SanDisk Extreme PRO® SD UHS-II Card Reader/Writer USB Type-A, Silver/Black

Just to be clear, the adapter works absolutely fine if you can get the SD card in. However, the dimensions of the slot are not correct... or there is some failure on manufacturing. whatever the reason, its a battle to get the card in and then another to get it out. The card normally goes flying across the room because of the force required to get it out. I have genuinely broken fingernails trying to get cards out. I'm giving this product 1 star because it does read cards, but for the price and the brand name I expected them to get the basics right, and sadly they have not.

I read reviews on how difficult it is to get the SD cards in and out of this, but decided to buy one anyway.Overall, I'm very pleased with it. It's incredibly fast compared to the old Fujifilm one I was using, transferring photo files in a small fraction of the time.The SD cards really do not go in easily. I'm surprised that such a big manufacturer has let this product out as it will damage their brand. With the one I have, the only way the card will go in is off it's forced on at an angle. Pulling out is fiddly but manageable only because the SD cards I have have a ridge on the edge; if they didn't, I would have to use pliers to remove the card.Perfectly usable for amateur use. There's no way I'd put up with the insertion and removal issues if I used it many times a day.

If it's so over-priced, why did I buy it ?Well, it was purchased to live in the back of a smart TV in order to allow easy viewing and swapping of SD cards in order to view photographs and videos. It replaces an old Transcend adaptor that has seen better days after years of use. The shape and the fact that the SD card enters the reader from the front means I don't have to fumble around the back of the TV to find it as it lies flat against the rear of the TV and extends far enough away from the recessed USB sockets that it can be accessed without removal. You can get card readers for a lot less than this but generally they take the SD card vertically and depending on how the USB connector is orientated, some go in vertically from the underside which is difficult to locate when you can't see it.But there's the rub. The SD card is very tight in the reader and the connection pins seem to be a little off of the PCB inside since the card has to go in at a very slightly elevated angle towards the front edge to make it fit. I am hoping it will loosen up after a few more insertions but I don't like the feeling of forcing the card. Once in, the SD card doesn't protrude from the reader that much meaning it's hard to get hold of again and the force required to pull the card out means I still end up removing the reader from the back of the TV to retrieve the card which I was hoping to avoid.However, it's not all doom and gloom. If used with a USB-3 host and a fast SD card, I have no complaints about data transfer rate. However it's not worth the going asking price considering the build quality unless you really, really need to be able to insert a card horizontally into a reader. Sorry, SanDisk - I don't believe you made this yourself and your supplier let you down on this one.

For 6yrs I've had a similar reader by Kingston, sadly that model is no longer available so bought this SanDisk instead. Kingston one is still working, just wanted a second just in case.It looks nice. Has a nice tactile feel. Though I don't think this SanDisk is as robust as my Kingston, which is more metal than plastic. The SanDisk is more plastic and a bit of metal.Trying to insert an SD card for the first time, I thought I'd got the wrong size. But it turns out that it's a very tight fit. At first only a couple of millimetres went in, then snagged on something inside.You have to balance enough push force to overcome the friction from the sides yet not too much, otherwise you'll break your SD card.Removing the SD card is almost as tricky. Once the card is inserted only a few mm sticks out. Pinching the sides, there isn't enough of the card sticking out to apply force to.At the slot end, it is a wedge shaped. If you try extracting the card by pinching from above and below, then wedge shape means your digit on the underside doesn't have much surface to pinch onto.If you have thick fingers, or have arthritis of the hands. Then avoid this product. As you'll have trouble using it.I might return this, though with use it might get easier to use (at least inserting wise), as the SD card is worn down!UPDATE:Since writing the review, tried using it again but my SD card got really stuck inside. Had to use pliers to pinch the SD card and pull it out.Decided to return the SanDisk reader. Then bought this Kingston https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B085P4Y1F1/ , which doesn't look as nice is cheaper but at least the SD card can be inserted and removed with ease.

I really do not recommend buying this product. I am buying an alternative because I don't want to risk damaging expensive SD cards storing valuable image content. I don't write reviews very often and recognise that I ought to do so more often because I frequently look at what reviewers think. In this case, I just ordered the card reader without reading the reviews. My expectation was that there wouldn't be any issues with a SanDisk product for use with SanDisk cards. Amazingly, that was not the case. The SD card needed some force to insert in the reader and was also hard to remove - I thought I might need pliers. Having got the card inserted, transferring images was trouble free. I have been using card readers for years and am really surprised that this product should have such a such a basic problem. My concern is possible damage to my SD cards with ongoing use - the force required cannot be good for the relatively fragile SD card. My SD cards are costly and have valuable content - just not worth risking.