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Moving apps to ext. SD card

Hello all
this is my first android phone.
i managed to move some apps to sd card, but only to the internal.
How can i get them to the external sd card ? the ext. card is a mount point inside the internal one, thats what i found out.
Cheers
Lorien

At this stage it cant be done.

Oh, so is it a specific problem with the LG FW or is it the current Android OS ?
Lorien

Lorien25 said:
Oh, so is it a specific problem with the LG FW or is it the current Android OS ?
Lorien
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a limitation of the Android File System in general, not of froyo, gingerbread or ice cream sandwich. This is how the OS works.
What you can do is to go the the phone settings then programs then app manager and there click one by one the apps and choose to move to the SD card. You will notice that you will still have a portion of the app running from the phone memory. This is something that you have to live with for the time being but at least the half of the app should have been moved to the SD so at the end of the day you will gain some space.

Yes thats what i already did, worked great, but i do still have a almost empty ext. sd card. All the apps i moved are still on the internal sd card.

How about using apps2ext ? This is a modified version of the original (pre froyo) apps2sd that uses a "hidden" ext2, 3 or 4 partition on the SD card. I can only find it as part of custom roms. I'm sure it needs root to work too?
Anyone know if that would work?
Pete

mad_sunday said:
How about using apps2ext ? This is a modified version of the original (pre froyo) apps2sd that uses a "hidden" ext2, 3 or 4 partition on the SD card. I can only find it as part of custom roms. I'm sure it needs root to work too?
Anyone know if that would work?
Pete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we might have success with that actually. I will give it a try and I will let you know.

Any progress in this matter ? My internal SD Card is already full ! Have to start removing apps to install others.
I think those Android OS limitations are pretty wierd, so the ext. card slot is just for photos,videos on an android phone then ?

I did try to use darktremor on this phone but it won't work on stock firmware. I think that we need to wait for CM7 before we are able to install the whole app on the external SD.

m33ts4k0z said:
I did try to use darktremor on this phone but it won't work on stock firmware. I think that we need to wait for CM7 before we are able to install the whole app on the external SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main problem is not the apps themselves. So Darktremor's A2SD would not help. The problem is, the extra files for large games are automatically downloaded to internal sd memory. Which is limited to 7GB. New games require more than 500 MB's each, so 7 Megs would be enough for many of us, but not enough for some of us.
It is certainly enough for me right now, but you cant see what future brings.

Hi guys,
I'm having this problem now.
Basically, my internal memory is being used by don't know what and I have left around 400mb.
The problem is that I cannot download more 3D games, they require around 500mb each!
I have tried to delete photos, videos and apps that I don't use but even like that it's not enough.
So now, I have a empty SD Card of 16GB and a phone/system that doesn't let me use that free space for "nothing".
BTW I did transfer the internal apps to the SD card, but very little changed.
Does anyone managed to find a solution for it? how can they sell android phones claiming that you can expand the memory of it if you are not able to use that memory for apps?
I already feel sorry for those that have the Evo 3D which apparently comes with 1GB internal memory.
And how can I move the 3D games to the SD card?

i think we have to wait until firmware update .. right now still behide 2.2.2 not even on 2.3 yet .. so i think we could move all app to ext card until 2.3 or higher.. i have try all the app out there .. not even one of them working .. you can move to internal memory but not ext sd card ..

you can also resolve this problem by switching internal and external memory. this works fine for the phone but messes up mass storage mode in windows! so you will find problems mounting your sd-card in windows - so you have to use alternatives for file transfer (ssh, ftp, adb) - means this is pretty much for advanced users only

Vodafone Smart tab 2 (Lenovo A2107A) - Swap SD

I couldnt find a dedicate thread for Vodafone Smart tab 2. So I guess I ll post this here maybe will help some people.
This tablet is basicaly a Lenovo A2107 (A2107A_A404_010_002_120913_VODA)
- with single sim slot ( call feature restricted - only data enabled) and 4gb storage (1.8 gb user available)
For root - you can use http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2044496
User isyrider managed to install recovery and pemergency rom unlocking the calling feature also.
I was looking for a way to swap the internal storage with the sd card so I could get more space if posible without installing a custom rom to avoid incompatibility issues that could appear. Directory bind can help with big game files like gameloft but those 2 gb are still not too much . I was unable to install N.O.V.A 3 because it requires 1.81 gb free on sd.
Anyway long story short . To swap internal memory with SD card you need to have root and replace your VOLD.FSTAB file from system/etc with the one I attached.
You need to have root .
Use any root explorer.
Unzip attachment
Rename your VOLD.FSTAB to VOLD.FSTAB.BAK
Copy my VOLD.FSTAB to system/etc
Reboot.
Check in settings, You will see your sd card listed as internal memory.
This combined with link2sd app will give you plenty of space to install anything .
Hope this helps .

