Written by
Amanda Wong
Summary: If you don't find an Encrypt option for your FAT32 drive on your Mac, please read this post to learn whether you can encrypt it and how to do so. You can try iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac to easily encrypt the FAT32 drive with BitLocker on Mac.
FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32) is one of the most widely used file systems. Microsoft introduced it in 1996 as an improvement over earlier FAT file systems (FAT12 and FAT16). It is part of the broader FAT family of file systems and is supported by a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and even some embedded systems.
Due to its cross-platform compatibility, computer users often format the external drive as FAT32 to use the drive on both macOS and Windows, the two main OSes. Perhaps, your FAT32 drive contains sensitive or valuable data, and you want to encrypt it on the Mac to safeguard your external drive. Read on to learn how to encrypt a FAT32 drive on Mac.
Can I encrypt a FAT32 drive on Mac?
Encrypting your drives is a good practice if you're concerned about security, particularly when the drives are portable and may be exposed to loss or theft. FAT32 is fully compatible with macOS; you can read and write to it on a Mac. However, encrypting a FAT32 drive on a Mac is not natively supported, as FAT32 does not have built-in encryption capabilities.
Generally, when you insert a drive formatted with APFS or Mac OS Extended(both are macOS-exclusive file systems), you can encrypt such an external drive on Mac via Finder, right-click the drive from the sidebar and choose Encrypt, but if it is a FAT32 drive, the Encrypt option is not accessible.
However, there are a few workarounds you can use to secure the data on a FAT32 drive. Keep reading the following part.
Let others know whether it is possible to encrypt a FAT32 drive on a Mac!
How to encrypt the FAT32 drive on Mac?
Although you can't encrypt the FAT32 drive on a Mac by default, there are several solutions to make it, including using third-party software for encryption, creating a disk image with encryption, and reformatting the FAT32 drive. Let's dive into the details.
Encrypt FAT32 on Mac with iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac
If you use the FAT32 drive on a Windows PC, you can straightforwardly encrypt it using BitLocker, the built-in full-disk encryption for Windows. When it comes to macOS, there is no encryption method for the FAT32 file system, but the third-party BitLocker for Mac tool can help.
iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac is a one-stop solution for managing and using BitLocker drives on Mac. It enables you to encrypt FAT32/exFAT/NTFS drives on macOS, read-write encrypted drives on Mac, and support both Intel Macs and Apple Silicon Macc. iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac is fully compatible with macOS Sequoia.
Here's how to encrypt FAT32 drive on Mac with iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac:
- Free download and install iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac.
- Connect the FAT32 drive to your Mac device.
- Open iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac.
- Click the Encryption button (the drive icon with a +) in the toolbar.
- Tap Encrypt next to the FAT32 drive.
- Enter the password and save the recovery key.
- Then click Close.
Recommend iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac to help others encrypt FAT32 drive on Mac!
Create a disk image for FAT32 drive with encryption
Disk Utility, the macOS built-in disk management tool, enables you to create a disk image for the disk on Mac, this also supports the FAT32 file system. While creating the disk image, you can choose to encrypt the image to protect your data. Here's how:
- Insert the FAT32 drive into your Mac.
- Launch Disk Utility from Finder > Applications > Utilities.
- Select the FAT32 drive from the list and click File at the top.
- Then choose New Image > Image from "the drive name."
- On the pop-up window, name the image, choose where to save it, select a format, and select an encryption method.
- Tap the Save button, and click Done.
Convert FAT32 to APFS/Mac OS Extended to encrypt
Alternatively, you can convert the FAT32 file system to APFS or Mac OS Extended, then you can encrypt the external drive on Mac. You will need to format the FAT32 drive on Mac, bear in mind that this process will erase all the data, if there is important data on that, you'd better consider the two methods above.
If you decide to convert FAT32 to macOS-exclusive file systems, follow the steps below:
- Plug the FAT32 drive into your Mac.
- Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility or search for "Disk Utility" using Spotlight (Cmd + Space).
- In the left sidebar, find and select the FAT32 drive that you want to format.
- Click the Erase button at the top of the window.
- In the pop-up window, choose a name for your drive.
- To select a format for the drive, you can directly choose APFS(Encrypted)/APFS(Case-sensitive, Encrypted), and follow the instructions to set the password.
- Then select the Scheme as Guid Partition Map.
- Tap the Erase button and click Done.
If you select other formats of APFS or choose a Mac OS Extended one in step 6, you can go to Finder, right-click the drive, and choose Encrypt to password-protect the drive.
Share the method you prefer for encrypting the FAT32 drive on Mac!
