What to do if Android does not see microSD flash drive? This question often worries owners of smartphones and other gadgets, regardless of manufacturer and cost. The problems of obtaining data from the DVR, installing software on a tablet or smartphone can be solved independently if you know the main causes of the malfunction and how to solve them.
How the problem manifests itself
The malfunction manifests itself as follows: after replacing the “micro-SD” card, after rebooting, flashing or simple inclusion device, the gadget does not see the flash drive or its contents. As a result, data or installed software is lost, the camera and programs begin to write information to internal memory devices. The latter quickly clogs up, there is no place left for recording service information of the OS, and the gadget loses performance and starts to freeze.
As a result, if the internal memory is low, it becomes impossible to work without a memory card.
To fix the problem, you need to establish the causes of the breakdown. Very often it turns out to eliminate the defect with one's own hand, without going to the workshop.
The phone does not see the flash drive due to formatting problems
The partition table can be damaged in any file system (NTFS, ExFat, Fat32). As a result, Android cannot read files written to SD. Most often this happens when the user tries to format the memory card himself and commits incorrect actions. Another option is a card with a different file system is inserted, for example, from a camera. You can restore the card's performance by formatting it again. This can be done either by the phone itself or by another Android device, or by using a computer with a card reader.
The menu of some phones allows you to format the SD card by selecting the appropriate item in the settings. If it is not there, you can reboot the phone, enter the “Recovery” mode and format the file system of the card by selecting “ Wipe cache partition".
Important: errors when working with the device in the “Recovery” mode can lead to the loss of all data and even the inoperability of the OS. That's why inexperienced users should not be armed this method.
It is easier and safer to format flash drives on a computer. To do this, you need a card reader and a formatting program (standard, built into the OS, or any other). It is necessary to remove the flash drive from the device, insert it into the card reader and format it in exFAT or FAT32 format. After Android formatting should start to “see” the flash drive. If this does not happen, the problem is more serious.
Memory card is out of order
Flash memory has limited quantity write-read cycles. In addition, the device may be damaged due to microcracks in the board or static electricity. In this case, after installation in the card reader, the computer does not detect the flash drive. It is also unreadable on other devices.
It is impossible to recover a damaged memory card or the data on it. This cannot be done either from the Android device itself, or by connecting it to a computer as a USB flash drive, or from a computer via a card reader. It remains only to purchase a new flash card that is compatible with your device.
Important: sometimes, due to a malfunction of the board, phones and tablets can “burn” memory cards. Therefore, if after a short time after replacing the flash drive it fails again, it is necessary to diagnose the android device.
Memory card and android devices are incompatible
A smartphone or tablet may not see a flash card if it is simply not designed to work with modern carriers information. When there is a suspicion that the card does not correspond to a tablet or phone, then it is worth trying to read it on a computer with an adapter for memory cards. If the gadget does not see the card, but the computer sees it, the reason is incompatibility.
All gadgets have limits on maximum size memory cards: 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB. This happens if, for example, you bought a 64 GB card, and the limitations of a smartphone (tablet) are 32 GB.
Another option - a flash drive is made according to technical specification, unknown to your device. In this case, the gadget does not recognize it. Therefore, before buying a memory card, you need to study the documentation of your tablet or phone in order to buy an SD card of the appropriate size and type.
In addition to incompatibility, the device may be damaged or software failure. In this case, the computer will also see the flash card, but the phone (tablet) will not.
Software error
In this case, the gadget either does not see the memory card at all, or it is not seen certain programs. If you know that the card is empty, although it shows that the place is occupied, the problem is in the settings or performance of the OS and software of the phone (tablet). If the android does not see the SD card in applications, but sees it in recovery, try looking at the settings first. Perhaps for applications, the save path is set not to the card, but to the internal memory. Fix it.
Another solution when only one application does not see the map is to reinstall or update it, and also check it own settings.
Important: often the phone's OS starts to see the inserted card only after a reboot. If the flash card is not visible without a reboot, and then it works fine, nothing else should be done.
When the above does not help, it is worth trying to update the tablet (phone) firmware. Often after flashing the OS for more new version the device starts working correctly with the SD card.
