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[Q] Phone keeps losing installed apps on SD card

So I've been having this issue for about a week now. All the apps installed on my phones SD card once I reboot are not loading up. I know the data is still there because the first time that it happened I spent the better part of day freaking out thinking everything was gone gone. At some point I thought of checking of the data by plugging in into the computer. Turns out (1) all the apps miraculously return (2) I can't mount the SD card anymore (3) I can't unmount the SD card anymore either.
What is the deal? It's kind of annoying to lost everything every time you reboot. I'm not really in the mood to tether my phone each time for the unforeseeable future just to keep everything loaded. Has this happened to anyone before? What should I do?

Cwluc said:
So I've been having this issue for about a week now. All the apps installed on my phones SD card once I reboot are not loading up. I know the data is still there because the first time that it happened I spent the better part of day freaking out thinking everything was gone gone. At some point I thought of checking of the data by plugging in into the computer. Turns out (1) all the apps miraculously return (2) I can't mount the SD card anymore (3) I can't unmount the SD card anymore either.
What is the deal? It's kind of annoying to lost everything every time you reboot. I'm not really in the mood to tether my phone each time for the unforeseeable future just to keep everything loaded. Has this happened to anyone before? What should I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean, the icons? I'm going to assume that's what you're referring to, for this reply...
If that's what you meant, icons on the home screen take a few seconds to get themselves drawn, if apps are on SD.
You can switch to a different skin then switch back to your original skin, to get them to redraw. Or delete/reposition them one at a time. It's a workaround, but changing the skin temporarily is faster.
It's a sense bug, I'm pretty sure.
Doesn't happen if apps are installed on the phones internal storage, so until they fix it, move your apps onto internal storage, if you don't want to deal with this each time you reboot. They run faster if they're not on your SD anyway.
Unless you have waaaay more apps than you really need, of course.

Sorry should've been a little more specific. The shortcuts on my home screen are all no longer working and I'm well aware of how long it takes for sense to load them up on startup but even when I go to display all apps it only displays the apps on internal storage. In fact each and every app on the card (in the apps settings) has a funny icon that has a little "sd" on it now and just says computing and will not load.
And since writing this I can no longer get the phone to load any apps from the sd card by tethering it to the computer. It's still accessible - just downloaded today's song from amazon and played it - but apps on it are almost like they're gone.

This happens to me sometimes too. But usually when it happens to me I can go into Settings - Applications - Manage Applications and move the troublesome app to internal storage, and then it's fine. It never completely disappears.
It might do you some good to reformat your SD card. Move everything off of it first, then format it, then put everything back on.

Is it the stock 8GB SD card, or a different one?

homeslice976 said:
This happens to me sometimes too. But usually when it happens to me I can go into Settings - Applications - Manage Applications and move the troublesome app to internal storage, and then it's fine. It never completely disappears.
It might do you some good to reformat your SD card. Move everything off of it first, then format it, then put everything back on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sold, since I can no longer access the SD card and I've got nothing to listen to at work...
zuriken said:
Is it the stock 8GB SD card, or a different one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup.

@homeslice976 copied, formatted (made sure it was FAT32), copied everything back and no dice. Same symptoms, Apps will not load.
@zuriken I don't know why you asked about the stock SD card or not, do you think it needs to be replaced? It's only been since February.

Cwluc said:
@homeslice976 copied, formatted (made sure it was FAT32), copied everything back and no dice. Same symptoms, Apps will not load.
@zuriken I don't know why you asked about the stock SD card or not, do you think it needs to be replaced? It's only been since February.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do a full, not quick format? Scan for bad sectors/errors?

Scott_S said:
Did you do a full, not quick format? Scan for bad sectors/errors?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
full format, chkdsk /f, still nothing though. This is honestly getting to the point where I'm tempted to switch to another phone. Why can't I access my stuff?
Another new bonus, every time I get some sort of alert it now plays random MP3s from the SD card. What is going on...

