Hi, I get the following error message when I try to record anything or take photos with Action 4.

SD card system format not supported. Format and try again.

I have just bought the camera and the SD card is a Samsung 128GB ProPlus, with V30 and U3. (Picture below)

If I format the SD card, I can start to record... But if I have to delete all the footage every time I turn the camera on, well, then I don't have much to show at the end of the day.

Any help on what I can do to fix it?

Ville styrt unna Samsung, Lexar og Kingston er det jeg er mest fortrolig med.

Always format the SD card using camera itself.

There will be some quite of troubleshooting in order to find out what the cause might be.

So far the SD card looks fine and should work, so there are some questions regarding it just to get more information and see what caused the problem to occur.

The best option is to have an extra SD card that is bought at a trustworthy retailer, which not everyone has.
Was the SD Card bought at a reputable retailer? (figuring out if it is fake or not).

A counterfeit SD card might be one of the problems, as it lies about size/speed/eating itself since it is lying about the size they have to delete the footage for you to trick you into that you have a card that is 128 GB but in reality, there is only 32GB in. So every time it eats itself you might get an error reading to reformat it.

A simple way to check it is to add files to it with a PC/laptop and see how fast it writes files in and out. Also, try to put in enough data so that you can see if it is fake 32 GB vs. 128 GB advertised.
it should not be slower than 30MB and in most cases, it should be above 60MB write and read speed with the included adapter.

Other troubleshooting methods kind of require more than 1 SD card to test. But see if you have a fake SD card or not that is one of the easier things to test right now.  

Another thing I can suggest is just to follow DJI's own recommended list of tested SD cards but make sure you buy from a reputable retailer (marketplaces like amazon can have a lot of fake SD cards, especially with third-party sellers):

Supported SD Cards
microSD (up to 512 GB)
Recommended microSD Cards
Recommended models:
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB V30 A2 UHS-I Speed Grade 3
Kingston Canvas Go!Plus 64GB UHS-I Speed Grade 3
Kingston Canvas Go!Plus 128GB UHS-I Speed Grade 3
Kingston Canvas React Plus 64GB UHS-II Speed Grade 3
Kingston Canvas React Plus 128GB UHS-II Speed Grade 3
Kingston Canvas React Plus 256GB UHS-II Speed Grade 3
Lexar Pro 512GB SDXC UHS-I V30 R160/W120 (1066x)
Lexar Pro 256GB SDXC UHS-I V30 R160/W120 (1066x)

johansenfoto Posted at 8-29 08:21
Ville styrt unna Samsung, Lexar og Kingston er det jeg er mest fortrolig med.

For years, I've used plenty of Samsung cards without a problem.

DaveSp Posted at 8-29 09:03
For years, I've used plenty of Samsung cards without a problem.

With DJI products?

johansenfoto Posted at 8-29 09:31
With DJI products?

I'm currently using 3 times 265GB Samsung PRO Plus microSD 180MB/s Read/130MB/s Write (2023 version) with OA4 no problems so far in all modes.

The only problem I have is that my QS settings all C2, C3, C4, and C5 are deleted from my QS button. (Which I don't think is SD card related, DJI is looking into it).

In the past, I had a lot of problems with SanDisk, but that was in combination with the GoPro 7, 8, 9, and 10. I stopped at 10, as that was supposed to be the next big thing that would solve all problems as it is the magical number ''10'' (when I had problems with the magical #10, I gave up on the 11). So it might not be SanDisk's fault but SanDisk is usually added for free as a package deal there. That being said I returned 8, 9, and 10 to GoPro with no problem and got my money back even after the 14-day return window so credits to the GoPro support/after-sales. GoPro 7 was bought overseas so no way to return it. (not to ... on GoPro the after-sales were top/excellent! The product........).

So my experience with bad or faulty SD cards has a long history, and whenever I see someone with some problems I try to use my experience to solve them.

Long story short, currently no problems with the Samsung PRO Plus microSD 180MB/s Read/130MB/s Write (2023 version).

Other SD card brands I tried and liked, are Lexar, and ProGrade.

johansenfoto Posted at 8-29 09:31
With DJI products?

Osmo Pocket. Action 4 now.

Aavalaakso Posted at 8-29 08:44
Always format the SD card using camera itself.

Yeah I do that. When I format the SD card it suddenly works.

