3DS SD Card Format | How to Reformat 3Ds SD Card

What's 3DS SD Card File System

Are you planning to upgrade the standard micro SD card that came with your 3DS handheld to a bigger one, like 16GB to 32GB or 32GB to 64GB? Then it's extremely important to know the file system your 3DS SD card, because so far, Nintendo products including New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS only support SD/microSD memory cards up to 2GB, SDHC/microSDHC memory cards up to 32GB that pre-formatted with FAT32 file system.

The overall requirements of 3DS are summed up into:

• Memory cards with a capacity equal or less than 32GB;
• Formatted to the FAT32 file system.

That is to say, SDXC and fast-transfer UHS-type memory cards are not compatible, to make 3DS system read SD card over 32GB, you have to reformat your 3DS SD card to FAT32.

As Nintendo console needs the FAT32 format for SD and SDHC cards, you must be very clear about what your memory cards come pre-formatted and whether it needs to be formatted out of the box. Memory cards are formatted with the following standards:

How to Reformat 3DS SD Card with High Capacity to FAT32

Those microSD cards have been tested to work seamlessly with the Nintendo 3DS

• 1. SanDisk Extreme microSDHC

16GB: SDSDQXL-016G-A46A
32GB: SDSDQXL-032G-A46A

• 2. SanDisk Extreme PLUS microSDHC

16GB: SDSDQX-016G-A46A
32GB: SDSDQX-032G-A46A

• 3. SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDHC

16GB: SDSDQXP-016G-A46A
32GB: SDSDQXP-032G-A46A

• 4. Toshiba microSDHC

8GB: PFM008U-1DCK

• 5. Samsung

...

No matter you got a memory card under 32GB or beyond the capacity, you can adjust it and make it workable on the handheld console. All you need is the help of EaseUS Partition Master. On the one hand, SD cards under 32GB with NTFS file system can apply to 3DS by converting NTFS to FAT32; on the other hand, SDXC memory cards between 64GB and 128GB can also go compatible with 3DS provided it is somehow formatted to FAT32.

Using EaseUS Partition Wizard for 3DS SD Card Format

Put your 3DS SD card into the card reader of your computer. Follow the guide below to use EaseUS free partition manager to select and format the SD card with the FAT32 file system and create a partition with the cluster size set to 32KB. Set it to the primary partition and it will work on any Nintendo 3DS.

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/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4 file system, and set the cluster size according to your needs, then click "OK".

Step 3. Then you will see a warning window, click "Yes" in it to continue.

Step 4. Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click "Apply" to start formatting the partition to FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4.

Format SD Card for 3DS in Disk Management

In connection with the 3DS memory card format, Windows Disk Management is another easy-access tool. Format the Nintendo 3DS SD card by the steps.

Step 1. Press Windows + X to enter the Windows Disk Management interface. You will see the hard drive and removable one.

Step 2. Right-click the SD card and choose Format. And choose FAT32 as your file system of Nintendo 3DS SD Card.

Format 3DS SD Card in File Explorer

You must be familiar with the File Explorer, the interchange to visit files or drives. Check the memory card shown on the interface and apply the format.

Step 1. Open File Explorer, right-click the 3DS SD card on the pop-menu and choose Format.

Step 2. Choose the FAT32 as your file system.

Format SD Card for 3DS in Command Prompt

Aside from the above three methods, we also recommend CMD to manage partitions. To operate cmd, you need to execute the following commands one by one.

Step 1. Open Start Menu, run Command Prompt as administrator.

Step 2. Input the commands and press Enter.

Diskpart > list disk > select disk* > list partition > format fs=fat32 quick > Exit

Video Tutorial: Format 3DS SD Card to FAT32