External drives · Setting up your drive
Why does Storage Studio say my drive is too slow?
Short answer: Its measured read or write speed was too low to run apps from. Try a direct connection without a hub and a fast cable, then re-run the benchmark; if it still fails, the drive itself is too slow — an external SSD is the fix.
The speed test measured read or write speeds too low to run apps and folders from comfortably. Storage Studio blocks drives that are too slow and warns about ones that are merely slow, because anything you move there will be opened straight from that drive.
Things worth checking before you give up on it:
- Plug it directly into the Mac, not through a hub, dock or monitor port.
- Use the drive's own cable or a known fast USB-C/Thunderbolt cable — some charging cables are slow.
- Close apps that might be using the drive and run the benchmark again.
If it still fails, the drive itself is the limit; a flash drive, SD card or old hard disk often is. An external SSD is the usual fix.