[CCZ]

I did a quick search, but nothing came up.

Is it necessary to power down the 8900 before removing the microsd card?

[aristile]

No, it is hot-swappable.

[andyr2007]

no


(character limit nonsense)

[CCZ]

Perfect, thanks for your responses

[Insurgent]

No, it is hot-swappable.

There also is an option to "Remove media card" in the Memory section of the BlackBerry's global Options menu. Think of it as "Safely remove hardware" a la Windows, obviously its not essential or even require but its good for an apparently "safe" removal. I guess it checks that there isn't anything in use on the media card before you remove it when you use this option.

[xjkradicoolx]

And now with the 8900 you don't have to remove the battery to take out the media card, unlike my old 8310! Yayyyy!

[MarkusALC]

It's a major pain in the arse to remove it though. Maybe one day someone will come up with a good technique that allows you to remove the card in finite time and tolerable losses to fingernails and stuff.

[Cristyluv]

I love that the card is hot swappable!! The trick is to hold the tab out and slide it out. It needs to be level if your trying to lift or pull it doesn't work. Once I realized that it was easy.

[aristile]

@MarkusALC - I totally disagree. The memory card is easy to remove once you know how to do it. Reggie even broke his SD card the first time he went to take it out and had to get a replacement device. But now that he knows how to take it out he thinks it is easy now as well.

[IAMKING]

@MarkusALC - I totally disagree. The memory card is easy to remove once you know how to do it. Reggie even broke his SD card the first time he went to take it out and had to get a replacement device. But now that he knows how to take it out he thinks it is easy now as well.

Well Ive had my 8900 since Monday the 9th and I love it!!! I thought the memory card was very difficult to remove at first and was quite frustated. Its really not though. There is a small lever that needs to be lifted to insert and remove the card. I took the stock 256mb card and inserted my 1gb card with no issues, allthough i lost all of my media when i reformatted, im still fine with re-adding the media that iwant,, but as far as inserting the card... just lift the lever and stick it in.. the same applies to removing the card... lift the lever and slide it out.. hope that helps!

[SixSylinder]

I just got my card out. I held the clip with my finger and got the existing 256mb card out with the end of a paper clip. Didn't do any damage, worked in a flash. Highly recommended over knives or other bigger instruments that could damage the unit.

[aristile]

Exactly!!! Thank You!

[MarkusALC]

@MarkusALC - I totally disagree. The memory card is easy to remove once you know how to do it. Reggie even broke his SD card the first time he went to take it out and had to get a replacement device. But now that he knows how to take it out he thinks it is easy now as well.

Well, you might disagree, but your post is pretty much affirmative of what I wrote. Only that some people are supposed to have come up with a good technique already. On a serious note: The first time I removed the card it came off easily, but admittedly I had like two beers at that time and with it a "don't care" attitude. Yesterday, I was trying to remove the darn thing twice and it took me about a whole minute every time. I guess there is a good way to remove it though, but the fact that you need to learn it is a sign that it could have been done better.

[pogostick]

Ok, so, what's the secret? I lost 2 fingernails and I'm getting desperate now. You pull the lever aside ... and ... after that? Is it just brute force?

[MarkusALC]

Whoa! Looks like I might have to take back some things I might have said. Reading all these posts here, I was wondering if a german 8900 was different to the other ones (what lever are they talking of?). With good lighting conditions and actually really looking at the card and its surroundings I saw this lever.

Well, if you just simply pull this lever and draw the card out, it's really no problem at all. Good design, RIM.

[MarkusALC]

Ok, so, what's the secret? I lost 2 fingernails and I'm getting desperate now. You pull the lever aside ... and ... after that? Is it just brute force?

Hmmm, after having pulled the lever aside there is not much more to do than pulling the card out to the right. Just press your thumb against the card and draw it out. Should work without any kind of force, if not: post your worries :-)

[aristile]

Whoa! Looks like I might have to take back some things I might have said. Reading all these posts here, I was wondering if a german 8900 was different to the other ones (what lever are they talking of?). With good lighting conditions and actually really looking at the card and its surroundings I saw this lever.

Well, if you just simply pull this lever and draw the card out, it's really no problem at all. Good design, RIM.

Thank You! I told you it wasn't rocket science.

