Why does my SanDisk only have 28.6GB?

USB Flash Drives All other USB Flash Drives
1

I have an USB which says it has 32GB but in my file it says 28.6GB.

2

@Hoang
Have you checked our knowledge base articles?
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3

This is clearly a case of misrepresentation. A 32GB drive should have 29.8GiB of user addressable space.

The natural capacity of the NAND flash ICs is 32GiB. That’s 34.36 GB. This leaves 2.36GB of overprovisioned space which should include the flash table and other firmware structures.

4

Shouldn’t it be 1.28GB of overprovisioned space?

5

Hi @Hoang

The 32GB on your USB refers to its decimal capacity (1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), while your operating system reports capacity in binary (1GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes). This difference makes the usable space appear smaller, around 29.8GiB for a 32GB drive.

Additionally, some space is reserved for overprovisioning and system management, reducing the visible capacity further. Your USB showing 28.6GB is normal due to these factors. Let me know if you have more questions!