Why is my SD card detected by my phone but unreadable?

[AC Question]

SD card is detected by phone but unreadable. Undetected on PC

My SD card is detected only by my phone but is unreadable. it only says to format. This card is not detected anywhere else(card reader or with phone usb cable). kindly guide me to recover the data.

 

[STARGATE]

Re: SD card is detected by phone but unreadable. Undetected on PC

Hello there, sorry you're having problems, unfortunately, it might be damaged.

If your data in the SD card is backed up somewhere else, try formatting it.

 

[Rukbat]

Re: SD card is detected by phone but unreadable. Undetected on PC

You have one possibility, and it's as slim as smoke.

Download PhotoRec and burn it to a disk (CD or DVD). Boot the PC with that disk. Put the card into a USB adapter and plug it into a USB port on the PC (not into a USB hub). See if PhotoRec recognizes the card. If it does, it'll recover everything on it - even files you forgot you deleted. (It looks for blocks of data that look like parts of files it recognizes, so even if you put a Mac-formatted card into a PC, it'll recognize the data.)

After that, whether PhotoRec recovers any data or not, format the card in the phone. If it doesn't format, physically destroy it (your data may still be on the memory chip inside) and get a new one.

(If it's a SanDisk card, first - before doing any of the above - go to their site's support page SanDisk Technical Support - Welcome! look on the right and start a chat. They're good about helping and even replacing defective cards.)