If your smartphone can’t see the flash drive, don’t worry in advance. Perhaps the solution is so simple that you didn’t even dream about it.
Owners of expensive smartphones rarely need to think about solving the problem with a flash card – on such devices, as a rule, 64/128 GB of memory, so MicroSD does not need anything there. However, owners of budget gadgets need a flash drive – on cheap devices, usually only 16 GB, and then some of them are occupied by the operating system. The user is forced to place the card and select it as the main storage medium. And if the flash drive is no longer recognized, access to valuable work and personal files will be lost.
However, if you are in such a situation, do not lose heart. In 90% of cases, data can be recovered, but it is important to correctly identify the cause of the problem. We will tell you why the phone cannot see the memory card and advise you on the best steps to take.
Table of Contents
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FIRST?
There are a few simple steps that are recommended to do first of all – regardless of the reason for refusal:
- Restart the gadget. If that doesn’t work, do the following.
- Turn off the smartphone, remove the back cover, remove the battery. Then put the battery in place and turn on the device. Of course, this advice is only relevant if the battery in the device is replaceable – you do not have to definitely twist the housing.
- Check the card visually, carefully clean its contacts with a soft cloth. Also check the gap – if the contact in the microSD socket is deformed, it will definitely catch the eye.
If such simple operations have failed, then it’s time to think about finding the causes of the problem. What could be wrong?
INCORRECT CARD
Many microSD flash drives with a capacity greater than 32 GB are in the exFAT format. Unfortunately, some smartphones do not receive this format – but almost all “cell phones” perceive FAT32. Why was the card read earlier? Remember, maybe you’ve recently formatted your own. Because users incorrectly set settings when formatting storage media, the file system type usually changes.
How to solve the problem?
The flash memory works, so you must first copy all the data from the computer to the computer using a card reader. Without a card reader (or SD adapter) it will be difficult – you can change the card format directly on your mobile device, but to do this you need to go into recovery mode, which 99% of ordinary users have never dealt with.
It is much easier to download the simple SD Formatter tool on the PC and perform the procedure using it – by yourself, without forgetting that the output should have a FAT32 file system on the output. How to perform formatting with this program, says video:
If you do not want to install third-party software, you can try formatting using standard Windows tools. Right-click the disk, select ” Format “, install FAT32 in the ” File System ” field and click ” Start “.
USB FLASH MEMORY
A flash drive may fail due to mechanical or thermal stress – and this is the saddest case. It is not a shame even the device itself, but the data that was stored on it – most likely it will not be possible to restore it.
The solution to this problem is obvious – you need to buy a new flash drive. Or try to return a damaged card to the store under warranty – because MicroSD is not a complicated technical device, you can theoretically do it. However, if the memory card has visual damage, the seller will legitimately refuse to return it.
MAY DAMAGE CONTACTS?
Or is it not a memory card at all? The contacts on the MicroSD slot on your phone may also be oxidized or damaged.
If you have another smartphone with a MicroSD slot on hand, try to insert a flash drive into it. Does a “healthy” phone see the card? This is bad news for you – in fact, it means that you need to bring your gadget to use. The repair itself will be inexpensive, but as part of the service for the duration of maintenance work, the change will not be possible – you need to get a temporary mobile device or be offline for several days.
SOFTWARE FAILURE
You can suspect a software failure if the flash drive can’t see just one application on the phone – and all the rest is fine. In this situation, you must enter the settings for this “problem” application. Certainly, the internal disk will be selected as the storage location. Install removable storage as storage.
More often, others force users to use the Camera and Gallery applications. Complaints that the phone cannot see photos from the flash drive – a lot.
INCOMPATIBILITY
The desire to maximize the memory of a mobile device can also go sideways. Before you switch to a smartphone flash drive, you need to ask how much gadget it can pull. If you install a too capacious card, the phone will hang at best, and in the worst case it will refuse to recognize MicroSD.
IF YOUR FLASH DRIVE DOESN’T SEE THE LAPTOP ON THE PHONE
“Classic” situation: they connected the Android smartphone to the laptop with a cable, wait for the new removable disk to appear on the computer screen – but it is not displayed.
This situation is a consequence of the user’s carelessness. After connecting the smartphone to the computer, a menu appears on the screen of the mobile device in which, by default, a check mark is next to ” Mass storage “. Just select ” Media Device ” (” MTP “) and your computer will detect the flash drive. However, users, unfortunately, do not pay attention to the displayed messages in the menu or notifications.
PROPOSAL
In fact, when the smartphone cannot see the memory card, it is almost never the result of a failure of one or the other – so if you immediately go to the hot head to make a complaint to the seller, you are more likely to get into the puddle. So it is better to first follow the simple steps described in this article – restart the smartphone, clean the contacts in the socket and on the card itself, make sure that the flash file system has the correct format (better – FAT32). Do not forget to try to insert the memory card into another smartphone – so you can determine what the problem is: on the card or on a mobile device.
And of course, don’t buy a microSD card impulsively. Before you go to the store, specify how many “concerts” your smartphone can “play”.
