What to do if your Samsung Galaxy S9 can’t read mounted SD card (easy steps)

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Most of the SD cards manufactured today are compatible with any smartphone because that their primary market. Needless to say, when you mount a microSD card on your Samsung Galaxy S9, it should be able to detect and read it immediately without having to do something complicated as storage and OTG devices nowadays are all plug-and-play. That is, of course, if the SD card you mounted is still working properly.

We have readers that own the Galaxy S9 who’ve been complaining about a problem with their SD cards. According to them, their phones can no longer detect or read the card. Of course, they’ve thought about the fact that those storage devices may have already been damaged. They just need someone to tell them they’re already damaged. In this post, however, I will walk suggest some things that may be helpful in knowing what the problem really is and above all, retrieve data and files that are stored in the SD card. So, if you’re one of the owners that has this kind of problem, continue reading as this post may be able to help you.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

What to do if the SD card mounted on your Galaxy S9 can no longer be detected

Let me make it very simple for you as this problem isn’t really that complicated. If the SD card is new and since day 1 your phone hasn’t been able to detect or read it, try to read the user’s guide to know more about its compatibility. It’s possible that it’s not compatible with your device or outright defective out of the box. If you haven’t used it once, you should bring it back to the store and have it replaced.

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If the SD card isn’t new and you’ve actually been able to use it before but now your phone can no longer detect it, then it’s possible it got corrupt or already damaged. This troubleshooting guide is tailored for this case. That said, here’s what you need to do:

  • Remove SD card and reboot your phone – if you haven’t done it yet, you better try it. It’s a very simple procedure but very effective in dealing with minor SD card issues. You can go to settings and try to see if the card is already unmounted, if still not, make sure you unmount it properly. Then unmount it physically and then restart your device. After the reboot, mount it back to see if it gets detected this time. If still not, move on to the next procedure.
  • Let other devices read it – if you have a spare phone that also has an SD card slot, insert it to know if it can be detected and read by other devices. The result of this procedure will determine whether the problem is with the card or your phone. If other device can read it, then the problem could be with your phone but if other devices can also not detect it, it’s possible that it’s corrupt and/or damaged. You may try using an adapter and let your laptop or computer read it. Your computer may be able to read it and if so, take advantage of it and backup your files and data.

Assuming that the problem is with your phone and that the SD card actually works perfectly with your other device, you should try resetting all settings in your Galaxy S9 to bring it back to its factory settings without deleting your apps, files and data:

  1. Tap Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset settings.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button.

If this doesn’t work, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone. Make sure you copy your files and data to your computer so that they won’t be lost. After the backup, follow these steps to reset your phone:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  7. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  8. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If, however, the problem is with the SD card, then there’s no other choice but to buy a new one. Should a storage device starts to fail, you can no longer trust it with your most important files so even if you’re able to reformat it and make it work again, you cannot trust it to work like before.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide have helped you one way or another. If you have other issues you want to share with us, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.

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