Samsung Galaxy A8 2019 tab - How to use SD card?

[Android Central Question]

I have a pair of Samsung Galaxy A8 2019 tablets, for my kids to use for home schooling. When I purchased these devices they came bundled with 64GB SD cards, internal memory is 32GB. The cards have been inserted and formatted within the device since day 1. However, I see nothing using this storage. I am unable to move apps to this storage, files, photos, music, videos, etc. I see no way to offload and utilize this capacity.

What am I missing?

Is there a third party app that enables SD storage for app off loading?

Is there a way to set the SD card as the default storage for apps? photos? videos? music? etc.?

Truthfully, I am an Apple user and went with these devices because of the expandable memory. But if the memory isn't able to be used, what's the point? I need new cell phones, and was looking at Samsung, but given this little glitch, I'll likely stick with iPhone.

 

[Mooncatt]

When you inserted the SD cards, did it ask if you wanted to format as internal or external/portable storage? If so, and you format as internal, then the tablet sees both the internal and SD card as one single storage device. I don't know off hand if that tablet had that option (it was rather short lived and most major manufacturers abandoned it), so I'm speaking in generalities here. What I can say is this ability is known as adoptable storage, and can be rather problematic. If you were given the option and did so, I would immediately backup all of your important files to another device, then reformat the card as portable storage.

So now that we should be on the same page that the SD card is seen as its own storage area, you should understand some about how Android works. Apps are constantly writing and rewriting data. In the early days, it was easy to move apps to the SD card but it came with some downsides. Not only would it never be a 100% transfer (critical components had to remain on internal storage), but the constant data writing quickly wore out the cards, leading to corruption and data loss. Not surprisingly, this is the biggest reason why adoptable storage was a bad idea. Google changed Android to limit moving apps to the SD card, and many devices now come with no card slot at all.

SD cards are best used for stand alone files, such as documents and media. Most apps that generate user files (camera apps, notes apps, etc) should allow you to select where to save those files. This needs to be done on a per app basis, as there is no global default save option. Even then, you may still be limited to the folder structure the app uses. Some allow you to specify which folder to save in, others may only let you select internal or external (the SD card) storage, and you then have to settle for whatever default folder it creates.

Not every app lets you do this, though. Chrome, for example, will save files to a downloads folder on internal storage, and there is no option to change that. If you want to relocate files, you'll need a file manager to do so. There's likely one installed by default. Photos can additionally be moved around to some extent with the gallery app.

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[Kizzy Catwoman]

Please register for an account so we can help you further. With a guest account, you can’t reply. Thanks. https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/409154-join-android-central-community.html

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Samsung doesn't implement Adoptable Storage (i.e., formatting an SD card as Internal Storage). This is for the best, as discussed above by Mooncatt, because SD cards are inherently unreliable, and formatting them to be regarded as part of Internal Storage puts the device at risk for crashes and data loss if/when the card fails.

 

[mustang7757]

I have a pair of Samsung Galaxy A8 2019 tablets, for my kids to use for home schooling. When I purchased these devices they came bundled with 64GB SD cards, internal memory is 32GB. The cards have been inserted and formatted within the device since day 1. However, I see nothing using this storage. I am unable to move apps to this storage, files, photos, music, videos, etc. I see no way to offload and utilize this capacity.

What am I missing?

Is there a third party app that enables SD storage for app off loading?

Is there a way to set the SD card as the default storage for apps? photos? videos? music? etc.?

Truthfully, I am an Apple user and went with these devices because of the expandable memory. But if the memory isn't able to be used, what's the point? I need new cell phones, and was looking at Samsung, but given this little glitch, I'll likely stick with iPhone.

Don't use the sd card as adaptable it can cause Freeze's, performance issues, just use it for photos, video, files etc..