SD card in android phone - why is the phone still not using it for storage???

[Android Central Question]

I am tearing my hair out with this.

I have added a 2GB micro SD to my android phone. I have two options to format. I can format it as internal or portable. I have formatted it as internal because I want apps, photos and music to go on to it. The SD card has succesfully formatted as internal, yet I get no option to actually use it. So in my settings, I still have near enough 2gb free. Why is it not using up the SD storage?

Drives my crazy. It shouldn't be this difficult to use a bloody SD card in a phone!!!!

 

[mustang7757]

Hi, welcome to Android Forums

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https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[dodoandroid]

Hi I've logged in now. The question above is mine.
I can also add that I have formatted the same SD card as portable storage and it works, I am able to put music and photos on it and the phone plays them no problem. So I am confident the SD is fast enough. However when I format as internal, it recognises the SD card, shows me how much capacity it has got, but it just wont install apps, music etc to it.
I have also installed a file explorer to see if I can find the SD card, and the file explorer doesnt even see it. It only sees the storage thats in-built on the phone.

 

[belodion]

This is on a phone that allows Adoptable Storage?

 

[dodoandroid]

Um, of course. Otherwise it wouldn't have an SD slot and the option to format as internal.

 

[Mooncatt]

Um, of course. Otherwise it wouldn't have an SD slot and the option to format as internal.

To be fair, plenty of phones with an SD card slot don't allow adoptable storage.

I don't know a ton about using an SD card formatted as internal. What I've seen reported from others is that the OS sees it as an extension of the internal storage and does not distinguish between the two when using file browsers and such. It also doesn't allow you to pick and choose where to store things, because (for all intents and purposes) it would be like being a passenger in a car. It doesn't matter where you sit, because it's the same vehicle.

There's also a lot of downsides to adoptable storage, especially corrupting the SD card relatively early. That's why you don't see a lot of topics on it or suggestions to use it. If at all possible, it should be left formatted as external storage with stand alone files (like your media) on it. Putting apps on the SD card is what will kill it quick.

 

[mustang7757]

Um, of course. Otherwise it wouldn't have an SD slot and the option to format as internal.

Hi, Welcome!
I don't recommend moving apps to the sd card as it cause issues like stuttering,freeze ups,crashes ..even if it allows .
Just keep music and picture but back those up also .

 

[anon(10614692)]

Photos and music are best placed on an SD card as external storage. A 2GB SD card isn't going to help the space problem very much. It is unlikely to be a high speed card so will slow down apps that you MAY be able to transfer. Transferring apps is not a good idea as it increases the read/write usage of the card which will lead to its early demise. Once that happens your phone won't work properly and your data will be gone.

It's a bad idea

 

[B. Diddy]

When you format a card as Internal Storage, the card should be regarded by the system as part of Internal Storage, not a separate storage entity. So the system should decide where it stores apps or data. You shouldn't be able to navigate to the specific SD card with a file manager app, because the system doesn't think of it as an SD card any more.

That being said, certain manufacturers' implementation of Adoptable Storage can be buggy. I know that people have encountered problems with it on Moto phones, for example, where even though the card is formatted as Internal Storage, the phone gives a low storage warning even though there's plenty of space left on the SD card itself. Which phone do you have?

Also, how old is that card? I haven't seen one that small for a long time. Does this also happen with larger cards, like a 16 GB?