We all have a tiny chip attached to our mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices that store our important files, photos, folders, and much more. The holders are called SD cards. SD cards are also called microSD cards or memory chips. The question is what we can do to spot a fake SD card?
Even though it is a fantastic invention that allows you to save the things that you think are important for the future, you must be careful while choosing the right one for you. However, it can be a headache if these SD cards turn out to be fake. Try checking out the package and test your cards before you plan on using them all together!
Imagine you facing a situation where you lost all the data you had saved in your SD card. The horror remains when the shop tells you there is no way of getting it back! All your memory is just gone like that! You would not want yourself to be in that position. This is exactly why you have to learn the difference between a fake SD card and a real one.
It becomes even harder since some fake SD cards come in believable established names like Samsung, Kingston, SanDisk, and much more. In contrast to this, you do not have to worry! We will help you spot a fake SD card!
What Does a Fake SD Card Look Like?
A fake SD card is always easy to spot if you are careful enough in the buying process. Here are some key points that help you identify the fake SD cards from how they look:
- Some SD cards show unrealistic storage capacity such as 2048 GB when actually they might carry only 16GB of memory or less.
- The print of the cover is uneven and sketchy.
- The fake SD card does not contain a serial number at the back.
- Similarly, the fake SD cards are not classified in any terms which are mentioned in the later portions of this blog.
- They have fake brand names or names of brands that are heard of but do not produce any memory cards.
- The memory card slot looks tilted and a little bruised.
- They come in an unpacked and unsealed manner.
- The print of the SD card can be easily peeled off.
- The logo of the company is not quite right.
Is It an Established Brand Name?
There are many brands that manufacture SD cards. Interestingly, you might find some brands that you have not heard of as a popular SD card.
Though the brands might have established names in other parts of the market like mobile companies (Huawei), or they might consist of established brand names that do not provide the capacity of memory it promises to.
So, do your research before you go to the store to make an informed decision!
What Happens If I Buy a Fake SD Card?
There are a few things that you might be concerned with if you consider buying a fake SD card anyways because it is almost as good as a free product. Those things are the repercussions of the purchase.
Fluctuated Storage
First of all, a fake SD card will show you fluctuated storage or reduced storage capacity. This is already a bad start because you now cannot store as much stuff as you wanted to in the first place.
Overwriting Previous Files
Secondly, you will see that when the memory becomes full, it will not notify you that you lack storage. Instead, it will start rewriting on your previous data damaging the ones you store now as well as the ones you captured in the past.
You would definitely not want to store your important works or projects just to realize that it all got deleted or overwritten somehow.
Show Corrupted SD Card Message
Moreover, even if they might seem to work at first, they have an end date at some point in the future. These SD cards will start showing that it has been corrupted.
Crashing and Formatting
What’s more? You will find yourself stuck in the grim situation where you have to format the card altogether to make it work and again crash someday.
It is better not to lose precious data beforehand and buy a real SD card to be fruitful of what SD cards are really supposed to do.
Why Is My SD Card Not Showing Full Capacity?
If you find this error happening in your SD card, you have probably been scammed by a fake brand and a fake SD card. This is the type of fake SD card that gives you attractive deals that might often look realistic enough but they do not fulfill the capacity they promised to provide.
Now, you are left with an SD card that has far less and reduced capacity than it has told you it would. This is why you need to learn the difference between a real and a fake SD card such that you avoid throwing your money on items that have zero utility.
Also Read: How To Fix An Overheating Laptop
How To Check A Fake SD Card?
There are various software and apps that can help you know whether the SD Cards are fake or real. Such software will save you a great deal of money and a lot of time which would otherwise be wasted once the card becomes corrupt in the future.
How Do I Check My SD Card Capacity?
These are some software and apps you can use to test your SD cards.
ChipGenius
Available for: Windows
You will require a memory card reader for this one. First, insert the memory card in the computer or laptop through the memory card reader. Then, run the software ChipGenius and get the quick ‘test’ done.
Furthermore, you will be able to view the real size of the SD card set by the manufacturer as total capacity along with other information such as manufacturer, current and maximum speed, etc.
H2testw
Available for: Windows
Moreover, H2testw assists you to be less vulnerable to frauds that hand you a fake SD card. What is even more interesting is that this software is completely free and downloadable.
H2testw is likely to check the free space on the drive by writing and reading files back in all available space on the device.
It is slower but it is a reliable source of checking the SD card properly. Besides, it also uses both German and English if you need to change to suitable languages.
