I use my Pi 3b+ to capture photos at 1 second intervals and accelerometer data at about 200hz, and GPS at 10hz. It's battery-powered and in an enclosure. Occasionally, my microSD card (typically 128gb - 256gb) stops working. I ship these devices all over the world and I have found that shipping by air increases this phenomenon exponentially. About 50% of the units I ship by air don't work when they arrive, then the user pulls out the microSD card and it has cracked partially or completely in half - always in half, not corners or little chips. If they let it run for 5-10 minutes (which is what usually happens before we discover the problem), the Pi gets very hot. I can't tell what comes first - the heating or the cracking. But I know after years of experience that shipping by air increases the likelihood of this greatly. I haven't found any posts on this forum or anywhere else on the internet describing exactly this problem. ChatGPT is clueless, LOL. Does anyone have any idea what might be happening? Some things I have tried:

I have read that I might be overloading the microSD with so much high-frequency storage, but then why can GoPro's store high-def video on the same cards? I have tried an OrangePi with SSD capability but alas those can't compare with the Raspberry pi's ease of use, documentation, and community (I couldn't get the Picamera drivers and other things to work on the OS).

I have tried higher-quality SD cards like the SanDisk Extreme, which actually has this cracking problem more often than standard cards. I just bought an "industrial strength" microSD card I will try.

I also bought a Sold State usb drive to try to use for storage, but I worry it won't be fast enough (and I have to completely change my device configuration/enclosure)

ChatGPT suggested the cold/temperature fluctuation during shipping. I have tried putting SD cards in the freezer and then the oven, never got them to crack.

It seems to happen more if I ship with the SD card in the Pi, so I sometimes take it out and tape it inside the enclosure. But I just had one fail where the SD card was shipped with it removed from the Pi, taped inside the enclosure.

Again, this sometimes happens not during shipping. Maybe its use/age? I don't have a great way to track how old/how many times an SD card has been deployed. Sometimes the card has been used for years, other times, it happens on one of its first deployments (usually the SanDisk Extreme).

Not a Pi problem, and to be blunt it doesn't exist unless user error (e.g. removing/inserting the Pi in a case whilst the card is still plugged into the Pi).

However, giving you the benefit of doubt the answer is simple. Use a different shipping method e.g. provide sd images online and give end users precise instructions regarding downloading and writing those images to a locally bought card.

Edit to add: I would expect SSD's to be at the very least as fast as a uSD and most likely a lot faster.

Your enclosure is likely impacting the card and causing it to crack. There should be an easy reproducer: can you crack the card by doing a 1m drop test?

Rockets are loud.
https://astro-pi.org

Post a photo of the sd card in the enclosure.

If being air freighted, it could possibly be the low temperature in the hold, which might be below the cards tolerance.....

csunday wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 2:16 pm

I use my Pi 3b+ to capture photos at 1 second intervals and accelerometer data at about 200hz, and GPS at 10hz. It's battery-powered and in an enclosure.

Does you battery solution apply the correct voltage(s), at all levels of charge, with no spikes of overvoltage?

jojopi wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:53 pm

csunday wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 2:16 pm

I use my Pi 3b+ to capture photos at 1 second intervals and accelerometer data at about 200hz, and GPS at 10hz. It's battery-powered and in an enclosure.

Does you battery solution apply the correct voltage(s), at all levels of charge, with no spikes of overvoltage?

It's an Adafruit battery and charger (3.3V) so I think so.

KeithMck wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:53 pm

If being air freighted, it could possibly be the low temperature in the hold, which might be below the cards tolerance.....

Maybe. But both SanDisk and Samsung say their cards operate as low as -25C. As I said I tried putting an Amazon SD card in my freezer for a week, I couldn't break it. I tried putting it under a hot tea kettle for a few minutes to see if the change in temperature would crack it and it didn't. I tried years ago putting one in the freezer and oven and failed to crack it then too.

rpiMike wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:29 pm

Post a photo of the sd card in the enclosure.

The microSD is on the bottom of the Pi. My 3D printed enclosure elevates the Pi off the floor of the enclosure. It's near the battery but the battery never seems to get very hot - not as hot as the Pi or the charger.

jdb wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:13 pm

Your enclosure is likely impacting the card and causing it to crack. There should be an easy reproducer: can you crack the card by doing a 1m drop test?

