How to format a USB drive as FAT32 on Windows 11, 10

• Windows 11 lets you format drives as FAT32 using File Explorer, Settings, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.
• Starting with build 27686, File Explorer can create FAT32 volumes up to 2TB, replacing the old 32GB formatting limit.
• FAT32 remains the best choice for maximum compatibility, but it still has a 4GB file size limit.
• Command Prompt and PowerShell still cannot format FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB, but in version 26H2, Microsoft has increased the supported size to 2TB.

On Windows 11 (and 10), you can format drives as FAT32, and in this guide, I will show you multiple ways to do this in File Explorer, Settings, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.

Although you would typically use NTFS as the file system for drives connected to Windows, you may still need to use FAT32, as this file system is often required on USB flash drives to store the BIOS file used to update the firmware on your computer’s motherboard. Printers may require the file system to read images you want to print directly from a USB drive. If you have a camera, you may need to format the SD Card with FAT32 to make the storage available on the device. Other platforms may also need this file system.

What’s FAT32?

FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32) is one of the oldest and most widely supported file systems. Although it has largely been replaced by NTFS and exFAT on modern systems, it remains relevant because of its broad compatibility with Windows, macOS, Linux, game consoles, cameras, routers, and many other devices.

However, FAT32 has several important limitations. It cannot store individual files larger than 4GB, making it unsuitable for large videos, virtual machines, and other large files. Traditionally, Windows limited the built-in formatting tools to creating FAT32 volumes up to 32GB. However, newer versions of Windows 11 have removed this restriction in the Format tool, allowing you to create FAT32 volumes as large as 2TB, provided the drive uses compatible sector sizes.

Even so, FAT32 is generally slower and less reliable than NTFS since it lacks modern features such as file permissions, encryption, journaling, and compression.

In most cases, FAT32 is best suited for USB flash drives, memory cards, and external storage devices that need to work across different operating systems and hardware. While you can format internal drives with FAT32, it isn’t recommended for Windows installations or general-purpose storage due to its file size limit and limited functionality. If you need to format a large partition and don’t require NTFS features, exFAT is usually the better choice.

FAT32 vs. exFAT?

In addition to FAT32, you will also find the exFAT (Extensible File Allocation Table) option, a similar file system designed to overcome the limitations of FAT32. For example, exFAT has a file limit of 16EB, while the partition can be as big as 128PB.

What’s a file system?

A file system is like a librarian for your computer. It organizes and manages the system and your files and folders stored on a drive so you can easily find and access them.

In this guide, I will explain the quick steps to format a drive using the legacy file system on Windows 11 as well as on Windows 10.

• Format USB flash drive using FAT32 on Windows 11
• Format USB flash drive using FAT32 from Settings
• Format USB flash drive using FAT32 with Command Prompt
• Format USB flash drive using FAT32 with PowerShell
• Pureinfotech’s Take

Format USB flash drive using FAT32 on Windows 11

To format a USB flash drive (of up to 32GB) using the FAT32 file system, connect the storage to the computer and use these steps:

1. Open File Explorer on Windows 11.

2. Click on This PC in the left pane.

3. Right-click the USB flash drive and choose the Format option.

   

4. Choose the FAT32 option in the “File system” setting.

   

5. Use the default size for the “Allocation unit size” setting.

6. Confirm a name for the drive in the “Volume label” setting.

7. Check the Quick Format option.

8. Click the Start button.

9. Click the OK button.

10. Click the OK button again.

Once you complete the steps, the storage will be formatted using FAT32.

It’s important to note that starting on Windows 11 build 27686, Microsoft is updating the tool to support drives up to 2TB.

It’s important to note that Windows typically selects the default allocation unit size based on the disk size and file system. For most users, sticking with the default is recommended. The “Allocation unit size” is the smallest unit of storage space a file system can allocate on a disk. A smaller allocation unit size is better for storing many small files, preventing wasted space. A larger allocation unit size can improve performance when storing large files.

If the Format tool does not show a specific drive, this is expected behavior, as the tool only supports removable storage under 2TB. If you must format a specific storage option that doesn’t appear in the graphical tool, you can use the Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Format USB flash drive using FAT32 from Settings

To format a drive as FAT32 from the Settings app on Windows 11, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click the Storage page.

4. Click on “Advanced storage settings” under the “Storage management” section.

5. Click the Disks & volumes setting.

   

6. Select the drive you want to format.

7. Click the Properties button on the volume (not the drive).

   

   Quick tip: If the drive is empty, click the “Create volume” button and choose the drive label, letter, and file system.

8. Click the Format button.

9. Confirm a drive label. 

10. Select the FAT32 option in the File System setting.

    

11. Check the “Perform a quick format” option.

12. Click the Format button.

After you complete the steps, the USB flash drive will be formatted using the FAT32 file system.

Format USB flash drive using FAT32 with Command Prompt

To format a USB flash drive using the FAT32 file system, connect the storage to the computer and use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and choose the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to format the USB drive using FAT32 on Windows 11 (or 10) and press Enter:

   format /q /fs:fat32 d: /v:label

   

   In the command, change “d:” to the drive letter of the drive you want to format. Also, change the “label” for the name you want to use on the drive. The “q” option performs a “quick” format. If you don’t use this option, the full format can take a long time.

4. Press Enter to continue.

After you complete the steps, the existing partition will be formatted with the FAT32 file system using the default allocation unit size.

You cannot run this command on drives larger than 2TB. If you do, you will receive a message stating, “The volume is too big for FAT32. Format failed.”

Format USB flash drive using FAT32 with PowerShell

To format a flash drive using the FAT32 file system through PowerShell, connect the storage to the computer and use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and choose the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to format the USB drive using FAT32 and press Enter:

   Format-Volume -DriveLetter D -FileSystem FAT32 -NewFileSystemLabel label

   

   In the command, change “D” to the drive letter of the drive you want to format. Also, change the “label” for the name you want to use on the drive. If you want to perform a full format, you also have to append the -Full -Force options. For example, Format-Volume -DriveLetter D -FileSystem FAT32 -NewFileSystemLabel label -Full -Force.

4. Press Enter to continue.

Once you complete the steps, the command will perform a quick format using the FAT32 file system.

You cannot run this command in PowerShell on drives larger than 2TB. If you do, you will receive a message stating, “Format-Volume: Size Not Supported.”

It’s important to note that the drive size limit has been increased from 32GB to 2TB since the release of Windows 11 build 26300.8170 for version 26H2.

You can use these instructions as long as the drive has an existing partition. If the drive is empty, it won’t even appear on File Explorer, and you must create a partition before you can format it.

In this guide, I’m only showing three ways to format a USB flash drive, but you can also use Disk Management and the Settings app to format a drive on Windows 11.

Pureinfotech’s Take

I’ve always found Windows’ long-standing 32GB FAT32 formatting limit to be one of those unnecessary restrictions that confused users more than it helped. The file system itself has never been limited to 32GB, yet Windows 11 pushed many people toward third-party tools simply because the built-in formatter wouldn’t do the job. It’s good to see Microsoft finally remove that limitation in File Explorer.

That said, I still wouldn’t recommend FAT32 unless you actually need it. For most USB drives, exFAT is the better choice since it doesn’t have the 4GB file size limit and offers greater flexibility. FAT32 continues to make sense for BIOS updates, older devices, SD cards, and hardware that specifically requires it, but those are increasingly niche scenarios.

Do you still use FAT32 for your USB drives, or have you switched to exFAT? Let me know in the comments.