Your SD card won’t format on your Android phone? This often means the memory card is starting to fail and can’t be used anymore. However, sometimes it’s just a software problem that can be fixed easily. This guide includes the most common solutions to fix this issue on Android.
Causes of an SD Card Not Formatting on Android
When you try to format an SD card on Android, it should warn you that all data will be erased, as shown below. If you don’t see this message, there’s a problem with the formatting process. The most common reasons behind an Android being unable to format an SD card are:
- SD card is damaged
- bad sectors due to previous overwriting
- SD card is using a file system your Android phone doesn’t recognize
- can’t write new data due to encryption or locking
Just because you can’t access an SD card doesn’t mean it’s broken. This is a common problem on other devices too. SD cards wear out faster than other types of storage. After a lot of use, they will stop being able to save data and will eventually be unreadable.
Before you throw away a perfectly good SD card, try these methods to make it usable again.
Tip: learn how to mount an SD card properly on an Android phone.
1. Unmount SD Card from Android, and Format It Again
If you can’t format an SD card on Android, try to unmount it and format it again.
Go to your phone’s Storage section, and locate the SD card. Tap the Unmount/Eject option or icon, then use a pin to gently remove the SD card from your phone, and set it aside.
After unmounting, check your SD card for any physical damage. Is it broken or torn in the middle or at the edges? You can’t fix these yourself, so you’ll need to replace the memory card right away. Spilling water accidentally on the SD card can break its tiny circuits and make it useless, but this damage is hard to see.
For an undamaged SD card, clean it with a brush or blower to remove any dust or sand. Put it back into your Android phone, and tap the Mount option when asked. Once the SD card is mounted, you can format it again.
If you can’t view the SD card, there are other methods that involve using PC formatting software.
2. Optimize Android Storage
Sometimes you can’t format an SD card on in your Android device because of bad parts or corrupted files from old data. Optimizing your Android storage can help make the formatting process smoother. This involves deleting duplicate images, zipping less used apps, and removing any APK files and apps that you can’t delete manually.
On Samsung Galaxy devices, use the Storage Booster option to remove files that can’t be deleted. Use phone software like CClearner for other Android models.
Good to know: check out this handy guide that shows how to completely delete and uninstall apps on Android.
Fixing SD card formatting on your Android can only take you so far. You may need to format it on a PC eventually – preferably a laptop with a built-in card reader, but you can also use an external card reader that works with both Mac, Linux, and Windows.
3. Use Diskpart and Disk Management in Windows
On a Windows device, you can use a command line tool called Diskpart to fix unformattable USB drives. It works well for SD cards, too, and is very easy to use. This is an excellent method when your Android device won’t format an SD card or allow you to read the data.
Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type: diskpart, then list disk. This will show all the disks connected to your Windows computer. Find your SD card listed as Disk #. Type select Disk # to choose the SD card, then type clean to erase all data from the SD card.
After erasing all data from the SD card, you need to make it usable again. Open Disk Management from the Windows search menu. On most Windows devices, it will be listed as Create and format hard disk partitions on your computer.
Find your SD card in the list, right-click it, and select Format. Follow the instructions to assign a drive letter. The SD card will be ready to be used in your Android phone.
FYI: learn how to format USB drives in Windows.
4. Use Right-Click Disk Format in Windows
On Windows devices, there’s another easy way to format SD cards. Go to This PC, then Devices and drives. Right-click on your SD card, and select Format.
In the popup window, format the card as FAT32 to wipe any data on the SD card. But if Windows is able to format it, it will be usable (albeit with a lesser amount of remaining storage).
Make sure the Quick Format checkbox is enabled. Click Start to begin the SD card formatting process. It only takes a few seconds to erase the SD card completely so that you can use it on your Android phone again.
5. Use Chkdsk Method
The Chkdsk tool in Windows is useful when your Android phone can’t read the SD card because of bad sectors or corrupted files. It’s one of the best ways to check and fix hard drives on Windows and also works well for Android phones that are unable to format SD cards.
To run this method, open Command Prompt in administrator mode, and type the following command:
CHKDSK F: /f /r
Replace the first letter, F, with the Windows drive letter of your SD card. It will be identified in the volume label when you run the CHKDSK command.
After running CHKDSK, the command will scan the SD card for errors and fix them. The time it takes depends on how much data is on the card, but it usually only takes a few minutes.
Good to know: find out the differences and similarities between SD cards and SSDs.
6. Use External SD Card Formatting Software in Windows/Mac/Linux
There are many SD card repair and formatting programs. One of the easiest to use is called SD Card Formatter. Mac, Windows, and Linux downloads are available.
After installing the software, launch it on your computer.
The SD Card Formatter software will find any SD card drives on your device. Choose the Quick format option, and click Format. It only takes a few seconds to erase the SD card to use it again on Android phones.
If your Android phone is unable to format an SD card, it’s likely already time to start looking for a replacement. However, the above steps are your best options to continue using the card. If your sole purpose is to recover your important data, use a free recovery tool like Disk Drill.
The best option to get around SD card errors is to store all your important data in the cloud. Google Photos is one of the best ways to back up all your images and videos, and you can even transfer them to a Windows computer. Also consider buying a USB OTG device to get around the headaches entirely. It can even help you access an Android phone with a broken screen.
Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.
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