topic Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it? in Point & Shoot Digital Cameras

memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

snapshot — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:04:39 GMT

how do I unlock the memory card in my powershot a480?

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

cicopo — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:13:21 GMT

With the card out of the camera you will see a small tab on 1 side that moves from front to rear. That's the lock so slide it to the other end of the slot. (it doesn't move very far).

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

t00nz843z — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 19:43:21 GMT

First try the above tip from cicopo to see if that corrects the problem. If not, the following video provides additional troubleshooting steps for this particular problem. Would recommend trying these only for cameras that are out of warranty, or who's cost of professional repair would be more than the value of the camera:

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

Rae — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 14:45:51 GMT

I have been trying to unlock this memory card for 2 weeks. I finally found this online and want to thank you for the help

Thanks Rae

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

QueenJane — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 09:08:45 GMT

Thanks for that, I had no idea what to do but after watching the info film I was unlocked in seconds :0)

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

borg478 — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 07:03:21 GMT

How do i unlock my card in my power shot A580 please as it is locked.

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

John_ — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 09:07:53 GMT

There is nothing in your camera that is responsible for the card locked error it is the card. If you have moved the tab on the card to the unlocked position and you still hav that error message your card is at fault. Try a different card.

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

afsoon — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 07:11:04 GMT

that was really helpful, thank you!

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

John_ — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 07:52:41 GMT

I did some more research on the SD card lock and it seems I spoke to soon. Of course if you solved your problem already then disregard this or read it for future reference.

Here's what I found...there is a small switch in the card reader that sense the lock switch position. The lock switch on the card is just a piece of plastic with no influence on the card itself only the reader.

I would say test the card in a computer first now and see if ot works. Also an old or worn out lock switch might change position as it is inserted into the reader.

Inspect the card slot with a light and magnifying glass paying strict attention in the reader where the lock switch would be located when inserted. Maybe something had gotten into the reader, perhaps blow it out with compressed air.

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

jim13 — Tue, 24 May 2016 11:14:42 GMT

thank you card now active

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

astleysarchway — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 09:05:33 GMT

I CAN NOT SEE A SLIDE ON MY MEMORY CARD, IS THERE AN OTHER WAY TO UNLOCK THE CARD.

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

John_ — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 11:33:12 GMT

What brand and model memory card is it? Also what camera do you have? Does the card work in a computer?

The "memory card locked" error is generated by the device or the camera there is a tiny switch that senses the position of the slide switch on the card. Maybe that card is not compatable with your camera but we need more info

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

cicopo — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 22:29:11 GMT

I've had the little switch escape from the card on 3 different cards over the years. That might be the issue here assuming it's an SD style card . If it's missing there will be a slot on the side of the card near the terminal end. that's roughly 4 mm long (3/16 inch)

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

LordKaos — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 00:07:58 GMT

Hi! I wish to add my case.

My memory doesn´t have the lock tab...never had it, but today the message "locked memory" appears.

I test with three other memories that have the lock tab, and all three works in both, locked and unlocked.

So I added to the "always" sd card, a little piece of tape to make the lock sensor in the camera to threat it as "not locked" and it works fine. Tomorrow I'll glue a little piece of plastic....I really don`t know why todat the camera detect for first time that the memory doesn´t have the tab.

Very strange, but it works 😄

Greetings!

KAOS

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

Waddizzle — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 14:49:33 GMT

@LordKaos wrote:
Hi! I wish to add my case.

My memory doesn´t have the lock tab...never had it, but today the message "locked memory" appears.
I test with three other memories that have the lock tab, and all three works in both, locked and unlocked.

So I added to the "always" sd card, a little piece of tape to make the lock sensor in the camera to threat it as "not locked" and it works fine. Tomorrow I'll glue a little piece of plastic....I really don`t know why todat the camera detect for first time that the memory doesn´t have the tab.

Very strange, but it works 😄

Greetings!

KAOS

Tape? GLUE??? Toss that card in the garbage, where it belongs. New cards are far cheaper than new cameras.

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

John_ — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 15:01:58 GMT

Yes don't be crazy get a new card!!!

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

LordKaos — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 22:39:06 GMT

here nothing is cheap, and this model is the one that can be used directly as USB without any reader.

The meaning of the post wasn´t to save the memories but to inform that some memories don't have the lock tab and the camera needs it for proper detection. (many sd card readers don´t care on the lock tab)

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

John_ — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 23:06:25 GMT

Well as mentioned your running the risk of whatever you use on that SD card, tape, glue etc. falling off into your camera and compounding your problem $$$$

I've never seen and SD card without a lock tab but I imagine there are some out there. I also cant remember ever seeing a direct read from USB SD card either. Which also means very little since Im not aware of all the different types of SD cards either. Must be a mini USB cable those SD slots are pretty slim.

Whatever you chose to do I wish you the best of results!

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

tuna — Sat, 20 May 2017 02:56:41 GMT

BLUF: The tape fix works. I am simply elaborating a little on the technique, FYI.