Hi icrazy, I've tried this procedure but unfortunately, I wasn't able to copy your 'vold.fstab' to the directory 'system/etc'. I've rooted my unit before I did this. Now the unit cannot detect SD card. I cannot rename/copy/move any file on this directory. please help... How to restore it, Thank you in advance

Hello, I don't understand what happen. If you were not able to copy my vold.fstab what did you change ? I ask this because you must have done something if now is not working.
Anyway it looks like is a problem with your file explorer , make sure it has read /write rights for system files.

Can you please share some light on isyrider? what is that? where can we find it? Google search didn't seem to help me with this
Is there any way in unlocking the phone feature without installing a different ROM? The last time i did that, with another lenovo tablet, i lost my 3g capabilities , and honestly i don't want to repeat that thing allover again.

Thank you icrazy, working perfectly
I have now 2x Vodafone Smart Tab II 7" with 4 GB and 8 GB storage on internal memory

Hi i managed to use the vold.fstab and replace the internal memory with the sdcard but my problem wasnt solved because the tablet also has another partition 503mb of internal storage and when i install any app will install the apps data on that internal storage even if i have sdcard or internal memory as default write disk so after a couple of apps i have the out of space issue because the internal storage is full is there any way to swap the internal storage 503mb ( not the internal memory 1.85gb) with the internal memory or even with the sdcard this is really stupid why have only 503mb of internal storage if the apps save keep saving data on that partition
Regards

Cristian.Ene said:
Can you please share some light on isyrider? what is that? where can we find it? Google search didn't seem to help me with this
Is there any way in unlocking the phone feature without installing a different ROM? The last time i did that, with another lenovo tablet, i lost my 3g capabilities , and honestly i don't want to repeat that thing allover again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to bump an old thread but i'm also wondering how it's possible to install a custom rom on this tablet. Any help aprecciated

Expanding storage s5 clone

Hi, im currently a new person that has just recently acquired a clone S5.
Its runnning a mtk 6582 and has 1.09gb of storage.
I am trying to figure out how i can combine my sd card- that is a removable one- storage of 16gb with this storage so i can download more apps and such and so i am not limited to just 1.09gb.
Also i am not a fan of touch wiz and would like to install a custom rom but am not sure how to do so with this clone s5. Help with that would also be very nice and appreciated.
My phone is rooted

Hello Sir, how much is your full phone memory(include phone storage,not only the internal storage) or it full memory just 1.09 GB?
I only know how to change phone storage to internal storage . But combine I don't know about it, sry.

dreamerhew said:
Hello Sir, how much is your full phone memory(include phone storage,not only the internal storage) or it full memory just 1.09 GB?
I only know how to change phone storage to internal storage . But combine I don't know about it, sry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the full storage is 1.09gb . I use a external 16gb card for other things as in music, but i want to be able to use this 16gb to install apk files, as in games and other useful apps.

[Q] LG L80 Dual || SDCard Write Access || Anyone???

After I bought the device, first thing I liked to do was to make SD Card as the default location. But this device does not have this option. So, used adb to change the location from internal to external storage. But when I started installing apps, it was giving insufficient storage space, though I was having 300 MB in my internal storage & more than 5GB in external storage. Moreover, bluetooth file transfer was also not possible. In one sentence, access to SD Card is not permissible under any circumstances, in this devices.
After surfing, I came to know that KitKat has prevented SD Card write permission due to some issues. Same surfing has also told me how to do what.
1. Root the device - Did it from the post - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2732311.
2. To edit the platform.xml file, putting a string under an element of EXTERNAL_MEDIA_WRITE_ACCESS.
But none have worked. Unable to set SD Card as default location.
Does anyone can guide me, step-by-step, how get the write access in sd card from this device?
Thanks