Damaged SD card slot
If the smartphone does not see a flash drive installed from another smartphone, while it corresponds technical requirements devices, the problem is in the smartphone itself. In this case, you can try to insert the card so that the contacts in the phone fit snugly into its tracks. To do this, you should try to clean and bend them a little. If it's not about contacts, but about damage to the controller or card slot, it remains to send the gadget for repair or replace it with a new one.
For example, the HTC srochnyi-remont.ru workshop repairs all models of this manufacturer, as well as other brands. Look for a service center for your phone in your city.
From time to time, an error may occur on users' SD cards, in which the camera starts to display messages about what is on it. not left free space , although the photographer certainly knows that it is empty. If you have this exact situation, then you have come to the right place and our article will help you fix the drive problem.
Let's look at a couple of examples from user stories to learn more about the topic.
Case one.
The user deleted some images from the SD card on the laptop and when he installed it back in Sony camera Alpha, she informed him that the drive could not be used because it was full. However, when you try to view the content, the device does not show images.
Second case.
A user with the same camera had a similar situation, but in reverse order. First, the error appeared on the camera, and only then, when trying to connect the card to the computer, the operating system was unable to open the contents of the drive.
Useful articles
Is there a way to resolve the issue? And if so, which one?
If your camera's SD card suddenly encounters a full problem, you might be interested in knowing the possible causes.
- 1) The media has invisible or hidden files, so the SD card appears full, even though there is nothing on it at first glance.
- 2) Formatting error. You may have removed the card at the wrong time, causing a crash file system.
- 3) There is a problem with the camera.
Solution one. Showing and exporting hidden files
Step 1. Export and Restore Hidden Files from SD Card
The first thing to remember in this situation is that you should not panic if you lose access to information stored on the drive. Unfortunately, in standard list software Windows software there are no utilities capable of recovering files, so you will have to resort to specialized third-party software.
Starus Photo Recovery will become good choice for both the beginner and professional photographer. The application allows the user to forget about the risks of losing important images from weddings and other important events due to a failure on the SD card.
1. Connect the card to the computer. Launch the Starus Photo Recovery file recovery program and select the drive you want to scan from the list provided.
2. Select the type of analysis according to your needs. Quick scan will allow you to conduct a lightning-fast assessment of the drive, finding on it all recent files. Complete Analysis will help you perform a deep scan of the SD card and find even the oldest files that you may have already forgotten about.
3. Optionally, you can specify Extra options search, thereby excluding unwanted or unnecessary files from the list.
4. Wait for the scanning process to complete and carefully examine the results. In the presented list of files, you can find the images you need to restore with the ability to preview in the window on the right. In addition to the photo itself, Starus Photo Recovery provides the user with the ability to see the date the file was created, the format and its resolution in pixels.
5. Once you have decided on the images you want to restore, select the ones you need and click Further(by default, all found files are selected). Choose the most convenient method from the four suggested and complete the data export process.
Step 2. Show hidden files on the SD card.
1. Open start menu and enter in the dialog box Control Panel or open it in the right menu.
2. switch parameter View into mode Category and open the menu Decoration and personalization.
3. Open Folders settings.
4. In the window that appears, open the tab View, scroll down the list of options and select active Show hidden files, folders and drives.
5. Click Apply and OK to save your changes.
Solution two. Format the SD card correctly
1. Connect your SD card to your computer.
2. Open My Computer and find the damaged drive in the list on the left.
3. Click on the name right click mouse and select Format.
4. Choose file NTFS system and start the formatting process.
We recommend checking out all possible ways SD card recovery and Flash drives see How to repair a damaged flash drive or SD card
Having problems on an android phone or any other with a memory card? Can't read data from it or your android phone/tablet doesn't detect it?
You can repair a damaged micro sd card if it is damaged using a computer, check it for errors, or completely reformat it.
In general, the fact that the SD card is not read is not unusual. If you have a lot of data stored on it and use it extensively on your phone, there is always a chance that you might have a problem reading the content.
But this does not mean that the card should be discarded immediately. There is always a chance to restore the work of the SD card.
