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27 June 2019  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
Some 3DS users have ever met that the Nintendo 3DS SD card cannot be recognized. When the 3DS SD card cannot be recognized or the data on the card has been lost, how to recover the data as much as possible? Go and see how to solve this problem!



Part 1: What Can Be Saved in 3DS SD Card?

For all Nintendo 3DS users, SD card is really important because it saves a great amount of data that can affect the device’s operation. For example, DLC (downloadable contents), the system update files, the contacts with friends, the games downloaded from Nintendo e-Shop, the built-in software, the pictures captured by 3DS, all of them are saved in the SD card by default. If you are using the cracked version, the SD card even saves .3dsx files and .cia files which record the game of Nintendo.
how to solve nintendo sd card not recognized

Part 2: Why Nintendo 3DS SD Card Cannot Be Recognized?

sd card recovery in windows

Mistakenly delete the 3DS system files

Generally, we manage the SD card on the Nintendo 3DS. If you connect the device to PC, the system files may be deleted mistakenly.

Format 3DS SD card

When you connect the Nintendo 3DS SD card to PC, it may not be recognized and the operating system will remind you to format the card. Once you begin formatting, the data will be erased.

Suddenly eject the SD card when reading data.

The mechanical structure of placing SD card on 3DS is very simple. If the SD card is suddenly ejected from 3DS, the data will be lost easily.

Damage on 3DS SD card

If the SD card is damaged due to external force and high temperature, the card may not be recognized.

Part 3: Troubleshoot When Nintendo 3DS SD Card Cannot Be Recognized

Reinsert SD card

Sometimes the Nintendo 3DS SD card cannot be recognized because of the poor connection. Trying to reinsert the SD card may return it to normal. Next, we will introduce how to insert SD card in the different 3DS models.

3DS/3DS LL

Eject

Press the SD card until it makes the sound “click”, and then plug it out.
take 3ds sd card out of nintendo
Inject
Upside down the label side and insert the SD card.
inject 3ds sd card into nintendo
NEW 3DS/NEW 3DS LL

Eject

Gently push the micro SD card. Then plug the card out as it makes the sound “click”. Don’t drag the card by force, or the slot of the card will be damaged.
eject 3ds sd card from nintendo
Inject
Put the label side upward and insert the SD card into the slot.
inject 3ds sd card into nintendo
2DS

Eject

Press the SD card until it makes the sound “click”. Then, plug it out.
eject sd card out of nintendo
Inject
Upside down the label side and insert the SD card.
inject 3ds sd card into nintendo
2DS LL

Eject

1. Open the micro SD card cover.
turn on the nintendo sd card cover
2. Push the micro SD card until it makes the sound “click”, and then plug it out. Don’t drag it by force, or the slot will be damaged.
eject 3ds sd card out of nintendo
Inject
Put the label side upward and insert the SD card.
inject 3ds sd card into nintendo

Unlock the write protection

Sometimes the Nintendo 3DS SD card cannot be recognized because the write protection is locked. Like the below image, as the yellow switch is downward, the SD card cannot be used to save or read data; while as this switch is upward, you can write or delete data on the SD card.

unlock write protection nintendo 3ds sd card cannot be recognized
Note: the micro SD card used for NEW 3DS/NEW 3DS LL and 2DS LL has no write protection lock.

Part 4: Use Renee Undeleter to Recover Lost Data

If the SD card gets no damage and runs well, Renee Undeleter  can help you recover the deleted, overwritten data from the 3DS SD card. Renee Undeleter, the professional software for data recovery, supports various file types and performs well in recovering the formatted disks, especially the pictures and the videos in the formatted SD card. It is designed with three scan modes, fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan, which surely fulfills users’ different scenarios.
During the scan, you can preview the files and select the target files. Besides, the user-friendly operation interface can be quickly accepted by newbies and help them save a great amount of time and money. Therefore, when your data is lost from the SD card, try Renee Undeleter at first!
Renee Undeleter - Powerful Data Recovery SoftwareRenee Undeleter data Recovery software

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan for different recovery needs.

File types Support to recover pictures, videos, audios, documents, mails, etc.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Supported systems Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Mac OS X10.6, 10.7, 10.8.

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes - 3 scan modes for different recovery needs.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial

3000 users have downloaded Renee Undeleter and found data back!

1. Download and install Renee Undeleter.
press to the download button
mac download button gif
2. Open the software and select one of the scan modes (Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan and Whole Disk Scan). We select [Fast Partition Scan] in this case.
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3. Select the target SD card and click [Next].
4. Select a scan way. [Fast Scan] can help you find out most of files in minutes while [Deep Scan] can go through the disk and find out files deleted for a long time.
select fast scan mode in renee undeleter
5. Wait for scanning. Search and preview the scan results. Then, check the target files and click [Recover] to retrieve the lost files.
select the target files to recover in fast partition scan