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How to Format an SD Card on Your Mac

Formatting an SD Card on your Mac Is a breeze

By Jennifer Karner Jennifer Karner Writer Jen Karner is a former Lifewire writer and expert on VR and Android phones. Her work has appeared on AndroidCentral, iMore, WindowsCentral and others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on August 9, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apple Macs iPad

What to Know

Before starting, copy any content you want to save before formatting.Open Applications folder > Utility > launch Disk Utility > select the SD card > Erase > New Format.Next, choose SD card format. OS X Extended (Journaled) is the most common system file choice. This article explains how to format an SD card on a Mac so that the computer will be able to read it.

How to Erase or Format a SD Card on a Mac

To format your SD card, all you need is your Macbook, an SD card, and a card reader. Some folks may find that their Macbook has an SD slot, in which case you can forego needing a card reader. Before formatting your SD card, you'll want to pull any images or files off of the card because it will disappear after you have finished the reformatting process. Once you have formatted or erased a SD card any information on the card will be wiped. There is no undo, and no way to retrieve erased data! Open the Applications folder from a Finder window. Scroll down and open the Utility folder. Launch Disk Utility. Find and click on your SD card on the left side of the screen. Unless you have specifically named it, it will probably display as UNNAMED or NO NAME. Be sure you are looking under the External area on the left. Click Erase. It's located at the top of the screen, in between partition and restore. Choose a new format from the pop up menu. At this time you can also rename the SD card to whatever you'd prefer. OS X Extended (Journaled) is the default (and most common) Mac file system choice. Click Erase to erase and reformat your SD card. How to Remove an SD Card from a MacBook Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Erase Everything on an SD Card How to Remove an SD Card from a MacBook How to Format an SD Card to FAT32 How to Downgrade From Catalina to Mojave How to Set an SD Card as Default Storage in Android How to Format an SD Card for Your Camera How to Remove Write Protection on a Micro SD Card How to Find a Flash Drive That's Not Showing Up on a Mac How to Install Mac OS on PC How to Partition a Drive in OS X El Capitan Using Disk Utility How to Use Disk Utility in macOS How to Format a Mac Hard Drive With Disk Utility How to Format an SD Card on Windows How to Transfer Data From a Nintendo 3DS SD Card How to Format a USB Flash Drive on Mac How to Make a Bootable Flash Installer of OS X or macOS Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies