Galaxy S4: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

[KevroniCoal]

Hey guys,


So I recently-ish got a SanDisk 32GB micro SD card for my Galaxy S4. The day I got it, I noticed a problem when I copied ~400 photos from my phone into my SD card (doing so through the gallery app, selecting then dragging the pictures). What happened after I transferred the photos is that the photos seemed to become corrupt or something. The file name, size, date taken and other details are still intact. It's just that I can't view the photo anymore at all. All I can view is a little figure of a box with a lightning bolt on it with a black background (sorry for the bad explanation - see pictures). This happened to all 400 of my photos :/

Anyways, I copied all of those photos to my computer in the hopes that someday there will be a solution so I can recover the lost files (which now include additional, recent photos and videos also becoming corrupt).

Now, what has been happening is that some new photos or videos I take become corrupt right after taking them (nearly every time for videos, a little less frequently for photos). I set my camera to save to SD card in the camera settings.
Some photos stay intact and perfect after taking them, while sometimes if I take a series of photos, they all turn out bad. Some short videos may sometimes be good, but that's not very often. I had an instance where the photos I took could be viewed perfectly for a few minutes, but then they just lost their quality (were all blurry and grainy). I noticed that this occurred after I used multi screen between Google Chrome and gallery.

Another more recent issue is that some of my apps that I transferred to the SD card have become unusable. I don't know if that's an issue with the app or what. Some apps seem like they should work, but they apparently can't. A few of the apps that went bad have lost my data with them. I got the apps back after uninstalling and reinstalling them. Now I currently have all my apps back on my phone, not the card.

When I first inserted the card for the first time, the phone read it just fine. I didn't format it the first time, but after the loss of my photos, I went into the settings and went through the formatting process, clearing all the data on the card.


Has anyone had this problem of their micro SD card corrupting their picture, video and app files to render them useless? The card is legit, I'm sure. I don't know if it's the card's or the phone's fault. My dad (has the same phone) had the same problem with his photos and card. I'm not sure about his apps or videos, or how it may be now. Also, would anyone know by any chance how I could recover my "broken" photos?

Hopefully someone can help! I can't keep living with this problem of losing my pictures and data when I need or want them! If I have to keep everything on my phone, then I don't see a reason why I would need the card in the first place (although I need the space!).

Finally, here's a couple of screen shots (on Dropbox, since I have to resort to uploading and saving all my photos I take onto there just so I don't lose them... *sigh*) of what I see when I try to view a corrupt photo.

http://db.tt/TbBqQCnd
http://db.tt/kKhsduBf


Thank you so much for any help in advanced!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Dave Hyland]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Funnily enough, I have the same issue - it's not every pic and it's not every time...
I've reset the phone to save DCIM photos in the phone memory - I then transfer them at the first opportunity to my laptop. Only then do I try to put them onto the SD card: if I do it on the phone using either COPY or MOVE functions, some, many, all or none get corrupted (hence the download onto laptop for safekeeping).
I'll keep an eye on this thread, coz I'm starting to get a little bit hacked-off with this phone... :-(

I have a major issue with music on the SD card as well - see separate thread.

 

[KevroniCoal]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Funnily enough, I have the same issue - it's not every pic and it's not every time...
I've reset the phone to save DCIM photos in the phone memory - I then transfer them at the first opportunity to my laptop. Only then do I try to put them onto the SD card: if I do it on the phone using either COPY or MOVE functions, some, many, all or none get corrupted (hence the download onto laptop for safekeeping).
I'll keep an eye on this thread, coz I'm starting to get a little bit hacked-off with this phone... :-(

I have a major issue with music on the SD card as well - see separate thread.

Sorry to hear you got the same problems!
But I'll be sure to try out what you're doing! To avoid most of my files becoming corrupt, I've been using Dropbox and Google+ to upload my pictures and videos as I take them. This works most of the time; but on a couple of occasions, some photos got corrupt before the uploading finished, so some of the files turn out corrupt online. A downside to uploading is that sharing the photos is hard (using links) and that the pictures seem to lose their quality (for Dropbox at least - I haven't yet checked up on the files on Google+). So doing what you're doing is probably the better method of saving files for now.