Sometimes the solution may be to check the file system for errors in saved files, restore bad sectors, format the card, or complete removal section (map structure) and its re-creation. Let's take a look at each of these solutions below.
How can I restore the performance of an external sd card
To fix a damaged sd card you will need:
- PC or laptop running Windows;
- any way to connect an SD card directly to a computer.
You can connect it to your computer with an adapter - if not, you can buy a USB card reader.
Method One - Repairing a Corrupted CHKDSK File System
If your device says sd card is damaged, here's what you can do. The first and easiest way is to use windows tool recovery system disk, i.e. CHDSK.
This tool is from Microsoft and is only available on Windows computers. CHKDSK does this without deleting any files, so you won't lose card data.
First, connect the SD card directly to your computer or laptop and launch My Computer or This PC (Windows 8 and later).
In the drive list, find the included SD card and remember which drive letter it was assigned to. For the purposes of this guide, let's assume that the card has been assigned the letter "D".
Press combination Windows keys+ R to bring up a window Windows startup. In the run window, enter the following command to enable command line: cmd.
A new command line window will appear. Now you must enter the appropriate command, which will scan the memory card and fix errors on it. The command looks like this: chkdsk D: /f
Of course, instead of "D:", write your drive letter (don't forget the colon). Press the "Enter" button to start scanning.
After the scan, you can test your memory drive and see if everything works.
Method two - formatting a damaged sd card
The second way to fix a damaged SD card is to format it and delete all data. This option can help if CHKDSK was unable to verify and there are still problems (for example, errors reading individual files).
Of course, you will lose all data, but chances are that formatting will fix the card.
To do this, connect the drive to your computer, and then call "My Computer" or "This Computer". Find the connected SD card in the disk list and right-click it.
Select Format from the context menu. A new format window will appear for the specified drive (in this case SD card).
Click the "Default Allocation Size" button and make sure "FAT32" is selected as the file system.
You can format with the selected option " Quick Format”, only for more accurate results I recommend that you uncheck this box - the formatting will be much longer, but done more carefully, which can help solve problems with the card.
After formatting, reinsert the card into your smartphone, tablet, digital camera or other device you are using and make sure the card is working properly.
Method three - completely delete all partitions and re-create again
The SD card is no different from regular disk It may have one or more sections. By default, there is always only one partition.
You can format the card in such a way as to completely remove the partition and leave it unallocated.
It is called low-level formatting. Note that this will also permanently delete all data on the memory card.
After formatting, you can create new section. This often helps when the memory card appears as "RAW" after plugging in and doesn't show partitions that can be accessed.
For this formatting, you can use a program called " HDD Low Level format tool". You can download below.
Connect the drive to the computer, and then run the level tool low level hard drive.
See a list of all your drives on your computer, including the connected one external drive. Find your SD card in the list and select it.
Make sure you choose the right one. Once selected, click Continue and go to the Format this device tab.
The card will be completely formatted and all partitions will be deleted. This will now be a clean, unallocated surface.
That's not all - the card is in such a state that it will be useless. Now go to the start menu and find the Tools folder Windows administration”, and in it select “Computer Management”.
A new window will appear. In it, select "Disk Management". A new window will appear displaying all drives - both internal and external connected via USB.
Find your drive, the surface of which is displayed in black. Right-click on the black unallocated area and select New Simple Volume.
You will see a wizard that will guide you step by step through the partition creation process. You don't need to change anything, just click next. Pay attention to the "File system" field and make sure that FAT32 is selected instead of NTFS.
Confirm the creation of a new partition. Your micro sd card will now appear in the My Computer window with a drive letter automatically assigned. You can disconnect it from your computer and connect it to your phone or tablet. Good luck.
Developer:
http://hddguru.com/
operating system:
windows
Interface:
English
Please tell me how to restore the memory card. She just stopped responding at some point, and she was left with wonderful photos.
Sincerely, Mikhail Borisov.
Flash memory made it possible to make drives compact and capacious at the same time. In just a few years, manufacturers have gone from the SD format, 32 × 24 mm in size, to the miniature Micro-SD, 11 × 15 mm. Now such drives can be seen in a laptop, and a tablet, and a smartphone. Therefore, the issues related to them unite today almost all owners mobile devices. Why can there be data loss on the SD card, and what to do in this case?
