Table of Contents

Quick Navigation:

Lose Data Due to Formatting USB Flash Drive on Mac

There are lots of reasons behind why a Mac user formats an USB flash drive on Mac. For example:

  • The USB flash drive gets corrupted, can’t be used on the Mac. Formatting it can fix the corruption issue.
  • USB flash drive is not compatible the macOS, format it to ExFAT or MS-DOS (FAT) so that it can work on Mac OS - this is the best way to fix USB flash drive is read-only on Mac issue.
  • The data stored on the USB flash drive is not useful anymore or you already have a copy of the data, formatting the drive to regain full storage space.
  • The USB flash drive is infected by virus-files, formatting it to reset it to its factory settings.
  • You will sell, donate or dispose of an old USB flash drive, you should wipe all sensitive data from the drive.

Most of Mac users use Disk Utility, the built-in disk management tool, to format USB flash drive on Mac. And some third-party Mac disk formatting tools such as MacClean360, Start Menu for Mac, Super Eraser for Mac also can help in formatting an USB flash drive on Mac. No matter what the disk formatting tool you use for formatting the USB flash drive, the lost data on the drive is not lost forever and can be recovered by USB flash drive data recovery software.

In this article, we will show you how to unformat USB flash drive on Mac.

unformat USB flash drive on Mac

Best USB Flash Drive Unformat Recovery Software for Mac

The best way to unformat USB flash drive on Mac is by using an USB flash drive data recovery tool. Do Your Data Recovery for Mac is a powerful data recovery tool which has both Windows version and Mac version. With this software, you are able to quickly and securely unformat USB flash drive on Mac, recover all lost data from a reformatted USB flash drive. No matter what the file format is, Do Your Data Recovery for Mac can get it back.

Key features of USB drive unformat recovery software for Mac:

  • Support to recover 1000+ file formats including images, videos, Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, videos, emails, text notes, etc.
  • Supports to recover lost data from all brands of USB flash drives including Samsung, Kingston, Toshiba, Seagate, WD, SanDisk, PNY, Lexar, etc.
  • Recover deleted, formatted, inaccessible and lost data from USB flash drive on Mac.
  • This software is fully compatible with old OSX and new macOS operating systems. Can be installed & used on Intel-based Macs, T2 Macs and Apple silicon Macs without any limitation.
  • A DIY data recovery tool - three steps to unformat USB flash drive on Mac.

Download DoYourData USB flash drive data recovery software and install it on your Mac:

Note: Once you’ve realized you lose data due to formatting the USB flash drive on Mac, just stop using the drive. The formatted data is still stored on the USB flash drive until the disk space of the formatted is overwritten by new data. Don’t write any new data to the USB flash drive before you get all lost data back.

You should perform data recovery as soon as possible.

Steps to Unformat USB Flash Drive on Mac

Step 1. Insert the USB flash drive into your Mac.
Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac. If it is not detected by your Mac, just reconnect the USB flash drive to your Mac, make sure it is recognized by Do Your Data Recovery for Mac.

Unformat USB Flash Drive on Mac

Step 2. Scan the USB flash drive to find all erased files.
Select the USB flash drive to start data recovery. Click on Scan button. This USB flash drive data recovery software will deeply scan the formatted USB flash drive and find all recoverable files.

Unformat USB Flash Drive on Mac

Step 3. Preview and recover the files.
Once the scan is completed, you can preview all recoverable files. Then select the wanted files and save them. Don’t save the recovered files to the USB flash drive before you get all erased files back.

Unformat USB Flash Drive on Mac

Unformat USB Flash Drive on Mac FAQs

1. I use Disk Utility to erase the USB flash drive without a backup, is it possible to recover lost data from the formatted USB flash drive on Mac?

Yes, you can easily unformat USB flash drive on Mac with DIY data recovery software - Do Your Data Recovery for Mac, follow the steps below:

  • Download and install Do Your Data Recovery for Mac, open it from Launchpad.
  • Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac.
  • Select the formatted USB flash drive and click on Scan button.
  • Preview and recover lost files after scanning.

2. How to fix USB Drive Not Initialized issue on Mac?

First of all, run Do Your Data Recovery to scan the USB flash drive. Then save all recoverable files. After data recovery, open Disk Utility, select the USB flash drive and click on Erase button. Quickly erase the corrupted USB flash drive to fix this issue.

3. What is the best USB drive unformat software for Mac?

There are many data recovery tools can help you unformat USB flash drive on Mac, such as:

  • Do Your Data Recovery
  • Stellar Data Recovery for Mac
  • Donemax Data Recovery for Mac
  • Magoshare Data Recovery for Mac
  • PhotoRec
  • Wondershare Recoverit for Mac

4.Can I unformat USB flash drive on Mac for free?

Yes, you can try free version of Do Your Data Recovery for Mac. It can help you recover 1GB files from the formatted USB flash drive for free.

5. How to recover formatted USB flash drive on a Windows PC?

You can download and install the Windows version of Do Your Data Recovery, then run it to scan the formatted USB flash drive and get all lost data back.

6. Is it possible to recover permanently deleted files from an USB flash drive on Mac?

Yes, in most cases, the files which are deleted from the USB flash drive are lost permanently. With a DIY data recovery tool, you can recover deleted files from the USB flash drive.

Situation Can data be recovered?
The USB flash drive is erased by Disk Utility. Yes, with a data recovery software, you can recover lost data from the USB flash drive which has been erased by Disk Utility.
The USB flash drive is formatted by third-party disk formatting tool or becomes RAW. Yes, data recovery software such as Do Your Data Recovery can help you unformat the USB flash drive & recover data from RAW USB flash drive on Windows or and Mac.
The USB flash drive is erased by a data erasure tool - such as DoYourData Super Eraser. No, data erasure software will permanently erase data from the USB flash drive. The erased data is gone forever, can not be recovered by any method.

Conclusion

Whether the data is deleted or erased from the USB flash drive, the lost data can be recovered by USB data recovery software. In this article, we have shown the way to unformat USB flash drive on Mac.

Do Your Data Recovery for Mac is an easy-to-use data recovery tool. It is able to securely and completely recover formatted data from USB flash drive on Mac. The deep scan ensures find every recoverable file stored on the USB flash drive even it has been reformatted.

To protect your data, before you format your USB flash drive, you should make a full backup of your data. Once the data is lost, don’t use the USB drive, just immediately run this USB flash drive unformat software, then get all erased files back.

DoYourData Author

Written & Updated by Anderson

Anderson is a big fan of computer technology. He joined DoYourData in 2018 and has been writing 200+ articles about disk clone, data recovery, computer technology, data erasure, Mac system optimization, etc. He loves music, movie, and reading. In his spare time, he’s studying music and playing tennis.

Read full bio