I love the S4 in so many ways - it's a spectacular phone and all. But this SD card problem is just getting annoying, which a problem like this shouldn't be happening on such a high end, new (not necessarily new now, but still haha) phone...

Oh, and I posted a thread a while ago about this problem when I first experienced it. Someone mentioned their music files also becoming corrupt. I myself haven't had this problem since I never sent music to my SD card. [Which has me ask: do you know if other files (like pdfs, .docx, etc) also become corrupt? I never tried these file types either]

[Is there a way to link that thread to this one to see it here (and vice versa)?]

Thank you for your reply! I'm hoping we can find a solution to this issue.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[STSVA]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Sorry to hear you got the same problems!
But I'll be sure to try out what you're doing! To avoid most of my files becoming corrupt, I've been using Dropbox and Google+ to upload my pictures and videos as I take them. This works most of the time; but on a couple of occasions, some photos got corrupt before the uploading finished, so some of the files turn out corrupt online. A downside to uploading is that sharing the photos is hard (using links) and that the pictures seem to lose their quality (for Dropbox at least - I haven't yet checked up on the files on Google+). So doing what you're doing is probably the better method of saving files for now.

I love the S4 in so many ways - it's a spectacular phone and all. But this SD card problem is just getting annoying, which a problem like this shouldn't be happening on such a high end, new (not necessarily new now, but still haha) phone...

Oh, and I posted a thread a while ago about this problem when I first experienced it. Someone mentioned their music files also becoming corrupt. I myself haven't had this problem since I never sent music to my SD card. [Which has me ask: do you know if other files (like pdfs, .docx, etc) also become corrupt? I never tried these file types either]

[Is there a way to link that thread to this one to see it here (and vice versa)?]

Thank you for your reply! I'm hoping we can find a solution to this issue.

Posted via Android Central App

I'd suspect that, if the card is at fault, any type of file could be corrupted. With regard to your other thread, open it in a separate tab or browser window, copy the URL, and post in this thread, then do the same for this thread's URL in that thread.

 

[srkmagnus]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

This is not the first time I've heard of this issue. It seems to only be happening with the external sd card, right? If so, return it (if possible) and get another. I'll keep this thread subscribed and see if anything comes up that would be of help for you.

 

[moosc]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Another reason why Google did away with SD cards. If you search through out the forum you'll see Samsung has a history of corrupting SD cards. Not much you can but back up photos to the cloud using Google or dropbox both are good services. Also remember not every app can b moved to SD card. Its up to developer to dust of the cobwebs as and add that feature since googled stopped it a year ago.

Sent from Bad Azz VZW LG G2 Cyan Tapatalk

 

[conanheath]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Get a Samsung microsd. Had all sorts of problems with sandisk in my s4. Bought a Samsung card and haven't had any problems since.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[KevroniCoal]

I'd suspect that, if the card is at fault, any type of file could be corrupted. With regard to your other thread, open it in a separate tab or browser window, copy the URL, and post in this thread, then do the same for this thread's URL in that thread.

Thanks for the help! I'll try posting the links when possible if it would interest anyone

But after reading the other newer comments, it may be possible that the SD IS the problem... perhaps I can try out some pdfs and whatnot to see if they remain stable! Once I do that and see how it goes, I'll let you guys know

This is not the first time I've heard of this issue. It seems to only be happening with the external sd card, right? If so, return it (if possible) and get another. I'll keep this thread subscribed and see if anything comes up that would be of help for you.

Thanks for the help (of subscribing and stuff haha)!
But sadly I can't really return this SD card. If I do end up not using it for my phone, then maybe I can use it for my tablet or a camera? [Which makes me wonder if this problem has been happening to other devices besides the S4 as well?] Then maybe I can get another or just not bother with a card for a little bit.

