[hu5190]

My macbook air's external (hotreader) card reader isn't being detected by the laptop. Is there anything I can do to fix this or is there some overly expensive apple card reader out there that is only compatible with MacBooks?

 

[sinclair_tm]

And card reader should work. Have you tried different USB ports, plugging it into a powered USB hub, using a different USB cable?

 

[MartyF81]

Has the card read ever worked on this device?

I presume that "hotreader" is the brand of the reader. If so.....

You don't need an expensive one, but you may want to invest a new one thats higher quality. Cheap versions of readers sometimes can be pretty finicky.