Why Does My Phone Ask to Format the TF Card?

If your phone displays a prompt to format the TF card when connecting to RecDual Dongle, this is usually caused by incorrect connection order.

The Problem

When you connect your phone to RecDual Dongle, you may see a message like:

• “Format this drive?”

• “This storage device needs to be formatted”

• “Drive not recognized”

Do NOT tap Format! This will erase your recordings and may create an incompatible partition.

The Cause

This typically happens when:

1. You connect your phone to RecDual Dongle first

2. Then insert the TF card after

In this sequence:

• Phone detects RecDual Dongle as a new storage device

• TF card insertion triggers a partition change

• Phone interprets this as an unreadable or new disk

• Format prompt appears

The Solution

Always follow the correct connection order:

1. First: Insert TF card into RecDual Dongle

2. Wait: Verify REC LED turns solid green

3. Then: Connect phone via Type-C cable

This ensures:

• TF card is properly mounted before phone connects

• Phone recognizes it as valid external storage

• No format prompts appear

What to Do If You See the Prompt

If prompt appears:

1. Select “Cancel” or close the dialog

2. Do NOT format

3. Disconnect the phone

4. Ensure TF card is already inserted

5. Reconnect the phone

If you accidentally formatted:

• Your recordings are lost

• The card may now be incompatible

• Reformat on a computer as exFAT

• See How to Format TF Card for RecDual Dongle?

Prevention Checklist

Before connecting your phone:

1. ✅ TF card is inserted

2. ✅ REC LED is solid green (card recognized)

3. ✅ Recording is stopped

4. ❌ Phone is NOT connected yet

Then connect your phone.

Why This Happens Technically

When RecDual Dongle operates:

• In recording mode: It accesses TF card directly

• In storage mode: It presents TF card to connected device

If the TF card state changes while phone is connected, the phone may misinterpret this as a storage device requiring initialization.

The correct order ensures stable storage presentation to your phone.

Related Issues

Phone formatted the card and now RecDual Dongle doesn’t recognize it:

• Reformat on computer as exFAT

• Phone formatting creates incompatible partitions

Card works in phone but not in RecDual Dongle:

• Phone-formatted cards don’t work in RecDual Dongle

• Always format using a computer

Summary

If You See	Action
Format prompt	Cancel, disconnect, check card, reconnect
Card not readable	Ensure card was inserted before phone
Already formatted	Reformat on computer as exFAT

Related articles:

Why Can’t I Format TF Card with My Phone? How to Format TF Card for RecDual Dongle? How to Record USB Type-C Devices with RecDual Dongle?

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