Database Users

No Micro SD Support in HC3.1 Update?

**I'm sorry if this has been covered already. I did a quick search and didn't find anything in the other "3.1 update" posts.
Got my HoneyComb 3.1 OTA update yesterday evening. The only detail that I was looking forward to (or even knew about in the update) was the new usage of the MicroSD card slot.
I hurried to grab a MicroSD card to check out the new memory-expansion capabilities. To my surprise, it did NOT work.
In doing some minor searching, it appears that the 3.1 update did NOT come with the support for the SD cards.
WHY?

No, it did not come with the update. Stock Xooms do not yet have working SD card slots.

Micro SD support is not included in the 3.1 update. You will have to root with one of the methods in the Development section.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

cam30era said:
Micro SD support is not included in the 3.1 update. You will have to root with one of the methods in the Development section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cam,
If I root, are there ROMS that have SD support? Or will simply rooting the Xoom enable the SD slot?

No ROMs yet for Xoom. But there are custom kernels that enable external SD card support. If you are on a stock wifi only Xoom go here >
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1078019
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

TeldenW
If I root, are there ROMS that have SD support? Or will simply rooting the Xoom enable the SD slot?
If you are actually stock under HC3.1 take a look there
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1078019
for root your Xoom wifi-only and when it will be done install the last Tiamat kernel from here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=978013
so you will have acces to your micro sd card and if you want you can overclock your Xoom. This is what i just did with mine and it's working fine.

Has anyone attempted to put an SD card in the slot without any kernel modifications and actually have it damage the sd card? I tried mine today just for the heck of it and now my SD card is dead. My EVO cant access it and my PC cant even reformat it.

Maybe you damaged a contact or something. Because that seems odd. I kept my SD card in there before I rooted and it didn't destroy it.

Stealyourface said:
Maybe you damaged a contact or something. Because that seems odd. I kept my SD card in there before I rooted and it didn't destroy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. No issue here when I inserted SD card prior to root.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

it turns out it severely corrupted one of my video files. After several tries I was able to get windows to reformat it and now it seems fine again. Still really weird tho...

[Q] External sd problems

Hi guys
I'm having some extremely irritating problems with my A500. It doesn't detect any external sd card I've tried so far. It says external sd is unavailable under storage in settings and the external_sd folder is empty in root/mnt. I've tried 3 different cards so far with no success. Anyone have a any advice for me on how to mount the card? I think the problem might be that it doesn't get mounted when I insert it. I can't root because the GingerBreak mod that's been posted needs an external card to work. So maybe some advice on how to root some other way? Then I can try restore a stock image and see what happens.

I had to insert mine and then reboot the tablet for mine to show inside of a file manager.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

lawmangrant said:
I had to insert mine and then reboot the tablet for mine to show inside of a file manager.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for the tip. I forgot to add it to my original post. I've tried rebooting with all 3 of the cards I have. I'm starting to think it's a hardware problem...

Have the cards you're testing been formatted NTFS or FAT32? If NTFS they probably won't work without some help.
The stock device only deals with FAT32 mSD cards; I haven't tried the NTFSMount app from the Dev forum on an NTFS-formatted card yet, only USB devices.

Vereynn said:
Have the cards you're testing been formatted NTFS or FAT32? If NTFS they probably won't work without some help.
The stock device only deals with FAT32 mSD cards; I haven't tried the NTFSMount app from the Dev forum on an NTFS-formatted card yet, only USB devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey. I've formatted the cards multiple times, to FAT32 every time. Might try exFAT tomorrow just to see what happens.

exFAT didn't work. Not that I expected it to, lol. Maybe the GingerBreak apk can be modified to use the usb storage instead of the external sd. Any idea where I can get the source code to take a look at?

