Stock vs custom, storage, etc. - Moto G 2015 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi everybody.
I have a Moto G 2015 1GB/8GB XT1541 model, currently completely stock with latest Android 6.0.1. I am also using a 16GB SD card unified with internal storage. The phone runs OK, could probably be a little faster.
My only problem is this: while I do not have too many apps installed, often the internal memory gets full and then I cannot get any updates; I have to clear cache and try again. The whole situation is rather "on the edge": I have to be very careful if I want to install a new app, I probably need to uninstall another one etc. And I feel that the SD card is under-utilized, keeping mainly photos and some app data.
Any suggestions on how to get the most out this phone?
My thoughts / questions:
1. What is the best way to use the SD Card in stock configuration? Will it be better if I separate it from internal storage? Could I root the phone in order to move (less frequently used) apps to the SD Card?
2. How do Android 7 custom ROMs handle the SD Card on this phone?
3. Would you say the phone runs faster on Android 7 (eg. AOSP Extended) than stock? Usage is quite light, mainly phone calls using Bluetooth (stability is a must), some browsing, Viber and Facebook (lite!).

Did you try with data migration from internal storage to SD?
Inviato dal mio MotoG3 utilizzando Tapatalk

Alan XXI said:
Did you try with data migration from internal storage to SD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did, thanks. There have been some savings but not too much. There are some applications that do not offer the option to move them to internal storage.
Any more ideas, esp. regarding comparison with Android 7 custom ROMs?

nplatis said:
Hi everybody.
I have a Moto G 2015 1GB/8GB XT1541 model, currently completely stock with latest Android 6.0.1. I am also using a 16GB SD card unified with internal storage. The phone runs OK, could probably be a little faster.
My only problem is this: while I do not have too many apps installed, often the internal memory gets full and then I cannot get any updates; I have to clear cache and try again. The whole situation is rather "on the edge": I have to be very careful if I want to install a new app, I probably need to uninstall another one etc. And I feel that the SD card is under-utilized, keeping mainly photos and some app data.
Any suggestions on how to get the most out this phone?
My thoughts / questions:
1. What is the best way to use the SD Card in stock configuration? Will it be better if I separate it from internal storage? Could I root the phone in order to move (less frequently used) apps to the SD Card?
2. How do Android 7 custom ROMs handle the SD Card on this phone?
3. Would you say the phone runs faster on Android 7 (eg. AOSP Extended) than stock? Usage is quite light, mainly phone calls using Bluetooth (stability is a must), some browsing, Viber and Facebook (lite!).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You better switch to Custom ROM. If you are not interested in customising your ROM use Lineage OS.
I'm using Dirty Unicorns with Fire Kernel. Battery life in this ROM is the Best!

