How to fix a Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro that cannot detect SD card, SD card not detected error [Troubleshooting Guide]

External devices like SD cards are essential for storage expansion especially in mobile devices with low memory capacity. To ensure that the SD card works as intended, formatting is recommended before you start storing files in it. But just like any other external storage media, SD cards are also prone to having issues.

Viruses and malware embedded into some files that you saved in the card are among the usual culprits, inflicting minor and major troubles on SD cards. These are usually the main reasons smartphones would suddenly fail to read a microSD card. The use of low-standard or incompatible SD cards is also another factor.

Errant apps and other software-related issues on the phone are also among the underlying causes. And the worst is hardware damage like when the phone’s SD card reader, card tray, or other relevant components are damaged from a drop or liquid exposure.

The methods I demonstrate in this post are applicable workarounds and potential solutions to software-related SD card issues on a Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro smartphone. Feel free to refer to these walkthroughs if ever you need more help in dealing with an issue on your Galaxy C7 Pro that cannot detect your SD card and prompts an SD card not detected error.

Before we proceed, if you’re looking for a solution to a problem with your phone, try to browse through our troubleshooting pages to see if we support your device. If your phone is in the list of our supported devices, then go to the troubleshooting page and look for similar problems. Feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. Don’t worry it’s free. But if you still need our help, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

First solution: Reboot your phone (soft reset).

A soft reset or device restart effectively resolves random software glitches in mobile devices. If it just occurred on your Galaxy C7 Pro to not read or detect your SD card, then it’s likely just a random glitch that can be remedied by rebooting the phone. So this is what you should do first:

Press the Power button for a few seconds and then release when the menu options appear.
Tap Power off then OK. Your phone will then shutdown.
After 30 seconds, press the Power button again until the phone powers on.

Try to access the SD card storage when your phone boots up completely and see if it’s already able to read the card. Otherwise, continue to troubleshoot.

Second solution: Unmount SD card and then mount again.

It’s possible that the SD card might have been dislodged and therefore lost proper contact with the tray. To clear this out, remove and then reseat the SD card on your phone. It is recommended to unmount the SD card before you remove it from your phone. It’s a proper way to eject the SD card to prevent data corruption or causing damage to the SD card itself. To unmount the SD card on your Galaxy C7 Pro, follow these steps:

Tap Settings from the Apps screen.
Scroll to and tap Device maintenance.
Tap the Storage icon on the bottom of the screen.
Then tap Storage settings.
Scroll to the Portable Storage section and then tap SD card.
Then tap the Unmount button.
You will then see a message prompt when the SD card is unmounted. By then you can safely remove the SD card from your phone. To remove the SD card, follow these steps:
Insert the ejection pin into the hole on the tray to loosen or eject the tray.
Gently pull out the card tray from the tray slot.
Then remove the SD card from the tray.
Examine the card for any signs of damage. If everything looks good, place the SD card back into the tray (SIM 2 slot) with the gold contacts facing down.
Secure the card in the tray.
Then insert the tray back into the tray slot.

When the tray is locked, turn on your phone and then check and see if the SD card is already detected.

Third solution: Update phone software to the latest version (if applicable).

Installing the latest software update available for your device can be the potential solution if some bugs are halting the SD card system. Software updates usually offer bug fixes for security enhancements. To check for new software version on your Galaxy C7 Pro, follow these steps:

Go to Settings.
Scroll to and tap System Updates.
Tap the option to Check update manually.
If an update is available, follow the onscreen instructions to download and install update on your phone.

Your phone must be connected to the Internet, has ample of storage space and battery of at least 50 percent to ensure that the update process will be completed.

Fourth solution: Wipe cache partition on your phone.

Wiping the cache partition clears all temporary data that are stored as cache in the system folders. While cached files are essential in terms of similar data reloading, they can also cause trouble when they crashed or become corrupted. This is why it’s also recommended to wipe cache partition from time to time, especially when your device is acting up. Here’s how to wipe cache partition on your Galaxy C7 Pro:

Turn off your phone completely.
Then press and hold the Power, Home, and Volume Up buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
Release the Power button when the Samsung logo appears.
Release the Home and Volume Up buttons when the Android system recovery screen appears.
On the Android Recovery menu, press the Volume Down button repeatedly to scroll to and highlight Wipe Cache Partition option.
Then press the Power button to confirm selection.
Wait until the cache partition clearing is finished and the Reboot system now option is highlighted.
Finally, press the Power button to restart your phone.

Aside from clearing corrupted cached files, this process also clears up space on your phone’s internal memory.

Fifth solution: Reformat SD card.

Formatting means wiping or erasing the SD card. This is often used as last-ditch solution to repair corrupted SD cards. Some SD card files or data segments might have been damaged and thereby causing the SD card to stop working. If possible, try to back up important files you’ve stored on the SD card to your computer before formatting the SD card. Then you can format the SD card through your phone or on a computer. To format SD card on your Galaxy C7 Pro, follow these steps:

Open the Apps menu.
Then tap Settings.
Scroll to and tap Storage.
Tap Format SD card.
Read and review the warning message then tap Format SD card again. If this option is not enabled, you’ll need to Unmount the SD card first.
Then tap Delete All to confirm SD card formatting.

Wait until the SD card formatting is complete. Restart your phone and mount the SD card. Then try to access the SD card storage to see if the problem is solved.

You can also format your SD card on a computer. Modern computers already have an allocated SD card slot that is designed to be the same size as a normal SD cards. Micro and mini SD cards need to be inserted into an SD card adapter for them to fit into the computer’s SD card slot. If your computer doesn’t have an SD card slot, then an SD card reader is necessary. Once you’ve got all these set, continue with these steps:

Open the Windows Explorer on your computer.
Find the drive letter that corresponds to your SD card.
Right-click on the SD card drive.
Then click Format from the menu options. The format screen will then show up.
Set the formatting type to exFAT for larger storage cards (64GB and above) while FAT32 for those with smaller storage capacity.
If necessary, enter a name for your SD card into the Volume Label field.
Then click the Start button to begin formatting/wiping the card.
Read the warning message then click OK to continue.

After a few moments, your SD card drive should already be formatted. At this point, insert the SD card into your phone and then mount the card. The card should work properly by now. Otherwise, it may be totally damaged and unusable.

Other options

Try to insert your SD card to other compatible devices or a computer (via SD card adapter/reader) then see if your other device is able to read the card. If the card is detected, then the problem is with your device. Since you’ve already done the basic software troubleshooting but to no avail, you can request further assistance in performing more advanced solutions from Samsung Support.

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