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Galaxy Note 4 reboots on its own when an SD card is inserted, more SD card issues

Do you have SD card problems on your #GalaxyNote4? We’ve compiled four issues below that may be similar to your own problem. The troubleshooting and solutions for SD card problems are almost always universal so this post may of help.

Note 4 SD card

 

These are topics discussed in this post:

  1. How to format an SD card on Galaxy Note 4
  2. Galaxy Note 4 reboots on its own when an SD card is inserted
  3. Galaxy Note 4 not cannot read verified working SD cards
  4. Helpful apps to allow Galaxy Note 4 to work smoothly with SD cards [tip]
  5. Galaxy Note 4 not detecting SD card

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of that page.


 

Problem #1: How to format an SD card on Galaxy Note 4

How do you reformat an SD card. — Gary

Solution: Hi Gary. There are two ways to reformat your SD card. One is by using your Note 4.

  • Go to Settings under the Home screen.
  • Tap Storage.
  • Tap Format SD card.

The second option is by using another device like a computer. Depending on what device you have, you can use Google to search for ways how to do it.

Problem #2: Galaxy Note 4 reboots on its own when an SD card  is inserted

Hi there. I’m so glad I came across your site. I have been having some issues with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4..

About 3 months ago I had put in a 16GB SanDisk micro SD card (class 10 extreme PLUS). my phone hasn’t been the same since. I lost all my SnapChat photos/videos I had saved (unable to get them back as well).

The phone instantly was having terrible issues with the SD card. And shortly was unable to even stay on with the SD card in. So I had removed it backed up everything and did a factory reset. I got everything how I like it and all and the issue still seems to persist.. It will turn off without any warning. It turns off in my pocket. I’m not sure what to do. I have never once even dropped this phone. I bought it new from Verizon. I have tried cleaning the battery connections, I also replaced the battery and still have the issue.. It would mean the absolute world if you could help me with this as I feel a bit stuck. I’m running the stock current lollipop ROM. Phone was never rooted. 

It seems to have a consistent average of turning off 5 times a day…which is very annoying, when it restarts it will display a message saying currently unable to download please try again later and also 2 tiny vibrates.. Not sure what it is! 🙁

Thank you so much and I hope so much I get a reply with some assistance! — Kevin

Solution: Hi Kevin. There had been recorded cases in the past when Samsung Galaxy devices suffered from random reboot problem due to bad SD cards so there’s a chance that your case may be similar. A faulty storage device can sometimes force an Android device to restart if it contains unreadable or corrupted sectors. However, the issue has also been observed to go away once the defective SD card is removed.

To verify if the SD card causes problems in the system, try using another one or simply take it out. If your phone works normally when there’s no SD card inserted or when using another one, you have to reformat the problem SD card using your phone or another device. Better still, simply replace it right away to avoid a similar problem in the future.

Keep in mind that  SD cards cannot last forever. They have a limited lifespan of a few years depending on how they are being used.

Galaxy Note 4 randomly restarts without an SD card

If the phone still restarts on its own after removing the SD card, that’s a totally different problem altogether. It’s likely that inserting the SD card may have triggered the dormant issue, or may just be pure coincidence.

A phone that randomly reboots can be due to other factors totally unrelated to an SD card problem. You can refer to this post for additional troubleshooting.

Problem #3: Galaxy Note 4 not cannot read verified working SD cards

Upgraded to a new Note 4 recently (AT&T had them for *free* with 2 year contract). One of the benefits of choosing this phone was using SD cards to expand storage for music and videos.

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get mine to be recognized. I purchased new from Newegg, and it came in factory packaging, a SanDisk 128GB SDSDQUA-128G-G46A and a Samsung Pro 64GB MB-MG64DA/AM. Both are formatted exFAT.

The SanDisk would never get past ‘preparing SD Card’. The Samsung initially formatted, and I put some photos on in. Later attempts to insert that card met a similar fate at the SanDisk. Inserting the card before powering on, the phone doesn’t ‘recognize’ it until I pull it out (“SD Card removed, Insert new SD Card”). Reinserting it, ‘Preparing SD Card’. I let it go for days, just to see what would happen (a lot of nothing).

