S4 and microSD card questions

[CimBa07]

Hello all. I hope I'm posting this in the right place with the right prefix. If not, my apologies. I have a few questions concerning the GS4 and microSD cards.

I've read that the GS4 has had problems playing with microSD cards. Most issues I've seen involve 32 or 64 gb cards of varying brands on S4's of varying carriers. I was just wondering if it's still a prevalent issue or if a sure fix has been found. I've read that the latest update (the Verizon ME7 equivalent for AT&T that broke root for a while) has fixed it for some users. Some have just had good luck and others haven't had any luck with their microSD cards.

I just bought a 64gb SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-1 card from Costco (54.99 if you're looking into getting one. They also have a 32gb for 29.99). I haven't opened it yet because I want to know all I can about the issue before I do. What have you read or experienced with this card? During one of my many google searches, I saw that some have a SanDisk card that came packaged with an Android on it. Mine didn't, but the package says that it'll work with Android phones, but I'm still wary. Also, I've tried to google the product number above the barcode to check it's compatibility, but it came back with no results (it's SDSDQU-064G-AC46A). Others that have used the Android packaging microSD card had a number similar to mine, but it ended in A11A (I think) instead of the AC46A.

Sorry for the long post. In short: what do you guys/gals know about the s4 and it's microsd problems, and what do you know about the card I bought from costco?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Flapnoolie]

I have this one in my GS4:

Amazon.com: SanDisk Ultra 64 GB MicroSDXC Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter (SDSDQU-064G-AFFP-A): Electronics

No problems at all so far.

 

[LaTuFu]

I went with a Samsung SD card, in part because the side by side specs with the equivalent SanDisk card were much faster than the SanDisk.

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 64GB Pro microSDXC Extreme Speed (UHS-1) Class 10 Memory Card (MB-MGCGB/AM): Computers & Accessories

Many of the issues, I suspect, come from people trying to use older cards with slower specs and/or counterfeit cards from bogus ebay/online sellers.

I doubt you'll have any issues with the card you purchased.

 

[lotus49]

I fully agree with LaTuFu's comments above with one proviso. There are reports of bad batches of SanDisk 32GB and 64GB cards but not the one you have.

There doesn't need to be anything special about the card to work with an S4 but buying the highest spec card you can afford is one of the best ways of minimising the likelihood of experiencing any problems.

That said, flash is not as reliable as rotating disks and they are not perfect either. You probably won't have a problem but, as with all storage of any type, back it up regularly and then, if something goes wrong (and if you don't back up important data, the universe will punish you) you can get your data back.

If only there were a proper Crashplan client for Android. I could forget about backing up altogether then but sadly, there isn't.

 

[m3incorp]

I haven't had any problems with my 32GB Sandisc card.

 

[lotus49]

I haven't had any problems with my 32GB Sandisc card.

I wasn't suggesting that there is something wrong with all SanDisk cards. SanDisk is one of the more reputable suppliers but they have publicly acknowledged that there have been some faulty batches and have given refunds to people.

 

[beowulf7]

Count me as another person who has had success with the SanDisk Class 10 32 GB micro SDHC card, previously my Droid 3, now on my SGS4. Now I'm knocking on wood.

 

[itsallgood]

No problems here either with my Scan Disk Mobile Ultra 32 GB Micro SDHC class 6 card. I used this in my Atrix 4G first then transferred it to my S4.

 

[am_beagle]

I used Microcenter's brand micro sdhc class 10 32 GB cards on both my GS 4 and GTab 3 8.0 with no problem whatsoever. SanDisk or not, all of them made in China in a same way though

 

[CimBa07]

Wow, it's refreshing to see people having success with microSD cards and the S4! Majority of posts online are negative, so it skewed my perspective.

I was thinking of returning my card for a Samsung card from Frys, thinking maybe it'd be a safer bet they'd place nicely with one another since they're both Samsung. I just really don't want to run into the unmounting problem and have wasted 55 dollars, or have a card that will crap out on me in a couple months.

A lot of people have said that their old SanDisk cards worked fine, while the newer ones are the ones that bugged out. I don't know if they're all from the same bad batch. I really hope I didn't get one. I highly doubt it's a dud since I bought it from a retail store, not a reseller.

Were you guys able to find anything about the card I listed? Just curious. If I could, I'd like to read more about it. The item number, which just leads to the item on the costco website, is 964064. Unfortunately, there were no user reviews on it :[

 

[4Gee]

I had put a SanDisk 64 in my Galaxy S2 Skyrocket when it first came out (even though the specsand most of the 'experts' indicated you could only go up to 32 Gb). I took it out of my Skyrocket and popped it into the S4 and it works fine.

 

[Goodspike]

Many of the issues, I suspect, come from people trying to use older cards with slower specs and/or counterfeit cards from bogus ebay/online sellers..

