How to install apps on sd card android. Android won't save to microSD card

Users often notice a lack of free space in internal memory their phones. This problem is solved by using a memory card to store large data, including applications. This article will show you how to install apps on the Android SD card.

Using built-in tools

The installation of applications here should be understood as the initial installation of software, as well as the transfer of programs with (or without) saving data.

The SD card has a large capacity compared to the built-in memory of a smartphone (especially older models). Here we will consider several options for different versions OS.

Note! Not all software is transferred to the card due to optimization by their developer to function only on system memory.

Pure Android 2.2–5.0

Transferring applications to another storage has become possible since Android 2.2.

Note! The instruction describes the basic principle of operation, but appearance and the location of the elements may differ depending on the specific version of the OS.

After that, the system will notify you of the result of such an action.

Samsung

For phones from a South Korean company with Android up to version 6.0, the instructions are slightly different with menu elements.

Go to "Settings" → "Applications".
Select Application Manager.
Click on the desired program.
Select Memory.
Click Edit → Move → Memory Card.

Android 6.0 and above

V latest versions With its OS, Google has rethought how a phone works with flash memory. Previously, it was only portable storage, but then a new solution was added to it - Adoptable Storage, which integrates a flash drive with internal memory. The convenience is that, by default, programs will be installed on the SD card, and also solves the problem when software is not installed on it.

The downside of this idea is the inability to insert a USB flash drive into a computer to transfer files.

Details under the cut.

Attention! This method was personally tested by me on Android 2.3. You can find out about the possibility of this method in Google.

First you need to install Android SDK Tools (link for Windows). After installation, you need to download the packages. How to do this you will see in the screenshot below:

Now go to your phone settings and go here:
Applications>Development>USB debugging (tick).

Now connect your device to your computer via USB. Go to the folder where you installed the SDK Tools. Selecting the platform-tools folder right mouse, click Run Command Prompt Here.

In the command prompt window that opens, type (all without quotes):

After the "$" sign appears, we type the following (case sensitive):

"pm getInstallLocation" and press Enter. You should get the following screen:

This means that the system itself will determine which applications to install where. This does not suit us, so we write:

"pm setInstallLocation 2"

So we say that we want applications to be installed on the memory card. Let's check the result:

pm getInstallLocation

The answer should be:

Now close the command prompt window and disconnect your phone from the computer. Reload it. Now all applications will be installed on the memory card.

It should be noted that when downloading from Play Store and temporary information will still be recorded in the internal memory of the phone. There is no way to cure this without rooting, but if you install programs not from the Play Store (from a preloaded APK), you can install the program without recording temporary information. You can do this in the following way.

Install the APK Leecher program on your computer (in principle, you don’t even need to install it, just unpack; attached to the topic), download from Google Play to the Device ID program on the phone (only 13 kB) and find out the unique ID of your phone.
Then, running the APK Leecher program on the computer, we enter our account information, ID and make some settings (download folder, language) and now we can search for applications and download them directly on the computer from Google Play. There is no need to worry about your data - they do not leak anywhere, but are only used for authorization. Program settings:

Now you can download programs to your computer and, having transferred the downloaded APK files to a memory card, install them on your phone.
An example of the program's operation:

Sincerely, timblaer.

Good afternoon, our dear readers and at the same time users of modern devices. Today we will talk about a problem so familiar to so many of us.

It happens that you install a new application, but the download does not turn on, and a window pops up, they say, delete old applications to free up memory on the device. When Android does not save to a memory card, how to deal with it?

Problem Danger

Tablets and smartphones today have different size built-in memory. True, given the abundance of applications, the ability to connect different gadgets, the main memory may not be enough.

Of course, in our age, anyone understands that the elementary solution here is to connect an SD card, because today not only contacts are stored in phones, but also a lot of everything useful and entertaining.

So modern microSD can add you up to 8 GB of memory, microSDHC - up to 32 GB, microSDXC - optimally offer 64 or 128 GB, but the most expensive of them can accommodate 2 TB of information.

For comparison, music downloaded to the phone "weighs" usually 3-10 MB, a photo in a smartphone takes 1-5 MB, and a film of the worst quality from 700 MB. Not to mention games for smartphones. In general, when purchasing a card, of course, you will be guided not only by the capabilities of your device, but also by your requests.

It just happens that the card is finally inserted, the problem should improve, but here it is again: you download the application from Play market, and it again tends to the memory of the smartphone.

Clearing the cache is only a temporary measure. So why does Android not want to save to the card? The issue of forcibly moving files to an external card directly depends on the OS version.

