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Help Samsung Galaxy S3 KILLS SD CARDS!!!!!!

Yo guys.
this is my 1st pose...i actually register just to share the tips
I had similar problems with u all..
been buying new sd card , reset the phone etc.
All not working...

And what the heck...i try inserting a thin piece of paper above my sd card.
after 3rd try , it ACTUALLY WORK...!!!!!:):):):D
Fyi
i use paper that usually use in credit card receipts ...it just happen to be there when i try this.:p
I cut and double folded it at the half size of my SD...

So I guess the problem is mechanical give away of the tension spring in the sd card slot...
 
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SAMSUNG S3 external memory card error FIXED!!
(previously access was unavailable in S3 or PC).

Steps used to Fix the SD card:
1. S3 set Developer options (ON)
2. Set Protect SD card (checked)
3. Remove battery
4. Install 32g card
5. Install battery
6. Turn on S3

Download SanDisk Android app. - external 32g shows up - YES!!
Scandisk app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sandisk.mz
Works for me (ADATA 16GB class 10), thanks a lot!
 
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SAMSUNG S3 external memory card error FIXED!!
(previously access was unavailable in S3 or PC).

Steps used to Fix the SD card:
1. S3 set Developer options (ON)
2. Set Protect SD card (checked)
3. Remove battery
4. Install 32g card
5. Install battery
6. Turn on S3

Download SanDisk Android app. - external 32g shows up - YES!!
Scandisk app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sandisk.mz




Other options to fix:
Not sure if this was posted but:

Try this:
TestDisk Download - CGSecurity

(they talk about it on page 10 or 11 in the thread below)

The thread below may work too

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1355528
 
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Hmm...sounds to me that the phone is somehow screwing up the partition table? Hence why one is unable to format a card screwed up on the Android phone. Most PCs usually have Windows OS. Android is Linux at core and I'm just guessing that maybe some bug in the phone's stock OS is causing some mayhem on the partition structure of the SD card which confuses Windows.

The phone could still read it after the above mentioned tweaks. Makes sense seeing that the native OS that caused the problem can be used to fix it without going through too many hurdles.

My mother and sister just got an S3 as part of a free phone upgrade. I will definitely keep an eye out for this.

I have my hands on software that can recover data from drives with messed up/lost partition tables and such. I bet I could probably salvage data from the SD card if/when the phone decides to f*** it up. Fiddling with the phone is probably going to be a hassle. I bet it would be easier to just use my above mentioned recovery software to recover the data and just wipe out and redo the partition structure/MBR. :p

I've been able to recover videos off of a harddrive from a linux based DVR from my cable provider with little effort. (the only protection they put on the system is that the harddrive seems to have zero partition structure. That must have been stored on the NAND side of the device). But despite that I was able to recover whole videos. (they weren't encrypted. So thus they were watchable after fixes to the file formats).

So yeah, Linux related troubles on a storage device is definitely something I can handle. :D
 
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I just got my Samsung Galazy S3 a month ago. I had a Motorola Atrix for two years and was hating it. I take a lot of pics and I had Pny 16gb card - class 10 most likely. I put it in my new Samsung and it had like 200 pics and videos on it. I had no issues for a month then a week ago I had my phone charging up cuz its battery sucks down so fast and I came in the room to check notifications and it said I had no SD card or unable to read format. NOthing worked - rebooted - took it out and back in and finally I put it in a reader and it said it needed to be reformatted - and I had a smaller 8gb card I stuck in the phone. The phone completely wiped out my 200 pics - luckily most of them were uploaded to dropbox thank god. I looked it up and found this site plus a few others. I called AT&T and they said to call Samsung. I called Samsung and they said no known issues but they are full of caca and I can tell you that this phone gets HOT and it gets hot right on the sd card and right on the sim card - not all the time but last time it got hot I opened the back and felt those two slots which are under the battery and it was boiling hot. The heat is wiping out the cards and Samsung wont recognize this as an issue so I would say if u take a lot of pics to not rely on an external card or to put it in save to it and take it out or it will be wiped out by the heat.
that's just my opinion
 
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...snip...

