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Sans Disk 256 GB card is junk

puppykickr

Android Expert
Feb 1, 2019
3,966
4,105
USA
I have no computer, so phones with SD cards are my only storage.

Late in April I bought a Moto e6 that has 256 GB SD card capability.

The idea was that I could back up all the other 32 GB SD cards I have onto this one.

I had successfully backed up one, and was getting ready to do another shortly.

Well, the stupid card crashed tonight, with only having 28 GB used.

What a useless piece of junk.

I have never had a single issue with 32 GB cards.
Even ones that are very old and have been used a lot.

Evidently, the way the larger capacity cards work makes them much less durable.
 
I've never had any problems with large capacity micro-SD storage. I'm currently using a Samsung 512GB micro-SD in my Galaxy Note20 Ultra, and this card had been used previously for a year in my Huawei Mate10. The card is basically filled with music, mostly FLAC and MP3. And isn't often written to, just occasionally to add new albums, etc. I'm certainly not running apps from it, and for camera photos and videos I take, I'm using the Note20's 256GB(currently 130GB free) internal storage for that. Of course I do backup regularly to a hard-drive, via USB-OTG. And the Note20 has not been plugged into a computer, so far.
 
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I've never had any problems with large capacity micro-SD storage. I'm currently using a Samsung 512GB micro-SD in my Galaxy Note20 Ultra, and this card had been used previously for a year in my Huawei Mate10. The card is basically filled with music, mostly FLAC and MP3. And isn't often written to, just occasionally to add new albums, etc. I'm certainly not running apps from it, and for camera photos and videos I take, I'm using the Note20's 256GB(currently 130GB free) internal storage for that. Of course I do backup regularly to a hard-drive, via USB-OTG. And the Note20 has not been plugged into a computer, so far.

Yeah, no apps or stupid stuff.
Just videos, mp3s, PDFs, and pics.

I read somewhere that cards above 32 GB are less stable.

I have never had a problem with 32GB cards, except years ago when I formated a Lexar as internal and it burned out in a couple of months.

Anyway, looks like I will be sticking to 32 GB cards from now on.
 
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Yeah, no apps or stupid stuff.
Just videos, mp3s, PDFs, and pics.

I read somewhere that cards above 32 GB are less stable.


I have never had a problem with 32GB cards, except years ago when I formated a Lexar as internal and it burned out in a couple of months.

Anyway, looks like I will be sticking to 32 GB cards from now on.

I've never heard that. However micro-SDs above 32GB are of a different type, SDXC, which some devices can't use or may have trouble with. Micro-SDs of 32GB or less are usually the SDHC type, and should work in anything.

I have got another Sandisk 128GB micro-SD I was using for a couple years in my phones, until I replaced with the 512GB one. But I'm now using that 128GB in my Android TV box, for storing and playing downloaded videos.
 
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q
I've never heard that. However micro-SDs above 32GB are of a different type, SDXC, which some devices can't use or may have trouble with. Micro-SDs of 32GB or less are usually the SDHC type, and should work in anything.

I have got another Sandisk 128GB micro-SD I was using for a couple years in my phones, until I replaced with the 512GB one. But I'm still using the 128GB in my Android TV box, for storing and playing downloaded videos.

Yeah, since I have multipke devices, I wanted to back up all the 32 GB cards to this one 256 GB card.

Looks like that was a bad idea, as I only got one 32 GB card transfered before it took a crap.

There was something about how the storage blocks are larger on a 32 GB and below, whereas the larger cards still have the base 32 but they are divided into smaller sectors, and that can cause greater instability.

What a bunch of work wasted trying to back things up this turned out to be.
 
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It would be nice to understand the reason. I'm curious how you were transferring between the 2 cards. A usb card adapter through the port, or swapping cards and using internal storage

You know SanDisk have good support and a Chat line.

Something to do e mmc storage speeds. idk.

I had a Kingston card fail and always stuck to SanDisk.

I bought a new basic pc as my old laptop was failing, and I bought a SanDisk 128gb flash drive cheaply, the one with a slide out USB - A and USB - C connector on either side and it works great, though used twice only so far.
Another option for you if you get the card refunded.

IMG_20210709_132101.jpg

** I lie - I copied about 20gb of music to several USB C and A devices as well.
 
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It would be nice to understand the reason. I'm curious how you were transferring between the 2 cards. A usb card adapter through the port, or swapping cards and using internal storage

You know SanDisk have good support and a Chat line.

Something to do e mmc storage speeds. idk.

I had a Kingston card fail and always stuck to SanDisk.

I bought a new basic pc as my old laptop was failing, and I bought a SanDisk 128gb flash drive cheaply, the one with a slide out USB - A and USB - C connector on either side and it works great, though used twice only so far.
Another option for you if you get the card refunded.

