{"id":25038,"date":"2020-01-09T00:48:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T00:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?p=25038"},"modified":"2025-01-24T11:36:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T11:36:30","slug":"flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac-html","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Access a USB Flash Drive That Is Not Recognized on a Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dealing with a Mac that won\u2019t recognize your USB drive can be a significant inconvenience. When your USB drive is not showing up on your Mac, you&#8217;re effectively cut off from the data you need. But there&#8217;s no need to panic; several solutions exist to help you troubleshoot and resolve this issue so that access your files again.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-success\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f530; If your primary concern is the data on a flash drive that isn\u2019t showing up properly, you should check our <a href=\"#recover\">data recovery section<\/a> for dedicated steps to restore your files.<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C4ZG8BUF1FU\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"10_best_ways_to_fix_a_usb_flash_drive_that_wont_show_up_on_a_mac\"><\/span>10 Best Ways to Fix a USB Flash Drive That Won&#8217;t Show Up on a Mac<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at some of the causes of a flash drive not showing up on a Mac to determine if you can resolve your particular issue. Some of these fixes are very simple while others may involve performing data recovery on a corrupted or damaged drive.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_1_restart_your_mac\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 1:<\/span> Restart Your Mac<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>A simple restart can fix many issues with a USB flash drive not recognized on Mac. For example, if your computer has been running for days without a break, then a restart can help clear temporary glitches that might prevent USB detection.<\/p>\r\n<p>A restart also allows software and operating system updates to install, which can be all it takes to eliminate a bug preventing your USB drive from showing up. Last but not least, all connected storage devices are mounted from scratch when you restart your Mac, and that gives your computer a fresh chance to properly recognize your USB drive.<\/p>\r\n<p>To restart your Mac:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Click the <b>Apple icon<\/b> in the top-left corner of your screen.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select the <b>Restart<\/b> option from the dropdown menu.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52754 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-your-mac.jpg\" alt=\"click restart option on your mac\" width=\"1501\" height=\"765\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-your-mac.jpg 1501w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-your-mac-300x153.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-your-mac-500x255.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-your-mac-768x391.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1501px) 100vw, 1501px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Uncheck the <b>&#8220;Reopen windows when logging back in&#8221;<\/b> checkbox for a clean restart.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click the <b>Restart<\/b> button to confirm.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52753 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-mac-dialoge-box.jpg\" alt=\"uncheck the reopen windows after restart option and restart the mac\" width=\"1450\" height=\"589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-mac-dialoge-box.jpg 1450w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-mac-dialoge-box-300x122.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-mac-dialoge-box-500x203.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/restart-mac-dialoge-box-768x312.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1450px) 100vw, 1450px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Wait for your Mac to complete the restart process.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_2_address_physical_connectivity_issues\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 2:<\/span> Address Physical Connectivity Issues<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 size-full wp-image-25058 aligncenter\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bus_powered_usb_extention_additional_ports.jpg\" alt=\"how to open USB on mac\" width=\"700\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bus_powered_usb_extention_additional_ports.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bus_powered_usb_extention_additional_ports-300x82.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bus_powered_usb_extention_additional_ports-500x136.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Before you do anything more complicated, you should check if your thumb drive is not showing up on a Mac is if the problem is with the particular USB port that you are using. At the risk of stating the obvious, your first move should be to try the device in an alternate USB port available on your machine.<\/p>\r\n<p>If the device works in the second port it indicates that the first port may be damaged and may need to be replaced or repaired. However, if the drive doesn\u2019t work in any of your USB interfaces you need to look further to determine the problem.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-secondary\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4cc; If another Mac is available, try connecting the flash drive to it in order to verify that the USB drive itself is not the culprit. If it will not work on different Macs then it is likely that there is a major issue with the device.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_3_check_finder_settings\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 3:<\/span>  Check Finder Settings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>It\u2019s possible that your USB flash drive is recognized by your Mac just fine but isn\u2019t showing up in the usual places (your desktop and\/or the sidebar in Finder) because certain specific settings have been changed.<\/p>\r\n<p>To quickly check if this is the case, you can navigate to the Computer section in Finder (Go &gt; Computer). If the USB flash drive is displayed there, then you just need to make a few quick modifications of your Finder preferences to make it accessible the way you\u2019re used to:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><b>Open Finder<\/b> and click the Finder menu.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select <b>Settings<\/b> (Command + ,).<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52751 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-finder-settings.jpg\" alt=\"Open Finder settings\" width=\"1395\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-finder-settings.jpg 1395w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-finder-settings-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-finder-settings-500x213.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-finder-settings-768x327.