My problem with a 64GB Sandisk card does not fit any of that description. It was a new generation card purchased direct from Amazon (not just fulfilled by Amazon). I agree with the comment following that there was apparently a bad batch of Sandisk cards.

That said, Costco is good with returns, so I wouldn't worry about opening the OP's card's packaging and giving it a try.

 

[zendroid]

I went with a Samsung SD card, in part because the side by side specs with the equivalent SanDisk card were much faster than the SanDisk.

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 64GB Pro microSDXC Extreme Speed (UHS-1) Class 10 Memory Card (MB-MGCGB/AM): Computers & Accessories

Many of the issues, I suspect, come from people trying to use older cards with slower specs and/or counterfeit cards from bogus ebay/online sellers.

I doubt you'll have any issues with the card you purchased.

Thanks for the link to Amazon, you saved me some time, as did the OP since I had the same question and was ready to buy a card. Amazon being my vendor of choice, I just placed the order

 

[m3incorp]

I wasn't suggesting that there is something wrong with all SanDisk cards. SanDisk is one of the more reputable suppliers but they have publicly acknowledged that there have been some faulty batches and have given refunds to people.

No problem...when I replied I wasn't actually replying to your post, it just happened to post right under yours. I do agree with you totally.

 

[thugacation]

I have a 64GB Sandisk card for my S4.
Something isn't quite right with it, not all available space is actually available.
For some reason it leaves me about 9GB :/

 

[CimBa07]

I have a 64GB Sandisk card for my S4.
Something isn't quite right with it, not all available space is actually available.
For some reason it leaves me about 9GB :/

Was it brand new? Did you buy it online or from the store?

 

[Goodspike]

I have a 64GB Sandisk card for my S4.
Something isn't quite right with it, not all available space is actually available.
For some reason it leaves me about 9GB :/

Sounds like you got one of the defective Sandisc cards.

 

[lotus49]

I have a 64GB Sandisk card for my S4.
Something isn't quite right with it, not all available space is actually available.
For some reason it leaves me about 9GB :/

This sounds highly suspicious. You didn't buy this on eBay from a seller in the Far East by any chance did you?

It sounds like you have a fake card to me. There is a program called h2testw that runs on Windows (it's one of the few reasons I ever boot into Windows) that you can use to test a card and eBay will accept the results as proof that you have been swindled.

 

[Goodspike]

This sounds highly suspicious. You didn't buy this on eBay from a seller in the Far East by any chance did you?

It sounds like you have a fake card to me. There is a program called h2testw that runs on Windows (it's one of the few reasons I ever boot into Windows) that you can use to test a card and eBay will accept the results as proof that you have been swindled.

I had similar problems with a Sandisc card bought from Amazon (not just fulfilled by Amazon). Sandisc had some bad product.

 

[lotus49]

I had similar problems with a Sandisc card bought from Amazon (not just fulfilled by Amazon). Sandisc had some bad product.

That's interesting.

I have heard that people have had cards fail and become unreadable but I haven't heard (until now) of any that report the wrong amount of free space.

Although I had always thought of SanDisk as being a premium brand, I went for a Samsung SD card. Samsung makes most of the chips anyway so I reasoned that I may as well buy the card from the company that made the chips. So far so good with mine.

 

[Goodspike]

I have heard that people have had cards fail and become unreadable but I haven't heard (until now) of any that report the wrong amount of free space.

The card I had did all sorts of odd things. O GB of space, partial space, losing files, etc.

 

[CimBa07]

Just an update.

Currently using the uSD card and all is well. Formatted it via the phone. Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here on out for a long time :]

 

[speedlever]

SanDisk Ultra 64Gb microSD card here.
Amazon.com: SanDisk Ultra 64 GB MicroSDXC Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter (SDSDQU-064G-AFFP-A): Electronics

I didn't even bother to format it. Just plugged it into the phone and no issues. Purchased in early June from Amazon for ~$43 on sale.

 

[Goodspike]

SanDisk Ultra 64Gb microSD card here.
Amazon.com: SanDisk Ultra 64 GB MicroSDXC Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter (SDSDQU-064G-AFFP-A): Electronics

I didn't even bother to format it. Just plugged it into the phone and no issues. Purchased in early June from Amazon for ~$43 on sale.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007WTAJTO/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Slightly different model number, purchased in July, and went back as defective.

Edit: Wierd--I'm not sure it is different. When I pull it up with CimBa's link I get something different, but when I pull it up here I get the same thing.

 

[db1561]

I purchased a micro SD card off Ebay (64gb) for $14.00 and when I try to add my music to it via iSyncr it appears to be on the card...at first but after a restart most of its gone or unplayable! It seemed to be okay with videos and pics?!?!

So from what I have been reading here and elsewhere a cheap card can cause all kinds of issues such as mysteriously losing all data..Not playing songs properly (player does not support this format message) etc etc...?

So in a nutshell when I purchase a high quality SD card (scandisk) it may solve the issues I'm having with my music?

You get what you pay for is the daily lesson learned!