In this article I will be describing the usage of Link2SD most effectively for android devices running 2.2 or higher or Custom ROMs.
[Note: Your Device MUST be Rooted and have Link2SD installed with a partitioned SD Card. If not Rooted, you may visit my page on Rooting and Partitioning using the link.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=37849627#post37849627
Rooting and Partitioning is Universal and can be done almost all the Android Devices using the same way but by using only the right update.zip meant for the particular Device.
Have you installed Link2SD after doing partition, but still are not able to free up enough space? The reason for this problem is that even after you link the application to SD, some portion of the app, remains on the Internal Memory. These files are called DEX files which occupy space in the Dalvik cache of the Internal Memory.
In this Guide I will be teaching you how to move most of the portion of the Application to the SD Card.
There are basically two types of apps. First those which phone memory only, i.e. can’t be moved to external storage without using third party applications. Such as WhatsApp, widgets, Anti-Viruses etc. To move these apps, Simply Select the app and Create Link. Then tick all the three options of Link Apk file, Link Dalvik-Cache files and Link Lib files. Now these apps will be moved to the partitioned storage without affecting their working. (Only a small portion may remain on the Internal memory which cannot be moved and is necessary for the proper working of app.)
The second category is of the apps which can be moved to SD. But Sometimes the problem with these applications is that not the whole part of the Application is stored on the SD card. Some portion remains on the internal storage which maybe annoying because even after Linking these apps nothing happens, instead they occupy even more space on the internal memory.
Now let us begin with the procedure.
1. Install Link2SD.
2. Open Link to SD. Filter the apps which are on Phone Memory only.
3. Select them all and Link them to SD using Create Link. Remember to tick all the 3 options- Link apk files, Link Dalvik (DEX) files & Link Lib files before creating the Link. This should free a lot of space.
4. Now Filter the apps on SD cards. Sort them in the order of Dex Size
5. You will find the culprit apps accused of stealing your precious internal storage.
6. The Dex Size indicates the size the app has been occupying on the internal storage.
7. Now Multi-Select the apps (5-10 at a time, because the whole apps will be moved to internal memory first before being transferred to the SD Card.), Select Actions -> Create Link. Select only Link Dalvik-cache files.
8. First the applications will be moved to SD, then Linked. It will take a minute or so.
9. After they are linked, It will take some time before it shows free internal storage.
10. Similarly do the same for all the other apps which acquire considerable amount of space.
By this method, you will get a lot of free space.
Want to free up even more?
Almost all the devices come with pre-installed Bloat ware, i.e. programs that are hardly use but occupy unnecessary space on the phone memory. Moving them to SD is a good option.
IMPORTANT: Do not uninstall or move system apps which are important for proper functioning of the system. You may end up damaging your device. It is recommended to make a backup of Current ROM using CWM.
The following system apps have been removed by me which do not cause any instability to the system but free up a lot of space.
1. Quickoffice
2. Email
3 Google Maps
If you use these apps, you may consider another option, i.e. converting these apps to user apps. This won’t affect in the functioning of the programs.
1. Select the app in Link2SD.
2. From options, select convert to user app.
3. Now the app will be moved to SD card but will occupy space on internal Memory.
4. Follow the above instructions of Link Dalvik-Cache and moving to SD using App2SD.
5. You are done! You must have freed a lot of space. Now you may start installing New Apps without giving a thought about your internal storage!
You can also free some more space( if occupied) by the following Methods:
1. Clearing the App Cache using App2SD or Link2SD.
2. Clearing the Dalvik-Cache using Link2SD. Link2SD->Options->more->Clear Dalvik Cache.
HIT THANKS IF MY POST HELPED YOU
Remember: Some apps may stop functioning or may Force Close. To fix this problem Re-install the app using Link2SD. :good::highfive:
:/
Actually, this procedure filled my internal storage not freed it :/
Mahmoud Ezzat said:
Actually, this procedure filled my internal storage not freed it :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah! I can see why.
You must have done something wrong. Follow the procedure correctly.
I did
zaeemsheikh said:
Yeah! I can see why.
You must have done something wrong. Follow the procedure correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure I did follow it correctly, I also rebooted to clear any cached fake storage, but it didn't do me any good.