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1395px) 100vw, 1395px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go to the General tab (<b>Finder<\/b> &gt; <b>Settings<\/b> &gt; <b>General<\/b>) and make sure the <b>External disks item is selected<\/b>.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52765 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg\" alt=\"show external drives on desktop option\" width=\"1973\" height=\"1040\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg 1973w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop-500x264.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1973px) 100vw, 1973px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go to the <b>Sidebar tab<\/b> and make sure the <b>External disks<\/b> location is selected.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52764 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-external-drives-in-sidebar.jpg\" alt=\"show external drive on Finder sidebar \" width=\"1973\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-external-drives-in-sidebar.jpg 1973w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-external-drives-in-sidebar-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-external-drives-in-sidebar-500x246.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-external-drives-in-sidebar-768x378.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-external-drives-in-sidebar-1536x757.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1973px) 100vw, 1973px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Close the <b>Settings<\/b> window.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-success\" role=\"alert\">&#x2705; Your USB flash drive should now be listed as a location in Finder and displayed as an icon on your Desktop.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_4_provide_sufficient_power_for_your_usb_drive\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 4:<\/span>  Provide Sufficient Power for Your USB Drive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Your flash drive may not be registering with your Mac due to an issue of insufficient power. This is especially prone to happen if you use a bus-powered USB hub and have multiple devices connected simultaneously.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4ac; For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/macbookair\/comments\/nzxmqi\/how_much_power_can_m1_mba_deliver_over_usbc_does\/\">one redditor tested the M1 MacBook<\/a> and found out that its USB-C ports provide about 2.1A in standard mode, with power starting to cut out above 2.3A &#8211; an output that falls between the standard USB-C specifications of 1.5A and 3A. This limited power gets divided among all connected devices when using a bus-powered hub, which may not be enough to properly power multiple peripherals.<\/div>\r\n<p>The solution here is to try connecting the flash drive directly to the computer&#8217;s USB port. If you need to use a hub, consider investing in a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/wirecutter\/reviews\/best-usb-c-hubs-and-docks\/\"> high-quality powered USB hub<\/a> that comes with its own power supply. A good powered hub can easily deliver 85 watts of power, which is more than enough to handle multiple devices simultaneously without the power drain issues that plague basic bus-powered hubs.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_5_force_mount_your_usb_drive\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 5:<\/span>  Force Mount Your USB Drive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Sometimes a USB drive can be in a peculiar state where your Mac can detect the drive&#8217;s presence but is unable to mount it automatically (often because of a software glitch or some background application preventing it). In such situations, you can mount the USB drive manually:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Connect your USB drive to your Mac.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Open Disk Utility, which can be found in Applications &gt; Utilities or via Spotlight (Command + Space, type &#8220;Disk Utility&#8221; and hit Enter).<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52757 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-spotlight.jpg\" alt=\"Run Disk Utility from spotlight\" width=\"1864\" height=\"1114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-spotlight.jpg 1864w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-spotlight-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-spotlight-500x299.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-spotlight-768x459.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-spotlight-1536x918.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1864px) 100vw, 1864px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select your USB drive from the list on the left side of the Disk Utility window.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click the <b>Mount<\/b> button at the top of the Disk Utility window.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52747 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/disk-utility-mount-button-1.jpg\" alt=\"mount USB drive partition in Disk Utility\" width=\"2161\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/disk-utility-mount-button-1.jpg 2161w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/disk-utility-mount-button-1-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/disk-utility-mount-button-1-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/disk-utility-mount-button-1-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/disk-utility-mount-button-1-1536x807.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/disk-utility-mount-button-1-2048x1076.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2161px) 100vw, 2161px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Alternatively, you can force mount the USB drive from Terminal:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Connect your external drive to your Mac.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Open Terminal (Finder &gt; Applications &gt; Utilities) or via Spotlight Search (Command + Space, type &#8220;Terminal&#8221;, and press Enter).<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52759 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-terminal-from-spotlight.jpg\" alt=\"Run Terminal on your mac\" width=\"1864\" height=\"1114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-terminal-from-spotlight.jpg 1864w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-terminal-from-spotlight-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-terminal-from-spotlight-500x299.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-terminal-from-spotlight-768x459.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-terminal-from-spotlight-1536x918.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1864px) 100vw, 1864px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>List all disks by typing <code>diskutil list<\/code> and pressing <b>Enter<\/b>. Look for your USB drive in the list; it might appear as something like &#8220;disk1&#8221; or similar.