I see an option in Nougat to 'force allow apps on external'. I don't want to do the complicated way of partioning the sd as internal storage, the adoptable storage method that surfaced during the launch. Is the new 'force allow apps on external' option be better than the adoptable storage? Or is it gonna cause troubles eventually?
Adoptable Storage pain
dbux said:
I see an option in Nougat to 'force allow apps on external'. I don't want to do the complicated way of partioning the sd as internal storage, the adoptable storage method that surfaced during the launch. Is the new 'force allow apps on external' option be better than the adoptable storage? Or is it gonna cause troubles eventually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I'd like to know that too. Currently I'm on Marshmallow and have a specific partition on my sdcard for Adoptable Storage simply because I hate the fact that the current implementation of "moving" apps to external sdcard is temporary as the app eventually goes back to internal memory every time the app has an update.
Originally I thought Adoptable Storage fooled apps into thinking that its part of the Internal Memory domain however apps that have not been declared to use the manifest attribute will not budge from the true Internal Memory.
So what I would like to know is does this new feature in Nougat address the app reverting back to internal memory after an update issue? If so then I don't see the need for Adoptable Storage anymore. However there is still the risk that some apps will not run properly if forced to sdcard. Hope to goodness these are only small size apps.
Related
Hey, I just got a 16gb Verizon s3 and rooted, unlocked boot loader, installed liquid smooth v2 jellybean rom, and I installed maybe 20 apps I always run with on my phone and then tried side loading swype and flash player but my phone is saying there's not enough memory and I need to clear some space. The intended phone shows the I've used maybe 500mb of my 12gb internal capacity and I went to try to move the downloaded apps to the sdcard to see if that might help, but I don't even see an option in settings>apps to move the apps to the sdcard. Used to be a toggle switch to move to SD or back to phone if you wanted a widget to stay on internal memory.
Anyway, I've been googling and trying to figure this out and I can't. Before I rooted and flashed I had all of these apps on my internal storage with no low memory warnings. Can anyone explain why the entire 12gb internal memory is not available to me for apps? And how do you move apps to sd on the s3? I saw in rom brower that my real sd is actually called sd ext and the folder called sdcard doesnt seem attached to my physical sdcard at all but maybe part of the rom's memory? I don't want to always have to move apps to sdext if its even possible, I want the 12gb available to me, not only 500mb of it, and the option to move to SD would be nice for some games and apps but I also want to be able to keep certain apps on phone's internal memory.
Thanks for any help with this!!
Is the card actually full? AFAIK GS3 is kind of weird -- the internal memory will be partitioned such that you'll see the "user" partition as /sdcard, and everything gets saved here, including apps and nandroids. In Settings -> Storage, if you click the internal "sd", it should bring up a sorted list of what's using the most space.
Personally, I'm trying to figure out if there's a good way to utilize an external sd card.
ponyboy82 said:
Is the card actually full? AFAIK GS3 is kind of weird -- the internal memory will be partitioned such that you'll see the "user" partition as /sdcard, and everything gets saved here, including apps and nandroids. In Settings -> Storage, if you click the internal "sd", it should bring up a sorted list of what's using the most space.
Personally, I'm trying to figure out if there's a good way to utilize an external sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried uploading screens on op on my phone but when clicking choose file to upload nothing happened. On my phone in settings it says I have 11.54 of 12.05gb internal memory available and 17.35 of 29.71gb sdcard memory available.
I'm on this ROM: liquid-jb-v2.0-rc5 .. its 4.1.2
I have always liked liquids ROMs (and spjesters) but I might give cm10 a try later when I'm around WiFi and redownload all my apps and then try side loading again and see if I get same low memory error
Still not sure what the deal is with liquids rom but I switched to paranoid android jb rom and no problems with internal memory so far. I've used over a gb of memory on apps from market and sideloaded and really like the way the settings are laid out in 2 columns. only real problem with I've noticed is that for some reason Swype won't autospace in the stock jb rom so I switched to using opera for now
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
At one point you could install and use all your apps from the SD card if you chose to do so.
What was the last version that allowed this? Or is this baked into the phone by the manufacturer?
I'm still learning so bear with me.
EDIT: I've just read that Android 6.0 Marshmallow allows this if the developer of the particular app allows it.
So does that mean that none of the previous versions allowed this function?
If allowed by the app (in app manifest), an app may be installed to external storage rather than internal storage.
