512GB SD Card maxes out at 32GB storage

[RWolfcastle]

Hi, I bought a 512GB microSD card:

Integral 512GB Micro SD Card Premium 4K High Speed Memory Microsdxc Up To 100MB/S V30 UHS-I U3

Formatted it as exFAT and was filling it with new audio/video files fine on my Samsung note 9 then I noticed when I hit roughly 32GB mark files seemed to transfer via my PC however when I checked on my phone they were there on my phone but wouldn't play. If I reboot the phone those files disappear each time I try to transfer them again. This has happened with multiple files and seems to happen around the 32GB mark which leads me to think it's some kind of formatting memory limit issue, however I previously had a 256GB SD Card and had no problems filling that past 32GB. Any ideas how to solve this?

 

[Hadron]

Where did you buy the card from?

I ask because it's likely that this card is actually a 32GB card that has been reprogrammed so that it appears to the device to be a 512GB card. Such "fake" cards are then sold as high-capacity cards for a good profit margin.

This scam is ubiquitous on eBay and similar online marketplaces, though sometimes they get into the supply chains of reputable stores. If that is what you have then you need to get a refund if that is possible (which will depend on who the seller is and how far through the lifetime of their current alias they are).

There are tools that can be used to test cards. An app called "SD Insight" can give useful information, though the acid test is an app called h2testw (on a PC): this will fill the card to its claimed capacity (which can take a long time) and then attempt to read back and check for errors. With a fake card most of what was written will just overwrite stuff that was written before, so the read test will be full of errors.

It's conceivable that you have a real card with some weird formatting error, but there are so many fakes out there that I'm afraid that's the first thing to consider rather than the last. Especially if it came from eBay, an Amazon Marketplace seller or some Chinese online store, or if it seemed to be a bargain.

 

[Ralph Wiggum]

Hi it's the original poster here - cannot believe I didn't think of that! I know that scam very well, the main reason it's not crossed my mind is because the item i bought had well over 1500 reviews most positive and was 'amazons choice' or something as I have seen many cards on there with negative reviews, I actually hope that's the issue now because then at least I can return it for one that works - thankyou I will test it using your suggestions.

 

[svim]

Junk microSD cards are a big business so there's a lot of them out there, and the scammers know that all they need to do is sell their fake products for a few bucks less than the established brand name brand offerings to attract buyers. Plus, Amazon's ratings/reviews may have been a lot more reliable and insightful at one time but now they're a mix of valid, trolls, and companies boosting their own products over the competition, so be wary.
https://thewirecutter.com/blog/lets-talk-about-amazon-reviews/
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/spot-fake-reviews-amazon-best-buy-walmart/
So you might have a 'fake' card, and if you can get it replaced just be sure to research your next one. But how did you format that card to exFAT? If you did this in a computer, try re-formatting the card in your Note 9 (Settings >> Storage menu). The issue being, with Windows as an example, when you format the card it will use settings to optimize the card for Windows (i.e. block size may default at 4 KB):
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/140365/default-cluster-size-for-ntfs-fat-and-exfat
or if you used a Mac:
https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...h-specific-device-block-size-and-cluster-size
It's just more reliable to format the storage media using an operating system that's the same as the device it will be used on, make the non-native OS's do the compromising to interact with the storage media. But if you did format the card in your phone, you might not want to bother messing with this card any longer and just get a replacement. If it's a problem now than you don't want to risk your data when things get worse.

 

[Hadron]

There's a lot of controversy about the "amazon's choice" label, at least in the UK. A lot of substandard products manage to get that label. Whether that's because the obscure algorithm that assigns this can be gamed or because it's just poorly designed I don't know, but it's not actually a reliable indicator of a good product.

 

[Ralph Wiggum]

I did format is using my pc so I will try and format it via my phone if my scan proves it's not a fake card, I am running the H2testw program now but it'll take a while being 512gb, if I do need to return it I guess I will have to accept I need to pay more for a proper 512gb card from a reliable vendor. Thanks for the help.

 

[mikedt]

From what you describe, It's definitely a fake 512GB micro-SD you've got there. There's a lot of them around.

FWiW I bought a Samsung 512GB micro-SD for my phone a few months ago. And to avoid fakes I bought it directly from Samsung, and not some third-party vendor.

 

[Deleted User]

I bought a 1TB 1024GB MicroSD card from ebay

 

[MrJavi]

I purchased a brand new" Samsung 128GB 100MB/s (U3) MicroSDXC EVO Select Memory Card with Full-Size Adapter (MBME128GA/AM)" from Amazon for about $20 USD. It had 41,103 customer reviews at 4.7 out of 5 stars. The
256Gb was about $34 USD and the 512Gb was about $79 USD.
I have never actually benchmarked it but I do transfer movies to and from the sd with my laptop. I get approximately 86 mbs per second R/W. However, I dont think is a V3 but I could be mistaken.

 

[The_Chief]

I bought a 1TB 1024GB MicroSD card from ebay

If you didn't pay at least $200 USD for it, you likely bought a much lower-capacity card that is marked and formatted to indicate 1TB.

If I take a 5-liter bucket and write "20 Liters" on the outside, guess what? I will only get 5 liters of water in it. Once the physical capacity of that card is reached, your critical data will just disappear, overwritten by new data and unrecoverable.