Cwluc said:
full format, chkdsk /f, still nothing though. This is honestly getting to the point where I'm tempted to switch to another phone. Why can't I access my stuff?
Another new bonus, every time I get some sort of alert it now plays random MP3s from the SD card. What is going on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd try a brand new, good quality SD card before resorting to switching phones.
Have you flashed any custom roms or anything? I didn't see you mention either way.

Scott_S said:
I'd try a brand new, good quality SD card before resorting to switching phones.
Have you flashed any custom roms or anything? I didn't see you mention either way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's gonna be a little while until I can try a new SD card but I'll get back to you.
The only ROM I loaded was the one to originally root that removed the uploading cap from ATT.
I also solved where the random sounds were coming from apparently it doesn't want to play my selected theme and no matter what I do the only one that works is the original HTC default 2010 one or if I download any only the Celesta theme plays... I have a sinking feeling that copying all this funky data isn't going to resolve anything but I'll give it a go.

Cwluc said:
It's gonna be a little while until I can try a new SD card but I'll get back to you.
The only ROM I loaded was the one to originally root that removed the uploading cap from ATT.
I also solved where the random sounds were coming from apparently it doesn't want to play my selected theme and no matter what I do the only one that works is the original HTC default 2010 one or if I download any only the Celesta theme plays... I have a sinking feeling that copying all this funky data isn't going to resolve anything but I'll give it a go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck.
Since you haven't been messing with multiple roms and such, I don't know what else it could be, other than the SD card taking a dump.

[Q] Apps gone

Hi after having to switch my phone off, when I turned it on again it appears that all the apps I moved to the SD card are no longer there. I have just spent some time downloading them from the market again.
Question is why has this happened and how do I stop it from happening again
Thanks in advance

Solution
Hi Nexus.
I think you'll find that the apps still exist, they're just fragmented on the SD
card. This has happened to me plenty of times.
I've found it's only apps that are installed on the SD card and it's never
happened with apps on the phone's internal ROM.
A good way to check is to go into: Settings- Applications- Manage applications-
then tap the SD card tab. That list shows all of your apps installed on the SD
card. I found that when apps here got fragmented/corrupt they didn't show their
original app icon. Instead they showed the stock android app icon. This is a good
way to tell if the missing apps in question are still there but are just fragmented.
The way to solve this, the way that's worked for me, is to plug the phone into a
pc and mount the SD card as a disk. Then on the PC access the SD card via
explorer and right click- properties- tools- then click de-fragment.
This may take up to 30 mins as it's not as fast as a HDD.
From using this technique my apps have always returned and I can use them
with no problems again.
I've also noticed that this issue only happens if I restart or turn the phone off. I
don't understand what is corrupting the apps as the SD card is mounted
correctly and is the one supplied as standard.
I hope I've helped, and I guess this will save you from re-downloading all of your
apps again.
I'm happy to hear anyone's thoughts/suggestions onto why this is actually
happening in the first place too.
Cheers, Dms

Hi thanks so much for the answer. This has been bugging me for ages and even though I have been searching I have not had any joy solving it until your reply.
As you said it only seems to happen to apps on the sd card, and I would like to know why they are not "persistent" There must be a developer who understands the Android system who can explain why this happens and what you can do to make apps you have on your sd card permanent.
As you said it only happens to me when I re start my phone.
Thanks again for the answer

Hi. It's no problem. Yes I havn't seen anything about this issue being mentioned either.
I'd like to know what's causing it. Whether it's a hardware fault or something in the software.
It's a real pain having to hook it up to my pc to sort it out. Especially when I'm away from a pc, I can't use half of my apps.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

LG G Flex 2 "Camera cannot be accessed right now"

I've had a constant problem for the past few days with the camera. In every app that uses the camera I get an error message saying something like
"Please close other apps, the camera cannot be accessed right now."
This is temporarily redeemed with clearing my cache but after using the phone for a while the problem returns. Restarting the device doesn't seem to help very much but occasionally the camera will work after a restart. I'm on the software version 6.0.1 V20a-SEA-XX and I have a H959. I have not tried a hard reset on my device yet and wish to avoid that if an easier fix is available.

