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How to pick the best microSD card for your Android phone

androidpit sd cards 1
© nextpit

As we discover every time a major manufacturer decides to release a flagship phone without a microSD slot, Android enthusiasts remain passionate about our options to expand internal storage. But how well your microSD card performs depends on the class and speed of the memory card, as well as the capabilities of your phone. Here, we tell you everything you need to know to help you pick the best microSD card for your Android device.

Firstly, make sure your device supports microSD cards

Unfortunately, as we mentioned above, many smartphones don't have microSD slots and instead claim that the on-board internal storage is sufficient. And though from our perspective this seems ridiculous, we need to ensure our device has a microSD card slot.

You can inspect your device and see whether there is a microSD slot. If you need to, consult your phone's manual to open the device (or to find whether there is a microSD slot). If there is no microSD slot, well, you can't use a microSD card. If you want a phone that supports microSD take a look at the phones linked below.

androidpit sony xperia x sim sd slot
Firstly, make sure your device supports microSD cards. / © NextPit

What's the difference between SDHC and micro SDXC?

When buying a microSD card, you'll notice that it's either a micro SDXC or SDHC card. The difference between these two microSD formats is simply the amount of data they can store. SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) stores up to 32 GB of data, while SDXC (Secure Digital Extended Capacity) handles 64 GB and above.

Many lower-end devices don't support SDXC microSD cards, so it's crucial that you check your phone's compatibility before buying one. Most SDXC cards go up to 128 GB, but in March 2015, Sandisk revealed the world's first 200 GB microSD SDXC card.

androidpit sd cards 4
Make sure you know the different types of microSD cards before purchasing. / © NextPit

What does 'class' mean on a microSD card?

This one's important. MicroSD cards come in several different classes - Class 2, 4, 6 and 10. While these numbers may mean nothing to you (and leave you wondering what happened to the other numbers up to 10), they do in fact simply reflect the minimum rates at which these cards sustain data transfers. So a Class 2 card reads and writes data at 2 MB/s, while a Class 10 card does so at 10 MB/s. Suddenly it's not that complicated, right?

SDHC and SDXC speed classes

Class Minimum speed
2 2 MB/s
4 4 MB/s
6 6 MB/s
8 8 MB/s
10  10 MB/s

The 'Class' number directly reflects the minimum write speed of the card. However, top-quality cards can run much faster than this, with some of the best ones out there clocking read speeds up to 95 MB/s. One such card is the SanDisk Extreme Pro, which can be picked up for $33 at Amazon.com.

What does UHS mean on a micro SD card?

Since 2009, certain microSD cards are also UHS-1 or UHS-3-compatible. While in theory, UHS cards can reach data transfer speeds of up to 312 MB/s, you are realistically only likely to attain the minimum transfer speeds listed below, because no smartphone currently supports the UHS standard. As such, UHS will make little difference to your microSD card speed at this point.

UHS speed classes

UHS class Minimum speed
1 10 MB/s
3 30 MB/s
androidpit sd cards 1
In theory, UHS cards can reach data transfer speeds of up to 312 MB/s, but this isn't realistic. / © NextPit

Will a better microSD card speed up my phone?

The most important question is whether picking one microSD card over another will improve performance on your phone, to which the short answer is 'yes'.

If you store apps and photos on your microSD card (what else would you use it for?), then a higher-speed microSD card will save photos faster, improve data transfer speeds when moving files between devices, and open apps stored on your microSD card more quickly. Note that opening apps on microSD cards may be a bit slower than if you store them on your phone's internal memory, because there's an extra layer of communication between your phone and micro SD card that needs to be carried out.

Darth Vader micro SD ANDROIDPIT
MicroSD cards do not necessarily speed up your phone. / © NextPit

Conclusion

As you can see, there are plenty of things to consider when buying a microSD card, and hopefully the above guide will give you an idea of which one to buy. It's also worth sticking to reputable brands for microSD cards, such as SanDisk, Samsung and Kingston. Use the prices of these brands as a guideline as well - if you see a microSD card from another company that's five times cheaper than these, you should be wary of its quality.

Do you use a microSD card? Which size and type do you use for your phone? Let us know in the comments.

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Cory Schmidt

Cory Schmidt
Editor

A Minnesota native, Cory's background is in writing and editing. He received his BA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and his MA from the University of Kansas. He joined the Android community in 2009 and is excited to be contributing at AndroidPIT.

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  • James Gepolongca Gentizon Weebgamer07 1
    James Gepolongca Gentizon Weebgamer07 Oct 30, 2021 Link to comment

    I buy a 64 gb xc sd card to my app data from my realme c11 (64 bit) as same old phones (32 bit) did, but didn't work. Any solution to this??


  • Mark G. 28
    Mark G. Aug 3, 2019 Link to comment

    Buy the best & buy from Samsung directly or from a reputable supplier.

    Remember you have a fairly expensive phone why would you put some cheap nasty card in it?
    You use a SD card to save your precious memories, they are not that precious if you insert a cheap nasty one.

