Macbook Air mid 2012 13' User Guide is not available from the Apple site yet, but the MBA mid 2011 SD card slot can accept an SD or SDXC card. MBA 2012 should be the same.

• Best Sd Card Reader For Macbook Air
• Sd Card Slot For Macbook Air 11
• Best Sd Card Reader For Macbook Air 11

1. New Listing Apple SD Card Reader Adapter Camera Viewer For iPhone iPad IOS 9.2 or up to. 2 in 1 to SD Card Camera Reader Adapter for Apple iPad Pro Mini Air Trail cam.
2. As SD Card Slot storage solutions are compatible with each 13' MacBook Air model with an SD Card slot (and 11' MacBook Air models do not have an SD Card slot at all), identification assistance practically is unnecessary for this particular upgrade.
3. The card reader won't recognize any SD card that doesn't have the standard size, 32 mm by 24 mm by 2.1 mm. Insert the SD card into the SD card reader, on the left side of the MacBook Pro.

MacBook Air Q&A

Update Published August 11, 2019

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Which SD Card Slot storage solution is best for the MacBook Air? Which models are compatible? Is this kind of storage safe?

If you ever found yourself transferring photos from an SD card to your MacBook Air and wondered if you could just store files from your computer on an SD card for a bit of extra space, you're not alone.

Most users should consider upgrading the internal SSD in their Late 2010, Mid-2011, Mid-2012, Mid-2013, Early 2014, Early 2015, or Mid-2017 MacBook Air for more storage.

However, as the capacity of microSD cards has increased, companies have released storage solutions specifically designed to slide into the SD Card Slot on all 13' MacBook Air models with SD Card slots. These solutions are not as protected as an internal SSD and should not be thought of as permanent storage, but they are quite convenient and still can be useful.

Identification Help (Skip)

As SD Card Slot storage solutions are compatible with each 13' MacBook Air model with an SD Card slot (and 11' MacBook Air and later 13' MacBook Air models do not have an SD Card slot at all), identification assistance practically is unnecessary for this particular upgrade.

However, just for confirmation, compatible MacBook Air models have Model NumbersA1369 or A1466.

These models also can be readily identified in software by Model Identifier:

Subsequent 13' MacBook Air models do not have an SD Card slot and cannot use this upgrade method accordingly.

EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature -- as well as the EveryMac app -- also can uniquely identify these models by their Serial Number, which is listed on the underside near the model number and within the operating system alongside the model identifier. More details about specific identifiers are provided in EveryMac.com's extensive Mac Identification section.

Best MacBook Air SD Card Storage Solutions

Some SD Card storage options on the market are low quality knockoffs or from inexperienced startup companies with products burdened by questionable software, but two products worth considering are the Transcend JetDrive Lite 130 and the Nifty MiniDrive Air.

As SD Card storage products for different Apple notebooks are different physical sizes be sure that these particular ones are the one you buy for a MacBook Air.

Photo Credit: Transcend Information Inc. (Left), Nifty Drives (Right)

Although the two products look similar, they actually are quite different.

Established in 1988, Transcend is a well respected manufacturer of RAM and trusted for quality products. The JetDrive Lite 130 is created as single piece and designed to fit snuggly into the MacBook Air with the end sticking out just enough to be able to remove it conveniently. It is sold with either 64 GB, 128 GB, or 256 GB of integrated flash storage.

The Nifty MiniDrive Air, on the other hand, is a simple aluminum and plastic adapter designed to hold an existing microSD from another company of your choosing. It fits flush with the MacBook Air and ships with a small 'hook' tool to remove it. It is no longer available for sale new, but it remains available on the used market.

This brief commercial from Transcend shows their product in action:

Effectively, these products function like a compact high capacity USB stick or a tiny version of an 'old school' floppy disk. Stick it in the SD Card slot and it pops up on the desktop like any other removable storage. Easy.

Using SD Card Storage Solutions Safely

Although all media can fail, whether it is a hard drive, an SSD, or a SD Card -- and it is important to backup your data regularly -- using a quality SD Card solution from Transcend should be safe. The Transcend JetDrive Lite 130 is rated to last for 10,000 insertion/removal cycles. Likewise, the Nifty MiniDrive MK5 Air with an installed high quality microSD card from a trusted manufacturer should be safe, as well.

There is at least one product from an unproven startup that uses flash memory of unknown quality as well as proprietary software of unknown quality to 'pair' the storage from your internal SSD and the SD card together on a 'permanent' basis and any solution of this type should be avoided to reduce the risk of data loss. This 'pairing' method has been shown to cause data loss and compatibility problems with macOS updates, as well. At least one unproven product of this type costs twice as much as the proven Transcend solution, as well.

Ultimately, keep in mind that (1) an SD Card is a removable card and should be thought of as removable storage rather than permanent storage, (2) only use an SD Card from a quality, known manufacturer, and (3) backup your data regularly regardless of the type of media you use. If you follow these three steps, your data should be as safe as it can be.

MacBook Air SD Card Storage Purchase Options

In the US, Amazon sells the Transcend JetDrive Lite 130.

In the UK and Ireland, site sponsor Flexx sells the full range of Transcend JetDrive Lite models for the MacBook Air series with free shipping. The company provides flat rate shipping to France, Germany, and Switzerland and inexpensive shipping for all of Europe, too.

In Australia, site sponsor RamCity sells the Transcend JetDrive Lite 130 for the MacBook Air models with fast, flat-rate shipping Australia-wide.

Best Sd Card Reader For Macbook Air

Also see:

Sd Card Slot For Macbook Air 11

• How do you replace or upgrade the SSD storage in the 'Late 2010' and 'Mid-2011' MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?
• How do you replace or upgrade the SSD storage in the 'Mid-2012' MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?
• How do you replace or upgrade the SSD storage in the 'Mid-2013' and subsequent MacBook Air models? Is it even possible?

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So I've got a MBPr 2012, and recently I noticed that the SD card reader won't detect SD cards. I first noticed it on Windows and thought perhaps it was a driver issue, but then I booted into OSX and the SD cards still refuse to mount. I cleaned the slot with compressed air, reset NVRAM and SMC, and finally I did the extensive hardware tests in Apple Hardware Test - which by the way didn't find anything wrong. But the SD card slot still won't work.

What could the issue be? I have AppleCare for this Mac, but I believe it's about to expire (bought for Christmas 2012, Apple Care was for three years IIRC) and I also live in Puerto Rico, so there are no Apple Stores here. What can I do?

EDIT:

Now it works!

I had to shove it in and out of the card reader a couple of times for it to work. Since I have a 128 GB card, I guess it just took a while to detect the entire thing. So I just waited for a couple of seconds and it showed up.

Best Sd Card Reader For Macbook Air 11