How to Fix Corrupted SD card on Android without Formatting

SD cards are very popular among Android users as they allow us to extend the storage capacity of our devices. Unfortunately, SD cards are also prone to getting corrupted.

There are a number of reasons why an SD card can get corrupted. And your device may warn you again and again that your card needs to be formatted. It could be due to a faulty connection, bad sectors, or even physical damage. Whatever the reason, a corrupted SD card can be a real pain. Formatting can lead you to lose important files, photos and videos stored on it.

Luckily, you can do a few things to try and fix a corrupted SD card. This article will show you how to fix a corrupted SD card on Android without formatting.

Causes of SD Card Getting Corrupted

A corruption error message may appear when SD and MicroSD cards have been used on many devices or have been forcefully removed from a computer while a file is being viewed or transmitted.

Reading and writing problems, a prompt to reinsert the card or a declaration that the card isn’t identifiable are all common error messages associated with corrupted SD cards. A sluggish file access speed and an SD card that seems empty might be signs of corruption or damage.

How to fix a corrupted SD card on an Android without formatting?

Is your SD card acting up? If it is, you’re not alone. Many Android users have reported problems with their SD cards- corruptions, read/write errors, and more. Following are some of the methods that you can try to repair your SD card without formatting it:

Fix 1) Put the SD card on another device

The first approach for repairing a damaged SD card is relatively straightforward. It’s part of the hit-or-miss approach and can help with difficulties like device malfunctions and file system failures.

Remove your SD card from your smartphone and insert it into another device. If it works on another device, it’s likely that your SD card isn’t compatible with your phone. Before continuing, backup the files on a PC or laptop (if available). After backing up your data, restart your phone and try inserting the SD card again.

Fix 2) Use SD Card Repair Software.

The first thing you can try is using a file recovery tool. Several different file recovery tools are available, but we recommend using Recuva.

Recuva is a free tool that can help you recover files from a corrupted SD card. Just download the program and install it on your computer. Once you’ve installed Recuva, launch the program and connect your Android device to your computer. Next, select the “Deep Scan” option and click “Start.”

Recuva will now scan your SD card for any recoverable files. Once the scan is complete, you can preview the files that were found. Select the files you want to recover and click “Recover.” Recuva will then save the files to your computer.

Fix 3) Use CHKSDK Command using the Computer

The CHKDSK command can cure an Android SD card corruption problem; however, it will permanently delete all recorded data. Before you begin, make sure you’ve recovered all of your SD card files using reputable file recovery software.

Connect the Android SD card to your computer in step one.
Select Command Prompt from the Start menu by right-clicking on it (Admin).
Log in as an administrator, then type diskpart into the search box and press Enter.
Type chkdsk f: /r/f into the command prompt and press Enter; (Replace f with the drive letter of your own Android SD card.)

using cmd to fix corrupt sd card — Using cmd to fix corrupt sd card

Fix 4) Using Diskpart in CMD command

First, get the disc number associated with the SD card.
Select Disk Management from the Start menu by right-clicking on Computer.
Select Manage.
Disk Management should be selected.
Instead than looking for the disc number, look for the drive.

Follow these instructions to use Diskpart in a cmd command:

Use CHKDSK command - fix Corrupted SD card on Android — run troubleshoot –

To get started, open a Command Prompt window.
From the pop-up menu, choose Admin.
Enter diskpart in the search box.
Enter to write the list disc.
Choose a disc number.
Press Enter after typing clean.

Fix 5) Use Disk Drill to recover Data

Data recovery software, such as Disk Drill for Windows and Mac, is used to recover data from a corrupted SD card. Disk Drill is a data recovery program specialising in recovering files from SD cards and other storage media such as hard drives, solid-state drives, and flash storage. You may get your data back in no time with only a few clicks.

Disk Drill is compatible with a wide range of storage media. It’s frequently used to recover lost.dir files from a mobile device that has lost data.
Disk Drill is a program that you may download, install, and run.
Select the memory card that has been corrupted. Depending on the SD card you choose, the name may change. Select Find lost data from the drop-down menu.
When the scan is done, click Review detected objects.
Choose all of the files you wish to recover from the drop-down menu. The Recovery Chances column shows how likely it is that you will be successful in retrieving that file. When you’re ready, click Recover.
Click OK after selecting the output location.

run troubleshoot - fix Corrupted SD card on Android — Run the troubleshooter

If you’re using a Mac, then you can try using the EaseUS Partition Master program to fix a corrupted SD card.

Just download and install the program on your computer. Once you’ve installed the program, launch it and select the “Disk/Partition Copy” feature.

Next, select the SD card you want to copy and click “Next.” EaseUS Partition Master will now copy the SD card to your computer. Once the copy process is complete, format the SD card and try using it again.

Other Methods

Here are some strategies you can try if you suspect your Android smartphone’s SD card is corrupted:

1) Update your Android with New Version

A system update can fix several problems associated with accessing files stored locally and on SD cards. So, keep your system up to date. This way you can also avoid any operating system related bug that may be incompatible with the card you are using.

2) Check if you have mistakenly placed a SIM card instead of an SD card

Are you using a SIM card? It can be easy to confuse SD cards with SIM cards if you’re new to Android smartphones and tablets. The SIM card enables cellular network functionality and can’t be used to store apps, media, and other data.

3) Use Cloud Storage instead of an SD card

If you’ve used an SD card to make space on your Android phone, you might think about switching to a cloud storage service. Cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive can back up photographs and videos to an internet server as soon as they’re made, so you don’t have to worry about them filling up your phone’s storage space.

You may also use other devices to access all of the content posted to your cloud account without physically moving an SD card or USB drive back and forth. There’s also a low chance that these files will be lost due to corruption or card failure.

How do we protect SD cards from being corrupted?

At any time, your SD card may get corrupted. As a result, you should preserve your data by taking care of it and protecting it from any data loss circumstances that may emerge. The best advice is to always buy and use branded SD cards, cheap ones have more chances of getting corrupted.

Make backups– The most effective technique to secure your data is to make backups. You may quickly restore a duplicate of the working file and continue as usual if data is lost.

Remove the SD card carefully– Make sure there are no active write operations on the SD card before removing it from your Android smartphone. Power down the mobile device before removing the SD card to avoid losing data.

Replace faulty cards– If your SD card continues to have difficulties, it may be time to replace it even after being fixed. If your device notifies you about any issues about the card, you should not ignore it. To limit the danger of data loss, back up your data and replace your memory cards as soon as difficulties emerge, since problems will only worsen with time.

Conclusion

Getting SD card corrupted is one of the worst things that can happen in modern time. We generate and spend a lot of data and files and save it on SD cards but when it becomes corrupted, everything is gone. Fortunately, there are many ways to repair a corrupted SD card. Some of these methods we have discussed above. In our opinion, you should go for a paid repair tool or you should be careful to create additional backups of your data on cloud storage services. This way you can avoid the big data disaster.