stored on that drive.
- 3.Click the drive’s Eject button in Finder to retry.
- 4.Wait until all the drive’s mounted volumes disappear.
- 5.Disconnect the drive.
Log out to release a stubborn drive
Still stuck? Save your work, then choose Apple menu > Log Out. Sign in again and click the drive’s Eject button in Finder.
If another signed-in user is accessing the drive on a shared Mac, have that user log out. Then retry the drive’s Eject button in Finder.
If that user cannot be logged out, save your work and choose Apple menu > Restart. After the restart, click the drive’s Eject button in Finder again.
Shut down before disconnecting as a last resort
A full shutdown lets you disconnect a drive that still refuses to eject. Save your work. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
Wait until the Mac has shut down completely. Unplug the USB drive. Start your Mac again when you’re ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off External disks in Finder settings eject my USB drive?
No. Those settings only control whether drive icons appear on the desktop or in Finder’s sidebar. Hiding an icon does not eject the storage.
Can I close my MacBook’s lid before unplugging a USB drive?
Ordinary sleep or lid closure is not an eject command. Eject the drive before closing the lid, or shut down completely if ejection keeps failing.
Does the Mac keyboard’s Media Eject key eject USB storage?
Apple documents the Media Eject key for optical discs. Use Finder’s USB-drive eject controls or Command-E for USB storage.
Which macOS versions support these Finder eject methods?
The Finder sidebar eject button, File > Eject, and dragging a desktop drive icon to Trash apply to macOS Tahoe 26, Sequoia 15, and Sonoma 14.