Causes of SD card data loss
The SD card is very thin and whimsical electronic device. Therefore, anything can disable it:
- Removing the card from the slot at the moment when the device, camera or phone is recording something on it;
- A discharge of static electricity from the user's hands at the moment the hands touch the contacts of the flash drive;
- Dropping the device;
- Sudden shutdown when the battery is completely discharged.
The problem may occur more often if applications have been installed on the card. The probability that the drive was being written to at the time of a power outage or failure is higher in this case. Therefore, smartphone manufacturers recommend installing everything important on the built-in memory of the phone, and storing only photos and music on the SD card.
Methods for recovering an SD memory card and data on it
In the most simple cases normal scanning by the operating system helps: Android or Windows phone. After scanning, file system errors are automatically corrected. At most, only the last photo or song is lost. At Windows phone 8.1 and higher has its own SD card scanning utility. It starts immediately when the phone starts, if the system suspects errors in the removable drive.
On Android it is recommended to install third party program. One of these is . According to user reviews, it helps a lot.
Recovery using Windows
You can remove the card from your mobile device and scan it using the desktop operating system. 
Insert the SD card into the reader and run a normal flash drive scan. To do this, right-click on the shortcut and select properties. 
Now you can click the Check and repair SD card button. Errors will be found and corrected.
Format SD card
You can also format the SD card can be formatted. This is also done through context menu on right key mice. 
Keep in mind that the format offered by the desktop operating system does not always match the mobile device you are using. After troubleshooting, it is better to format the SD card using the tablet or smartphone itself, in which it is supposed to be used.
SD Formatter
A good solution would be to use the SD Formatter program. It is specifically designed specifically for formatting drives of this type. 
This method helps to restore the performance of some models. car navigators . Errors occurred when writing a large map file larger than 1 GB to a flash drive. After formatting the SD Formatter and rewriting all the files, the navigator started working correctly.
In some cases, special utilities such as EasyRecovery can help in recovering data from an SD card.
Attention! If ChipGenius did not see the flash drive or SD card and it was not read on any device available to you, then all further attempts to revive the drive may be useless.
What to do if the SD card is write-protected?
Another typical failure with drives of this type is the transition to the read-only state. If this happens with an SD card, check the position of the switch on the side. Maybe you switched it to read-only mode yourself, by mistake. 
Micro-SD does not have such a switch. Therefore, we are dealing with a controller failure. If the card is branded, then you can look for a special utility from the manufacturer. They are produced for use in service centers. Essentially, these programs reset the controller to initial state, which he received at the factory. Sometimes this way you can bring the drive itself back to life.
If something happens to the SD card, then first of all copy all the files from it to HDD computer or other media! This must be done before any operations with the drive. While working with him special utilities, you risk forever losing not only the flash drive, but also valuable data on it.
What to do if your SD card keeps crashing
There are only two possible reasons: the drive itself or the device in which you use it. Try replacing the card in your smartphone or tablet with a new one and watch the process. If the failures have stopped, then it is best not to use this capricious drive anymore. At the very important point it will let you down and leave you without important files.
If the smartphone is also unstable with the new media, then there may be a problem with its controller or firmware. Try to find a firmware update for the device and learn from the experience of other users of the device. It is known that old smartphones work unpredictably with cards of new formats with high recording density. Perhaps things will be better with a simpler 16 or 32 GB card.
Most users of mobile phones and smartphones are faced with a situation where the phone does not see the memory card. Sometimes this question arises immediately after the purchase of the device, but most often it fails later, having already managed to turn into an integral attribute. Everyday life and accumulate important files. There are many reasons why the flash drive is not displayed on the screen and, with effort, the owner can always eliminate them.
If the phone does not see the memory card, we can talk about software problems, this factor is fixed in half of the situations. Just as often, defects are the result of a banal breakdown of a flash drive, only a replacement will help here, although modern capabilities allow you to recover data from a damaged media.