See the photo I posted in reply to another comment. The enclosure isn't touching the card. I'm not going to drop my enclosure and risk breaking it, but I just tried to drop a microSD card from 2 meters and it did nothing. I've tried to break an SD card with my fingers. Maybe I'm weak but I couldn't do it. If someone else can do it, let me know!

csunday wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 1:38 am

jdb wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:13 pm

Your enclosure is likely impacting the card and causing it to crack. There should be an easy reproducer: can you crack the card by doing a 1m drop test?

See the photo I posted in reply to another comment. The enclosure isn't touching the card. I'm not going to drop my enclosure and risk breaking it, but I just tried to drop a microSD card from 2 meters and it did nothing. I've tried to break an SD card with my fingers. Maybe I'm weak but I couldn't do it. If someone else can do it, let me know!

It's possible for an SD card to go bad to the point it melts. Here is an example posted by what I consider a reliable source:

viewtopic.php?p=1022002#p1022002

It seems important to track down what is happening because of the potential for more than the card cracking and just getting hot.

Since you are using relatively high capacity SD cards, is it possible the cards themselves might be substandard or counterfeit? If the cards are counterfeit, then airmail delivery could correlate with the breakage but not be the actual root cause.

wildfire wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:04 pm

Not a Pi problem, and to be blunt it doesn't exist unless user error (e.g. removing/inserting the Pi in a case whilst the card is still plugged into the Pi).

However, giving you the benefit of doubt the answer is simple. Use a different shipping method e.g. provide sd images online and give end users precise instructions regarding downloading and writing those images to a locally bought card.

Edit to add: I would expect SSD's to be at the very least as fast as a uSD and most likely a lot faster.

No, I'm not removing/inserting Pi in a case while the card is still plugged into the Pi. The end user never opens the enclosure. I will take another look at SSD hats for the 3b+ and will also try the USB storage.

csunday wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 1:38 am

jdb wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:13 pm

Your enclosure is likely impacting the card and causing it to crack. There should be an easy reproducer: can you crack the card by doing a 1m drop test?

See the photo I posted in reply to another comment. The enclosure isn't touching the card. I'm not going to drop my enclosure and risk breaking it, but I just tried to drop a microSD card from 2 meters and it did nothing. I've tried to break an SD card with my fingers. Maybe I'm weak but I couldn't do it. If someone else can do it, let me know!

I tried really hard and was able to break a couple SD cards with my fingers. It doesn't look the same as the breaks I've seen before. I tried to go back though my photos and find one of the actual breaks but couldn't. Anyway, when it happens, the break is a clean perpendicular break, and it happens inside the Pi SD card port - you take it out and there's a crack you can see, you don't even have to try to break it. The ones in the photo are kind of a messier bend/break. Hopefully you can see it.

ejolson wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 2:04 am

csunday wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 1:38 am

jdb wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:13 pm

Your enclosure is likely impacting the card and causing it to crack. There should be an easy reproducer: can you crack the card by doing a 1m drop test?

See the photo I posted in reply to another comment. The enclosure isn't touching the card. I'm not going to drop my enclosure and risk breaking it, but I just tried to drop a microSD card from 2 meters and it did nothing. I've tried to break an SD card with my fingers. Maybe I'm weak but I couldn't do it. If someone else can do it, let me know!

It's possible for an SD card to go bad to the point it melts. Here is an example posted by what I consider a reliable source:

viewtopic.php?p=1022002#p1022002

It seems important to track down what is happening because of the potential for more than the card cracking and just getting hot.

Since you are using relatively high capacity SD cards, is it possible the cards themselves might be substandard or counterfeit? If the cards are counterfeit, then airmail delivery could correlate with the breakage but not be the actual root cause.

Agreed, need to figure out the cause. I can catch the problem now with relatively few devices deployed, but I'm starting to send more of these out and need it to be safe and scalable. I don't think they're counterfeit, they're always SanDisk or Samsung. I buy them from Amazon or https://bulkmemorycards.com/

csunday wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 3:00 am

ejolson wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 2:04 am

csunday wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 1:38 am

See the photo I posted in reply to another comment. The enclosure isn't touching the card. I'm not going to drop my enclosure and risk breaking it, but I just tried to drop a microSD card from 2 meters and it did nothing. I've tried to break an SD card with my fingers. Maybe I'm weak but I couldn't do it. If someone else can do it, let me know!

