Table of Content
    Photo Recovery

    Easy Ways to Fix “SD card won’t Mount or Recognized” Error


    Table of Content

      Summary: It's very unsettling when your device doesn't mount or recognize the SD Card. This post shows how you can fix the 'SD card unrecognized' error. Learn how you can restore your data with the help of Stellar Photo Recovery.

      Your SD card stores lots of valuable information such as photos, videos, audio, or even a series of your favorite sitcom, etc. As soon as you insert the SD card into your android phone, you are unable to access the content stored on it. Why? Because the android phone does not recognize or the SD card won’t Mount.

      To substantiate that your SD card is working fine, you reboot your android phone, keep ejecting and inserting the SD card over and over again, but to no avail. You even connect the SD card to your laptop, and yet it is unable to read the card either.

      It might seem that the SD card is damaged but, this can be due to hardware issues as well. Therefore, check whether the card slot/ USB port/card reader is working fine. It could be that:

      • The card slot is damaged
      • The USB cable is broken; or
      • The USB port is not working

      Even if the SD card cannot be read using another handset or laptop, then your SD card might be faulty, and you need to replace it with a new one. Problem solved! Right? Actually, the dilemma is how to recover data stored on the SD card.

      How to Fix “SD card won’t Mount or Recognized” error on Android Phone?

      Watch this video to fix corrupted SD card:

      When you insert the SD card into your android phone, then the phone automatically mounts it; however, your phone might be unable to recognize the SD card. Here’s how you can fix the SD card won’t mount errors on Android Phones.

      Fix 1: Mount your SD card on your Device

      You can format your SD card and make it accessible. Follow the below-mentioned steps:

      1. Go to the Settings menu on your android phone
      2. Click Storage and then select Format SD card < Mount SD card
      Stellar

      This step may resolve any software issues, and you might be able to access the SD card, but there is a probability that you may lose your data as well.

      Fix 2: Disk Management Utility:

      Use the Disk Management utility to access the SD card on your system. It is used to manage the drives installed in your system like flash drives, internal and external hard drives, and is used to format and partition drives, assign drive letters, delete partitions, change a driver’s file system, etc.

      Your SD card might work if in case you choose to format or you choose to change the drive letter associated with it.

      1. Connect the SD card to your system.
      2. Open Disk Management utility and locate your SD card.
      3. Right-click on the card and select Format. However, to assign a new drive letter, select “change drive letters and paths” and assign a new drive letter to your concerned SD card.
      Stellar
      1. Re-Insert the SD card into your phone, and it will work.

      Note: After formatting, all data on the partition will be lost.

      Fix 3: Perform Chkdsk:

      1. Connect your SD card to your system.
      2. Open My Computer/This PC and note the driver letter assigned to the SD card.
      3. Now, run Command Prompt and type in the following command line:

      Chkdsk [SD card drive letter]: /r

      This will check for any errors associated with the SD card and fix it.

      Stellar

      Few steps mentioned above format the SD card, however, you may lose the data stored on it. If the data is not that important, you can proceed with these steps; else, leveraging a reliable SD card recovery software would serve the purpose

      Stellar Photo Recovery is comprehensive recovery software that assists you in recovering lost photos, videos, and music files.

      Photo Recovery
      photo recovery mac

      Some of its salient features are as follows:

      • Recovers photos, videos, audios from damaged, corrupt, or inaccessible storage media.
      • Recovers lost or deleted HD-MOV, MXF movies, and Adobe EPS files.
      • Capable of recovering from internal and external media, USB sticks, Memory cards, etc.
      • You can create a sector-by-sector image of the selected media.
      • Retrieve deleted photos with their original date, camera model/name, and file name.

      Recovery Process with Stellar Photo Recovery:

      • Connect your SD to your system and run Stellar Photo Recovery software.
      •  Select the location from where you want to recover. Click Scan to start the scanning process.
      Stellar Photo Recovery Standard
      • A dialog box of ‘Scanning Completed Successfully!’ displays the scan results – number of files found and size of the data. In the left-pane of the main window, all the recovered data is listed. You can preview them in the right pane. Note: If you do not see the required photos in the list, opt for the Deep Scan option at the bottom.
      Stellar Photo Recovery- Scan
      • Click Recover. You can also choose to recover only the selective photos – select photos that you need, right-click, and click Recover.
      Stellar Photo Preview Screen
      • In the dialog box, specify the location to save the image files. Click Save. All the photos get saved at the specified location Click Save. All the photos get saved at the specified location.
      Stellar Photo Save screen

      Important: You can select the specific file format and specific region (starting and ending sector) for the scanning process to be faster.

      The Process is complete!

      Conclusion

      To prevent SD card errors, avoid using a single SD card on multiple devices and always follow the prescribed way of insertion and ejection. On top of that, have a backup of your files so that in such circumstances, you can restore them quickly even if you lose your data or face “SD card won’t Mount or Recognized” Error

      Was this article helpful?

      No NO

      About The Author

      Sumona Chatterjee linkdin

      Sumona is a tech blogger, avid photographer, & technogeek with vast experience in writing about media file recovery tips and tutorials. She has over 10 years of experience in media file recovery/media file repair technology. She is passionate about Photography, Creative Designing, Music, and Exploring lesser-known destinations.

      14 comments

        1. Hi Lionel,
          I would suggest trying all the above methods to fix the issue, the SD card is not detectable.

      1. I had also upgraded my 16 GB micro SD card to a 32 GB Samsung one. Unfortunately, the SD card won’t recognized in my Phone. I restarted my phone and checked but still without success. I also checked SD card to PC, another phone still have the same issue. What should I do next to view my data on unrecognized SD card? Please help if any suggestion!

        1. Hi Ben, If your SD card won’t recognize your PC or Phone, it would be hard to recover your data. In such case, you can contact the manufacturer of the SD card or send the card to our data recovery service lab. Thanks!

      2. I had an issue when I insert a SD card into the USB port of my laptop fails to respond to it, not appear or recognize it. Thanks for given the ways to fix this issue. I really appreciate it!

      3. My micro SD card is not detected my PC when I connected through a USB. I found your blog on search, now finally I figured out the dang thing on my computer. Thanks a lot!

      4. I had a same issue with my android phone that won’t mount or read an SD card. I have tried many ways to fix it but all the result are same. I also used making the hidden files on it visible & then formatting the card & still won’t mount them. Any help would be appreciated.

        1. Please try the SD card to another phone, if SD card not visible please contact the manufacturer or replaced the cards.

      5. My PC hasn’t recognized the SD card. When I connect through USB card reader SD card doesn’t appear in Windows. Thanks for providing the right solutions to fix this error!

        1. Hey Monica, Thanks for providing your feedback. Any concern related to SD card corrupted or Windows files recovery. We always provide the right solutions!

      6. Due to nature of my job, I need to very frequently use SD Card on multiple devices. Sometimes it was inserted wrongly in a hurry. May be this is a cause of my data loss in various previous occasions (not only once, but twice). A good lesson to learn from this post.

      Leave a comment

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Image Captcha
      Refresh Image Captcha

      Enter Captcha Here :

      Related Posts

      WHY STELLAR® IS GLOBAL LEADER

      Why Choose Stellar?

      • 0M+

        Customers

      • 0+

        Years of Excellence

      • 0+

        R&D Engineers

      • 0+

        Countries

      • 0+

        PARTNERS

      • 0+

        Awards Received