If you are a Mac owner and are struggling with how to format SD card with a Mac then, you have landed at the right place. Formatting an SD card clears everything on it so, make sure that you have a backup before proceeding further.

Erasing a memory card is quite easy on a macOS system especially if your Mac features an integrated SD card slot reader.

In this article, you will get to learn about how to format an SD card with a Mac. 

 

 

Quick Solution


For all photographers and videographers, it is important to format and re-format their cards timely so that new data can be added. SD cards are really important as they hold a lot of valuable data ranging from photos and videos to files and documents.

Clearing an SD card is necessary in many cases:

  • SD card is full and additional space is required.
  • SD card is corrupted by virus or malware.
  • Experiencing an unwanted error.
  • The SD card has not been formatted in a while.
  • SD card has stopped responding.

To know how to format Sd card to Fat32 read: Format ANY SD Card to FAT32 on Mac.

Step-By-Step Guide To Format SD Card on Mac


Mentioned below is a step-by-step process on how you can clear data on your memory card using a macOS system seamlessly. Read on to know more.

Connect the SD card to your system

The very step is to connect your memory card to your Mac system. If your system has an in-built card slot, you can directly insert the card else you will have to make use of a USB memory card reader.

connect sd card with a mac

Open Disk Utility

Click on the magnifying glass present in the top-right corner of your computer screen. You can also Press Command + the Space Bar. Type ‘disk utility’ in the Search box. From the list of available options, select the Disk utility application.

Another way is to Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.

how to format an sd card with a mac step 2

Locate your SD card

On the left pane, search for your SD card. If the card hasn’t been formatted before, it might have a name like “NO NAME” or “UNTITLED”. Select the card.

how to format an sd card with a mac step 3

Choose Erase function

There are a set of buttons present on the top of the screen. In the center of the panel, you will find an Erase icon. Click on it and a pop-up screen will appear in front of you.

how to format an sd card with a mac step 4

Give an appropriate name to the SD card

The next step is to give a name to your SD card if it is unnamed. But, this step is completely optional, you may leave it to “NO NAME” or “UNTITLED” and proceed. Though it is always recommended to choose an appropriate name for ease of action.

how to format an sd card with a mac step 5

Choose the File format system

After choosing a name, the next step is to choose a particular file format. The Format drop-down list offers several options. You need to choose one of them. For SD cards and microSD cards, the most compatible choices are ExFat if the card is 64GB or larger or, MS-DOS (Fat)  if it’s 32GB or smaller.

More tips on formatting any SD card to Fat32 read this article

how to format an sd card with a mac step 6

Erase

Once you have completed the above steps, click the Erase button to start formatting. The computer will delete the contents of your SD card and format it to the appropriate file system. Finally, you are all done!

how to format an sd card with a mac step 7

Clearing SD cards on other devices


The below section takes you through the steps of clearing an SD card using a Windows system or an Android phone.

Using Windows 10/11

Windows offer several ways in which you can clear the entire data from an SD card. Below mentioned are three such methods. Before proceeding with any of the following, make sure your SD card is connected to the system.

Clearing SD card using File Explorer

Step 1: Launch Windows Explorer.

Step 2: Locate the SD card drive and choose Format.

Step 3: In the Format screen, choose the appropriate file format, allocation unit size, capacity, and vol label, and check the quick format.

Step 4: Click Start to proceed.

Clearing SD card using Disk Management

Step 1: Open Disk Management.

Step 2: Locate your SD card and choose Format. 

Step 3: Choose the appropriate file format and allocation unit size. Also, check the quick format.

Step 4: Click OK to proceed.

Clearing SD card using Command Prompt

Step 1: Open cmd

Step 2: Type diskpart > Enter > list disk > Enter > select disk * (‘*’ can be any disk no.)

Step 3: Type clean and create a new partition. 

Step 4: Run the Format command and assign a Drive Letter.

Using Android

Clearing the data of an SD card is very easy using an Android phone.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Storage.

Step 2: Choose SD card options and select“Erase SD Card” or “Format SD Card”

For more specific details on how to clear an SD card with Android, visit here.

 

Last Word Of Advice


By the end of this article, you must be well aware of how to can clear your SD card easily using the macOS system.

In case, you format your card accidentally, there are ways to recover the data as well. You can do the same by installing recovery software. 

Please Note that if you are using a macOS older than version 10.6.6, it won’t support exFAT. Also, make sure that the SD card is not write-protected. If that is the case, you can remove the protection in several ways. Click here to know more

 

Thanks for reading.

I hope this guide helped you gain all the information about how to fix an SD card with a Mac 🙂 

 

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