Sometimes you might come across a situation in which your smartphone is having a trouble with identifying your SD-card so it the latter is simply not working with the phone. You can come across various messages from your phone which is trying to tell you that your card is either not working or is not compatible with the device.
Sometimes the phone can will offer you formatting as a solution which is not necessarily good in case your card has lots of important data. In other situations, the phone can simply ignore the card altogether. It will not give you any messages about an error or any possible solutions. It will just look as if your card has never been inserted into the device in the first place.
Fortunately, in the majority of cases, you will be able to deal with this problem pretty easily and fast. You will find some ideas in this article.
A SD-card has not been iserted properly
One of the simplest problems which could have taken place is incorrect installation of a SD-card in the first place. This can happen to everyone, so, first of all you should make sure this is not the case for you.
Get your SD-card out of your device and check whether it has been inserted properly. Try installing it once again according to the instruction for your particular model of a smartphone. Pay your attention to the fact that it is might be helpful to reset your smartphone to allow the system to identify the card and process it properly.
A SD-card might not have been installed by the system properly
Certainly, inserting the card into the smartphone is not enough for it to start working. The operating system of the device has to install it as well. Although the problem of incorrect installation by the system is not thus popular, it can still happen. That is why it will a be a good idea to make your system reinstall the card once again.
All you need to do is to go to the settings of your system and choose the option for memory storage. If your SD card is currently installed, you will see an option for uninstalling it. You should try this one and, once it is uninstalled, install it again.
Make sure your SD card is really compatible with your phone
Even though the manufacturers of SD-cards are doing their best to make their devices compatible with various types of smartphones, there is one popular issue which can take place when it comes to the compatibility.
This problem is related to the amount of external memory supported by your smartphone. Modern smartphones will allow you to use SD cards with a large amount of storage space, however, it is also not always true. There is a great number of smartphones which do not support SD cards of 128 or 256 GB of memory storage, whereas many models of more affordable phones as well as older models can have trouble with far less storage space.
The file system of your SD card might not be supported by your smartphone
This problem can happen in the case when you have been using your SD card with another device especially with your PC or notebook and now you are trying to use it with your smartphone. In such a case, your card might have been formatted by a previous device and the file system created on it is not the one typical for your smartphone.
This does not mean you will not be able to use your old SD card with your smartphone and will necessarily need to purchase a new one. The problem can be easily solved by formatting the card, yet, you should be aware of the fact all of the data stored on your device will be deleted. That is why you should save all of the data stored on your device somewhere else before formatting the card.
Note that you will be able to format your card right on your smartphone which is very convenient. This function can be found in the settings of your SD-card. At the same time, formatting through a smartphone is not always enough and in some situations it might not help you to resolve your problem. Then, you will need to format the card through your computer.
It is recommended to choose the FAT32 format for the cards with the memory capacity of maximum 32GB. For the cards with a greater memory capacity the exFAT format is recommended.
In more complex cases, your computer might be able to recognise your SD card but it will find it impossible to format it. Then, you can try another solution which is a small programme designed specifically for formatting memory devices. One of the best free programmes of this type for macOS and Windows is SD Formatter.
Card oxidation
Sometimes, when a SD card is stored too long outside a device, some of its metal parts can get prone to oxidation. Oxidation makes it more difficult for a SD card to get connected to a smartphone. Fortunately, oxidation doe s not necessarily mean a permanent damage. You can try to clean it with a rubber or use a bit of potent alcohol.
Finally, the card could have been permanently damaged, for example, because of high humidity or has just become worn-out. In such a case, there is no point in trying to fix it.