If you've tried multiple cards, all FAT32 and all work on other devices, I'd return the tablet while you can, sounds like a hardware problem indeed

Slight problem with the returning, lol. I live in South Africa and ordered my tab from the USA since my own country is so backwards. I don't really mind not having an external sd card, I just wanna root again since almost all the apps I use need root. I'm considering returning, even if it's gonna take a lot of effort, time and money...
EDIT - Another reason I can't return it (and this is a horrible thing) is that SuperUser Permissions is still installed. The recent update made me lose root. So I'm kinda stuck with this app that's proof that I voided my warranty. The only way to get rid of SuperUser is to use some apps that all need root. To get root I need the external sd to work. To get that to work I need to send it for repairs. A very messed up situation

I'm almost positive that it's a hardware issue now. Even when I try to do an update.zip from recovery mode it can't find the file even though it's on the card. Let's hope they don't see the SuperUser app when I return it...
I thought about maybe waiting for Acer to release an update that will unlock the bootloader. But since the SD card slot isn't working I won't be able to install the update. That so much depends on one little slot amazes me. If you wanna know what the single point of failure for an Android device is, look no further.

I know some android tabs came out without external SD card support. I live in the uk and have a 32GB version and the SD card worked out the box. Maybe you have to wait for an update. Just my 2c though. You won't need an external SD to receive OTA updates though.
Sent from my A500

Here's an image of what recovery mode says when I select Install Update from external source. Seems the system can't mount the card. Sigh

I like that message at the end.... "Install from sdcard complete."
You had rooted before the update, which means it had to have seen the sdcard then. So it's unlikely that the hardware just went bad. Are the sdcards your trying of different sizes, classes, and/or manufacturer?
I'd go with the same sdcard you used when you rooted before and reformat it using the HP USB Format tool. Selecting fat32, of course. And don't select quick format. See if that helps. Sorry if I missed somethiing relevent above.
Here's the link to the HP first tool. http://download.cnet.com/HP-USB-Disk-Storage-Format-Tool/3000-2094_4-10974082.html
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

Lol, the "fake it till you make it" strategy. Fail Google.
I've tried it with the original SD and two other ones. My guess is some app tried to mount the external SD in /mnt/sdcard and messed up some associations or dependencies or something.

I'm amazed. After everything I've tried it suddenly worked. I was busy in settings and accidentally selected storage. And there it was in all its glory... A working external sd card! I'm rooted again, backed up and ready to roll!

To anyone finding this thread hoping for answers for a similar problem: It was a hardware problem indeed. I fixed it myself by opening the tab and bending the MicroSD slot's pins back into place.

SD card help

I just picked up a Xoom last week and have been messing with it since and ran into a problem.
I have put in two different SD cards into the top slot and none of them are showing up when browsing with File Manager HD. When I go into Settings->Storage, under SD card it is greyed out and says insert an SD card for mounting.
I don't mind wiping the card, but how do I get the Xoom to recognize the card?

Have u formated it to fat 32?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

I just took it out of my phone and tried to stick it in.
The card works fine on my phone and on my Gtab.
I haven't rooted it either.
Ok, so now under SD Card it lets me select Mount SD Card, but nothing happens. Why is it so hard to use this feature?

snowwhite007 said:
Have u formated it to fat 32?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
wow, this sucks monkey balls.
my gtablet running an HC ROM, which doesn't even support HC, can have access to the SD card fine and is changeable between my phone/camera/pc, but for it to work with the XOOM has to be formatted to FAT32. Also, I can't write to it unless I root.
what's the point of the SD card then?

Mine worked straight from a card I had in a LG EnV Touch. I don't know what the deal is. Has your XOOM just come back from the upgrade or is it the WiFi version?
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium

couchmonkey said:
wow, this sucks monkey balls.
my gtablet running an HC ROM, which doesn't even support HC, can have access to the SD card fine and is changeable between my phone/camera/pc, but for it to work with the XOOM has to be formatted to FAT32. Also, I can't write to it unless I root.
what's the point of the SD card then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without root, you can access music, video, pdfs other files from your micro sdcard...up to 32GB, which adds lots of storage. There is no apps-to-sd in Honeycomb, but if you root, you can have R/W access to the micro sdcard and save your nandroids to it, TB backups, write files to it, etc. When you root, you'll find the micro sdcard at mnt/external1, on same directory level as sdcard (32GB internal storage) and mnt/usbOTG. Xoom uses micro sdcard for media storage/playback in non-rooted state and that's fine. But if you root you have a hell of a lot more features. that's our reward for the work (pain) of rooting.

