USB SuperDrive can’t play DVDs

Some years ago, I bought an Apple USB SuperDrive to connect to my 2013 iMac. Since upgrading to OS X El Capitan, the drive stopped playing DVD video discs, although it still works with DVD and CD data, and CD audio discs. I’ve tried various solutions, including resetting the SMC and NVRA M, but all to no avail.

This depends on exactly which model of iMac you have. OS X and macOS Sierra are configured to support the SuperDrive only if that model wasn’t offered with an internal SuperDrive. Apple stopped including an internal SuperDrive starting with the late 2012 iMac range. On a model that doesn’t include a SuperDrive, your external one should work fine when connected to a USB port on the Mac; avoid connecting it through a hub. (On older Macs with an internal SuperDrive, Apple annoyingly disables the capability to use its USB SuperDrive.)

Upgrading to Sierra might fix things, although that’s unpredictable. It’s drastic too, and perhaps unfeasible if you have hardware or apps that are incompatible with it.

We’ve found forum posts on Apple’s site in which others have complained about the same issue. If someone you know has a third-party USB DVD drive, ask if you may borrow it to see whether it eliminates the problem. If so, you might consider buying a third-party drive – they’re affordable, and more likely to work with a wide range of different Macs. However, before you spend any money, it’s worth calling Apple Support ( support.apple. com) to see if it can shed light on the root cause of this problem.