Dear readers, we take our product endorsements seriously here; we don’t accept freebies or perks from companies and we always use transparent and objective testing measurements to identify the best products for you to use in your travel photography.
In a previous post, we highly recommended, and still do, the Sony Tough cards, for their speed and physical durability. Unfortunately, sometimes a product lets us down, and I want to ensure you know about Sony’s replacement program for these very same cards.
Sony has determined that some cards can corrupt video files when recorded at the V60 and V90 speed ratings of the M and G cards respectively. We have eight of the M and G cards and only one matches the defective criteria based on the serial number and lack of a star.
In a recent first impressions review of the Fujifilm X-T4, we did get a strange phenomena (sorry Fujifilm fans, I couldn’t resist!) where a video would start recording and then suddenly stop with a “Corrupted File” error. Ironically, the SD card being used at the time does not fit the criteria for replacement, however we’ve provided it to Sony for further testing.
The process to get a replacement is unfortunately not consistent from country to country, however in general, you will need to prepare the following and contact Sony via phone (painful call tree process), online chat (preferred), or visit a Sony Service Centre (best option if available in your city):
- The model number
- The batch number and serial numbers from the back of the card (shine a light at the back of the card and move the card to different angles; at a certain angle, the light will catch the edges of the numbers and they’ll be easier to read)
- The date of purchase
- The place of purchase
- Your shipping address for where the replacement cards should be sent to
In Hong Kong, we have a Sony Service Centre so I took the cards, and after providing the above information and waiting an inordinate amount of time for paperwork to be completed, they swapped out the one defective card as per the replacement program. For the second card that corrupted the video on the Fujifilm X-T4, they’ll send it to their technicians which will take 11-14 days.
In general, we still love the Sony Tough cards for their speed and robust construction, however the service experience of replacing the cards is, in our opinion, not up to the standard set by the cards themselves. As a premium, high quality product, Sony should be replacing the cards without the consumer having to dig through records to find receipts, and certainly should not be without a card for 11-14 days.
The content beyond this point is from Sony’s USA website. Please note that we only recommend the Sony Tough series cards, however we’ve included the regular SF-M series in this post in case you also own those defective cards.
Applicable SD Memory Cards
SF-M Series
- SF-M64
- SF-M128
- SF-M256
Applicable cards can be identified by the presence of V60, R:277MB/s, and W:150MB/s on the card frontside.
SF-M Series Tough
- SF-M64T
- SF-M128T
- SF-M256T
SF-G Series Tough
- SF-G32T
- SF-G64T
- SF-G128T
How to check if your Memory Card is Affected
SF-M Series
Applicable cards can be identified by the presence of V60, R:277MB/s, and W:150MB/s on the card frontside. To check whether your card is affected, look for a star mark on the lower left corner on the back of the card. If your card has NO star mark, your card is affected by this issue.
SF-M Series TOUGH Specification
To check whether your card is affected, look for a star mark on the lower left corner on the back of the card. If your card has NO star mark, your card is affected by this issue.
SF-G Series TOUGH Specification
To check whether your card is affected, look for a star mark and an alphanumeric on the lower corner on the back of the card.
If your card has NO star mark and has an alphanumeric beginning with TV, your card is affected by this issue. (If your card has an alphanumeric beginning with TR, your card is not affected by this issue.)