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52755 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-list-command.jpg\" alt=\"run diskutil list command\" width=\"1557\" height=\"955\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-list-command.jpg 1557w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-list-command-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-list-command-500x307.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-list-command-768x471.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-list-command-1536x942.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1557px) 100vw, 1557px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Create a mount point by entering (replace &#8220;usb&#8221; with your desired mount point name): <code>sudo mkdir \/Volumes\/usb<\/code><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Mount the disk with this command (Replace &#8220;disk1&#8221; with the correct disk number from step 3; &#8220;hfs&#8221; parameter replace with USB drive file system): <code>sudo mount -t hfs \/dev\/disk1 \/Volumes\/usb<\/code><img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52749 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/mount-drive-from-terminal.jpg\" alt=\"mount USB drive volume in terminal\" width=\"1557\" height=\"955\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/mount-drive-from-terminal.jpg 1557w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/mount-drive-from-terminal-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/mount-drive-from-terminal-500x307.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/mount-drive-from-terminal-768x471.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/mount-drive-from-terminal-1536x942.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1557px) 100vw, 1557px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>If the drive still doesn&#8217;t mount, then move right on to the next method.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_6_check_if_the_system_controller_is_failing\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 6:<\/span>  Check if the System Controller is Failing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>It\u2019s possible for a USB flash drive to not be recognized by your Mac because your computer\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/System_Management_Controller\">System Management Controller (SMC)<\/a>\u2014a chip in Intel-based Macs that manages various physical components\u2014isn\u2019t working properly.<\/p>\r\n<p>The good news is that a restart of this important component is usually all it takes to make it behave nicely again.<\/p>\r\n<h4>Macs with Apple Silicon<\/h4>\r\n<p>Apple silicon Macs don&#8217;t require traditional SMC or NVRAM resets because the components are part of the main chip. Instead:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Make sure your Mac is connected to power.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Choose <b>Apple menu<\/b> &gt; <b>Shut Down<\/b>.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52766 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/shutdown-macos.jpg\" alt=\"shutdown your mac to reset smc and nvram\" width=\"1369\" height=\"691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/shutdown-macos.jpg 1369w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/shutdown-macos-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/shutdown-macos-500x252.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/shutdown-macos-768x388.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1369px) 100vw, 1369px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Wait 30 seconds, then press the power button to turn it on.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h4>Macs with T2 Security Chip<\/h4>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>If you have a desktop Mac, unplug the power cable. For laptops, just shut down your Mac while keeping it plugged in.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>For desktop Macs, wait 15 seconds, then plug the power cable back in and skip to step 5. For laptops, press and hold left <b>Control<\/b> + left <b>Option<\/b> + right <b>Shift<\/b> for 7 seconds. While holding these keys on your MacBook, also press and hold the <b>Power<\/b> button for another 7 seconds. Your Mac will turn off if it hasn&#8217;t already.<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-52553 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/control-option-shift.jpg\" alt=\"control option shift\" width=\"2000\" height=\"904\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/control-option-shift.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/control-option-shift-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/control-option-shift-500x226.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/control-option-shift-768x347.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/control-option-shift-1536x694.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Release all keys (for MacBooks) or wait 5 seconds (for desktops), then press the power button to turn on your Mac.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h4>Older Intel Macs (without T2 chip)<\/h4>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>If you have a desktop Mac, unplug the power cable. For laptops, just shut down your Mac while keeping it plugged in.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>For desktop Macs, wait 15 seconds, then plug the power cable back in and skip to step 5. For laptops, hold down left <b>Shift<\/b> + left <b>Control<\/b> + left <b>Option<\/b>, then press and hold the <b>Power<\/b> button while keeping the other keys pressed. Hold all keys for 10 seconds, then release them.<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-52706 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/left-shit-control-option.jpg\" alt=\"left shift control option\" width=\"2000\" height=\"904\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/left-shit-control-option.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/left-shit-control-option-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/left-shit-control-option-500x226.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/left-shit-control-option-768x347.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/left-shit-control-option-1536x694.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Wait 5 seconds, then press the power button to turn on your Mac.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4cc; For Intel-based Macs only, if USB issues continue, you can also try resetting your Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) by restarting your Mac and immediately pressing and holding Command + Option + P + R for about 20 seconds until you hear the second startup chime.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_7_use_first_aid_to_repair_the_usb_flash_drive\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 7:<\/span>  Use First Aid to Repair the USB Flash Drive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>USB drives can develop file system corruption from improper ejection, power loss, or normal wear and tear. Common signs include files that won&#8217;t open, empty folders that should contain data, and drives that randomly disconnect or\u2014you\u2019ve guessed it\u2014are not recognized properly.