How can I migrate from an SD card formatted as internal storage to another?

[Autolooper]

How can I migrate from an SD card formatted as internal storage to another?

Tried to switch cards out and reinstall apps, but I'm encountering a Permission Error on the card I'm trying to migrate to when trying to run apps.

 

[Autolooper]

Switching cards and reinstalling seems to indicate that the device is unable to accept new cards as internal storage.

 

[Mooncatt]

When you format the card as internal (aka adoptable) storage, it links that specific card to that specific phone. You lose the ability to easily swap cards, or to even use the existing card in something else. About the best you can do is backup everything you can (and I do mean everything) then see if there's an option to reformat the card as external storage. If not, then you may have to factory reset the phone. Only then can you swap the cards out.

I'm not too familiar on the exact procedure to undo this because it's never been a recommended practice in the first place. Adoptable storage has a number of drawbacks, including risking early corruption of the SD card. You are best to leave them formatted as external storage, and only keep independent files (media, documents, etc) on them. Leave your apps on the internal storage. If you have so many apps that this is a problem, I would also guess you're having lag issues (low storage devices usually mean low specs all around) and may suggest looking into upgrading the phone.

 

[mustang7757]

I agree with mooncatt !

 

[B. Diddy]

I moved this from the Android Apps forum to the General Help forum since the former is intended for developers to promote their apps.

 

[Autolooper]

I thought that Android had evolved past this to the point where no one complained about storage space anymore. D:

 

[Mooncatt]

I thought that Android had evolved past this to the point where no one complained about storage space anymore. D:

For the most part, yes, unless you have a dirt cheap, no name, phone. Those still come with limited internal storage. What do you have?

 

[Autolooper]

A KODAK EKTRA... So, yeah... Pretty much a cheap, no-name phone under these circumstances with a small user base not being enough to encourage development.

 

[Mooncatt]

A KODAK EKTRA... So, yeah... Pretty much a cheap, no-name phone under these circumstances with a small user base not being enough to encourage development.

Kodak isn't a no-name brand, just not one you think of for smartphones. Looking into that one, it's not as bad as I expected, but the 32 GB internal storage is on the small side by today's standards. Ideally you'd want a minimum of either either 64 GB + an SD card, or 128 GB internal without an SD card. That Kodak phone would fall into the niche market category. One or two specific great features (in this case aiming to be primarily a camera that happens to make phone calls), with otherwise mediocre specs and performance is common with these sorts of devices. If you primarily want it for photos, I'm sure it does well. If you want something more all around, then I'd suggest a different phone.

If you want to consider another device, any current flagship will do fine, of course. If budget is an issue, current mid range phones from the major manufacturers are now going rather well on specs. You could also go with a 1-2 year old flagship if you don't mind a used phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

I thought that Android had evolved past this to the point where no one complained about storage space anymore. D:

And yet iPhone users still complain about running out of storage, despite Tim Cook's magic and fairy dust and bunnies.

 

[Autolooper]

Thanks for the insight! That said, is there an easy way to back up everything before starting over? D:

 

[Mooncatt]

Any independent files should be transferred off the phone, either through cloud backup or to a computer. Apps can be re-installed during the next setup automatically from Google Play. If your phone has its own backup option, use it, then transfer that new file to another storage place, then run it after the reset. There's not really a universal one- click backup for everything that I'm aware of.