I understand that for security reasons, google thinks phones should not have sdcards and has recently made changes to restrict how sdcards can be used on kitkat: KitKat and SD cards — what's fixed, what's broken and what's misunderstood
Motorola made some changes to allow some parts of some apps to be movable to sdcard. But this also has some problems. For example, if I replace the chrome icon in the quick launch area with firefox and firefox has been moved to the sdcard, the icon disappears on reboot because the partition apparently isn't mounted yet when it needs the icon. Apparently, they made some changes to the default launcher to compensate for this but because I'm using the google now launcher, the icons disappear.
I am getting ready to go through the process of unlocking my bootloader and rooting my phone which will, of course, wipe it and I get to reinstall all my apps and media. Once the phone is rooted, are there any options for moving apps to sdcard that work on 4.4.4 and beyond? In previous android versions, we used apps like link2sd and mount2sd but I assume these won't work on 4.4.4? One of my main motivations for rooting is being able to tweak min free so it doesn't kill and restart apps every time I switch between them. Another is being able to remove protected apps I don't need, like quickoffice - at least this will free up some internal memory!
How about cyanogenmod - does it have the same restrictions on what can be moved to the sdcard? It seems cyanogenmod is coming along but may still have some important issues to be resolved.
I bought my phone when they released the LTE model because it had the sdcard as well as the faster data. It seems that Motorola has solved the problem of some sdcards not working - probably by slowing down access to it to make it work with more cards. The problem is that the LTE version only comes with 8 GB of internal storage. So I have lots of free space on my sdcard but my phone is still full and I have problems updating some things due to lack on space on the internal memory. Some of the applications I had moved to sdcard were no longer there so I'm assuming what happened is that it deleted them prior to installing an updated version but then the installation of the new version failed due to not enough space in internal memory.
Related
I think I read about this here a while ago, can not find it anymore.
After update to firmware 2.2 apps can be stores on sd-card.
BUT icons disappers from desktop when phone is restarted.
This only if its app is on sd-card.
Is there a fix for this, very annoying.
Sammi3 said:
I think I read about this here a while ago, can not find it anymore.
After update to firmware 2.2 apps can be stores on sd-card.
BUT icons disappers from desktop when phone is restarted.
This only if its app is on sd-card.
Is there a fix for this, very annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SD Card scanning takes time when you restart your phone, so for all the apps that you have installed in your SD Card, it will take time to load. Also widgets wont load if installed on SD Card. Please check if your icons are not coming at all or they are coming with a delay?
Thanks for your answer.
I upgraded to Froyo XXJPS some 4 months ago, ever since its been like this.
I have done nothing else to the phone.
Indeed it takes awhile to scan sd-card, but they do not load back on desktop even if I repositioned them after last restart.
Sammi3 said:
Thanks for your answer.
I upgraded to Froyo XXJPS some 4 months ago, ever since its been like this.
I have done nothing else to the phone.
Indeed it takes awhile to scan sd-card, but they do not load back on desktop even if I repositioned them after last restart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check your notification bar if the sd card is being scanned or not and make sure widgets are on the phones memory. Also i would recommend rooting your phone, partitioning the sd card and using link2sd app from the android market. It moves your apps to the partition of your sd card and your phone thinks its your internal memory so it won't do a media scan on it meaning your apps load a lot faster. If you want to partition your sd card don't hesitate to message me for more info
It is not only widgets that is left out, none of the icons for the applications is loaded back. If the app is stored on sd-card that is.
Icons for apps stored on phones internal memory load fine.
I see this tiny sd-card-symbol in the notificatin bar for quite a while when reebooting. So it must be media scanned.
Sammi3 said:
It is not only widgets that is left out, none of the icons for the applications is loaded back. If the app is stored on sd-card that is.
Icons for apps stored on phones internal memory load fine.
I see this tiny sd-card-symbol in the notificatin bar for quite a while when reebooting. So it must be media scanned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's a media scan. Just move them to internal memory and it will be fine.
Sent from my GT-I5800 using XDA App
something like this happened to me a while back, the apps were not in the app drawer and also the icons changed to default white and green couldnt launch from home screen. I tried everything short off formatting memory card. I ended up reinstalling all the apps on the memory card ( wont pick up addition space since its already stored on your sd) and now they have been workinf fine since then, i can reboot or install to sd without a problem.
verdict - maybe sent a corrupted apk to sd.
as far as i know (from the time when i was on stock froyo), when you use the "original" way to move your apps to the sd card (settings/applications/manage applications, select app, press move to SD card) the icons placed on your desktop will be removed on a reboot. i dont think its a real "error" on your side, its just how its programmed in stock froyo.
I guess I was waiting for comment like yours, there is a 'bug' in froyo.
Do I have any other options than to root?
Are there updates to be found on froyo.
How did you root?
Name some of the biggest benefits in a rooted phone.
im not saying its a bug in android or in the android version we have on our phone. i dont know if other phones running android have the same "problem" with this.
if you want root do a quick search on the G3 section for it. its pretty good explained in a thread.
running a script like apps2sd requires you to partition your sd card, the best thing of it is that after its setup it needs no attention anymore, all the apps you install will be moved to the second partition untill it full. so basicly your phone is tricked into thinking that your internal mem is way larger then it should be .