I should ask my sister if she's been having this problem also. I don't know what types of file she saves to her SD card. (I can't believe I hadn't asked her yet when she's in such easy reach! Hahaha)

Thanks again!

Another reason why Google did away with SD cards. If you search through out the forum you'll see Samsung has a history of corrupting SD cards. Not much you can but back up photos to the cloud using Google or dropbox both are good services. Also remember not every app can b moved to SD card. Its up to developer to dust of the cobwebs as and add that feature since googled stopped it a year ago.

Sent from Bad Azz VZW LG G2 Cyan Tapatalk

Yea, I've kinda noticed the SD card problems Samsung has had lately! I always like the thought of having expandable/removable storage; but if problems like this persist, then something may have to change... (although it's almost always super easy sharing files and stuff through removable storage!)

But I do recall that many apps cannot be stored on SD cards without having problems.. However, when I moved them over in the settings app, I (foolishly) just moved all the apps that were visible in the "On SD Card" tab. I thought that perhaps that tab would 'filter' out the apps that weren't capable of being moved to the card, so that all of the apps that are shown in the SD tab would be transferred just fine. Now I'm guessing that this tab doesn't do that? Haha

Thanks for the reply!

Get a Samsung microsd. Had all sorts of problems with sandisk in my s4. Bought a Samsung card and haven't had any problems since.

Posted via Android Central App

Maybe I'll try that out if nothing easy works! I know they're kinda expensive though, which may deter me from getting one for awhile... But if I get one and it helps, then it may be worth the expense!

If anyone is interested, here is my older thread of this SD card problem. It is still kind of "active" (if that's the right wording haha), so feel free to reply to that thread as well (although replying to this one might be more convenient )!

http://forums.androidcentral.com/sp...312565-samsung-galaxy-s4-sd-card-problem.html

Posted via Android Central App

 

[GS4Bob]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Thanks for the help (of subscribing and stuff haha)!
But sadly I can't really return this SD card. If I do end up not using it for my phone, then maybe I can use it for my tablet or a camera? [Which makes me wonder if this problem has been happening to other devices besides the S4 as well?] Then maybe I can get another or just not bother with a card for a little bit.

I should ask my sister if she's been having this problem also. I don't know what types of file she saves to her SD card. (I can't believe I hadn't asked her yet when she's in such easy reach! Hahaha)

Thanks again!

Posted via Android Central App

If you are having issues with your Sandisk sdcard contact Sandisk for a return and they will replace it.
Late last year some of the Sandisk cards had issues due to a manufacturing problem...I got one and it was replaced.

 

[srkmagnus]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

If you are having issues with your Sandisk sdcard contact Sandisk for a return and they will replace it.
Late last year some of the Sandisk cards had issues due to a manufacturing problem...I got one and it was replaced.

Great suggestion. Hopefully Sandisk can come through and help the OP out with swapping the sd card for a new one.

 

[bent_karma]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

I posted a thread just like this. The problem is with the SD card and the phone. I've tried 4 different SD cards different brands, different makes and different storage. I've formatted and only saved images but same corrupt files pop up when trying to show a pic to someone. Quite annoying, so I just save them to the phones storage. What I believe happens is when you put the SD to work big jobs like transferring files from phone toss card you gotta do 5 at a time, reduce the work load, also putting apps on SD cards is pointless because every time you power cycle its doing a job to bring you that app.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[KevroniCoal]

If you are having issues with your Sandisk sdcard contact Sandisk for a return and they will replace it.
Late last year some of the Sandisk cards had issues due to a manufacturing problem...I got one and it was replaced.

I'll be sure to try this out when I can! (Hopefully it can work for me, since the card is relatively new!). Oh gosh though, I think I threw away the papers and stuff (I got the card off of Amazon [and sold by Amazon])! I may look around to see if it's possible I still have the packaging or papers; although I'm not sure how likely that may be...

For returns/refunds/replacements, do you need all that stuff? Or no?

Thank you for the suggestion!

