{"id":"external-drives.how-do-i-reformat-an-external-drive-to-apfs","url":"/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-reformat-an-external-drive-to-apfs","category":{"id":"external-drives","title":"External drives"},"subcategory":{"id":"formats","title":"Drive formats"},"question":"How do I reformat an external drive to APFS on a Mac?","alt_questions":["Erase external SSD as APFS","How to change exFAT to APFS","Format drive for Mac Disk Utility","convert external drive to apfs","How do I prepare a new SSD for Storage Studio?","Disk Utility erase drive steps"],"short_answer":"Back up the drive, open Disk Utility, choose View → Show All Devices, select the drive, click Erase, and pick APFS with GUID Partition Map. Then select it in Storage Studio's Choose Drive.","answer_markdown":"Use Disk Utility — erasing deletes everything on the drive, so copy off anything you need first.\n\n1. Open **Disk Utility** (Applications → Utilities).\n2. Choose **View → Show All Devices**, then select the drive itself (the top line), not just its volume.\n3. Click **Erase**.\n4. Give it a name, choose **APFS** as the format and **GUID Partition Map** as the scheme.\n5. Click **Erase** and wait for it to finish.\n\nThen open Storage Studio's **Choose Drive** (or the setup wizard), select the drive and run the speed test. Storage Studio itself never reformats drives.","answer_html":"

Use Disk Utility — erasing deletes everything on the drive, so copy off anything you need first.

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  1. Open Disk Utility (Applications → Utilities).
  2. Choose View → Show All Devices, then select the drive itself (the top line), not just its volume.
  3. Click Erase.
  4. Give it a name, choose APFS as the format and GUID Partition Map as the scheme.
  5. Click Erase and wait for it to finish.
\n

Then open Storage Studio's Choose Drive (or the setup wizard), select the drive and run the speed test. Storage Studio itself never reformats drives.

","answer_text":"Use Disk Utility — erasing deletes everything on the drive, so copy off anything you need first.\n\n1. Open Disk Utility (Applications → Utilities).\n2. Choose View → Show All Devices, then select the drive itself (the top line), not just its volume.\n3. Click Erase.\n4. Give it a name, choose APFS as the format and GUID Partition Map as the scheme.\n5. Click Erase and wait for it to finish.\n\nThen open Storage Studio's Choose Drive (or the setup wizard), select the drive and run the speed test. Storage Studio itself never reformats drives.","tags":["disk utility","apfs","erase","how to"],"related":[{"id":"external-drives.does-storage-studio-work-with-an-encrypted-external-drive","question":"Does Storage Studio work with an encrypted external drive?","url":"/faq/external-drives/does-storage-studio-work-with-an-encrypted-external-drive"},{"id":"external-drives.what-format-should-my-external-drive-be","question":"What format should my external drive be for Storage Studio?","url":"/faq/external-drives/what-format-should-my-external-drive-be"},{"id":"external-drives.should-my-fast-drive-be-case-sensitive","question":"Should I format my fast drive as case-sensitive APFS?","url":"/faq/external-drives/should-my-fast-drive-be-case-sensitive"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"How do I reformat an external drive to APFS on a Mac? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Back up the drive, open Disk Utility, choose View → Show All Devices, select the drive, click Erase, and pick APFS with GUID Partition Map. Then select it in Storage Studio's Choose Drive.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"External drives","path":"/faq/external-drives/"},{"name":"How do I reformat an external drive to APFS on a Mac?","path":"/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-reformat-an-external-drive-to-apfs"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-reformat-an-external-drive-to-apfs","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I reformat an external drive to APFS on a Mac?","alternateName":["Erase external SSD as APFS","How to change exFAT to APFS","Format drive for Mac Disk Utility","convert external drive to apfs","How do I prepare a new SSD for Storage Studio?","Disk Utility erase drive steps"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Use Disk Utility — erasing deletes everything on the drive, so copy off anything you need first.\n\n1. Open Disk Utility (Applications → Utilities).\n2. Choose View → Show All Devices, then select the drive itself (the top line), not just its volume.\n3. Click Erase.\n4. Give it a name, choose APFS as the format and GUID Partition Map as the scheme.\n5. Click Erase and wait for it to finish.\n\nThen open Storage Studio's Choose Drive (or the setup wizard), select the drive and run the speed test. Storage Studio itself never reformats drives.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-reformat-an-external-drive-to-apfs"}}]},"fragment":"
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External drives · Drive formats

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How do I reformat an external drive to APFS on a Mac?

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Short answer: Back up the drive, open Disk Utility, choose View → Show All Devices, select the drive, click Erase, and pick APFS with GUID Partition Map. Then select it in Storage Studio's Choose Drive.

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Use Disk Utility — erasing deletes everything on the drive, so copy off anything you need first.

\n
  1. Open Disk Utility (Applications → Utilities).
  2. Choose View → Show All Devices, then select the drive itself (the top line), not just its volume.
  3. Click Erase.
  4. Give it a name, choose APFS as the format and GUID Partition Map as the scheme.
  5. Click Erase and wait for it to finish.
\n

Then open Storage Studio's Choose Drive (or the setup wizard), select the drive and run the speed test. Storage Studio itself never reformats drives.

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