Question Android Encrypted SD card does not get recognized.

[wishdog]

HELP!
Randomly my nearly new 128gb micro sd suddenly stopped working on my Tablet. The micro sd card is in perfect condition the only problem maybe being that it was stored beside some AA batteries. I have a tablet model SS-T550. The files I have on this micro sd card are very precious to me. I very much wish I had made a copy but it's to late. Is this fixable? How? Please help
Thank you.

 

[SpookDroid]

Unfortunately no way to know at this point other than trying it on different devices. SD cards are VERY unreliable (which is partially why devices moved away from them, especially when it comes to high data transfers) and tend to fail 'out of nowhere' (trust me, I've had my share of lost vacation photos because of them). If hardware isn't the issue but, as stated in the title, encryption is, then that card, unless re-formatted, will ONLY be readable by the device that encrypted it and using the same method it was encrypted in (i.e. stock options VS a specific app). I wish there was a better way to answer this or have happier news

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Sorry to hear about this. SpookDroid is spot-on -- one should never rely on SD cards as the sole storage for important data. Several years ago, I chatted with an acquaintance in the chip industry, and he basically told me that all SD cards use bottom-of-the-barrel silicon. Even the best quality card will fail at some point, since they can only handle a finite number of read-write operations.

 

[wishdog]

Unfortunately no way to know at this point other than trying it on different devices. SD cards are VERY unreliable (which is partially why devices moved away from them, especially when it comes to high data transfers) and tend to fail 'out of nowhere' (trust me, I've had my share of lost vacation photos because of them). If hardware isn't the issue but, as stated in the title, encryption is, then that card, unless re-formatted, will ONLY be readable by the device that encrypted it and using the same method it was encrypted in (i.e. stock options VS a specific app). I wish there was a better way to answer this or have happier news

Honestly I can't remember if I had last encrypted the micro sd or not, I'm 60% sure I did so I am wondering. If I run command in my PC and it is encrypted what message will I get? Basically I want to know if the micro SD card is even showing up on my PC when I run a command. If it wasn't encrypted the last ime I used it how can I find out?

Thank you for your help

 

[joeldf]

Honestly I can't remember if I had last encrypted the micro sd or not, I'm 60% sure I did so I am wondering. If I run command in my PC and it is encrypted what message will I get? Basically I want to know if the micro SD card is even showing up on my PC when I run a command. If it wasn't encrypted the last ime I used it how can I find out?

Thank you for your help

There's no command to run. Just insert the SD card into the slot on a PC, and in the file explorer, if it shows up as a removable USB drive, then it's not encrypted.

If it says "unreadable" and gives the option to format it, then it's encrypted.

Simple as that.

 

[wishdog]

There's no command to run. Just insert the SD card into the slot on a PC, and in the file explorer, if it shows up as a removable USB drive, then it's not encrypted.

If it says "unreadable" and gives the option to format it, then it's encrypted.

Simple as that.

Yes but what if it is corrupted and does not show up?

 

[joeldf]

Yes but what if it is corrupted and does not show up?

Same difference really.

At least an encrypted card can be reformatted and reused. But there's no way to recover what was on it.

A corrupted card will not format, or it will error out during formatting, so you might as well toss it.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Yes but what if it is corrupted and does not show up?

If it's corrupted and won't show up, then it won't show up.

 

[B. Diddy]

You mention this is nearly new -- where did you buy it, and what brand is it? It occurred to me that this could be a counterfeit card, which means the actual storage is much less than how much it reports to the system. Counterfeit cards are unfortunately fairly common, especially from random online sellers (as opposed to well-established stores like Best Buy). If more data is saved to the card than it can handle, that can cause data corruption or loss.

Here are some ways to tell if a card is counterfeit: How to Spot a Fake MicroSD Card and Avoid Being Scammed

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

You mention this is nearly new -- where did you buy it, and what brand is it? It occurred to me that this could be a counterfeit card, which means the actual storage is much less than how much it reports to the system. Counterfeit cards are unfortunately fairly common, especially from random online sellers (as opposed to well-established stores like Best Buy). If more data is saved to the card than it can handle, that can cause data corruption or loss.

Here are some ways to tell if a card is counterfeit: How to Spot a Fake MicroSD Card and Avoid Being Scammed

That's always possible. But even "good" ones are made with the lowest grade edge of the wafer silicon manufacturers can get their hands on. Honestly, the big surprise is that any MicroSD cards outlast their warranty by more than a couple of months.

 

[B. Diddy]

That's always possible. But even "good" ones are made with the lowest grade edge of the wafer silicon manufacturers can get their hands on. Honestly, the big surprise is that any MicroSD cards outlast their warranty by more than a couple of months.

Very true -- but the fact that it's "nearly new" and is labeled as fairly large (i.e., >32 GB) made me think of this as a possible cause of failure so soon.