The USB storage device cannot be used for PS4, or PS4 can't read USB storage drive when plugging a USB flash drive to it? This post will provide you with useful solutions for these two problems.

To solve the problem USB connection, you can either connect the storage device to another USB port with another USB cable (USB 3.0 cable is better). If the matter is caused by device incompatibility, you can consider using a branded and new USB storage device to connect to your PS4 for data transfer or backup. Aug 15, 2020 Along with the right USB format for PS4 USB interface should be 3.0 as the lower versions are too slow to read and write the data to or from PS4. First Time Connection. The right PS4 usb drive format is a must. When connected to PS4 the Hard Drive or the USB should be formatted to start transferring the data.

May 25, 2020 Format USB drive for both Mac and PC use. I bet some of you have this dilemma: you have a USB drive and want to use it on both Mac and PC. If you format the USB drive to HFS+ File System, it will not be supported by Windows computer. And if you format it to NTFS, it will not be fully supported in Mac Operating System.

Problem 1. This USB Storage Device Cannot Be Used on PS4

'The USB storage device cannot be used. The file system is not supported.'

'This is the exact error I received when I plugged in a Toshiba USB external hard drive to the PS4 in hopes of being able to add more storage to it, which is out of storage now. What happened to the USB stick? It works fine on my computer. Please help me fix the trouble. Thanks.'

Do not worry too much because it's not a big problem. The full error message indicates an unsupported file system on the USB flash drive. To use the storage device properly on the PS4 game console, try to format the device following the instructions provided below.

Reasons for PS4 cannot use this USB storage device

What's the standard file system of the USB stick for PS4? Only two file systems are supported, which are exFAT and FAT32. Now you should realize the failure that PS4 says it cannot use the USB stick you're trying to connect.

The truth is that all USB flash drives come with NTFS, which is not supported by PS4. Therefore, you must apply some proper tools to format the external hard drive, USB flash drive, or SD card, for the purpose of expanding storage space, data backup, and other significant usages.

Fix PS4 Cannot Use This USB Storage Device by Formatting USB

Here, we show you two ways to convert USB drive from NTFS to FAT32 or exFAT by using a free partition manager and Disk Management.

When formatting, should you choose FAT32 or exFAT? It depends on your needs. exFAT has no limits on individual file size or hard drive size. While the maximum file size of FAT32 is 4GB, and the max volume size is 32GB. So choose the file system according to your actual demands.

Format NTFS USB Drive to FAT32 with a Free Partition Manager

EaseUS free partition manager is a capable partition organizing software that fulfills all the demands for basic disk & partition management in Windows 10, 8, and 7.

This partition master provides one-stop partition and disk management solutions for your Windows computer, for instances:

• Resize/move partitions (the Pro version allows to move space from D drive to C drive), create, format, delete, and merge partitions
• Copy and clone an entire disk to another even the target partition is smaller than the source
• Convert a logical partition to primary or primary partition to logical, FAT to NTFS partition, MBR disk to GPT, or GPT disk to MBR
• Completely wipe out all the data on the hard disk to prevent information from being leaked or recovered

Now, attach the USB storage device to your computer and format it from NTFS to FAT32 for the recognization of PS4.

Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition you intend to format and choose 'Format'.

Step 2: In the new window, enter the Partition label, choose the FAT32 file system, and set the cluster size according to your needs, then click 'OK'.

Step 3: Then you will see a warning window, click 'OK' in it to continue.

Step 4: Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting the partition to FAT32.

EaseUS Partition Master doesn't provide the possibility to convert NTFS to exFAT. If you like to format the USB drive to exFAT, use Disk Management or File Explorer to do it.

Format NTFS USB Drive to FAT32/exFAT with Disk Management

Windows Disk Management allows users to convert NTFS to both FAT32 and exFAT by formatting. There are multiple ways to open Windows Disk Management. Here, you can access it via Run, which is applicable to all Windows platforms.

Step 1. Press 'Windows key + R' simultaneously to open 'Run', type diskmgmt.msc in the box and click 'OK'.

Step 2. Right-click on the USB drive and click 'Format'.

Step 3. Click on the File system: list box and select 'FAT32'. Click 'OK'.

The suggested two ways would solve the problem of PS4 error 'the USB storage device cannot be used. The file system is not supported' without much effort. Do not hesitate to have a try.

Problem 2. The USB Storage Device Is Not Connected on PS4

Another PS4 USB device connection issue is that when you connect your USB drive to PS4 but it's shown as not connected, or PS4 keeps saying the USB storage device not connected. There are two reasons for this,

• Compatibility issue between the USB storage device and PS4
• USB devices may not be properly connected to PS4 due to USB cable or USB port issue

To solve the problem USB connection, you can either connect the storage device to another USB port with another USB cable (USB 3.0 cable is better). If the matter is caused by device incompatibility, you can consider using a branded and new USB storage device to connect to your PS4 for data transfer or backup.

To Sum Up

This post covers the most useful solutions to PS4 can't read USB or PS4 can't recognize USB drive issue. To troubleshoot 'This USB storage device cannot be used. The file system is not supported.', formatting the USB drive to FAT32 or exFAT file system can help you out.

