What to Do When SD Card Photos Not Showing Up in Gallery?

Applies To: Memory card not showing files in mobile and SD card photos not showing up in Gallery

On this page, we included 6 fixes to help you solve the SD Card Photos Not Showing up in Gallery error. Here's the quick access to every solution:

Issue: SD Card Photos and Videos Not Showing Up in Gallery

"Hello there, do you know what to do when the SD card data fails to show up in Gallery on Android phone? I'm troubled by this problem that my Samsung Galaxy S7 failed to read my saved photos and videos on SD card in the Gallery. How can I fix this issue? Please help!"

Actually, SD card photos not showing up in Gallery occurs quite often on Android phones. This issue is slightly different from the pen drive not showing data on PC. Based on our experience, the memory card does not display files may be due to:

• Connection issue
• Files are hidden or deleted
• Incompatible file system
• .NOMEDIA file on the SD card
• Virus infection
• Write protection

Other reasons like electrically damaged or physically cracked memory card may also lead to SD card photos not showing up in Gallery, but that is in rare cases. Now, follow the fixes provided below to solve your problem.

6 Fixes for SD Card Photos Not Showing Up in Gallery

Once you've known the possible reasons, now it's time to fix the problem. Here we've listed 6 proven troubleshooting tips, apply these tips one-by-one until you find the one that works for you. Some methods may need to be operated on a computer, please make sure you have one available. 

Method 1. Check SD Card Connection

Connection issues will certainly cause trouble while accessing the files on the memory card. To check whether the memory card not showing files in mobile results from connection issue, you can:

• Re-insert your SD card into the Android phone
• Insert your SD card into another phone or computer
• Clean your SD card and the slot with a soft cloth

If you've cleaned and re-inserted the SD card into your Android phone several times but it still doesn't work, then the connection is not the "Suspect Zero." In such a case, move on and try other fixes.

Method 2. Show Hidden Files on the SD Card

Sometimes you can't see the SD card photos and videos are because they're set as hidden files. You can show hidden files by changing the Gallery Settings. Here's how to make your files show up again in such a situation:

Step 1. Open default File Manager on your Android.

Step 2. Find the Gallery Menu and choose Settings.

Step 3. Tap the "Show Hidden Files" option and check if your photos and videos show up.

If your Android phone doesn't allow you to do such an operation, you can download the third-party app - ES File Explorer in Google Play to have a try.

Method 3. Change the File System of the Memory Card

If the SD card files are not showing up in Gallery on your Android phone but appear on your computer, your memory card may have a file system that your mobile is incompatible with. Android doesn't support NTFS file system. Instead, it is fully compatible with FAT32, Ext3, and Ext4 file system. If your SD card is an NTFS file system (you can check it via Properties on PC), it won't be supported by your Android phone. To fix "SD card photos not showing up in Gallery" in such a case, all you need to do is back up your SD card files on your computer and then formatted the device to a mobile-supported file system.

To back up the files on your memory card, you can either manually copy and paste the files or make a backup with free backup software - EaseUS Todo Backup. The former solution requires no third-party software while the latter one is much faster. Apply the method you prefer.

After backing up your photos, videos, or other files on your storage device, now you can format your SD card without worrying about data loss.

Step 1. Insert your SD card into your computer via a card reader and open "This PC".

Step 2. Right-click your memory card and choose "Format".

Step 3. Choose "FAT32" as the new file system of your storage medium and click "Start".

Step 4. In the Warning window, click "OK" to confirm your operation.

Step 5. Copy the files you backed up back to your SD card and then insert your SD card into your mobile. Afterward, you should see the files showing up on your Android phone.

Method 4. Delete .nomedia File in the SD Card

The .nomedia file on Android devices or on devices that are connected to an Android device serves as a reminder to tell other apps not to scan the media files in the folder where the .nomedia file exists. Thus, if there is a .nomedia file in your SD card, the Gallery app cannot read any data from it. In other words, the photos, videos, and other files will become invisible to the Gallery. To fix "SD card not showing up in Gallery" due to the .nomedia file, you can delete the file.

Deleting the .nomedia file needs the help of the third-party tool. You can search on the Internet and choose a reliable tool to help you remove the .nomedia file in your SD card. If there is a .nomedia file existing on your SD card, you will be able to see your SD card photos showing up in Gallery after you remove it from your device.

Method 5. Remove Virus

Virus or malware infection may cause the files on your memory card to disappear, either by hiding or deleting the data. In such a case, run the antivirus software on your Android phone or computer to scan your device. If there is any virus or malware, remove it from your device.

However, there may be data loss on your SD card if the antivirus software finds and removes the problematic files from your device. To get back your data, you can perform SD card recovery using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. It helps to recover files lost due to deletion, formatting, virus attack, OS crash, and more. It also supports hidden file recovery, which is useful when "show hidden files" is not working in Windows 10.

To recover lost files from your memory card, download the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard first:

Step 1. Run SD card recovery software and scan the card.

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your PC and select your SD card. Then click "Scan" to start finding lost data on your SD card.

Step 2. Check found SD card data.

After the scanning process, you can click "Filter" to quickly find wanted files.

Step 3. Restore SD card data.

You can check and preview found files by double-clicking each one of them. Then click Recover to save found SD card files to a secure location on your PC or external storage.

Method 6. Remove Write Protection on the SD Card

In most cases, when a memory card is write-protected, the files on it will still show up on your mobile. But in some cases, write protection may be the case why your SD card photos are not showing up in Gallery. If your SD card is write-protected, you can remove the attribute directly to make the files show up again.

Via Diskpart, you can clean the read-only attribute on a hard drive or external storage device like your SD card.

Step 1. Run "Command Prompt" as an administrator.

Step 2. Enter diskpart and click "Yes" in the prompt asking for notification.

Step 3. Enter the following command in order:

• list volume
• select volume X (Replace "X" with the number of your write-protected hard drive.)
• attributes disk clear readonly

If you are not professional in computing management and not familiar with command lines, don't worry. EaseUS R&D team has promoted a fresh kit for helping you resolve the write-protection issue on your hard drive, external hard drive, USB or SD card, etc., devices.

EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It's a perfect alternative to the command line. 

Use this one-click tool to solve the write-protection issues on your own:

Step 1:  DOWNLOAD and install EaseUS Tools M for free.

Step 2: Run EaseUS Tools M on your PC, choose the "Write Protection" mode.

Step 3: Select the device which is now "Write-Protected" and click "Disable" to remove the protection.

The Bottom Line

In most cases, the issue "memory card is not showing files on mobile" or "SD card photos not showing up in Gallery" can be fixed by one of the methods above. If none of the solutions above works, your SD card may be electrically or physically damaged. That's when you need to replace a new one.