8gb internal storage solutions

So I got the Moto G 1gb, 8 gigs of internal storage version.
I love this phone so far and I've pretty much set it up how I'd like it, but the 8gb internal storage has turned into an issue.
I got Appmanager III, moved pretty much everything to my 32 gig external, but I still have only like 600 mb to spare on the internal, with well over half of the external left over.
Is there another app that will allow me to move all the app data left over in the internal over to the external?
If that's not enough, I'd also be interested in knowing if there's any way I can force the system to use the external as the main storage for all the OS functions. I already used adb to set all the default downloads to the external.
Finally, I'd like to know if custom ROMs like cyanogenmod would use up less storage than the stock OS, or at least let me use more of my internal by reducing the amount of bloatware (why can i NOT get rid of google movies or google+??? come ON)
I'm rooted and have installed twrp so both root and custom recovery solutions are welcome. Thanks for your time and help!

If it were me, I'd make a Nandroid with TWRP on the external as well as a backup with Titanium and then use Titanium to delete unwanted bloatware. Wouldn't that help?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

bruce7373 said:
If it were me, I'd make a Nandroid with TWRP on the external as well as a backup with Titanium and then use Titanium to delete unwanted bloatware. Wouldn't that help?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
System apps, ie those that come with the phone such as google movies, live in the system partition. If they are updated then the update lives in the internal storage. Uninstalling via titanium will of course free up both system and internal storage space.
However just disabling them will be sufficient, this will remove all updates from internal storage and just leave the apk in the system partition. Its the internal storage that you want to be less full as this is where user apps, pictures etc all reside (assuming you haven't yet moved them to an SD card).
Disabling is less drastic than uninstalling and is maybe the preferred option in case you otherwise uninstall something that breaks your phone.

I've tried that, but for whatever reason if I disable, say, google play movie or whatever, my phone eventually ends up redownloading them? It's really odd and honestly pretty annoying.
I'd still like to know if there's any way to keep all the main app data on the external or something though. Are Cyanogenmod ROMs installers smaller? I don't need THAT much more space to feel comfortable, having 1 gigabyte would be ok with me. I just don't like having like 600 MB free at most...
EDIT: If I can just move the app data for a few games and Google Chrome, that should fix it, too. Those seem to be the real space hogs, so if I can move those I should be able to handle everything else
EDIT EDIT: Would an app like Link2SD work for this phone or has no one tested that yet?

Hi Tazzypilar, Yes Link2Sd wil work wery well. All wat you have to do is to install MiniTool Partition Wizzard Professional on your PC, then put your micro SD card in the cardreader on your desktop or laptop to make two partitions on your SdMicro card (card must be class 10). Start program MiniTool Partition Wizzard Professional and look for your microSD card on the list with disks. Right click on your removable disk (micro sd card) and you can resize your first Fat32 partition and make it smaller for at least 2 GB. After that you will have 2 GB unused space behind this Fat32 partition. Now click with right mouse on this unused space and choose „Create“ new partition and make it ext4 file system partition. You will be prompt „Are you sure that you want to make ext4 partiton because Windows can't see it ?“ and answare „Yes“ . So, one partition will be Fat32 and you can make it as big as you like depending on the size of your MicroSd card and second should be at least 2GB (or greater - also may be smaller, it's up to you) ext4 partition and there you will move your apps from the internal phone memory.
That's all, after that you have to install Link2Sd from playstore and link apps you like to move to your SdCard. Succes ! If you have more questions jut ask !
Greetz !
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Where did my storage go?
Just asked my self a very similar questions
I attachment a screen shot
From the 8gb 3,5 go to Android system
So 4,5gb for internal I thought., but no.
I installed about 2gb of apps and 200mb cache.
Ah I forgot to mention that this is a fresh install after factory reset and still I am missing alot of storage see screen shot
Is this normal? I am on stock not rooted with some apps already moved to SD Any ideas?

