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Mac or PC can’t read SD card

GOrtiz817

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Jun 23, 2019
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So once I plug my Mavic Air to either my PC or Mac the SD card is not readable to either computer, and the DJI app tells me that no SD card is installed, but once I unplug the drone from the computers, the app shows that there is an SD card in the drone ( it goes into USB mode). I’ve only formatted the SD cards using the drone. I’m not sure what’s happening here. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Have you tried reading it directly by a computer, using an SD slot or with an adapter? At least then you would know a little more...Is it the card itself, or the cable, or the drone's ability to act as a card reader, or maybe the formatting on the card itself. You probably have to isolate and eliminate each possible problem. A recent thread had a similar problem, and reformatting in FAT32 (if I remember correctly) fixed the issue. But of course that lost any photos/video on the card, which is why I would do that last.
 
Have you tried reading it directly by a computer, using an SD slot or with an adapter? At least then you would know a little more...Is it the card itself, or the cable, or the drone's ability to act as a card reader, or maybe the formatting on the card itself. You probably have to isolate and eliminate each possible problem. A recent thread had a similar problem, and reformatting in FAT32 (if I remember correctly) fixed the issue. But of course that lost any photos/video on the card, which is why I would do that last.
I always remove my card from the drone and put it in my computer to transfer the files.
 
I'm not sure why you say the DJI app says no card is installed. Why use a DJI app? In a Mac, just use the finder to see if the card mounts. If it does, you're good to go. And I don't understand how it (drone?) goes into USB mode when it is unplugged from the computer.
 
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When I fly the drone the SD card is fine, it seems when I connect the drone to it either a PC or a Mac it then tells me that there is no SD card in the drone. When I unplug the drone from the computer then the drone says that there is an SD card in it. The DJI app is the DJI Go 4. It’s goes into USB mode only when I plug it into the computer.
 
Try searching the forum for "FAT32". Here's a sample:screencap101.jpg
 
As soon as you plugin the drone to the computer, the SD-Card is blocked by the drone to avoid simultanious acces attemps. That's the reason you don't see it in the app when attached.

But like many others, I also prefer to take out the card, have an adapter in the case of my filters and an an extra USB cardreader in the bag where the DJI is stored in case I loose the adapter. I considere it to be the easier way.

EDIT: Mac has generally no problem reading FAT32 contrary to Windows that only likes it own format.