[PROBLEM] External storage card in T-Mobile S3 (SGH-T999) NOT RECOGNIZED

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[PROBLEM] External storage card in T-Mobile S3 (SGH-T999) NOT RECOGNIZED

OK. This past Tuesday. I picked up a 16GB T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3 (SGH-T999), in Marble White, along with a 32GB storage card.

AWESOME PHONE!

However, I continue to encounter a SERIOUS PROBLEM: Regardless of which appropriate application I use, I absolutely cannot transfer any app or file to the external storage card. It just won't happen. In fact, the phone does not even ackmowledge the existence of an external card.

Even when my S3 is USB-connected to my PC, I am unable to move any file to the phone's storage card. The "card" image appears on my PC's screen, but I get the black "x" symbol when I attempt to move a file onto the card image.

There is no problem moving files to-and-from the PC and the phone's "Internal Storage" area (as is the case with my Nexus i9250) , but no success with the external storage card.

I have repeatedly re-formatted the 32GB card (which has only a "lost directory" folder showing inside it -- and I can only tell this when connected to the PC), but that is the only recognition the S3 makes regarding the card (and conceding that 29.71GB of available space does exist). From within my phone, and regardless of which file reader/explorer app I use .... the external card simply does not appear.

For my purposes, I'm essentially back with my Nexus: No external storage.

Is anyone else encountering this problem?

I'm wondering if it's a flaw particular to the T-Mobile's SGH-T999 or if the international version GT-i9300 has the same issue.

Any comments/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.