<\/p>\r\n<p>Fortunately, macOS includes a built-in repair tool called First Aid that can scan your drive for logical errors and <a href=\"\/howto\/fix-corrupted-usb-flash-drive-on-mac.html\">repair common file system issues<\/a>. First Aid checks the disk&#8217;s directory structure, updates corrupted boot data, and repairs broken partition maps, often resolving these issues without data loss.<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Open <b>Finder<\/b> and go to <b>Applications<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Open the <b>Utilities<\/b> folder and launch <b>Disk Utility<\/b>.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52756 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-from-applications.jpg\" alt=\"Run Disk Utility from Utility folder\" width=\"2226\" height=\"1290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-from-applications.jpg 2226w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-from-applications-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-from-applications-500x290.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-from-applications-768x445.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-from-applications-1536x890.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-disk-utility-from-applications-2048x1187.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2226px) 100vw, 2226px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select your USB flash drive from the list of available storage devices on the left.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click <b>First Aid<\/b> in the toolbar.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52744 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-first-aid-button.jpg\" alt=\"click first aid button\" width=\"2161\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-first-aid-button.jpg 2161w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-first-aid-button-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-first-aid-button-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-first-aid-button-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-first-aid-button-1536x807.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-first-aid-button-2048x1076.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2161px) 100vw, 2161px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Confirm that you want to check the USB flash drive for errors by clicking <b>Run<\/b>. First Aid will automatically repair all errors and, hopefully, make your USB flash drive usable. <img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52758 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-first-aid-procedure.jpg\" alt=\"run first aid procedure on your USB drive\" width=\"2161\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-first-aid-procedure.jpg 2161w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-first-aid-procedure-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-first-aid-procedure-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-first-aid-procedure-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-first-aid-procedure-1536x807.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-first-aid-procedure-2048x1076.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2161px) 100vw, 2161px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_8_recover_lost_or_damaged_usb_drive_partitions_with_testdisk\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 8:<\/span>  Recover Lost or Damaged USB Drive Partitions With TestDisk<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>The cause of your inaccessible USB flash drive could also be that its partition has become damaged or lost. In a situation like that, you can attempt to recover it with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cgsecurity.org\/wiki\/TestDisk\">TestDisk<\/a>, a free tool designed for partition repair and recovery:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Install TestDisk using <a href=\"https:\/\/brew.sh\/\">Homebrew<\/a>: <code>brew install testdisk<\/code><img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52748 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/install-testdisk-homebrew.jpg\" alt=\"install testdisk with homebrew\" width=\"1716\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/install-testdisk-homebrew.jpg 1716w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/install-testdisk-homebrew-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/install-testdisk-homebrew-500x292.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/install-testdisk-homebrew-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/install-testdisk-homebrew-1536x896.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1716px) 100vw, 1716px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Launch TestDisk by typing <code>sudo testdisk<\/code> in Terminal and enter your administrator password when prompted.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52760 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-testdisk-1.jpg\" alt=\"launch testdisk in Terminal\" width=\"1716\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-testdisk-1.jpg 1716w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-testdisk-1-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-testdisk-1-500x292.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-testdisk-1-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/run-testdisk-1-1536x896.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1716px) 100vw, 1716px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select <b>Create<\/b> when asked about log file creation, then choose your USB drive from the device list.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52742 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-USB-drive-in-testdisk.jpg\" alt=\"select USB drive from TestDisk drives list\" width=\"1716\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-USB-drive-in-testdisk.jpg 1716w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-USB-drive-in-testdisk-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-USB-drive-in-testdisk-500x292.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-USB-drive-in-testdisk-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-USB-drive-in-testdisk-1536x896.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1716px) 100vw, 1716px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select your partition table type (usually the default option is correct), then choose <b>Analyse<\/b> from the main menu.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52740 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alayse-usb-drive-in-testdisk.jpg\" alt=\"analyse usb drive with testdisk algorithms \" width=\"1716\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alayse-usb-drive-in-testdisk.jpg 1716w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alayse-usb-drive-in-testdisk-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alayse-usb-drive-in-testdisk-500x292.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alayse-usb-drive-in-testdisk-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alayse-usb-drive-in-testdisk-1536x896.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1716px) 100vw, 1716px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Use <b>Quick Search<\/b> first, and if needed, try <b>Deeper Search<\/b> to find lost partitions.