This guide provides step-by-step instructions for formatting a microSD card on a Windows PC. If you encounter difficulties using Reolink software to format your card, you can follow the methods below.

The guide is divided into two sections based on SD card capacity: formatting SD cards 32GB or smaller, and formatting SD cards larger than 32GB.

Required tool: a USB card reader.

1. Formatting 16GB or 32GB microSD Cards

For 16GB or 32GB microSD cards, Windows allows direct formatting to FAT32:

  1. Insert the microSD card into a USB card reader.

  2. Plug the card reader into your PC. Open This PC (or My Computer on older Windows versions) and locate the microSD card.
    this pc

  3. Right-click the microSD card icon and select Format.format

  4. Under File System, select FAT32, then click Start.
    FAT32

  5. A warning will appear. Read it carefully and click OK to begin formatting.warning

  6. Once complete, the microSD card is ready to use.complete

2. Formatting microSD Cards Larger than 32GB

Windows does not allow formatting SD cards larger than 32GB to FAT32 directly using File Explorer. In this case, you need a third-party tool. One commonly used tool is DiskGenius.

Steps using DiskGenius:

  1. Download and install DiskGenius on your PC: https://www.diskgenius.com/download.php

  2. Insert the SD card into a USB card reader and connect it to your PC.

  3. Open DiskGenius, select your SD card from the list. Click Format (on the top menu), choose FAT32 as the file system, and click Format to start.

  4. Once the formatting is complete, the SD card is ready for use.

format

If you have any questions, click “Submit a request” below to contact the Reolink Support Team.