Thanks anyway.
Mahmoud Ezzat said:
I'm sure I did follow it correctly, I also rebooted to clear any cached fake storage, but it didn't do me any good.
Thanks anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed that moving via apps2sd uses internal for dex and libs, they have to be linked in order to save space.
Go to linked, multiselect and choose create links.I have to do this lately after every reboot as it leaves some files unlinked and some uninstalled alltogether!.
I got problem after move installed apps when i create link for it. The apps cannot open and when i remove link, the apps still can't open.
Please find the solution for it.
data to sd?
is it possible to link data to sd? i can't install anything else on my phone because the data partition is full.
yudroid said:
is it possible to link data to sd? i can't install anything else on my phone because the data partition is full.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link those huge data files? Yes you can. Use directory bind / folder mount.
Paradox ST21i
Thanks. I followed the steps but unfortunately the apps still occupy space on the internal memory. e.g. I have 3 apps -
1. Google Play services
2. Titanium backup
3. Maps
After creating a link, these apps still show up on internal memory using 12.25 MB, 12.92MB and 8.28 MB memory respectively. No effect at all. I have followed the exact steps. If i move them to SD card, it frees up some space but i believe that is not what is recommended?
Need someone's help to fix it. I have searched internet and they all talk about the same steps but does not seems to work. My phone is samsung ace S5830.
angarg said:
Thanks. I followed the steps but unfortunately the apps still occupy space on the internal memory. e.g. I have 3 apps -
1. Google Play services
2. Titanium backup
3. Maps
After creating a link, these apps still show up on internal memory using 12.25 MB, 12.92MB and 8.28 MB memory respectively. No effect at all. I have followed the exact steps. If i move them to SD card, it frees up some space but i believe that is not what is recommended?
Need someone's help to fix it. I have searched internet and they all talk about the same steps but does not seems to work. My phone is samsung ace S5830.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with titanium integrate them in system memory
apk stays on phone memory
I've observed if I link only the Dex files, the apks stay on the internal memory instead of sd card. I could find them in /data/apk folder. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong? :fingers-crossed: :silly:
I have rooted my Micromax A 57 and installed custom ROM, the system is working fine, but the only issue is that, I am unable to download apps from Playstore as my cache memory shows only 15% free, I tried link2sd with extended partition, but am unable to clear the cache, before rooting it was something 90% free.
Can some one help me out
Thanks & Regards
Nilesh
Yes it works
it freed my phone from 68 to 258
awesome
Truly awesome idea zaeem
Moving the dex files work.
And if using backup sw, kindly uncheck the auto link option from link2sd. As manually moving frees more space
Sent from my Xperia Arc S using Tapatalk
Link2SD Method & Problem Fixes
I've tried this method twice. I've got it working somewhat.
For the guy who said it took up his space, you've got to go into Link2SD & set the path correctly to your EXT4 2nd SD card partition. For example mine was '/storage/sdext2' for the EXT4 partiton and '/storage/extSDCard' for the fat32/exfat or whatever.
It will move some apps, but my problem is this. When I try to move "System Apps" or even some regular apps like SoundForge that said unmovable for some reason. It would disappear on reboot. I did the "Create/re-create bootup scripts" the "quick reboot user interface" all that. Out of almost 200 apps it said only 42 were moveable...they'll all show up but the whole purpose is to remove bloatware & stuff too that you may still want to use sometime via ur SD cards 2nd EXT4 partition.
After flashing a new ROM on my Note 2 SGH-T889 I was told to erase my partitions & re-partition. I've tried that still with no luck. I still can't move apps like "SoundForge" listed as unmovable without it disappearing on Reboot.
I've set SuperSU to allow su/root on boot. It mounts the ext4 correctly, still can't for the life of me get it working fully. I'm using the Ditto DN3 Hybrid S5/Note 3 ROM.
Do you guys know if maybe I have to install another Kernel or something for this to work?
I haven't found a solution to get the apps to stop disappearing on Reboot yet. Any help would be great on that note!!!