Find out the version of Android

How to find out the version of Android? For this you need:

go to "Settings";
in the list of items, find "About phone";
now click "Version Information", and here you will see the version of the operating system.

Solution for Android versions 4.0 - 6.0

The sequence of solving this issue is different for certain OS. So today, a large number of mid-range smartphones run on Android from the 4th version, also on Android 5.1 and 6.0.

Android 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2 allow you to configure saving files to an SD card without having a . You just need to get into "Settings" enter the "Memory" submenu and specify there as a resource for saving data by default installed card memory.

Henceforth from Play Market new the application will be saved there. True, old applications will have to be moved manually, and if it does not work out, they will have to be reinstalled.

To complete the task, go to "Applications", select the one you need and specify the path each time - "Transfer to SD". But not all applications, especially from the system ones, will “obey” you, because in order to transfer data to Android from 4.4 and higher, you will need to get Root rights.

Obtaining superuser rights occurs through special utilities.

The most famous of them: Framaroot and Kingo android root. But with full access to your files, you incur some costs when obtaining Root rights: you lose the rights to warranty service for the device, updates do not come by themselves over the air, out of ignorance, you can damage the system by deleting accidentally important files.

Using Third Party Applications

You can make your smartphone transfer applications faster through AppMgr Pro III.

Download the application in the Google Market, clear the application cache automatically and perform other manipulations. The program divides applications into three characteristics: stored on "on the SD card", "on the phone" and "movable". The latter can be broadcast to an external card. You can even click immediately "transfer everything" - quickly and conveniently.

An alternative is the Link2SD program, which works with OS 4.4 or later. It creates separate libraries on the map, transferring applications partially. But here, be careful - do not touch system files.

Telephone can't see memory card

There are several reasons why the phone does not recognize the card:

Contacts are gone - the first reason. Simply remove and reinsert the SD card.
The sectors are damaged. What to do in this case? Format the memory card.
The reason is the blocking in the security system of the phone. The service can help you remove it.
In the service center, they will tell you if something inside the phone is not going well, and they will help fix this element, returning the device to a responsive “dialogue” with the memory card.
Incompatible card. You just have to replace the card, carefully reading the instructions for the compatibility of your device.

When the device detects the presence of a card, you can try to transfer programs to it according to the instructions above. And the unloaded system memory will serve you smoothly, save applications, videos and photos to your smartphone and will not puzzle you with unpleasant notifications when you download new applications from the Google Store.

I hope we gave you real help and are happy to continue to talk about the intricacies of the work modern devices. Also visit us with your friends in the VK group, on Facebook, on Twitter, as well as on channel on youtube.

You had a site

Built-in memory Android devices often ends quickly, so users have to store large amounts of information on microSD. But what if Android does not save downloaded content to the memory card - applications, photos, music, and other files?

This article is suitable for all brands that produce phones on Android 9/8/7/6: Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Sony, ZTE, Huawei, Meizu, Fly, Alcatel, Xiaomi, Nokia and others. We are not responsible for your actions.

Memory card problems

First of all, you need to make sure that the memory card is working and ready to receive files. What to do:

The memory card may not be compatible with the smartphone - for example, it may exceed the capacity allowed for a specific phone model. If the flash drive is larger than a certain amount of gigabytes (32, 64, 128, etc.), then it simply does not recognize it, because not programmed for this volume. In this case, the only way out is to use another microSD carrier, a smaller one.

If no card is detected, it makes sense to contact the service center. Your phone may have a hardware problem that is preventing it from working with external drives.

Wrong folder in browser

If saving problems occur while downloading files in the browser, then you should check the destination folder. It may be specified incorrectly, which is why the browser does not understand how to save photos, music, videos, and other content. Let's look at the example of UC Browser:

Open the "Downloads" section in the main menu.
Click "Settings".
In the "Load path" field, specify a folder on the memory card.

Increase

After such a short setup, files in the browser will be downloaded only to the specified directory on the card, without clogging the internal memory.

Files cannot be transferred to a memory card

Most often this applies to built-in Android apps. In the phone, they can only be stored on the internal storage, otherwise the smartphone will not work. At the same time, any application from a third-party developer can be moved to a microSD.

Open the Android settings, go to the "Applications" section.
Find the program you want to transfer to the memory card along with all the files.
Click "Move to SD".

Increase

If the button is inactive, then the application cannot be moved. If it says "Move to phone" instead of "Move to SD", it means that the program files are already stored on the memory card.

