Does Linux Support exFAT?

Does Linux Support exFAT?
Contents

Linux has support for exFAT via FUSE since 2009. In 2013, Samsung Electronics published a Linux driver for exFAT under GPL. On 28 August 2019, Microsoft published the exFAT specification and released the patent to the OIN members. The Linux kernel introduced native exFAT support with the 5.4 release.

Is exFAT compatible with Ubuntu?

exFAT file system is supported by all the latest versions of Windows and macOS operating systems. Ubuntu, like most of the other major Linux distributions, doesn’t provide support for the proprietary exFAT filesystem by default.

Does Linux use exFAT or NTFS?

If you mean a boot partition, neither; Linux cannot boot off NTFS or exFAT. Additionally exFAT is not recommended for most uses because Ubuntu/Linux cannot currently write to exFAT. You don’t need a special partition to “share” files; Linux can read and write NTFS (Windows) just fine.

Maya Lin-Takahashi
Author

Maya Lin-Takahashi

Maya is a hardware enthusiast who tests and reviews smart home devices, smartphones, wearables, and audio gear. She focuses on practical consumer value and build quality.