We have an insatiable appetite for data these days, and how can we be blamed when our mobile devices give us the possibility of enjoying a large amount of files and applications. If increasing the storage capacity of your Android smartphone has become a priority, you have probably opted for purchasing a memory card that allows you to continue accumulating high resolution photos, full-length videos and amazing apps.
This should be an effective solution, but it is not as simple as it seems. First, you need to confirm that your phone detects the memory card, which in most cases would be done by tapping “Settings”, selecting More and then Storage. Once you have placed the card on your device, you may expect that all the apps that you download from now on, are automatically saved to the SD card. It would be great if things were that easy, but unfortunately it doesn’t happen that way.
Furthermore, moving the existing apps on your device to the SD card may also take a bit of patience and time. That doesn’t mean that it is not possible and by following some steps, you will have the chance of enjoying the advantages of enhancing the storage capacity of your Android phone with an SD card. Here we will tell you how you can pass existing apps from the internal storage of your phone to the SD card and how you can modify the settings to make sure that new apps are saved to the SD card by default.
Application Manager – The simple solution
The Application Manager offers the easiest way to send apps from the device to your SD card. All you need to do to get started, is to go to Settings and look for Application Manager under the More tab. Then you can do the below:
1. In Application Manager, swipe to the left once to access a full list of apps that can be moved to the card.
2. You can select the heaviest apps that are not checked with a green mark (those who are marked are already on the SD card) and once you have identified the most suitable options to forward, simply tap on the Move to SD card button.
The Application Manager offers the easiest way to send apps from the device to your SD card. All you need to do to get started, is to go to Settings and look for Application Manager under the More tab. Then you can do the below:
1. In Application Manager, swipe to the left once to access a full list of apps that can be moved to the card.
2. You can select the heaviest apps that are not checked with a green mark (those who are marked are already on the SD card) and once you have identified the most suitable options to forward, simply tap on the Move to SD card button.
This is the most convenient option for moving apps to the SD card and as you can see, it is pretty straightforward. However, it may not work in all cases and you may need to follow additional steps to get things done. Here is what you can try if the app you want to send to the SD card is not appearing in the Application Manager list:
CAUTION Some apps will not continue to function properly if located on your SD Card. Moving Apps [System Settings > Applications > Manage Applications] and select the app your want to move and press move. Update* The 'Move to Usb Storage' option was only available on older android firmwares, sorry for the confusion. How to install/move apps to MicroSD Card on Android Phones [Videos] How To & Tutorials. SD card will get formatted and then you can choose to move some of your apps and data to this new storage.
Android’s SDK and Oracle’s JDK
First of all, you will need to enable USB Debugging on the phone. USB debugging is a tool used by developers to establish connection between an Android phone and a computer running the Android Software Development Kit (SDK). Through the USB debugging feature, developers are able to save their creations (Android apps, which have been coded in the Android SDK) to the phone.
First of all, you will need to enable USB Debugging on the phone. USB debugging is a tool used by developers to establish connection between an Android phone and a computer running the Android Software Development Kit (SDK). Through the USB debugging feature, developers are able to save their creations (Android apps, which have been coded in the Android SDK) to the phone.
USB debugging will allow you to get access to the phone’s lower level functions and you can find this option in Settings. In the More tab, scroll down and touch About phone. There you will see a selection of options including Device name, Status and Legal Information. Scroll down until you find the Build number and tap it continuously until the Developer mode is open. Go back to the previous screen, tap the Back button, which is located to the right of the Home button, then touch Developer options and select USB debugging. Tap OK on the pop-up that appears with information about USB debugging.
The next part is to get Android’s SDK (free) from developer.android.com, but keep in mind that it is quite big and you may need to wait several minutes for it to be downloaded. Make sure that you get the right version for your computer. To find out if your computer is a 32-bit or a 64-bit, you can press Windows Key + r to open the Run box and then enter the following command: control/name Microsoft System.
You will also need to download the latest version of JDK (free) from Oracle’s official website. Install both SDK’s without changing their default settings. Launch the SDK manager, it will take a few seconds to load and although you will see multiple packages, the main thing is to confirm that the Android SDK Platform-tools option is marked.
During set up there is the option to choose your primary storage so selected SD card, the phone rebooted and SD card was indicated as being the primary storage and yet when I started to download apps they were only being installed on the phone memory. Guide to Install Apps on SD Card; Guide to Install Apps on SD Card. All existed apps from phone to external card at a time. Step 1 Download and Install TunesGo Click the buttons below to download TunesGo on your Mac or Windows. After installation, run the software. Step 2 Connect Android Phone to Computer Plug your Android device into the. How to Download to an SD Card on Android. This wikiHow teaches you how to download apps and files directly to your Android's SD card. Open your Android's Settings. It's the gear icon typically found in the app drawer.
The option that allows to send commands to the phone is Android Debug Bridge (ADB). Click the Install Packages button and then Accept License agreements. This will prompt the packages to be downloaded and extracted. You may see a message about Android Tools being updated, but you can click OK and close the window.
Now you can release the power of ADB to get the transfer process started. Locate the folder where SDK Manager.exe is, then click the sdk folder and follow the folder path to get to platform-tools. Press the Shift key, then right click adb.exe and select Open command window here. Connect the phone to the computer using the USB cable, this would bring a pop-up on the phone asking if you wish to allow the computer to execute debugging commands on your phone. Click OK.
How To Download Apps Ipod Touch
To confirm that the ADB recognized your phone, type adb services in the command prompt. Then, enter the following command to configure the default installation of your phone to your SD card: adb shell pm set-install-location 2. You can revert the changes by typing 0 instead of 2 at the end of the command. This will get the phone to use the local device storage instead of saving to the SD card.
The above process should suit most Android users. However, if you own a Samsung Galaxy, you may need to root the phone before you can move your apps to an external storage device. Rooting will give you extended flexibility and a greater control over your Android. In the case of transferring apps from your Galaxy to an SD card, rooting will give you access to the files and applications you want to move and will allow you to change the default storage settings.
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Samsung brought back expandable storage on the new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, and continued the optional storage on the Galaxy S8 line.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus come with 64GB of internal storage, some of which is used up by the OS and default applications installed on the device. Both devices support a microSD card of up to 256GB, which is more than enough for music, photos and videos.
Another important advantage of having expandable storage on the shiny new devices is the ability to move large apps or games to the added storage space.
The process to move apps is simple and shouldn't affect your day-to-day use of any apps or the device.
Here's what you need to do:
- With a microSD card installed, launch the Settings app.
- Find and select Applications, make sure All apps is selected from the dropdown at the top.
- Select an app you want to move.
- Tap Storage.
- If an app can be moved, a Change button will be present.
- Tap Change > SD Card >then follow the prompts.
With the transfer complete, the app will run and act normally. Should you remove the microSD card from your device, the app's icon will be replaced with an icon indicating it is stored on an SD card. You will be unable to use the app until you place the microSD card back into the device.
Not all apps can be moved. You can easily identify if an app can be moved when you attempt to move an app and the Change button isn't present.
If after moving an app to the SD card you experience performance issues, you can move the app back to your phone's internal storage by following the same directions outlined above and select 'Internal storage.'
Editors' note: This post was originally published on March 11, 2016, and has since been updated to reflect new devices and information.
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