It's possible for an SD card to go bad to the point it melts. Here is an example posted by what I consider a reliable source:

viewtopic.php?p=1022002#p1022002

It seems important to track down what is happening because of the potential for more than the card cracking and just getting hot.

Since you are using relatively high capacity SD cards, is it possible the cards themselves might be substandard or counterfeit? If the cards are counterfeit, then airmail delivery could correlate with the breakage but not be the actual root cause.

Agreed, need to figure out the cause. I can catch the problem now with relatively few devices deployed, but I'm starting to send more of these out and need it to be safe and scalable. I don't think they're counterfeit, they're always SanDisk or Samsung. I buy them from Amazon or https://bulkmemorycards.com/

Most counterfeit cards are stamped with a premium brand name, because the idea of counterfeiting is to make something of little value appear of greater value.

Of course, buying a noname card with advertised large capacity at significantly lower prices is a recipe for disaster.

Anything cheaper than typical market prices is likely to be counterfeit. Unfortunately, not everything sold at the regular price is genuine. Such cards have entered the supply chain and sold by Amazon. The kittens suspect shipped by Amazon may mix stock of identically branded SD cards from comparing sensors. I've not heard so much about counterfeit SD cards recently, but that may be due to Pi users switching to Pi 5s with SSDs instead.

I'm sorry but I am still not convinced that this is a genuine issue. I'm sure hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of SD cards are shipped via air freight every month, if this were genuine then there would be an uproar about 50% faulty cards being delivered.

But again, I'll refer to my original reply, have you tried other shipping methods and if not, why not?

ISTR that my 3B+ ran rather warm compared to my other Pis, possibly a contributing factor?

Pi tools:
Quickly and easily build customized exactly as-you-want SSDs/SD Cards: https://github.com/gitbls/sdm
Easily run and manage your network's DHCP/DNS servers on a Pi: https://github.com/gitbls/ndm
Easy and secure IPSEC/IKEV2 VPN installer/manager: https://github.com/gitbls/pistrong
Lightweight Virtual VNC Config: https://github.com/gitbls/RPiVNCHowTo

bls wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 4:44 am

ISTR that my 3B+ ran rather warm compared to my other Pis, possibly a contributing factor?

Contributing enough to cause a 50% failure?

csunday wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 2:44 am

I tried to go back though my photos and find one of the actual breaks but couldn't.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Either you have a photo, but can't find it, or you never had one, in which case what was the point of looking?

What did you do with the broken ones? Throw them away?

Oh no, not again.

wildfire wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 3:58 am

I'm sorry but I am still not convinced that this is a genuine issue. I'm sure hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of SD cards are shipped via air freight every month, if this were genuine then there would be an uproar about 50% faulty cards being delivered.

But again, I'll refer to my original reply, have you tried other shipping methods and if not, why not?

I normally ship by ground to avoid this problem, but some international shipments and some recent "I need it tomorrow" demands had necessitated trying air shipment again. This has also rarely happened even with a ground shipment and a year or so ago right on my own workbench right after installing a new version of Raspbian on an old microSD. This probably happens once or twice a year, so it's a problem I have overlooked or just dealt with, hoping someone else would post about it or some other solution would become available I could switch to.

I'm in the US and my devices use Lithium batteries, so UPS is the only carrier that will deliver them.

ejolson wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 3:53 am

csunday wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 3:00 am

ejolson wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 2:04 am

It's possible for an SD card to go bad to the point it melts. Here is an example posted by what I consider a reliable source:

viewtopic.php?p=1022002#p1022002

It seems important to track down what is happening because of the potential for more than the card cracking and just getting hot.

Since you are using relatively high capacity SD cards, is it possible the cards themselves might be substandard or counterfeit? If the cards are counterfeit, then airmail delivery could correlate with the breakage but not be the actual root cause.

Agreed, need to figure out the cause. I can catch the problem now with relatively few devices deployed, but I'm starting to send more of these out and need it to be safe and scalable. I don't think they're counterfeit, they're always SanDisk or Samsung. I buy them from Amazon or https://bulkmemorycards.com/

Most counterfeit cards are stamped with a premium brand name, because the idea of counterfeiting is to make something of little value appear of greater value.

