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Formatting a microSD or SD Memory Card for a Kenwood Device

Many Kenwood devices use an SD memory card for updating software and preloaded maps. The SD memory card may require formatting before it can be used. The maximum memory size supported by Kenwood is 32GB.

To Format the SD card:

Windows

1. Insert the SD card into the computer

2. Press the Windows key + E

 Red box around Windows and E keys on a keyboard

3. Click This PC (Windows 10 or newer)

  Red box around This PC option

4. Locate the drive representing the SD Card

  • To determine which drive is the SD card remove the SD card from the computer and observe which drive disappears from the list then insert the SD card again. 

Red box around Removable Disk under Computer Settings

5. Right-Click on the SD card

Red box around Removable Disk under Computer settings

6. Click Format

Red box around Format

7. Verify the File System is FAT or FAT32

Red box around FAT32 (Default) under File system option

8. Change Allocation unit size to Default allocation size

Red box around Default allocation size under Allocation unit size option

9. Ensure Quick Format is checked

Red box around Quick Format under Format options

10. Click Start

Red box around Start

These steps will format the SD card to be readable by Garmin Express and the Kenwood navigation system.  

If at any point during the format process an error is received or formatting the SD card fails to resolve the issue, try another SD card.

Mac

1. Insert the SD card into the computer

2.Open Spotlight (CMD + Space) on the keyboard

Red boxes around the Apple key and space bar on a keyboard

3. Type Disk Utility into Spotlight search box

Red box around Disk Utility in search field

4. Press Return

Red box around Return key on keyboard

5. Click the parent icon for the SD card in the sidebar on the left

  • This is not necessary on Mac OS X 10.12 and newer.
  • To determine which drive is the SD card remove the SD card from the computer and observe which drive disappears from the list then insert the SD card again.

Red box around USB DISK 2.0 Media under External

6. Click Erase at the top of Disk Utility

Red box around Erase at top of Disk Utility screen

7. In the format drop-down menu select MS-DOS (FAT)

Red box around MS-DOS (FAT) in the Format field

8. In the Scheme drop-down menu select Master Boot Record

  • Available in Mac OS X 10.11+.
  • Only shown when the View option is set to show all devices in Mac OS X 10.13+.

Red box around Master Boot Record in Scheme field

9. In the Name field, type a name/title for the SD card

  • Do not leave the name as "UNTITLED" or "NO NAME".

Red box around Garmin Updates in Name field

10. Click Erase

Red box around Erase

These steps will format the SD card to be readable by Garmin Express and the Kenwood navigation system.  

If at any point during the format process an error is received or formatting the SD card fails to resolve the issue, try another SD card.

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