A Secure Digital (SD) card is a non-volatile memory card format developed for use in portable devices. A Windows Phone 7 device may include a Secure Digital (SD) card slot underneath the battery cover.
This article will help you understand how Windows Phone 7 devices use SD cards, the performance requirements of SD cards for Windows Phone 7 devices, and how your phone will behave if you remove the SD card or add a new one.
If you happen to buy a Windows Phone 7 device that includes an SD card slot, you should be aware of several important differences from other devices that use SD cards:
This SD card slot in your Windows Phone 7 device is intended to be used only by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that built your phone and your Mobile Operator (MO). These partners can add an SD card to this slot to expand the amount of storage on your phone.
To help ensure a great user experience, Microsoft has performed exhaustive testing to determine which SD cards perform well with Windows Phone 7 devices.
Microsoft has also worked closely with OEMs and MOs to ensure that they only add these cards to Windows Phone 7 devices.
The Windows Phone 7 operating system treats the SD card as an integrated part of the phone. This is in contrast to other devices, where you can use an SD card to increase the memory available to the device at any time or to transfer files to other devices.
The phone’s operating system integrates the SD card with the phone:
- When you start your phone for the first time.
- When your phone is reset to its original factory settings. This is called a factory reset. This is a task that is typically only performed by OEMs or MOs.
When the operating system integrates the SD card with your phone:
- It reformats the SD card.
- It creates a single file system that spans the internal storage and the SD card.
- It locks the card to the phone with an automatically generated key.
You should therefore not attempt to remove the SD card in your phone or add a new one because your Windows Phone 7 device might not work properly, if you do!
Sourced from KB2450831.
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