How to safely eject USB from Mac

After running any data transfer using USB media, it is a good idea to eject the devices correctly to avoid data loss or corruption of entire files. It often happens that you transfer even very heavy files to a USB stick and remove it without telling the Mac what action you are about to perform. In some cases, even if remote, the files may no longer be readable and the whole operation would be invalidated. So let’s see how to properly eject USB from Mac.

Successfully eject USB from the Finder

Ejecting a USB from the Finder is very simple and requires a few steps. Just enough:

open a new Finder window;
go to the left sidebar;
locate the USB device;
click on the icon on the right of the name for ejection.

The expulsion can require a variable number of seconds but usually does not exceed 3 seconds.

Properly eject USB from the desktop

Ejecting the USB device from the desktop is the simplest and fastest procedure. Just identify the removable media icon and then access the context menu. Among the many options, choose Eject “Device Name”.

Successfully eject USB from the Dock bar

An alternative method is represented by the Dock bar. Everything takes place in a few steps and, despite being simple and intuitive, it is not one of the most popular methods by users. Just click on the USB device icon on the Desktop and start dragging it. On the Dock bar, an icon will appear on top of which to drag the selected icon to eject.

Properly eject USB from Disk Utility

For the most geeks and for those who want to know something more on USB media you can also use the Disk Utility. To access it, simply search for Spotlight and access the tool. A window will immediately appear with a side bar on the left. Here it is necessary to go to the section of external disks, select the desired USB and press on the icon that borders the name of the device. In a few seconds it will be eject correctly.

Eject USB from the terminal correctly

If there is something that can be done through the UI, then it is also possible through the terminal. The more freaksters will find this procedure amusing, which can be considered an alternative method in some cases of emergency. Let’s see specifically:

open the terminal by searching with Spotlight;
write inside the diskutil list terminal;
identify the device and keep in mind its Identifier (visible in the terminal);
run the command diskutil unmount/dev/diskxsx replacing the correct identifier with diskxsx;
after displaying the operation message, remove the device.

Certainly this type of operation is much more complex and dispersive, but in case of blocking the Finder is certainly the best solution.