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52768 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/use-quick-serach-testdisk.jpg\" alt=\"Use quick search in TestDisk\" width=\"1716\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/use-quick-serach-testdisk.jpg 1716w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/use-quick-serach-testdisk-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/use-quick-serach-testdisk-500x292.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/use-quick-serach-testdisk-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/use-quick-serach-testdisk-1536x896.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1716px) 100vw, 1716px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>When TestDisk finds your partition, use the left\/right arrow keys to set its status as <b>Primary<\/b> or <b>Logical<\/b>, then select <b>Write<\/b> to save the changes.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52769 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/write-file-system-structure-on-drive.jpg\" alt=\"write partition structure back to USB drive\" width=\"1716\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/write-file-system-structure-on-drive.jpg 1716w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/write-file-system-structure-on-drive-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/write-file-system-structure-on-drive-500x292.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/write-file-system-structure-on-drive-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/write-file-system-structure-on-drive-1536x896.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1716px) 100vw, 1716px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>After the partition recovery, your files should be accessible from Finder and displayed with their original names intact.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_9_change_the_drive_file_system\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 9:<\/span>  Change the Drive File System<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Modern <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/guide\/disk-utility\/file-system-formats-dsku19ed921c\/mac\">Macs natively support<\/a> Apple File System (APFS), Mac OS Extended, MS-DOS (FAT), and exFAT file systems. If your USB flash drive is using an unsupported file system like ext3 (Linux), your Mac will detect the drive but display a message saying the disk needs to be initialized. This happens because macOS cannot read the file system format. Fortunately, reformatting the drive to a supported file system is pretty easy:<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-danger\" role=\"alert\">&#x26a0;&#xfe0f; Formatting will erase all data on the USB flash drive. If your drive contains something important, skip to the recovery section below to recover your data and only then proceed with formatting.<\/div>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Open <b>Finder<\/b> and go to <b>Applications<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Open the <b>Utilities<\/b> folder and launch <b>Disk Utility<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select your USB flash drive from the list of available storage devices on the left.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click the <b>Erase<\/b> button.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52743 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-erase-button.jpg\" alt=\"click erase button in Disk Utility\" width=\"2161\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-erase-button.jpg 2161w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-erase-button-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-erase-button-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-erase-button-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-erase-button-1536x807.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-erase-button-2048x1076.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2161px) 100vw, 2161px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Give the USB flash drive a descriptive name and change the format settings if you want to (all available options are compatible with macOS).<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52762 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-new-usb-drive-name.jpg\" alt=\"choose new USB drive file system and name\" width=\"2161\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-new-usb-drive-name.jpg 2161w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-new-usb-drive-name-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-new-usb-drive-name-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-new-usb-drive-name-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-new-usb-drive-name-1536x807.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-new-usb-drive-name-2048x1076.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2161px) 100vw, 2161px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click the <b>Erase<\/b> button to format the USB flash drive.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52745 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-erase-process.jpg\" alt=\"complete erase USB drive\" width=\"2161\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-erase-process.jpg 2161w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-erase-process-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-erase-process-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-erase-process-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-erase-process-1536x807.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-erase-process-2048x1076.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2161px) 100vw, 2161px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Just remember that not all file systems supported by macOS are also supported by Windows and Linux. For the best cross-device compatibility, use FAT or exFAT.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_10_check_for_missing_software\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 10:<\/span>  Check for Missing Software<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Some specialized USB flash drives, such as those with proprietary encryption features, may require special software to be accessible. If you suspect that this could be the case with your USB flash drive, then we recommend you visit the manufacturer\u2019s website and see if you\u2019ve missed some important software.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4c4; For example, SanDisk&#8217;s flash drives often come with optional <a href=\"https:\/\/support-en.sandisk.com\/app\/answers\/detailweb\/a_id\/48052\/~\/steps-to-install-and-use-privateaccess-on-macos\">PrivateAccess software<\/a> for macOS, which allows you to create password-protected vaults and encrypt sensitive files. While the drive can be used for regular storage without this software, you&#8217;ll need to install PrivateAccess to access any encrypted portions of the drive.<\/div>\r\n<p>On the other hand, some encrypted drives may not work on Mac at all. For instance, the <a href=\"https:\/\/us.edgememory.com\/index.php\/usb-flash-drives\/item\/29-diskgo-usb-3-0-and-diskgo-secure-usb-3-0-flash-drive\">Edge Memory diskGO Secure USB 3.0<\/a> uses CryptArchiver software that&#8217;s only compatible with Windows. In such cases, your only option is to first decrypt the drive using a Windows computer, after which you can use it as regular storage on your Mac.