Create Ubuntu Bootable USB on Mac

Create Ubuntu Bootable USB on Mac | Generated by AI

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Question: How to use dd to create a bootable Ubuntu disk from ubuntu-24.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso on macOS?

Answer:

Here is the step-by-step guide to create a bootable USB drive for Ubuntu 24.04.3 Desktop (amd64) using the dd command on macOS. This method works reliably for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs when targeting standard PC hardware (BIOS or UEFI).

Important warnings

This process erases everything on the selected USB drive.
Typing the wrong disk identifier can erase your Mac’s internal drive. Double-check every step.
Use at least an 8 GB USB drive (16 GB+ recommended).

Step-by-step instructions

Insert the USB drive and close any pop-up windows that appear.
Open Terminal (found in Applications → Utilities or via Spotlight).

Identify the correct disk number
Run this command:

diskutil list

Look for your USB drive. It usually appears as /dev/disk2, /dev/disk3, etc. (not the internal drive, which is typically /dev/disk0 or /dev/disk1).

Example output snippet:

/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *31.9 GB    disk2
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Untitled                31.7 GB    disk2s2

→ In this case the whole USB device is disk2.

Unmount the USB drive (replace diskN with your number, e.g. disk2)
```
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN
```
Example:
```
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2
```
Using the faster raw device path is recommended on macOS:
```
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2
```
Write the ISO to the USB drive using dd
Use /dev/rdiskN (raw device — much faster than /dev/diskN).

Basic safe command (recommended):
```
sudo dd if=~/Downloads/ubuntu-24.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m status=progress
```
Example (assuming the ISO is in Downloads and USB is disk2):
```
sudo dd if=~/Downloads/ubuntu-24.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=4m status=progress
```
- You will be asked for your admin password (characters won’t show — normal).
- status=progress shows transfer speed and bytes written (macOS Ventura and later support it well).
- If status=progress is not recognized on older macOS, just remove it.
Alternative variations people use successfully:
```
sudo dd if=~/Downloads/ubuntu-24.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=1m
```
or
```
sudo dd if=~/Downloads/ubuntu-24.04.3-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=8m conv=fsync
```
Wait for completion
- It usually takes 3–15 minutes depending on USB speed.
- When finished you’ll see output like:
```
6123+0 records in
6123+0 records out
6426255360 bytes transferred in 421.248711 secs (15257012 bytes/sec)
```

Ensure all data is written and eject safely:

sync
diskutil eject /dev/diskN

Example:

sync
diskutil eject /dev/disk2

Remove the USB drive — it is now bootable.

Quick verification tip (optional)

After writing, run diskutil list again — the USB should now show partitions that match the Ubuntu ISO layout (usually an ISO9660 partition + others).

You can now use this USB to:

Boot on a standard PC (UEFI or legacy BIOS)
Try Ubuntu live
Install Ubuntu

Good luck and triple-check the disk number before pressing Enter on the dd command!

References:

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