Customer:
I’m trying to display images on an Inkplate 6 using the Inkplate6_Image_Frame_From_SD example sketch, but I can’t get the SD card to work. I have a 32GB micro SD card from Microcenter that I’ve reformatted to FAT using Disk Utility on my Mac. I’ve tried two different SD cards and restarted everything multiple times, but I’m stuck.
Originally submitted via email support on 4 November 2024. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
If you can upload examples fine and the screen updates, everything is working with Arduino and the library. Try formatting the card to FAT32 instead of FAT. Then upload the Images from SD example and place your images in a folder on the SD card called ‘images’. The cards we usually test with are 8GB/16GB, so the 32GB size might not be supported on ESP32. Could you try a smaller card?
Customer:
I’m working on getting a smaller SD card. I’m also not sure how to format to just FAT—Disk Utility only shows two options and neither is just FAT. I tried a reformatting app but it didn’t help. I tested a different Inkplate 6 that I hadn’t opened yet, and it worked with my 32GB SD card for a couple of hours, then stopped working with the same card read error. Does that point to a specific issue?
Soldered Support:
The issue of sometimes-works-sometimes-not is interesting. Since it worked for a couple hours with another Inkplate 6, how are you powering the device? Try a different USB-C cable and a different power source like a power adapter with higher amp output. There might be a current draw spike when the device loads the SD card, and your computer’s USB port can’t supply enough power. If that doesn’t work, we could add delays and adjust the timing of SD card initialization to lessen the spike, or we could tell you to short a certain jumper pin to keep the SD card always on. For formatting on Mac, FAT32 will work fine with the Arduino library. Try the official SD card formatter: SD Memory Card Formatter for Mac Download - SD Association
Customer:
I’ve tested since yesterday. With one of my Inkplates, a combination of a smaller SD card and adding a delay allows it to work. The other one continues to not work despite these adjustments.
Soldered Support:
Are they the same exact Inkplate model? If you’re running the exact same model with the exact same code and one works with SD card while one doesn’t, that rules out everything except a hardware fault, like a soldering error. We test the SD card slot before finishing the device, but there could be a poor connection. This can statistically happen with any kind of device production. Please test once more with the same exact firmware on both if they’re the same model, and it would be helpful if you could take detailed, well-lit photos of the SD card slot and how it connects to the board.