    Buy the best, buy Samsung 😉


    • 1
      scooby405 Aug 19, 2020 Link to comment

      I went through samsung since my phone is a samsung I was sure they would get me the right SD card for my cell phone. NOPE I GOT IT AND IT IS TO BIG FOR MY SLOT, HE ASSURED ME IT WOULD FIT, I EVEN TOLD HIM IT WAS A SMALLER SD CARD. HE SAID YES IT WILL FIT.......WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!


  • 1
    rachelmduran Aug 12, 2018 Link to comment

    I have the Huawei p8 lite 2017 phone which has 16gb internal storage so I'm just wondering what gb of micro sd card will it need as was told to use a 16gb one but I can't transfer my apps over to it. Can anyone help?


    • 1
      Tony De Oct 2, 2018 Link to comment

      You I'll b able to move only the apps that the manufactur of the app itself let's. For example was up do not let's u mov the app. Super cell apps (games) maker let u move. If you co convert the SD card as internal memory (you can not mov the SD card out the phone number will serve only in that specific phone) then most apps you install later will b part of the "internal memory".


    • 1
      Abhishek Chaurasia Apr 16, 2021 Link to comment

      put your card in mobile then format it as internal storage then storage will be merged as internal storage then you can store apps in that.


  • Ayman Khaled 1
    Ayman Khaled Oct 29, 2017 Link to comment

    I have SandDisk Ultra microSDXC UH-1 card and my phone is Galaxy note 8 when i try to open a file stored in my SSD card its not opening and then I figure a temporary solution which is to create a shortcut of that file in my home menu which is working fine, but Please guys I need a permanent solution, any one has any idea ?


  • 1
    Jamie Meng Aug 21, 2017 Link to comment

    I need to get a SD Card for my Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime cellphone, but I don't know where to go to get a SD card for the right price. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a SD Card. I am open to any suggestions that you guys have. Thanks


  • Thirmani Tsp 1
    Thirmani Tsp Apr 8, 2017 Link to comment

    i am recently buy HTC desire 825 which is the best memory card for this mobile


  • Adnan Siddique 1
    Adnan Siddique Apr 4, 2017 Link to comment

    Previously I had a bad experience of using microsd card with my galaxy note 3. Whenever i try to play a game or open the camera app, my phone started heating from the place where sdcard was mounted. Many times I checked the memory card and notice it was heating and also causing the phone hardware to heatup. Since then I stopped using any external storage for my phones because 16 or 32 gb storage that come default with most android phones was enough for me.

    But now with the advancement of mobile phones the usage of android phones is rapidly replacing computer for most of daily tasks, the storage capacity can never be enough. So I am frequently getting out of storage with my honor 6x, I am deciding to get a 64gb memory card to make enough room for my storage hungry apps and media files. I hope this time I will not experience the same heating problems that I faced last time.


  • Jim Roberts 1
    Jim Roberts Mar 29, 2017 Link to comment

    I have two Blu Diamond M phones that are supposed to support micro SD cards up to 64Gb. I have various cards (Samsung, Sandisk and Kingston) of 16Gb and 64Gb that work with my Windows PC and the smaller ones work with my old Android 4 phone. The Blu Diamond can see the card, but can only load 2Gb of data onto it. Any more and it hangs. If I load up the card on a PC and put it in the phone, it sees the first 2Gb of data and dumps the rest in corrupt files in "Lost and Found". If I try formatting it on the phone as "internal" it gets to 20% (both sizes of card) waits 5 minutes then tells me the card is corrupt. (I can rescue it using an SD formatter program on my PC). Would a better, faster card solve the problem - or should I just dump the phones and stick with Android 4?


  • amberseattle 2
    amberseattle Jan 11, 2017 Link to comment

    Can someone tell me how to clear a micro SD card. I have a 64g SanDisk ultra xc 1 card and used it for months in my note 4 and something happened. If it try to move an app over to it (through app to SD card app) it says there is no room. There should be a lottttt of room. I am using an 8g one now and it transfers over just fine, everything works fine. I bought an SD card reader thing and tried it out but I have NO idea what i am doing. If anyone can help I would so appreciate it. Id like to use my 64g if possible. Also i need to find a place to help me understand what to do once I have the card connected to my computer. THANKS

    Only for you


    • 2
      Only for you Jan 15, 2017 Link to comment

      hello. Just connect the sd card reader to your pc with the sd card in it, then format it by right clicking the drive, make sure its in FAT32, not NTFS or exFAT. watch a video on how to format sd cards and you will be fine. You are having issues with sd card probably due to your phone not being able to support it.


    • Bill Morris 1
      Bill Morris Jan 23, 2017 Link to comment

      Amber, Phones usually require you to dismount an SD card. If you take it out without dismounting it and try and read it in a computer you might damage it and lose your data. There is a utility in the phone to do this for you. Many phones won't accept an SDXC (over 64 GIG) you'll have to use an SDHC card.


  • amberseattle 2
    amberseattle Jan 11, 2017 Link to comment

    Hoping someone can help me. I bought a San disk ultra 64gig micro sd xc. I don't know much about sd cards but just did some reading. It worked fine for months and then something happened. When i try to transfer an app to the sd card it acts like it's going to move but then says there is no room on the card. If i look at the storage in settings there is only 4.4 g's used. I am using a 8 gig that is working fine now but when i bought the 64 i was excited and didn't think i would need another one for quite a while. I have a Samsung note 4 if that helps. Thank you very much for reading.


