How to expand Android memory

Is the storage space of your Android smartphone or tablet running out? Every time you try to install an application or to shoot a video with your mobile, an error message appears that warns you of what? It seems obvious to me, it’s time to take some time off and try to expand Android memory. How? Read this guide of mine and you will find out immediately!

In the following lines, in fact, you will find all the possible “tactics” to carry out the operation in question. First, I’m going to show you how to increase storage using a MicroSD on all those devices that support memory expansion. By performing this operation, you can transform the memory card into the main memory of Android or, in any case, you can free up a lot of space on the internal memory by moving applications, photos, and other data to the external one. We will also see how to “clean” the device, removing data that is no longer useful and how to expand the available space with cloud storage services and various storage media.

So, what are you waiting for to start? Free yourself from your commitments for a few minutes and try to put into practice all the suggestions I am about to give you. So, position yourself comfortably, grab your mobile device and start concentrating on reading what is reported below. I am sure that, in the end, you will be able to tell yourself very happy and satisfied with what you have learned. What do you say, we bet?

Index

• How to expand Android memory with an SD card
• How to increase Android memory by freeing up space
  • Delete unused apps
  • Delete photos and videos
  • Delete other data
• How to expand Android memory with cloud storage
• How to expand Android memory with external media

How to expand Android memory with an SD card

If you have a smartphone or tablet equipped with a microSD slot (which in some cases can be shared with the one for a second SIM), you can expand Android memory using a memory card and, if possible, you can turn it into memory main system.

So, if you do not yet have a microSD to use in conjunction with your smartphone or tablet, get one with the maximum capacity and class compatibility with the device, information that you can obtain by consulting the user manual of your smartphone or tablet or by doing some research on Google. For further information and to receive some advice on which microSD to buy, I invite you to consult my buying guide.

As regards, however, the installation of the microSD I do not think you need too many explanations: you have to turn off the smartphone or tablet, open the compartment dedicated to the memory card on the device, insert the card in the slot, close the compartment, turn the device back on and wait for Android to detect the microSD.

When in the notifications menu you see the message relating to the microSD appear (eg New SD card detected ), press on the latter and follow the guided procedure for configuring the card. The procedure is very simple to complete, you just have to specify whether to use the card as portable memory or as internal memory (therefore as the main memory of the device), confirm the formatting of the unit by tapping the button to delete and format and authorize it. moving data and apps . The whole operation shouldn’t take long.

If you choose to set the microSD as internal memory and authorize the movement of data on it, your photos, some applications and other data that were previously stored on the device’s internal memory will be transferred to the memory card. By virtue of this, I recommend that you make a preventive backup of your data, so that you can easily recover them in case of problems. Another important thing to know is that by setting the microSD as the main memory of the device, it becomes unusable on other terminals (it must first be formatted by making the internal memory of the Android main memory device again).

Instead, if you have a smartphone or tablet that does not support the use of microSD as main memory and/or you have decided to set the memory card as portable memory, you must act “manually” in the settings of the individual applications (eg the Camera app ) and select the microSD as the destination folder for photos, videos and other data.

To find out how the space between the internal memory and the microSD on your Android device was divided, go to the home screen or the Android drawer, select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ) and touch the archiving item on the next screen.

If you then want to move only the heaviest apps to the memory card, you can do this by accessing the Android Settings section, selecting the entry for applications from the next screen, identifying the application on which to act and tapping on his name.

At this point, the steps to take vary depending on the version of Android installed on the device: if you are using a more updated version of Android, you have to tap on the Memory item, then you have to press the Change button, you have to put the checkmark next to it. to the wording SD card and you must confirm the movement of the application to the external memory by pressing the appropriate button; if you are using an older version of Android, you must press the Move to SD card button and you must authorize the transfer of the application to the external memory.

In short, this is not a complex operation, but it must be said that the option to move to microSD is not available for all applications. System apps, for example, cannot be moved as this would cause system malfunctions, but there are also other (non-system) applications that prevent their data from being moved to external storage.

To force the movement of applications on a microSD you need to root your device and you have to resort to applications such as Link2SD, which allow you to move all apps to external memory. For more information, read my tutorial on how to move Android apps to SD.

How to increase Android memory by freeing up space

Another good way to expand the memory on Android is undoubtedly to identify the unnecessary data on the device and delete it. So here are some tips to free up space on your smartphone or tablet that I hope will be useful to you.

Just keep in mind the fact that some of the indications relating to the items to be selected on Android that I am going to provide you may differ slightly from what you see, depending on the version of the operating system in use and the make and model of the smartphone or tablet.

Delete unused apps

If you have applications that you don’t use often and unnecessarily take up space on the memory of your smartphone or tablet, don’t think twice and delete them.

To find out which apps take up the most space on the device memory, go to the home screen and/or the Android drawer, select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ), touch the words Storage and USB, then that Internal memory and select the App item.

At this point, press the Menu button located at the top right and choose the Sort by size option from the box that appears (if you don’t see this option, it means that the apps are already sorted by their “weight”). Then, identify the most cumbersome applications that you do not need and delete them from your device by pressing first on their name and then on the Uninstall and OK buttons.

Almost needless to say, but the system applications (all those with the green robot icon and/or that are attributable to Google ) should not be touched, as it risks seriously compromising the stability of the system.

If, then, there are non-system applications on your device that cannot be deleted because the manufacturer has blocked this possibility, you can try to cope with it by following the instructions I gave you in my guide on how to uninstall a program on Android.

Delete photos and videos

Photos and videos are other contents that tend to take up a lot of space on the memory of a smartphone or tablet. The best way to manage them is to delete the elements that are no longer essential from the Android roll.