When the Mrs's phone was updated by LG following repair, she had a similar issue. It turned out to be an issue with the camera trying to save to the SD card, but the SD card not playing nice with the new firmware.
To see if you have the same issue, go into the camera and change the save location to internal storage before you attempt to take any shots. If you can take a shot after this change, you know its an issue with the SD card.
Lets hope its something so simple. :angel:

Masteryates said:
When the Mrs's phone was updated by LG following repair, she had a similar issue. It turned out to be an issue with the camera trying to save to the SD card, but the SD card not playing nice with the new firmware.
To see if you have the same issue, go into the camera and change the save location to internal storage before you attempt to take any shots. If you can take a shot after this change, you know its an issue with the SD card.
Lets hope its something so simple. :angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got the camera to work for once and changed it to save to the phone. Worked for a while but I believe it reverted to saving to the SD card. Taking out the SD card and putting it back in was a simple fix along with saying "No" to a prompt about asking it I want to save to the SD card. Many thanks! I was starting to believe I'd never take photos again with this phone.

lol_cool88 said:
Got the camera to work for once and changed it to save to the phone. Worked for a while but I believe it reverted to saving to the SD card. Taking out the SD card and putting it back in was a simple fix along with saying "No" to a prompt about asking it I want to save to the SD card. Many thanks! I was starting to believe I'd never take photos again with this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problems Lol_cool. :highfive:
I would suggest you copy everything off that SD card and then format it using the phone before moving everything back onto it. Other apps may also cause the same types off issues if your SD card is now not entirely compatible with the phone.

Masteryates said:
No problems Lol_cool. :highfive:
I would suggest you copy everything off that SD card and then format it using the phone before moving everything back onto it. Other apps may also cause the same types off issues if your SD card is now not entirely compatible with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem. I don't even use sd card and it always happen again and again. Even the flash can't be turned on in the quick toggle menu. I have hard resetted my phone several times and constantly appears again.

Ficoradic said:
I have the same problem. I don't even use sd card and it always happen again and again. Even the flash can't be turned on in the quick toggle menu. I have hard resetted my phone several times and constantly appears again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think LG will tell you to do a factory reset Ficoradic.
If that doesn't work, you'll have to do a RMA or pay for the repair if your out of warranty. :crying:

I'm having the exact same issue. I already replaced the rear camera module as I thought it was broken. It seemed to work for a while, but now i'm having the cannot connect to camera issue almost constantly.
What seems to help is to 'clear all' applications from the recent apps window, and use camera restarter (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.exlyo.camerarestarter) a few times and launch the camera app again. (need root)
I'm using a rooted 5.1.1 v15C-EUR-XX, have root, xposed, powernap, amplify, greenify and some other root tools installed and am thinking that that might be the issue.

The restarter thing didn't work anymore today, so I put some pressure on the part of the laser focus thing while opening the camera app, and it worked until I took my finger off, then it went black. I tried again, and again it was a success. The connector for the camera is right under that laser thing so it might just be due to bad connection of the camera connector, or the laser thing that has a bad connection inside.

Not a screen of death but maybe a glimpse of it

My Note20U5G has had this small glitch for a while:
When I am using it, especially it I am opening an app window or typing inside one, EVERYTHING on my screen disappears for like 1 second. The only thing left is the homescreen wallpaper (without icons on it) and after that 1 second everything comes back to normal, if I was typing the screen where I left of, I am taken back to continue typing, etc... Now, even though this happens only once or up to twice a day, I figured it could be a sign that something is wrong.
So what I did was, is that I deactivated all apps that (in my opinion) could've contributed to this; onehand operation plus, live wallpapers, some apps in the background such as wireless power sharing, that I really never use.
However, no help. The twice a day glitch continued.
Next, I wiped cache using the "safe mode" or whatever it is called. I did this 2 days ago. And yesterday the whole day phone operated without glitches. But as day passed today I got one again.
As I am clueless what to do next I figured to do a hard reset, that is set the phone to factory settings.
Since I've owned this phone since November, there's some preparation to do before reseting to factory settings, so I thought to ask you guys if someone else had this glitch, as I was unable to google for it.
Thanks