Lost settings for transferring files to a memory card

V android settings you can manually specify which memory is used by default - internal or external. Depending on the selected value, the files will be downloaded to the phone or microSD card. After updating the system, the settings may fly off, so it's worth checking them.

Not every model and manufacturer has such a setting. Check for yourself.

Open Android settings.
Go to the "Memory" section.
In the Install Location or Default Memory field, select SD.

Increase

When there is no setting

If it is not possible to set the default location for saving files, then the applications themselves will come to the rescue. In the same Samsung Internet browser, it is possible to set the storage location:

Increase

Look in your application from where you are going to save files, if it is possible to choose a save location in the settings. If this is not the case, then you will have to manually move the files from the internal memory to the microSD card.

On phones with a small amount of internal memory, there is a shortage of free space. It is expanded with a memory card, to which photos, videos, music and other data are transferred. But what if there is not enough memory for programs, but there is nothing to delete? The most rational option is to install applications on the Android SD card.

This can be done with standard tools or using third-party software. We'll figure it out simple ways giving almost 100% results.

What applications can be transferred to a memory card?

Unfortunately, not all programs can be transferred to MicroSD. Some developers do not optimize software to run outside of system memory, so there is no way to make it function on a memory card by any means. However, the vast majority of software works well on it. Therefore, even heavy applications can be transferred, freeing up space on the internal drive.

Note! The system allows you to transfer only downloaded programs. It will not be possible to change the built-in directory - they will not start.

Also remember that the speed of writing and reading from a memory card is much lower than from the built-in storage. For this reason, it is not recommended to transport games and other performance sensitive software.

Porting apps with stock tools

It became possible to install applications on a memory card with built-in services starting from android versions 2.2, for earlier builds, you will have to tinker and carry out the transfer using a PC.

Note that the instruction is not completely universal. In some firmware, the names and locations of the items may differ, but the essence stated in the instructions remains unchanged. We will demonstrate transposition using the example of the AOSP system (naked Android) and the Samsung shell. We will also analyze the nuances for versions up to 6.0 Marshallow and later builds.

For AOSP (up to 6.0)

Following this instruction, the transfer of one program will take about a minute:

The shell will notify you when the application is moved to the memory card.

For Samsung (up to 6.0)

Now we want to show the differences in the procedure using the Samsung firmware as an example, but at the same time justify the thesis that the principle remains the same. So:

Here, installing applications on the card is a little longer, but the main thing is to go to the program menu, select the one you need and interact with the storage options. The same principle will be on other firmware, just the first time, you may have to spend a couple of minutes to figure it out.

For all firmware based on Android 6.0 and above

In this Google versions revised the principle of interaction of smartphones with a flash drive. Previously, she acted as a portable data storage, now, in addition, a new feature has been added - Adoptable Storage. It integrates a memory card with internal storage, which is beneficial, because by default all data will be installed on it. However, it will no longer be possible to insert it into a computer and easily transfer files.

To activate the mode, you need:

Try to make a backup of the data installed on the MicroSD, as everything will be deleted. Android will reformat it to suit its needs, add information encryption to improve security, and change the file system type. Think carefully about what will be more convenient for you, but remember that in the future you can change the way you work with the flash drive, while the documents on it will be lost again.

Move all data to microSD

Porting individual programs is useful. But what to do if the smartphone has little RAM and internal memory of 4, 8 or 16 GB and needs to be released urgently? Stock android services help in this, because there is a toolkit for resetting all videos, pictures, music, software and even games to a removable drive. To do this, do a few things, namely:

The method is simpler than the previous ones, it is suitable if you want to radically free up space on your phone from programs that have been installed for a long time and take up a lot of space.

Transferring applications using third-party software

It happens that it is not possible to transport software using regular means, but there are many alternative options. We propose to disassemble the two simplest ones: one using a PC, and the second - through special programs, but root rights are required.

Note! Read about how to get root on Android in the topics about your device in order to avoid problems.

Using a computer

The solution is not the fastest, but simple and accessible to everyone, even if there is no root-rights. So:

It is easier to do this through a device synchronization program, for example, My Phone Explorer. First, it is installed on the phone from the Play Market, and then on the PC. The distribution should be downloaded from the official website of the developer.

Now proceed to the transposition of the application on the map android memory, for this you need:

This completes the procedure, the application is ready to go.

Using the app

A lot of transfer applications have been developed, we suggest using the multifunctional Titanium Backup utility. To do this, do the following:

If you want to put all the software on a USB flash drive, then after launching Titanium, follow these steps:

Now wait for the process to finish.

These were the most basic ways to install an app on an Android SD card that will always work. If one of the methods does not help, we recommend using an alternative.