topic Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card in XPERIA archive

Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 15:00:36 GMT

Just upgraded from 444 to Lollipop and now my phone can't see my external 128MB SD Card. I have photographs and videos on this card, so I can't follow any steps to erase it, etc.

When I do select the option to mount SD Card I'm given a message saying it's "Preparing" the card, and then does nothing, nothing has changed. It displays this message and remains in the storage area settings screen.

How do I resolve this so that I can access and use my card, please?

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 15:27:46 GMT

Do you have an adapter so you can try the card in a PC/laptop?

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 18:26:59 GMT

Yes, the SD Card is seen in a PC. I've now been able to backup everything I have on the card, had to make a lot of room on my HD for it.

So, there's nothing wrong with the card. Do you think it could be a security/ encryption issue with changing the OS? I've not added or changed any security features beyond that which is supplied with the phone.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 18:33:59 GMT

I suggest you try this: copy everything on your PC, format the microSD in the adapter (FAT32) and see how it goes.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 22:01:35 GMT

Tried this and for some reason the SD Card is being corrupted somehow. Well, I say it's being corrupted because that's what the phone says. However, I can insert the card in a Windows 7 system and that sees the card fine.

The Card's FS was originally extFAT and I've since changed that to FAT32 following your suggestion. I think I try exFAT again and see if that helps any.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 22:17:38 GMT

There was no need for a 128MB card to be exFAT. FAT16 could have been enough too.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 06:49:38 GMT

Sorry, I was going to ask you why you're saying 128 MB. I should have written 128GB, sorry. That was a typo. This is a Class 10 128GB Micro SD Card. An SD Card with just 128 MB would be a completely pointless in a phone like this.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 11:50:21 GMT

I thought so too,but I didn't even ask. My bad. Try exFAT then,that should be the default format type.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 19:23:10 GMT

Right, bought another SD Card hoping that was the problem. It's a Class 10 64GB SD Card, and the phone was okay with it for about a day and it has just now decided it can't see the card.

I love this phone, but I am getting to the stage where I don't know if I can trust it with my data, photo's, and videos. This wasn't a problem before Lollipop.

Also, when I turn the phone on there is a window that appears every startup saying, "Android is updating..." Should it say this? Is it trying to update something?

Please don't read into this that I'm upset with you or your help, nothing of the sort. I can tell you're a great guy. But I am getting desperate for reliable functionality, that's the tone of this message, nothing against you.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 19:27:55 GMT

I understand your frustration and I am sorry to hear you still have issues. Are you willing to try a software repair?

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 19:41:10 GMT

Yes, that's a good option and suggestion, thank you. This may involve wiping everything off I should imagine? If so, I don't have a problem with that. Whatever it takes to get this amazing device back to purpose.

Thanks for your time and patience Alex. 🙂

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 19:45:02 GMT

No problem,I hope this last resort will help. Please follow the steps carefully:

Performing a software repair using PC Companion.The process will erase all internal memory.You might need to charge your device for about 1-2 hours before so the device has at least 60% battery.

Make sure the device is not connected to computer or laptop and turned off (sometimes you have to press power button and volume up until the device vibrates 3 times or on some devices you have to press the small button near the SIM tray or on the back of the device).

Open PC companion->support zone->phone/tablet software update->repair my phone/tablet blue highlighted.Follow the steps given,do not connect your phone until prompted to press volume down while plugging USB cable. If PC companion does not start the repair process, you might need to run it in compatibility mode with Windows 7 (in some cases XP).

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

earl78 — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 23:14:01 GMT

My sd slot is awful, I've had 6 cards and none have worked after a couple of weeks, it won't read them then I get took to override them, so the new lollipop feature of you can move apps to the sd card is a total waste of time.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 19:14:48 GMT

The reset and update via the PC Software has made a good difference to the phone in general. I no longer get the message "...trying to update..." now but I don't know yet if this has solved the problem of the SD Card suddenly not being seen. If its okay with you if like to give it a day or two first.

I will transfer some non-mission critical data onto the card from the phone, as well as test photo's. I've also "moved" some non-essential apps from internal storage to the SD Card too.

If this works then I will certainly let you know, and if it doesn't them I'm hoping there are some other solutions we could look at.

Thank you for your continued help here Alex. ☺

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 19:29:19 GMT

Of course,I am looking forward to your feedback. Hope it helped.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Sun, 10 May 2015 20:40:37 GMT

Hi again,

Sadly this is still a problem. The SD Card has again become corrupted twice since my last post here. I've tested these SD Cards in my Android tablet and both cards, the 64 GB and 128GB, had no issues at all.

Somehow, the filing system on the SD Card is being corrupted by some aspect of the phone's interacting with it.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

_alexdon_ — Sun, 10 May 2015 20:44:25 GMT

I am sorry. Maybe @Rickard can take a look.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

Rickard — Mon, 11 May 2015 07:14:21 GMT

Sorry to hear that.

I suspect you already did this but just to make sure, have you inserted the card so that it clicks into place and stays in without the cover holding it in?

If that's not the cause of the issue, could you run a full test of this card using a PC and a card reader with this software and see if it finds any issues?

If there's no issue with the card when testing it you can try to remove all partitions on it using a software like this one and then create a new primary partition on it and format it with exFAT but please note that this will delete all data on the card.

If the issue should remain after this and since you're also seeing this with other SD cards i'm afraid it sounds like a hardware issue in your phone that needs to be examined and fixed at a repair center. For more information about how to submit your phone for repair and where, please contact your local support team.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

GraMar68 — Tue, 12 May 2015 22:47:27 GMT

The problem developed since the Lollipop update. Both cards test fine. Will this issue travel upstream so that it can be properly investigated and a fix can be made available, please?

Is it possible the Lollipop update has restricted the SD Card management to 32GB? I've not tried a 32GB card, and I really don't want to throw any more money at this problem before getting answers to work with, please.

Re: Won't See/Mount SD Card

ocdex — Thu, 12 May 2016 08:06:16 GMT

Hi Ric,

This is seen with many people. The issue was not in Lollipop; though I ocassionally notices the apps moved to SD card would get disabled with a SD card symbol attached to their icons, but some how after some time or after another reboot would get recovered to working state.

The SD card not found, issue was first seen with Marshmallow upgrade.

The reboot phone in loops issue first with all the apps moved to SD cards in failed state. After factory reset, this got resolved.

But the SD card wont show up in the Storage section anymore; no hint of external memory itself.

This cannot be a hardware issue. Definitely a firmware issue.