Related

rebuilding partitions / cm10 / low memory

I am referencing this post to try and get more info from a broader audience if possible
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2544702
heres the issue:
I wiped fully my p3113 several times correctly... (data / system / cache / dalvik / etc etc)
installed latest cm10 nightly
i get only 4.59gb onboard ram (see the screenshot in the above link)
apparently the cat who wrote the threat above was able to rebuild the partition to solve this problem... my question is, how does one rebuild the partitions??? which ones need to be rebuilt? can i do it within cwm or do I have to do it within odin?
thanks!!!!!!!!!
First off, don't mix up RAM and internal storage, these are different things! What you are talking about is not RAM. Second, 4.5GB of user-accessible storage is all you get on this tab - it's normal, there is nothing wrong with that! The other thread you are linking to is about a different problem - if you read carefully, you'll see that the OP was only having 500MB available out of 4.5GB. That was the problem he fixed. You have nothing to fix, don't mess with your device.
kt-Froggy said:
First off, don't mix up RAM and internal storage, these are different things! What you are talking about is not RAM. Second, 4.5GB of user-accessible storage is all you get on this tab - it's normal, there is nothing wrong with that! The other thread you are linking to is about a different problem - if you read carefully, you'll see that the OP was only having 500MB available out of 4.5GB. That was the problem he fixed. You have nothing to fix, don't mess with your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you brother.... my question then is why when I have the stock rom installed does the memory show up as being 8gb internal and only 4.59 with cm10?
is cm10 actually taking up over 3gb of space? and if this is the case what is the best way to use the ext card as the memory to which I install my apps? there is nothing that I have seen that works with cm10 in the memory swap area.
nycdave said:
thank you brother.... my question then is why when I have the stock rom installed does the memory show up as being 8gb internal and only 4.59 with cm10?
is cm10 actually taking up over 3gb of space? and if this is the case what is the best way to use the ext card as the memory to which I install my apps? there is nothing that I have seen that works with cm10 in the memory swap area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know much about CM, but on every version and flavour of stock ROMs that I tried on my tab (and I tried quite a few), I always got around 4.5GB of storage available. Also, this is what I recall reading from the specs somewhere. Frankly, I can't understand just how you would get 8GB reported by the system to be accessible, whether on stock, or any other ROM... On all devices, accessible internal storage is always significantly less than the total - for example, on my phone the accessible storage is only 25GB out of a total of a 32GB.
A couple of screenshots to illustrate my point (stock-based 4.1.2).
BTW, I'd like to ask anyone to provide a screenshot from any ROM on this tablet, showing a larger amount of available storage. Really, I would very much like to see that.
kt-Froggy said:
I don't know much about CM, but on every version and flavour of stock ROMs that I tried on my tab (and I tried quite a few), I always got around 4.5GB of storage available. Also, this is what I recall reading from the specs somewhere. Frankly, I can't understand just how you would get 8GB reported by the system to be accessible, whether on stock, or any other ROM... On all devices, accessible internal storage is always significantly less than the total - for example, on my phone the accessible storage is only 25GB out of a total of a 32GB.
A couple of screenshots to illustrate my point (stock-based 4.1.2).
BTW, I'd like to ask anyone to provide a screenshot from any ROM on this tablet, showing a larger amount of available storage. Really, I would very much like to see that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you so much for the feedback. what rom are you using and how do you not run out of space for apps? are you not using an apps to sd script or app then?
nycdave said:
thank you so much for the feedback. what rom are you using and how do you not run out of space for apps? are you not using an apps to sd script or app then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. The link to the ROM I am currently using is in my signature. How I don't run out of space -- I dunno... I just don't. I am not an app junkie, and I don't install or use any games, so everything works fine for me so far. I am also not using any scripts or apps to swap int/ext SD, or to install apps on ext SD card. The biggest space hogs for me are offline maps (I use Maps With Me and Nav Free) and multimedia (photos, music, videos), and I keep those on my ext SD card.
do you have the 8gb variant or 16gb? also when your running stock rom are you using 4.2.2 jb? if so then thats why it shows up as 8gb. with previous version of the stock firmware it used to show up as split partition 4gb for system and 4gb for internal until samsung offically released 4.2.2 for the GT-p3113
xbahamutzero said:
do you have the 8gb variant or 16gb? also when your running stock rom are you using 4.2.2 jb? if so then thats why it shows up as 8gb. with previous version of the stock firmware it used to show up as split partition 4gb for system and 4gb for internal until samsung offically released 4.2.2 for the GT-p3113
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn Samsung bastads. This was driving me insane as I just flashed mine last night and thought at first I F'ed it up, then I was going to blame the OS CM-11 for not reporting the full space. sigh this one little sentence puts me at ease. For that, I thank you :good: :highfive:

