How to Repair Damaged SD Card in Android

Tracy King updated on Sep 19, 2024 to Computer Instruction | How-to Articles

SD card gets corrupted and cannot work in Android? This page offers step-by-step tutorials to show you how to repair damaged SD card in Android with or without an SD card repair tool.

Quick Access to Repair Damaged SD Card in Android

If you are in a hurry, follow the quick steps to repair damaged SD card in android:

  1. 1. Make a backup of all data on the card.
  2. 2. Format the card using a computer.
  3. 3. Reinsert the card into the Android device.
  4. 4. If the card is not detected, format the card on the Android device.
  5. 5. Insert the card into the computer and restore the data.
  6. 6. Insert the card into the Android device.

Other five quick fixes in this video you can have a try:

How to Repair Damaged SD Card in Android

Most users insert a micro SD card in their Android phones to save photos, videos, documents, and other files when they have limited internal memory. But for various reasons, the SD card is prone to be corrupted and then cannot be recognized or mounted on the Android phone. It will sometimes also report error messages like "SD card is blank or has unsupported file system" or "damaged sd card, try reformatting it"

When the corrupted SD card error occurs unexpectedly and prevents you from reading or writing to the device, how do you repair a corrupted SD card on Android to make it work properly? Here, we will explain how to fix damaged Android SD card with or without an SD card repair tool in several step-by-step solutions, then, you can successfully know how to format corrupted SD card.

First: How to Recover Data from Damaged SD Card in Android  

When an SD card is corrupted, the stored files are often invisible and inaccessible. To keep data safe, we highly recommend you first recover important data before you take methods to repair damaged SD card in Android.  

How to recover data from damaged SD card in Android? You can use a professional data recovery tool for help - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. This experienced data recovery software can bring all lost photos and other media files from a corrupted SD card.

Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover corrupted SD card in only 3 steps. Also, stop using your SD card to increase the data recovery rate.

Step 1. Select the SD card to scan

  • Download and install EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your Windows PC.
  • Use the proper way to connect your SanDisk/Lexar/Transcend SD card to the computer. 
  • Open EaseUS SD card recovery software and choose SD Card Recovery on the left panel. All connected drives will display here. Select your SD card and click "Scan for lost data".

Step 2. Check for scan results

  • Wait for the scanning process to complete.
  • Specify one or several file types to show up, like Pictures or Videos.
  • Click "Preview" to check if they are the wanted files.

Step 3. Recover SD card data

  • Preview the recovered files and click "Recover".
  • Choose a different location to save the recovered files instead of the original SD card.

How to Repair Damaged SD Card in Android in 5 Ways

Use the following solutions to repair corrupted SD card with or without a computer. EaseUS SD card repair tool for Android helps you try out effectively.

Method 1. Connect the Damaged SD Card to Another Device

When the SD memory card is now showing up in the Android phone, it might be a simple case of an incompatible SD with your Android device. To solve the issue, try to connect the SD card to another device and see if the problem recurs. This is the most direct way to fix a damaged SD card without a computer.

You can also try cleaning the metal area around the SD card with water or alcohol, and inserting the SD card when the card slot is dry.

Method 2. Use an SD Card Repair Tool - EaseUS Partition Master

EaseUS Partition Master is a comprehensive partitioning software that manages HDD, SSD, SD card, external hard drive, and more storage media devices. This SD card repair software can diagnose and fix errors on selected partitions or disks, allowing you to deal with SD card corruption at the onset. 

Format Damaged Android SD Card for Repair

When it comes to Android SD card repair, we think of formatting first. Compared with other methods, it's much easier and more efficient. To do it: pull out the SD card from your Android device and connect it to a PC. Open This PC or My Computer, locate and right-click on the SD card, and select Format. 

If Windows doesn't allow you to complete the format process, you can download EaseUS partition manager and use it to format your SD card in 1-click. 

Check and Fix SD Card Error to Repair Damaged SD Card Without Formatting

A corrupted file system is also an influential reason for SD card not reading or writing. You can use the Check File System feature of EaseUS Partition Master to check and repair the corrupted file system and bad sectors. 

🔥Read More: How to Fix Ender 3 Not Reading SD Card

Method 3. Run CHKDSK in CMD to Repair Damaged Android SD Card 

If you don't want to format the corrupted memory card for repair, you can also try the alternative solution - calling CHKDSK to repair the Android SD card. Even it is not 100% work, but it worth a try. To do it:

Connect the Android card to your PC using a card reader. On the PC:

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows button, choose Command Prompt (Admin).

Step 2. Enter the command: chkdsk [sd card drive letter]: /r. It will make the CHKDSK start to scan and repair Android SD card errors or corruption. 

Method 4. Use an SD Card Repair App

If nothing works, you may try to find a mature SD card repair app in Google Play Store. You can look for any trusted option to try and repair your SD card if nothing works out.

To Conclude

This is the full guide on how to repair damaged SD card in Android. We will constantly try and update effective solutions. If you have any good methods, you are welcome to share them with us.

At last, most importantly, back up your files frequently to avoid data loss due to accidental SD card corruption.

More FAQs About Damaged SD Card Repair on Android

If you also have any of the following frequently asked questions about Android SD card repair, find solutions here.

How can I repair a damaged SD card?

If the SD memory card is unreadable, how to fix the damaged SD card?

  • Connect the SD card to another Android phone
  • Repair corrupt SD card with EaseUS SD card repair tool
  • Assign a new drive letter
  • Use a data recovery software for SD card recovery
  • Use SD card repair apps on Android phone

How can I fix my SD card on my Android without a computer?

How to repair damaged SD card in Android without computer? You can fix a damaged SD card on Android without a PC in three ways:

1. Connect your SD card to another Android device

If your SD is not reading on your Android device, insert the corrupted SD card to another device.  Sometimes, this can be a problem caused by incompatible SD with your Android device.

2. Format the corrupted SD card on your Android device

Step 1. Open your Android device, go to Settings.

Step 2. Find the Storage/Memory tab and find your SD card on it

Step 3. Find the format SD card option. Tap on the Format SD card option.

Step 4. Click Okay/Erase and Format to confirm the formatting option.

3. Use SD card repair service

You can use a corrupted SD card repair app for Android in Google Play Store. Or you can find a reliable repair store to fix damaged SD card.

What happens if the SD card is damaged?

Here are some of the signs of a corrupted SD card.

  • Get an error message that says that the SD card is damaged; there is no SD card, or SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it.
  • Most of the saved files, like photos or videos are missing and readable.
  • You get a read-and-write error.
  • No file appears when you read and check your SD card on the computer.

Why does my phone say my SD card is damaged?

There are several reasons that an SD memory card can become corrupted or damaged. Some of them are as follows:

  • Physical damage on the SD card
  • A corrupted file system on the SD card
  • Removing the micro SD card from a device during file transferring 
  • Unplug the SD card incorrectly
  • Virus or malware infections