Corrupted images

[Drguyks]

• Type of device; Galaxy s20 Fe 5G

• Whether a carrier/network device, or SIM-free; AT&T

• Whether bought new or used; NEW

• Whether the device may have incurred damage, such as from impact or water; None

• What version of the OS; 13

• Whether the trouble is on Wifi, mobile data, or both; both

• The source from which any troublesome apps or software were downloaded; Camera, but also anytime I download an image.

• What you’ve already tried to fix the problem; nothing, I just delete them when I come across them.

• What message appears if you try to do something, but are unable; none

• What you were doing before the problem occurred; does not apply

• Whether you are using an SD card; why yes yes I am

• Whether the device software has been modified or customised; whatever is available in the Samsung store.

• Whether there were recent repairs; none


This has been going on for quite sometime and I'm curious to know if others have this problem. I keep having corrupted images pop up on my phone. Sometimes it happens after taking a pic with my camera. Other times it happens after saving images from Facebook or from my Samsung web browser. I usually don't see them immediately until several hours later but it can happen immediately after downloading an image. Any idea as to what might be causing this? I haven't made any repairs recently and the last repair happened about a year ago. I went in to get help with the GPS and they didn’t find anything wrong with the GPS. It had started before I did the "repair" so I know it can't be that. I have included screenshots as examples and have blocked my selfies with purple heart stickers. The corrupted images are the gray squares.

 

[SpookDroid]

Are these stored in the SD Card? If so, it's very likely the card is failing. If these are 'temporary' files (i.e. images from browsing, app temp downloads, etc.) then it's an app causing them.

 

[B. Diddy]

I agree, it is most likely an SD card issue. Are you able to open and view those images (in other words, is it only the thumbnail that's corrupted)?

 

[Drguyks]

I agree, it is most likely an SD card issue. Are you able to open and view those images (in other words, is it only the thumbnail that's corrupted)?

I thought that at one point too, but the Facebook saves to the phone & the camera saves to the SD card.

 

[B. Diddy]

So is it just the thumbnails that are corrupted, or are you not able to open those images at all?

 

[Drguyks]

So is it just the thumbnails that are corrupted, or are you not able to open those images at all?

If I click on them they stay corrupted. It's almost like the phone is spawning corrupted images alongside the originals. I've included a copy of the data path of one of the images to help illustrate this idea.

 

[B. Diddy]

Just as a test, try unmounting the SD card and remove it temporarily, then see if the downloads still look corrupt. (I know the downloads are going to Internal Storage, but wonky cards can sometimes cause weird things to happen, so this is an easy thing to test.)

 

[SpookDroid]

What's the file size for an image that isn't showing? Also try using a file manager (not the Gallery) and opening that specific file and filepath. Does it open that way? If you share that file with a computer or another device, does it show as corrupt on the other device?

 

[mustang7757]

I have had that happen not sure which of my Samsung devices but I think gallery update eventually fixed it but I also have Google photos back up enabled so I don't lose them if this does happen.

 

[Drguyks]

What's the file size for an image that isn't showing? Also try using a file manager (not the Gallery) and opening that specific file and filepath. Does it open that way? If you share that file with a computer or another device, does it show as corrupt on the other device?

I don't have a share option. I did include a screenshot of what I see in the file manager.

 

[Drguyks]

Just as a test, try unmounting the SD card and remove it temporarily, then see if the downloads still look corrupt. (I know the downloads are going to Internal Storage, but wonky cards can sometimes cause weird things to happen, so this is an easy thing to test.)

I've unmounted and removed the SD card. I'll let you know in 3 days how that goes.

 

[SpookDroid]

I don't have a share option. I did include a screenshot of what I see in the file manager.View attachment 361710View attachment 361711

Those definitely are removed files/completely corrupted. So a few things I can think of may be happening:
1) Your internal storage was damaged during the repair (but if this was the case, apps are likely to fail and you'd see the issue with other types of files, not just images).
2) The pictures are temporary files and the apps generating them are just cleaning out their cache (if you don't specifically download the picture from Facebook, for instance).
3) Any cloud back up app you may be running that could be deleting backed up/unused files to free up space on your device?
4) Very long shot, but if you run the phone in Safe Mode, do any of the 'missing' pictures show up again?
5) Try saving files to a different folder and test out for a couple days. Do any of those pictures exhibit the same issue?

 

[Drguyks]

Those definitely are removed files/completely corrupted. So a few things I can think of may be happening:
1) Your internal storage was damaged during the repair (but if this was the case, apps are likely to fail and you'd see the issue with other types of files, not just images).
2) The pictures are temporary files and the apps generating them are just cleaning out their cache (if you don't specifically download the picture from Facebook, for instance).
3) Any cloud back up app you may be running that could be deleting backed up/unused files to free up space on your device?
4) Very long shot, but if you run the phone in Safe Mode, do any of the 'missing' pictures show up again?
5) Try saving files to a different folder and test out for a couple days. Do any of those pictures exhibit the same issue?

1. That maybe true
2. I'm thinking that might be the case now
3. I haven't enabled that, but I won't rule it out.
4. I don't know how to do that, but I'll try that after response 5.
5. I'm following B. Diddy's advice (hence response 2). Like I said, I should know more after 3 days. They usually occur after 24 - 48 hours of usage.

 

[Drguyks]

Update: we can now officially eliminate the SD card as being the source of the problem.

 

[B. Diddy]

Do you happen to have any apps that periodically "clean" the storage? If so, that might automatically delete files in places like the Downloads directory.

 

[mustang7757]

I had same issue and my device doesn't have an SD card , it was an update that fixed it not sure if Android version or gallery but have Google photos back up on

 

[Drguyks]

Do you happen to have any apps that periodically "clean" the storage? If so, that might automatically delete files in places like the Downloads directory.

Nope

 

[Drguyks]

I had same issue and my device doesn't have an SD card , it was an update that fixed it not sure if Android version or gallery but have Google photos back up on

No new updates yet. Should I uninstall & reinstall the app then?

 

[mustang7757]

No new updates yet. Should I uninstall & reinstall the app then?

You can't uninstall the stock Samsung gallery but you can try a newer version if it allows you from here

Download Samsung Gallery APKs for Android - APKMirror

Download Samsung Gallery APKs for Android - APKMirror Free and safe Android APK downloads

www.apkmirror.com

 

[Drguyks]

You can't uninstall the stock Samsung gallery but you can try a newer version if it allows you from here

Download Samsung Gallery APKs for Android - APKMirror

Download Samsung Gallery APKs for Android - APKMirror Free and safe Android APK downloads

www.apkmirror.com

I thought it worked like Google play store in that you could remove the updates & reinstall them.

Update: Got an app not installed error when trying to do the update.