yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Focus General] FishFaceMcGee:
I just wanted to hop in here with my experiences:

1) Kingston 32GB Class 4 - I have not had the data loss issue that has been mentioned in this thread for other cards. However, as soon as Zune started syncing to the card (it was over the 8GB onboard memory) sync-speed slowed to a crawl. Phone performance suffered as well. Apps would randomly crash, and load times were longer than the following 2 cards.

2) SanDisk 16GB Class 2 - So far my best experience. Sync speed was consistent both onboard and on the microSD (at least within reason), and the phone was more stable.

3) SanDisk 32GB Class 2 - This card was a little iffy to start. It synced as fast as the 16GB (and obviously synced more), but I had to reset the phone this morning because it was somehow unable to play any of my content. Apps would load just fine, but music and podcasts wouldn't play. Reseting the phone to factory defaults (for what is likely the 8th time this week) appears to have fixed it. I have done multiple power-offs to see if I would have the same issue that many members here have suffered with the data loss, but it has not happened.

I am frustrated by all of this. This is a horrible user experience, especially since 8GB is a pathetically small capacity for anyone with a significant media collection. Hopefully that patch that everyone keeps talking about but no one officially confirms is real, comes soon, and smooths all of this out.

Also, has anyone discovered a way of reversing what WP7 does to microSD cards? I would be much happier if I could tell my dad that I didn't permanently nuke the 16 GB Class 2 card he let me borrow.
[Focus General] ktdan1:
Just a note;

My SanDisk 16GB Class 2 seem to be working fine, currently running on day 2.
[Focus General] epidemike:
Don't we want to include specific model mubers in the list?
[Focus General] kimck99:
Hi,

Following this thread, it seems that the Sandisk 16GB Class 2 micro SD card is most used and stable. For those owners who have upgraded and stable, can you advise if you have been successful at sync'ing large number of media files?

So far, there seems to be a pattern of cards being ugraded and stable for 1, 2+ days but when someone tries to sync music from ZUNE, they are experiencing issues.

I'm having doubts whether the cards listed on the first post are infact truly working and the final test will be if you can sync large number of music from ZUNE.

Thanks to all of you who have braved the trail and upgraded. Now, it would be great if we can confirm with consistency that the stable cards are sync'ing large amounts of music.
[Focus General] eknutson:
Using a 16 GB SanDisk Classs 6 here since formatting it 8/8. I'm an audiophile and have over 8 GB of music (synced via Zune). Loaded (and unloaded) several apps from the marketplace, have 10's of megs of photos. I've soft reset several times (for testing purposes only, haven't needed to re-boot my device yet).

I am a heavy user (wifi, 3g all day long w/ 2 exchange accounts and an IMAP, light web browsing, heavy marketplace usage since it's early on, bluetooth regularly, lots of phone calls, and of course texting. I use the weather, AP, and RSS apps frequently).

I've listened to my music every day, so I know it's all there and working fine ;)

This has been without any issues whatsoever here. Of course, reading the experiences of others, YMMV
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
i noticed the registry a few weeks ago... of course by this time i had finally got my 16gb sandisk class 2 formatted back to "normal". then i noticed the thread here using it so i figured , why not.... well i tried it last nite... had some time... well, i loaded it up to i think 9.2 gb left.... everything seemed fine... did multiple reboots.... so it was looking good.... stable, fast as it always was... well this was plugged in to the comp... then after i just plugged it directly into the wall chg for the night... woke up and all was the same.... well i unplugged and used it for a few... checked a missed call... deleted 2 emails.... made a call... then laid it down and walked off for 30 min... came back and poof the missed call was back and the emails were back. i checked the memory...same as it was... so i re deleted the mails and laid the phone down.... within 30 sec... it rebooted.... didnt loose info again but the mails and notice was back again... so i thought check the reg. i went in and put the mmc class settings back to 1 and left the sd at 0... did a reboot and all was fine.... 30 sec later a reboot..... again back to orig...nothing lost.... 30 sec reboot again... same thing..... 30 sec..reboot and this time mem was at 15.73 total and 0.80 avail... but all was reset no pics...no vids...no music... no email set up.... all sms gone call log reset.... so looks like its going to be a hit and miss thing.....

