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External SD card access (move apps + apps writing to SD) in Lollipop and Marshmallows

With Lollipop, does the Z5 (without rooting):
allow apps to be moved to an external SD card?
allow apps to write to the external SD card?
With the Z3 and Kitkat, point 2 was possible with root, but I haven't figured out point 1, not even with root.
I read somewhere that Lollipop should allow (2), but it should depend on the implementation of each phone.
Also, do you know if these two points are supposed to change in any way with Marshmallows?

Yes to both. The Z3 does both too.

jeremy_inc said:
Yes to both. The Z3 does both too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm, my Z3 with Kitkat does neither without root. Are you sure the Z5 does?
In my Z3:
There is no 'move app to SD card' option.
As for getting apps to write to the external SD card, I only managed to achieve it with root (there's a way to modify write permission which you can only change if you are rooted). Before this change, for example, Titanium Backup couldn't write backups to the external sd card

Sorry, Z3 on Lollipop I meant

Well apps on SD Works on z5
Just like on z1. I don't know if all apps work this way but:
You have to go to your app menu and check those checkboxes under the SD card page
I believe it'll work the same on z3
For apps to write on SD card it's need to be implemented in the app
For example total commander does this:
Once you try moving to SD card it opens the default android dialog and chose SD card

Bare 2 things in mind:
1. The whole app wont be moved over. Some can still take a load of space up on main storage.
2. When you update an app the system moves the whole app back onto the main storage.
This was from my Xperia z3 experience on lollipop.
Sent from my E5563 using Tapatalk

JKWR said:
Bare 2 things in mind:
1. The whole app wont be moved over. Some can still take a load of space up on main storage.
2. When you update an app the system moves the whole app back onto the main storage.
This was from my Xperia z3 experience on lollipop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does (2) apply to all apps, or does it depend on how the app was coded by the developers?
I'm thinking of apps where it makes sense to keep the app/engine separate from additional data required (as is the case for games, dictionaries, etc.).
It totally defies the purpose...

To be honest I only remember the biggest culprits which were the big apps, namely:
Ms Word, Excel, PowerPoint. (probably a gb there that you have to mess about with all the time as it seems they are updated at least once a week)
Nearly all Games like plants vs zombies 2, angry birds 2, rayman fiesta run, angry birds transformers, jetpack joyride.
So basically you have to make sure you always have 3-4gig free on your main mem to stop these regular updates from eating every last bit up or getting a long list of update messages saying canot install due to insufficient memory. It drive me nuts on the z3 16gb.
I may have to skip the z5 32gb main mem for this purpose as well. Im a heavy app/game user though so 32gb might be OK for you
Sent from my E5563 using Tapatalk

cdl2 said:
With Lollipop, does the Z5 (without rooting):
allow apps to be moved to an external SD card?
allow apps to write to the external SD card?
With the Z3 and Kitkat, point 2 was possible with root, but I haven't figured out point 1, not even with root.
I read somewhere that Lollipop should allow (2), but it should depend on the implementation of each phone.
Also, do you know if these two points are supposed to change in any way with Marshmallows?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 - Yes - Go to Settings > Apps > Scroll right one to ON SD CARD tab > tick which app(s) you want moving to the SD card. Not everything is moved though, but enough. The Z3 on Lollipop is exactly the same.
2 - Unrooted, the rules are, as far as I can tell - System apps (like File Commander) have full access to the SD card, so can read and write to/from the SD card. If you install a 3rd party app, like another file manager from Play Store, it will not be able to write to the SD card as it is a user app. Certain 3rd party apps can write to the SD card, but their data is stored in a system sub folder on the SD card, and they are restricted to that location only. If you delete the app, the data is also deleted.
I used to use the SD Fix on KitKat, but I just rooted my Z3, and my File Manager can read/write the SD card. Not really sure how we are going to go with rooting Locked Bootloader Z5's yet, so we'll just have to see.
SD card access is changing again in Marshmallow, and should be better, going by what I've heard. You can now choose to treat your SD card as you do now, or as an 'extension' of your internal memory, but I think if you do choose to extend your internal memory, then it will be encrypted for use in that device only. If you don't use it as an extension, then I'm not yet sure what the permissions will be for general read/write access.