I posted a thread just like this. The problem is with the SD card and the phone. I've tried 4 different SD cards different brands, different makes and different storage. I've formatted and only saved images but same corrupt files pop up when trying to show a pic to someone. Quite annoying, so I just save them to the phones storage. What I believe happens is when you put the SD to work big jobs like transferring files from phone toss card you gotta do 5 at a time, reduce the work load, also putting apps on SD cards is pointless because every time you power cycle its doing a job to bring you that app.

Posted via Android Central App

I did a real quick test a few days ago by copying some picture files onto my card using the same method as before (using the Gallery app, which the files go into the SD card's camera folder). I actually noticed what you mentioned!
When I copied one or 2 files, they tended to stay stable and able to work!
I then tried 10 files; which was when the pictures became corrupt. I didn't do a very detailed experiment, so when I get time, I'll be sure to play around more and see if there's a "sweet spot" or anything!

I also copied a single pdf onto the card last night. I haven't checked on it yet, but after I do, I'll also see if they become corrupt after a certain amount of files are copied.

Thanks for the information!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Haalcyon]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

We've seen a lot of these types of threads with the S4 and SanDisk Ultra micro SD cards. Cards getting corrupted and failing, a lot of times after the phone has gotten very warm. I am wondering if the cards are getting overvolted or if the method in which the S4 likes to write is incompatible with that card.

Now the question I have is whether or not the issue is happening with other, non SanDisk Ultra cards.

from my Sony Xperia Tablet Z or XTZ or "Ecstasy"

 

[STSVA]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

It's a weird issue for sure. I have a new Sandisk Ultra 64GB card and USB transferred 31GB of music to it a couple of days ago. So far, no problems. I suspect something is triggering the issues for people who have them, but the trigger is certainly not obvious.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[STARGATE]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

I haven't experienced this issue, I've used a 8GB and 16GB sandisk cards with my GS4.

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[KevroniCoal]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Just for possible clarification, my SD is a SanDisk 32 GB Class 4.

But it's also happening on the Ultras? I was considering getting one of those instead but decided against it due to the extra expense.

My dad has/had a SD card as well. I'm not sure how many of the same problems he had had as me - but I know he had the corrupt photos problem with his SD card. I'd have to ask him what SD card he has (although I think it may actually be one of those scam ones - where it's listed as 64 GB, but really is 4-8!).

It's worth to note that his phone got extremely hot and had terrible battery life for some reason. It suddenly got fixed (I'm not sure how since he takes pretty bad care of it and I don't see the phone myself very often...).
Anyways, I noticed that the area of the phone that got real hot was around the SD card. You guys think this might be a problem or is the heat kinda normal? I know if the phone/battery gets hot, the battery would run out quicker. So would the two problems possibly be linked? (Btw my phone doesn't get very hot unless I heavily use it for awhile).

Thanks for all the input!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[charlibob]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

This is not the first time I've heard of this issue. It seems to only be happening with the external sd card, right? If so, return it (if possible) and get another. I'll keep this thread subscribed and see if anything comes up that would be of help for you.

Not only happening with the external card with me. I have had it happen and not tried to store or route any pictures to the external.

 

[STSVA]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Just for possible clarification, my SD is a SanDisk 32 GB Class 4.

But it's also happening on the Ultras? I was considering getting one of those instead but decided against it due to the extra expense.

My dad has/had a SD card as well. I'm not sure how many of the same problems he had had as me - but I know he had the corrupt photos problem with his SD card. I'd have to ask him what SD card he has (although I think it may actually be one of those scam ones - where it's listed as 64 GB, but really is 4-8!).

It's worth to note that his phone got extremely hot and had terrible battery life for some reason. It suddenly got fixed (I'm not sure how since he takes pretty bad care of it and I don't see the phone myself very often...).
Anyways, I noticed that the area of the phone that got real hot was around the SD card. You guys think this might be a problem or is the heat kinda normal? I know if the phone/battery gets hot, the battery would run out quicker. So would the two problems possibly be linked? (Btw my phone doesn't get very hot unless I heavily use it for awhile).

