Driver For Mac To Write On Ntfs



By Juno | Posted to NTFS for Mac Tips, updated on May 29, 2020

Before you are led to the introduction of free NTFS for Mac, here is some background information in case you don't know.

If you want to write a Boot Camp partition on your Mac system, you should use exFAT since Mac’s operating system is already wired to read that. Part 1: Free Ways to Write to NTFS Drives on a Mac. Mac can read but not write to NTFS drives on a Mac, however, there are solutions. Third-party drivers. To Learn WD NTFS Driver for Mac here. Western Digital NTFS (New Technology File System) driver allows the Apple macOS to read and write hard drives and solid state storage devices. Apple macOS can read the Windows-formatted NTFS drives, however, they cannot be able to write them out of the box. To Read/Write the Western Digital (WD) NTFS formatted file without reformatting it with exFAT, you must.

You can read Windows NTFS drives on Mac. But Mac can't write to NTFS drives, including create, edit, copy, paste, delete, or transfer files on NTFS drive on Mac desktops and laptops. Do you know why?

NTFS is a file system developed by Microsoft, the competitor of Apple. NTFS is used by default on Windows platform, especially for system drive. Additionally, if you use Boot Camp to create a Windows partition on your Mac, you will find you can't mount BOOTCAMP partition with read-write access either. Up to now, Mac operating systems, including macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and Mac OS X El Capitan, only provide NTFS read support but deny NTFS write support.

You know the business, but for users, is there any way to let Mac write NTFS drives? Can you make the NTFS drive fully compatible with macOS or Mac OS X? Sure. The easiest method is to use NTFS driver for macOS software.

If you are looking for a totally free NTFS for Mac software, there are four options: Mounty for NTFS, NTFS-3G, FUSE for macOS and SL-NTFS.

Top 4 NTFS for Mac free software

Some Mac users may have upgraded to macOS Catalina and are digging around for an NTFS driver for macOS 10.15. But it's hard to find a Free NTFS for Mac that supports macOS 10.15 yet. Fortunately, iBoysoft has upgraded their software iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to be compatible with macOS Catalina.

If you are using a Mac running macOS 10.14 and earlier, you can try the NTFS for Mac below and share NTFS drives between Windows and Mac.

1. Mounty for NTFS

Mounty for NTFS is completely NTFS for Mac free software to enable write ability to NTFS drives on your Mac. It has simple design to help users mount NTFS drives with write support on Mac.

As a free utility, Mounty for NTFS does have some highlights:

  1. Totally free.
  2. Fast download and installation because it is less than 1MB.
  3. One-time installation and no additional driver needed.

But Mounty for NTFS dose get complaints because:

  1. The write speed to NTFS drive is rather slow.
  2. It can't mount the NTFS formatted drives in read-write mode automatically.
  3. It can be unstable and fails to mount NTFS drives.
  4. It can cause data loss problems.
  5. It doesn't provide tech support.
  6. The software is not compatible with the latest macOS Catalina or Mojave.

2. NTFS-3G

NTFS-3G is an open-source project from Tuxera, so the public can download this NTFS for Mac free software to write to Windows NTFS drives on your Mac computers

Set aside its advantage for being free, NTFS-3G is complained a lot because of its poor performance. Some main drawbacks of this free NTFS for Mac are listed below:

  1. Complicated installation. You have to know how to use Terminal or have already downloaded FUSE for macOS, Homebrew or Xcode.
  2. Poor usability. Users have to use the software by command lines in Terminal instead of an interface.
  3. Poor compatibility. NTFS-3G only supports macOS 10.12 or earlier. It doesn't support the latest macOS 10.15 and macOS 10.14.
  4. Slow write speed. The file transferring is noticeably slow.
  5. Tuxera stops maintaining this utility.
  6. No technical support. As freeware, no technical support is available when issues occur.

3. FUSE for macOS

FUSE for macOS (was OSXFUSE) is another open and NTFS for Mac free software that can enable write support to NTFS drives on Mac. In fact, FUSE is a file system extension that allows user to read and write disks with the formats that are not fully supported by Apple.

FUSE for macOS is worth trying because:

  1. It is free of charge.
  2. It is compatible with Mac operating system from Mac OS X 10.6 to macOS 10.14.
  3. Multiple languages are available.

Driver For Mac To Write On Ntfs Hard Drive

As a free NTFS for Mac, FUSE for macOS has some obvious limitations:

  1. It can be unreliable sometimes such as file size being reported as 0 bytes.
  2. It has no technical support when issues occur.

4. SL-NTFS

SL-NTFS means Snow Leopard NTFS. As a matter of fact, writing to NTFS drive on Apple is possible since Mac OS 10.6 without any third-party NTFS driver, but the NTFS writing support is disabled by default. Therefore, SL-NTFS is used as an interface on the Apple NTFS driver to enable writing to NTFS drives on Mac.