FakeFlashTest
Available for: Windows
Developed by: RMPrepUSB
FakeFlashTest is the fastest software to determine the true capacity of a microSD card. A Quick Size Test acknowledges the drive to be fake or real which makes it easier for you to make decisions.
Such a test writes and reads at random segments across your drive and displays in the log in case any of this process fails at some point.
You can choose to prefer a Test Empty Space option for an in-depth analysis. This makes you aware of any fake space that the SD card promises to give but actually does not exist in real life by reading and writing to them.
Moreover, it is the fastest to date as it is an optimized version and new in this sector.
Download SD Insight
Available for: Android Mobile Phones
For the ones using the SD cards on their Android phones, it is more of a savior to download an app “SD Insight”. This app particularly helps you to know the manufacturer of the memory card in real. Also, it displays the information about storage size, model, and manufacture date for you.
Media Tester
Available for: Windows and Linux
Media tester is another software similar to H2testw which helps you find out the real capacity of an SD card by writing and reading into the memory.
It is a relief that you can find out the actual capacity of the memory before you put in your valuable portions of work and data just so that they disappear or get overwritten. Media Tester provides you the knowledge you need to avoid such a bad situation.
USB Flash Drive Tester
Available for: Windows
Next, USB Flash Drive Tester gives you an opportunity to test your SD card for unstable and worse sectors. It also checks out the fake sizes and capacities mentioned in the cards for you.
Can I Fix Fake SD Cards?
Don’t worry! Download DiskPart.
Though you might have thought of having a larger capacity memory card, you might not get the desired amount of the capacity on them. However, the fake SD cards are not worthless. You might get a refund as well as keep the SD card if you have bought it from some sites like WISH.
Since you already have the SD card, you might as well make some use out of it.
DiskPart Steps To Fix Fake SD Card
This is a software on Windows that assists in the integration of the disk partition. You can run the Command prompt and start right away to make your fake SD card usable.
- Write down a note from your card drive letter through This PC.
- Search for Command Prompt from the Start Menu Search Bar. Right-click to select run as an administrator.
- Type diskpart and then list volume.
- Input Select volume (your drive letter), and insert the actual amount of capacity the SD card consists in megabytes. For example, if your SD card has 8GB memory, you have to type “8000”
- Input shrink desired [number of megabytes]. Press enter to continue. For example, if the SD card promises 512 GB but its actual capacity is 4 GB, you will have to type “shrink desired 508000”. Your SD card will now be decreased by 508000 megabytes to 4 GB memory.
You can now go to format the SD card and then start using it. However, it is still a risky task since it will start rewriting the memory once the device is full in its capacity. Hence, you should always be careful before you store something into the SD card that exceeds its capacity!
A Cheap SD Card? Stay Alert!
There are times when you get some deals online or even at stores which are too good to be true. It seems as if it is your lucky day and you should grab it as soon as possible.
In contrast to what your mind tells you, you have to stop the urge of buying something and wasting your money on it. In fact, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
No matter how attractive the deals are, you need to be able to analyze it properly. Even on the most popular online stores like Amazon, you can find such fake cards.
These are provided by the resellers and sometimes customers themselves when they return the goods replacing new ones with fake ones.
These products circulate and create a vicious circle! Though these situations happen rarely, you have to be careful yourself as well.
Also Read: How to Burn ISO File on a USB Flash Drive on Windows 10/8/7
5 Mistakes To Avoid While Buying an SD Card
As we are talking about how to avoid the scams and buy a real SD card instead of a fake one. You must look out at the common mistakes most people make while buying them. Those mistakes are mentioned below so that you remain safe from such scams in the future.
Picking Up Wrong SD Card For The Task
This is the most common mistake people make while buying any of the technological devices. You might have noticed yourself that you find greater speed and volume appealing when it comes to RAMs and SD Cards.
However, you must understand your need to pick a card that is meant for your desired work.
You have to look at the UHS Speed Class. If you want to use the SD card on your phone, an Application Performance Rating is good to go. Though, if you are willing to take a video having high-quality videos, you will require higher speed and space as a priority.
Buying Unbranded Items
Most of the time, you become drawn to items on the list due to their attractive pricing and offers. However, these offers are a way to fool customers.
For photographers especially as you find it hard to invest much on SD cards because you have already spent so much on other equipment.
As a result, you end up wasting your money on some unbranded item that seems good to start with. We recommend that you do not waste your money on such products since they will cost you your precious memories and work to be gone forever without a trace!
If you buy branded items, you will not only save money for a long shot but you will also add robustness to your memory with added protection against shocks, water, and even airport Xrays in some cases.
Choosing Fake SD Cards
As the whole point of this blog is not to purchase fake SD cards in the first place, this point seems to be almost inevitable.