To do this, access the home screen and/or the Android drawer, select the Gallery app icon, access the Images and/or the Video section, press and hold the first element on which to act in order to affix a checkmark on its preview, select all the others and touch the word Delete.

If you do not want to permanently delete the images on your device, you can consider using Google Photos (the app is pre-installed on most Android devices, but otherwise you can download it for free from the relevant section of the Play Store ) and activate the automatic backup function offered by the service, deleting them from the terminal memory when necessary.

To make sure that the automatic cloud backup function is active in Google Photos, open the app by selecting the relative icon (the one with the colored pinwheel ) that you find on the home screen and/or in the drawer, tap on your avatar at the top of right, then on the Photo Settings item that you find at the bottom of the displayed screen, then on the wording Backup and synchronization and check that the removal next to the Backup and synchronization item is moved to ON (otherwise activate it yourself). Also take steps to tap on the word Upload size and adjust the settings according to your needs.

Once the online photo and video backup is activated, go back to the main Google Photos settings screen, tap on the item Free up space on the device and press the Free [amount of space] button that appears at the bottom. By doing this, Google Photos will automatically delete from the smartphone or tablet memory all the photos and videos that have already been stored in Google Drive. For more information, see my specific guide on how Google Photos works.

Delete other data

On Android devices, numerous temporary and cache files also accumulate, that is, all those temporary data that applications store to be more “reactive” and recall some information more quickly, which in the long run can occupy a large amount of space precious. From time to time, therefore, it is advisable to remove the aforementioned data to gain memory.

To do this, access the home screen and/or the Android drawer, select the Settings icon, choose the Storage and USB item from the screen that opens and decide whether to delete the cache data from the internal memory or from the SD card (a depending on whether you have installed the apps on the internal memory or on the SD card). Next, select the Cached data option and confirm your willingness to clear the cache by tapping OK in response to the warning that appears on the screen.

If you want, you can also clear the cache of a single app, by going to the Android Settings screen, by tapping on the App item, selecting the application icon of your interest, then the Memory item and pressing the Clear cache button. Furthermore, some apps tend to accumulate a lot of data: photos, songs, etc. If you want to get rid of it, tap on the Clear data button that you always find on the same screen and that’s it.

Temporary data that you can get rid of without too much hesitation are instead those of the Internet history, which you can remove from the browser settings of your interest. For example, if you use Chrome as your main navigator, all you have to do is start the application, tap the button with the three vertical dots located at the top right and select the History item from the box that appears. Then, tap on the item Clear browsing data, choose which information to trash and press the Clear data button. Note that if you have synced Chrome with your Google account, the data will also be deleted on the other workstations (computers, tablets, other devices associated with the same Google account).

Please note that there are also apps to “clean” Android, which allow you to delete temporary files, cache and browsing history without having to use the device settings. If you are interested in this, I suggest you read my review specifically dedicated to Android cleaning programs.

How to expand Android memory with cloud storage

Another good way to expand the memory on Android is to turn to the use of cloud storage services, which allow you to store your data online, without taking up space on the device and possibly being accessible also from other devices. The use of such a solution can be excellent for photos, videos and various documents.

If this interests you, then below you will find listed (and explained!) The best solutions belonging to the category in question.

• Google Drive– as can be easily understood from the name itself, this is the “big G” cloud storage service. It is the default system for backing up Android devices and is also accessible via a dedicated app. Its free plan offers 15GB of storage, but there are also paid plans with costs of € 1.99 / month for 100GB, € 2.99 / month for 200GB and € 9.9 / month for 2 TB. For more details, read my guide on how Google Drive works .
• Microsoft OneDrive– is Microsoft ‘s cloud storage service. It can be used on smartphones and tablets using the appropriate app. It offers a 5 GB free basic plan, but it can also be used in some paid variants that offer more space: 100 GB at a cost of 2 euros/month and, with the subscription to the Microsoft 365 service, 1 TB at a cost of 7 euros. / month or 6 TB at a cost of 10 euros / month. For more information, read my guide on how OneDrive works.
• Dropbox– was one of the first cloud storage services to be available for smartphones, tablets and computers. On Android, it is usable through the official app. Basically, it is free and offers 2 GB of storage space, but for those who need more capacity there is also the paid plan which at a cost of 9.99 euros/month offers 2 TB. For more information, I recommend reading my tutorial on how Dropbox works.

How to expand Android memory with external media

In addition to the instructions to expand the memory on Android that I have already given you, another excellent solution to succeed in the enterprise is to rely on external media for data storage.

If your Android smartphone or tablet is equipped with a USB port, you can in fact connect a USB key to the device and transfer your files over it, as you would from a PC, using any file manager. If your device is not equipped with USB ports, you will need to purchase a USB OTG adapter, which allows the connection of the pen drive even in the absence of the common port. They usually have quite low prices.

Alternatively, you can also buy USB OTG sticks, which on the one hand have a USB Type-C or micro USB connector for connecting to Android smartphones and tablets and on the other hand have a classic USB type A connector, to be used for a possible connection of the Pendrive to the computer, or you can consider comparing a Wi-Fi USB stick, on which you can transfer your data without having to physically connect it to your devices. If you want some advice about which Pendrive to buy, you can consult my buying guide.

Another category of articles that can be useful and interesting to expand the memory of Android is that of portable hub files. In case you have never heard of them, I inform you that these are devices with a fairly compact appearance that can perform multiple functions. In fact, they can be used as repeaters for Wi-Fi networks, access points, power banks and even as a hard disk for file storage, after connecting memory cards and / or pen drives to the appropriate ports. There are different types.

Another thing you can do is obviously to connect your Android device to the computer using its charging cable and transfer the data on your smartphone or tablet to its hard drive that at the moment you think it is not essential to have at hand. . To find out more, I refer you to reading my specific guide on how to transfer files from Android to PC.