im going to give it 1 more try... ill report back soon as i see anything...lets hope i dont..lol

EDIT:

ok just went to *2767*3855# and nothing... tried to ##634# it froze then back to home screen so i rebooted... wtf!! the phone was back to 22.02 total and 9.25 avail... all apps ..everything back.. and the freakin emails and the missed call.... now the emails were deleted from my acct on my comp like an hr ago... now its just random reboot with everything reverting to the missed call and 2 emails..... im going to monitor this for a while....
[Focus General] roblo:
Samsung 16gb Microsd Class 2

I have 3 Samsung Focus' in the Household, all with the Samsung 16gb Micro sd Cards Class 2 working flawless.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
great! thats the card to have!!
[Focus General] FishFaceMcGee:
Thanks, I really appreciate it.
[Focus General] wm.andrew.wilson:
Here you are FishFaceMcGee (and anyone else who wants a crash course on Chevron WP7/developer unlocking):

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=11065111
[Focus General] tripntx:
I've posted about my Patriot 16GB C4 card from FRY's a few times on this thread before. Installed Thanksgiving weekend. Been running it hard for well over a month now. Current:

total 22.12GB

available 3.82GB

Haven't had any problems, no missing data, no unwanted resets or reboots. I never run my battery down all the way.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
well that was interesting... finally just threw it out... put my 8gb back in.... i tried a second time btw... strange was as long as it was on charge it was stable... pull the plug and it reset like a stoplight... sometimes no loss sometimes back to lost all... then after a few reboots it would reappear.... this might help the 32gb but not the 16gb class 2 sandisk....

hope this helps someone... glad to be a test subject though... im a repair tech...i can fix it if i break it..lol
[Focus General] FishFaceMcGee:
You may want to look back a couple pages, and then unlock the phone to install the registry editor. It looks like a big part of the problem is power-related, which can be fixed by editing some power management settings.
[Focus General] wm.andrew.wilson:
Power management fix/results moved to http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=11071385 here for cleanliness, this thread is a monster!

Will leave this thread open to the best types of cards to use on the Focus, and the power fix over on the new one.
[Focus General] jfern60:
Well today is Feb 2, 2011

I just bought a new PNY 8GB, class 4 micro SD card. Did a reset on my Focus and the device indicated 14GB. That is until I did a soft reset and it reverted to 15MB so I was forced to take the card out after 3 hard resets.

This card does not work at least not for me. Now I have a second useless SD card!
[Focus General] jfern60:
By the way is a Symbian phone still the only way to recover the SD cards the Focus is chewing up and spitting out? I now have 2 and would really like to get them back in usable shape.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
dude what do you think i was talking about??? i did that and IT DIDNT WORK.... i was advising all that read my post that it didnt work for a 16gb class 2 sandisk... i mean what part of post 781 did you not read....
[Focus General] Sebo1985:
Could be related to your close to unreadable writing style...............
[Focus General] jason.hamilton:
Class 4 Topgram 16GB Works

I am using a class 4 topgram 16 GB card for 3 days now and it is working perfectly. Just turned off phone, put it in, turned it on using the 3 button method, reformated, put all my music and pictures and installed all the apps. No crashes, no errors.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
Ya you would be an expert there... You can't even keep your story straight.. Must be from me reading your posts..
[Focus General] DownbeatClique:
I finally decided to go with the 16GB Samsung card from Nikolai, got it last night and sync'd up my library (7GB free). There weren't any slowdowns and after several resets all my data is still present.

There have been two times so far where when I go to unlock my phone and nothing happens. The screen still stays off and nothing responds. After about 10secs the screen will flash on and off and everything comes back up as normal.
[Focus General] barongo:
Been almost a week and thought I would update.

So far I have experienced no SD card related issues. No resets or data loss.

I have synced multiple songs/podcats/apps during this time.

Couple of issues I have noticed - the touchscreen and Back/Search buttons are sometimes non-responsive - this is especially the case when using the phone in bed or on a soft surface (as others have commented).