If you are encountering 'The USB storage device is not connected.' matter, replacing a USB device, or USB cable is an efficient method.

How To Format Usb For Ps4 On Mac Os

This USB Storage Device Cannot Be Used PS4 FAQs

Here are a few more questions related to PS4 can not use this USB storage device problem. If you also have any of these questions, you can find the answers here.

Why does my ps4 not recognize my USB?

PS4 can only recognize the file systems exFAT and FAT32. If your PS4 USB storage device cannot be used, the file system limitation is the reason. In other words, your USB drive is formatted as NTFS, which is not compatible with PS4. So, to make your PS4 use the USB drive, you need to convert the file system to FAT or exFAT.

How do you fix USB storage on PS4?

To fix the USB storage device on PS4, first, make sure the storage device is FAT or exFAT formatted. Then, connect the USB drive to PS4, go to 'Sound/Devices' > 'Stop Using Extended Storage' on the quick menu and then reconnect it.

Why won't my PS4 find the update file?

When PS4 cannot find a system software update file on the USB storage device, you may get the SU-41350-3 PS4 error code. Before upgrading your PS4, make sure that:

How To Format Usb For Ps4 On Mac Screen

• The USB storage device you are using to update the PS4 is formatted to FAT32 or exFAT.
• Ensure the file path is exactly: USB storage > PS4 > UPDATE (the folder names must be in capitals).
• The file name should be PS4UPDATE.PUP.

You can find the update file on the PS4 System Software page to upgrade.

What is a USB storage device for Playstation 4?

When you connect a USB storage device to your PS4, it will appear in a list. You can use it as extended storage. Go to 'Settings' > 'Devices' > 'USB Storage Devices'.

You can format the external hard drive or USB drive to make it compatible with both Mac and Windows machines. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesn’t worry it’s not complex.

If you are techy and use Windows and Mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between Mac and PC. Windows and macOS filesystems are different and you might need to format the drive every time to use on both platforms. You don’t need to format the hard drive every time you can choose a filesystem while formating the drive so the hard drive or USB drive work on both Mac and PC

So to get rid of these situations we bring here a guide that will help you to format your drive which works on both platforms and you don’t need to format and backup data every time. After cross-compatible formatting, simply unplug the drive from one machine and then plug it to another. Sounds good to you right? So let’s started, how this works.

Understand file systems for Mac and PC

There are three common file system types to format an external USB or hard drive, SSD drive, SD card and etc. FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT, let’s have a look what’s the difference between these formats.

FAT 32 Format

This format is pretty old but supported and it’s not efficient as compared to NTFS. It doesn’t support big features but offers great compatibility which means it’s compatible with all versions of Windows. It can only support 4GB file size and up to 8TB hard drivers. It’s not capable to store files larger than 4GB.

NTFS Format

NTFS is a modern format system and Windows also uses this format for itself and for other non-removable drives by default. This format is also compatible with all versions of Windows but limited to none Windows OS as FAT32.

exFAT Format

exFAT drives are faster at reading and writing as compared to FAT32. This format can store large files and it’s also lightweight. It’s compatible with all versions of Windows and the best thing it’s along with Windows it’s also compatible with macOS, Linux, and Android, etc.

• If your drive is formatted as Windows default format NTFS then its only readable to macOS. You can’t do more than that or you have to install a separate app on Mac to read write the drive.
• Drive with macOS format HFS+ cant readable to Windows.
• FAT32 format works on both Windows and Mac but the problem is you can only work with the files with Maximum size 4GB.

Learn more: Copy data on NTFS drive in macOS

FAT32 is much better than NTFS and HFS+ coz it works on both operating systems. You can also install drivers on each OS to make work your drive. So exFAT is much better than all of these formats and a simple option but this will not work on Leopard.

Format and external hard drive on Mac

First, let’s see how to format an external hard drive or USB drive in macOS which works with both Mac and PC platforms, first plug-in your drive in macOS machine.

1. Open Disk Utility on your macOS, press cmd + spacebar keys and type Disk Utility in the spotlight search. Open Disk Utility from the search results.
2. On the Disk Utility interface, select an external drive click on the Erase button from top of the window (make sure and bcakup your drive before erasing it).
3. Now enter the name for the external drive which will be used after formatting and also select exFAT for Format option and click on the Erase. This will format the drive as ExFAT format and your drive is now compatible with both platforms.

Format hard drive in Windows

The below steps for formatting external drive is for Windows 10 and also works the same with an old version of Windows. To format your external drive hard drive in Windows which works with both platforms, first plug-in your drive with Windows machine.

Open Disk Management tool by right-clicking on start menu icon and then select Disk Management. Now right click on the external drive and click on format option (double-check the drive name and capacity to make sure you are going to format the right drive.)

Now enter the Volume label as you need and change the File system for exFat and click Ok. Now you are done.

Ps4 Usb Flash Drive Format

Share your experience, how do you use an external hard drive on both Mac and PC. Did you format the drive as exFAT ? or use any utility that helps the system to read another type of file system. Please leave a comment below.

How To Format Hard Drive For Ps4