Camera does not write to SD card

[garradw]

Since mid-October my phone no longer saves photos to my SD card.  I am able to save photos directly to my internal memory.  My operating system is Android KitKat 4.4.4.  I have 49 GB of space on my SD card so space is not an issue.  How can I get the camera to save to my SD card again, since that is obviously where most of my free space exists?

[_alexdon_]

Settings-apps-all-camera,force stop and clear data.Restart and check again.

[garradw]

Thanks, I've tried that.  When I restart the camera I change the data storage in Settings to SD Card.  When I take a photo I get a message immediately pop up "Could not save", and the photo doesn't save to the SD card. 

Is this a known issue?  Is there a different workaround?  Does Sony have a fix for this? It's not very satisfactory to have a product which is just over 12 months old which fails to work, in particular given that the camera is one of the main selling points of the device.

[_alexdon_]

You may need to perform a software repair using PC companion.The process will erase all internal memory.You might need to charge your device for about 1-2 hours before so the device has at least 60% battery.

Make sure the device is not connected to computer or laptop and turned off (sometimes you have to press power button and volume up until the device vibrates 3 times or on some devices you have to press the small button near the SIM tray or on the back of the device).

Open PC companion->support zone->phone/tablet software update->repair my phone/tablet blue highlighted.Follow the steps given,do not connect your phone until prompted to press volume down while plugging USB cable. If PC companion does not start the repair process, you might need to run it in compatibility mode with Windows 7 (in some cases XP).

[garradw]

While I'm happy to perform the repair that you've suggested it does seem quite extreme; do you have any accounts where this has actually fixed the issue?  I see many posts by people where various things have been suggested but I'm yet to see anyone identifying a definitive solution.

[_alexdon_]

I have seen some issues but with 3rd party app for cameras couldn't write on external SD.You should contact a staff member:

http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Welcome/Community-users/m-p/634967

[garradw]

On the weekend I tried repairing the phone as suggested.  After the repair I am still unable to take photos which save to my SD card.  In fact, now the SD card does not even appear.  How can I reformat the SD card?  I think I would like to try this before completely abandoning it.

[Ashroft98]

Try connect your z1 to pc and reformatting the Sd card on your pc.But backup your data first!

If even the PC cant fully format the sd card,you can download FAT32 Force Format or something like it at google.

It solved my psp's memory stick from zero to hero.

[_alexdon_]

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@Ashroft98 wrote:
Try connect your z1 to pc and reformatting the Sd card on your pc.But backup your data first!

If even the PC cant fully format the sd card,you can download FAT32 Force Format or something like it at google.

It solved my psp's memory stick from zero to hero.

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Use a low level format tool to format it.

[garradw]

OK, well after all that effort of repairing the phone and then formatting the SD card the SD card still DOES NOT WORK when trying to save photos to the SD card.  Effectively they have rendered useless all the additional space I have on my SD card.

I would recommend against anyone going through all this effort, since it is unlikely to work.  I suppose we just have to wait for Sony to do their job and support their product appropriately, however I am doubtful that there will be any speedy resolution to this.

I will never purchase another Sony phone again.