This is where things get interesting...

The phone was most unresponsive while connected to the charger. When unplugged, responsiveness came back.

I checked the charger and noticed it was 5V - 500mA. I swapped the charger for a 5V - 700mA model and the non-responsive issue disappeared.

I can't say for sure, but it does look like the Focus has issues with Power Management full stop which effects both the SD cards and the touch screen.
[Focus General] PaullikesWINMO:
I've heard that the Sony Vivaz will also reformat cards along with some of the Nokia phones.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
yes i posted about the vivaz so i can confirm it works.... asks for a code so just select format... poof it is now able to be formatted in your pc...
[Focus General] clfosk:
Some digital cameras will work to reformat it. If you have a camera and SD adapter it's worth a try.
[Focus General] lvnv:
Hello everyone. I've been reading this thread off and on for months as I own a Focus and would love to at least add a 16gb card.

If I'm not mistaken, the 16gb card from nikolai9770 on eBay has proven reliable for a few users. Would it be a pretty safe bet that this card will work or would should I wait for the forthcoming update which may provide some more info about SD card compatibility?

I am anxious to purchase this card and the unknown date of the update makes it even worse. Hope the rumors about it coming out tomorrow are true but I doubt it.
[Focus General] PaullikesWINMO:
If they are coming out tomorrow or even this week, I'd say it's worth the wait. I even cancelled the 32GB card I had ordered (see previous posts) as it was back ordered and figured if I had to wait, then may as well get the real deal. I tried some 4GB cards I had already had with no luck. Then found a great deal on a 16GB card ($25) but that didn't work. Then the 32GB card for CAD$ 99 seemed great, but was back ordered. I should mention each time I tried a card it meant a reset of the phone and was time consuming so my next card better be good. I'm willing to wait.
[Focus General] FL5:
Currently the Sandisk 16c4 and the Samsung 16c2 from Nikolai seem to be working reliably for most. I'm using the Sandisk because i've been using it since before everyone found out about the Samsung, and it has been working fine for me. From what I remember, though, no one has reported a problem with one of the Samsung cards yet. Seems to be the best bet.

Of course, if you've Chevron unlocked, you could give a shot at changing a few registry keys which seem to help: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=11071385&postcount=1
[Focus General] bigfire:
I've been using the Sandisk 32 gig card to great success. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OA8T92/ref=oss_product

However, today, without doing anything with the phone, I noticed that the phone had lost all of my data and apps. I assumed that the card had failed, and thought I'd do the hard format to re-acquaint it. Well, I forgot how to do the hard format and wound up just shutting it down and restarting it. Lo and behold, all of my data and apps were back! So if your phone resets and doesn't see the card, reboot it and see if that helps.
[Focus General] FishFaceMcGee:
That data loss means that the card/phone combination is not working. Eventually the reboots will become more frequent and, if your experience with a class 2 32GB Sandisk is like mine, eventually it will brick the phone.
[Focus General] lvnv:
Thanks for the input everyone. I'm thinking I will wait it out for at least this week and see if we hear anything about when the update will be coming. I guess if I've waited this long I can wait a little longer. The phone really just runs so smoothly right now that I'd hate to start having to worry about reboots and losing apps and data, etc.

I will still be keeping a lookout for updates on the Samsung 16gb card as that kind of hits the sweet spot for me money wise. As much as I would love a 32gb card, I can't justify spending 3x as much for twice as much storage when I can make do with 20+ gigs..
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
just what fish face said... it is the beginning of the end... once any of the cards that are having problems get to a certain point they fail.. and thats what you had... if you read my post a page or 2 back mine did that too.... ive tried it with every possible combination of the edit and nothing, other than the touchscreen sensitivity problem got fixed.

no matter what anyone says. no ..oooohhh but it doesnt reset as often... IT DIDNT FIX IT... no well it reboots like once a day now instead of twice.. IT DIDNT WORK.... this was a great find so dont get me wrong... the touchscreen thisg was a godsend... but now that we have enough proof... lets concentrate again on what does and doesnt work card wise...

this month samsung is supposed to drop the 32gb sd.... lets hope that is a winner....
[Focus General] mKTank:
I had a Class 2 SanDisk card, 16GB. I noticed a bunch of glitches happening and figured in the end that it was probably because it was a Class 2. The glitches include the alarm tones glitching up and being cut off, random noises whilst listening to music, apps taking forever to launch/close, icons not updating from the white star for at least 2 seconds of looking at them, etc.