<\/p>\r\n<h2 id=\"recover\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"recovering_data_from_a_corrupted_or_crashed_flash_drive\"><\/span>Recovering Data From a Corrupted or Crashed Flash Drive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Even if your USB drive isn&#8217;t recognized properly on your Mac in a way that makes it accessible from Finder, you might still be able to recover data from it using <a href=\"\/usb-recovery-mac.html\">USB drive data recovery software for Mac<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p>Disk Drill is an excellent choice for this situation because it can recover data from USB drives with corrupted or lost file systems and supports around 400 different file types. The only requirement is that your USB flash drive must be listed in Disk Utility with the correct size. If it appears there, Disk Drill can scan it and likely recover all or some of your data. Once you&#8217;ve safely recovered your files, you can then format the drive to address the original recognition issue.<\/p>\r\n<p>Here&#8217;s how to recover data from a USB flash drive using Disk Drill:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"\/download.html\">Download<\/a> and install Disk Drill on your Mac. You can use the free version of the software to determine if your files can be recovered before upgrading to the Pro version of the application.<div class=\"relative bottom download__block\">\r\n            <div class=\"d-flex align-center download__block__inner\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image-wrapper\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image\">\r\n                    <img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-96.png\" srcset=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-2x-1.png 2x\" alt=\"Disk Drill\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\">        \r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__announce\">\r\n                    <b>download-block-title<\/b><br>\r\n                    download-block-text\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__action\">\r\n                    <a href=\"\/\/download.html\" data-href-mac=\/\/disk-drill-mac.html data-href-win=\/\/disk-drill-win.html class=\"button button-green btn-md osreplace\">\r\n<svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M11.9546 7.293C11.8736 7.114 11.6956 7 11.4996 7H9.49957V0.5C9.49957 0.224 9.27557 0 8.99957 0H6.99957C6.72357 0 6.49957 0.224 6.49957 0.5V7H4.49957C4.30357 7 4.12557 7.115 4.04457 7.293C3.96257 7.472 3.99457 7.681 4.12357 7.829L7.62357 11.829C7.71857 11.938 7.85557 12 7.99957 12C8.14357 12 8.28057 11.937 8.37557 11.829L11.8756 7.829C12.0056 7.682 12.0356 7.472 11.9546 7.293Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<path d=\"M13.5 11V14H2.5V11H0.5V15C0.5 15.553 0.948 16 1.5 16H14.5C15.053 16 15.5 15.553 15.5 15V11H13.5Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\r\ndownload-block-button-text\r\n<\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Attach the USB or flash drive which contains the data that is to be recovered.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Launch Disk Drill by opening <b>Finder<\/b> &gt; <b>Applications<\/b> and double-clicking its icon.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52750 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-disk-drill.jpg\" alt=\"launch disk drill from applications\" width=\"1958\" height=\"1074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-disk-drill.jpg 1958w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-disk-drill-300x165.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-disk-drill-500x274.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-disk-drill-768x421.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-disk-drill-1536x843.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1958px) 100vw, 1958px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select your USB flash drive from the list, then click \u201c<b>Search for lost data<\/b>.\u201d<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52741 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-usb-drive-from-list-and-start-scan.jpg\" alt=\"select USB drive in Disk Drill and start scan\" width=\"2635\" height=\"1602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-usb-drive-from-list-and-start-scan.jpg 2635w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-usb-drive-from-list-and-start-scan-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-usb-drive-from-list-and-start-scan-500x304.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-usb-drive-from-list-and-start-scan-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-usb-drive-from-list-and-start-scan-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/choose-usb-drive-from-list-and-start-scan-2048x1245.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2635px) 100vw, 2635px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Wait for Disk Drill to complete its scan, then click \u201c<b>Review found items<\/b>.\u201d<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52767 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USB-drive-scan-screen.jpg\" alt=\"review found items on your USB drive\" width=\"2635\" height=\"1602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USB-drive-scan-screen.jpg 2635w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USB-drive-scan-screen-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USB-drive-scan-screen-500x304.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USB-drive-scan-screen-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USB-drive-scan-screen-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USB-drive-scan-screen-2048x1245.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2635px) 100vw, 2635px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Preview your files by hovering your mouse beside their file names and clicking the eye button that appears.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52752 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/preview-photos-on-usb-drive.jpg\" alt=\"preview found USB drive data\" width=\"2635\" height=\"1602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/preview-photos-on-usb-drive.jpg 2635w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/preview-photos-on-usb-drive-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/preview-photos-on-usb-drive-500x304.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/preview-photos-on-usb-drive-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/preview-photos-on-usb-drive-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/preview-photos-on-usb-drive-2048x1245.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2635px) 100vw, 2635px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Use the checkbox column to select the files you want to recover, then click \u201c<b>Recover<\/b>.\u201d<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52761 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-files-for-recovery-1.jpg\" alt=\"select files for recovery\" width=\"2635\" height=\"1602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-files-for-recovery-1.jpg 2635w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-files-for-recovery-1-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-files-for-recovery-1-500x304.