{"id":"external-drives.can-i-daisy-chain-thunderbolt-drives","url":"/faq/external-drives/can-i-daisy-chain-thunderbolt-drives","category":{"id":"external-drives","title":"External drives"},"subcategory":{"id":"speed-and-hardware","title":"Speed, cables and hardware"},"question":"Can I daisy-chain external drives on a Mac?","alt_questions":["Daisy chain Thunderbolt drives Mac","Connect one drive through another","Thunderbolt passthrough port drive","can USB drives be daisy chained?"],"short_answer":"Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be chained so several devices share one Mac port; plain USB drives can't — use a hub instead. A chain shares bandwidth, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it.","answer_markdown":"Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be daisy-chained: the second device plugs into the first, and both reach the Mac through one port. Ordinary USB drives can't be chained — for those you use a hub or dock instead.\n\nEverything in a chain shares one connection to the Mac, so a fast drive copying alongside others will slow down, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it. Eject the drives further down the chain before unplugging the first one.\n\nFor a drive Storage Studio moves things to, a direct connection is the simplest and most reliable — see [whether the port matters](/faq/external-drives/does-it-matter-which-port-i-use).","answer_html":"

Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be daisy-chained: the second device plugs into the first, and both reach the Mac through one port. Ordinary USB drives can't be chained — for those you use a hub or dock instead.

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Everything in a chain shares one connection to the Mac, so a fast drive copying alongside others will slow down, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it. Eject the drives further down the chain before unplugging the first one.

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For a drive Storage Studio moves things to, a direct connection is the simplest and most reliable — see whether the port matters.

","answer_text":"Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be daisy-chained: the second device plugs into the first, and both reach the Mac through one port. Ordinary USB drives can't be chained — for those you use a hub or dock instead.\n\nEverything in a chain shares one connection to the Mac, so a fast drive copying alongside others will slow down, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it. Eject the drives further down the chain before unplugging the first one.\n\nFor a drive Storage Studio moves things to, a direct connection is the simplest and most reliable — see whether the port matters.","tags":["thunderbolt","daisy chain","ports"],"related":[{"id":"external-drives.does-it-matter-which-port-i-use","question":"Does it matter which port I plug the fast drive into?","url":"/faq/external-drives/does-it-matter-which-port-i-use"},{"id":"external-drives.thunderbolt-or-usb-c-for-an-external-ssd","question":"Should I get a Thunderbolt or a USB-C external SSD?","url":"/faq/external-drives/thunderbolt-or-usb-c-for-an-external-ssd"},{"id":"external-drives.should-i-plug-the-drive-into-a-hub-or-directly","question":"Should I plug my fast drive into a hub or dock, or directly into the Mac?","url":"/faq/external-drives/should-i-plug-the-drive-into-a-hub-or-directly"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Can I daisy-chain external drives on a Mac? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be chained so several devices share one Mac port; plain USB drives can't — use a hub instead. A chain shares bandwidth, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"External drives","path":"/faq/external-drives/"},{"name":"Can I daisy-chain external drives on a Mac?","path":"/faq/external-drives/can-i-daisy-chain-thunderbolt-drives"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/can-i-daisy-chain-thunderbolt-drives","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Can I daisy-chain external drives on a Mac?","alternateName":["Daisy chain Thunderbolt drives Mac","Connect one drive through another","Thunderbolt passthrough port drive","can USB drives be daisy chained?"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be daisy-chained: the second device plugs into the first, and both reach the Mac through one port. Ordinary USB drives can't be chained — for those you use a hub or dock instead.\n\nEverything in a chain shares one connection to the Mac, so a fast drive copying alongside others will slow down, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it. Eject the drives further down the chain before unplugging the first one.\n\nFor a drive Storage Studio moves things to, a direct connection is the simplest and most reliable — see whether the port matters.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/can-i-daisy-chain-thunderbolt-drives"}}]},"fragment":"
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External drives · Speed, cables and hardware

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Can I daisy-chain external drives on a Mac?

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Short answer: Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be chained so several devices share one Mac port; plain USB drives can't — use a hub instead. A chain shares bandwidth, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it.

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Thunderbolt drives with two Thunderbolt ports can be daisy-chained: the second device plugs into the first, and both reach the Mac through one port. Ordinary USB drives can't be chained — for those you use a hub or dock instead.

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Everything in a chain shares one connection to the Mac, so a fast drive copying alongside others will slow down, and unplugging the first device disconnects everything after it. Eject the drives further down the chain before unplugging the first one.

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For a drive Storage Studio moves things to, a direct connection is the simplest and most reliable — see whether the port matters.

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Last reviewed

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