  • KC Turner 1
    KC Turner Jan 3, 2017 Link to comment

    I have a galaxy 5s 5 active active I want to know what kind of SD card do I need to get for it I have an 8 gigabyte in it now that's not big enough going to have to buy a new one just need to know. I have had nothing except problems with this phone


    • Green KMH 1
      Green KMH Jan 8, 2017 Link to comment

      Now, 1/7/17 you can get a samsung 128gb SDXC CLASS 10 for about 50$ at wallmart. Or a 64gb for 20$. Both will work fine on most phones with a microsd slot and most have a 10 yr. warranty so think big and transfer it and your files with your next phone.


  • 2
    Tim Jan 3, 2017 Link to comment

    I used mostly SanDisk cards in all my galaxy phones. Over time they would fail but I was eligible for a replacement update in both cases. I switched over Samsung's brand and have not had a problem since! The speed of transfers increased as well as the overall proformance of the phone. I would suggest if you have an Samsung phone use a Samsung Sdcard. Everything just works much better. As I stated I have had 2 different speed cards fail from the company everyone will tell you is the best. Until phone makers decide to make large capacity storage in their phones the ability to add storage will always be important. But you don't want your storage media failing just because either.

    Green KMH


  • George W. 10
    George W. Dec 30, 2016 Link to comment

    I've been using a Samsung 64GB card for almost a year now in my GS4. All music (about 23 GB) and I couldn't be happier. It has performed flawlessly. I'm currently looking forward to the GS8 release hoping that I can afford the largest phone storage model and enhancing it with the largest SD card storage possible.

    Tim


  • 55
    skyrail Dec 27, 2016 Link to comment

    I've been using a sandisk 64 Go sdxc class 10 for several month, until now. I am going to replace it with a 128 Go (same specs).
    A soon as I remove my sd card, I noticed a noticeable increase of my Android phone.
    I have 80% of my apps moved to extsdcard.
    So I am asking if I should stick on using an extsdcard to host my apps or only for media files.
    Keep key/most used apps in internal memory card, move others to external card, or switch to a faster sd card?
    Which one would suit Galaxy S5 G900F in the last case, if I want a device wihout noticeable slow down?
    It is currently doing well, but not always responsive in the second (or 2 ou 3s).

    Steph Longbridge


    • 2
      Tim Jan 3, 2017 Link to comment

      When I had my first problem with my Sdcard it was with this model of phone. I received an updated replacement but later on down the line it also failed. I have been using Samsung's storage brand ever since. Once I added it you could see the change in the phone. I would suggest getting a Samsung storage model. I am using the largest capacity storage for my GS7E Samsung class 10 Sdcard it's lighting quick. 600 MB files from phone to my Sdcard take take seconds! If you are having freezes with your phone sometimes, it's not the phone it's the SanDisk Sdcard! Speaking 100% from experience of someone who has lost lots of music using that brand. 5k songs plus to be exact!

      Steph Longbridge


    • 11
      Steph Longbridge Jan 4, 2017 Link to comment

      Also had some problem with 128 Go sandisk ultra.
      have a look to this post: http://thedroidguy.com/2016/04/samsung-galaxy-s5-stopped-recognizing-microsd-card-issue-related-problems-1058426

      128 Go sd card had issues, refused to be formatted under windows.
      But sometimes format was ok but unable to copy large files. You had to format either in a camera or preferably in your smartphone, as exfat filesystem.
      Lower capacity had no problem, except windows willing to fix bad sectors sometimes, since there did not sim to be any errors.


  • 1
    Teslife Dec 27, 2016 Link to comment

    Wouldn't it be better to take pics. and videos directly to your phone then transferring to the microsd card later? The phone storage is quicker.


    • 55
      skyrail Dec 27, 2016 Link to comment

      would be a lot to manage. Maybe preferring directly storing to fast sdcard.

      James Walker


      • Moto Z Force Droid+Daydream is flawless 🤬 2
        Moto Z Force Droid+Daydream is flawless 🤬 Jan 19, 2019 Link to comment

        I totally agree with you mate, as a few months ago I bought a new
        Motorola Moto Z Force Droid 32GB internal memory, 4GB Ram(unlocked) And I live in Australia and it's a made for the USA Verizon phone and is only 100% with Vodafone Australia, but that's cool like it's 3:00am now if I did a speed test it's going to be 100/150 down and 50 up which is fine.
        SD cards, I contacted Motorola and asked which was best (they told me, we put expensive Samsung memory in that phone) and I put a 128 Samsung it has 100 read and 100 write speed and I have it formatted for internal purposes, and I can't even tell I have a SD card doing alot inside. It's always worth doing your homework on what you want to buy and make sure you get the best quality possible, and I am the same with my bikes, a Merida roadbike and a Trek hybrid bike, I rebuilt the hybrid 3 years ago and I will be replacing the cassette and chain, brake and shift cables now, Buy good quality and it will make your life easier in the long run. If you can get a decent price for a 256GB SD card buy one, 128 plus 32 minus 9 gb for the OS I think it is enough memory for me, until I buy a new phone in a year or so. And watch out on Ebay people are selling Fake Samsung and SanDisk micro SD cards and you can not tell the difference. So be careful, if it is too cheap it's probably a fake card, YouTube has some video of a fake and real next to each other so you can see how to spot a fake, Buyer beware.