okantomi said:
Without root, you can access music, video, pdfs other files from your micro sdcard...up to 32GB, which adds lots of storage. There is no apps-to-sd in Honeycomb, but if you root, you can have R/W access to the micro sdcard and save your nandroids to it, TB backups, write files to it, etc. When you root, you'll find the micro sdcard at mnt/external1, on same directory level as sdcard (32GB internal storage) and mnt/usbOTG. Xoom uses micro sdcard for media storage/playback in non-rooted state and that's fine. But if you root you have a hell of a lot more features. that's our reward for the work (pain) of rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so I'm trying to figure out the best way to root.
which way is it?

couchmonkey said:
so I'm trying to figure out the best way to root.
which way is it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the best way I know: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1249798
It can seem pretty daunting but we all did it, some have done it multiple times, and so can you.
In the first section where it talks about setting up adb on your pc, there's a link to an alternate approach to setting up the files. It's supposed to give you just the files needed for rooting and nothing more. I never tried it but you could if you want to...may save a step or two.
Anyway, this guide should have everything you need.
Take your time, print out the instructions and read them carefully. The Xoom was made to be rooted, it's just a complex device, so there's no 'one click' magic.

[GUIDE] How to format 64 GB microSD to FAT32 WITHOUT sd card reader.

I've recently figured out how to do this and it's pretty simple, but since there isn't a thread like this one yet, I might as well post a tutorial on how to do it and be of assistance to those of you who haven't figured it out yet.
1. Download and install the latest version of the app 'SGS3 Easy UMS'.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1711009
2. Download and install the free 'EaseUS Partition Master 9.1.1 Home Edition'.
http://download.cnet.com/EaseUS-Partition-Master-Home-Edition/3000-2248_4-10863346.html
3. Plug your phone into your computer with the SD card inside. Make sure the computer can recognize the phone is in MTP mode.
4. Open SGS3 Easy UMS and press 'UMS mode'. Your external SD card will now be recognized as a removable disk.
5. Open EaseUS Partition Master, select the removable disk and press 'Format'. Choose FAT32 as file system. Finally, press 'Apply'. Your SD has now been formatted to FAT32.
6. Go back to SGS3 Easy UMS and select 'Mount card'. Unplug the phone.
7. Restart your phone.
8. Enjoy!
PS: To be sure of your succes, you must use EaseUS Partition Master and nothing else. I tried Minitool Partition Wizard at first and it did not work.

I knew this already,
Btw sd card reader is very cheap, everyone has it.
Laptops have it inbuilt

Thanks. Good guide. Sometimes I just cannot find a card reader when I need it. This should solved my problem
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

buggingme said:
I knew this already,
Btw sd card reader is very cheap, everyone has it.
Laptops have it inbuilt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know but i cheaped out on my custom pc by not getting one

Arsaw said:
Thanks. Good guide. Sometimes I just cannot find a card reader when I need it. This should solved my problem
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your very welcome Glad I could help.

Joskezz said:
I've recently figured out how to do this and it's pretty simple, but since there isn't a thread like this one yet, I might as well post a tutorial on how to do it and be of assistance to those of you who haven't figured it out yet.
1. Download and install the latest version of the app 'SGS3 Easy UMS'.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1711009
2. Download and install the free 'EaseUS Partition Master 9.1.1 Home Edition'.
http://download.cnet.com/EaseUS-Partition-Master-Home-Edition/3000-2248_4-10863346.html
3. Plug your phone into your computer with the SD card inside. Make sure the computer can recognize the phone is in MTP mode.
4. Open SGS3 Easy UMS and press 'UMS mode'. Your external SD card will now be recognized as a removable disk.
5. Open EaseUS Partition Master, select the removable disk and press 'Format'. Choose FAT32 as file system. Finally, press 'Apply'. Your SD has now been formatted to FAT32.
6. Go back to SGS3 Easy UMS and select 'Mount card'. Unplug the phone.
7. Restart your phone.
8. Enjoy!
PS: To be sure of your succes, you must use EaseUS Partition Master and nothing else. I tried Minitool Partition Wizard at first and it did not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks. I'm going to give this a try as I have tried and failed formatting my card as a FAT32 that is workable with UMS mode it would work but never ever mount with the mass storage app. You're sure it mounts in mass storage mode right?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Nice guide, but only necessary if you're one of the ones having trouble with your card on exFAT formatting.

