There are times when you might need to wipe – or 'format' – your memory card, either because it's not working or because you've moved it across from your previous phone and want to clear all the old data from it. Read on to find out how!
Before you format your memory card, you should make sure to back up any files or information you want to keep hold of. Check out our article on backing up your smartphone memory for help with this process – then continue reading to find out how to wipe your microSD card!
To wipe your SD card, you have two options: you can use a computer, or you can use a smartphone.
If you're wiping your memory card through a computer, make sure to choose 'ExFAT' or 'FAT32' as the file system if you're given the choice. If you're wiping the card in your smartphone, don't worry about this – the phone will sort everything out for you!
First, then, we'll take a look at the process for a smartphone – then we'll take a look at how it's done on a PC.
formatting the memory card in your phone
Wiping your Android SD card
Every Android phone is a little different from the rest – but one thing which remains pretty much identical is your Settings menu. The screenshots we're using show the process for Sony handsets, but the instructions will stay the same no matter which Android device you're using!
- Open your Apps list and find the Settings icon, then tap on it.
- Scroll down the Settings list until you find Storage. Tap on this to view information like how much storage space you have left and what takes up the most space on your smartphone.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the Storage list to see your SD card options. You'll see a few options, the one we need to press is either Erase SD card or Format SD card. The language may differ slightly between handsets!
- Confirm you want to wipe your memory card by pressing the Erase SD card or Format SD card button. This will wipe your memory card clean – but the internal storage of your phone will stay untouched.
Wiping your Windows Phone SD card
If you're having a problem with your memory card in a Windows Phone, check out these steps to find out how to clear the data and reset it back to normal!
- From your home screen, swipe your finger from right to left across the display to see the full Start menu. Scroll down the menu and tap on Settings.
- Make sure you're in System at the top of the screen, then scroll down this settings page until you find Storage Sense. Press on it to continue.
- Here you'll see bars representing how much storage space is taken up on your phone and on your SD card. Tap on the SD card option to view the SD card settings.
- You'll now see two buttons, one for removing your SD card and one for formatting it. Tap Format SD card to erase all the data on it.
- Finally, confirm you want to go ahead and wipe your SD card by pressing Yes. After a minute or so, your memory card will be fully refreshed and ready to go.
Format your SD card through a PC
If your phone can't detect your SD card no matter what you try, you may need to remove the card from your phone and plug it in to a computer. For information on how to remove the back of your phone and where your memory card lives, check out our Quick Start guides, which cover most smartphones.
You'll need an adaptor or card reader to connect a microSD to a computer – these can either be USB-powered portable ones, or a full-sized SD card adaptors that's built in to your machine. Without one of these, your microSD card probably won't fit anywhere in your computer – and we certainly wouldn't advise trying to slide it in any gaps you find!
Formatting a memory card using a Windows PC
- Connect your microSD to your computer using the appropriate adaptor.
- Open My Computer by clicking on the Start button and clicking Computer– or by holding down the Windows key and the letter E on your keyboard at the same time.
![format your memory card]()
Make sure you can see your hard drives in the main window of My Computer, as in the image above. If you can't see your drives, click on Computer from the left-hand menu.- When you see your drives, you will see your SD card listed under Devices with removable storage. Right-click on your SD card to view the context menu.
- Click on Format... to view the formatting options.
- Make sure that the File System is set to FAT32, which is the default for Windows 7 and newer PCs. Some older versions of Windows may offer to use FAT, which is also OK – but the most important thing is not to use NTFS, as your phone will not recognise that file system.
- Tick the box next to Quick Format. This will limit the formatting process to the bare essentials, making the whole process much faster.
- Finally, when you're ready, press the Start button and wait for the progress bar to fill up. When it's finished, remove your microSD card and plug it back in to your smartphone!
Make sure you can see your hard drives in the main window of My Computer, as in the image above. If you can't see your drives, click on Computer from the left-hand menu.These steps should leave you with an SD card that's empty, formatted and ready for you to use however you like – but if you do have any issues with the process, drop us a line in the comments below and we'll do whatever we can to help!