Samsung Galaxy S7 unable to move files to the microSD card, other memory issues

The #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) and its curved variant the S7 Edge supports expandable storage and while all users think it’s very useful, some are not happy due to some problems that come with it. Among the most common are SD card not detected, files can’t be moved, files disappeared without apparent reason, frequent SD card notification, etc.

Samsung-Galaxy-S7-microsd-card-problems

In this post, I will address some of the problems our readers reported with regard to the memory-related issues that occurred to their devices. The first one is about the music files that reportedly can’t be moved to the SD card. While it’s very tempting to immediately jump to conclusion that it’s an issue with the SD card, we need to rule out other possibilities so that you won’t wasted money buying a new card that may still have the same problem.

Continue reading to understand more about these problems and learn how to deal with them in case they happen to you in the future. For those who have other issues, make sure you visit our S7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of problems with this device. And in case you need further assistance, you may contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire.

Cannot move music files to the SD card on Galaxy S7

Problem: Hi. My internal memory is full so I wish to transfer my music files to my sd card to clear up some space (I can access my current sd files with no issue) but every time I try to transfer from phone to sd I get a generic ‘unable to move files’ type message.

Answer: I’m wondering if you were just trying to move music files because there are files that can’t be moved. But before going a little further, have you tried “copying” those files to your SD card? I understand you simply want to move those files but to make things a bit simpler, try copying them to your SD card and delete the original files from your phone. This, of course, is a workaround. Now, let’s try to see if we can fix the issue:

Step 1: Verify the SD card is still in good condition

Perhaps the reason why the phone couldn’t move files over to the SD card is because it couldn’t read from and write to it. While memory cards nowadays are typically robust, you cannot just rule out the possibility of getting damaged for some reason. So, this step will verify if the card is still functioning well because if not, then it’s time to buy a new one.

One way to verify if the card is fine is to set the camera to save pictures and videos to it automatically and then try to snap a few photos. If the phone doesn’t show up an error, then the SD card is good.

Step 2: Reboot the phone and try to move the files again

After you’ve verified the SD card is working well and you still can’t move your files over, then try to reboot the device. There are times that glitches occur and reboot is the best way to fix them. It’s a very simple and safe procedure so don’t proceed with your troubleshooting without doing it first.

Step 3: Check SD card available space

If there isn’t enough space left in your SD card, there’s no way you can save additional files. Therefore, make sure the files you’re trying to move can fit into it. I have a feeling you were trying to move a bunch of files at once. I suggest try to move one file first and if it succeeds, try moving 5 and so on and so forth. If at one point the process is interrupted again, it might really an issue with the space.

Step 4: Connect the phone to a computer and try drag-and-drop procedure

If none of the procedures above worked, then try to connect your phone to a computer and try to cut and paste the files you want to move. This step will verify if the computer can still read the SD card through your phone because if not, it might have been corrupted that’s why the phone cannot write to it.

Step 5: Let the computer read the SD card directly

At this point, everything points to the SD card being the problem. So, unmount it from your phone and then let your computer read from it directly. If it prompts you to reformat it the moment it recognizes the card, then it’s either damaged or just corrupted. However, if the computer can actually read it, then use that opportunity to backup your data and files and then reformat your SD card using FAT32 file system. After that, mount the card back to your phone and try to move files to it. If the problem persists, then the next step will give you an option what needs to be done next.

Step 6: Mount a different SD card to your phone

Try using a different SD card and see if the phone can files to it without having to encounter that warning. If so, then it’s obviously the SD card that’s the problem; it’s time to buy a new one and replace the defective one. However, if the other SD card works just the same as the first one, then it might be a firmware issue and there’s no other way to fix it than master reset:

  1. urn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

On the other hand, if in step 1 you failed to verify that the card is fine, then proceed to step 5 immediately. Computers can read memory cards better than smartphones that’s why it’s recommended that if the phone fails to read and write on the SD card, you should let your laptop or computer do the job. However, if the computer can’t also read from it, then it’s damaged.

Galaxy S7 corrupted photos moved to the SD card

Problem: Have installed Samsung 128gb evo+ micro SD card. Pictures moved to sd card okay but a day later they are corrupted. I noticed when I formatted it stopped at 20% then a couple minutes later it stated formatting done. But I  never saw the complete process. Thanks.

