Nowadays, more and more features are consistently added to Android phone so we can do a lot of things on the device. However, those features will occupy more storage on the phone. If the phone didn't have enough space, then it will run slower and slower as the time goes. So for those phones that have less than 16G storage space, SD card is an efficient and cheap way to expand the capacity and enjoy the phone with improved user experience.
However, there are some problems with your SD card during the usage. The common one is that Android can't detect the SD card. And the card is totally useless if this happens. Your data on the phone will be gone if you didn't take any actions. I gathered all the possible reasons in this post to help you fix the issue. Please take a careful read about the article.
User Tips : Android Phone Doesn't Detect SD Card
Tips 1Make Sure SD is Installed Properly
Each phone will have a physical slot for SIM card or SD card. First, you should make sure the SD is installed on the right slot. Some of us forgot about this and installed the card on SIM slot. Also, if the card was not inserted properly on the right slot, the system still can't detect the phone.
Note: Many SD cards allowing you to insert or remove the card or from the phone while it is running. However, frequently insert or remove the SD card can lead the wires rusty. So don't do this frequently.
Tips 2Clean Up the Surface of SD Card
Most of the users pay little attention to the surface of SD card. The card may be covered by dust if it was used for long time. Take out the SD card from the phone and check if there is a dark stain around the metal area of the card. If it is, clean it up with tissue. Please don't use wet tissue or waster because it will damage the circuit..
Tips 3Scan Virus or Malware on the Phone
Many apps from third-party developers contain malware or viruses, which usually infects the system or storage without your knowledge. Try to remove the malware or viruses from your SD card with an anti-virus app like Avast or Norton. If nothing found, then skip this step and check the other reasons listed in the tutorial. It is always recommended to install apps from Play Store or well-known resources.
Tips 4SD Card Not Formatted Correctly
Each SD will be formatted to a proper type before shipping. The most popular file system for Android is FAT 32. If your SD card was not formatted in this type, then it is highly possible that the card can't be recognized my your phone. Please note, not all Android phone supports FAT32 so you should search online to find out which file system is the best for that specific phone.
Note: You still get a chance to recover the files from SD card after the data being formatted. So don't through out the card immediately once you did it for wrong.
Tips 5 SD Card Physically Damaged
Though this case is rare, it still happens in some time. If the SD being squeezed or rusted, which you can see at the first glance, then the chance is high that the card is physically damaged. However, if you are still not certain about this, please insert it a to card reader and insert it to a computer. If the card can't be detected by computer, then the card is broken for sure. In such a case, you have to get a new card.
The above list covers most of the cases that your Android phone can't detect SD card. Please follow the suggestions one by one. I am sure you will find the right one to solve the problem. At the end, I highly recommend backing up the data on your SD card in case of damage. The data will be gone forever if the card was damaged or broken. It would be a great loss for you because smartphone plays a very important role in our daily life.
