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How to Format an SD Card or USB Stick to FAT32 on a Mac

Quick Shortcut: Good news for Mac users: Unlike Windows, your Mac can format ANY size memory card or USB stick (even 64GB or 128GB) to FAT32 using the built-in Disk Utility app—Apple just calls FAT32 'MS-DOS (FAT)'.

Step-by-Step in Mac Disk Utility (Takes 30 Seconds)

  1. Plug your SD card or USB drive into your Mac.
  2. Press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight Search, type 'Disk Utility', and press Enter.
  3. Click your SD card or USB drive under the 'External' section on the left sidebar (be careful not to pick your Mac's internal hard drive!).
  4. Click the 'Erase' button at the top right of the window.
  5. Change the 'Format' dropdown to 'MS-DOS (FAT)' — this is Apple's name for FAT32.
  6. If you see a 'Scheme' dropdown, choose 'Master Boot Record (MBR)', then click 'Erase'.

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