Looks like a system UI crash and spontaneous recovery.
Do you have any apps put to sleep /standby or enlisted in deep sleep esp system apps
Also do you have power saving turned on.
Any thing that you changed in developers options.
I would update my phone to latest firmware and factory reset it.
Update all apps
Report back with an update

fizzingbees said:
Looks like a system UI crash and spontaneous recovery.
Do you have any apps put to sleep /standby or enlisted in deep sleep esp system apps
Also do you have power saving turned on.
Any thing that you changed in developers options.
I would update my phone to latest firmware and factory reset it.
Update all apps
Report back with an update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, I don't have power saving on.
Here are my deep sleep apps. Nothing worth mentioning there IMO, all of them are some apps I might use but I don't ever need them running in the background.
If I go for factory reset, what is the best way to do it and no lose any personal data by chance. Obviously, I would back up photos to my computer... But other than that, what should I be careful about?

Try clearing the system cache.
Factory reset time, may be malware or maybe the OS or a vital system apk got corrupted.
Almost always caused by a 3rd party app especially launchers.
You got an SD card slot, use it!
It's a data drive; you have a dual drive PC
OS, download folder and apps go on internal storage.
Critical data, user files, music, vids, DCIM (move images here once a week or so) and backup copies of apps, app settings backup, phone contact backups, etc go on the SD card.
Use ApkExport to copy all your apps... no Playstore needed for a reload.
Everything you need for a full restore should be on the SD card. Think it through completely to avoid unpleasant surprises.
The Lexar 512 gb V30 card works well $75.
Other cards may be faster; only use a name brand card with at least a V30 rating.
Note: backup the SD card to at least 2 hhds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other!

blackhawk said:
Try clearing the system cache.
Factory reset time, may be malware or maybe the OS or a vital system apk got corrupted.
Almost always caused by a 3rd party app especially launchers.
You got an SD card slot, use it!
It's a data drive; you have a dual drive PC
OS, download folder and apps go on internal storage.
Critical data, user files, music, vids, DCIM (move images here once a week or so) and backup copies of apps, app settings backup, phone contact backups, etc go on the SD card.
Use ApkExport to copy all your apps... no Playstore needed for a reload.
Everything you need for a full restore should be on the SD card. Think it through completely to avoid unpleasant surprises.
The Lexar 512 gb V30 card works well $75.
Other cards may be faster; only use a name brand card with at least a V30 rating.
Note: backup the SD card to at least 2 hhds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LoL I didn't know there was a memory slot, didn't need to think about it since I switched from a 128gb phone to this 256gb. Yeah, gonna get an sd card. Thanks

vdamir78 said:
LoL I didn't know there was a memory slot, didn't need to think about it since I switched from a 128gb phone to this 256gb. Yeah, gonna get an sd card. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah once you get use to it, you'll demand it.
All my PCs and laptops are dual drive. It saves a lot of time, pain and boosts performance.
I can do a full reload on my Note 10+ in about 2 hrs and have it back to about 99% fully operational with no internet connection.
Without the card it becomes a gruelling 8+ hour process including having to load over 240 gb of data.
Backup everything now as once an Android OS starts exhibiting instability it's one boot away from a boot loop☠
They are very rare but that's how they start many times

Alright, I have just done one more thing: I completely disabled Nova Launcher (stopped using it anyways after I bought this N20U). If that doesn't help, I am proceeding with the reset.

vdamir78 said:
Alright, I have just done one more thing: I completely disabled Nova Launcher (stopped using it anyways after I bought this N20U). If that doesn't help, I am proceeding with the reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Samsung launcher is better anyway, rock solid stable, fast with little battery usage.
Clear the system cache.
A 3rd party launcher can definitely crash a Samsung. One boot looped my Note 10+ twice, back to back over a year ago. I was seeing red.
Still running on the OS from that 2nd reset... still fast and stable less the 3rd party launcher