Sammi3 said:
I guess I was waiting for comment like yours, there is a 'bug' in froyo.
Do I have any other options than to root?
Are there updates to be found on froyo.
How did you root?
Name some of the biggest benefits in a rooted phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first option is to move your apps to internal memory and see if they all fit in the internal memory or not. I think rooting is an easy way to sort out your problem is the internal memory is not enough for your apps.
The latest update to froyo is XXJPU and it's blazing fast! Just update to that and root your phone using this program. All the info is on that thread but all you really need to do is go to settings > applications > development > make sure USB debugging is ticked. Then connect your phone to your computer using USB cable, open the program as administrator and click root. Follow the commands (really easy) and then after everything is done just manually reboot your phone.
Just rooting your phone doesn't really do anything dangerous etc. All it does is allows you to edit the /system of your phone as this is restricted with androids. After rooting your phone you will be able to expand your internal memory. This is done by partitioning your sd card and using an app called link2sd or a script called app2sd. The app is easier.
Hope this helps and added some useful links in there so be sure to check them out.
Accordin to KIES I allready have the latest uppdate, which I do not seems to have. Where do I find XXJPU.
I recently noticed that I cannot move any apps to my SDCard using App2SD. The normal option to move them is simply there. After some reading it seems this is true for all Samsung phones. I'm not sure why they removed this feature but I was wondering if there is a SuperUser app or a version of CyanogenMod which allows this.
Note: I realize that moving apps to external is not recommended because internal is faster.
However when some of my games take up to 1 GB it would be nice to send them to my 32GB external instead of completely fill up my internal 16GB. Currently I only have 4GB remaining internally.
Hey Guys -
I purchased a Shield about a month ago and love it! I think I have more fun experimenting with it than playing games. Unfortunatly, the Shield doesn't come with a large amount of storage built in. Fortunately, though, there is a micro sd slot (as opposed to my HTC One which doesn't have one ) I got a good deal at New Egg for a 64gb card and got it. After receiving, I inserted it then installed NextApp SDFix so that KitKat could write to it. Since doing so, it's worked very well and can tell no speed difference for apps residing on the Shield vs the SD Card.
Having a 64gb card and not much internal storage, I'm in the habit of installing apps and if above 100mb, opening settings / apps, browsing to the app, then choosing to "Move to SD Card." I've done this for all apps over 100mb and even some smaller ones. Below are the specs for my Shield followed by the issue I'm having...
My nVidia Shield Specs
- OS: Android KitKat 4.4.2
- Kernel: 3.4.10-g73896af
- Build: KOT49H.01.00.17394.0077 (latest public release)
- sdcard0 (Internal) - 11.32gb used / 1.40gb free
- sdcard1 (SD Card) - 45.28gb used / 12.96gb free
- Software Modifications
- Rooted
- Xposed Installer 2.6.1 + 3-4 modules (basically GUI mods - nothing hardcore)
My Issue
Even though I've moved all 100mb+ apps to sd card, have no media, or other files on internal storage; I don't have enough room to install large apps anymore. I have plently of room on my sd card which is where I'd move it to post install, but first must install it before I can move it. Below are full details for the issue I've found after investigating.
If there's a method to have Shield install apps directly to sd card by default, it may work. I've found solutions online - but - my fear is that trying to do this workaround may mess up any existing symlinking or other things. Details for what I'm talking about are below...
Issue Detailed
When I choose to move apps to the SD Card, I do see space around what the app takes up freed from my internal storage as I should. However, I've verified that all 100mb+ apps have been moved (30+gb worth); but my internal storage shows only 1.40gb available! I understand that moving an app probably doesn't move all of the app's files, but I'd think at least the bulk of them.
When I started to investigate the file system, I found files which should be on the SD Card which seemed to be located on the internal storage. Is this due to symlinking? Even though reported as such, I know it's not possible as the total size of these files exceeded what internal could hold. Do these actions give a false-positive for how much free space I actually do have internally?
Example: When I got the properties of root/Android/obb/ on sdcard0 (internal storage) it showed it's size to be 26.0gb. Internal storage is half that!
To investigate, I installed a couple of apps to show disk usage. I bought Disk & Storage Analyzer (root) and let it run. It was able to show space stats for internal & sd separately - but - seemed to not to be able to tell the correct place individual files were coming from.
Overall
Sorry if I got carried away with description - I'm just frustrated. If you understand how my scenario was designed to work and perhaps what my options are (if any), I'd appreciate it.
Thanks for your help and time! Ben
If I'm not mistaking, moving a super large app to SD card only moves a very little fraction of the app data. For example, it only moves %4 of GTA San Andreas, which is absolute bs. I don't know exactly why, it may be a kitkat issue. I haven't tried moving an app to SD on jb since I went to kitkat as soon as I got my shield a while back.
Sent from my SHIELD using XDA Free mobile app
Kite-G said:
If I'm not mistaking, moving a super large app to SD card only moves a very little fraction of the app data. For example, it only moves %4 of GTA San Andreas, which is absolute bs. I don't know exactly why, it may be a kitkat issue. I haven't tried moving an app to SD on jb since I went to kitkat as soon as I got my shield a while back.
