# How To Fix the Lenovo X1 Yoga MicroSD Card Disconnecting
Originally published on 12 June 2021 at
http://kohanikin.com/2021/fix-lenovo-x1-microsd-disconnecting.html
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Important Note: Try this at your own risk! While this worked for
myself and others, please only try these tips if you understand what
you're doing.
One of my favorite features of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 3 is
adding a microSD card for extra storage - so much easier than
upgrading to a new SSD. The problem is, the drivers cause the microSD
to keep disconnecting, even while you're using it! It's most
noticeable when File Explorer is open and the list of drives suddenly
refreshes, interrupting your work. It's more than a nuisance, the
disconnections have caused data loss on my microSD card.
After much searching on the Lenovo forums and elsewhere, I found a
workaround that works for me. The solution: swap the Realtek MicroSD
Card Reader drivers for the default Microsoft Windows drivers! Ever
since I did this, the microSD card has never disconnected again while
I was using my Lenovo ThinkPad X1.
## How To Switch Realtek MicroSD Drivers to Microsoft Drivers
* Launch Device Manager - press the Windows key and start typing
"device manager" until you see the Device Manager Control Panel.
* Find the Realtek USB 3.0 Card Reader in Device Manager. It will
be listed under Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
* Right-click on the Realtek USB 3.0 Card Reader, and click on
Update Driver.
* Choose "Browse My Computer For Drivers".
* Choose "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my
computer".
* When you see "Select the device driver you want to install", the
Realtek USB 3.0 Card Reader will probably be selected. To change
the driver, click on USB Mass Storage Driver and then click Next.
* All done! The screen should now say "Windows has successfully
updated your drivers".
* The microSD card icon in File Explorer should now have a red
Lenovo logo icon.
## A Catch: Lenovo Vantage Keeps Switching Back...
A problem with this workaround is that Lenovo Vantage (the automatic
driver updater from Lenovo) insists on reinstalling the Realtek
drivers whenever a new version is released. (I've tried the new
drivers, in 3 years the problem has never been fixed). So you might
need to follow these instructions again every couple of months.
You'll know you have to do it again if the icon for your microSD card
changes back to the ugly purple and white Realtek icons again.
## Thanks Paul!
A big thanks to Paul Gerbino who originally discovered this
workaround for Realtek MicroSD card reader problems on his Surface
Pro 3, and posted it on the Microsoft Community Forums at:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpro3-surfupdate/microsdsd-card-reader-keeps-disconnecting/ecd08473-f69b-48cc-b2d9-41b0b600edfe
Looks like the problem is caused by the Realtek drivers, and still
hasn't been fixed by Realtek!
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(C) 2021 Kohan Ikin /
http://www.kohanikin.com/
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