No essential app in deep sleeping apps.
Boot to safe mode and see if the problem persist, otherwise it's one of your apps responsible for this anomaly.
Copy entire internal drive data to SD card it flash drive via otg adapter
Use smart switch to backup Samsung notes.
Use swift backup or alpha backup app for contacts logs, messages and apps ( external data not saved fully on non-root devices)
Backup whatsapp on Google drive.
Afterwards, either flash factory firmware via odin to completely remove all traces of bugs ( recommended, use csc instead of home csc to wipe internal storage and all data)
Or factory reset from settings.
Then boot to recovery and wipe internal storage +factory reset again.. Its a bit extra but would eliminate any software related issues.
Report with update

blackhawk said:
The Samsung launcher is better anyway, rock solid stable, fast with little battery usage.
Clear the system cache.
A 3rd party launcher can definitely crash a Samsung. One boot looped my Note 10+ twice, back to back over a year ago. I was seeing red.
Still running on the OS from that 2nd reset... still fast and stable less the 3rd party launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen this issue with good lock app on my note 4.. Uninstalling it caused system ui to crash repeatedly making phone unusable

vdamir78 said:
Alright, I have just done one more thing: I completely disabled Nova Launcher (stopped using it anyways after I bought this N20U). If that doesn't help, I am proceeding with the reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange.
I have been rocking nova launcher since completing setup wizard. No issues so far.

fizzingbees said:
I have seen this issue with good lock app on my note 4.. Uninstalling it caused system ui to crash repeatedly making phone unusable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonder if it was the Lockstar module?
I never use any apps like that... once bitten, twice shy Other than it's goofy lame main page Good Lock gives me zero issues.
It wasn't Nova that boot looped the 2 OSs
It was slower and used more battery though then One UI... Samsung has made big improvements to their native launcher. The most customizable stock Android platform in existence too. It runs very well, uses very little power and is rock solid stable at least on my Note 10+/Pie variant. It has never crashed.

blackhawk said:
Wonder if it was the Lockstar module?
I never use any apps like that... once bitten, twice shy Other than it's goofy lame main page Good Lock gives me zero issues.
It wasn't Nova that boot looped the 2 OSs
It was slower and used more battery though then One UI... Samsung has made big improvements to their native launcher. The most customizable stock Android platform in existence too. It runs very well, uses very little power and is rock solid stable at least on my Note 10+/Pie variant. It has never crashed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it was 2017 version of Samsung good lock app that changed the lockscreen and quick panel.
Not like the modules now.

Update:
I decided to go for a samsung microsd, but I had to order a 256gb on ebay. So while I am waiting for it, I disabled good lock (nicelock to be precise) and I completely uninstalled Nova launcher.
No glitches since then.

Update:
After going back & forth with sd card purchase for my phone, I finally got a 256gb sd card that is the same size as my note20ultra's internal memory. So I was thinking, is it possible to completely mirror the phone's storage to sd card, and after I factory reset the phone, to copy that mirror back to the phone.
I used to do this with some PCs at my work a long time ago, using some sort of "ghost software"... so anyways, my sd card is capable to take every single data from the phone, what is my best backup/restore option to go for after a factory reset?
(Btw, the problem that I described in the opening post still persists, however it has become less frequent, like 50% less of a "hiccup" than it used to be)

vdamir78 said:
(Btw, the problem that I described in the opening post still persists, however it has become less frequent, like 50% less of a "hiccup" than it used to be)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which OS and Samsung UI are installed on your N20U?
Are any applications listed in your Care report "Application history" in the Samsung Battery and device care section?
I had major "issues" with the System UI crashing after updating to Android 11/One UI 3.0 until the bugs were fixed with an update.
Surely hope you find a fix and do not have to factory reset your phone.

