Having a damaged SD card can be frustrating, as it may cause you to lose valuable photos, videos, and other files stored on the card. However, there are several things you can try to fix and recover data from a corrupted SD card on your Android device.
What causes an SD card to become damaged?
There are a few common causes of SD card corruption on Android devices:
- Improperly ejecting the SD card before removing it from your device
- Power outages or your phone losing power suddenly while writing data to the card
- Dropping or jostling your device while the card is in use
- A manufacturing defect in the SD card itself
- The card becoming too old and wearing out
Corruption typically happens when data on the card gets overwritten or goes missing. This can make it impossible for your phone to read some or all of the data on the card.
How can I recover data from a damaged SD card?
If your SD card is corrupted or damaged, the first thing you should do is stop writing new data to it. Any new data you save could overwrite your lost files and make them less recoverable.
Here are some steps to try recovering data from a damaged SD card on Android:
- Insert the SD card into another device like a computer and make a full backup image of the card. This will preserve the card’s structure and contents exactly as they are.
- Use recovery software to scan the backup image and extract recoverable files from it. Programs like Recuva, TestDisk, and Photorec can recover lost photos, documents, and other file types.
- If no critical data can be recovered from a software scan, send the card to a professional data recovery service. They have specialized tools to repair SD cards and recover data.
- As a last resort, reformat the SD card in your Android device to wipe its corrupted data. This may fix software errors so you can reuse the card.
Avoid reformatting the damaged card until you’ve exhausted all other options for data recovery. Reformatting will wipe all data, including your lost files.
How can I fix and prevent SD card corruption?
Once you’ve recovered any salvageable data, you’ll want to fix the actual SD card corruption. This involves reformatting the card to erase errors. Here are some tips:
- Back up any data you want to keep before reformatting the card.
- On your Android, go to the Settings app > Storage > select your SD card.
- Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
- Choose Format or Format as internal to fully wipe and reformat the card.
- Reformat the card using the FAT32 file system for best compatibility.
Reformatting should clear any software errors so your Android can read and write to the card again. But there still could be physical damage that causes future corruption.
To help avoid further SD card problems, be sure to:
- Safely eject the card before removing it from your device.
- Avoid dropping or jostling your phone when a card is inserted.
- Don’t store important files solely on the SD card. Keep backups.
- Get a new SD card if yours is very old or deteriorating.
- Check your card occasionally with an error-checking tool.
What if my SD card is physically damaged?
If your SD card has visible physical damage, like cracks or bends, it is unlikely you’ll be able to fix corruption issues on your own. Physically damaged cards often have irreparable internal errors.
Some signs your card has physical damage:
- Visible cracks or scratches on the card surface
- The card is bent or warped
- Problems started after you dropped your phone
- Reformatting the card doesn’t help
In cases of physical damage, you’ll need to replace the faulty card. But first try to recover data using professional recovery services if needed. They use specialized tools that may be able to pull data despite physical defects.
How can I recover photos from a damaged SD card?
Photos are often the most important files people want to recover from a corrupted SD card. Luckily there are several good options to rescue your lost photos:
- Use free recovery software – Programs like Recuva, TestDisk, or Photorec can find lost image files and restore them.
- Try online photo recovery services – Many companies like EaseUS, Stellar, and DiskDrill offer online SD card photo recovery tools.
- Send to a pro lab – If DIY options don’t work, professional recovery labs can repair cards and recover photos using specialized hardware.
- Extract photos from your phone – If you’ve backed up photos to your Android’s internal storage, you can extract them with Android Data Recovery.
As long as you don’t overwrite the lost photos by adding new files, there’s a good chance you can recover them even from badly corrupted cards.
Can I fix an SD card that says “blank” or “empty”?
Seeing your SD card show up as blank or empty on your Android is frustrating. But don’t worry – there are a few ways you may be able to restore the card’s files:
- Try reformatting the card on your computer instead of your phone, using a utility like SD Formatter.
- Scan the blank card with recovery software to extract lost files.
- Use a partition tool like MiniTool Partition Wizard to see if the card’s partition is intact but not properly mounted.
- As a last resort, send to a professional recovery service if DIY options don’t find your files.
If your Android says the SD card is empty even after trying these fixes, the card is likely physically damaged or corrupted beyond repair. You’ll have to replace it.
What’s the best SD card recovery software?
Some of the best SD card recovery software options are:
| Software | Features |
|---|---|
| Recuva | Free and easy to use. Recovers photos, videos, documents, and more. |
| TestDisk | Powerful open source recovery tool. Restores lost partitions. |
| Photorec | Specializes in recovering photos, video, and audio files. |
| EaseUS | Has advanced options for corrupted cards and lost partitions. |
These programs can recover data from SD cards with corrupted filesystems, missing partitions, or other errors. They are available for Windows and Mac.
For physically damaged cards, you may need to use a professional recovery service instead of software. But apps like these are a good starting point for DIY file recovery.
Can factory resetting my phone fix an SD card?
Performing a factory reset on your Android phone is unlikely to fix problems with a corrupted external SD card. A factory reset only wipes data from the phone’s internal storage.
However, a factory reset might help if:
- Your SD card is formatted as internal storage
- Card errors began when you first set it up as adopted storage
In those cases, a reset could fix software problems from the initial setup. But files on the SD card will still be lost.
For regular external SD cards, a factory reset won’t do anything to repair corruption or lost files. You’d need to reformat the card itself from your phone’s storage settings.
Can I fix an unsupported SD card?
If you see a message like “SD card unsupported” on your Android phone, here are some things to try:
- Make sure your phone supports the card’s capacity. Older Android versions had 32GB limits.
- Check that the card meets your phone’s minimum speed rating. Slow cards may be unsupported.
- Inspect the card for a physical write-protect switch that’s enabled. This will prevent writing data.
- Try reformatting the card on your computer if your phone can’t access it.
If reformatting doesn’t help, the card itself is likely faulty. Contact the manufacturer for a replacement. Damaged cards may incorrectly appear as unsupported.
Using a supported SD card that meets your phone’s specifications should prevent issues being detected by Android.
Should I buy a new SD card if I can’t fix it?
If you’ve tried all the available DIY troubleshooting and recovery steps but your SD card is still unusable, buying a replacement is probably the best option.
Signs it’s time to purchase a new card include:
- Visible physical damage to the card
- Persistent corruption issues after low-level reformatting
- Frequent data errors, freezing, or slow speeds
- Card is very outdated and reached end of lifespan
Before replacing your damaged card, try to recover any data you need with recovery software or professional services. Then be sure to buy a card from a reputable brand and check that it’s compatible with your Android model.
Research cards with better durability ratings or upgrade to a later-generation SD standard. This can prevent frustrations from repeated corruption in the future.
Conclusion
Damaged SD cards can certainly cause headaches, but there are a number of ways you can attempt to fix, recover, or replace corrupted cards. The most important things are to stop writing new data once you notice errors, try recovery software before reformatting, and properly eject your card each time before removing it.
If DIY fixes don’t do the trick, turning to data recovery pros can often retrieve even badly corrupted files. And don’t forget to backup your SD card data in case corruption strikes again down the road.