So I went out and got a Class 6 Lexar, 8GB. Put it into my phone, and my phone started acting weird. First, it wouldn't start the initial setup. Then it wouldn't be recognized by Zune software (actually, it would just connect then disconnect by itself randomly when hooked up to the PC..really weird) so I thought it was the card's fault.

Apparently, though, there's a certain sequence you're supposed to do to get new cards formatted properly. You have to hold down the Volume Down, Power, and Camera button at the same time (with the phone off) and then the phone should turn on then it will ask if you want to format (now I don't know if this applies to anything but Sammy phones so I suppose you could try it on your HTC or whatever). Anyway, after this, it gave the initial setup and worked fine. This leads me to think that perhaps some of these cards listed as not working might actually work but the people who tried them don't know of this reset technique. Because I have probably that same Lexar but in 8GB flavor and it works fine. Alarm sounds don't skip anymore, music doesn't glitch up, and icons update just fine now.
[Focus General] jeff.holsinger:
Waiting on WP7 update...

I got a 16GB Samsung card from Nikolai on E-bay, but I am waiting to do the upgrade until MS releases the WP7 update (any day now). My reasoning is that as part of the update, it is supposed to do a full backup. I will post here with my results once this happens.
[Focus General] mpinlacm:
After reading this long and informative post I've decided to put an 8gb sandisk class 2 in my focus. Total storage came out to 14.59 gb. I've loaded music, videos, and pictures and have gotten the available storage down to about 1gb. Things that I noticed (compared to my wife's focus without an sd card) is that there is a slight lag when scrolling (homescreen, going to the apps section, etc.) that happens once in a while, and apps loading slightly longer. Other than that there have been no issues that required any kind of resetting of the phone or the phone resetting itself. I know the focus user guide states that a sandisk 8gb class2 card will work but I just wanted to try it out for myself.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
16gb class 2 samsung... 4gb open... not a glitch...... cannot wait for the 32......
[Focus General] mKTank:
Had the same crap. Put in an 8GB card, 200MB free. Hold the Power button + Volume Down + Camera with the phone off and it should turn on and ask you if you want to format the card. It works properly after that.

I really wouldn't recommend a Class 2 though. It's really screwy.
[Focus General] vedichymn:
Perhaps I got a bad Sandisk 8GB Class 2, but mine would reboot the phone on a fairly regular basis. Hopefully you have better luck.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
Huh? Why would inwant to format a perfectly good working card? I'm just stating that i have 4gb left open on my Samsung card and its working fine without a glitch... I think you are meaning a SanDisk.. And yes the class 2 16gb sa disk doesn't work...
[Focus General] mKTank:
Oh ok. Also the 16GB Class 2 Sandisk works just fine. It's just a bit slow.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express
[Focus General] Soundtweaker:
Has anyone tryed syncing after the new Zune software update?

It's quite a bit snappier now.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
um no it doesnt.... it has issues..im not sure where you are getting your info but thats on the unstable list... and i can confirm it is unstable
[Focus General] mKTank:
Uh, I have one, actually. It worked just fine despite some slowdowns. But that was because it's a class 2 card. I recommend a class 4 for stable conditions. Class 6 for pure filtered awesomeness. Anything above is a waste of time.

I don't care what's on the list. People sometimes don't know how to set cards up properly and thus assume it's a problem with the card. Well, a month of using the Sandisk tells me it's just fine for WP7. At the very least, it's on par with other Class 2 cards.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
Well when you get it loaded up and it starts having issues don't say you weren't warned.. Plus. I guarantee I know how to set up a sd card.. Doesn't take someone with a degree... I'm just wanting the people on here that hang on every word posted like its the gospel... You may have no problems, but too many have had issues to not say it is unstable

. Hell Microsoft and Samsung say there are issues with cards.. And these slowdowns.. Hate to tell you it is the card. Not the class.. yes class has something to do with loading speed but won't cause the phone to slow down... My san disk 8gb class 2 didn't slow my phone down, and I had the card filled. My 16gb class 2 Samsung is now 2gb from full and my phone performs perfect...

