File Explorer (Windows)
Open File Explorer. If your microSD card has 32GB or less of storage, you can format it to FAT32 using File Explorer in Windows. If you have a microSD card with more than 32GB of storage, jump down to our section on using third-party tools. Before you begin, insert your microSD card into a microSD card adapter (which is the same size as a standard SD card), then insert the SD card into your computer's SD card reader. Your microSD card should come with an adapter, but if it doesn't, you can purchase one online. For example, if you have a SanDisk microSD card, use this SanDisk microSD card adapter to insert it into your computer. If your computer doesn't have an SD card reader, you can purchase an external one.
Right-click on your microSD card under This PC. You can either do this directly from the sidebar, or you can click This PC and right-click your microSD card from the main pane of the File Explorer window.
Click on Format. This will open a pop-up window where you can continue with the formatting process.
Choose "FAT32" from the file system dropdown. If you don't see this option, skip to the next section to use third-party tools to format your microSD card instead.
Click Start, then OK. As soon as you click OK, your computer will begin formatting the microSD card. It may take a few moments for the formatting to complete.
HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool (Windows)
Download the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. Due to limitations of the operating system, Windows can't format microSD cards with more than 32GB of storage to FAT32. In order to do this on a Windows computer, you'll need a third-party tool, such as the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. To do this: Click Free download. Select the download source that's closest to your region. Save the file somewhere you can find it easily. Right-click HPUSBDisk.exe and select Run as administrator.
Choose your microSD card from the dropdown at the top of the window. Make sure your microSD card is inserted into a microSD card adapter and then inserted into your computer before you begin. If you have multiple storage devices inserted into your computer, ensure you're selecting the correct one before continuing.
Choose FAT32 in the file system dropdown. Ensure that the Quick format option is also checked.
Click Start. As soon as you click Start, your computer will begin formatting the microSD card. It may take a few moments for the formatting to complete.
Command Prompt Partition (Windows)
Open Command Prompt as an administrator. To do this, type "cmd" into the taskbar search bar, right-click "Command Prompt," and click Run as administrator. This method works whether your microSD card has more or less than 32GB of storage. However, if your microSD card has more than 32GB, this method will create a 32GB partition that will be formatted to FAT32. The rest of the storage space on the microSD card won't be changed.
Type diskpart. Press Enter to run the command.
Type list disk. Press Enter to run the command.
Type select disk #. Replace the # with the disk number from the disk list in step 3.
Type clean. Press Enter to run the command.
Type create partition primary size=32768. This will create a 32GB partition on your microSD card. Press Enter to run the command.
Type assign letter=[letter]. Replace [letter] with the drive letter you want to give the partition. Press Enter to run the command.
Type list partition. Press Enter to run the command.
Type select partition #. Replace the # with the partition number from the partition list in step 8. Press Enter to run the command.
Type format fs=fat32 quick. Press Enter to run the command. The 32GB partition on the microSD card will be immediately formatted into FAT32.
Disk Utility (macOS)
Open Disk Utility. The fastest way to do this is to open Spotlight (either by clicking on the icon in the dock, or by pressing Cmd+Space) and type "disk utility." Before beginning, ensure your microSD card is inserted into a microSD card adapter, which is then inserted into your Mac.
Click on your microSD card. It will be under the "External" heading in the left hand sidebar.
Click Erase. This button is located in the upper-right part of the window.
Choose MS-DOS (FAT) in the dropdown. This option is the same as FAT32 on a Windows system. According to Garnik Ovsepyan, computer technician, only Windows PCs can read and write from a FAT32. "The Mac can read from it but cannot write to it." This should not affect your ability to format a microSD card to FAT32 on your Mac.
Click Erase. The microSD card will immediately be formatted.
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