Answer: Since you’ve already tried reformatting it, I assume you’ve already backed up your files so we only have to worry about the SD card and not its contents. There’s a possibility that the card is really corrupt–at least, this is our first assumption–and the phone cannot read from it. While it was the right decision to reformat the card, there are cases wherein the phone cannot complete the process especially if the card is corrupt. Therefore, you need a computer to do the job.

Computers can read external storage devices better than smartphones so it’s worth a try. Reformat your SD card using FAT32 file system and then try to mount it back to your phone. We are, of course, assuming that your computer has successfully reformatted it and I guess, that’s the end of the problem.

However, if the computer cannot reformat the card, then it must be damaged especially if it doesn’t show any error messages like write protection at the start of the process.  In this case, you need to buy a new SD card to replace the damaged one.

Galaxy S7 experiencing intermittent SD card problem

Problem: I have on and off problems to save files (e.g.  jpeg, docx, doc, xls, xls xlsx, etc.) into the SD card that ‘mount’ on the phone. This problem sometimes can be solved by turning off and on the phone. Why is this so and are there any solutions to solve this problem permanently?  Thank you.

Answer: It is a sign that there are instances the phone cannot read nor write on the SD card and since it’s a minor glitch on either the firmware or the SD card, then a reboot can fix it but that’s just temporary as the problem may occur again.

In this case, it’s easier to troubleshoot the firmware first than to go after the SD card immediately. That being, here are the steps you should take in troubleshooting this problem:

Step 1: Boot the phone in safe mode and observe

This will rule out the possibility that some of the third-party apps may be causing the problem. So, try to restart the phone in safe mode and continue observing it to find out if the problem still occurs even with all third-parties are temporarily disabled.

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
  3. Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
  4. You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

While in this mode, try to verify if the problem is still happening and if so, the next step can help you.

Step 2: Delete all system caches to create new ones

System caches get corrupted all the time and while these files are expendable, if used by the system, issues like this may occur depending on whose cache is used. So, in this case, it might be the cache of the service that reads the SD card that’s being used and it might corrupt that’s why there are instances when the phone cannot read from the card.

Deleting the system cache will force the phone to create new ones, so here’s how you do it:

  1. Turn off the phone.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If the problem continues after these two steps, then it’s time to go after the SD card.

Step 3: Backup all your files and data first

Unmount your SD card from your phone and let your computer read from it. If your computer can read it, then use that opportunity to backup your data and files to make sure nothing will be lost. But this step is more than just backing up your files, it will also tell you whether the SD card is corrupt or damaged.

If the computer prompts you to reformat your card, then it means it can read from it but probably can’t determine the file system it uses. In other words, it’s corrupt. While there are tools that can help you recover your files, it’s your call if you want to immediately reformat it.

On the other hand, if the computer cannot detect nor recognize the card, it might be damaged already but you can still try to reformat it.

When formatting the card, make sure you use the FAT32 file system.

Step 4: Mount the SD card back to your phone

Assuming you’ve successfully reformatted the SD card, mount it back to your phone and see if it can detect it and if it can, then the problem may already been fixed. Otherwise, it’s time you bought a new microSD card.

Videos not found after reset on Galaxy S7

Problem: Hi, I did a factory reset without taking out my SD card (don’t worry I’ve already kicked myself). My card had photos, videos and music. After the reset I can see my photos but not videos, the file is now a grey box with an exclamation mark. I get “warning recording fail” when I try to take a new video. When I chose to play a song I get “music playback error.” Please help. Thank you.

Answer: You might have some photos that are saved in your phone’s internal storage while all your videos (due to the fact that they’re larger in size) may have been saved in your SD card. The camera app may have been set to save everything in the SD card as well. That being said, I think the problem is that the phone can no longer detect or read the card that’s why all that’s left of your videos are grey icons with exclamation mark that means the device has detected files but it can no longer locate them. As to the “warning recording fail” error, that usually pops up when the phone can’t save the pictures of videos to a certain location (in this case the SD card). I also think your music files are also saved in the SD card that’s why you’re getting the “music playback error” warning when trying to play your playlist.

So, you need to troubleshoot the microSD card and not your phone.

Step 1: Unmount the SD card and let your computer read it

This is to find out if the computer can actually read it because if so, you will have your chance to backup your photos, videos and music files. Once finished, reformat the card using FAT32 file system. After reformatting it, mount the SD card back to your phone and see if that fixes the problem.

Step 2: Replace SD card

It would only take a computer to tell us whether an SD card is corrupt and/or damaged. If you were able to remedy it but there are still instances wherein the phone cannot read from the card, don’t take any chances. Just buy a new card to make sure your files and data are safe.

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