View attachment 158202

** I lie - I copied about 20gb of music to several USB C and A devices as well.

I was reading from a 32GB Sans Disk on one device, using NitroShare to send the files via Wi-Fi to the internal memory of the new device, then moving the files onto the 256GB card.

I have done this hundreds of times with the 32GB cards.

Now they are all pretty full, and I thought that I could make a backup of all of them onto this one card.

Obviously that was a pipe dream.

I am sure that I can't get a refund, I have no box or receipt. Who can keep track of that crap anyway?

Stupid card cost almost as much as the device.

I should have known better.
32GB cards cost almost the same as 256GB cards.

Probably because the quality of the higher capacity cards is that much less.
 
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I have no computer, so phones with SD cards are my only storage.

Late in April I bought a Moto e6 that has 256 GB SD card capability.

The idea was that I could back up all the other 32 GB SD cards I have onto this one.

I had successfully backed up one, and was getting ready to do another shortly.

Well, the stupid card crashed tonight, with only having 28 GB used.

What a useless piece of junk.

I have never had a single issue with 32 GB cards.
Even ones that are very old and have been used a lot.

Evidently, the way the larger capacity cards work makes them much less durable.

Can't help the current problem, but consider this type of solution:
Screenshot_20210709-202552_1.jpg
Screenshot_20210709-202646_1.jpg
 
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Can't help the current problem, but consider this type of solution:
View attachment 158218 View attachment 158219

I recently bought a card reader, but the stupid thing only has USB C output, and my Moto e6 is micro USB.

So I am still screwed.

Why can't there just be a stand alone storage solution?

I am sick of piddling around with these cards, and a computer is out of the question.

This device has OTG capability, but as far as I can tell I really can't do much with that.
 
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The Dual drive I have, above, has a USB plug on one end, and type C on the other end.

This one below now has a socket and USB C.

I would contact SanDisk anyway, everyone throws packaging away and they may be able to trace something.

I'm sure I've used it on a Moto E6, but I won't be home for a couple of days.

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-128GB-Ultra-Drive-Type-C/dp/B06XC1WGQR/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=sandisk+dual+usb+drive+type-c&qid=1625918000&sprefix=SanDisk+du&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1

I think I am done with anything over 32GB.
I reread some stuff, and 32GB is the base for all the larger cards, and those are just layers of 32GB wafers.
They are less stable than a standard 32GB card.

The worthless 256GB card lasted as long as if I had formatted it as internal rather than external.

I sure as hell won't be going down either of those routes again.

So it's back to the damn store to buy yet another 32GB card, just so that I can take some music on vacation next week.

And instead of doing something I want, I get to spend all day transferring files that I had already done before.

Getting real sick of this.
Spending more on stupid SD cards than the device, with nothing but aggrevation to show for it.

At least I learned this before I filled that 256GB card up only to have it lose all THAT.
Or if my ol'lady had bought and filled up a 512GB only to have it do the same?

Geez, if a 256GB card crashes when 10% full after 2 months, my guess is that you can cut the time in half for a 512GB.

Going to warn her against getting one of those, for sure.
 
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Well my Samsung 256gig card has lasted me for almost 3years now with no issues. I have almost 200gigs worth of mp3, MP4, and audio books on it. Probably one my now 10+ is fully paid for this year, I'm gonna upgrade the phone as well as get a new card. I'll then use this card that I'm using now as a back up.

I have 32GB cards that are 10 years and less older.
I will not be getting cards any larger than this again.

The failure rate of a card goes up drastically as the numbers of wafer layers increase.
 
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Your Mileage May Vary.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/your_mileage_may_vary
  1. (Canada, US, idiomatic, often computing) It may work differently in your situation, or be different in your experience.
    The battery lasts a day in my phone, but your mileage may vary.

Of course I'm referring to our differing experiences of above 32GB micro-SD cards here.

I just can't figure out how it died, as the symptoms are the same as if it was a fake.
I got the thing from the same place that I got all my 32GB cards from.

It just sucks real bad, because they cost so much, and the time I invested (wasted) in setting it up as I wanted.
My whole idea of a backup system is now shot, and I have to start all over again- and a large capacity SD card cannot be any part of it, apparently.
What's more, is that I am going on vacation this week, and now I have to figure out all this crap on a timeline.
I had it all figured out and ready to go a month ago, or so I thought.
Really thinking of just ditching all of my SD cards now, as they cannot be trusted for anything.
The whole idea of making backups was to avoid this very thing from happening.

I did notice that there is not much difference in cost between a 32 and a 256 card.
That should have been a clue to me in the difference of quality.
 
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