vdamir78 said:
Update:
After going back & forth with sd card purchase for my phone, I finally got a 256gb sd card that is the same size as my note20ultra's internal memory. So I was thinking, is it possible to completely mirror the phone's storage to sd card, and after I factory reset the phone, to copy that mirror back to the phone.
I used to do this with some PCs at my work a long time ago, using some sort of "ghost software"... so anyways, my sd card is capable to take every single data from the phone, what is my best backup/restore option to go for after a factory reset?
(Btw, the problem that I described in the opening post still persists, however it has become less frequent, like 50% less of a "hiccup" than it used to be)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know of any app that can mirror Android drives real time. That not to say there isn't.
You would definitely take a performance hit if you could do it.
Like I said before the best solution is to use the SD card as the data drive. Just make sure to backup it up redundantly.
The lag your describing is bothersome. Track it down. It may be malware.
Clear system cache and do a hard reboot.
Do a network reset and clear the sim card tool kit data. Toggle Developer options off to clear it's settings... you can reenable then.
Disable all animations.
Is it still there?
Does it happen in safe mode?
If a 3rd party app is the cause either correct it or uninstall the app.
If you can't resolve the issue consider it malware and do a factory reset.
See if it's there after the reset before loading apps. If still present reflash the firmware.
If still present it may be a hardware issue.
This phone should be rocket fast with no lag.
There's near zero lag on my 10+ which has a slower memory and CPU.

blackhawk said:
I don't know of any app that can mirror Android drives real time. That not to say there isn't.
You would definitely take a performance hit if you could do it.
Like I said before the best solution is to use the SD card as the data drive. Just make sure to backup it up redundantly.
The lag your describing is bothersome. Track it down. It may be malware.
Clear system cache and do a hard reboot.
Do a network reset and clear the sim card tool kit data. Toggle Developer options off to clear it's settings... you can reenable then.
Disable all animations.
Is it still there?
Does it happen in safe mode?
If a 3rd party app is the cause either correct it or uninstall the app.
If you can't resolve the issue consider it malware and do a factory reset.
See if it's there after the reset before loading apps. If still present reflash the firmware.
If still present it may be a hardware issue.
This phone should be rocket fast with no lag.
There's near zero lag on my 10+ which has a slower memory and CPU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that it is so random. I could not pinpoint any app to relate to it. I unistalled some apps in the meantime, but it still persists (less frequent). If I restarted in safe mode I would probably have to keep the phone in safe mode for at least 3 days to be sure.
Is there a malware detecting antivirus for android that works efficiently?

vdamir78 said:
The problem is that it is so random. I could not pinpoint any app to relate to it. I unistalled some apps in the meantime, but it still persists (less frequent). If I restarted in safe mode I would probably have to keep the phone in safe mode for at least 3 days to be sure.
Is there a malware detecting antivirus for android that works efficiently?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reload time if the steps I mentioned don't work or if you did a major firmware upgrade without a factory reset.
Malwarebytes is good but there are always new undetectable infections floating around.
With odd behavior that cause can't be determined a virus or rootkit is a real possibility. They are very rare if you're careful but can happen.
I caught a trojan preloader on my 10+ about a year ago in the download folder with Malwarebytes. Fortunately I found/deleted it before it could download it's payload package and install it. It self downloaded through the Samsung browser... a nasty little bugger.

Malwareb. detected one malware app today, some photoediting app...deleted it, so let's see...

