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T3i card says its locked but it isn't

Started Feb 28, 2014 | Questions thread
jsa381 New Member • Posts: 1
Re: T3i card says its locked but it isn't

I had the same problem on my T1i.  Turns out that there is a small spring lever in the memory card slot that is depressed when the lock switch on the card in the unlocked position and the card is in the slot.  Apparently, this lever can fail to be adequately depressed.

I placed a small strip of electrical tape over the card on the side and at the level of the lock switch.  When the card is inserted into the slot, that thin little strip of tape depresses the lever and voila, it works with any card that I put the tape on.

It has to be pushed all the way in the slot and it does not spring out when you go to remove the card.  You have to use a narrow edged tool like a micro screw driver to lift the card out of the slot, but I don't plan on changing card much, so no big deal.

I read a bunch of other solutions, but this is the only one that worked for me.  You can probably replace the card reader slot somehow, but this is much easier.  You can probably reach down in the slot and play with the lever arm using a narrow pick, but then you run the risk of permanently damaging the card reader in your camera.

This takes just a few minutes and all you need is a little electrical tape and a pair of scissors to cut a narrow strip of tape.

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