Transferring applications to the Android memory card

Can’t move applications to SD card. How to move Android apps to the memory card. When the setting is not

All the applications we install on our smartphone at Samsung Galaxy, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Alcatel, Meizu, Asus Zenfon, Nokia, Huawei, Sony Xperia, Prestige, Irbis tablet and so on, go to the non-removable internal memory.

Unfortunately, as the number of installed applications, photos, music, videos, and programs increases, our device begins to suffer from a lack of free space for additional files. especially the cheap models.

For this purpose in Android is a very useful function to transfer the data of individual applications to external storage. micro SD card.

To do this you can use one of the three methods provided below: built-in tools, through a computer (laptop) or by using an extraneous program not included in the built-in set.

The way with the program is the most effective, because the built-in function is increasingly removed by hardware manufacturers Xiaomi, Redmi, LG, zte, Redmi 4x, htc, Asus, huawei, Samsung, meizu, lenovo, LG, Samsung, fly, alcatel, Redmi, Sony xperia, prestigio and you will not find it on most even the best modern smartphones.

NOTE: depending on the Android version, e.g. Android 6.0, Android 7, Android 5.1, Android 4.4 and so on, there are also nuances when moving files from your phone to your SD card.

There is another way. It’s even more efficient, so the tricks described below don’t always work

How to transfer apps to SD card on your Android phone

After we understand all the details let’s move on to the instructions. We recommend to follow each step carefully to avoid crashes and unexpected errors.

Turn on USB debugging

transferring, applications, android, memory

  • Open the settings of your smartphone.
  • Go to the “About phone” or “About device” tab.
  • Quickly click on “Firmware version” several times. The system will inform you how many taps you have left to get the developer rights.
  • Then go to “Advanced Features” or “Advanced Settings”.
  • Here go to the “For developers” tab.
  • Among the many items, find the line “Charge viaUSB” and activate the function by moving the slider to the right.

USB charging is now enabled, as evidenced by the color indicator on the slider.

Connect the phone to the PC

To connect your smartphone to the PC you will need a USB cable used to charge your device. Once connected, open the notification curtain and click on the “Charging via USB” line. Change this option to “transfer files” or something similar.

You need to install the drivers for the specific smartphone model on your computer. If your PC is running on Windows 10, it will be loaded automatically. Earlier versions may require manual installation. Finding the drivers is not a problem. it is enough to specify the exact model of the smartphone in the browser.

Run the aftiss script

In the downloaded archive you need to find and run the “aftiss” script.cmd”.

After starting the command line will appear on the screen with some text.

Choose how much of the SD card becomes internal storage

Now we need to determine how much of the memory card will become the internal drive. Let’s look at all the possible options:

  • 1. 20% of the SD memory becomes phone memory;
  • 2. 50% of SD card becomes internal memory;
  • 3. 85% of the SD becomes the memory of the device;
  • 4. your percentage;

It is up to you to decide what type of transfer is needed, but it is recommended that you use the appropriate amount of memory card. That is, if it will be 32 gigabytes, it would be reasonable to choose the second transfer option (50:50). After that enter the command into the appropriate field.

Check if the data is correct and press “Enter”.

The system will start a series of processes, if they are successful, the display will say “Done”.

Check the correctness of the actions

After the procedure, it is desirable to make sure that the memory is correctly redistributed. To do this, open the settings on the phone, then:

  • Go to “Memory” or “Storage”. The names depend on the model of your smartphone and the firmware installed on it.
  • Swipe down to the “SD card” sub-item.

Depending on the option you use, the available capacity will be different. For example, if you had a 32 gigabyte flash drive, then about 15 gigabytes will be available if you use the second option. It is also worth noting that after this procedure, all programs will be installed by default on the SD.

Launch Activity Launcher on Android

Now open the recently downloaded program “Activity Launcher”. At the first launch a “Disclaimer” window will appear on the screen, in which you need to press “Ok”. Next, click on the top menu “Recent actions” and select “All actions”.

Once the download is complete, proceed as follows:

  • Scroll down to “Settings”.
  • Here, click on the “All Applications” line. Note that the tab you want is located above the item without the icon.

After pressing this button, you should be automatically taken to a page with all installed software.

Select applications to transfer from internal memory to SD card

Moving some application to SD-card is now easy. To do so:

Transferring Applications to a Memory Card

If you want to move the app back to your device’s main storage, tap “Change” again, but this time select the internal storage.