Today I received a used SD1200 IS that I bought off ebay as a #2 / backup camera. It seemed to operate OK; it came without a memory card, so I slipped one in. Got the “Card Locked” message. I fooled around with the sliding tab, even though it was set to “unlock” correctly. I tried another card – locked, again. I slipped in a third card – OK! All three cards were recognized correctly in my #1 camera, but only one of the three in this used #2 camera. With a “bad” card in the camera, the options to reformat the card and reset default settings are disabled. I slipped in a good card to reset to default; resetting did not help. Before searching and finding this web site and thread, I visually compared cards, but could not really see any difference. After listening and watching the video posted by 100nz843z it occurred to me to check the height of the good card with the bad card. I used a small metal ruler, laying the edge across the edge to observe if the tab was at the same height. Both card tabs had a gap, but the gap of the good card was very small and the gap of the tab on the bad card, while small, was noticeably greater.

On the bad card, I positioned the tab at unlocked, and covered the entire tab cutout with tape. You have to be aware that you could accidentally cover the metal connections on the card, which I did at first. (I decided to use Scotch Magic tape; I thought it would become less goo-ie over time, esp. in my car were I always keep a camera.) I slipped the card into the camera and the camera started up just fine, no problem. I think a more permanent fix would be to get some Superglue Gel and with a toothpick add a layer or two across the top of the tab to increase its height, allowing the tab to properly engage the small “switch” inside the camera. That switch must be slightly worn or bent.

Here are a couple of photos. The first shows the tab gaps. The good card (cheap, unbranded) is the blue one on the left as you look at it. The bad card (Sandisc Extreme) is the black one on the right. If you look carefully and compare the space between each tab you will see that the card tab on the left is noticeably closer to the ruler edge than the one on the right. As you can tell, it doesn’t take much of a difference/increase in gap to create an error, or to fix it.

The tape negates the need for any tab, as you now know. I don’t know how long the tape would hold up long term, especially in high heat, hence my plan to replace that with some carefully placed buildup of Superglue gel on the tab edge. I wanted to present my observations for the curious. There are a couple of other threads addressing this problem, and unfortunately recommendations on those have the camera owners chasing firmware solutions, sending the camera in for repair, etc. – all expensive, time-consuming and, as we can see, a needless waste of money and headache. I really appreciate the video and information posted by 100nz843z.

Re: memory card locked appears on my camera how do I unlock it?

Waddizzle — Sat, 20 May 2017 05:59:20 GMT

@tuna wrote:
BLUF: The tape fix works. I am simply elaborating a little on the technique, FYI.

Today I received a used SD1200 IS that I bought off ebay as a #2 / backup camera. It seemed to operate OK; it came without a memory card, so I slipped one in. Got the “Card Locked” message. I fooled around with the sliding tab, even though it was set to “unlock” correctly. I tried another card – locked, again. I slipped in a third card – OK! All three cards were recognized correctly in my #1 camera, but only one of the three in this used #2 camera. With a “bad” card in the camera, the options to reformat the card and reset default settings are disabled. I slipped in a good card to reset to default; resetting did not help. Before searching and finding this web site and thread, I visually compared cards, but could not really see any difference. After listening and watching the video posted by 100nz843z it occurred to me to check the height of the good card with the bad card. I used a small metal ruler, laying the edge across the edge to observe if the tab was at the same height. Both card tabs had a gap, but the gap of the good card was very small and the gap of the tab on the bad card, while small, was noticeably greater.

On the bad card, I positioned the tab at unlocked, and covered the entire tab cutout with tape. You have to be aware that you could accidentally cover the metal connections on the card, which I did at first. (I decided to use Scotch Magic tape; I thought it would become less goo-ie over time, esp. in my car were I always keep a camera.) I slipped the card into the camera and the camera started up just fine, no problem. I think a more permanent fix would be to get some Superglue Gel and with a toothpick add a layer or two across the top of the tab to increase its height, allowing the tab to properly engage the small “switch” inside the camera. That switch must be slightly worn or bent.

Here are a couple of photos. The first shows the tab gaps. The good card (cheap, unbranded) is the blue one on the left as you look at it. The bad card (Sandisc Extreme) is the black one on the right. If you look carefully and compare the space between each tab you will see that the card tab on the left is noticeably closer to the ruler edge than the one on the right. As you can tell, it doesn’t take much of a difference/increase in gap to create an error, or to fix it.

The tape negates the need for any tab, as you now know. I don’t know how long the tape would hold up long term, especially in high heat, hence my plan to replace that with some carefully placed buildup of Superglue gel on the tab edge. I wanted to present my observations for the curious. There are a couple of other threads addressing this problem, and unfortunately recommendations on those have the camera owners chasing firmware solutions, sending the camera in for repair, etc. – all expensive, time-consuming and, as we can see, a needless waste of money and headache. I really appreciate the video and information posted by 100nz843z.

I would never put tape or super glue inside of my camera. A new card is far cheaper than a new camera.