MickieH said:
1 - Yes - Go to Settings > Apps > Scroll right one to ON SD CARD tab > tick which app(s) you want moving to the SD card. Not everything is moved though, but enough. The Z3 on Lollipop is exactly the same.
2 - Unrooted, the rules are, as far as I can tell - System apps (like File Commander) have full access to the SD card, so can read and write to/from the SD card. If you install a 3rd party app, like another file manager from Play Store, it will not be able to write to the SD card as it is a user app. Certain 3rd party apps can write to the SD card, but their data is stored in a system sub folder on the SD card, and they are restricted to that location only. If you delete the app, the data is also deleted.
I used to use the SD Fix on KitKat, but I just rooted my Z3, and my File Manager can read/write the SD card. Not really sure how we are going to go with rooting Locked Bootloader Z5's yet, so we'll just have to see.
SD card access is changing again in Marshmallow, and should be better, going by what I've heard. You can now choose to treat your SD card as you do now, or as an 'extension' of your internal memory, but I think if you do choose to extend your internal memory, then it will be encrypted for use in that device only. If you don't use it as an extension, then I'm not yet sure what the permissions will be for general read/write access.
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Click to collapse
Hi, fellows, has anyone solved the problem of writing to external SD cards on marshmallow?

No way to format SD card as Private or 50/50 *Internal* ?? Useless..

I have an S7 /w 32GB that has been used up 99%. I used ADB to format my 128GB Evo + /w 50/50 however, this has not fixed any storage issued. In fact, I cannot even use the new Internal partition; the phone does not access through ES File Manager. The phone also does not move any apps unto it, and does not use the free space!
My Internal space is 99% used up and Apps even Gallery are telling me to free up space; instead of using the 64GB that's unused on my SD Internal storage.... basically useless!
Seems others in North America are having same issue. Any ideas?? Thanks, the 32GB of internal storage honestly does NOT cut it, especially with the massive Gear VR apps I have installed! :crying:

Take a picture of the settings>storage screen.

vdruts said:
I have an S7 /w 32GB that has been used up 99%. I used ADB to format my 128GB Evo + /w 50/50 however, this has not fixed any storage issued. In fact, I cannot even use the new Internal partition; the phone does not access through ES File Manager. The phone also does not move any apps unto it, and does not use the free space!
My Internal space is 99% used up and Apps even Gallery are telling me to free up space; instead of using the 64GB that's unused on my SD Internal storage.... basically useless!
Seems others in North America are having same issue. Any ideas?? Thanks, the 32GB of internal storage honestly does NOT cut it, especially with the massive Gear VR apps I have installed! :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you hit the migrate data option after setting up the sd card?

I have gone back to just using it as external but essentially the storage/settings screen read a total of 200+GB for some reason, it wasn't correct but the reading of the rest was correct.
Internal 99% full
sd card 0 apps/0 data
sd card (external) is what it looked like.
Also I do not recall it ever asking me to migrate anything... I tried it several times.

BCSC said:
Did you hit the migrate data option after setting up the sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. Unless you do this, its a moot point

vdruts said:
I have gone back to just using it as external but essentially the storage/settings screen read a total of 200+GB for some reason, it wasn't correct but the reading of the rest was correct.
Internal 99% full
sd card 0 apps/0 data
sd card (external) is what it looked like.
Also I do not recall it ever asking me to migrate anything... I tried it several times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once in the internal card you created, you should have hit the hamburger menu and seen Migrate Data. If you did not do this your problem is now answered. It would have moved many GB of data from the phone to the adopted SD.

After I did the migrate, I still had errors from Google Music saying that there was not enough storage for my downloads. I've rebooted a few times and deleted and remade my playlist. Still getting the error message.

Some of the Oculus apps are really amazing but it is really annoying that they don't offer any options to store at lease the media files on the external storage. Also all their files are hidden and I can't find where they keep them. I'm on the verge of getting rid of the whole application and just use the VR set like a regular google cardboard!

Even with SD card set as primary storage most apps still reside on local storage

When I first got the phone I set the 32 gb SD card as the primary storage because I read the phone lacks the feature at least in 4.1 to manually manage moving apps to SD card. I thought everything was fine but now I notice in the details of almost all of my apps that they are stored on the local storage. Without an option to move these items to SD how can I force them to move to SD card. I downloaded HiSuite and got it working after I enabled everything but don't see a way to move apps to SD and most of the apps on the play store just direct you to the section where you'd traditionally move the items to SD and the feature isn't there. Is there something I can do to get some of these games/apps to SD card or any chance that once I get nougat in the next month or two I'd at least be able to do so then? Thanks. These forums have been real lifesavers a number of times even though I mostly lurk.

I think ever since Android 5.0 (Lollipop) google stopped allowing apps to be installed to an SD card, therefor you need tricks or apps like Link2SD, which has a paid feature to make symbolic links to the sd card.
I bought a 128gb card, which is basically overkill if nothing can be installed on it. Nice for music I guess, but spotify als refuses to store stuff on the sd card.

eddoc said:
When I first got the phone I set the 32 gb SD card as the primary storage because I read the phone lacks the feature at least in 4.1 to manually manage moving apps to SD card. I thought everything was fine but now I notice in the details of almost all of my apps that they are stored on the local storage. Without an option to move these items to SD how can I force them to move to SD card. I downloaded HiSuite and got it working after I enabled everything but don't see a way to move apps to SD and most of the apps on the play store just direct you to the section where you'd traditionally move the items to SD and the feature isn't there. Is there something I can do to get some of these games/apps to SD card or any chance that once I get nougat in the next month or two I'd at least be able to do so then? Thanks. These forums have been real lifesavers a number of times even though I mostly lurk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
select External SD as default storage which is present in Settings (settings > advanced settings > memory & storage > last second option > default Location - change it to external MicroSD ..