[SOLVED] Apps suddenly unable to access SD card for seemingly no reason

SOLVED
Found the thing!
This bug is caused by activating the option Disable permission monitoring in the Developper Options.
This is an option that is specific to a handful of phone manufacturers (Oppo in my case).
Enabling this option is needed for using some tweak apps such as Shizuku. However, if it is enabled on phone boot, SD card will be unaccessible.
FIX
Disabling this option and rebooting the phone fixed it.
If you still need to use this option, you can enable it while the phone is on and disable it before rebooting. It will work fine despite this minor inconvenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Solution answer
So this one is weird.
Everything was working fine untill I rebooted my phone earlier today.
For some reason, since this reboot, apps are unable to access my SD card storage. As far as I know, no update was applied with this reboot. I do not recall tinkering or changing anything related to this recently.
Symptoms
SD card is still visible in the storage tab of the settings (there is no available option to unmount or eject it) or in select cases when choosing a folder from an app, however the content does not show up past the root.
My music player (Oto music) sends an error message "Cannot play this file" while trying to play a song from the SD card
File explorer will not show the SD card directory at all
Resillio Sync has a synced folder on the SD card. It now says "Can't open the destination folder". If I try adding a new synced folder on the SD card and select the root of the SD card, I get the message "Android OS restricts access to this folder"
Google file is stuck in a loop trying to get permissions to access the card
SD card works just fine on another phone.
Other SD cards have the same problem with my phone, not just this one
SD card does not show up when using file transfer with a Windows PC
Rebooting the phone did nothing
Removing the card and putting it back in again did nothing
Formatting the card did nothing
I factory reset the phone. It worked, but the problem came back at the first reboot.
Current state of investigations I have reset the phone a second time and reboot it every time I install an app, uninstall or disable a system app or change some settings. So far the SD card is still accessible so I know what it's not:
it's not the fault of disabling system apps
it's not related to using a work profile (Insular)
still haven't found an app that causes it
Apps I have not tried re-installing on my second reset and that might be the curlprit:
Shizuku (I have my suspicions on this one, let me know if this one is known for causing similar bugs) Not Shizuku per se but a developper option needed for it (see solution answer)
I have no idea what could cause this, all I know is it's related to my phone in particular and it appeared out of nowhere.
I am using Android 13 on ColorOS.
Thanks to anyone who can help.

Format card in phone before using. Do Not share the card with other devices; upload/download to the card through the phone.
Hardware or firmware issue. Inspect phone sd card contacts.

blackhawk said:
Format card in phone before using. Do Not share the card with other devices; upload/download to the card through the phone.
Hardware or firmware issue. Inspect phone sd card contacts.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for answering.
I did format the card to no avail.
I did not use the card on other phones before it stopped working.
As I previously mentioned however, the card WAS working fine until now, and unless I am mistaken you seem to address the problem as if this is a new card or something. The card has been in this phone working fine for months.
It seems pretty clear to me this is a permissions issue so firmware perhaps indeed.
How would I go about checking the phone SD card contacts?

Iune said:
Thanks for answering.
I did format the card to no avail.
I did not use the card on other phones before it stopped working.
As I previously mentioned however, the card WAS working fine until now, and unless I am mistaken you seem to address the problem as if this is a new card or something. The card has been in this phone working fine for months.
It seems pretty clear to me this is a permissions issue so firmware perhaps indeed.
How would I go about checking the phone SD card contacts?
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Click to collapse
You're welcome.
If other cards don't work... regardless just stating things that can cause issues.
Light and magnification if needed to inspect the contacts. Use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol to clean if needed.
I sort of doubt it's firmware. Try a hard reboot and clear the system cache if possible.

blackhawk said:
You're welcome.
If other cards don't work... regardless just stating things that can cause issues.
Light and magnification if needed to inspect the contacts. Use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol to clean if needed.
I sort of doubt it's firmware. Try a hard reboot and clear the system cache if possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I believe it is firmware is that when setting permissions the SD card IS shown in the list. For instance in my music player if I use the option to authorize access to the SD card it is here. It just does nothing when I authorize it.
I am leaning towards a permissions issue because when I use one of these permission windows to try and create a folder on the SD card, I get an error message that says "Android OS restricts write access to this folder". Hence the problem is not that the SD card is not detected, but that apps are somehow not allowed to use it.
I currently not have what it takes to check the contacts (neither the tools nor the knowledge). This phone is only a couple months old so I also doubt the contacts are damaged as they have been working fine until now and I had never removed the card or opened the tray since day one.
A hard reboot should be last resort, but anyway I did it. It worked and my SD card was accessible again, so I reinstalled all my stuff. But then at the first reboot the problem was back. I am now pretty sure this is a software issue as on my second phone reset, the SD card is still usable as long as I don't isntall the wrong thing (still trying to figure out what that is). I added my investigations to the main thread.

