The GoPro HERO works with a wide variety of microSD cards that are on the market today, but there are still things you need to watch out for when buying one. And not every card is good value for use in a HERO; you don’t necessarily need to fork out the big bucks for the latest, greatest, and fastest memory card out there because once you meet the HERO’s minimum write speed requirements you’re not going to get any benefit in the camera.
The short version is that the GoPro HERO will work with memory cards up to 32GB with a minimum speed rating of Class 10. 64GB cards will not work in the GoPro HERO (2014).
Recommended Memory Cards for the GoPro HERO (2014)
If you’re looking to buy a new card for your GoPro HERO (2014), these offer good value combinations of speed, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. It’s by no means an exhaustive list of all microSD cards that are compatible with this camera.
In general, it’s best to go with a brand name and to purchase from a reputable retailer to avoid getting stuck with an underperforming counterfeit card.
SanDisk Ultra
The SanDisk Ultra line is one of the most popular of the Class 10 cards. While its write speed is not fast enough for the high-end video modes available on the HERO4 cameras, it is fast enough for use in a HERO. The card is available in 32GB and 16GB. One thing to watch out for is that SanDisk has had some confusing branding changes recently, and there are two versions of the Ultra available. The newer, faster, and better one is red and gray as in the picture here. The older version is entirely dark gray. The newer version comes with an SD adapter (the older version usually doesn’t).
Buy at: Amazon
SanDisk Extreme
The SanDisk Extreme is faster than the HERO needs, but it presents excellent value because of the way memory card flash memory technology keeps improving and prices falling. It comes with an SD adapter.
Buy at: Amazon
Lexar 300X
Lexar is another big player in the memory card game and makes excellent cards. This model meets the speed requirements of the HERO and is significantly less expensive than the faster offerings by Lexar. It comes with a USB adapter.
Buy at: Amazon
Samsung EVO Select
This is Samsung’s mid-range offering and works well in the GoPro HERO. It comes with an SD adapter.
Buy at: Amazon
Kingston Canvas Select
Kingston is not as well known as SanDisk or Lexar, but they make good memory cards that are often excellent value. It comes with an SD adapter.
Buy at: Amazon
Transcend Premium
Transcend is another company that often flies beneath the radar and yet makes very good flash memory cards. This is their mid-range card that meets the speed requirements of the GoPro HERO and presents excellent value. It comes with an SD adapter.
Buy at: Amazon
Not Recommended for the GoPro HERO (2014)
64GB cards or larger will not work in the GoPro HERO (2014). So make sure your card is 32GB or 16GB.
The limitation is because cards that are 64GB and above use a different disk format (exFAT) than those that are 32GB or below (FAT32). And the HERO (2014) can’t use cards that are formatted as exFAT.
General Tips
- It’s always a good idea to format the card regularly in your camera rather than with a computer. That gets the card set up in a way that the camera expects and needs.
- Memory cards are pretty reliable these days, but they are still sophisticated electronic devices and a small percentage of them do fail. Always test the card before filming that once-in-a-lifetime footage.
- I also have a more general guide to the [**best SD card for GoPro cameras**](https://havecamerawilltravel.com/gopro/best-sd-card-for-gopro/) that covers more GoPro models.
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More GoPro Tips & Tricks:
What to Do if Your GoPro Photos or Videos Go Missing From Your SD Card
There can be several reasons why photos and videos go missing from memory cards. But you can often recover at least some of them. I have a more detailed post on how to recover deleted GoPro videos and photos from SD cards, but here's the quick version:
- Stop using the SD card. This is important, because overwriting the data will make it harder to recover deleted files from it.
- Scan the memory card with the free trial versions of either Stellar Photo Recovery or Disk Drill. Both have Windows and Mac versions. The scan will show you whether any files can be found and recovered.
- Recover the files. If the apps can find the files, you can then decide whether to buy a full license to run the actual recovery process or to try one of the other options covered here.
Dean Rowntree says
Has anyone ran into issues with their Hero 2014 where the camera is not detected by Windows 10 and the workaround is to take the SD card out of the camera ans use an adapter?
David says
That’s not something I’ve run into myself (I use Mac), but thanks for the tip and hopefully someone will be able to chime in with their experience.
Chris Walker says
Hi, so I’m reading where you said that the GoPro HERO will not accept any SD cards larger than 32 GB due to the FAT32 file structure. However, GoPro’s website (https://gopro.com/help/articles/Block/microSD-Card-Considerations) shows several SD cards in the 64 GB to 128 GB range that says WILL work with the HERO. Any idea why they’d suggest a card that has a file structure on it that the camera wouldn’t support?
David says
Ah, yes. GoPro and their confusing model naming system… So there are two cameras with the model name GoPro HERO. The original, which is what this post refers to, only supported FAT32 cards, so you couldn’t put in a 64GB card. It looks like they’ve just updated that chart to refer to the old model now as HERO (2014). But the brand new GoPro HERO release just recently does support exFAT, so you can use 64GB (or larger) cards.
To clarify things, I’ll update this post above to make clear that it’s referring to the older version.
sandish says
Can i use a memory card Philips microSD HC 32gb 10 circle for a gopro 5?
David says
I’m not aware of any Philips brand cards that are fast enough to keep up with the video bitrates of the HERO5. I’d recommend one of the ones listed here.
Sepraa says
HI,
which one is better for Go pro Hero5? SanDisk Extreme PLUS or Extreme PRO. both are up to 100mb speed.
David says
They’re both excellent cards and more than fast enough for the HERO5. You won’t see any performance benefit from either of them in the camera.
Lyndon says
Hi I,’ve bought a go pro hero plus ,can anyone tell me which memory will work in it ,thanks
David says
For a good combination of fast enough and value for money, a good starting point are either the SanDisk Extreme or the Lexar 633x. Both are technically faster than you need, but their price has come down so much that they offer excellent value. And both are very reliable cards from leading memory card companies.
Jamie says
Hi,
Thank you for this, i have been wondering why the GoPro I have (which is just called GoPro Hero) kept freezing and I was constantly losing footage and it’s because I was using a 64GB card.
Thank you thank you thank you
Bimal says
64gb micro sd card works perfectly with go pro hero 5 yes it’s true required ultra or extreme for fast data transfer
senny says
thanks for the help
Nacra Sailing (@BeachCatsz) says
I often use a 64gb Card in my GP H 3+ and have had no problem writing 54GB using a larger battery, you don’t need to go to a H4 to use the larger card or at least i have found this to be the case.
Tatch says
I also have been using a 64GB Samsung pro Sandisk extreme 64GB with no problems whatsoever for the last two years
shawn says
Thanks! How did you test the Samsung EVO 32GB to know it’s good. I’ve heard varying reports, but it’s not always easy to understand which cameras they are using. Would you recommend buying a bunch of those for travel? Thank You.
David says
I used in the both the Silver and Black at the cameras’ highest respective video modes and ran into no issues.
Ben Pickering says
I have bought a Sandusky very similar to the one you have shown about in red and grey. Instead of the U with the 1 in it it has a 10 in a circle will this work ok?
David says
The 10 in the large C means class 10, so it should work fine in the HERO.
Fernando says
Class 4 kingstone works in hero?
chalisad says
Did it work? I bought the same one.