How to Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac

This wikiHow teaches you how to safely remove a USB drive using a Mac.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Eject Symbol Method

  1. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 1
    1
    Empty the trash. Files in the trash from the flash drive will prevent it being ejected.
  2. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 2
    2
    Open the Finder.
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  3. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 3
    3
    Under Devices, find your flash drive listed.
  4. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 4
    4
    Click on the eject symbol.
  5. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 5
    5
    Wait until the light on your flash drive stops flashing.
  6. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 6
    6
    Remove it from the Mac.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Drag To Trash Method

  1. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 7
    1
    Empty the trash. Files in the trash from the flash drive will prevent it being ejected.
  2. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 8
    2
    Open the Finder.
  3. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 9
    3
    Under Devices, find your flash drive listed.
  4. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 10
    4
    Drag it to the trash.
  5. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 11
    5
    Wait until the light on your flash drive stops flashing.
  6. Image titled Eject a Flash Drive from a Mac Step 12
    6
    Remove it from the Mac.
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Warnings

  • Don't try to remove the flash disk before emptying the trash. OSX can have some hiccups with this if you do, and you may have to restart.
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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 39,518 times.
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Co-authors: 8
Updated: April 14, 2022
Views: 39,518
Categories: External Storage Devices
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