SlimJ87D said:
Hey thanks. I'm going to give this a try as I have tried and failed formatting my card as a FAT32 that is workable with UMS mode it would work but never ever mount with the mass storage app. You're sure it mounts in mass storage mode right?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely sure
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/pic2bi.png/ (Zoom in)
As you can see in the photo, my SD card is running as removable storage, with file system FAT32.

NZtechfreak said:
Nice guide, but only necessary if you're one of the ones having trouble with your card on exFAT formatting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it benefits those that like to play movies on their PS3, Samsung HDTVs, etc.
But I guess getting a MHL cable would solve that.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

NZtechfreak said:
Nice guide, but only necessary if you're one of the ones having trouble with your card on exFAT formatting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And also because only Sammy based Roms support the exFAT file system.

Joskezz said:
And also because only Sammy based Roms support the exFAT file system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a Ps3 or XBoX to connect it into to see if it works?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

SlimJ87D said:
Do you have a Ps3 or XBoX to connect it into to see if it works?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, I do not, my ps3 just recently got the yellow light of death
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

I'm gonna try it today with my girlfriends' brothers' xbox and get back to you.

This is not working for me. I get an error when pressing UMS mode. It tells me that it cannot find the path to my external SD card. Any Ideals?

I used this to easily format my 64gig micro to fat32
http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Saviour
I spent hours doing searches on XDA trying to find an app or other method since my sd card reader didn't want to work and then I came across this guide.
Absolutely amazing.
Thanks.

welll my microsd fried randomly today too (Lexar 32gb class 10) ... tried to do this method because I dont have a microsd reader... well didnt work out too well because it keeps saying "could not find location" to sd 1

I have Sandisk Ultra 64 GB microSDXC Class 10 UHS-1 which is exFAT formatted. The only problem I have is that Clockwork Mod will not mount it in recovery. My work around is to remove and replace the card with my old 32GB one which is FAT32 formatted.
* * * * * Will this procedure allow that (use with in recovery)?
Anyway there is an Amazon Black Friday weekend special for these for $35 delivered (with prime).
there is a warning / cautionary note which reads:
"Reformat into file system other than exFAT may cause instability"

SD car not recognized on my Verizon Galaxy Note 3????

I've got a Samsung 64 GB sd card that I've formatted and put in my Note 3, the problem is that its not recognizing it, any help would be appreciated. The problem I'm having is when I insert the card in my phone and go under Storage all the way at the bottom the Mount SD Card is greyed out so I cannot do anything with it
Thanks

Is it being detected in your pc ?
Which file system did you use when you format your card ?
Try a different file system.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

yes it is being recognized by my pc, its a 64 GB card so its formatted to exfat, still not doing anything, ive tried several ways and just not having any luck.
any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the reply

Check if you can mount it from recovery. If you can format it there and see.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

code10breaker said:
Check if you can mount it from recovery. If you can format it there and see.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am at work so getting into recovery on a stock phone for me is impossible, when I get home I will try that, my phone is stock so not much i can do with it here.
Thanks

Stock touchwiz have issue with exfat ... At least that's what I remember reading somewhere... (havent used tw for quiet a while now ) Try fat32 (I know 4 gig limit is a pain ... But just to clear things up ... ) and see of it reads before flashing a recovery.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

I will try that once I get home today and again thanks for all the replys.

Happy to help ... Keep me posted.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

I just noticed this in your post above, you say 4GB limit, what did you mean by that?

In a Fat32 file system ... A single file can't exceed 4gb ... In case you want to transfer a 8gig rar file to your mem card ... You can't do it with fat32.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

unfortunately no go so far, got home and reformatted several size SD cards but its not reading any of them. I had a few 8GB, a few 16GB and also the 64GB card I am trying to use but just no luck.

Taking it to a phone shop today to see if they clean the contacts on the phone itself and if that doesn't help I will return the phone.