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-files-for-recovery-1-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-files-for-recovery-1-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-files-for-recovery-1-2048x1245.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2635px) 100vw, 2635px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>On the dialogue box that pops up, use the dropdown menu to select a location on your computer where Disk Drill will recover your files (saving it to your USB flash drive may overwrite existing data). Then, click \u201c<b>Next<\/b>.\u201d<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52763 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-recovery-location-for-files.jpg\" alt=\"choose recovery location in Disk Drill\" width=\"2635\" height=\"1602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-recovery-location-for-files.jpg 2635w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-recovery-location-for-files-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-recovery-location-for-files-500x304.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-recovery-location-for-files-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-recovery-location-for-files-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/select-recovery-location-for-files-2048x1245.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2635px) 100vw, 2635px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Disk Drill can be a lifesaver in situations where you cannot access files because your USB flash drive\u2019s file system is broken. It can also recover files that have been accidentally deleted or from a disk that was inadvertently formatted. But if you&#8217;ve noticed some signs of more serious damage, you may need additional solutions to <a href=\"\/howto\/how-to-fix-a-broken-usb-stick.html\">fix a broken USB stick<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>When your USB flash drive is not recognized by your Mac, several DIY methods can make it accessible again, and we hope that the step-by-step instructions provided in this article have helped you put them to good use. However, issues with a USB flash drive not being recognized could be signs that the drive is on its last leg. If you should experience this issue repeatedly, it&#8217;s advisable to stop using the drive to prevent data loss or further damage.<\/p>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"faq\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<div><section itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq1\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq1\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_steps_can_i_take_to_troubleshoot_a_usb_flash_drive_that_doesnt_show_up_in_finder\"><\/span>What steps can I take to troubleshoot a USB flash drive that doesn\u2019t show up in Finder?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq1\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Start with basic troubleshooting: check Finder preferences, try different USB ports, connect directly to your Mac instead of through a hub, and restart your Mac. If these don&#8217;t work, use Disk Utility to check if the drive is detected and run First Aid.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq2\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq2\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"can_reformatting_fix_the_usb_drive_that_is_not_showing_up\"><\/span>Can reformatting fix the USB drive that is not showing up?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq2\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Yes, reformatting can often fix issues with a USB drive that\u2019s not showing up properly, especially if the root cause is an incompatible file system. However, reformatting will erase all data, so make sure to recover important files first using data recovery software.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq3\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq3\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_can_i_make_the_usb_drive_i_used_on_windows_compatible_with_macos\"><\/span>How can I make the USB drive I used on Windows compatible with macOS?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq3\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Format the drive to either FAT or, better yet, exFAT file system using Disk Utility. These file system formats work across macOS, Windows, and even Linux. FAT provides the best compatiblity, but it\u2019s limited to files under 4 GB. For larger files, use exFAT, which has extremely generous file size restrictions.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq4\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq4\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq4\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_get_my_usb_to_show_up_on_my_mac\"><\/span>How do I get my USB to show up on my Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq4\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq4\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Start by restarting your computer, as this can often clear up temporary glitches. Next, check if the issue might be with the USB port by trying a different one on your Mac. If the USB works in another port, the original port might be faulty. If no USB devices work in that port, the port itself could be damaged.<\/p>\r\n<p>You can also open the Disk Utility tool and check if the USB flash drive is listed there. If it is, then you can use the First Aid feature to repair it and the Mount button to mount it manually.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq5\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq5\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq5\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why_is_my_usb_not_showing_up_mac\"><\/span>Why is my USB not showing up Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq5\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq5\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>A USB drive might not show up on your Mac for several common reasons:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Your Finder preferences might not be set to display external drives.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>There could be issues with the USB ports or physical connection.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The drive might be using an incompatible file system format.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The drive itself might have hardware damage.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 01px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq6\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq6\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq6\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_find_my_usb_on_a_mac\"><\/span>How Do I Find My USB on a Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq6\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq6\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Good question! Most of the time when we plug in a USB device, an icon for it will show up on our desktop. You can then navigate to the icon and click on it to open up the USB device. If you\u2019re not seeing the icon on the desktop, you can open Finder and the icon should appear there for you. This will be located on the left-hand side.