Hello. Is there a flash drive that already comes formatted for Apple? This is the flash drive I’ve been using and it is just about full so I need a new one. When I got it, I had to format it. But it was taking a super long time for a small amount of photos to be downloaded onto it and then I found out I had formatted it wrong. Apparently there are two different options to format for Apple and I had done the wrong one and I can’t remember which one was the right one. Are there any flash drives that are just plugged in and use ready? I just use this to back up photos and I also have an external hard drive which is my main source of storage. This is just an extra added level of security. Thank you.
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Flash drive suggestions for iMac.
- Thread starter zowenso
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Use the included USB-C to USB-C cable to connect the T7 to the Thunderbolt (USB-C) port on your iMac.
You should format it to APFS, or APFS (encrypted) if you want to encrypt the drive.
avoid anything silver or metallic like sandisk as they gets hot to the touch with M1s
the sandisk is hit or miss as the blue 128GB is a charm while the black 265GB is hit or miss.
personally I have a Samsung 32GB usbC_A that works the best with iPad, early Intel and m1.
remember these are just small drives, not powered, heat sinked or large enough to cool.
the sandisk is hit or miss as the blue 128GB is a charm while the black 265GB is hit or miss.
personally I have a Samsung 32GB usbC_A that works the best with iPad, early Intel and m1.
remember these are just small drives, not powered, heat sinked or large enough to cool.
There's no reason to ever buy a drive of any kind (flash drive, SSD, mechanical hard drive) that's pre-formatted for Macs. I mean, you can buy one and it'll work fine of course -- but it's a waste of money because they are almost always more expensive than the same exact drive with a default PC format. You're also limiting yourself to whatever few models they've decided to sell Mac formatted, when in reality you should have your choice of literally any drive out there on the market.
Reformatting takes less than 5 minutes to plug in the drive, open Disk Utility, and change the formatting to, most likely, APFS.
Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac
In Disk Utility on your Mac, erase and reformat a storage device to use with a Mac.
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The 2020 iMac has USBc ports.
So... with an eye on the future... I'd recommend a USBc flash drive.
That said, the last flash drives I bought were these:
They're USBc. Very nice drives, small, but not TOO small.
(I lost a -tiny- 128gb flash drive for around a year because it was so small it fell into a storage bag and I couldn't find it!)
If you get a USBa flash drive, try to get one that runs at USB3 speeds.
Re formatting a drive for the Mac.
Why are you worried about this?
Just connect the drive, open disk utility, and format/erase it to whatever format you need.
For the Mac, HFS+ is best. In disk utility, that's "Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format".
So... with an eye on the future... I'd recommend a USBc flash drive.
That said, the last flash drives I bought were these:
Samsung Type-C USB Flash Drive, 128GB, Transfers 4GB Files in 11 Secs w/Up to 400MB/s USB 3.2 Gen 1 Read Speeds, Compatible w/USB 3.0/2.0, Waterproof, 2022, Blue, MUF-128DA/AM
This sleek drive is supported by Samsung NAND flash and is incredibly compact to fit in the palm of your hand. Count on reliable performance and fast transfer speeds while staying compact. No need to choose between performance and reliability. Experience a fast, powerful flash drive that transfer...
www.amazon.com
(I lost a -tiny- 128gb flash drive for around a year because it was so small it fell into a storage bag and I couldn't find it!)
If you get a USBa flash drive, try to get one that runs at USB3 speeds.
Re formatting a drive for the Mac.
Why are you worried about this?
Just connect the drive, open disk utility, and format/erase it to whatever format you need.
For the Mac, HFS+ is best. In disk utility, that's "Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format".
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Why do you think that HFS+ is better than APFS?
This is where I get lost lol. Like I mentioned, I formatted the one I’m currently trying to replace, when I got it and I chose the wrong option of formatting and it was night and day when Apple helped me with the issue. I just need to know which is correct. I guess everyone would have their own opinion.
Ok thank you. I ordered a 2TB Samsung T7 SSD. So, I don’t really ever share to a PC, but I suppose it could happen at some point, so it sounds like maybe I should go with ExFat “just in case”? Will there be a difference in download speed or performance with ExFat being that I’m on a 2020 IMac?
Use APFS.
APFS is optimized for SSD storage. It’s the default file system since macOS 10.13, and was designed to solve the problems of HFS+.
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Is it possible for me to see how this current flash drive I’m using is formatted, without deleting everything on on it? If I plug in the flash and go to disc utility and choose the flash drive, can I see that info and then get out without deleting everything on it? I’m curious to see what Apple had me change this one to. Thank you.
100% this.
I've got a few of them and the T7 shield ones which have slightly better thermal design and are ruggedised but they are very reliable.
You can use Paragon APFS for windows free trial if you need to share with a PC: https://www.paragon-software.com/home/apfs-windows/
Avoid exfat. It's not a journaled filesystem and can't store metadata properly like you can on APFS.
Of course. In Disk Utility it shows, how your drive is formated/what type of file system it is using:
Should you continue using HFS+?
Which is faster with a hard disk: using APFS or sticking with HFS+? Are there any differences in their performance on SSDs?
eclecticlight.co
Select the drive and use the Get Info command in the Finder. The window that pops up will show the format, along with lots of other useful information.
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So I checked to see how my sandisk flash drive was formatted and here it is. That’s what Apple had told me to do a few years ago when I contacted them for support. I assume I should still go with APFS. I did read that APFS was the newest.
I’m not sure it matters but my 2020 iMac is running Ventura 13.7.8 I haven’t upgraded in some time.
Thank you.
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Yes, you should use APFS for the Samsung T7.
APFS is a newer file system that has replaced HFS+ since macOS 10.13. It's also the file system used on iPhone and iPad.
It's optimised for Flash/SSD storage, and offers better performance and reliability.