Of course, buying a noname card with advertised large capacity at significantly lower prices is a recipe for disaster.

Anything cheaper than typical market prices is likely to be counterfeit. Unfortunately, not everything sold at the regular price is genuine. Such cards have entered the supply chain and sold by Amazon. The kittens suspect shipped by Amazon may mix stock of identically branded SD cards from comparing sensors. I've not heard so much about counterfeit SD cards recently, but that may be due to Pi users switching to Pi 5s with SSDs instead.

OK. Trying a Sabrent Rocket V60 A1 that's advertised as "industrial strength". I hope it's not counterfeit. I'll also try switching the storage to a USB device.

What if the counterfeiters also charge more, so they're not easily identified as the cheapest, to throw us off? Then we're all in trouble. :)

This is a really odd one.

Millions of Pi devices are used and transported around the world each year and this is the only time I have seen this reported. I have myself broken one SD card in half in the last 12 years, I think I put something heavy on a Pi on my desk and the board was at an angle, snapping the card. I've never seen and never heard of them spontaneously snapping due to normal use.

If it happened regularly, it would be heavily reported, here and elsewhere, so I can only assume there is something in your particular circumstance causing the issue. What that is I have no idea.

Software guy, working in the applications team.

jamesh wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 2:30 pm

This is a really odd one.

Millions of Pi devices are used and transported around the world each year and this is the only time I have seen this reported. I have myself broken one SD card in half in the last 12 years, I think I put something heavy on a Pi on my desk and the board was at an angle, snapping the card. I've never seen and never heard of them spontaneously snapping due to normal use.

If it happened regularly, it would be heavily reported, here and elsewhere, so I can only assume there is something in your particular circumstance causing the issue. What that is I have no idea.

I have snapped a couple due to shitty cases

jamesh wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 11, 2025 2:30 pm

This is a really odd one.

Millions of Pi devices are used and transported around the world each year and this is the only time I have seen this reported. I have myself broken one SD card in half in the last 12 years, I think I put something heavy on a Pi on my desk and the board was at an angle, snapping the card. I've never seen and never heard of them spontaneously snapping due to normal use.

If it happened regularly, it would be heavily reported, here and elsewhere, so I can only assume there is something in your particular circumstance causing the issue. What that is I have no idea.

Agreed, odd and super annoying. It doesn't happen often, but often enough. I don't think a dropped package would crack a microSD inside a Pi, inside an enclosure, inside a bag, inside bubble wrap, inside a cardboard box. But if it was jostled just the right way over several shipments over a year or two, could the SD card come out ever-so-slightly so that the pad connections are off - would that cause extra heat that could be hot enough to crack a microSD? I don't think this is it, I tried hitting the enclosure on the side to see if it would knock the SD card loose and it didn't budge after multiple repeated attempts. But I don't know what else. When it did happen on my own workbench, the Pi had been on for 10 minutes maybe and it nearly burned my finger when I touched it.

Since this is unique to my use-case, it could be the code I'm running. It seems like maybe the SD card corrupts and perhaps leaving the Pi on for 10 minutes heats it up enough to crack it. If you put your ear near the Pi, you can hear a high-pitched whine when this happens. I think I have saved this from happening a couple times by warning the user to turn it off before it gets too hot. But these cards are used for high definition video and light weight AI/ML models. My use case doesn't seem that extreme that it would overly-fatigue the SD card. But am I wrong about these two ideas? Are there certain activities such as high-speed constant writes that could cause this? I also upload the photos using wifi to Google Cloud, which always draws more power to the Pi than any other operation and that's sustained over up to 24 hours. But again, it never corrupts or cracks during this operation. It's alway right when a user receives the shipped device and turns it on for the first time - a device that was tested right before shipping.

A few random thoughts:
Is there any evidence to say the cards snap upwards or downward wrt the inside of the case?
What is the underneath of the case lid like? Any projections into the case?
Does the pi go straight down into the case when installed?
What is the big blue thing next to the SD card? If its heavy could it strike the card? If so could adding a projection on the case lid be used to retain it?
Best of Luck!