  • Albin Foro 30
    Albin Foro Dec 24, 2016 Link to comment

    Most articles focus on "sequential write" speeds for microsd cards, especially for those anticipating recording 4k video and burst shooting larger format photos on new phone models. That's fine for phones, but I'm in a different camp at the moment, replacing an old 8gb Android J tablet with a new 16gb Android M model which should let me format the card as additional storage. Based on experience, I don't expect to use the tablet's camera at all, except for occasional ho hum document scanning.

    After some googling I've concluded my Class 10 card buy for the tablet should be based on best read speed, which can vary significantly from the recording write speed according to lab tests. The object is to get the data from the card to the 7" display as fast and reliably as possible, rather than the other way around.


  • Michel Munier 1
    Michel Munier Dec 23, 2016 Link to comment

    it's interesting how people respond to this article, some overjoyed with it, some denigrating it. I read most of them to try to get a further idea and some intelligent replies add to it thank you. I'm battling now with a 32 GB SD card that won't transfer, format or erase! 32 gb shows 6 gb data, yes pics. mainly. I had them transferred on my pc to try to format the card. later I put it on my pc and erased the lot (yes again) are these 6 gb were still on it! And ended up with an empty card at last....Well almost when as when I put my card back on my S5 ssung, everything was still there! So can't format, can't shift things around, can't delete from it, yet can see the pick on it. Go and figure.
    People get annoyed about phone that don't cater for SD cards...Perhaps they should not as if you buy one of them with a large internal storage you'll never worry about incompatible under performing or dodgy SD card. How much is enough. Try to estimate if you will do a lot of video or go crazy about music collection. If you have the ability to reduce your photos size to keep on your device, do so (photoshop with batch and droplet facility will reduce to your choice, for me 70% , a whole folder of pics automatically. Still looking good on your device and taking only one third of room from the original) I think Videos can be trimmed too...
    I was excited to see XDHC with 200GB but now not so sure I should buy one! So will search further on that topic.


    • Walter Pierce 1
      Walter Pierce Feb 26, 2017 Link to comment

      Check to see if the pictures are on the phone's memory. It maybe calling the SD card internal and the phone's memory as external. Or pushing the data to the disc when you remount it. Take the disc out (dismount/eject), and examine from your PC.

      For those with very slow running apps: I had problems with Amazon music running from the SD. I moved it back to the internal memory. just the one app. It runs much better.

      These cards are very quirky. It's frustrating that they work fine in a PC. I bought a Moto X Pure, with 16 GB, 9.5 GB usable!! So I'm stuck with using an SD.
      Where is my Nougat? Phone is directly from Motorola. Does anyone know if things run better in Nougat?


  • 1
    Maggie Nov 27, 2016 Link to comment

    This article was great, answered a lot of questions.
    I just bought the newest Sony Experia Z5 Premium... ok, my kids bought it for me... I just can't afford it. There's not a lot of info out there yet about this phone and the last thing I want to do is put something into it that is going to screw it up.
    With not a lot of money I need to make the best choice the first time. Please, can someone help?


    • Brittany McGhee 21
      Brittany McGhee Dec 19, 2016 Link to comment

      According to the official website, the Xperia Z5 is compatible with an "up to 200 GB microSD™ card". https://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-z5/#Specifications

      If you go to an electronics store, like a Best Buy, they can help you choose an SD card with the right amount of storage for your needs and help you insert the card into the phone properly.


  • 1
    Dennis Daigle Nov 26, 2016 Link to comment

    I have a Samsung S5 and I installed a SD card in it when I bought it 2 years agó. The card worked great until the Marshmallow update. Now every time a app is updated from the Google play store I have to manually move it from internal memory back to the card. Very annoying and time consuming. Good article, I would like to know if there are any good apps to help manage SD card data.


    • 2
      Greg Nixon Nov 26, 2016 Link to comment

      I have found that SanDisk microSD cards don't work well with Samsung phones. If that is what you use, try a Samsung EVO.

      Tim


      • Marcel Rocked 1
        Marcel Rocked Dec 6, 2016 Link to comment

        I had read very compelling reviews about the reliability of Samsung EVO SD cards. Got a 32 Gb class 10 about 5 months ago for my s7 edge. Worked great until it died 10 days ago when playing music connected to my car over Bluetooth.


      • 2
        Tim Jan 3, 2017 Link to comment

        You are correct!


  • 2
    Greg Nixon Nov 25, 2016 Link to comment

    @Dasaradha A. Your comment replaces a million keystrokes from authors who tell you everything except what you should really do to get an SD card into your phone. Well done.


  • Dasaradha A. 2
    Dasaradha A. Oct 25, 2016 Link to comment

    That is very simple thing.just look at your phone internal storage.and decide what capacity of sd card required to your phone like 8gb,16gb,32gb.........it is based on your phone storage uses.
    Go to nearest phone accessories store and choose the best brand of sd card.i mean which brand having great data transportable capacity like sandisk,samsung.


