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SD card format issue

VLL

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Joined
Feb 21, 2020
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Age
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Salem, OR
I ran into a problem today and couldn't find anything on the forum to help (but it is a hard issue for precise searches). I got a new Mavic 2 Pro (with Smart controller) today in exchange for my first one, which had a defective IMU. I reformatted the SD cards I had used on the last one -- one for the controller and the other for the drone --to give them a fresh start. I did that via the smart controller.

I then took a first flight and shot some video and a few stills. Afterwards, I pulled the sd card from the drone, put it in a reader on my Mac, and got the message something to the effect that the card was unreadable. Not just any file on the card, but the card itself. I tried the card from the smart controller and got the same message. I put each card into the smart controller and could read them without issue. That was weird -- I never had an issue before moving them from the Mavic AC/SC to my Mac.

I tried a bunch of things. Nothing let me read them on the Mac. I finally booted up an aging PC laptop I still have and tried them on it. That worked -- I could read both cards on the PC, no problem.

There was nothing I cared about on either card. So I reformatted both cards on the PC. Then I put one back in the drone and one in the smart controller, shot some video and some stills, and removed them to see if they played nice with the Mac. The answer: Yes.

So all of this is a surprise to me. I had no issues using the sd cards on the Mavic and the smart controller on the last drone. But, I didn't format them using the smart controller. They were fresh out of the packaging and I used them pre-formatted. I could move them to and read them on the my Mac fine. Not so once I got the new Mavic 2, reformatted them on the smart controller and then tried -- without success -- to read them on my Mac.

For now, my issue seems to be resolved. But in case my experience is helpful to anyone else, I thought I'd post it.

And, if anyone has had a similar experience and has any added insights, I'd welcome them. Just in case I run into any problems going forward. (Someday my gaining PC is not going to boot up and save me.)
 
When you erase the card on your mac there is a drop down format menu under the 'name' box. Open that and use exFAT to format the card when you hit erase.
 
I will do that! Thanks.

The trick, though, I think, is to not use the DJI format when the cards are in the AC or controller. When I do that, I can't read them on the Mac at all. Not even to reformat them on the Mac. I have to use the PC. To test all that out, I just took an sd card that I used with my first drone (a Mavic Mini) and reformatted when I upgraded to the Mavic 2. I couldn't read it at all on my Mac and thought it was toast. So I replaced it. This morning, I put it into my old PC (something I had not thought to try with it before). Once again, the PC could read it when the Mac couldn't. I reformatted on the PC, and now it is working for everything -- readable by the controller as well as my Mac.

It is great to know I can clean and reformat the cards on the Mac. I'm not sure I would have trusted doing that without your tip. Again, thanks.
 
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