Thanks guys, & good luck!
khayjake/kminor
I'm getting "Android is upgrading: Optimizing apps X of X" when I link, everytime it boots. What should I do to avoid this?
link2sd problem
I have phone Micromax A116 after installing link2sd and creating 2nd partition of ext2 and i am trying to create link it shows remove link even though i have not created link
Some apps just stop responding after I linked it to SD Card, any guide to fix it? @zaeemsheikh
thesims2customs said:
Some apps just stop responding after I linked it to SD Card, any guide to fix it? @zaeemsheikh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try playing with the combination of what you link.
In my case, unlinking internal data (or just linking internal data) solved the issue.
Recently switched to CM11 nightly, and while trying to install some app, I got insufficient storage message. Now what the.... ????
1) I started reading forum after forum, some suggested to clear, davlik cache and cache from recovery, don that did not helped.
2) Others suggested to delete everything from /data/app-lib/app-path/lib but none of my app's had LIB sub-directory in /data/app-lib/app-path/
3) Others suggested to use Lucky Patcher to get rid of unused odex files. Done that but no odex files found.
4) Other suggested to get rid of applications cache, done - no result.
5) Dumpstate/logcat does not exists (no such directory as /data/log )
I still have over 450 Mb of storage available on the phone, but I cannot install any app.....
This drives me mental.
Any ideas please?
Thanks.
Emil
borconi said:
Recently switched to CM11 nightly, and while trying to install some app, I got insufficient storage message. Now what the.... ????
1) I started reading forum after forum, some suggested to clear, davlik cache and cache from recovery, don that did not helped.
2) Others suggested to delete everything from /data/app-lib/app-path/lib but none of my app's had LIB sub-directory in /data/app-lib/app-path/
3) Others suggested to use Lucky Patcher to get rid of unused odex files. Done that but no odex files found.
4) Other suggested to get rid of applications cache, done - no result.
5) Dumpstate/logcat does not exists (no such directory as /data/log )
I still have over 450 Mb of storage available on the phone, but I cannot install any app.....
This drives me mental.
Any ideas please?
Thanks.
Emil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do a clean install.
How?...
Do a factory reset and flash the last snapshot. I think the last one was M7.
If your problem persists after that, you're dealing with a hardware issue.
orange808 said:
Do a clean install.
How?...
Do a factory reset and flash the last snapshot. I think the last one was M7.
If your problem persists after that, you're dealing with a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer
I did a full data wipe and I installed CM 10.2 stable, annoying enough google failed to restore to the device, so I had to redo everything. Anyway even with CM 10.2 after a FULL wipe I'm still facing the same issue. My device reports that I have more than 500 Mb free space, but I cannot install new software, however I can copy and download to it without any problems....
It's not a major think I cannot leave with out, just it's quite frustrating...
Emil
i've been running cm11m7 on my relay for about a month now, and even with a bunch of apps installed, and letting touchdown (my work email app) use internal storage for emails and attachments, i still have 3.5gb free on internal.
my guess is you have a ton of large apps using up all your internal storage.
how much free space do you see when you go into settings/storage immediately after you do a clean install of CM? skip the google account stuff during first-time setup so it doesn't try to sync apps/etc, so you get a good, accurate measurement.
for reference, mine shows a total of 5.06gb, with 3.52gb available. 1.51gb used by apps, 2.31mb pictures, 352k audio, 5.5mb downloads, 102mb cached, and 7.82mb misc. that's not counting my SD card, which doesn't have any apps on it. just MP3s, pictures, backups (titanium) and other misc files i keep around for work. i'm thinking after a fresh install, you should have at least 4.5gb free.
when i go into apps and sort by size, firefox (surprisingly) takes the most at 307mb, then google text to speech with 263mb (because i downloaded the high quality english pack), then touchdown at 100mb, chrome at 78mb, onenote at 64mb, kindle at 56mb, and it just goes down from there.
orange808 said:
Do a clean install.
How?...
Do a factory reset and flash the last snapshot. I think the last one was M7.
If your problem persists after that, you're dealing with a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not so sure it's a hardware issue.
Dear OP:
Question 1
Are you still having this issue? If not, what was the workaround?
Question 2
What app are you using in order to download and install the software you're installing?
Question 3
What's the exact error message you're getting? Please provide a screenshot if possible.
Question 4
The Google Play store definitely requires 500 megs free before it will install anything. Other software installation methods may also have their own odd requirements.
