Motorola G3: SD card dropping ready

[T42]

Wot it says. I have the SD card mapped as an extension of the internal memory, and a bunch of apps on it.  If I pop the card and re-insert it, it remains visible to the system for an hour or so, but thereafter it disappears.

If I pop the card and stick it in again it reappears, likewise if I reboot without popping the card.

What thinketh the panel - sporadic error in the card or something underhand in Android or the HW?

[Blazer]

Exactly the same issue for me.  I wondered if it was my SD card but having read this I think it is more fundamental.  Also frustrating I can't shift all apps to the SD card.

[T42]

That's gloomy.  It only started happening six months to a year after I formatted the SD card as extension memory - before that it was fine.

I've just shoved in another SD card to see what happens.

ETA: Oh. Just discovered this: https://forums.androidcentral.com/moto-g-2015/594982-how-can-i-stop-my-sd-card-unmounting-itself.html

Apparently we need fast random access rather than slow RA with high transfer rates. Cards for cameras don't necessarily suit. The very last post on that page suggests that finding the ideal one might not be simple, though.

[rr]

Happened when we formatted mini's card as internal memory as well.
The lesson seems to be - don't buy a phone with less than 32GB of internal memory.

Sent from my XT1562 using Tapatalk

[Mrs Pingu]

Same here. My googling suggested it was something that happened after an Android update. Fortunately I don't have anything major on there but to get what I needed off it I had to use the laptop and email the data to myself.

Also, a word to the unwary, if you format the card to the phone(internal storage) it locks it to the phone and you won't be able to use the data anywhere else as it's encrypted:

After I adopt an SD card as internal storage, can I use this card in another device or my laptop ?

No. You should keep the card in your device. Another device (laptop, camera) will not be able to view the content on the card.

[T42]

Can vouch for that, but at least my phone has an option to reformat a card as removable memory.

The older SD card I put in & formatted as internal yesterday is OK so far. OTOH when I tried to reinstall one of my greyed-out apps it told me that memory was insufficient.  Maybe I need to reboot...

[T42]

After faffing about on and off for over a month I finally found a card that works.  The logo on it looks like the RH one in this page:

https://motorola-global-en-uk.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/105644/p/30,6720,9390/kw/sd%20card

The funny thing is that the phone warned me about its being too slow when I installed it, but it appears to work well enough so everything works again, until the next time.

Now planning to read up on ADB and get rid of the Google bloatware. I can understand why they just might include an Indic KB in the standard package, but why anchor it ineradicably in internal memory?

<horrible thought>Is the OS going to look for it and refuse to start if it's not there?</horrible thought>

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Same here. My googling suggested it was something that happened after an Android update. Fortunately I don't have anything major on there but to get what I needed off it I had to use the laptop and email the data to myself.

Also, a word to the unwary, if you format the card to the phone(internal storage) it locks it to the phone and you won't be able to use the data anywhere else as it's encrypted:

After I adopt an SD card as internal storage, can I use this card in another device or my laptop ?

No. You should keep the card in your device. Another device (laptop, camera) will not be able to view the content on the card.

ISTR my moto 3g is the same as my Moto 4g  - you have to decide if you want it for portable storage or internal storage.  (I've no need for it to be portable.)  Internal storage needs a high performance card to work.  If you try to use it for portable storage it gets reformatted and wipes the content.  Default is 'portable' and low performance cards only work as 'portable'.