SOLVED! SD Card Format As Internal Storage Not Showing On Android

Regarding SD card “format as internal storage” not showing on Android, the SD card could be corrupted and you should use Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to fix it. New to Android and don’t know how to use ADB? In that case, this article could help you out.

What You Have To Try Out 

Problems on Android have various approaches but regarding the issue of SD card format as internal storage not showing, you should go through these steps

Note: It’s strongly recommended that you consider using an empty SD card for formatting. In the case that you intend to use a SD card with data, move everything important away before the formatting.

• Step 1: Download and install ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to your computer.
• Step 2: Connect your phone with the card inside to the computer
• Step 3: Open the command line window in the ADB directory
• Step 4: Type in the following commands. You have to hit enter after each command.

adb shell

sm list-disks

sm list-volumes all

sm set-force-adoptable true

sm partition disk:(SD card ID) private

sm set-force-adoptable false

The SD card ID is the number you receive from the second command. For instance, if the second command returns 179,128, the fifth command will be sm partition disk:179,128 private. Also, in the case that you only want to use a certain percentage of the SD card, you must change the fifth command a bit. Let’s say you want to format half of the SD card as internal storage. Instead of sm partition disk:(SD card ID) private, you have to type sm partition disk:(SD card ID) mixed 50.

If you get the commands right, you should be able to extend the memory of your phone via SD cards even with SD card format as internal storage not showing.

Frequently Asked Question About Formatting SD Cards 

Is there any issue that comes from formatting SD cards through ADB?

Several Android users report that they have difficulty installing system updates after formatting SD cards with the help of ADB. If your phone experiences troubles with system updates, it’s widely advised that you revert the entire formatting process.

What would happen if I remove a formatted SD card?

If you format an SD card as internal storage then remove it, applications will lose access to data which leads to considerble disruptions in operations. Fortunately, devices store information regarding the formatting of SD cards on internal storage. Therefore, as soon as you reinsert the formatted SD card, your phone should go back to normal.

How may I recover data from a formatted SD card that becomes unreadable?

When formatted SD cards refuse to be read, the best options for owners of devices that run on Android would be purpose-design repair applications. Such applications would allow the recovery of important data inside corrupted cards and they could restore the card themselves too.

I recently removed my formatted SD card to perform a factory reset. Now my phone is unable to read the card. What should I do?

Generally, after you format your SD card as internal storage, your phone is going to encrypt data in the card. That means aside from your phone, no other devices can ever view and manage data on your formatted SD card. Following a factory reset, your phone essentially turns into a brand new device which prevents it from reading the formatted card. It’s still possible to get a hold of data inside formatted SD cards via repair applications.