Thanks for all the input!

Posted via Android Central App

According to a lot of people's reports the card corruption problem seems to occur in conjunction with the phone getting unusually hot. Perhaps the heat, which may be caused by something unrelated to the card, such as battery issues, is damaging cards. Sandisk, however, claims that its cards can be safely exposed to temperatures up to 185 degrees f./85 degrees c. - http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4687/~/sandisk-cards-environmental-tolerance-%28waterproof,-temperature,-magnetic-and - so high temperature alone probably shouldn't be causing the corruption issue.

 

[SHO_ONE#IM]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Hey guys,


So I recently-ish got a SanDisk 32GB micro SD card for my Galaxy S4. The day I got it, I noticed a problem when I copied ~400 photos from my phone into my SD card (doing so through the gallery app, selecting then dragging the pictures). What happened after I transferred the photos is that the photos seemed to become corrupt or something. The file name, size, date taken and other details are still intact. It's just that I can't view the photo anymore at all. All I can view is a little figure of a box with a lightning bolt on it with a black background (sorry for the bad explanation - see pictures). This happened to all 400 of my photos :/

Anyways, I copied all of those photos to my computer in the hopes that someday there will be a solution so I can recover the lost files (which now include additional, recent photos and videos also becoming corrupt).

Now, what has been happening is that some new photos or videos I take become corrupt right after taking them (nearly every time for videos, a little less frequently for photos). I set my camera to save to SD card in the camera settings.
Some photos stay intact and perfect after taking them, while sometimes if I take a series of photos, they all turn out bad. Some short videos may sometimes be good, but that's not very often. I had an instance where the photos I took could be viewed perfectly for a few minutes, but then they just lost their quality (were all blurry and grainy). I noticed that this occurred after I used multi screen between Google Chrome and gallery.

Another more recent issue is that some of my apps that I transferred to the SD card have become unusable. I don't know if that's an issue with the app or what. Some apps seem like they should work, but they apparently can't. A few of the apps that went bad have lost my data with them. I got the apps back after uninstalling and reinstalling them. Now I currently have all my apps back on my phone, not the card.

When I first inserted the card for the first time, the phone read it just fine. I didn't format it the first time, but after the loss of my photos, I went into the settings and went through the formatting process, clearing all the data on the card.


Has anyone had this problem of their micro SD card corrupting their picture, video and app files to render them useless? The card is legit, I'm sure. I don't know if it's the card's or the phone's fault. My dad (has the same phone) had the same problem with his photos and card. I'm not sure about his apps or videos, or how it may be now. Also, would anyone know by any chance how I could recover my "broken" photos?

Hopefully someone can help! I can't keep living with this problem of losing my pictures and data when I need or want them! If I have to keep everything on my phone, then I don't see a reason why I would need the card in the first place (although I need the space!).

Finally, here's a couple of screen shots (on Dropbox, since I have to resort to uploading and saving all my photos I take onto there just so I don't lose them... *sigh*) of what I see when I try to view a corrupt photo.

http://db.tt/TbBqQCnd
http://db.tt/kKhsduBf


Thank you so much for any help in advanced!

Posted via Android Central App

You'll forgive me for not reading the entire post, but if you haven't already fixed the issue know that it is due to the fact that you used a Sandisk SD card.... I had the same issue, called Sandisk and had them send me another card and that card took a crap too. My buddy had a Sandisk he took from his Note 1 and tried to use it in his S4 and it too crapped out. I ended up going with a Samsung SD Card and so far so good! Good Luck!

 

[lafountain]

Re: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

While not on an S4, my S3 had the same issue a couple of months ago. Was on vacation and while taking pictures, it told me my sd card had been dismounted. Tried another card and it was fine, ended up having to use a recovery program to save my pictures that were on the sd card. After recovering files, formatted card and it has worked fine since.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using AC Forums mobile app