How to check SSD health on macOS
Macs now come in configurations that include SSDs. Some models come with both an SSD and an HDD. If your Mac has an SSD then you need to keep an eye on its health because as an SSD ages, and more and more data is written to it, its life span shortens. There will come a point where it will fail though by then, you’ll probably be in the market for a new Mac. That said, here’s how you can check SSD health on macOS.
System information
Out of the box, you can check SSD health on macOS from the system information window. What it gives you is the S.M.A.R.T status of your SSD. If the status is ‘Verified’, your SSD is in good health. If it’s failing, you need to replace it.
Click the Apple menu in the menu bar and select About this Mac. In the window that opens, go to the Overview tab, and click the System Report button. In the System Report window, select Storage in the column on the left. This will show you the current status of the SSD on your Mac.
Chamelion
This is a free, no-nonsense app that will tell you how your SSD’s health is holding up. It can enable/disable TRIM provided the SSD isn’t an Apple branded one but that’s not something you should mess with if you don’t have more than a cursory understanding of what it takes to keep an SSD healthy.
Blackmagic Disk Speed Test
Blackmagic Disk Speed Test is more for testing how well your SSD is currently doing. It executes a stress test on the disk and runs the tests continuously for as long as you need it to. It won’t give you a single word diagnosis like the other two options in this list. Instead, it will tell you how long it takes to read and write data to your SSD. You can then check to see if you’re getting the speeds you should. If you aren’t, then your SSD is likely nearing the end of its life, or there is something else that’s wrong with it.
To start the test, click the large Start button in the middle and watch the read and write speeds being tested one after the other. Click it again to stop the tests.
SSDs fail eventually and it really doesn’t matter if your SSD is Apple branded or not. Apple hasn’t invented an immortal SSD yet and its hardware is still subject to the same limitations as other computers. Keep an eye on your SSDs health and make sure you take regular backups of your data.
Looking to check SSD health on Windows 10? We’ve got you covered.
