Rog Xbox Ally X card reader with SDXC microsd stuck at 100% usage 0 KB/s

[rafaelhbrasil]

Hello all!

I have a ROG Xbox Ally ☓ which has been working nice so far, except the card reader. I'm able to save files and read files using windows, but when any app tries to use it, it freezes unresponsible. According to Windows' task manager, it gets stuck at 100% usage with 0KB/s read, 0KB/s write and 0ms response time (see image below)

PS: even it seems like I waited for less than a minute on the image above, but it was just an example for this post. I've tried several times and waited for hours, it's not just me being eager.

In this example, I was trying to run CrystalDiskMark against the card and the random reads with only 16MB freezes forever. I've tried waiting for hours, no success. Sequencial reads work, but random reads, which are ok to be very slow, won't work at all. Same for parallel access (2+ apps simultaneously)

What I've tried so far:

1. Other apps. For example, I installed a game from GOG in the SD. around 800 MB. Same issue.
2. Formatting the microsd card. Tested exFat and NTFS. Same issue.
3. Remove / Reinstall / Update the drivers. I have the most recent Genesys Card Reader Driver downloaded from Asus drivers page for this device. The Realtek Card Reader Driver can't be installed though. Windows displays a message saying it's not compatible.
4. Update BIOS downloading latest from Asus drivers page for this device. Nothing changed.
5. Updating everything available on Armoury Crate SE and Adrenaline. Nothing changed.
6. Same card in other devices. It works fine.
7. Same card in the ROG Xbox Ally X, but using a card reader. It works fine.
8. Other cards.
   1. I tried a SDHC 32GB and it works fine with SDHC.
   2. I also tried another SDXC 256GB, the issue happened. Therefore it happened with more than one SDXC.
9. Windows troubleshooting. As always, useless.
10. Windows update. Nothing new to download.

+ Rebooted multiple times

The micro card is a Netac 256 GB SDXC, bought from the official store. I use it in my GPD Win, therefore the card is not the issue. Also as can be seen in the multiple attempts described above, other 256GB cards fail on ROG Xbox Ally X whilst they work with card readers or with other devices.

The specs page says it supports, but clearly there's something wrong with the embedded card reader.

Anyone else facing the same issue?

Any ideas? Anything else I could try? Wait for other updates? Contact support?

Have a nice day everyone!

[Falcon2_ROG]

@rafaelhbrasil 
I sent you a message, please check it.

Thank you.

[rafaelhbrasil]

Hello!

DM responded. I'm sharing some info here as well so other people might follow up in case the are using the same configuration. Not the logs since it might contain sensitive data from my local system.

• BIOS: 310 (latest available on the website)
• OS Build: 25H2 build 26200.6899
• System Version: RC73XA (is this the right one?)

Logs shared via DM.

[Falcon2_ROG]

@rafaelhbrasil 
I have forwarded the information to the relevant department. 
We will keep you updated and your consideration will be very much appreciated.

[Dfear78]

Hello, same problem here. I have a 2Tb Sandisk Pro extreme card and very slow download speed with a ROG XBOX Ally X. Same card in ROG Ally X work fine.  I have latest drivers and updated system.

Any solution?

[Yoyoyoyoyo]

I’m having exactly the same problem. Same device, ROG Xbox Ally X. Same SD card, SanDisk Pro Extreme 2tb. 

write speeds drop to 5mbit or lower. 

[rafaelhbrasil]

Hello guys!!

The team seems to be digging into it, trying to figure if it's a software, firmware or hardware issue. AFAIK, they could't reproduce it in a controlled environment to gather more info about it. Until then, the best choice is not to use the microSD that causes the issues 😞

[Falcon2_ROG]

@Dfear78 @Yoyoyoyoyo 
Could you please provide me with your current BIOS version, system version, OS build, as well as any test data or screenshots for our verification? We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

[Dfear78]

315 / 5.000

Hello, I have the latest BIOS version 312 and my Windows 11 version is 25H2 (26200.7309). According to my tests, the problem recurs as the SD card fills up with data. When less than 75% of the card is free, the write speed decreases until it reaches write speeds of 4 MB/s.

[Dfear78]

This is a CristalDiskMArk benchmark with SD card full