How to format a USB drive for your PlayStation 5
You plug in a USB drive or external hard drive and get "USB drive's file system is unsupported." The PlayStation 5 doesn't read NTFS, so you need to format the drive first.
The format method depends on what you're using the drive for:
- For media and captures: Format to exFAT on a PC or Mac. Use this for moving screenshots, video clips, and save files to a computer.
- For game storage: Format on the PS5 as USB Extended Storage. Use this to install games and free up internal space.
Important: Formatting erases everything on the drive. Back up any files you need before you start.
Method 1: Format as exFAT on a PC (for photos and videos)
The PS5 supports both FAT32 and exFAT, but FAT32 caps individual files at 4GB. A single PS5 video clip can easily hit 5–10GB, so FAT32 will fail on anything over that. exFAT has no practical file size limit.
- Plug the USB drive into your computer.
- Open File Explorer (Win + E).
- Right-click your USB drive.
- Select Format.
- Set File system to exFAT.
- (Optional) Name the drive under Volume label (e.g., PS5-Media).
- Make sure Quick Format is checked.
- Click Start, then confirm.
Eject the drive, plug it into your PS5, and copy your captures from the Media Gallery.
Method 2: Format on the PS5 (for USB Extended game storage)
If you're using an external drive (250GB to 8TB) to store games, the PS5 has to format it itself.
Important: The drive must be plugged into one of the USB ports on the back of the PS5. The front port is USB 2.0, which is too slow for Extended Storage. USB hubs won't work either.
- Plug the drive into a USB port on the back of the PS5.
- Go to Settings.
- Open Storage.
- Select USB Extended Storage.
- Select Format as USB Extended Storage.
- Select Yes.
PS5 USB storage: Common questions
Can I play PS5 games directly from an external USB drive?
No. PS5 games need the internal SSD's speed to run. You can store them on a USB drive to free up space, but you have to copy them back to internal storage to play. (PS4 games can run directly from a USB drive.)
Why won't my PS5 read my USB drive?
If it's already formatted to exFAT and still isn't showing up, check the port. Extended Storage requires USB 3.0, so the drive must be plugged into the back ports of the PS5.
Related:
How to play USB media on PS5: Movies, music & photos
How to play MP4 or MKV videos with subtitles on your PS5
How to copy PS5 screenshots and 4K videos to a USB drive
References:
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5-extended-storage/
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/play-video-music-discs-usb-drives/