As a NTFS for Mac free app, SL-NTFS has some pros as followings:

  1. It is free.
  2. It is simple to install.

However, SL-NTFS has some cons to prevent people from using it.

  1. It has limited access to a large number of files and a large volume of data.
  2. It can't enable NTFS write on some NTFS external hard drives.
  3. It can cause conflicts if you have another NTFS enabler installed.
  4. It has no technical support.

Generally speaking, despite of being free, those NTFS for Mac free software have various flaws, making them very risky to use.

If you are afraid of using a risky free NTFS utility for Mac, there are two cost-effective alternatives for you. Even though they are not completely free, they can provide a lot of merits that NTFS for Mac free software on't have.

Best NTFS for Mac software

NTFS for Mac free software can be troublemakers because of their low write speed, poor compatibility, no technical support, etc. Nevertheless, you don't have to pay a fortune to get enough reliability, stability and simplicity from a cost-effective NTFS for Mac - iBoysoft NTFS for Mac or iBoysoft Drive Manager.

1. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac

iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is an ultimate NTFS for Mac solution in macOS and Mac OS X that can easily help you mount NTFS volumes on Mac desktops and laptops as regular drives in read-write mode.

iBoysoft NTFS for Mac has quite a few advantages you can take into account:

  1. It can mount NTFS volumes in read-write mode automatically.
  2. It can unmount and eject NTFS volumes with one click.
  3. It can repair NTFS file system errors.
  4. It can erase NTFS volumes for data cleanup.
  5. It can reformat other file system (except APFS) into NTFS.
  6. It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
  7. It is easy to install and use.
  8. Free technical support is provided.

2. iBoysoft Drive Manager

Another great alternative to NTFS for Mac free software is iBoysoft Drive Manager. It is a handy Mac tool that can enable full read-write access to NTFS drives on Mac and help manage multiple external drives/network drives with one click.

iBoysoft Drive Manager is a great replacement of a free NTFS for Mac because:

  1. It is extremely affordable and offers 7-day free trial.
  2. It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
  3. It is fast to write to NTFS drives and transfer files between NTFS drives and Mac.
  4. It is easy to install and use.
  5. It provides lifetime free upgrades.
  6. Free technical support is provided.
  7. Besides powerful NTFS writing support, it can manage external drives and map network drives as local drives in the Finder.

If you want to know any disadvantages that iBoysoft Drive Manager might have, I would say the only one should be - it is not free. But it is really cheap compared with other commercial NTFS for Mac programs, such as Paragon and Tuxera.

We also provide a table to help you find the most preferable NTFS driver:

NTFS for macOSiBoysoft Drive ManageriBoysoft NTFS for MacMounty for MacNTFS-3GFUSE for macOSSL-NTFS
NTFS writingYesYesYesYesYesYes
Auto-mount NTFS in read-write mode YesYesNoNoYesYes
SpeedFastFastSlowSlowSlowSlow
Supported Mac OSmacOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8.macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8.macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6.macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6.macOS 10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6.macOS 10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6.
Supported devicesUSB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc.USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc.USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all)USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc.USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc.USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all)
Supported file systemNTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc.NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc.NTFSNTFSNTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc.NTFS
Tech supportYesYesNoNoNoNo
Simple installationYesYesYesNoNoYes
Ease of useYesYesYesNoYesYes
Other1.Manage external storage media with one click.
2.Map network drive as local drives.
1. Repair NTFS.
2.Erase NTFS volumes.
3.Reformat other file systems into NTFS.
N/AN/AMultiple languages are available.N/A
Price$29.95$19.95FreeFreeFreeFree
Free downloadDownloadDownloadDownloadDownloadDownloadDownload

Now, you have a few options in your hands. If you don't care the risks and want to try out the free NTFS for Mac programs, generally speaking, Mounty for NTFS and FUSE for macOS are better ones. However, if you care about the reliability, technical support and NTFS write speed a lot, or you are specifically looking for an NTFS driver for macOS Catalina, Mojave or High Sierra, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is your best choice.

People also ask

Q: Is NTFS for Mac free

A: There are four NTFS for Mac free software:

  1. Mounty for NTFS
  2. NTFS-3G
  3. FUSE for macOS
  4. SL-NTFS

Q: How can Mac read NTFS for free?

A: By default, macOS Disk Utility can mount NTFS drive in read-only mode.

Q: What is the best NTFS for Mac?