Upgrade to android M, use external SD as internal card
Why not upgrade to android M and use phone's feature to use external card as internal card.

sandipkc7 said:
Why not upgrade to android M and use phone's feature to use external card as internal card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am glad you brought this up, guess what I am already on M and using the SD card feature, unfortunately I can only a small portion of the apps move to the SD card the rest stays internal

Look for posts on link2sd, it needs to be a fast card and then formatted using both std FAT and ext (linux) partitions. Then you can move almost everything.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Though Im using LG H502F. Correct me if Im wrong but I think thats because the internal storage is emulated. Ive been using Link2SD and it works well. I can link app data and external data to the mounted partition. The only difference I noticed was... When opening the app it takes a couple of second or more compared to the unlinked apps... Anyways. Try to check if your storage is emulated. If it is, then that 3GB available space for a stock rom is as good as it gets. Mine have 8GB rom but the end user is only 3GB something.
Sent from my LG-H502 using XDA-Developers mobile app

merlin2380 said:
I am glad you brought this up, guess what I am already on M and using the SD card feature, unfortunately I can only a small portion of the apps move to the SD card the rest stays internal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In android M you can "transform" your sd card in internal memory (in Settings>Storage>SdCard>Definitions). If you have a fast 32 Gb card, you can format it to internal and it is as you have 32 Gb internal memory, but your sdcard must "live" with your phone (can't be used as sdcard in other device).
I think that is what @sandipkc7 means.

I did that not very usefull

merlin2380 said:
I did that not very usefull
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried internal storage option in marshmallow and at first i taught it was rubbish, but i kinda left sdcard alone and install another ROM.
So stuff on my internal storage was nowhere to be found. I installed latest recovery (TWRP) Flashed another rom and this is where things started to get interesting.
When i first converted sdcard to use as internal storage my phone was still eating up the internal memory 8GB on the phone.
Now however android system decided to do away with internal 8GB memory and use sdcard as a main storage. my photos are stored there and all data i noticed that almost everything is installed on sdcard now. so my storage is not vanishing away. I have about 1.7GB used on there.
There are some apps that can be moved manually to sdcard storage (converted to internal) - for example some of the system apps and most of google apps stay in phones memory not on sdcard and they can't be moved manually.
So my advise is covert your card to internal memory and then do factory reset or install another ROM.
Option 2 as mentioned above in posts is to use app called Link2SD - it is worth to opt for paid version which gives you more options of what to copy to 2nd partiton of your sdcard.
i have amazon fire 7 (£50 tablet) setup with option 2 - same storage 8GB. It works well. due to lack of marshmallow for this device i cannot use internal sd as an option. I have 2GB used there and rest sits on sdcard. i have installed few resource (storage) hugging apps - 1.2 GB, 2 GB each (gameloft games) - all moved to sd with link2sd app.
on my moto g 2015 i use android build in solution and it works well. You have to keep in mind that with this solution you can't simply copy files to your computer. Sdcard is encrypted at device level and it can only be access via your phone. However you can use any wifi file transfer app to copy some files over or via phones hotspot (i use droid over wifi or web pc suite to name few).
hope this helped a little

sandipkc7 said:
Why not upgrade to android M and use phone's feature to use external card as internal card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
honestly, its not worth it to use sdcard as internal, despite the micro sd card being fast, it made my phone ridiculously slow..............

marsrolled said:
honestly, its not worth it to use sdcard as internal, despite the micro sd card being fast, it made my phone ridiculously slow..............
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because of this slow down i did a reset to default settings. This did help and now the phone works much better, just make sure you always have 500MB empty on the internal storage, anything less and tbe phone performance goes down imediatly.
All the talking about this no so vreat sdcardinteral storage feature was too much for my 32 GB samsung evo micro sd card, it died less than 6 months of service. This was already the 2nd from the evo series that hung up on me and let me to dataloss thanks to google drive all was backedup
I will now root the phone and get a custom rom, probaply cm offical

Did you ever find out how to recover that lost 2GB? I have the exact same problem and managed to maybe find the 2GB in the /data folder; however it is sys locked and I'm not ready to root a brand new phone yet.
I have 8 apps installed (not counting google/motorola pre-installed) on my Moto G3 and showing 3.72GB used of 4.53GB available internal. It then shows 1.36 GB used by apps, 1.71 MB by cache. Other 2GB is a mystery?Device storage shows only 16GB used of 37GB availabe due to SD card.