---
id: external-drives.how-do-i-decrypt-an-external-drive
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-decrypt-an-external-drive
category: "External drives"
subcategory: "Passwords and encryption"
question: "How do I remove the password or encryption from an external drive?"
alt_questions:
  - "Decrypt external drive Mac"
  - "Turn off encryption on USB drive"
  - "Remove password from external SSD"
  - "finder decrypt option"
short_answer: "Control-click the drive in Finder, choose Decrypt and enter the password; macOS removes the encryption in the background while your files stay put. If Decrypt isn't offered, copy files off, erase the drive unencrypted, and copy them back."
tags: ["encryption", "decrypt", "finder"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/stop-encrypted-drive-asking-for-password", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/can-i-encrypt-just-part-of-an-external-drive", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/does-filevault-encrypt-my-external-drive"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# How do I remove the password or encryption from an external drive?

In Finder, Control-click the drive and choose **Decrypt "drive name"**, then enter its password. macOS decrypts it in the background while you keep using it; your files stay where they are. Leave the drive connected until it finishes — large drives take a while.

If **Decrypt** isn't offered, the drive's format may not support it in Finder; in that case copy your files off, erase the drive without encryption in Disk Utility, and copy them back.

Think twice before decrypting a drive you carry around: anyone who finds it can then read it. Keeping it encrypted and letting your keychain remember the password is usually the better trade.