Lexar Micro SD not detected

Help Fairphone 5
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1

Hi everyone,
I just received my new Fairphone 5 and ordered a Micro SD card that isn’t being detected. I purchased a Lexar Blue Micro SD 512GB (model: up to 160 MB/s read speed, microSDXC UHS-I, C10, U3, V30, A2) from Amazon, advertised as compatible with smartphones, tablets, and 4K video.
The card I received has the following printed on it:
Lexar - Micro SD XC I - V30 - Blue - U3 - A2 - 512 GB

Unfortunately, my Fairphone 5 doesn’t recognize it. I’ve tried formatting it on my PC in different ways (exFAT, NTFS), but nothing works. The card reads fine on my computer, though.
According to Fairphone’s website, the specs for SD cards are:

  • Type: microSD (SD 3.0)
  • Speed: UHS-I
  • Max capacity: 2TB
    The only difference I notice is that my card doesn’t explicitly say “UHS-I” on it (though it was listed in the product description). I didn’t check the product images carefully before buying, but now I can’t find any photos of this card showing “UHS-I” on the label.
    Could this be the issue? Has anyone else faced this problem? Any suggestions to fix it?
    Thanks in advance for your help!
2

Update:
I’ve now tested three additional Micro SD cards with my Fairphone 5, all without success:

  • SanDisk Extreme PRO 256GB (U3, A2, V30)
  • Amazon Basics 128GB (U3, A2, V30)
  • SanDisk Ultra 32GB (U1, A1)

Key observations:
:heavy_check_mark: All cards work perfectly in other devices (tested the original Lexar 512GB in another smartphone - it was detected and formatted instantly).
:heavy_check_mark: Tried cleaning the FP5’s SD slot with a non-metallic tool.
:heavy_check_mark: Even disassembled the “Top Unit” (as shown in FP’s repair guides) to inspect/clean the contacts - no improvement.

Next steps:
:warning: Contacted Fairphone Support—will update here if they provide a solution.

Questions for the community:

  1. Has anyone successfully used SanDisk Extreme PRO/Amazon Basics cards with FP5?
  2. Could this be a hardware defect (e.g., faulty SD reader)?
  3. Any firmware tweaks or hidden diagnostic tools to test the slot?

Thanks again for your input - hoping we can crack this!

3

Did you make sure the card clicked in correctly?

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Also into the SD card slot and not the sim card reader. (Yes, I know. It is obvious, just to be sure.)

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Hi, I don’t use the SD card but I have seen this category in the internal testing via the app.
I have also run the troubleshooting via the form on the website but it did not bring any in-depth testing

However, the internal testing gives the warning - see the image - which I am not sure how to understand “please only use at the request of our Support Team”

Screenshot_20250419-234400
Screenshot_20250419-2344001224×2700 176 KB

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This warning doesnt make much sense, as its just leading to the tests you can also reach be dialing *#*#2886#*#*

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Thank you for your suggestion. Yes, I confirmed that the microSD card is inserted correctly. On the Fairphone 5, the SD card is held in place by the battery (similar to the SIM tray mechanism), so improper insertion is unlikely. The SIM card is detected without issues, but none of the three microSD cards I tested (SanDisk Extreme PRO, Amazon Basics, and SanDisk Ultra) are recognized, despite working fine in other devices.

8

Thank you for the clarification. To confirm: yes, the microSD card was inserted into the dedicated SD slot (not the SIM tray), and the SIM card is correctly seated in its own slot. The issue persists with multiple SD cards that work elsewhere, so I believe we can safely rule out user error at this point.

9

Well, if the Micro SD is only held in place by the battery, it is not inserted correctly. It has to click in and stay inside whether there’s a battery or not.

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12

Thank you for the information. I’ll wait for explicit instructions from your Support Team before using this tool, as suggested by the warning. For now, I haven’t received further feedback about my SD card issue. Could you confirm if there are pending diagnostics or steps I should follow? I appreciate your assistance.

14

Thank you for the clarification! You were absolutely right. The issue was indeed with the insertion mechanism. I used a tool to properly seat both the SIM and SD card, and now they click into place as intended. With just my nails, I couldn’t apply enough pressure, and I assumed the Fairphone’s design was different. I didn’t want to force it without confirmation. Thanks again for your help—it’s working perfectly now!

5 Likes