Using the SD card as internal memory to transfer games and programs

This function appeared in Android 6.0 and works on Android 7 Nougat, Android 8 Oreo, Android 9 Pie, Android 10 and Android 11. It allows you to use the memory card as a second storage. That is, the flash card does not replace internal storage, but is combined with it. the amount of internal memory is added to the capacity of the SD-card. Once the storage is expanded, you can transfer photos, videos, music, files and, of course, applications to the card. But there is one nuance: in order for the transferred applications to work quickly, the SD card must have a high write speed.

Data from a memory card formatted as an internal drive will not be read if you install it in another smartphone or tablet. To use your microSD card in a new device, you’ll need to format it as a portable drive.

Once connected, a message appears in the notification bar indicating that a new memory card is found. It is enough to press the “Setup” button, select the “Internal memory” item in the opened window and follow the instructions. Do not forget to transfer files from the SD card to another medium because they will be deleted during formatting.

Detailed instructions on how to set up the card:

Go to “Settings” → “Storage” (may be called “Storage and USB drives” or “Memory“).

Open the menu by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner and select “Settings” (in some firmware “Storage settings” or “Memory”).

A warning is displayed on the screen that all data on the SD card will be deleted during formatting. So copy them first, and then press “Clear and Format”.

If you use a low-grade flash card (for example, microSD Class 6), the screen will show a message that the card is slow.

Before completing the formatting process, you will be prompted to transfer some files and applications to the SD card. Select the desired option and press “Next” and then “Transfer”.

Now go to “Settings” → “Applications” → “Application Details”. (If not, proceed to the next step) and select the program or game you have installed.

Select the “Storage” subsection (may be called “Memory”), then click on the “Change” button and select the SD card.

In the window that appears, click “Move” and wait for the transfer to complete.

Android 8

In general, the process of moving an app to an SD card on Android 8.0 is about the same as in the later version of the. You need to go to “Settings”. “Applications and notifications”. “Information about applications. Then select the application, click “Change” and select a new storage location. However, it is worth noting that some apps do not support the ability to save to a memory card in the Android 8 version.0. That is, the conditional application X can easily save itself to the SD-card, if you have Android 9.0, but on the eighth version of the green robot will not let you do the same.

Most users who buy a smartphone also buy a microSD card right away. The external drive is suitable for storing audio, video, photos and some documents. Most modern smartphones support external storage, with the exception of some devices that do not have a slot for a memory card. You should check before you buy an SD card to see if there are any compatibility issues.

Another pitfall that the owner of an Android smartphone can stumble upon is the limitation on the volume of the external drive. Budget phones often do not support cards of over 128GB. To find out what volume will be compatible with your gadget, you can consult with a store employee. You can get information remotely by exploring online tech stores.

If the SD card can still be used on the smartphone, and the owner has already selected the optimal size, you should first try the internal capabilities of the gadget. Older Android smartphones allow you to transfer your apps to SD without any software. Even with newer versions of the operating system, one of the following techniques can work:

  • Setting the saving path when downloading content from the Internet. Allows you to instantly install APK files on an external drive.
  • Transferring apps to SD through the “apps” tab. After entering the program description, it is possible to transfer the program from internal memory to removable memory.
  • Moving software to your phone’s file system using your computer. Downloading data via USB.

These are basic ways to install applications on an external drive. If they do not work, you can skip to instructions below.

Actions for Android 5 versions.0 inclusive

Smartphones with Android 4 and later.2 to 5.0 allow you to move applications to the external drive with just a few taps. Files are managed through the “Applications” or “Manage Applications” section of the settings. Instructions on how to transfer data:

  • To go to “Settings”. Find the “Applications” item.
  • This item will display different categories of programs in the top menu: “Preinstalled”, “Downloads”. Select the “Downloads” section. It contains programs downloaded from the Internet or the app store. These are the ones you can move to your external drive.
  • Choose any application from the “Downloads” list and click on it. The description will tell you whether the program is stored in the internal or external memory. If the data is collected on the built-in storage of the smartphone, you can click “Transfer to SD card”.
  • Transfer may take several minutes. After completing the process, you can verify the success of the process by checking the amount of free internal memory and occupied external memory.

Some programs even on older versions of Android cannot be transferred to an external drive. This is because using removable memory may interfere with the operation of the applications. The system will warn you if you try to transfer any important data to the card that was not intended for it. It is impossible to make a mistake, so you can safely use the preinstalled functions.

Some files do not need to be transferred to the drive in such a tight way. Photos and videos are enough to save once to an external card. After that, all new files of the same category will automatically fall on it.

