How To Recover Deleted Files on Mac From a USB Drive [2026]

Panic strikes when you lose important data, leading many users to ask: Can you actually recover deleted files from a USB flash drive on Mac? The short answer is yes. Losing documents or photos is frustrating, but whether it was an accidental click or a formatting error, the data often remains recoverable.

If you have accidentally deleted files, faced a corrupted drive, or emptied your Trash bin prematurely, you are in the right place. This guide covers everything you need to know about USB flash drive recovery on Mac, providing you with simple, step-by-step methods to get your valuable data back safely.

What Determines Your USB Recovery Success Rate?

• Whether the USB drive has been reused after deletion
• Whether the USB was formatted (quick format keeps data recoverable)
• The file system type (APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32, NTFS)
• Whether the USB drive is physically damaged
• How long ago the files were deleted

USB Flash Drive Data Loss - Main Causes

USB flash drive data loss Mac occurs due to multiple reasons:

• Accidental deletion (human error);
• Virus attack;
• Malware infection;
• Disk corruption;
• Unintentional formatting;
• Incorrect shutdown;
• Improper USB drive removal or ejection;
• Hardware/software defect;
• System error.

Any of these unwanted scenarios could cause USB flash drive data loss. Thankfully, you can recover lost USB files on your Mac computer to mitigate the situation and get your data back.

Estimate Your Chances of USB File Recovery

Below are the steps to recover files from a flash drive on Mac.

How To Recover Deleted/Lost Files From USB Flash Drive on Mac

Here are the top four methods to help you get your deleted USB drive data back on your Mac.

Method 1. Use a Reliable Data Recovery Tool (For All Data Loss Causes)

The easiest, safest, and most reliable way to get your data back from a USB flash drive is to use a professional USB data recovery program. With a top rating as a Leader in Data Recovery by G2 users, Wondershare Recoverit for Mac is undoubtedly one of the most reliable options available. It's an excellent tool for recovering USB files across various scenarios, including USB drive corruption, formatting, permanent deletion, and other causes.

Wondershare Recoverit

• Recovers data from 2000+ storage media, including HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, etc.
• Handles 500+ data loss scenarios, such as deletion, formatting, USB corruption, virus attacks, etc.
• Recovers lost or deleted documents, photos, videos, music, emails, and other 1000+ file types effectively and completely.

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Download, install, and launch Wondershare Recoverit on your Mac computer. Follow the steps below to recover data from a flash drive on your Mac.

1. Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac.
2. Open Recoverit for Mac and select Hard Drives and Locations.
3. Select your USB in the External Drives section.

   

4. The USB data recovery software for Mac will automatically scan the selected removable media for retrievable files.

   

5. After Wondershare Recoverit is done scanning, filter the results to preview the desired files and click Recover to get your USB data back.

   

Wondershare Recoverit will restore the selected files from the USB flash drive to the specified location on your Mac. Remember to save the recovered files to a different location than the original USB drive to avoid overwriting any remaining data.

Video Tutorial on How to Recover Files from SD Card on Mac

Method 2. Recover Recently Deleted Files From the Mac Trash Bin

If you've accidentally deleted your USB files on a Mac computer, you can find recently removed files in the Trash Bin. Simply visit the Trash Bin on your Mac to check if the recently deleted files are there. If they are, here are the steps to get them back.

1. Find the recently deleted data in the Mac Trash Bin.
2. Find and select the files you want to recover.

   

3. Right-click the selected files.
4. Select Put Back to restore the deleted USB files to their original location.

   

Method 3. Check Other Trash Bins

Your Mac keeps deleted files in separate Trash Cans instead of throwing everything you delete in a single folder. Each drive you use has a matching Trash Can, including your USB external drive. You can try to restore your deleted files on USB flash drive by checking the Trash Cans.

However, ensure your USB drive is connected to your Mac so you can see the files you're looking for in the Mac's Trash. Here's how to check other Trash Bins on Mac.

1. Navigate to the Dock to launch Trash on your Mac.

   

2. Browse the files located in the Trash folders.
3. If you find a lost USB file, copy/paste or drag and drop it into the USB drive.

   

Method 4. Recover from Time Machine Backup

If you enabled Time Machine backups before losing your USB files, you can restore them from a previous snapshot.

1. Connect your Time Machine backup drive to your Mac.
2. Open the Time Machine app and click Enter Time Machine.
3. Navigate through the timeline to the date before your files were deleted.
4. Locate the deleted USB files, select them, and click Restore.

Note: Time Machine recovery works best when backups were created before the deletion and the USB drive was included in the backup set.

Method 5. Unhide the Files on the USB Drive

Sometimes, files on a USB drive may be hidden, making them appear as if they are deleted or lost. Mac hides certain files and folders on the USB drive to prevent unintentional deletions and data changes. To unhide and recover these files on a Mac, follow these steps:

1. Connect the USB drive to your computer and access it in Finder.

   

2. Press Command + Shift + . (dot) to unhide any hidden files.

   

Method 6. Use Disk Utility First Aid

If your USB drive is not mounting or shows "Disk not readable" errors, First Aid can repair the file system.

1. Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities).
2. Select your USB drive from the sidebar.
3. Click First Aid, then click Run to start the diagnostic and repair process.

Note: Run First Aid after recovering your files — the repair process may alter the file system and, in rare cases, cause further data changes on severely damaged drives.