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Heloise Montini
Heloise Montini is a content writer whose background in journalism make her an asset when researching and writing tech content. Also, her personal aspirations in creative writing and PC gaming make her articles on data storage and data recovery accessible for a wide audience.
Laura Pompeu
With 10 years of experience in journalism, SEO & digital marketing, Laura Pompeu uses her skills and experience to manage (and sometimes write) content focused on technology and business strategies.
Bogdan Glushko
CEO at SalvageData Recovery, Bogdan Glushko has over 18 years of experience in high-security data recovery. Over the years, he's been able to help restore data after logical errors, physical failures, or even ransomware attacks, for individuals, businesses, and government agencies alike.
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Yes, you can fix a corrupted SD card on Android phones, without the need to use a computer.
Most modern phones have large storage capacity and you can also count on the option of cloud storage. However, these smartphones cost more and the cloud storage is not unlimited, meaning that the more space you need for your data, the higher the price.
Android phones have the solution: a slot for SD cards. Also known as memory cards or micro SD, SD cards can store a lot of data at a low price.
If you have any doubts about how to choose the right memory card, check our guide on SD card symbols to see the meaning and impact of each detail of the card.
However, memory cards are not error-free and you may need help fixing your micro SD card. You can tell if your Android phone SD card is corrupted if:
- It has a slow performance
- You have missing files
- You’re getting read/write errors
- The Android phone can’t detect it
Here you can check easy ways to fix your corrupted SD card on Android phones, no computer needed.
How do Android SD cards get corrupted?
Android SD cards can get corrupted in a variety of ways, including:
- Physical damage to the card, such as cracking or bending
- Exposure to extreme temperatures or humidity
- Excessive writing and rewriting of data on the SD card
- Using an incompatible reader or adapter
- Corrupted file system
- Interruptions while transferring data from one device to another
- Malware and virus infection
1. Remove and reinsert the card
The most straightforward way to try and fix a corrupted SD card on Android phones is to remove it from your Android phone, then reinsert it into the same device or a different device. Make sure you do this carefully so as not to damage the card.
Also, go to your Android phone setting to safely eject the card. If it’s just a small error, this can help.
Also, restarting the phone can help fix some minor issues that may make your memory card seem corrupted.
2. Clean the SD card and the phone slot
Dust and debris can impact the performance of your memory card, and even make it unreadable.
Safely eject it from your Android phone, and carefully clean it and your phone’s slot.
After that, try to see if the errors persist.
3. Unlock the memory card
Some SD cards have a lock switch. If it is locked, then your Android phone won’t be able to read the data on the micro SD card, and it appears to be corrupted.
Safely remove the card and switch to the unlock position and try to see if you use your memory card after that.
Source: Canon support
4. Reformat the card
A quick and easy way to repair a corrupted SD card on Android phones is to reformat it. And it shows as one of the top solutions because it’s the most effective way to fix a corrupted SD card on an Android phone,
Warning: This will erase all of the data on the card. So, be sure to back up any important files before formatting.
To format your SD card on your Android phone, go to Settings > Storage/Memory. Then, find your memory card and open its options. After that, choose the Format option and confirm to format and fix it.
Important: The path may change depending on the Android version and the smartphone manufacturer, yet, will keep a similarity with the one described above.
5. Scan for Malware
If your Android phone has become infected with malware, this could lead to the corruption of the SD card as well. So if you suspect any sort of virus infection, run an anti-malware or antivirus scan before attempting any other fixes.
You can do it by using an antivirus or antimalware app on your Android phone and setting it to scan your SD card as well as the phone’s internal memory. There are several free apps option. We recommend you use the same antivirus you use on your computer. It can have a free option for smartphones or it can be included in the price you’re paying already for the software.
6. Update the Android
Several SD card errors and issues are due to not updating software. You can try to update your phone’s Android system and see if the SD card still appears corrupted.
If it does, and you’ve tried all the other solutions on this post, it’s very likely your SD card has physical damage. Only a recovery professional can recover data from physically damaged devices.
What are SD cards and how do they work
An SD card is a portable storage device. It stands for Secure Digital Card and it’s a small and removable data storage device that works with flash memory. They use a technology similar to USB flash drives and SSDs to write the data, known as flash memory storage chips.
Pro tip: Smartphones usually have a maximum storage capacity for removable cards. Therefore, always make sure your memory card is compatible with your Android phone. Also, iPhones don’t have an SD card slot.
Corrupted SD card on Android phones data recovery
If your memory card is physically damaged, you have to contact an SD card data recovery service to retrieve your files.
For other damages, such as logical data loss, you can use a data recovery software or app to restore the data. So, if you formatted your memory card on an Android phone, you can use a recovery app to scan and retrieve your lost files.
Contact SalvageData 24/7 for help with your SD card or any other storage device you need help with to salvage the data.