Currently, there are only a handful of manufacturers with the ability to pack that much storage on a chip that small. I bought a SanDisk 1TB card for $199.99 on Amazon - that's crazy cheap, but it was a Black Friday sale. They normally sell for around $250.

I don't believe the app "SD Insight" is currently available or supported - however, I used Fake Device Test and did a full scan, which literally writes bits to every single storage location and keeps count. It counted all the way to 1,024 GB, proving that my card is legit. I recommend you try it.

 

[Hadron]

Ah, an android-based test app is a very useful thing to know about .

 

[Ralph Wiggum]

The scan proved it was only a 32GB Card - oh well they got me, amazon has given me a full refund for it though so that's something will be more careful next time!

 

[Deleted User]

If you didn't pay at least $200 USD for it, you likely bought a much lower-capacity card that is marked and formatted to indicate 1TB.

If I take a 5-liter bucket and write "20 Liters" on the outside, guess what? I will only get 5 liters of water in it. Once the physical capacity of that card is reached, your critical data will just disappear, overwritten by new data and unrecoverable.

Currently, there are only a handful of manufacturers with the ability to pack that much storage on a chip that small. I bought a SanDisk 1TB card for $199.99 on Amazon - that's crazy cheap, but it was a Black Friday sale. They normally sell for around $250.

I don't believe the app "SD Insight" is currently available or supported - however, I used Fake Device Test and did a full scan, which literally writes bits to every single storage location and keeps count. It counted all the way to 1,024 GB, proving that my card is legit. I recommend you try it.

I tested my 1tb sdcard on my pc and literally was a fake lolz i tested 4096MB out of 1tb and it got data errors once it hit 110MB

 

[The_Chief]

"If necessity is the mother of invention, then experience is the mother of wisdom" - The Chief

 

[MoodyBlues]

"If necessity is the mother of invention, then experience is the mother of wisdom" - The Chief

Truer words have never been spoken...er, written.

Do you mind if I steal it to put on products, if I'm ever well enough to work on my shops again? It would join these existing designs. I could give you attribution--but no one except AF members would know who 'The_Chief' is!

 

[Deleted User]

Its better to try...then not try at all

 

[The_Chief]

Do you mind if I steal it to put on products, if I'm ever well enough to work on my shops again? It would join these existing designs. I could give you attribution--but no one except AF members would know who 'The_Chief' is!

Oh, you can PM me and I'll give you all the details for attribution... and royalties

Spoiler

I'm reasonable: only 10%, almost free!

I'll even sweeten the deal with another nugget I came up with:

"If necessity is the mother of invention, then laziness is the father"

 

[Unforgiven]

I bought a 1TB 1024GB MicroSD card from ebay

I tested my 1tb sdcard on my pc and literally was a fake lolz i tested 4096MB out of 1tb and it got data errors once it hit 110MB

"If necessity is the mother of invention, then experience is the mother of wisdom" - The Chief

Truer words have never been spoken...er, written.

Do you mind if I steal it to put on products, if I'm ever well enough to work on my shops again? It would join these existing designs. I could give you attribution--but no one except AF members would know who 'The_Chief' is!

Its better to try...then not try at all

Oh, you can PM me and I'll give you all the details for attribution... and royalties

Spoiler

I'm reasonable: only 10%, almost free!

I'll even sweeten the deal with another nugget I came up with:

"If necessity is the mother of invention, then laziness is the father"

Lets stay on topic please. No one acknowledged the OP determining that he did, in fact, have a fraudulent card before the conversation went off the rails. Those posts were mixed within these quotes.

The scan proved it was only a 32GB Card - oh well they got me, amazon has given me a full refund for it though so that's something will be more careful next time!

I'm glad you were all set and @Hadron was able to point you in the right direction.

 

[The_Chief]

Thanks Pup! Yep, counterfeit cards abound... if you think the deal is too good to be true, IT IS

 

[dontpanicbobby]

The scan proved it was only a 32GB Card - oh well they got me, amazon has given me a full refund for it though so that's something will be more careful next time!

eBay for my foray. Never again. Turned out to be a 2 gig card supposed to be 64 I think? It's been a long time since I've made that mistake.

 

[Xavier Black]

Ok and that's exactly where I can't wrap my head around..some of you mentioned about the price hinting where needed to be hit..if we do our maths..doesn't make sense getting this kind off electronics for such a bargain...about a year ago or so when the 250gb memory card just came out I went ahead and got it for $250(AT THE STORE..THE MICROCENTER)..so two issues are at stake in here..first I don't understand people that just hand $200 and plus for a promised product they haven't even seen yet..specially this electronics that the policy of return is tighter and tighter..I would never buy online a memory card..that's my bottom line..

 

[Hadron]

I've bought cards online, but only from a large company operating from my country with a no-hassle return policy, and not from a "marketplace" seller or online auction site. And I tested them on receipt.

It's a shame they actually make 1TB cards now, because that used to be a really easy way to spot fakes...

 

[MoodyBlues]

I would never buy online a memory card..

I have--and will again. I just follow the same protocol @Hadron outlined, and I've never had a problem. If I had, getting a refund/replacement would've been a breeze.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

My fake card was a "Samsung" branded card and when I posted about my problems of files just disappearing someone suggest I check the packaging. The real Samsung uses a holographic stamp that changes colors when you move it around. My "Samsung" card from eBay was just grey. The seller used a copier to duplicate Samsung's packaging. Holographic stamps never show all the colors when copied.