Solution to Solve Android Phone Not Reading SD Card

Why the smart phone is sometimes not reading the SD card? We list some reasons:

1. Not correctly install SD card

If the SD card is not installed correctly, the smart phone cannot read it. Please check whether the card is installed well.

2. Poor connection with phone

The faults on the contacts or the slot, or the dirt on the contacts, can lead the SD card not to be recognized.

3. Attacked by virus

If the SD card is unfortunately attacked by virus, it will not be read.

4. Incompatible with file system

If the file system of the SD card is incompatible with the phone, it will not be read. Then, you can format the card to a suitable file system.

5. Error or damage on file system

Bad blocks on the hot plug or on the SD card, can also lead the file system to go wrong or not to be read on the phone.

6. Incompatible with smart phone

The operating system version of the smart phone is too old to support the SD card. Or, the capacity of the SD card is too large to be supported by the phone.

7. Protected / encrypted SD card

If the SD card is protected / encrypted, the phone cannot read the card. You should remove the encryption beforehand.

8. Damage on components

If the components of the SD card, such as the chip, are physically damaged, the phone cannot read the card.

9. Damage on phone

If the slot of the phone is squeezed, damaged, rusty or bent, the SD card cannot be read.

Quick check:

Once the phone is not reading the SD card, you can try it on another phone. If it can be read on another phone, it is approved that the SD card runs well and you should check your phone. If it is not, you should check the SD card. Here are some approaches to checking the SD card.

① Plug out the SD card. Then, use an eraser to slightly clean the contacts and the slot of the phone.

② Reinstall the card on the phone. Then, restart the phone to check whether it can be read now.

③ After that, if the card can be read, it is approved that the contacts were poor.

If the SD card is still not read by the phone, you should recover the data on the card beforehand; then, follow the next approaches to fix the card.

Renee Undeleter is professional software for data recovery. It can skip the bad blocks of the SD card to rebuild the file system with the “fingerprint” technology and the reconstruction of the file system. This software can help you retrieve data from the formatted / deleted / damaged SD card as much as possible.

① Download and install Renee Undeleter. Then, connect the SD card to your PC.

② Launch the software and select one of the scan modes. In this example, we select [Fast Partition Scan].

③ Select the target SD card and click [Next].

④ Select [Fast Scan] or [Deep Scan]. The former one can save time while the latter one can scan the disk thoroughly.

⑤ Select the file types. If you are not sure, please select [Default Settings].

⑥ Wait for scanning. Then, check the target files and click [Recover].

⑦ Select a folder and click [Recover] to save the data.

① Use a card reader to connect the SD card to PC.

② Open [This PC] and go to the SD card.

③ Right-click at it and select [Properties].

④ In the tab [Tools], click [Check].

⑤ The tool will tell you whether the SD card is wrong or not. If there is something wrong, please click [Scan and repair drive] to fix it.

⑥ As the above process is finished, eject the SD card and inject it to the phone.

① Press [Win + S] and search [cmd].

② Right-click at [Command Prompt] and select [Run as administrator].

③ Type [chkdsk f:/f]. f: is the letter of the SD card (Type the letter name of your SD card.). /f is the order to fix the SD card.

④ Then, the command will automatically check the SD card and try to fix it.

Finally, eject the card and check if it can be used on the phone.

① Right-click at the Start menu and select [Disk Management].

② Right-click at the SD card and select [Format].

③ Select the target files system; check [Perform a quick format]; click [OK].

④ Then, you will be informed that all data saved on the SD card will be cleared. Click [OK] to format the SD card.

However, through these approaches, if the phone is still not reading the SD card, the card may have been damaged physically. You have to repair it or change a new card.