Help Please help with micro SD problem - (not detecting micro SD card)

[Max1Android]

Hi, I've bought brand new Motorola Moto G3 (2015). And it has an issue with micro SD card.

I have inserted 16GB new micro SD card in the slot, formatted (as prompted by android) it to be "internal storage" - it immediately said to be "ready for use", I looked and it does show up in the Settings - Storage & USB as SD card, HOWEVER, I cannot access the SD card from PC (windows 10) - it only shows internal storage of 4.54GB. ALSO I cannot access SD card using file manger apps - I'm using File Manager + (I've also tried many other with the same result) - It says SD card not available.

16GB SD card file system is FAT32.
I've tried wiping the cache partition - nothing works.
Android version is 6.0.1

Please help if you've had similar problem

Thanks
Max

 

[mikedt]

Possibly a problem with the new micro-SD itself? Where did you buy it? Suggest you check its integrity with SD Insight, ensure you haven't got a fake or duff.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.humanlogic.sdi

 

[Max1Android]

Possibly a problem with the new micro-SD itself? Where did you buy it? Suggest you check its integrity with SD Insight, ensure you haven't got a fake or duff.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.humanlogic.sdi

Not likely because it works on my Lenovo tablet. I've also tried 32GB SD card - the result is the same

 

[Max1Android]

I've downloaded this app SD Insight. With inserted 32GB card it shows Model - SD32G. Size 31GB. Manufacture date Feb 2014. Serial # 0x1c5581b. Product name SD32G. Manufacturer Phison Electronics Corp.

 

[svim]

You should take a moment to determine just how you want to use that microSD card. By default that card was formatted to use FAT32 or exFAT as its file system, FAT itself (and all its variants) being a very dated Microsoft file system that's a commonly used one because of its compatibility with most modern operating systems. But when you formatted the card to be used as 'internal' that changes it significantly. Instead of FAT it is changed to ext4, the same file system used by your phone's internal storage so both are in parity. It's also encrypted with the encryption key tying both your phone and that card together -- when set up as 'internal' (a.k.a. 'adoptable') at that point the card essentially becomes a part of your phone. You just leave it as is since it's now 'adopted' by the operating system to be just part of your phone's overall internal storage. (Also keep in mind while 'internal' the card can't be accessed by a Windows PC as the card is set as a non-native file system and it's encrypted.)
https://fossbytes.com/android-sd-card-internal-storage-adoptable-storage/
So what you're experiencing isn't so much a problem, it's a matter where you need to just figure out how you want to use your card. As 'internal' it's a part of your phone and you don't directly interact with it; or as 'portable' that returns it back to its original state where you can add/delete/edit files on it whenever you care to or just remove/insert it when needed.

 

[Max1Android]

Yes, but when it is formatted as "internal", it doesn't add any storage capacity to the phone. Anyways, thanks for giving me a clue - I've formatted it as "portable" and it shows just fine everywhere.

Thanks
Max

 

[svim]

Yes, but when it is formatted as "internal", it doesn't add any storage capacity to the phone. ....

Were you gauging this using your phone's Settings >> Storage menu or by what you see from when it's mounted on your Windows PC?
Keep in mind Windows access (and the info it presents) will be limited, misleading, and non-conclusive when it involves your Android phone, there are two very different platforms involved in the mix.