Supported File System Formats

Choosing a file system format

When choosing a file system format, consider whether performance or compatibilty is more important for your general use case.

• Performance—You connect your drive with only one type of computer, so you can optimize file copy performance by formatting the drive in the native file system for your computer operating system (Windows or macOS).
• Compatibility—You need a cross-platform format because you connect your drive to both PCs and Macs, and/or to Linux computers.

It's recommended that you use a journaled file system for optimized performance. Note that exFAT is not a journaled file system.

Optimized performance for Windows

NTFS (New Technology File System) is a proprietary journaling file system for Windows. macOS can read NTFS volumes, but it can't natively write to them. This means your Mac can copy files from an NTFS-formatted drive, but it can't add files to or remove files from the drive. If you need more versatility than this one-way transfer with Macs, consider exFAT.

Optimized performance for macOS

Apple offers two proprietary file systems:

• Mac OS Extended (also known as Heirarchical File System Plus or HFS+) is an Apple file system used since 1998 for mechanical and hybrid internal drives. macOS Sierra (version 10.12) and earlier use HFS+ by default.
• APFS (Apple File System) is an Apple file system optimized for solid state drives (SSDs) and flash-based storage systems, though it also works with hard disk drives (HDDs). Cloud import does not support APFS formatting.

Windows cannot natively read or write to Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volumes. If you're in a macOS-only environment, use Mac OS Extended (HFS+) for optimal performance. If you need cross-platform compatibility with Windows or Linux computers, use exFAT.