The reasons why backup is recommended and steps to make a backup

It seems that many people make a backup data of photos and contacts saved on their smartphone to SD cards like a microSD. Unfortunately, SD cards could be damaged for various reasons. Even if you make a backup on a SD card, sometime it might become unreadable as well. Therefore, we would recommend backing up the data on an SD card as well. This content introduces why making back up of an SD card is recommended and how to make a backup.

1. Index
   1. Why backup is recommended?
   1-1. Data on SD cards could be lost
   1-2. Storage capacity will be increased
2. 2. Steps to make a backup
   2-1. To save data on a PC
   2-2. To use a cloud storage service
   Summary Make a backup of SD cards
4. ・1. Why backup is recommended?
5. SD cards are popularly used as storage media for digital cameras, including Android smartphones, and as backup destinations for their data. Though it is not well known, an ultra-small personal computer called “Raspberry Pi” uses an SD card as an internal storage medium instead of an HDD or SSD.
6. SD cards are widely used. However, the risk of data loss due to damages is not low. We explain two reasons to recommend making back up below.

・1-1. Data on SD cards could be lost
It is important to back up the data of your smartphone on an SD card inserted in your phone. However, assuming that the smartphone drops in water or lost, there is a risk that both the SD card and the smartphone will become unusable at the same time.
Also, since SD cards are thin and small in shape, it may not be able to withstand bending and impacts.
SD cards are useful but if an SD card is only storage medium that has backup of your smartphone data, it is high risk.

・1-2. Storage capacity will be increased
Even if you are using a large capacity SD card, sometime you may feel the capacity is in sufficient. If you back up the data other than the SD card, you can delete some of data that you do not use on a daily basis from the SD card. Then you may get more free space on the SD card. Making back up is not only for dealing with the risk of data loss, but also for dealing with insufficient storage capacity.

・2. Steps to make a backup
There are two major ways to back up the data on an SD card to another medium; to save the data on a PC, and to upload data on a cloud storage service.

・2-1. To save data on a PC
This is a method of backing up data in an SD cards to storage media in a PC. Insert an SD card directly into your PC’s slot or connect your smartphone that has an SD card with your PC, and select the data you want to move, and copy and paste. In addition to above-mentioned manually backing up method, you can use dedicated software for file backup. Its advantage is that you can make a backup even you do not have an internet connection.

・2-2. To use a cloud storage service
“Cloud storage” means a service that can store data in an online virtual space. Although free services have an upper limit on the storage capacity, it is still very useful since it can be used on any devices as long as these have an internet connection. “Google Drive”, “iCloud”, “OneDrive”, and “Dropbox” are typical cloud storage services. It seems that many people have already uses these services for their work, even if they are not aware that it is a cloud storage service.
Cloud storage service is superior to storage media like SD cards or HDDs in terms of that there is no risk of being physically damaged or lost and stored data can be accessed from anywhere in the world as long as a device is connected to the Internet. In particular, major mobile phone companies such as NTT docomo, au, and Softbank provide applications that can make a backup data of your smartphone to cloud storage. If you use these carriers, you may want to try it.
One of the disadvantages of cloud storage service is that you cannot use it if you do not have an internet connection. You need to consider how internet environment is when you use a cloud storage service.

・Summary Make a backup of SD cards
Saving data to an SD card is a useful way to protect your data, however your data can be lost if the SD card is damaged or lost. Make a backup data of an SD card on another location such as a PC or cloud storage in order not to be panic when an SD card becomes unreadable.