Having a corrupted SD card can be incredibly frustrating. All of your photos, videos, music and other data become inaccessible, and you may get errors saying the SD card needs to be formatted before it can be used again. Fortunately, in many cases it is possible to fix a corrupted SD card in a Samsung device without losing all your data.
What Causes an SD Card to Become Corrupted?
There are several potential causes of SD card corruption:
- Removal of the card from the device while files are still being written
- Power outage or device suddenly losing power while accessing the SD card
- Faulty or low quality SD card
- SD card reaching its lifespan and no longer functioning properly
- Physical damage to the SD card
- Virus or malware infection
The most common reasons are accidentally removing the card before it has finished writing data, or the phone suddenly losing power while accessing the SD card. This can cause the file system on the card to become corrupted.
How to Check for and Fix SD Card Errors
When your Samsung device won’t read the SD card and gives you an error prompt, there are a few steps you can take to check for errors and attempt to fix any corruption:
- Restart your Samsung device – Restarting your device essentially resets the SD card reader and may allow the card to be read properly again after a restart.
- Check for physical damage – Look closely at the SD card for any signs of damage or dirt/debris in the card slot. Damaged cards will likely need to be replaced.
- Try a different SD card reader – Use an external USB card reader or insert the card into another device to see if the card works properly in a different reader.
- Check for errors using Samsung’s Memory Card Diagnostic app – This app scans for any errors and can fix common issues with SD cards.
- Use the Device Maintenance diagnostic – Go to Settings > Device Maintenance and run the SD Card Diagnostics test.
- Format the SD card – As a last resort, you can format the SD card to fix a corrupted file system. This will erase all data so backup first!
Using Samsung Memory Card Diagnostic App
Many Samsung Galaxy devices come with the handy Samsung Memory Card Diagnostic app pre-installed. If not, you can download it from the Galaxy Store on your device. This app specifically checks for errors, and has the ability to fix many common SD card problems.
To use it:
- Open the Memory Card Diagnostic app
- Select your SD card from the list
- Tap Test to scan for errors and issues
- Review the test report – this will show if any errors were found
- Tap Repair to fix identified errors and problems
The Memory Card Diagnostic app will attempt to repair any filesystem errors, bad sectors or other common SD card problems. After repairing, check if the SD card works properly again in your Samsung device.
Using Device Maintenance Diagnostics
The built-in Device Maintenance feature on Samsung Galaxy devices also includes diagnostics tools for checking an SD card for errors.
To access them:
- Go to Settings > Device Maintenance
- Tap Storage
- Select your SD card
- Tap Diagnostics and tap Run Test
This will scan for any filesystem errors and bad sectors, and report any issues found. If fixable errors are found, tap Repair to have it attempt to fix them.
Formatting the SD Card
If you’ve tried the above repair methods to fix your corrupted SD card in Samsung but errors still persist, formatting the card is likely required. Formatting will erase all data on the card, so you’ll want to backup anything important first.
To format the SD card:
- Back up any data and files you need from the SD card first
- Go to Settings > Device Maintenance > Storage
- Tap your SD card name
- Tap Format
- Tap Format again to confirm
Formatting will completely wipe and re-created the filesystem on the SD card, clearing any corruption or errors. However, any damaged bad sectors could still remain.
Before Formatting the Card
If possible before formatting, it is recommended to try and recover any important photos, videos, documents or other files from the corrupted card using data recovery software. Some options to try include:
- DiskDigger Photo Recovery – Free recovery tool for photos, videos, music and documents
- Stellar Data Recovery – Paid but very effective recovery software for all file types
- Recoverit Free – Allows free recovery of limited file types and sizes
Use data recovery software to scan your corrupted SD card and restore as many files as possible before reformatting the card, which will permanently erase them.
Does Formatting Delete Everything?
Yes, formatting your SD card will delete the entire contents of the card. However, keep in mind that formatting does NOT securely erase data. It only removes access to the data by deleting the filesystem.
The actual data still physically exists on the card until it is gradually overwritten by new data. Therefore, someone could potentially recover your “deleted” files using data recovery software after a quick format.
For more permanent deletion, you need to securely erase the SD card which overwrites its data entirely – but this is not necessary for most users.
Checking for Physical Damage
In some cases, physical damage to the SD card could also be causing the corruption errors. Carefully inspect the card for any signs of:
- Chipped or cracked plastic housing
- Corroded or damaged metal contacts
- Bent or warped shape
- Scratches on surface
- Debris stuck in card slot
If physical damage is present, the safest option is to replace the SD card entirely. Damaged cards can progressively get worse and result in permanent data loss.
SD Card Won’t Format
If your corrupted SD card cannot be formatted, or formatting always fails, the card is likely beyond repair and needs to be replaced. Failing SD cards will get stuck in a read-only state where the filesystem cannot be modified.
You can identify if an SD card is read-only by looking for a small switch on the side – if it is slid down to the locked position, the card is read-only. Move the switch up to unlock it.
If the read-only switch is unlocked but formatting always fails, the card is faulty and should be replaced for a new one.
Replacing a Corrupted SD Card
If you’ve determined the SD card is physically damaged or cannot be formatted, replacement is the best option. When buying a new card, go for well-known brands like SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston or Sony. Avoid cheap low quality cards that are more prone to errors and failure.
Also, aim for higher speed cards – at least Class 10 speed rating or U3 rating for optimal performance:
- SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s works great
- Samsung EVO Select 100MB/s is very reliable
- Kingston Canvas Go! Plus 170MB/s has fast speeds
Higher speeds allow for faster saving of photos and video recording, especially with high resolution content.
After inserting a new SD card, be sure to format it in your Samsung device first before using it. Also try to avoid removing the card when data is being written to prevent corruption in the future.
Back Up Photos Regularly
To avoid losing all your data if an SD card becomes corrupted, make sure to backup your photos, videos and files on a regular basis.
Options to consider for backing up SD card contents:
- Copy files to a computer periodically
- Use cloud backup services like Google Photos or Dropbox
- Enable automatic photo sync to services like Google Photos
- Use an external hard drive to backup photos and videos from your device
Regular backups will save you from permanent data loss if your card gets corrupted or damaged. And enabling automatic sync to cloud platforms ensures your photos are always protected.
Tips to Prevent Corruption
You can help avoid SD card corruption by following these tips:
- Always unmount the SD card before removing it
- Avoid forcefully interrupting file transfers
- Don’t remove your SD card when the device is writing data
- Store cards properly in cases when not in use
- Check for physical damage if your phone can’t read the card
- Upgrade to a higher speed, better quality SD card
- Backup your SD card data regularly as a precaution
Conclusion
While an SD card corruption error can seem catastrophic at first, in many cases it is possible to fix and recover your data. Try using Samsung’s diagnostic tools, data recovery software, and formatting the card before replacing it. And be sure to always properly unmount your card and backup data regularly.
With the right troubleshooting approach, you can often get a corrupted SD card working again or recover important files. Just be cautious about forcibly interrupting transfers and abruptly removing cards from your device during reads and writes.