Combining external and internal

If you use a smartphone with an Android version higher than 5.0, then there will be more complications when using the SD card. The program can no longer be transferred to the removable drive, as in the example above. On the other hand, gadgets on updated versions of the OS have the Adoptable Storage utility. It allows you to combine the external drive and the built-in drive to create a single storage. For example, if you have a 64GB memory card and a built-in 16GB card, you can create a single file system of 80GB.

Convenient, but there is a catch: the memory card cannot be ejected. If you remove the SD after merging it with the internal drive and then put it back in, you may experience system crashes. If you need to remove the removable drive and use it on another device, you will need to prepare first:

  • Copy all important files from the removable drive to the internal memory, cloud storage or the PC’s file system.
  • Format the card after extracting it.
  • Transfer the copied important data to a new card, in case there was not enough internal memory on the device.

And how to do the merging of the two types of storage? Step-by-step instructions:

  • Insert the SD card into the gadget. If it is not a new storage device, you first need to format it. Mass storage device has to be totally empty.
  • The phone will recognize the inserted card and will offer to install it or remove it. You have to choose to install.
  • During installation, an additional dialog box will appear, in which you can configure the properties of the drive. You will need to specify in it that the card will be used as internal storage.
  • Once the installation is complete, you will need to restart the gadget.

If the card was previously installed, but the user did not specify it as internal storage, you can change the settings. This is done through the “Storage” section when tapping on SD.

After merging the drives, some files as well as applications will be saved on the external drive. If, in addition to automatically transferred documents, you need to move additional media files, you can perform the following procedure:

What to do if the move-to-card button is inactive?

If the move button is not active, then the user has already saved the app to SD. If there is no transfer button it means that the manufacturer has prohibited this function. Then you will have to use a file manager.

  • Make sure the memory card is inserted in the device.
  • On the home screen, tap the application menu.
  • Find and tap Settings App.
  • Tap on the key On SD.card tab.
  • Select an app, then tap Move to SD.card.

Transferring apps from your device memory to your memory card in Android

The smartphone is not only a convenient “dialer”, but also a full-fledged entertainment center. However, immediately after the purchase there are not many applications, games and interesting features in the device. To eliminate this defect the user is given a huge selection of applications for every taste in the on-line store Google Play (how to install the applications we told in this article).

Sooner or later anyone who installs various applications on his smartphone or tablet will face the problem of lack of free space in the memory of the device, although there are still many free Gigabytes on the memory card. This is due to the fact that most applications are installed in the memory of the smartphone/tablet, which is not much, rather than on the memory card. The result. lack of free space, reduced speed of the device, constant lags. This problem can be solved in different ways:

This step is good because the smartphone goes back to the factory settings, and begins to literally “fly”, as it is not overloaded with unnecessary data and not clogged with files. But on the other hand the user has to reinstall all applications and restore deleted data. How to do a Hard Reset we described in this article.

Let us mention right away that you can move the application only if the manufacturer allows it! Otherwise you cannot move it without ROOT rights!

If you still have questions, which were not answered by the instructions, you can contact a specialist of our technical support by phone: (495) 514-12-12

What is the risk of transfer

In fact, memory cards for smartphones and tablets are the same as flash drives. Only have a smaller size due to the lack of an enclosure.

Like drives themselves, cards can fail over time, break down, encounter software malfunctions. Sending important data to them has several potential drawbacks:

  • The memory card does not support encryption. This has a negative impact on security. Roughly speaking, it is much easier for crooks to get to personal data through an app if it is installed on the card, not on the internal memory. This is especially true if the Adaptive Storage feature is not used and the drive is not formatted.
  • Not all flash drives are capable of ensuring the smooth functioning of applications and games. That is why it is often because of the transfer there are failures, hang-ups, etc.
  • If the memory card is accidentally or deliberately removed, there is a great risk of losing all the data stored there.
  • Any malfunction in the form of moisture, physical defect or corrosion leads to the loss of data from the phone.

Plus, not all smartphones can guarantee that the migration will happen safely and efficiently. This is always a potential risk.

This is why the developers of the Android mobile platform first did not allow transferring anything at all, then opened partial access, and then developed a special function.

They understand that sometimes it is really better to keep your data on the card. Even if they are apps. But the task of the creators of Android is to ensure the comfort and security of using their operating system.

What information you keep on the card and what you keep in the internal memory? Have you ever migrated applications?? What method did you use and how well did it work??

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