[Yes]

@MarkusALC - I totally disagree. The memory card is easy to remove once you know how to do it. Reggie even broke his SD card the first time he went to take it out and had to get a replacement device. But now that he knows how to take it out he thinks it is easy now as well.

Did you have any issues returning your device to TMO? The same thing happened to me, and I haven't been able to retrieve the stuck portion from the slot. I took it into a TMO retail store and none of the four employees could get it out either. Very frustrating that the printed instructions say NOTHING about the lever.

That seems irrelevant with my replacement device, though. I've tried lifting the lever with a paperclip as described in this forum (again, how is that logical or easy?!) and pulling it down as instructed by retail employees, but there is no moving the card in any event. The lever itself feels like it could easily break, but it's certainly doing nothing to make the card easier to remove. The only action happening is the constant filing of my fingernails as I attempt to get that darn card to go anywhere at all. If I didn't truly love this device better than any other, I would likely return it and get something else entirely.

[aristile]

My device is from Rogers, but regardless I still didn't have any issues. I am really starting to believe these issues are related to the SD card T-mobile includes with their phones. Then again there are some who had problems removing their SD card, then later realized it was easy once they did it the "right" way. I really did not mean to strike a nerve with you, but I honestly don't understand all the problems.

Can someone PLEASE take and post pictures of the 256MB SD card that T-mobile includes in their phones next to the SD card you are using?

To re-iterate, here is how I take the card out. Works every time and takes less than a few seconds.

1. Take off battery door
2. Put my thumb from my right hand on the bottom of the phone ,next to where the microphone is, for leverage
3. Use my index finger nail on my right hand to pull the lever towards where my thumb is - "Down" towards the bottom of the phone
4. Use the Index finger from my left hand to push the SD card from right to left - towards the SIM card.
5. Turn the phone up-side down and jiggle it a bit and the SD card drops out.

[Yes]

My device is from Rogers, but regardless I still didn't have any issues. I am really starting to believe these issues are related to the SD card T-mobile includes with their phones. Then again there are some who had problems removing their SD card, then later realized it was easy once they did it the "right" way. I really did not mean to strike a nerve with you, but I honestly don't understand all the problems.

Can someone PLEASE take and post pictures of the 256MB SD card that T-mobile includes in their phones next to the SD card you are using?

To re-iterate, here is how I take the card out. Works every time and takes less than a few seconds.

1. Take off battery door
2. Put my thumb from my right hand on the bottom of the phone ,next to where the microphone is, for leverage
3. Use my index finger nail on my right hand to pull the lever towards where my thumb is - "Down" towards the bottom of the phone
4. Use the Index finger from my left hand to push the SD card from right to left - towards the SIM card.
5. Turn the phone up-side down and jiggle it a bit and the SD card drops out.

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I tried them exactly, as I had done variations of the same before. Unfortunately, whether the lever is lowered or lifted, the card remains intact and will not budge. Also, TMO told me to never shake the phone to get the card out; it should just slide easily to the left. Perhaps there are other models without a raised metal obstacle holding the card in place that seemingly would require the SD card to be simultaneously lifted up and to the left?

[aristile]

Hopefully someone will post pictures of the 256MB card compared to the other SD cards as I think that is the culprit. Thickness is probably going to be the best thing to get comparison pics of.

"Also, TMO told me to never shake the phone to get the card out" -

[Icephyre]

Must be a T-Mobile thing, as I'm having one **** of a time trying to remove mine. I'm afraid I'm going to damage the phone before the damn card comes out.

Definitely going to compare card sizes when / if I get it removed.

[charlieb620]

Just pull the little lever and slide the card back

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Icephyre]

Just pull the little lever and slide the card back

I'm well aware of that, but it just does not want to slide back.

[E-Phone]

I too tried every possible force through my hand/fingers and I just couldn't do it. It was very frustrating since I am usually very confortable with these kinds of operations. I took it to TMO. They did it so easily. I was almost embarassed. My problem was with locating the lever. The lever is touching the bottom of the SD card (kissing it) when you hold the phone so that T Mobile writing (or camera lens) is at the top. Once you locate the lever, while holding it as described above, you just pull the lever down (away from the SC card) and pull the card toward the SIM card. It does not need much power to pull the card.