Windows Phone 7 will reformat a locked MicroSD card!

When I first purchased my Samsung Focus I put a 16GB MicroSD card in it.  Unfortunately, I had a hardware issue with the phone and had to return it to AT&T to exchange it for a new one.  At the time I thought my MicroSD card was dead until I could find someone with an old Nokia phone to FORCE ERASE it.

I’ve learned tonight that if you put a MicroSD card that is locked to one Samsung Focus into a different Samsung Focus and then hard reset the phone (Settings -> About -> Reset button)  it will force erase the card and lock it to the new phone.

While this doesn’t solve the problem of someone wanting to utilize the card in a different manner (as storage on another type of phone OS for example), it does at least prove that if you have to replace your WP7 hardware you can use your MicroSD card in your new Windows Phone 7 device.