A: There are three best NTFS for Mac software:

  1. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
  2. Paragon NTFS for Mac
  3. Tuxera NTFS for Mac

One of the most usual problems encountered in file transfer between Mac and PC using a disk has something to do with disk format. Windows natively support the FAT and NTFS files systems, while Mac uses Apple File System and macOS Extended as the default file system. It’s well-known that Apple macOS has limited support for hard drives formatted in NTFS. When you insert an NTFS external drive in your Mac, you can only read from but not to write to the drive. In other words, you can only open and view all the files on an NTFS disk, but you can’t change them in any way, nor can you copy new files to NTFS format disks.

Wondering how to write to NTFS drives? The following will show you three solutions in detail.

Solution 1: Use paid NTFS drivers

The easiest way to bridge the gap between formats is to use third-party software. There are various apps available online that have been developed for this incompatibility issue. Some are free, but they may be difficult to set up and less reliable. So we highly recommend paid ones as they are safer and require any computer skills.

iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is the fastest NTFS driver I have ever used. It gives your Mac the ability to read and write to NTFS drives. With the software, you can delete, rename, add files and folders on NTFS formatted drives on macOS Catalina and earlier. It delivers blazing-fast read-write access to NTFS hard drives with a speed of up to six times more that of other competitors.

The program can also be used as a disk manager that enables you to unmount, erase, check and repair NTFS disks within one click. Besides handling NTFS drives, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac also impress you by formatting FA32/exFAT/HFS+/APFS drives to NTFS.

iboysoft-NTFS-for-mac-Catalina

Step 1: Download and install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac on your Mac computer.

Step 2: Plug the NTFS drives on your Mac. Once the drive is detected, a Finder window with its content will pop out. Then you can read and write to NTFS drives as you wish.

Solution 2: Use free NTFS drivers

FUSE for macOS is the most famous free NTFS driver that can let you extend the list of file systems handled by your computer. Once installed, it automatically mounts NTFS drives on Mac in read-write mode.

Note: this method will be very technical and tedious. During the process, you have to temporarily disable System Integrity Protection that is a risk for your operating system.

Step 1: Download FUSE for macOS from https://github.com/osxfuse/osxfuse/releases

Step 2: Download and install Xcode command-line tools.

  • Open a Terminal window from Finder > Applications > Utilities and run the following command:

Mac Read Write Ntfs

Xcode-select –install

  • Click “Install” when you’re prompted to install the tools. Follow the wizard to complete the installation process.

install-Xcode

Step 3: Download and install HomeBrew.

  1. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
  2. Copy and paste the command line (Provide your password when prompt):

Step 4: Install NTFS-3G for Mac. Copy and paste the following command line, then hit Enter.

Step 5: Disable SIP (System Integrity Protection). If you want to automatically mount NTFS drives in read-write mode.

  1. Enter into Recovery Mode. Restart your Mac and press Command+R while it’s booting.
  2. Launch Terminal from the utility menu in Recovery Mode.
  3. Type in the command line and hit Enter.

csrutil disable

disable-sip

  1. After your Mac successfully disabled SIP, you need to restart the machine.

Step 6: Read and write to NTFS drives.

  1. Open Terminal again.
  2. Copy and paste the following command line and hit Enter:

Step 7: Re-enable SIP. To ensure the security of your Mac, you should enable SIP after the above operations. Hold Command+R while rebooting your computer. Then launch Terminal in Recovery Mode and run csrutil enable.

Driver For Mac To Write On Ntfs File

Solution 3: Enable NTFS drive write support natively

Actually, NTFS write access can be enabled natively by running some command line. But this solution is unsupported officially by Apple, which may work unstably and cause data corruption. Please back up your important data first. Within this in mind, let’s proceed.

Step 1: Connect an NTFS drive to your Apple computer.

Step 2: Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type in the following command: (Enter your password when prompt)

sudo nano /etc/fstab

apple-NTFS-write-support-step-2

Step 3: You will see the fstab file that is blank. Then enter the following command (Remember to replace “VOLUME_NAME” to the name of your NTFS volume):

Driver For Mac To Write On Ntfs

LABEL=VOLUME_NAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse

Write To Ntfs Mac Os

apple-ntfs-write-support-step

Step5: Reconnect the NTFS drive to your Mac. You will notice the drive does not show in the Finder or desktop.

Ntfs Driver For Mac

Step 6: Select “Go” and choose “Go to Folder” from the top left Finder menu.

Step 7: Type in /Volumes and hit Enter.

apple-ntfs-write-support-step

Read Also:

Driver For Mac To Write On Ntfs Fat32

Conclusion

This article has introduced you three general options to write to NTFS drives – free NTFS drivers, paid NTFS for drivers, and Apple experimental NTFS-write support. Free and open-source NTFS drivers for Mac take a bit of work to install and they are slower than paid ones. It’s full of risk to Apple experimental NTFS-write support as this method is not stable. Therefore, using paid NTFS for Mac apps like iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is the easiest way to read/write to NTFS drives on Mac. This software really surprises me for its fast speed in reading and writing to NTFS drives.