Using SD Insight reveals legit manufacturing data for both cards.

The cards themselves work fine. I’ve been able to put stuff on and, in the case of the Samsung card, save the pictures I put on it when I hook it up to my computer. I emailed Samsung support and they confirmed, with the model numbers, that these cards were compatible. Only suggestion they gave is to format in ex FAT (moot) or FAT32 (why?), or try “the SDHC card on the device” (which looks like another accessory I’d have to purchase).

It’s looking like it’s the phone, but I can’t determine if its software or hardware/warranty related.

Background info: I’ve built/upgraded windows based computers infrequently over the years, but, after six years of iPhones and an adulthood of little cell phone patience (hence Apple), I’ve moved to Android (My phone is safe, I’ve calmed in my older years).

Is there something I’m missing/overlooking? — Nick

Solution: Hi Nick. This issue happens albeit rather rarely. We say you have already done everything on your end to know where the problem lies. That you have isolated the issue to your phone may be good, but getting the exact answer whether the phone suffers from hardware or software problem can be tricky. Based on our experience with similar problems, the issue is almost always hardware in nature. It won’t hurt though if you can try restoring the phone’s factory defaults by doing a master reset to see there are any firmware or driver-related problems involved.

If nothing changes after a factory reset, that suggests that there must be a rare hardware failure causing this trouble. Unfortunately, diagnosing the issue involves tearing the phone apart and checking all relevant components and circuits. We don’t think you would want to go that route yourself so we say you go ahead and simply get a phone replacement.

Problem #4: Helpful apps to allow Galaxy Note 4 to work smoothly with SD cards [tip]

Following your article related to Samsung Note 4 and micro SD card issues,  I would like to share my experience with my Note 4.  I just got the Samsung micro SD 64GB PRO. The default file manager app from Android was not allowing me to transfer or write data onto my micro SD, so then I tried thru the “Gallery app” and then, I was able to transfer and write the data on the micro SD, so I thought it is a software issue.

So I went to the Google store and downloaded a bunch of file managers app to try out. I found out that many of them don’t work properly with my Note 4, but I found 3 file managers app that works great, allowing my Note 4 to transfer and write onto the micro SD smoothly. Those 3 apps are: ASTRO, FX and File Commander.

Since using those, my Note 4 haven’t had any issues with the micro SD, so I’m gonna keep using those for now and that will prevent me for having to do a factory reset. 🙂 — Patrick

Solution: Hi Patrick. We appreciate the effort and time in sharing your positive experience with the above mentioned apps. We are glad to know that you are back to using your device normally. Doing a factory reset is only recommended as a last resort and after you have exhausted all available software troubleshooting.

Let us know if you have other tips and helpful solutions for our Android community in the future.

Problem #5: Galaxy Note 4 not detecting SD card

I recently updated my service from Virgin Mobile to Straight Talk. My old phone was a HTC desire 816. I have a 128GB SD card.  When I placed the card in the new phone it is not reading it.  It is like there is no SD card at all. I have taken it out and put it back in and even turned the phone off and back on. — Jeannie

Solution: Hi Jeannie. Make sure that the SD card is working with other devices. If you have another phone or tablet, try inserting the SIM card to it.

If you are trying to re-use this SD card on your new phone, make sure to format it on another device before inserting it to your Note 4. if the Note 4 is still unable to detect the SD card, try using a different SD card to verify if the issue is with the phone.

 


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If you are one of the users who encounters a problem with your device, let us know. We offer solutions for Android-related problems for free so if you have an issue with your Android device, simply fill in the short questionnaire in this link and we will try to publish our answers in the next posts. We cannot guarantee a quick response so if your issue is time sensitive, please find another way to resolve your problem. 

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One Comment

  1. hi sir
    i have samsung galaxy s5
    it is working when i put 2 gb memory card.
    and when i put more then 2 gb it start get rebooting.
    i can’t find any solution.
    help me sir plzz.

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