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Don't assume the drive itself is the bottleneck - most speed issues come from the cable or connection type, not the drive. Make sure you're using a proper USB-C cable (not a cheap knock-off) and plugged directly into your computer's port, not through a hub. If you're still on USB 3.0 instead of 3.1 or Thunderbolt, that's your ceiling right there. Check your actual transfer speed in real time; if it's way below what the drive claims, something's wrong with the connection rather than the hardware.
Also verify that your drive isn't running in some kind of power-saving mode. Some SSDs throttle themselves if they get too warm - make sure it's got airflow and isn't sitting in direct sunlight or next to heat sources. If you're transferring tons of small files, that's inherently slower than large ones because the overhead adds up, so there's only so much you can do there. For repeated transfers, consider whether you actually need the portability; an internal SSD will always be faster if speed is your main concern.
If the drive is genuinely old or a budget model, it might just not be capable of faster speeds. Check the specs online to see what it's rated for - sometimes what feels slow is just the realistic performance of that particular drive at that price point. At that stage you're either accepting the speed or looking at upgrading to a newer model.
What kind of cable are you actually using right now - and is the drive getting warm during transfers?
I had this exact problem last year. Grabbed what I thought was a decent external SSD, plugged it into my laptop with some random USB-C cable that came bundled with something else, and got maybe 80 MB/s when the drive was supposedly rated for 500+. Frustrating as hell. Turned out the cable was the culprit - it was one of those flimsy ones that doesn't properly support the full bandwidth. Switched to a quality USB 3.1 Gen 2 cable (the thicker ones with actual shielding), and boom, immediately jumped to 400+ MB/s. Temperature also dropped because the connection was actually stable.
Beyond the cable situation, check what port you're connecting to. Not all USB ports on a computer are equal - if you're plugged into a USB 2.0 hub or a port on the back of a PC that's daisy-chained through something else, you're throttled before you even start. Try a direct connection to your computer's main USB-C or USB 3 port. Also worth checking if the drive is thermal throttling - if it gets too hot it'll deliberately slow down. Some people just stick a small piece of thermal tape or even prop it up with a bit of space around it during big transfers.
Last thing: make sure the drive isn't fragmented or full. If it's above 80% capacity, performance tanks. And if you're transferring tons of small files instead of one large file, that's naturally slower no matter what - the overhead adds up.
Kate Brown asker
Using a random bundled cable too - didn't think that'd matter this much. Trying a quality USB 3.1 cable first, thanks!
The thing everyone overlooks is your computer's USB ports themselves - if you're plugging into a hub or a port that's daisy-chained with other devices, you're choking the bandwidth before the cable even matters. Try connecting directly to a rear motherboard port (or the side of a laptop if that's what you've got) and see if speeds jump. Also worth checking: some external SSDs throttle hard when they get hot, so if the drive is warm to the touch during transfers, you might need better airflow around it or a drive with actual cooling built in.
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