SOLVED
Found the thing!
This bug is caused by activating the option Disable permission monitoring in the Developper Options.
This is an option that is specific to a handful of phone manufacturers (Oppo in my case).
Enabling this option is needed for using some tweak apps such as Shizuku. However, if it is enabled on phone boot, SD card will be unaccessible.
FIX
Disabling this option and rebooting the phone fixed it.
If you still need to use this option, you can enable it while the phone is on and disable it before rebooting. It will work fine despite this minor inconvenience.

Iune said:
The reason I believe it is firmware is that when setting permissions the SD card IS shown in the list. For instance in my music player if I use the option to authorize access to the SD card it is here. It just does nothing when I authorize it.
I am leaning towards a permissions issue because when I use one of these permission windows to try and create a folder on the SD card, I get an error message that says "Android OS restricts write access to this folder". Hence the problem is not that the SD card is not detected, but that apps are somehow not allowed to use it.
I currently not have what it takes to check the contacts (neither the tools nor the knowledge). This phone is only a couple months old so I also doubt the contacts are damaged as they have been working fine until now and I had never removed the card or opened the tray since day one.
A hard reboot should be last resort, but anyway I did it. It worked and my SD card was accessible again, so I reinstalled all my stuff. But then at the first reboot the problem was back. I am now pretty sure this is a software issue as on my second phone reset, the SD card is still usable as long as I don't isntall the wrong thing (still trying to figure out what that is). I added my investigations to the main thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A hard reboot is not a factory reset! It simulates pulling the battery... It's always better to find the root cause of a problem than to factory reset because the problem is likely to reoccur
Sounds like a trashware 3rd party app is to blame... try in safe mode. If it fails to function in safe mode start uninstalling the 3rd party apps one by one until (if) the problem resolves to find the app that screwed up the hidden user settings*. If that fails to work, another factory reset and start over, being careful what you load, then rebooting and checking after each install.
Meh, you got a real can of worms to play with...
*poorly coded apps can alter hidden user settings and fail to revert these settings to default even after the offending app is uninstalled. Alternatively see if the behavior caused by the offending app can be corrected using the settings in that app.
ADB editing could maybe be used to correct to hidden user settings misconfiguration but finding that setting may prove difficult. Beyond anything I ever had to do.

blackhawk said:
A hard reboot is not a factory reset! It simulates pulling the battery... It's always better to find the root cause of a problem than to factory reset because the problem is likely to reoccur
Sounds like a trashware 3rd party app is to blame... try in safe mode. If it fails to function in safe mode start uninstalling the 3rd party apps one by one until (if) the problem resolves to find the app that screwed up the hidden user settings*. If that fails to work, another factory reset and start over, being careful what you load, then rebooting and checking after each install.
Meh, you got a real can of worms to play with...
*poorly coded apps can alter hidden user settings and fail to revert these settings to default even after the offending app is uninstalled. Alternatively see if the behavior caused by the offending app can be corrected using the settings in that app.
ADB editing could maybe be used to correct to hidden user settings misconfiguration but finding that setting may prove difficult. Beyond anything I ever had to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I searched on Google about hard reboots and the explanations literally described a factory reset haha. I have yet to understadn the difference. Wipe all data VS wipe all data ?
Anyway I investigated and found the cause of the problem, so marking this post as solved! Thanks for the help

Iune said:
Well I searched on Google about hard reboots and the explanations literally described a factory reset haha. I have yet to understadn the difference. Wipe all data VS wipe all data ?
Anyway I investigated and found the cause of the problem, so marking this post as solved! Thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yay! Well done. So many settings...
Traditionally a hard reboot is killing the power to the mobo... I believe, or maybe I just watched too many sci-fi movies You do it by holding the power button (or combination of buttons) down for 20-30 seconds.
On cams and older phones you simply remove the battery for a few seconds. It clears any volatile memory settings in the chipsets or semiconductors by cutting to power to everything.