I've had enough of lock switches on SD cards – it's time for them to go!

In the last few years almost every time a memory card has failed on me it’s for the same reason - the lock switch gets stuck to locked rendering the card useless, destined for the bin. Almost all cameras have a feature where you can digitally lock images to the SD card so isn’t it time manufacturers ditch the physical switch so that less can go wrong?

My most recent run-in with a dodgy SD card was with a brand-new Sandisk 62GB Extreme 170 MB/s card. I’d bought it to go on holiday and hadn’t thought to test it before leaving and when I inserted it a message popped up saying “memory card 1 locked” I semi-went into panic mode. I did have another SD card on me but if that one also corrupted I’d be in the middle of nowhere with no way to use my camera.

The main purpose for the lock switch on SD cards – it's on the best SD cards and the others – is to protect your data from being accidentally deleted but over time the sliding mechanism can get jammed with dust or wear away from use. When this happens you have no option but to replace the card and while SD cards have come down massively in price it’s still frustrating knowing if that feature didn’t exist you’d probably have a memory card that still worked.

I can’t remember a time when I’ve even used to lock feature.

On my Sony A7III (and pretty much every camera I’ve used and owned since the Nikon D3500) you can mass select image to protect either by folder or date if you can’t be bothered to sdelect every individual image. Most modern mirrorless cameras have prompts asking users if they’re sure they want to delete or overwrite data. These safety nets provide all the protection we need without the awkward, tiny switch.

Surely I can’t be the only one who thinks it’s time for SD cards to receive a makeover and do away with the lock switch?

Storage technology has evolved so much in the last few years some SD cards can now store up to 1TB of data and feature read/write speeds of 300 MB/s and 260 MB/s respectively and if one of these gets permanently locked, it’ll cost a lot to replace. Removing the relic lock switch would be a small but significant step toward more streamlined, durable, and user-friendly data storage solutions.

(For now, though, the only solution is one of the best SD card cases .)