If you need format a microSD card, it is not necessary that you take it out of the mobile, put it in an adapter and format it from a P: you can do it quickly and easily from the mobile. Of course, the option is a bit hidden.
When you insert a new microSD card in the mobile, you are asked what you want to do with it – formatting included – in a notification. If you close this notification, it is still possible to format the microSD, and we will tell you how to do it step by step From the phone.
Format an SD card from your mobile
Formatting a disk involves erase all your data, including the file system and reset it “factory”. Some devices recommend that you format the memory cards from their settings rather than with a PC, so that the optimal settings for that device are used. This is not the case in Android, although formatting the MicroSD card from the mobile has the advantage that you do not depend on any other device.
A practical case for which you might be interested in formatting a microSD card is if you have inherited it from another mobile and you are not interested in its content Not at all. By formatting it from Android, you erase all its files and leave it ready to start using it to save your own data.
It is possible to format MicroSD cards from Android, although over time the setting has changed places and in the latest versions of Android, the setting is a bit hidden. To begin, you must go to the Android Settings and enter the section of Storage. Then tap on SD card.
This will open with an application file manager that you have on your mobile, which can be the classic AOSP, simply called Records, or Google Files, more recent. In fact, if you have both applications installed on your mobile, you will be asked if you want to complete the action with one or the other.
It doesn’t matter which one you use, because what happens next is exactly the same in both applications. You must touch ⋮ and then choose Storage settings on the menu. The funny thing is that this will return to the Android settings, but to a different section than before.
Back in the settings, you will be shown the use of the MicroSD card, a button to eject it (and be able to remove it without fear of losing data), as well as the two buttons for formatting, as external storage and as internal storage (in the mobiles that support it).
Press format to format in a normal way, so that the microSD data is separated from the internal data of the mobile, and you can remove it from the mobile to manage it on other devices. If your mobile supports it, and you prefer that the data from the MicroSD card somehow “merge” with internal storage, choose then Format as internal. In this second case, it is important that you have a high-speed microSD, so as not to slow down the system.
The formatting process is very fast and only takes a few seconds. When finished, you can start using your MicroSD card to save data starting from scratch, as it will be completely empty. This is the summary of the whole process to format a MicroSD card from Android:
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Enter the Android settings
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Tap on Storage
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Tap on SD card
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Press the menu button ⋮
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Choose Storage settings
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Press Format
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Press Format SD Card in the pop-up window
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Press Ready when I finish
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The news
How to format the MicroSD card from an Android mobile
was originally published in
Xataka Android
by
Ivan Ramirez
.