...I can tell you that this phone gets HOT and it gets hot right on the sd card and right on the sim card - not all the time but last time it got hot I opened the back and felt those two slots which are under the battery and it was boiling hot.

...snip...

My S3 has killed 4 32GB SD cards (mix of Transcend and SanDisk). I noticed the same thing while using a SD card tester app to verify a card I suspected was going bad. The app did a bunch of read/write operations and during the test, and after only a few minutes the card got so hot it was uncomfortable to touch.
 
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I think the solution is to use a pc on windows xp, an external card reader ( i used a targus ) and then just keep playing with it.

(EDITED)
The solution is for Samsung to admit that they have a problem, and for Samsung and Sandisk to fix the problems. Supposedly, Sandisk has reportedly fixed theirs. Those with bad cards may want to contact Sandisk for replacements. Samsung will probably never own up to their phone having a problem.
 
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If both you and your wife experienced that, it just means you connect the phones to a PC that breaks the cards or has virus or something like that.

I have an Unlocked S3 with a 32gb original sandisk microSD installed, after a month of use, I noticed the memory card reporting the SD card is corrupted. I later removed the card and it was not readable by any media. I bought a new SD card and inserted it into a blackberry phone, after a while I noticed the card is corrupted as well.
My final findings was, my laptop is the culprit, the Laptop was actually the one damaging those SD card. To proof my theory, I bought a new SD card for my S3 and I stopped connecting my S3 to any laptop either for charging or for data transfer.
My S3 has been working very fine since then, so everyone should becareful where you plug in the phone into. Most of these laptops have inherent viruses that damage :DSD card
 
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Has anyone tested if having the camera storage settings set to memory card makes it more likely for the card to die? I've had a 64gb sandisk since february and the first thing i did was change the camera storage to memory card. But immediately i noticed the camera app crashing and slowing down so i changed it back to phone and now manually move the files to the card. Not sure if this was due to the card or just a bug with the camera but generally both the gallery and camera apps dont seem to handle memory cards very well. I wonder if this could be the reason for all the sd cards getting fried.

I think the problem with my S3 SD card started when I changed the camera storage to memory card. I got this new SD card and I refuse to change it to external memory card. Everything has been working so far:D
 
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I think the problem with my S3 SD card started when I changed the camera storage to memory card. I got this new SD card and I refuse to change it to external memory card. Everything has been working so far:D

S4 user here. I think that might be the culprit. At least, I've noticed that the more I take pictures/video when the camera is set to write to the sdcard, the sooner it dies. I've had two die on me (16G PNY, 8G sandisk).

I'm going to buy an sdcard, but I think I'll wind up only using it for ROM backups and movies when I'm on the road. I refuse to let the camera write to the sdcard, since at least for me that seems to be related.
 
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I used the same SanDisk card on my LG phone for 2 years without issue, a few months after installation into my S3 my phone had a day with excessive and unexplained battery drain and was hot to the touch. That evening I got a message that my card wasn't working and after trying it in numerous other devices I've come to the conclusion it's just toast.. I had always assumed I had cracked the card or damaged it somehow, though the amount of times I had handled it were few..

A good thing about the S3 is the amount of internal memory, I didn't run out of space without a card so I didn't bother to buy another..
 
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Hi all, I'm new here. I found you by searching for solutions to why my S3 kills SD cards.
I think this is a serious problem. It costs Samsung users time and money. The various threads in different forums make it plain that Samsung is ignoring this issue. For an expensive device that is supposed to make life easier, this is appalling.
I do not work for a competitor of Samsung. I'm just an owner/user, and I expect the products I buy to work as promised. This is a breach of trust in my view.
Has Samsung offered a fix to anyone? Please advise.
 
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