As of Android 6.0, apps were restricted to internal storage. However, external storage adopted as internal storage is treated as an external, internal storage device and apps may be moved between or installed to the various (real or adopted) internal storage devices. Apps restricting installation to internal storage are still disallowed from using the external, internal storage.
As of Android 7.0, the "Force allow apps on external" configuration option was added to Settings -> Developer options. The setting is further described: "Makes any app eligible to be written to external storage, regardless of manifest values". Despite, the setting's name and description, one is still restricted to having an app installed as on internal storage or storage adopted as internal storage, but app's (real) internal storage only requirement is no longer enforced.
Hi, I have an old Redmi6A phone (Lineage OS 17.1) that only has 8GB of internal memory. This is very little if you use Whatsapp. Of course I added a 32Gb SD card, but with whatsapp I have trouble saving my photos on the card. What are the possible workarounds?
1- Is there a difference depending on whether you set the SD card as portable storage or internal storage?
2 - My phone is rooted. I've looked for practical solutions including magisk, but no module matches.
3 - Beyond whatsapp, what should I do: is there an app that allows other apps to be installed on the external media? Is this a good idea? Is it better to limit the storage of data on the SD card to avoid the crash of these "deported" apps?
Just an advice or two would make me happy...
If Android device allows to make external SD-card part of internal storage memory ( keyword: Adoptable Storage ) then you are good. Check it.
I believe that my android device allows me to do this. The French translation does not use the words adoptable storage "stockage adoptable" but the 1st drawing seems to match.
What I have read on the subject indicates that the reading and access time to the data on the external card is much longer than on the internal memory. How does android arbitrate what it stores on the internal or external memory? Can the user control this?
I assume and hope that the most crucial apps are on the internal memory
It's on you how much of the SD-card's storage memory ( in % ) you'll add to internal memory: 1,2,...,100.
Yes, reading / writing to device's "portable memory" basically takes longer. So with regards to file transfer speeds, choosing the right memory card is crucial. Look here:
The best SD cards for 2023: top memory cards for your camera
We've tested and ranked all of the best SD cards you can buy
www.techradar.com
Android by default uses device's internal memory. The least app's allow to store their data on external SD-card: this is set by app's developer.
I tested the 2 options; first the adoptable storage but for some reason it didn't work; I mean the operation was correctly done but the 32Gb was not added to my internal memory; just a few hundred Mb more. I repeated the operation 3 times to rule out the possibility of an isolated incident.
So I was forced to reformat the SD card as external memory. Everything went well. But now I'm back to the original situation.
My search led me to 2 apps (Link2SD and App2SD) to override the restriction to move to the SD card. Those apps don't seem to be really used anymore: their peak corresponds to the 2015-2016 versions of Android (Marschmallow and Nougat) and are quite complex to handle since you have to format the external SD card in several partitions to be able to consider moving anything.
What do you think about this type of solution?
As @xXx yYy already said:
The least app's allow to store their data on external SD-card: this is set by app's developer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thus forget the named 3rd-party-tools that claim they can.
BTW: look inside here
Whatsapp folder in Android: Here's where to find it
WhatsApp folder with all media files in Android can be found on new location if you are on Android 11. Learn here where to find it.
mobileinternist.com
Napafroi said:
I tested the 2 options; first the adoptable storage but for some reason it didn't work; I mean the operation was correctly done but the 32Gb was not added to my internal memory; just a few hundred Mb more. I repeated the operation 3 times to rule out the possibility of an isolated incident.
So I was forced to reformat the SD card as external memory. Everything went well. But now I'm back to the original situation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After an external memory got converted to portable memory it's Android what automatically moves data from internal memory to portable memory as long as they moveable to gain internal memory space. Thus the few 100MB you reported.
You always can configure the amount of portable memory indeed to be used by Android's Storage Manager ( SM ) using ADB.
Well, I think I'm getting used to this adoptable storage which is really confusing since the size doesn't take into account the extra 32Gb (in the storage manager and also in solid explorer).
I don't know if it's a bug but sd maid and its memory analysis function allows me to check that telegram, osmand (including downloadable maps) and vivaldi browser will install directly on the adaptable storage. That's all I ask.
It's still surprising not to be able to view the content of the SD card; maybe it's a bug like others have experienced like on this thread
I wanted to experiment a nandroid backup on MicroSD adopted-storage with TWRP which was refused.
xXx yYy said:
You always can configure the amount of portable memory indeed to be used by Android's Storage Manager ( SM ) using ADB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I understand better the interest to calibrate the portion of adoptable storage...
