Microsoft is going to remove the 32 GB limit for the FAT32 file system. Soon, you will be able to format FAT32 up to 2 TB.
FAT32 is losing its 32 GB capacity limit in Windows. Microsoft has been working on this possibility for several years and is now ready to roll it out to a limited extent in Windows 11 preview builds. Users can now format external storage with a capacity of up to 2 TB in FAT32.
That is a significant evolution for the old file system. FAT (File Allocation Table) was introduced back in 1977. FAT32 saw the light of day in 1996, with Windows 95. For three decades, FAT32 had a capacity limit without a concrete technical reason. In theory, FAT32 can support file systems up to 16 TB.
However, Microsoft introduced NTFS in 1993. NTFS became the standard file system for Windows. Microsoft didn’t think much of FAT32 and likely kept the arbitrary limit to favor NTFS.
Only via Terminal
Thirty years after the introduction of FAT32, the restriction is finally coming to an end, although 2 TB is still not the theoretical maximum. Formatting large external storage to FAT32 is possible via the Terminal in Windows 11 preview builds, but not yet via the graphical interface. The 4 GB limit for individual file sizes is technical and will therefore remain.
Since FAT32 is an old file system, the impact will likely be limited. However, those working with older peripherals, such as wanting to use larger USB sticks, will benefit from the improvements. Fans of FAT who want more functionality have also been able to use exFAT since 2006, which does away with the 4 GB limit for individual files.