Point is. People make purchases based on info they read here.. Don't give them bs.. Don't say there aren't issues when they are...

Pure unfiltered awesomeness.. Lol. Its a card not a beer..
[Focus General] FishFaceMcGee:
The higher class cards tend to be more unstable than Class 2 cards. Please don't spread mis-information.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
and out loud i will say thank you...
[Focus General] mKTank:
You're wrong. 16GB SanDisk Class 2 works without issues. I used it for a month without any problems. Obviously you didn't set it up right.

Almost right. Higher classes than 6 tend to be more unstable. Fortunately, I recommend up to 6. I have a Class 6 card now and it's much faster than my Class 2.

Of course Class matters, kaw. I even ran benchmarks. The Class 6 is a ton more stable (haven't restarted once since I installed it a week ago. Marketplace didn't crash, FINALLY) and is a lot faster than my Class 2 (both the SanDisk and a Lexar I had from before.) On the Class 2, the icons in the apps list take a second to appear. This never happens on the Class 6.

I'm sorry, but both of you don't know what you're talking about. I know it seems like you're right because there are two of you and one of me, but I've actually invested a lot of time researching and comparing card stability and speed and I'm telling you that Class 6 is better than Class 2. It's more stable. But still, Class 2 Sandisk 16GB works fine if you don't mind the slow loading icons. The update will probably fix it more too.

For the record, I'm currently using a Class 6 Lexar...the same one posted as not working... and it's amazingly quick and stable. Either your phones and cards are all defective or, more likely, you just don't know how to set up the cards properly (or transfer from one card to another.)
[Focus General] FishFaceMcGee:
How full is it?
[Focus General] mKTank:
I put a ton of music on it, it was about 13GB out of about 20GB (I think).

I was too OCD about the loading times and icon refresh speed so that's why I got the Class 6 instead. I agree with you in that higher classes tend to be more unstable, but that only starts being true when you get up to Class 10 and so on. Class 6 is perfectly stable, I promise you.

Also, refer to this:

http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/speed_class/

As you can see, it is still operable under Normal Bus I/F, just as are Class 4 and 2. Class 10 however is a different story hence the instability. Going from Class 2 to Class 6 is more or less a 4MB/s upgrade. Which is huge.
[Focus General] kawgirlval69:
ok mr unfiltered awesomeness im game... how does one properly set up a sd card? this i have to hear....i mean you claim you are an expert...lets see the credentials...

and a ton of music.. i mean in gb how much is a ton? 13 gb is not that much in fact mine was stable at that point... mine got unstable at 15 and above... plus the sandisk gives around 21-22gb of space not 20...

again microsoft and samsung wouldnt have admitted issues if there werent any... its not like a big corporation to admit something is wrong when there isnt... i still say b/s

and that link doesnt mean anything pertaining to the issue at hand... the samsung having issues with certain cards...
[Focus General] mKTank:
For Samsung devices, you hold down Volume Down, Power button, and Camera button whilst the phone is off. That will make it turn on and ask if you want to format the card.

As for it screwing up after 15GB (I find that hard to believe anyway. It was probably coincidence. The OS doesn't already took what it needed from the card, the rest is for the user) I can't really test this theory because I only have one phone and I don't want to redo everything.

Again, I'm not sure how much further I can argue with you. I gave you the facts. If you're not gonna change your mind, then oh well, I tried. But everything I'm telling you is honestly true.

And that link does have everything to do with it. Please re-read by explanation.
[Focus General] lucasryan:
Oh and just to confirm another card thats stable for me is a HP 32gb SDHC class 4...im at 31 gb total mem and no loss of data and soft reset works fine....maybe it was the way it was formated? :)