SD card formatted as internal storage is not working. How to fix

   We have seen many users who purchased an external memory card as an additional storage device for their data due to insufficient space on their Android or Windows phone.

   At the end, they will start complaining that the external memory card is not working after they have formatted it, and they will begin surfing the internet for solutions. Some will eventually trash the memory card. I have done that in the past before I later found the solution to it.

   If you are one of them, never throw the memory card away because this article will tell you the solution to it and will also review the causes and how to format an SD card on your phone without having any issues.

   I could remember some months ago, someone asked me and he said, “I formatted my SD card as internal storage and now the SD card shows not inserted though it’s inserted.” Inside of me, I smiled, though I assisted him to rectify the problem. But the question is, what does formatting an SD card do? Continue reading the article for better clarification. 

What does SD card stand for?

   An external memory card, which is popularly known as a secure digital card and, in short form, is known as an SD card, is a removable storage device to store large quantities of information. SD cards vary in capacity, such as 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 2TB, etc.

How do you format an SD card?

    This is the most sensitive part, where the errors usually come from. When you insert a new SD card into your phone, the first thing to do is to format the SD. However, there are two ways to format an SD card. You can either format the SD card as an internal storage device or as a portable storage device. Let me quickly explain the advantages and disadvantages of the two. Learn how to upload pictures to iCloud from PC or iPhone

 

  What happens when you format an SD card as an internal storage device? 

   When you format your SD card as an internal, it will function as an internal storage device and will no longer be identified as an SD card, allowing you to install more applications and other items designed to store internal data on your phone. But as time goes on, the card will get corrupted when you install applications with corrupted files.

 

  What happens when you format an SD card as a portable storage device? 

  Your SD card will remain external and will be indicated as a memory card in the file explorer on your phone, but you will not be able to install applications or store any information that is meant for internal storage on it.

   You will also be able to use it on other devices such as digital cameras, but unlike formatting it as internal storage, you will not be able to use it as external storage unless you format it back as portable storage.

How to use an SD card as internal storage?

   If you have a memory card formatted as portable storage and you now want to format it as internal storage on the same phone,

• Open the settings on your phone.
• Locate storage
• You will see that the SD card is indicated just below portable storage.
• Tap the SD card and not the arrow beside it. The arrow is meant to eject.
• Select open with document.
• Click the three dots (...) at the top right corner 
• Select storage settings
• There are two options: Click format as internal
• It will indicate the SD card as corrupted card. Don’t be afraid, it’s not
• Tap on it and click Set Up.
• select the phone's storage to format as internal storage.

NOTE: You can also format your SD card by clicking format or eject using this procedure. My laptop not recognizing flash drive. How to fix

How to recover SD card formatted as internal storage?

   To recover your SD card initially formatted as internal storage to portable or external storage so that you can be able to access it from other devices, simply follow the procedure above and select format as portable storage.