[Q] Unlocking and Rooting

Hello,
I am from India and I just happened to read this thread. I have a few questions and I appreciate If you could answer them.
I purchased a new nexus 5 32 GB. Now, I am afraid to do rooting as it could void my warranty.
I would like to know how to install apps to the external storage. Since Nexus 5 comes without an sd card(sealed sd card). How do I access this sd card, becuase If I install any app. It just installs(currently, it tells 350mb and 26 GB free). Now, is this telling me that 350 MB is being used on sd card.
Secondly, where can I check the amount of RAM being used ?
Regards,
Avi
If you don't want to root, don't. As for your other question, I don't understand... There is no external storage. Unless you get an otg like meneevo but you can't install apps to that. Everything runs off the internal. 32 GB should be more than enough unless you install like 1000 apps...
sent from my hammerhead
Avin_in said:
Hello, I am from India and I just happened to read this thread. I have a few questions and I appreciate If you could answer them. I purchased a new nexus 5 32 GB. Now, I am afraid to do rooting as it could void my warranty. I would like to know how to install apps to the external storage. Since Nexus 5 comes without an sd card(sealed sd card). How do I access this sd card, becuase If I install any app. It just installs(currently, it tells 350mb and 26 GB free). Now, is this telling me that 350 MB is being used on sd card. Secondly, where can I check the amount of RAM being used ? Regards, Avi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's an excellent thread about the N5's storage.
Some more info please
Hello,
Thanks for the reply. But I still have some doubts.
If I install any app from play store, By default, where it will install, in the internal 32 GB Memory or on the 2GB RAM ?
Because, my intention is that whatever apps I install, It should by default install in the 32GB internal storage and not on the 2GB RAM. How to do this ? If any screenshot helps, please let me know.
Regards,
Avi
they are installed in 32 gb not ram lololololo.....
Avin_in said:
Hello,
Thanks for the reply. But I still have some doubts.
If I install any app from play store, By default, where it will install, in the internal 32 GB Memory or on the 2GB RAM ?
Because, my intention is that whatever apps I install, It should by default install in the 32GB internal storage and not on the 2GB RAM. How to do this ? If any screenshot helps, please let me know.
Regards,
Avi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps will only install on the phones memory and never the RAM. RAM means how many apps you can have open on the phone at one time (multitask). For example you can have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Browser, etc all open at one time without the phone crashing or running sluggish. RAM is basically the towing capacity of a pick up truck.
The phone memory is basically a car trunk filled with groceries (data, pictures, videos, apps, etc). The larger the car trunk, the more groceries you can put in it before you run out of storage and have to put it in the back seat/front seat (external SD or OTG).
In short, you have 32gb and all your apps will be downloaded ONLY to the 32gb.
sent from my neXus 5
unlock and root
Hello,
If it is that all the apps will be downloaded to 32 GB internal memory, then why would anybody use link2sd apps, because the main intention is that nothing goes to phone memory(2 GB) and all of them goes to 32gb internal memory. I believe that link2sd apps is probably not for nexus 5 phone at all and only for other smart phones.
One thing, I would like to tell is that I downloaded the link2sd app(hoping that this could increase the phone performance). Here, when I launch the app, for few apps, it tells that the app can be moved and tells that symbolic link is not found ? Does this make all sense what I am saying ?
What is your take on this ?
Regards,
Avinash
Avin_in said:
Hello,
If it is that all the apps will be downloaded to 32 GB internal memory, then why would anybody use link2sd apps, because the main intention is that nothing goes to phone memory(2 GB) and all of them goes to 32gb internal memory. I believe that link2sd apps is probably not for nexus 5 phone at all and only for other smart phones.
One thing, I would like to tell is that I downloaded the link2sd app(hoping that this could increase the phone performance). Here, when I launch the app, for few apps, it tells that the app can be moved and tells that symbolic link is not found ? Does this make all sense what I am saying ?
What is your take on this ?
Regards,
Avinash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link2sd is not for our phone. Its for phones that support external SD. We have internal SD and no external SD (micro SD slot)! Delete Link2sd and enjoy your phone. Don't worry about storage space. You should have more than enough storage space unless you download a lot of songs, movies etc. I have over 200 songs on my phone and I have a lot of storage left! I have the 32gb model also.
sent from my neXus 5
Unlocking and Rooting
Hello,
Thanks for all the reply. All my answers are answered pretty well.
What I understand is unlocking and rooting is required only when custom roms and link2sd need to be installed, As far as Nexus 5 is concerned, would unlocking and rooting help as already I am running kitkat 4.4 latest build.
Also, I have some queries related to apps, would you mind If I post it here or I should create a different post.
Regards,
Avi
You cannot use link2sd as there's no sd slot so no, root will not help.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Avin_in said:
Hello,
Thanks for all the reply. All my answers are answered pretty well.
What I understand is unlocking and rooting is required only when custom roms and link2sd need to be installed, As far as Nexus 5 is concerned, would unlocking and rooting help as already I am running kitkat 4.4 latest build.
Also, I have some queries related to apps, would you mind If I post it here or I should create a different post.
Regards,
Avi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is much more than link2sd which requires root, link2sd is used on phones with almost very less internal memory so no use on nexus 5..….if u are newbie just keep ur phone stock and read and carefully understand about rooting and unlocking from xda and later you can try them