Sent from my SHIELD using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, but don't believe that's the case. It's seemingly moving a lot of the data as once i "move" an app, it shows free space back on the OEM storage again as free which may then be used to install other apps to this internal storage.
After additional research, I have a question which may resolve this. As mentioned above, after I received the SD card and inserted it, I installed an app which allowed KitKat to have additional rights to the card that jellybean previously had. Since then, I've found out that it seems as if with the Shield specifically, moving installed apps/games to the SD card is a native feature where this 3rd party app isn't required. The post I read this on said this still occurred using KitKat, too.
Current Question
So - could it be that this 3rd party app is causing the issues? I installed the app before attempting to move an installed game so don't know if it works. Does anyone else know?
I wouldn't mind uninstalling the 3rd party "workaround" app, but don't want to loose a bunch of data in the process.
Your thoughts? Thanks!
Right now, it seems as though my main internal storage is full, whereas my 2nd partition ("SD Card") has free space. Every time I try to install an app, it tries to install it to my main internal storage, and thus it gives me an "insufficient storage" error. I used to be able to go into an app on the Apps area of Settings, and attempt to move the app to or from the "SD Card". IIRC, at some point Android decided to drop the idea of having two partitions for internal storage, and now doesn't allow for that type of movement between partitions. The problem is, now I can't seem to install any new apps unless I uninstall my old ones.
Is there any way I can selectively install apps to my "SD Card"? Also, is there any easy way to simply combine my storage? I don't see the point in having it separated out.
I'm running Paranoid Android 4.44. Thanks in advance.
Kitkat removed the ability to move apps to the SD card for whatever reason. There's a couple patches that allegedly fix this issue in the play store but I've tried most of them and haven't gotten it to work. I also can't find a way to merge the internal storage and SD card partitions. I would ask the developer of link2sd for more help on this.
Like @Cryptecks said there comes a point in time where the older devices start to show their limits and unfortunately this is one of them. Sorry...
Ugh. Well thanks at least for the response. It seems pretty silly that this is an issue. I guess i'll see what I can find patching wise, but man, this is gonna be annoying. My main partition is only 2 GB or so
same here, 2.34 GB on my main apps partition which also houses cached data. CM11 will allow me to move some data from certain apps to the virtual sdcard partition that is there with 10 GB and 8 GB FREE SPACE!
merging partitions in ms windows is so easy, why is android so lame with this? I might have to get a new phone
Hey Guys -
I've looked everywhere for a solution to this issue and even submitted a request to Titanium's developers, but have yet to find a solution or get a response. In fact, I can't find an issue matching mine online. Posting here hoping someone can help...
The Issue
When launching Titanium Backup on my Shield (6.01 / Rooted), it lists only 289 apps. The problem is that I have a total of 310 user / system ones installed therefore roughly 20 apps aren't listed. I'm wanting to upgrade my tablet to 4.2 and want to backup first, but many of the apps I frequently use are installed to the sd physically.
Why I Think It's Happening
Apps not listed seem to be all of the ones whose files are physically stored on the SD by the OS - I don't think it's related to permissions at all. When upgrading to Marshmallow, I formatted my 64gb SD as "Internal Storage" as doing so makes space management so much easier. No more having to use 3rd party apps to manage and create symlinks for apps I manually copy to the SD. Android seems to dynamically moves / copies things to the SD as needed which works well. If wanting to install a large (1gb+) app, sometimes I must go to an app's properties in Settings and choose to have it's files physically stored on the SD, but that's rare and still using an OEM toolset.
Attempted Workarounds
Most topics I've found when looking for a resolution dealt with not being able to restore apps involving an SD which isn't my issue. Still, I did try the following:
- Tried different storage Providers when setting backup folder location
- Looked all over for potential settings that may have an effect
- Ensured everything's up to date (all is except minor version behind on OS)
- Created new Data Profile in TB
- Tried default settings in TB
Example
Attached are a couple of screenshots for my installation of "Borderlands 2" which is one of the apps affected. As installed it's just shy of 4gb, it must exist on an SD or be the only thing installed, yet it does not appear in TB. To note, when using a file explorer such as FX, the OBB & Data folders / files for applications existing physically on the SD still appear when browsing to Android\Obb or Android\Data from internal storage. In fact, they aren't even listed as symlinks.
Tablet Specs
- Nvidia Shield Tablet (Not K1, but was replaced after battery callback)
- Android 6.0.1
- Rooted /w SuperSU (binary 2.78) All prompts set to "Grant"
- Titanium Backup Pro 7.5.0
- 64gb microsd formatted as Internal Storage (Fastest write and best rated I could find as of 6 months ago)
- Storage (as reported by OS in Settings)
- 70.28gb total
- 63.96gb used
- Internal Storage: 8.31gb of 11.61gb used
- Samsung SD Card: 55.65gb or 58.67gb used
Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi, in the meantime could you try another software to make your app's backup, helium is my current choice (slide down in first page and select full backup instead of data only).
regards