EaseUS NTFS for Mac

How to Enable NTFS on Mac - 3 Detailed Ways 🔥

Do you know how to access an NTFS drive and edit files saved on the NTFS drive on a Mac computer? Due to different file system mechanisms, the Apple Mac computer only allows uses to read the NTFS-formatted drives but can't write to them. This page shows you how to break the limits and enable NTFS on Mac so that you can read and write NTFS drives flexibly on Mac Monterey, Catalina, Big Sur, etc.

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Updated by Sherly on Dec 24, 2024
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Can I mount the NTFS drive on a Mac? How do I enable NTFS write and write support on Mac so as to copy, write, and even edit files on an NTFS drive on a Mac computer?

Here below, we'll discuss what NTFS is and show you how to enable NTFS on Mac so as to use and edit files on NTFS drives on Mac successfully. Let's see the details.

You can share this article to let more users know about how to enable or use NTFS on a Mac.

 

How Do I Use NTFS on Mac with Catalina? Enable NTFS on Mac in 3 Ways

For many reasons, Mac users may want to enable and use their NTFS drives on Mac computers. For example, to transfer big files, to set up a game drive, or to construct a unique test environment, etc.

So, how to use NTFS drives on a Mac computer? Easy. You just need to enable NTFS to write support on Mac, which is now possible by following any of the three listed methods.

Note that the methods are listed from easy to complex; if you are looking for an easy trick to make NTFS drives readable and writable on Mac, take EaseUS NTFS for Mac help.

Method 1. Enable NTFS on Mac with Automated Tool - Easiest

One-click to Make NTFS Drive Writable on Mac

Recently, EaseUS software has released its new featured tool - EaseUS NTFS for Mac to help Mac users to set up an NTFS storage device accessible on Mac. Any level of Mac users can enable NTFS write support of their drives on Mac in just one click.

It enables you to:

  • Mount and unmount NTFS drives on Mac
  • Open and view NTFS drive content on Mac
  • Access, edit, and write to files in NTFS drive on Mac
  • Support all macOS, including macOS Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, and even older OS X. 

Feel free to download and enable your NTFS drive on Mac in just one click.

Step 1. Launch and activate EaseUS NTFS for Mac. Click "I already have a license" to unlock this software.

Activate EaseUS NTFS for Mac

Step 2. Connect an NTFS drive to Mac, EaseUS NTFS for Mac will automatically detect the device. Select your drive and you'll see it's now marked as 'Read-only". Click "Enable Writable" to add read and write rights to the drive.

enable writable write to NTFS drive

Step 3. When the state of NTFS drives turns into "Writable".

Make changes to saved files on NTFS drive

Step 4. EaseUS NTFS for Mac will pops up a window to help Mac get access to the NTFS drive:

  1. 1. Select "Full Disk Access", click the Lock icon and enter admin password to unlock it.
  2. 2. Select the two icons of NTFS for Mac.
  3. 3. Drag them to the "Full Disk Access" list.
  4. 4. Click " Quit & Restore" to re-launch EaseUS NTFS for Mac.
Gain NTFS access

Step 5. When EaseUS NTFS for Mac restarts, you can then open to check, read, write, and even modify saved data on the NTFS device.

Read,write, open, and modify files on NTFS drives

Note that EaseUS NTFS for Mac will automatically enable NTFS write support once you used the software to enable the NTFS drive one time. 

If the drive is un-writable, just click the Mount option, you'll be able to edit, delete, move, and transfer files between the NTFS drive and your Mac computer now. So you don't need to do extra operations. 

Method 2. Enable Write Access to NTFS Drive on Mac - Medium

The other workaround for taking writing access to an NTFS drive on Mac.

For some advanced Mac users, you can turn to BootCamp to access the NTFS drive. Bootcamp is highly related to Mac computer boot issues. And it requires users to boot into Windows on a Mac computer so to obtain NTFS write access.

Note that, using Bootcamp to obtain NTFS access will delete your Time Machine backups. If you tend to do so, remember to back up your files in advance.

Notice:
New macOS like Big Sur, Monterey no longer support Bootcamp. So if you are using a new macOS, please revert to Method 1 or Method 2 for help.

Step 1. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant.

Open Bootcamp

Step 2. Launch Bootcamp, click "Continue" and set to boot into Windows on Mac.

Set to run Mac from Windows and access to NTFS drive

Step 3. Restart the Mac computer and wait for the computer to boot into Windows.

Step 4. Connect the NTFS drive to the Mac computer and then you can access and write to files in the drive.

Method 3. Enable NTFS Write Support via Terminal on Mac - Difficult

A bit complex but workable solution to enable NTFS write support on Mac.

Terminal, a Mac built-in utility, is widely used for editing and making changes to Mac computers and storage devices. You can also apply this application to make changes to the NTFS drive, making it writeable on a Mac computer.

Here are the steps that you can follow to enable NTFS on Mac computers:

Step 1. Connect the NTFS drive to Mac and open Terminal.

Step 2. Type the command here and press Return: sudo nano /etc/fstab

Open terminal and type command to enable NTFS

Step 3. Replace "NAME" with the name of the NTFS drive on your Mac computer by typing: LABEL=NAME none ntfs rw, auto, nobrowse, and press Return.

Replace NTFS drive

Step 4. Press Control + O > Control + X on Mac keyboard.

Step 5. In Finder, click Go > Go to Folder > Type: /Volumes, and click "Go".

Replace Name with the label of your NTFS drive.

Open and access NTFS drive on Mac

This will allow you to fully read and write files on your NTFS drive on Mac. 

What Is NTFS

NTFS was developed by Microsoft, known as NT File System or New Technology File System. From Windows NT3.1, NTFS was set as the default file system of the Windows operating system. 

With several technical improvements, NTFS surpassed other file systems like FAT, HPFS in data transfer, reliability, and disk space usage. It is especially useful for transferring and saving big single files up to 4GB.

Can Mac Read NTFS? Yes! Apple macOS like Big Sur, Catalina, and even older operating systems can read Windows-formatted NTFS drives. In a word, you can open and view contents in an NTFS drive on Mac.

📖Read Also: Can Mac Read exFAT?

Can Mac Write to NTFS Drive? No! As macOS lacks supports for NTFS drives, Mac users cannot write, copy, edit or even delete files on an NTFS-formatted storage device. 

📖Read Also: Can Mac Write to NTFS?

Can I Enable NTFS on Mac? Sure! With the solution presented in the next part, you can enable NTFS and use NTFS drives on Mac with all macOSes, like Big Sur, Catalina, and even the latest Monterey.

It's Possible to Enable NTFS on Mac, Follow and Take the Easiest Solution for Help

On this page, we explained what is NTFS and why can't Mac users directly write to NTFS drives. Though macOS has limits in visiting NTFS-formatted devices, it doesn't mean you can't access or edit files in NTFS drives on Mac at all.

This page includes 3 methods that you can follow anyone to make your NTFS drive writable successfully. For the easiest way out, take EaseUS NTFS for Mac and it will automatically make your drive accessible without any extra operations or hard works.