[2 Effective Ways] Format USB to FAT32 on Mac Without Losing Data

Are you looking for a secure way to format USB as FAT32 on Mac? You've come to the right place. Keep reading, and you'll find two methods to help you accomplish this on your storage device. If you lose data during the formatting process, reliable Mac file recovery software is always ready to lend a hand:

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How to Format a USB Flash Drive as FAT32 on a Mac

Users of computers with USB ports might need to format it to the FAT32 file system. This has an advantage over the NTFS file system commonly used on flash drives in that it offers better compatibility between different operating systems.

It is a format compatible with Mac OS X/macOS, Windows, Linux, and DOS systems. Hence, if a user anticipates using the flash drive on multiple operating systems, they will benefit from the FAT32 file system. For Apple Mac users, there are two methods to format a USB flash drive to FAT32: Disk Utility and Terminal command line. Here are the detailed steps for formatting to FAT32 using both methods. **Using Disk Utility:** 1. **Open Disk Utility**: First, locate and launch the Disk Utility application. You can find it in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder or by searching for it using Spotlight (press Command + Space). 2. **Select the Flash Drive**: In the left sidebar of Disk Utility, locate and select your USB flash drive. Make sure you've ejected any mounted volumes to avoid losing data. 3. **Erase the Drive**: Click on the "Erase" button at the top of the window. A new dialog box will appear. 4. **Format Settings**: In the "Format" dropdown menu, choose "MS-DOS (FAT)" as the file system. This will ensure the drive is formatted to FAT32. 5. **Name the Drive**: Enter a name for your USB drive in the "Name" field. 6. **Confirm Erase**: Read the warning message, then click "Erase" to begin the formatting process. The process should be quick, and your drive will be formatted to FAT32. **Using Terminal Command Line:** 1. **Open Terminal**: Launch the Terminal application, which can be found in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder or by searching for it using Spotlight. 2. **Unmount the Drive**: Unmount the USB drive first to prevent data loss. Type the following command, replacing `/dev/diskX` with the actual identifier of your USB drive (you can find this in Disk Utility): ``` diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX ``` 3. **Format the Drive**: Now, format the drive to FAT32 with the following command: ``` sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/diskX ``` Note: Replace `/dev/diskX` with the correct identifier for your USB drive again. Also, you'll need to enter your admin password when prompted after typing `sudo`. 4. **Eject the Drive**: After formatting, safely eject the drive with the following command: ``` diskutil eject /dev/diskX ``` Now, your USB flash drive should be formatted to FAT32, ready for use across different operating systems. Remember to replace `/dev/diskX` with the appropriate identifier for your specific drive throughout these steps.

Method 1: Format USB as FAT32 on Mac Using Disk Utility

Formatting the USB drive to FAT32 with Disk Utility will erase all data on the flash drive, so be sure to back up any important data to another secure location before proceeding.

To format the USB drive as FAT32, follow these steps:

Step 1: Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac.

Step 2: Open Applications > Utilities, and then open Disk Utility.

Step 3: Select your USB drive in the sidebar, then click “Erase.”

Step 4: (Optional) Rename the USB flash drive.

Step 5: Choose the format option MS-DOS (FAT), and the scheme Master Boot Record, then click “Erase”.

Wait for the process to complete, and you'll have a freshly-formatted FAT32 USB drive that you can use to store data once again.

Method 2: Format USB as FAT32 on Mac Using Terminal Command Line

The command-line behavior is the same as Disk Utility's when erasing a USB drive. As always, back up first.

Here are the steps to format FAT32 on Mac using Terminal:

Step 1: Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac.

Step 2: Press Command+Space to open Spotlight, type Terminal, and then hit Enter.

Step 3: Type diskutil list, and figure out which disk is your USB drive.

• sudo grants user privileges.
• Diskutil calls the Disk Utility tool.
• eraseDisk is the command for formatting.
• FAT32 sets the file system.
• MBRFormat tells Disk Utility to format using a Master Boot Record.
• /dev/disk2 is the location of the USB drive.

Wait for the process to complete. Afterward, you can type in diskutil list again to make sure that the formatting was successful. If you're unable to format your USB manually, you can use a FAT32 formatting tool to do it for you.

In addition to the step-by-step guide above, you can also follow along with this video to format FAT32 on your Mac.

• 0:22 Inspect the drive in Finder
• 2:47 Eject/Unmount an external hard drive
• 3:03 Format a USB as FAT32 on a Mac

How to Format a USB on a Mac (Flash Drive Formatting)

 

Extra Tip: How to Recover Data from Formatted USB

Formatting will delete your data, so make sure you have everything backed up. If not, you may be able to recover lost data with recovery software.

Available in Windows and Mac versions, it's a good option no matter which type of computer you use. If you're a Mac user, the software will scan and display your formatted data with just a few clicks. To make sure your money is well spent, you can first download the tools Data Recovery Wizard for Mac trial version to retrieve lost files effectively. You can preview all the found data before the final recovery.

To recover data from a formatted USB flash drive on a Mac, follow these steps:

Step 1: Connect the USB drive to your Mac

Plug in the USB flash drive to your Mac correctly. Launch the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool. Start by selecting the flash drive and clicking “Search Lost Files” to let the software scan for lost files on it.

Note: Before you recover data, it is recommended that you click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar and create a backup of the USB drive to prevent further data loss. After backing up the USB drive, the software can recover data from the USB drive backup, and you can then remove the USB flash drive and use it again.

Select your USB drive and search for lost files

Step 2. Recover Lost Data from the USB Drive

When the scan is over, all the found files will be displayed in the left pane of the scan results.

Step 3: Recover Data from Flash Drive

Select the files you want to recover, then click the “Recover” button. To avoid overwriting your data, do not save the recovered files back onto the USB drive itself.

Conclusions

All in all, it's pretty easy to format USB to FAT32 on Mac. Both Disk Utility and Terminal commands can be of great help. You should back up the USB drive in advance to prevent data loss from Mac USB. If you want to recover deleted files from Mac, USB, external hard drive, SSD, and more, turn to Mac data recovery software. This Mac USB recovery tool can be very helpful.

FAT32 Format Mac FAQs

This section offers additional help with Mac-formatted FAT32. Read on for answers to frequently asked questions.

1. What is the maximum capacity of a USB formatted as FAT32?

2 terabytes (TB). A FAT32 formatted hard drive can hold 2 TB of files, but each individual file must be less than 4 GB in size. However, FAT32 does not support partitions smaller than 512 MB. Thus, if your hard drive is larger than 2 TB or smaller than 512 MB, you will not be able to format it as a single FAT32 partition.

2. Why is the FAT32 option grayed out on Mac?

There you go – the USB drive you're formatting doesn't support that option. For example, macOS won't let you format a 32 GB SD card or smaller as MS-DOS (FAT32).

How do I format a 64GB USB as FAT32 on a Mac?

Here are the steps to format a 64 GB USB drive as FAT32 on a Mac:

Plug in the USB you want to format to your Mac. Navigate to Applications > Utilities, and double-click on Disk Utility. Select the drive you want to format, then click Erase. Optional: Rename your USB drive and select MS-DOS (FAT) as the format.

4. Is FAT32 compatible with Mac?

Yes, FAT32 is compatible with Mac.