Solved: SD Card Is Blank or Has Unsupported File System

Tracy King updated on Aug 12, 2019 to Storage Media Recovery | How-to Articles


Does Your SD card become blank and keeps asking to be formatted? In this article, you'll find free effective methods to fix the 'SD card is blank or has unsupported file system' error. Download EaseUS free SD card recovery software to recover data from a blank SD card before heading to format the SD card.

The "Blank SD card" error usually occurs due to improper operations, and the supplementary error description is "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem". The unsupported SD card error usually comes with problems like SD card unreadable or undetectable. Why is SD card blank or has unsupported filesystem? As far as we concerned, many unpleasant situations would throw your Android phone memory card into such an error. For instance, abrupt removal, virus infection, file system corruption showing as RAW, and other logical damages...

screentshot: sd card blank or has unsupported filesystem

Solutions to 'SD card is blank or has an unsupported filesystem' error

The problem mostly happens to Android phone SD cards, Camera SD cards, memory cards or other USB drives, etc. When it occurs, do you know any fix? Sure, disk formatting would be the most direct method to fix a blank SD card., but this will wipe out all the existing data and finally lead to serious data loss problem. Fortunately, full and safe solutions for the "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem" error are offered here to help!

STEP 1. Re-install disk drivers to fix blank and unsupported SD card 

One of the most frequently used troubleshooting methods for a removable drive is to update disk drivers. If your SD card cannot be detected or recognized by the computer or device, here we have two methods for you to fix it:

1. Unplug your SD card and connect it to the other device, or PC, to see whether it can be read or not.

2. If the other phone or PC cannot read the blank SD card, connect it to a computer, and try to show hidden device driver and reinstall disk drivers as instructed.

  • In Windows 10, for example, type cmd in the search box and right-click "Command Prompt", then choose "Open as administrator".

open and run command prompt as administrator

  • Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 at the command prompt interface. Then input "start devmgmt.msc" and hit Enter.
  • Next, "Device Manager" will open. Click the "View" tab and select "Show hidden devices".
  • Now expand the "Universal serial bus controller" section.
  • If you find any grayed entries > Right-click on it > Select "Uninstall".

uninstall and reinstall driver to fix sd card blank issue

Reboot the computer and the drivers will be automatically re-installed. Connect the SD card to your mobile phone, and it should be fine now.

STEP 2. Run chkdsk to fix blank and unsupported SD card 

If it still cannot be detected by the computer, there might exist some internal errors, like file system corruptions, that results in a blank SD card. Then, you can run chkdsk command to get the unsupported SD card fixed.

  • In the same way to open Windows Command Prompt.
  • Type: chkdsk g: /f (f represents your sd card drive letter) and hit Enter
Click to copy

run chkdsk f command to fix sd card blank and unsupported file system error

The chkdsk /f command is for checking and repairing disk drive issues. When the command takes effect, your SD card will become readable again.

File system corruption is likely to show the disk status as RAW, and you can try to repair RAW SD card to fix the unsupported file system error.

STEP 3. Recover data from SD card that is blank or has some unsupported filesystem 

What if the "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem" error still exists after you have tried all the above two methods? Don't worry! You can still try to restore data from the blank SD card and then format the device to permanently fix all the possible errors that might cause the problem. Here, professional SD card recovery software from EaseUS Software will help you manage the data recovery job. Note that the free file recovery software allows you to restore 2GB data for free. To recover an unlimited amount of data, upgrade the free version to the full version.

Guide: How to restore data from blank and unsupported SD card


Step 1: Connect the SD card to PC



Run SD card recovery software.

Step 3: Check found SD card data.


  • Deleted Files: List your deleted files there.
  • Drive X: All lost files can be found here.
  • Extra Files: Finds files that lost names or paths.


Find lost SD card files.

Step 4: Restore SD card data.

Restore lost SD card files.

STEP 4. Format to fix blank and unsupported SD card for reuse

Finally, after getting all the data back from the inaccessible SD card, you just need some simple clicks to format the SD card to the wanted file system. This operation will help you permanently remove the "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem" error and make the card work properly again. 

To format a blank SD card in Disk Management:

  • Press Windows + R keys to bring up the Run box. Type diskmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
  • In Disk Management, right-click on the blank SD card and choose Format...

format sd card to fix sd card blank issue

  • Follow the onscreen wizard, choose an NTFS/FAT32 file system according to your own case, and perform a quick format.

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