The most common mistake is always choosing fake SD cards over real ones and it can be sorted out by the above-mentioned activities. Some plus points to consider in this section is the packaging of the SD cards.
If you find uneven prints, and then notice that the card is tilted without a serial number on its back, you may have chosen to buy a fake SD card.
Purchasing of Incompatible Cards
Micro SD cards fit in the slot given in your mobile phones or other electronic devices but it does not work every time. Why does this happen then?
The answer is simple. It is because there are four unique formats of SD cards. These cards give you different standards and compatibilities.
Types of SD Cards
SD, SDHC, and SDXC, also known as microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC are the major three types of SD cards. The fourth one SDUC will be available soon.
Although these cards are full in size micro Cards having the specs, they do not fit in all the devices or work properly in all of them. This means the new ones will not work in older devices and vice versa.
So what is the difference in those cards?
- microSD: Holds 2GB capacity and works in all the microSD card slots.
- microSDHC: Holds more than 2GB and up to 32GB capacity, and works in hardware that supports either SDHC or SDXC.
- microSDXC: Holds more than 32GB and up to 2TB capacity, and is supported in SDXC applicable devices only.
- microSDUC: Holds up to 128TB capacity, and will need a supporting device.
The capacity of The Device
Along with this, the capacity of your device will also affect the working of SD cards. You have to look for it in the description box of your device.
Some mobile devices like Redmi Note 8 provide you the external storage capacity up to 512GB but they might not support an SD card above 512GB.
If laptops and PCs are your concern, you need to see if the SD card runs under the file system or not. MacOS Snow Leopard onwards supports MicroSDXC. Besides, Windows supports it for almost 10 years now.
Choosing Wrong Speed
The complexity of understanding the speed of a microSD card is uncanny. Moreover, the manufacturers may choose to give out all six of the options to avoid any confusion for the customers who genuinely seek a real value for their money.
Speed class
These determine what the minimum speed of the SD card is while writing in megabytes per second.
- Class2: Minimum speed of 2 Mbps
- Class4: Minimum speed of 4 Mbps
- Class6: Minimum speed of 6 Mbps
- Class10: Minimum speed of 10 Mbps
These classes help you to understand which one is better for the task you want to carry. Though in some cases, the speed of class 6 can be better than class 2 because it only shows us the minimum writing speed, it is always better to choose a higher class for class action!
UHS speed class
If you’re wondering what UHS is, it stands for Ultra High SpeedSome SD cards to give you more robust speed. You can see these cards under names such as UHS-I, II, and III bus speeds. The two classes under it are:
- U1: Speed of at least 10Mbps
- U3: Speed of at least 30Mbps
Application Performance Class
You can use these types of cards on your mobile phones as it ensures a minimum of 10 Mbps write speed while it also writes speed measured in input/output operations per second (IOPS).
This makes your card more suitable for running Android apps on your mobile phone.
- A1: Minimum random read speed of 1500IOPS
random write speed of 500IOPS.
- A2: Minimum random read speed of 4000IOPS
random write speed of 200IOPS.
Video Speed Class
As the name suggests, this is for your videos if you want one. If you want to shoot a higher resolution video, the minimum writing speed must be higher in the amount.
- V6: Consists of the minimum write speed of 6MBps.
- V10: Consists of the minimum write speed of 10MBps.
- V30: Consists of the minimum write speed of 30MBps.
- V60: Consists of the minimum write speed of 60MBps.
- V90: Consists of the minimum write speed of 90MBps.
Relative Speed
The MicroSD cards are compared to traditional CDs’ speed of being written.
That is why you might find the speed in a normal SD card written as 100x or so. This means that the card has 100×150 Kbps speed because the traditional CDs’ had a speed of 150 Kbps.
These speeds are under lab conditions. Hence, you will obtain the speed to be more or less the same.
Maximum Speed
You do not just need to learn about the minimum speed but also the maximum speed when it comes to the best SD cards. Maximum speed restricts you to go any further than that.
As the minimum speed class, the maximum rated speed is also classes with megabytes per second. Meanwhile, the external factors may affect the maximum speed.
However, you can always vouch for a card having a higher speed to have better performance with all the conditions fulfilled.
Last words
We strongly believe that it is uncommon for anyone to buy a fake SD card after reading this blog. Moreover, we hope you found almost everything you needed to know about having an SD card that actually works.
In conclusion, we hope you get the best you can for you. These are only a few points to consider and a few mistakes that you can learn from through experience in real. However, if we have missed any points that might be helpful to our readers in any way, feel free to mention in the comment box below!