500 mebibytes equals 524.288 megabytes.
Let's round that number (524.288) up to 550 megs.
Try freeing up 550 megs, then try installing a small app (one which requires 3 MB of storage space or less). Can you install it successfully?
Did you manage to solve the issue , i too have the same problem . I have more than 5gb free on internal storage
I have rom with swapped SD and local memory. I have fast, stable big[32gig] memory card. I have free space on each visible partition.
Is there any quantity limit of applications installed on the Android phones?
When I remove one app I can install another instead of that previous, if not I am getting errors about 'insufficient storage'
The size of removing apps doesnt mattrer - I have tried to delete big games and I cant install more than one small app.
Please let me know what should I check. Maybe I have overloaded any hidden partition?
thank you
xysen0 said:
I have rom with swapped SD and local memory. I have fast, stable big[32gig] memory card. I have free space on each visible partition.
Is there any quantity limit of applications installed on the Android phones?
When I remove one app I can install another instead of that previous, if not I am getting errors about 'insufficient storage'
The size of removing apps doesnt mattrer - I have tried to delete big games and I cant install more than one small app.
Please let me know what should I check. Maybe I have overloaded any hidden partition?
thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Partition for Google Play download data, kinda impossible to locate via stock file manager. Even my fresh Galaxy V (4GB) had this prob.
You may explore the whole storage module via root explorer or somewhat, or tweak the ROM to download any data to SD card.
I am frustrated by the "out of space" and "insufficient space on device" error I keep getting while trying to install/update new or old apps via Play Store or manually installing apks.
I am using an LG G Pro 2, running on kitkat. I have enough free internal storage (a little over 3 GB), and over 40 gb of free space on my external SD card. I am using foldermount to link app data to external memory.
I can however install apps when I copy their APKs to system/app and change permissions to rw-r--r--
I can't upload a screenshot because I am a noob but I think the graph is not justifying the data below it.
I have tried :
Deleting Odex files
Uninstalling updates for Google services
Deleting app cache and dalvik cache
Uninstalling a lot of apps to create space
I have seen so many people have this problem with android but most of them had luck with the aforementioned solutions. I hope the Xda community will be able to help me. Thanks in advance.
kshishdev said:
I am frustrated by the "out of space" and "insufficient space on device" error I keep getting while trying to install/update new or old apps via Play Store or manually installing apks.
I am using an LG G Pro 2, running on kitkat. I have enough free internal storage (a little over 3 GB), and over 40 gb of free space on my external SD card. I am using foldermount to link app data to external memory.
I can however install apps when I copy their APKs to system/app and change permissions to rw-r--r--
I can't upload a screenshot because I am a noob but I think the graph is not justifying the data below it.
I have tried :
Deleting Odex files
Uninstalling updates for Google services
Deleting app cache and dalvik cache
Uninstalling a lot of apps to create space
I have seen so many people have this problem with android but most of them had luck with the aforementioned solutions. I hope the Xda community will be able to help me. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Total Commander (just 1MB) to check how much space is on /system left.
Skyrocket, rooted, CM10 (older version). Please see attached screenshot showing available memory. Will not update or load new apps. Please reply.
Vincom! You are the king and savior of all skyrocket users. So many thanks for your monumental efforts on our behalf. I would never have had the courage to root my phone without your concise, thorough and voluminous advice. Thank you.
...The best cellphone is the one you have...
Using your file manager go to( /data/log/) you will need to do this as root. In that folder you will probably find a bunch of dump files which are eating up your space. Delete the dump files. I personally changed the permission to read only and never had that problem again
I too am having this problem. I viewed the location suggested using CoolMuster Android Assist program. I only had the trial version son so I'm having to buy the full version to actually delete these dump files. I had only 4 files, but they are rather large. Being a novice at this Android stuff, I have a dumb question. How do you interpret the storage information in the phone settings? I'm seeing that my phone has almost 2 GB of "device" storage, a little over 11.2 GB of "usb" storage and I have a 16 GB SD card. I have moved all possible apps, pictures, videos, etc. to the SD card and phone shows there is almost 10 GB of free usb space. Therefore, I don't understand how I can keep getting these insufficient memory messages when I try to download new apps or even when I try to update existing apps.
use a android 6.x.x rom,