---
id: external-drives.how-do-i-reformat-an-external-drive-to-apfs
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-reformat-an-external-drive-to-apfs
category: "External drives"
subcategory: "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."
tags: ["disk utility", "apfs", "erase", "how to"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/does-storage-studio-work-with-an-encrypted-external-drive", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/what-format-should-my-external-drive-be", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/should-my-fast-drive-be-case-sensitive"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

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

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

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.

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.