[Completed] Samsung Galaxy Prevail 2 Help

I'm in need of a custom ROM for this phone, and I can't find one anywhere, and I'm not sure where to post this. I can't find any ROM that actually has this phone listed as a supported device. It has a single core 1.4GHz processor, 829MBs of RAM, 1.96GBs of internal storage and I have a 8GB SD card installed. I cannot install any apps onto the SD card no matter what I do, and this is my ultimate goal. I'd like to play Real Racing 3 but there's no way I can as I don't have enough internal storage, but I do have enough on the SD card. Every App2SD app I've used won't allow me to move them over, unless I format the card, which I haven't as I have personal data I need on it. I'm not sure if it would even work if I tried, but I will later this evening. I just wanted to know if there were any ROMs that could run on the phone, even if they weren't made for the phone. Any and all help is appreciated. It currently runs on the stock Android 4.1.2 Jellybean with Samsung's TouchWiz UI.
xXValleraXx said:
I'm in need of a custom ROM for this phone, and I can't find one anywhere, and I'm not sure where to post this. I can't find any ROM that actually has this phone listed as a supported device. It has a single core 1.4GHz processor, 829MBs of RAM, 1.96GBs of internal storage and I have a 8GB SD card installed. I cannot install any apps onto the SD card no matter what I do, and this is my ultimate goal. I'd like to play Real Racing 3 but there's no way I can as I don't have enough internal storage, but I do have enough on the SD card. Every App2SD app I've used won't allow me to move them over, unless I format the card, which I haven't as I have personal data I need on it. I'm not sure if it would even work if I tried, but I will later this evening. I just wanted to know if there were any ROMs that could run on the phone, even if they weren't made for the phone. Any and all help is appreciated. It currently runs on the stock Android 4.1.2 Jellybean with Samsung's TouchWiz UI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may wish to post the query in Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting
Have you seen [Q] Boost Mobile - Samsung Galaxy Prevail Rom Developmant ?
As to the SD card, you can back the data on a PC then format the card.

Storage Space on Upgrades

Hi everyone
This may seem like a stupid question, but when new OS upgrades come out, do they replace the old one entirely or does it sit alongside the old OS? Additionally when apps update do they replace the old app files or does it mount on top of the already existing app? The reason I'm asking this is because my old HTC Wildfire S (which I had to root soon after using Link2SD to improve storage) had poor internal storage by default and the only for me to get an app to update was to uninstall it and install the latest update straight from the Play Store.
My current Motorola Moto G 4G only has an advertised 8GB internal storage and I can no longer update any more apps because it is full.
I've moved several apps already to my SD card (the ones I rarely use) leaving the apps I use daily on the internal storage for better performance.
Relating to SD cards, if I have apps installed on my SD card and I backup that SD card on NTFS external HDD for example, wipe my SD card and transfer the backup to the SD card, will the apps installed continue to work?
Many thanks
Will
Sent from my XT1039 using XDA Free mobile app
So regarding your first question, when your internal storage is full, you can't update apps because android first download the complete apk file and then updates it. If you don't have space then it can't be updated which means to update a 30 MB app, you need more 30 MB free.
Then regarding your second question, yes, if your apps have data installed on your SD card, they will work when you backup and put the SD card back hence giving them the data back. But make sure its completely installed on your SD card.
Hope I helped.

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.

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