  • 8
    Deactivated Account Oct 23, 2016 Link to comment

    I always use SD cards with my Android devices, I never use "the cloud". I prefer to store my information on something that is kept in my possession, rather than in someone else's storage which is what "the cloud" is, though each to their own. I also use an app called 'SD Insight' that checks the SD card, and can let me know if it's safe to use, such as whether or not it's counterfeit or corrupted. Someone here on AndroidPit previously said you should be weary of SD cards via eBay, it's good advice! I bought one once cleverly disguised as a genuine Sandisk. Finally I'd like to say, from my experience that Android Jellybean was wonderful for SD cards, you could move your data & apps from internal phone memory to SD card nice & easy, pity that's not the case with Android Marshmallow! I sincerely hope that is remedied with Android Nougat!! As Google have a very negative regard for the humble SD card, I'm not holding my breath!

    Dennis Daigle


    • Mark G. 28
      Mark G. Oct 23, 2016 Link to comment

      You should purchase a excellent Samsung device, Samsung has ignored most of the changes Android made regarding SD cards.
      I have the brilliant S5 which was running Android 5.02 now 6.01 both versions allowed seamless transfer of data between the device and the SD card.
      I use the excellent file Manager app X-plore which makes transferring data super easy.

      Peace ✌


      • Michel Munier 1
        Michel Munier Dec 23, 2016 Link to comment

        This is an excellent comment but I don't understand it. I could Samsung be an excellent device if it ignored......?


    • 1
      Dennis Daigle Nov 26, 2016 Link to comment

      I have experienced the same problem with the Marshmallow update. I hope it will be fixed with Nougat too.


  • Mark G. 28
    Mark G. Oct 22, 2016 Link to comment

    Do not Ever buy SD cards from Ebay or Amazon, 99% will be fake/counterfeit, if Samsung sells a 64GB micro SD card for £40 then it's common sense that one on ebay for £10-£20 cannot be genuine. Even apparently genuine sites can not be fully trusted, if it seems to good to be real, then it probably is....

    You don't want to risk losing all your precious photos, music, documents for the sake of a few pounds. Even if you are lucky enough to get a fake that has the advertised capacity, the cards software will not be as good. This could at least mean a slow transfer speed, or at worst lost files corrupt data, and permanent damage to the device.

    You have just purchased an expensive phone, don't ruin it by using substandard or fake SD cards.

    Peace ✌

    Deactivated Account


  • 26
    Andrew Burgin Oct 22, 2016 Link to comment

    People do not seem to check things out before buying there micro sd cards and just seem to think the cheaper it is the more money they save,then when they put them inside there phones it might work for a little then all of sudden it will not get recognize inside there phones,this seems to be the same problem when people buy memory sticks to keep hold of there data,i have always used memory cards and love saving All my applications on my cards to help me stop using to much internal memory on my phones,Always used App Control to save the Applications and then send the Applications to my memory card and then install them,that is what we missed on the Galaxy S6 series phones


  • 14
    Alex Simpson Oct 22, 2016 Link to comment

    lol
    just walked into a store got the cheapest 16gb sd card for 5€


  • 1
    Cristi Alexandru Vlasceanu Oct 22, 2016 Link to comment

    This article is vague and offers no relevant information. You miss to touch the sensitive area of SD card usage on android phones / tablets.I recently bought an Asus ZenPad Z500M with Android 6.1 and SanDisk Ultra microSDXC 128GB Class10 UHS-I 80 MBs. The tablet saw the card and everything was ok in the begging .....but. after 2 days i started getting an annoying notification " sd card unexpectedly removed" . I searched the net for this problem and it is a very big issue with some SD cards. seems that some SDXC cards are not compatible with Android system and they are unmounted from time to time . This issue affects mainly Sundisk SD cards but not only. This issue is critical as the unmounting and mounting of the SD card drains the device battery very fast and also causes that annoying notification. I replaced the sd card with one kinston SD card lower class 8 GB that i had from an older phone and the issue disapeared. I have no other microSD cards to test but seems that with lower class cards this is not an issue. This problem is still found on many devices and it seems to affect mainly high speed SD cards. There is still a lot to discuss but this should be taken into consideration when choosing an SD card. Now i use the SanDisk Ultra as an external storage extension to my windows 10 laptop and has no problems. It seems that this bug affects only android devices.


  • 1
    Mr N Oct 12, 2016 Link to comment

    I just put in a 32GB class 10 sd card, and my phone now classes this as "internal storage". This means that things have slowed down a bit. I notice Whatsapp takes three times as long to open. I see that its storing photos etc to this SD card now.
    Dropbox is slower, so is ES File Explorer etc. Everyting seem to take longer to open.
    How do I find out if my phone supports UHS?


  • 2
    P-M Ostiguy Sep 10, 2016 Link to comment

    For people need to know what best microsd on market now is:
    Best Quality/Price
    Samsung EVO+ (red one)
    Sandisk Ultra

    Best Quality and fastest
    Sandisk Extreme

    Keep in mind that your phone probably can't reach the maximum speed of the card. Heat also slow the transfer rate.

    Good luck

    Marcel RockedDeactivated Account


  • Wade Wilson 1
    Wade Wilson Sep 3, 2016 Link to comment

    I'm grateful I came across your article. I intend to buy a MicroSD card for my smartphone. I usually just search the Internet what the best brand is and what the consumer review is for each brand.