DaveSp Posted at 8-29 09:03
For years, I've used plenty of Samsung cards without a problem.

The memorycard works when I format it, but if I remove it from the card slot and put it back again I get the error

PankoGO Posted at 8-29 08:47
There will be some quite of troubleshooting in order to find out what the cause might be.

So far the SD card looks fine and should work, so there are some questions regarding it just to get more information and see what caused the problem to occur.

The memory card is bought from one of the largest electronics stores in Norway, so it should be fake.

When I format the card, everything works fine. But if I take the card out, and then put it back into the camera I get the error message.

Should I try to reset the camera back into factory settings? I just bought it a few days ago.

Hi, frehab. Thank you for reaching out. Since the issue persists whenever you take out the microSD Card from the Action 4, it could be an incompatible issue. Please try to use one of the Recommended microSD Cards for Action 4:

frehab Posted at 8-29 14:25
The memorycard works when I format it, but if I remove it from the card slot and put it back again I get the error

The card might be faulty. Try another one.

I have seen from all good companies like Kingston, Samsung, Sandisk faulty cards.

Put the SD card on your computer and run read/write test software provided by the manufacturer.

It happens with all electronics.

For anyone having this issue. Connect your card to a PC or Mac and do a complete format on the card, make sure the format is exFat if your card is larger than 32GB.

yasa Posted at 11-24 14:51
For anyone having this issue. Connect your card to a PC or Mac and do a complete format on the card, make sure the format is exFat if your card is larger than 32GB.

Hello, there. Thank you for sharing this useful tip regarding the micro SD card with our other users. We thank you for your support.

yasa Posted at 11-24 14:51
For anyone having this issue. Connect your card to a PC or Mac and do a complete format on the card, make sure the format is exFat if your card is larger than 32GB.

I encountered a similar issue with Pocket 3 & Sandisk Extreme 128GB.
At some point device suddenly displayed a popup "SD card system format not supported. Format and try again." and I was sure I lost all the footage.
At home it turned out that PC reads the card correctly, but my Pocket still fails.

I will try to go with a full format in PC now, hope that helps...

old school trick format in another device. and it may work good luck

After proper formating it works. Confirmed.
Samsung MicroSDXC 512GB EVO Plus - not recognized by DJI action 4. Formated in PC throught old gopro 4 (Idont have a card reader so I used old Gopro as one).
After formatting, it works as charm.  11,5 hours of 4k/30 available.

Hi! I'm getting the same error on my osmo action 3 , brand new camera and the  Samsung microSD, PRO Plus, 256GB . Let's say i  take a picture or a small video and then turn off the camera . After i turn it on again i get this same error .i can format the card no problem but that means i lose all my footage .Also while this error is on , my PC can't read the card while connected through usb cable. After i format the card in the camera , the PC can see it. Please help! You can also recommend a better microSD if you know , Thank you !

Razvan1711 Posted at 4-4 00:16
Hi! I'm getting the same error on my osmo action 3 , brand new camera and the  Samsung microSD, PRO Plus, 256GB . Let's say i  take a picture or a small video and then turn off the camera . After i turn it on again i get this same error .i can format the card no problem but that means i lose all my footage .Also while this error is on , my PC can't read the card while connected through usb cable. After i format the card in the camera , the PC can see it. Please help! You can also recommend a better microSD if you know , Thank you !

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out and we're deeply sorry for this inconvenience. Kindly try to back up all the files on your SD card and please reformat it using your computer then check if the issue persists. If the issue persists after reformatting the card on the computer, I'm afraid that you may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis. You may contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support or contact the dealer where you purchased the product to check their after-sales services. Thank you for your understanding and support.

DJI Paladin Posted at 4-4 03:43
Hi there. Thank you for reaching out and we're deeply sorry for this inconvenience. Kindly try to back up all the files on your SD card and please reformat it using your computer then check if the issue persists. If the issue persists after reformatting the card on the computer, I'm afraid that you may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis. You may contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support or contact the dealer where you purchased the product to check their after-sales services. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Thank you for your reply !  I thought that the microSD card was the problem .

Razvan1711 Posted at 4-4 04:08
Thank you for your reply !  I thought that the microSD card was the problem .

You are most welcome. Please don't hesitate to reach us if you have other inquiries. Thank you for your valued support.