Screenshot no. 5 shows 2.7 GB of the portable memory ( real capacity 31 GB ) are used.
To get the whole portable memory as internal memory used using ADB try this
Code:
adb shell
sm list-disks -> This cmd returns id of SD-card e.g. 179:160
sm partition disk:179:160 private -> Here you use the id of SD-card
where the numbers are the Android's name of your disk.
I just did this.
Reboot but it didn't change anything. Maybe the card is defective...
EDIT : oh wait, yesterday I inserted this same micro SDcard in an old samsung galaxy tab4 with the "same" custom rom (LineageOS 17.10) as adoptable storage. The 32Gb capacity was not added to internal memory as well. Maybe this rom is buggy for managing adoptable storage.
Sorry for my english
The ( meanwhile outdated ) Lineage OS 17.1 - a Lineage OS 17.10 probably doesn't exist - is based on Android 10 and can "Adoptable Storage" as you initially confirmed.
IMO you are probably doing things wrong
"migrate data" is the 2nd necessary step after 1st step "adoptable-storage" is created. It will ( try to ) move all apps from phone into SD-card ( if app is moveable ), means all new installed apps will directly get installed into SD-card as long as android:installLocation="auto" is defined in app's AndroidManifest.xml.
When 100% disk space got adopted you can't see your SD-card any longer, the only way to check disk usage is from Android's cmd line running df -h /mnt/expand/* ( if Android is rooted consider 3rd party apps like Link2SD instead ).
So I recently ran out of storage on my Motorola G Power 2021, so I bought a micro SD to move some of my less-used but not quite expendable apps. Originally I'd planned to format as internal storage, but my phone doesn't appear to allow this and doesn't even show the option to do so. So I opted for the next best thing, migrating some of the app data over by going to Apps & notifications > All Apps > (app) > Storage & cache, but there's no option to move the app to the external storage device. As per the title, I also turned "Force allow apps on external" in developer settings to no avail. Could Motorola be blocking this too? I've done a little searching, and I can't seem to find any examples of this other than this one which was on a completely different phone brand and this one which seems to have been caused by misunderstanding and resolved.
What I've tried:
Restarting phone - didn't help
Checking other apps - checked about a dozen and none had the move to external storage option
Rooting - can't unlock bootloader as per Motorola's website
Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this, if I can work around it, or even if I can somehow format as internal storage? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Installing apps over to the microSD card isn't supported by all apps. In fact, many don’t support this feature at all. Some manufacturers - namely, Samsung and LG - reviously allowed users to format microSD cards as internal storage. That meant apps and games would be installed there by default. Sadly, this feature is no longer present on newer devices.
Technically, it’s still possible to install apps on the microSD if you’re willing to go through the trouble of rooting your Android phone and afterwareds use Link2SD to move the apps from internal storage to exernal storage.
xXx yYy said:
Installing apps over to the microSD card isn't supported by all apps. In fact, many don’t support this feature at all. Some manufacturers - namely, Samsung and LG - reviously allowed users to format microSD cards as internal storage. That meant apps and games would be installed there by default. Sadly, this feature is no longer present on newer devices.
Technically, it’s still possible to install apps on the microSD if you’re willing to go through the trouble of rooting your Android phone and afterwareds use Link2SD to move the apps from internal storage to exernal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the purpose of "Force allow apps on external" was to be able to transfer any app regardless of the developers' wishes. Is this not the case?
you already gave the answer yourself
Wrig9 said:
Originally I'd planned to format as internal storage, but my phone doesn't appear to allow this and doesn't even show the option to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alecxs said:
you already gave the answer yourself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it have to be formatted as internal storage to be allowed to transfer apps? I guess I didn't really think about that.
Edit: Just to be sure we're all on the same page, the SD card is formatted, just not as part of the internal storage. I can access any files on it, but I can't put any apps there. I was under the impression that if you formatted as internal storage the SD card would act as a direct expansion somehow and automatically install data there once the integrated storage filled.
I haven't tested that specific option but afaik it overrides android:installLocation="preferExternal" in app manifest. that would allow to move the apk to Adoptable Storage, but requires MicroSD Card formatted as internal.
Only new apps are installed external automatically (based on that setting), for existing apps the "Migrate Data" option is offered.