Best USB Flash Drive Data Recovery Methods for Mac in 2024

Quick Navigation:

• What happens to deleted USB files on a Mac?
• Recover deleted files from USB flash drive from Mac trash bin
• Recover lost data from USB flash drive on Mac with recovery software
• Mac USB flash drive data recovery FAQs

If you want to store or move files between Mac/Windows computers, you'll most likely want to utilize an external hard drive or USB flash drive. It's simple and convenient. However, if you find that your contents have been deleted from the USB external device or the USB flash drive has been erased by Disk Utility, it would be a bit of a letdown. How come you can't access your external USB drive's files?

There are several possibilities, including:

• You accidentally deleted these files.
• The USB flash drive was accidentally formatted.
• The virus or malware deletes files.
• The system on your USB external device conceals files.
• This USB drive's file system is corrupt; thus, the file isn't showing up.
• Other reasons.

Regardless of what happened to your files or data, the most important thing to know is how to restore them. In this article, you'll learn how to recover lost data from USB flash drive on a Mac.

What happens to deleted USB files on a Mac?

As soon as a file remove, it is no longer accessible. Files that have been removed are free to place new data in their place. Files become inaccessible as a result. In this case, you'll need a program that can access and restore the files. For the average user, accessing these storage areas is impossible.

Recovering Deleted Files from an USB Flash Drive on Mac:

How to restore USB flash drive data on the Mac is helpful. It's also critical to learn how to keep your USB devices' data safe.

• Keep in mind that when you mark files for reuse, they are overwritten by other files in the computer rather than removed. Before being overwritten, all files can be retrieved.
• Every time you disconnect your USB drive from your computer, do it safely.
• Stop using your USB flash drive as soon as you discover that your files have been deleted from it! Make sure you don't overwrite the files by using them repeatedly.
• Using a recovery program that can access a wide range of file types increases your chances of successful data retrieval.

Update USB Driver:

• Reboot your Mac and access the corrupted USB disk.
• Take a look at the website for the USB drive.
• Take a look at the Support page, then the Downloads page.
• Make sure the program you choose is compatible with Macs.
• Select the appropriate driver/software installer.
• Please download the USB driver and then install it.
• The external USB disk can eject safely.
• The USB drive can reconnect after a 10-second pause.
• Restarting your Mac is the best option. Depending on the model, the USB drive may or may not operate.

Check the Trash Folder:

The Trash folder is a good place to look for recently deleted files. A flash drive recovery on Mac from the Trash folder is an extremely straightforward approach if that's the case in your situation.

Recover deleted files from USB flash drive from Mac trash bin

When you connect the USB flash drive to your Mac, then you delete the files from the USB flash drive, fist of all, you can check the Trash. Please keep the USB flash drive connected with your Mac. Then quickly find the deleted files and restore them from the Trash.

Step 1. Trash can open by clicking on its Dock icon, which can be found on the Dock's right or bottom.

Step 2. Find the files you want to restore from the Trash. Choose them and drag them to the Mac desktop.

Recover lost data from USB flash drive on Mac with recovery software

Using a Mac data recovery application may be necessary if you cannot locate files in Mac's Trash. You may find various free and paid data recovery software on the market today.

Starting with a free tool is a good idea, and then if that doesn't work, you can always upgrade to a paid tool later. Do Your Data Recovery is the tool we use the most frequently. Do Your Data Recovery for Mac features a free preview feature, which you can use to preview files before recovery to make sure they are recoverable. Here's how to use Do Your Data Recovery for Mac to recover lost data from a USB flash drive on Mac. Download it and install it on you Mac.

Do Your Data Recovery for Mac supports to recover all types of lost files including images, documents, videos, audio files, archives, etc. Now, follow the steps below to recover lost data from an USB flash drive on Mac:

Step 1. Connect your USB flash drive to your Mac after downloading and installing Do Your Data Recovery for Mac.

Step 2. Find your USB flash drive by opening Do Your Data Recovery for Mac and selecting it from the list of devices that appears on the screen.

Step 3. Click on Scan button. Do Your Data Recovery for Mac will quickly scan the USB flash drive and find lost files. If the quick scan can’t find all lost files, just try advanced recovery mode. This mode will deeply scan the USB flash drive and find every recoverable file.

When Do Your Data Recovery for Mac has finished scanning, wait patiently for the results. You can preview all recoverable files before recovery.

Step 4. After scanning, select the files you want to recover and then click on Recover button to save them.

Mac USB flash drive data recovery FAQs:

1. Can I recover permanently deleted files from USB flash drive on Mac?

Yes, just run Do Your Data Recovery for Mac to scan the USB flash drive. Then you are able to recover permanently deleted files. It even can recover the deleted files which were deleted a few years ago.

2. How to unformat USB flash drive on Mac?

Run Do Your Data Recovery for Mac to scan the formatted USB flash drive with advanced recovery mode. Then you can recover all lost files.

3. The USB flash drive is not showing up on Mac, how to fix it?

You can run Disk Utility to First Aid the corrupted USB flash drive, check full guide: fix USB flash drive not showing up on Mac >>

4. Is it possible to permanently wipe USB flash drive data on Mac?

Yes, before you sell or dispose of an old USB flash drive, you can run data erasure software - such as DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac to help you permanently wipe data from your USB flash drive. Once your data is erased by this software, the data will be lost forever, can’t be recovered by any data recovery software. Check full guide >>