As I said in my post one of the first things I does was set sd card as default
However when you look at the details on apps almost all of them are still installing themselves to internal. The size on my sd card has only dropped a bit.
Bhargav7 said:
select External SD as default storage which is present in Settings (settings > advanced settings > memory & storage > last second option > default Location - change it to external MicroSD ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

eddoc said:
However when you look at the details on apps almost all of them are still installing themselves to internal. The size on my sd card has only dropped a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if this is the case.. i too want to find & learn the solution.. !! Hope we get some real solution..

I've installed XInternalSD (xposed & root [i think] required), which seems to have done the trick. Games like Asphalt 8 now fully install their data on the external sd card.

There is a method to install/move apps to SD?

I've been looking for a method to move or force installation of apps to my 128gb micro SD card and so far I haven't found anything that works correctly, is there some method that actually allows moving apps to the SD card? or any custom rom that allows this? would titanium backup "move to SD card" option work?

You can use adoptable storage. It binds an SD card to your phone so you won't be able to use it with any other devices, but it essentially extends your phone's storage space by that much. Make sure you back up everything on your external SD card somewhere if there's anything important on it because this will wipe it clean.
1.) Open the "Files" app (the Google app with the colorful folded rectangles).
2.) Go to Browse.
3.) Scroll down to the bottom where you see your SD card, and tap on it.
4.) Hit the three dots in the top right.
5.) Click "Storage Settings".
6.) And finally, "Format as internal".
Once you've "adopted" the storage space you can move apps to it freely by going to a specific app's "App Info" page, clicking Storage, and choosing "Change" for each app. If you want to move multiple apps you can use something like "Internal Storage To SD Card" from the Play Store, which helps streamline the process; or even go into Developer Options and enable the option "Force allow apps to write on external storage" near the bottom which will force the majority of apps to favor the external SD card over the phone's.
Here's a bit more info on where your files are kept after this process.
If you want to retain separate access to the external SD Card so that you can use it with your computer or other devices while also storing app data on there, I'm afraid it's not very simple to do so. Android 9/10 has made a lot of changes with file access and how things are managed and stored on your device. I'm still figuring it out for myself, too.

i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?

Polakiyo87 said:
i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, the performance of the external drive will be lower.
However, don't underestimate them.
The performance of modern transflash is quite enough, for example, to run games like Doom, witcher or Skyrim(20+GB distros) from them on Nintendo consoles. The main thing is that the card is good. Like the same Sandisk extreme.

Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.

Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?

You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.

blackhawk said:
You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.

raysar said:
Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be happy for the bump...
You should also post your OS version for solutions.
Maybe a ADB edit could get it.
Lol, I have one game loaded. Most are fair to high privacy/security risks... that could really keep you amused.

I used App2sd earlier with android 7 and devices with 8GB flash , where only 3.5GB we ahve for applications. The result, I was able to install 100 or more apps and games without problem. It will not work in modern android.
I use a script which move all pictures , movies, call recordings to the sd card when I plug in usb-c cable. The card is a place of storing multimedia, nandroid backup and titantium backup.
Modern devices with 64GB+ flash are able to keep all apps inside , of course if all media files will be moved to sd card.

raysar said:
Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess xda developers not the same. It is ****. They can't brake a **** Xiaomi? It seems that I have to buy an old phone not Xiaomi and brake it.

Hi, I know I'm late to this but hopefully it will help someone having the same problem.
Tested on Redmi 9a, android 10
1- After you format your sd card as
SeekerofLight.iz said, download this app from Google store: this app basically shows all the hidden settings on all Xiaomi phones.
2- Open the app and type storage in the search bar located at the top.
3- you will see several results, tap at
"Storage Use: Storage use
com.android.settings.applications.StorageUse".
4- A new window will open with a list of all apps installed on your phone. Tap the app you want to move to sd card then "storage and cashe" and you will find the da** "Change" button we all have been looking for tap it and select sd card.
I've attached screenshots for those who prefer them.
And about performance, there was a slight lag almost unnoticeable but games were playable in general.

AngryYoungMan said:
Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all apps will support installation on sd card... If u want force it to be on sd card, u can use App2SD Pro app but root needed

"Force allow apps on external" not working on Motorola G Power 2021

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.