With a lack of time and desire, there is always the option of contacting specialized services service center, but they cost money and will cost more than the flash drive itself. The instructions for restoring the browsing function apply to all generations of mobile devices, including older versions. In these cases, in response to the question: why the phone does not see the memory card, it remains to shrug: he is tired, he leaves. But! Data can always be reproduced in full!
In an extreme situation, a reading device will help, from which all of them are easily transferred to a PC.
Factors due to which the phone does not see the memory card
Having wondered why the smartphone does not see the memory card, its owner needs to analyze the following points:
- Why did she fail?
- Find out the current state;
- Clarify the causes of failures;
- If they touch software, then why the android does not see the memory card.
Then based on the results
- Format via PC;
- Format via smartphone.
It must be remembered that when installing a flash drive for the first time, difficulties are often caused by its capacity. This is especially true for older models that are unable to support modern products. 
If new phone does not see the memory card what to do, the following list will prompt, which lists the main problems and ways to fix them.
- File system crashes. The most common problem, which is eliminated by reformatting the flash drive;
- Weak connection to the flash reader. The flash drive must be inserted more tightly, and then reboot the mobile phone;
- The phone does not see the memory card because the reader slot is completely defective. Only an appeal to the specialized services of the repair center will help here;
- The flash drive just burned out. It will no longer be possible to revive it, but there is still hope for data recovery. Modern features allow you to do this.
The phone does not see the memory card. Procedure
First of all, it needs to be rebooted. Usually this procedure is already enough to fix software failures and other difficulties. If, after rebooting, the phone does not see the map microsd memory, you need to remove the outer cover and pull out the battery, behind which the flash reader is located and check the contacts. In other models, the socket is located on the side, here you also need to try to press it more tightly against the contacts. The main thing is not to transfer, so as not to cause mechanical damage. 
When positive results No, the product is tested on another instrument. The ideal option serves as a card reader connected to a computer. Perfect for another mobile device. If it and all the stored information is available, then the problems are in the smartphone and repair can no longer be done here. The main reasons are caused software deficiencies or damaged contacts. 
When another phone does not see the memory card, we are talking or about defects file structure, or the flash drive simply burned out. In this case, it is no longer subject to Recovery, while file failures are easily eliminated, it is enough to format the product.
Format with PC
It must be remembered that in the process all information from the drive will be deleted. If you are sure that the memory card is not visible on the phone for a reason software problems- no, but the stored information is important, it is better to take it to the repair service.
In another situation, you need to format the USB flash drive in the following sequence:
- It is placed in the reader, and then in the computer connector;
- The launch should start automatically. If this is not there, then the phone has stopped seeing the memory card due to its problems. You need to go to "My Computer" and see the list of available connections. The absence of a drive in it indicates that it burned out;
- When there is a display, right-click it and activate the "Format" option;
- A menu appears on the screen where the user must select the format. It is represented by 2 NTFS types and FAT. The lion's share of flash drives belongs to the FAT standard, which is selected from the very beginning. In the absence of positive results, you can try NTFS;
- Having determined the format, the owner activates the “Start” option and waits for the operation to complete;
- Next, a formatted flash drive is again checked for work. It happens that already at this stage all questions are removed.
In the absence of a card reader, all actions can be easily performed using a mobile device.
Formatting without a computer
So, what to do if there is no card reader, PC and laptop. It doesn't matter, the product is easily formatted using a mobile phone, you just need to go to the "Settings" of Android. They are located in the corresponding list, where the owner can use the "Disable" and "Extract" functions. Most current devices immediately prompt the owner to format the drive. You should not perform the operation immediately, because, just like in the case of a computer, the operation completely erases all stored files.
Before that, you need to check the contacts again, excluding the weak connection version. After making sure that the connection is sufficiently dense, the user proceeds to the direct process.
– The option "Clear" is selected in the menu. It takes a little time and, as a rule, fits within one minute. Then the "Connect SD card" function is activated in the menu and if mechanical faults no, she's ready to go.
Understanding the reasons, you should remember about different versions android firmware. This depends on the course of action. In others operating systems the procedure is performed in a similar way, just find the "Settings" category