    Then your article made me search for the type of MicroSD card that my phone would support. The website of my smartphone manufacturer only states that it has a slot for MicroSD card (64GB). I have Googled if an XC would be OK with my smartphone instead of an HC and found nothing.


  • Anil Nishantha 1
    Anil Nishantha Aug 31, 2016 Link to comment

    I Already using Smart phone is HUAWEI Y5-2 4G LTE .please recommend Micro sd card Brand and capacity for my phone.


    • 1
      jarl wijman Sep 26, 2016 Link to comment

      that's a budget phone, just get any brand, you won't notice any speed difference
      according to gsmarena it supports up to 32gb


  • 1
    Dorrie McGowan Aug 28, 2016 Link to comment

    Im just now going to use my PNY 32GB (10) on my G4 for aps only. Ive had this sd card for 3mos, but reading your article about them has got me ready to do it! Thank you for al the valuable info you provide!!


  • Jane Tipper 1
    Jane Tipper Aug 16, 2016 Link to comment

    Thanks for the informative article . I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 ..great phone dont feel I should upgrade however Im constantly running out of storage space due to ta li ng a large amount of photos ... which SD card would you recommend, as yet I dontbhave an external storage device to transfer old photos


  • mina gonzalez 1
    mina gonzalez Aug 6, 2016 Link to comment

    Hi, i have a samsung SM-G900V what micro sd card should i use for apps and pictures.


  • Rich Childers 2
    Rich Childers Jul 4, 2016 Link to comment

    Smartphone manufacturers...are so deceptive...they say the internal storage on your nice,new phone...has 32Gig internal memory...yet...they load their 12Gigs of BS bloatware and useless apps....Hopefully...the new Nougat update will allow folks to move large files and apps to the MicroSD card...not just music files and photos....(because most people use the cloud) to backup music and pics....I am a old school gamer...and use the android emulators to play games...that are SOOO much better than Google Play games..yet...I am maxed out on internal storage on my LG G4...even though I have a 32G MicroSD card...that I wish I could move some of my large file emulator games....


  • 4
    Reyn Jul 4, 2016 Link to comment

    Good.


  • 2
    Riziki Kissima Jul 3, 2016 Link to comment

    How will I check my sd card and know if its a high speed sd card?


  • Raju Dhungel 3
    Raju Dhungel Jul 2, 2016 Link to comment

    yes i use sd card bud dont care about these things


  • 3
    ramez elsayed Jul 1, 2016 Link to comment

    Yeah I use an SD card for my Htc one m9 but I did buy the SanDisk Extreme Pro and replaced it with my regular SanDisk 32G SD card and the difference is almost nothing. I use my Sd card for photos and music. Thanks anyway for the headsup


  • 7
    vicky Jul 1, 2016 Link to comment

    Thanks for wonderful article, I am about to buy one for my moto g 4 plus and it'll help a lot 😇


    • 1
      Will p. Jul 29, 2016 Link to comment

      Hi Vicky
      Just read the article about choosing SD cards and spotted your comment. I too have a moto g4 4g lte ( not the plus but sure cards are same) wondered if you found a suitable card and if so is it working OK? I've just returned one that was very slow. If you've had success could you tell me what you finally purchased.
      Thanks


  • 2
    ANIL S PATIL Jul 1, 2016 Link to comment

    Very much informative and will help next time while buying data card.


  • Steven F. 6
    Steven F. Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    I have a 32g Sandisk micro SD Card in my MOTO X PURE. I cannot now move any photos to it. I was lucky that at some point I was able to move my music onto it from my laptop but unlike the NEXUS 5 that I had before I cannot even use my Win 10 laptop to move the files, easily. If I can find any of the pics in Windows explorer and try to drag them to the SD card I get a window saying that the XT1575 is busy (endlessly). Even if I try to move a movie from one folder on the SD card to another I get the same endless message. The best I have found to do is copy the pictures to the laptop (desktop) and then to the SD card. This is not the way it should work. On 6.0 on this phone I cannot find a way to save camera output directly to the SD card. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to manage files between internal memory and the SD card?


    • 3
      ramez elsayed Jul 1, 2016 Link to comment

      Try formating your SD card altogether and because of the more permissions needed on the android 6.0 try to go to settings then security and check if you gave all the right permissions to your apps to use the external storage or maybe in application manager depending on your phone.


  • 5
    Bob Balser Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    Android 5.0.1


  • 5
    Bob Balser Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    Check setting I get option message where to store app


  • 2
    michael wimbury Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    I have a oneplus x with Android 5.1.1, and all I can store on my micro-SD card is music, photos and video. I can't move any apps to the card. Thinking about a CM upgrade, but they are all unstable nightlies at the moment. Apart from that, I love the phone.


    • 2
      Kayosan C. Jul 4, 2016 Link to comment

      That's because you can no longer move most apps to your SD card. I don't have time to explain the whole KitKat update Google "Why can't I move apps to my Sd card?". After the update to permissions where changed by Google, seems everybody wants more control Google , Microsoft. I don't know why it was not mentioned for now on you have to pay attention to size of internal memory Sd care is useless in my phone and Nook HD+ , no book, magazines 90% of apps. There are apps that claim to fix the problem it didn't work on phone or Nook. It may have changed with Android 6.1 I have not read much about 6.1 yet. Good luck!