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dealing with a Mac that won\u2019t recognize your USB drive can be a significant inconvenience. When your USB drive is not showing up on your Mac, you&#8217;re effectively cut off from the data you need. But there&#8217;s no need to&#8230;","protected":false},"author":7868,"featured_media":52765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2638],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25038","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mac-os-x-tips-troubleshooting"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Is My USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? [Solved]<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are several methods that you can try to fix a USB flash drive that&#039;s not showing up, and we describe them in great detail.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Is My USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? [Solved]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are several methods that you can try to fix a USB flash drive that&#039;s not showing up, and we describe them in great detail.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1973\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1040\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Morelo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Why Is My USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? [Solved]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"There are several methods that you can try to fix a USB flash drive that&#039;s not showing up, and we describe them in great detail.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/flash-drive-not-recognized-on-mac.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MoreloWrites\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Cleverfiles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Morelo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"20 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Is My USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? [Solved]","description":"There are several methods that you can try to fix a USB flash drive that's not showing up, and we describe them in great detail.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Is My USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? [Solved]","og_description":"There are several methods that you can try to fix a USB flash drive that's not showing up, and we describe them in great detail.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html","og_site_name":"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.","og_image":[{"width":1973,"height":1040,"url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"David Morelo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Why Is My USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? [Solved]","twitter_description":"There are several methods that you can try to fix a USB flash drive that's not showing up, and we describe them in great detail.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/flash-drive-not-recognized-on-mac.jpg","twitter_creator":"@MoreloWrites","twitter_site":"@Cleverfiles","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Morelo","Est. reading time":"20 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html"},"author":{"name":"David Morelo","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/cb572c3c6f21975a615fae2d1c5ce0c4"},"headline":"How to Access a USB Flash Drive That Is Not Recognized on a Mac","datePublished":"2020-01-09T00:48:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-24T11:36:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html"},"wordCount":3238,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg","articleSection":["Mac OS X Tips &amp; Troubleshooting"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html","name":"Why Is My USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? [Solved]","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-09T00:48:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-24T11:36:30+00:00","description":"There are several methods that you can try to fix a USB flash drive that's not showing up, and we describe them in great detail.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/show-USB-drive-in-desktop.jpg","width":1973,"height":1040},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/flash-drive-not-showing-up-mac.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f","item":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Access a USB Flash Drive That Is Not Recognized on a Mac"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/","name":"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization","name":"CleverFiles","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dd-mac-1024-flat.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dd-mac-1024-flat.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"CleverFiles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/Cleverfiles"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/cb572c3c6f21975a615fae2d1c5ce0c4","name":"David Morelo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/web-fin-headshot-site-color-background-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/web-fin-headshot-site-color-background-96x96.jpg","caption":"David Morelo"},"description":"David Morelo is a professional content writer focused on the technology sector, with expertise ranging from consumer products to the latest tech innovations. His approach involves personally testing each product according to strict editorial standards before writing detailed reviews, guides, and articles. David brings firsthand experience with Mac, Windows, and iOS platforms to his work. With over six years in the field, David\u2019s writing helps readers get the most out of their tech products. His content is straightforward, making complex topics easy to understand, even for non-technical users. As Content Team Lead at CleverFiles, he specializes in making data recovery topics accessible. Education: David Morelo holds a Bachelor's degree in English for Education. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys spending time with his family, biking, and sharing memorable moments with friends. Experience: David Morelo is a writer who shares his expertise on various reputable technology platforms. You can check out his portfolio at davidmorelo.com. He is also the author at Maketecheasier, where he delves into technical topics. You'll find his work at handyrecovery.com, where he shares his knowledge of data recovery. In addition, David writes at pandorarecovery.com, where he shares his knowledge in software testing.","sameAs":["davidmorelo","https:\/\/x.com\/MoreloWrites"],"url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/author\/david-morelo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7868"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25038"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57945,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25038\/revisions\/57945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}