# External Storage

Updated February 23, 2026

Plug a USB drive into your Umbrel and it will appear under **External storage** in the Files sidebar. You can browse, upload to, and manage files on it just like your internal storage.

## [Safely removing a drive](/content/support/storage/external-storage#safely-removing-a-drive/index.html)

Always eject a drive before unplugging it. Click the eject button next to the drive in the Files sidebar. Unplugging without ejecting can corrupt data on the drive.

## [Formatting](/content/support/storage/external-storage#formatting/index.html)

If your drive's format isn't supported, Files will offer to format it as exFAT (for compatibility with Windows, macOS, and Linux) or ext4 (for better performance with umbrelOS).

## [Use as a backup location](/content/support/storage/external-storage#use-as-a-backup-location/index.html)

External drives can be used as [backup locations](/content/support/backups-and-recovery/backing-up-your-data/index.html). When setting up backups in **Settings > Backups**, choose **External Drive** as the backup type.

## [Compatibility](/content/support/storage/external-storage#compatibility/index.html)

External storage is available on Umbrel Home, Umbrel Pro, and amd64 devices. It is not supported on Raspberry Pi — the Pi cannot reliably power external drives via USB, which can lead to data corruption.

## [What to know](/content/support/storage/external-storage#what-to-know/index.html)

- External drives can't currently be used to store or run apps — apps run from your Umbrel's internal storage.