      • 2
        Kayosan C. Jul 4, 2016 Link to comment

        Sorry Android 6.0, I'm stuck on .1 for some reason lol


  • 5
    Bob Balser Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    I have dozen apps 9n card as well such as BT ebay


  • 2
    Kenneth Cooperstein Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    Missed the key issue.

    On my S4 under 5.01 Android will not really move apps to the SD card. It says it does but it just moves them to device storage. Also, the only apps that have permission to write to the SD card are a few Google apps, like Files, Recorder, and Camera. All others are not allowed.

    Used to be, you could move apps like iBird to SD, but now it just soaks up precious device memory.

    So, unless you like to store many GB's of playback media on your phone, the extra memory is not very useful.

    Ken C


  • 5
    Bob Balser Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    I'm using a Sandisk 200GB card in my Galaxy S4 with 20780 mp3 on it


  • 2
    Fred Eberhardt Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    Good info


  • 5
    Barry Padgett Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    I have a Samsung 64GB Evo MicroSDHC UHS-I Class 10 card in my Xperia Z3+


  • 12
    lianne john Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    Quite informative!


  • Vikas Dhar 5
    Vikas Dhar Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    It's a useful information for the people and Very informative. I currently use 32GB SD card and the speed of my phone is good. Memory is one of the most important part of any mobile phone, and I want to say If you want to buy micro external memory, SD card just to read e-books, store some pictures, document, then go for any type of SD-card, even very cheap ones.

    ramez elsayed


  • Drew Kilkenny 1
    Drew Kilkenny Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    SanDisk Ultra 64GB microSDXC UHS-I


  • tariq 6
    tariq Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

    I needed this. Thanks! I never understood different types of SD cards but now I'm good! (:


  • Jerry's W. 20
    Jerry's W. Jun 29, 2016 Link to comment

    Very well explained article!


  • Vinicius. G. Romero 15
    Vinicius. G. Romero Jun 29, 2016 Link to comment

    I recently bought a 128GB micro SD card from SanDisk for my Moto X Style. I had been keeping an eye out for a long time to get one of those 128GB ones. It works wonders.

    I highly recommend everyone to get one. Only real con that I can think of, is that it's never truly the number on paper. Instead of an exact 128gb it was 119gb. I know there was an article about that not so long ago. Regardless, not too shabby though!


  • WickedSweetDreamz 10
    WickedSweetDreamz Jun 29, 2016 Link to comment

    I currently have a 32 GB micro SD card in my phone, which is a Samsung Galaxy S3. What I'm wondering is why I don't see certain things on it that I know should be there for all intents and purposes. I have ES file explorer pro but I'm unable, for example, to locate quite a bit of music that I downloaded from Spotify. I'm also curious about what the purpose of some of my files are and I am not sure what some of them even represent. I would like to know so I can delete any that aren't necessary. Also, I'm curious as to how high an SdCard I can use in my phone too. This is because I have a 64 GB card put aside that's brand new.
    One more thing that bugs me is that although I can move some apps to the SD card, for some reason, even though the option is there, when I move either Facebook or Messenger to the card they don't function properly.


  • 5
    Shakti Somadutt Rout Jun 29, 2016 Link to comment

    Instead of writing this article, you could have twitted it, as the essence of this article is not more than 140 characters.


  • Spotafligher 8
    Spotafligher Jun 29, 2016 Link to comment

    My tablet has an SD Card slot BUT I can't move apps to the SD card is that weird? Anyway great article.


  • 13
    Dazzler Jun 29, 2016 Link to comment

    The SD card slot should be on every phone, it annoys me when it's not as companies charge through the roof for their higher capacity models. The 128GB apple phones are $300 more than the 16GB, yet a decent 128GB SD card is $100 max

    Vinicius. G. Romero


  • Kate Love 2
    Kate Love Jun 2, 2016 Link to comment

    Great article-- concise and easy to understand; off to purchase an SD card now ..

    Vinicius. G. Romero


  • Lij 2
    Lij May 29, 2016 Link to comment

    ""WONDERFUL""" ARTICLE - NOT - I CAME HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT SD CARD TO BUY FOR MY PHONE. ALL I GOT TO SEE WAS THAT HIGHER NUMBERS IS BETTER. WOW, GREAT HELP. FUN FACT, PEOPLE COME HERE TO SEE WHAT'S THE MINIMUM CLASS THAT WORKS WELL FOR A SMARTPHONE WITHOUT MAKING IT LAG. NOT TO FIND OUT THAT CLASS 4 IS FASTER THAN CLASS 2. JEEZE. THIS IS LIKE - APPLE PIE RECIPE - THE MORE SUGAR YOU PUT IN, THE SWEETER THE APPLE PIE. NO SH*T. USEFUL INFORMATION. WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED. 32 GB IS LESS THAN 64 GB?! WOW, LET'S MAKE AN ARTICLE SAYING THAT.

    John Martin


    • Vinicius. G. Romero 15
      Vinicius. G. Romero Jun 30, 2016 Link to comment

      I think someone woke up in the wrong side of the bed today.


  • Eye Lash 1
    Eye Lash May 3, 2016 Link to comment

    please
    please
    please
    i beg u
    help me
    i have micro sd sandisk 64GB /class 10/sdxc
    i cant format it or make a flash boot
    and i made diskpart and manage storage
    but no solve for my problem
    please help meeeeeeeeee
    @ ah.eyelash@gmail.com same acount in face book
    @Robert Zak


  • 2
    Jennifer SM Mar 29, 2016 Link to comment

    Thanks for such a good article. I was looking for a straightforward yet complete answer to the basics of all the SD options out there. I now have enough info to make a purchase, my point in looking up information in the first place. Thank you!

    Vinicius. G. RomeroKate Love


  • 3
    e. mckenna Dec 11, 2015 Link to comment

    This article wasn't as insightful as I had hoped. The website sd card org has the same information. I wanted a more competent, deeper explanation of what the numbers mean,---namely UHS-1 and UHS-3, and UHS-I and UHS-II. With Marshmallow adding functionality between shared internal and external memory, people are going to want to understand primarily what their device is capable of handling in terms of what is the ceiling of their given device? Everyone wants the fastest capacity that their device can handle in order to optimize its performance. There was a Samsung Pro+ on sale for about $7 more than the lesser EVO+. The Pro+ is UHS-3. Text-chatted someone at Samsung and they stated that UHS-3 "might" not be compatible with my Grand Prime---not exactly helpful to solving my inquiry!! The Pro+ has a read speed of 95 mbs/sec. whereas the EVO+ offers 80. However, according to sdcard.org not all devices are compatible with 'Bus Mode' UHS-II; but on the chart, a box is shared by UHS-I and UHS-II thus making it a moot point if 1 and 3 both offer compatibility (&backwards compatibility) with I and II. Someone in the world knows about this and needs to explain it. Samsung sells phones and manufactures memory technology for many companies including their own. Somebody at Samsung needs to test each device and explain what will work for different customers' devices, it would eliminate a lot of confusion and potential hassle.

    John MartinMichael HartleyTracy S.Kiran Bokkesam


  • 6
    Chris Krajewski Nov 27, 2015 Link to comment

    First of all , most mobile devices ( phones, tablets) accept up to 128 GB cards only. Secondly , - if somebody wants to buy decent card and want be s u r e that it will be working without any problems ( video storage ) , then go for Lexar [ lexar.com/microsd-633x ] . If you want to buy micro external memory SD card just to read e-books , store some pictures, document , then go for any type of SD-card , even very cheap ones . Always back up your files on another memory carrier like additional Hard Drive and put it away on the shelf for future use. ..................... From my practice , I recommend cards with 90 Mb/s data transfer . ............... .......... ............. .............. To be sure , you'll buy decent card , don't experiment , buy well-known brands.

    John MartinMichael HartleyKiran Bokkesam


  • 2
    Robert Dominguez Nov 14, 2015 Link to comment

    Very informative piece... I didnt know which card to get for my HTC one A9.

    Kiran Bokkesam


    • 6
      Chris Krajewski Nov 27, 2015 Link to comment

      Very poorly written article , mister.


  • India 1
    India Oct 23, 2015 Link to comment

    This data is very Helpful but now GA+ Brand Memory Card are Also doing well in INDIA,


  • 1
    Ahmed123 123 Jul 4, 2015 Link to comment

    hey i was just wondering if i have an SD card in my phone and i have an app like itube can i store the videos on the Sd card from ITUBE so it doesnt waste the phone storage


  • 2
    Yosi Pinto Jun 18, 2015 Link to comment

    All good info until you got to tell about UHS. The SD standard defines UHS-I and UHS-II. The first one is marked as "I" and supports up to 106MB/s and UHS-II is marked as "II" and support up to 312MB/s.
    UHS-I standard/cards is widely adopted and it's certainly worth buying it if your device supports it. UHSII is currently adopted only by few camera manufacturers and laptop readers.

    Kiran Bokkesam


  • 2
    MD Kareem May 24, 2015 Link to comment

    Well..i was confused about this micro SD card.now with this post I got the information about the micro SD cards so I can easily find out which one is good ..thanks for giving us information :-)

    Kiran BokkesamRod Pierce


  • 3
    OUSCA2007 May 24, 2015 Link to comment

    very enlightening.... many thanks please accept...

    Kiran BokkesamMoni Mihailov


  • 3
    Kris May 23, 2015 Link to comment

    I like how the cover art for the article is a Micro SD card over top of a S6 lol

    SpotafligherGT OhhMoni Mihailov


    • 19
      Moni Mihailov May 23, 2015 Link to comment

      Card wants to get in but the stupid S6 doesn't let it in so the card feels awful and goes to the S5, which opens its doors happily for it :)

      Nice informative article. Really loved it.

      SpotafligherKiran BokkesamGT OhhDavid Dickerson


  • 9
    Abhinav May 23, 2015 Link to comment

    very important post

    Moni Mihailov


  • 3
    Aditi Sharma May 23, 2015 Link to comment

    nice

    Kiran BokkesamMoni Mihailov


  • 7
    Abrar May 23, 2015 Link to comment

    Nice information.

    Kiran BokkesamMoni Mihailov

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