Why aren't my apps moving to my SD Card storage?

[AC Question]

App not moved to SD card storage

Hi,

I have a Samsung Note 4 running 5.0.1.

I moved a number of my apps to the sd card to free up space on the device.

One of the apps I wanted moved - Smart Voice Recorder v. 1.7.1 - ostensibly allowed itself to be moved to the sd card, but when browsing to the apps files, proved to still be on the device's storage.

I tried moving the app back to device storage and then back to the sd card, but no luck. The relevant button in the app's "App Info" page even says "Move to device storage", meaning that it (and its files) should be on the sd card.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jens

 

[SpookDroid]

Re: App not moved to SD card storage

Hi there,

Moving apps to SD card changed a bit (OK, a LOT) since LolliPop, unfortunately for many. So first things first: Not all apps can be moved to SD card, and it's up to each app's dev to decide if they allow it.

OK. Now to the moving part. Because of the changes introduced in the OS, now all apps' main file must reside in the Internal Memory. ALL APPS. So why do we get the option to move to SD card then? To move 'extra' files, like save files, media, external downloads, extra assets, etc. Again, it's up to the dev to determine how much data can be moved to the SD card, but as mandated by the OS, the main app file will always be in the internal memory.

Furthermore, when you update/install/download an app from the Play Store, it's always done in the internal memory. Only after it's been installed can you proceed to move whatever part of the app is allowed to be moved onto the SD card.

Only way to overcome this is to root your phone and patch/hack it to make the phone think the SD card is part of the internal memory.

 

[Ntchwaidumela]

Re: App not moved to SD card storage

Hi there,

Moving apps to SD card changed a bit (OK, a LOT) since LolliPop, unfortunately for many. So first things first: Not all apps can be moved to SD card, and it's up to each app's dev to decide if they allow it.

OK. Now to the moving part. Because of the changes introduced in the OS, now all apps' main file must reside in the Internal Memory. ALL APPS. So why do we get the option to move to SD card then? To move 'extra' files, like save files, media, external downloads, extra assets, etc. Again, it's up to the dev to determine how much data can be moved to the SD card, but as mandated by the OS, the main app file will always be in the internal memory.

Furthermore, when you update/install/download an app from the Play Store, it's always done in the internal memory. Only after it's been installed can you proceed to move whatever part of the app is allowed to be moved onto the SD card.

Only way to overcome this is to root your phone and patch/hack it to make the phone think the SD card is part of the internal memory.

This explanation is exactly right, and should help us understand exactly how the process works. Thank you, SpookDroid! Rumor has it that 6.0 Marshmallow will once again allow the actual apps to be stored on the SD card.

 

[snejsnej]

Great, thanks SpookDroid, appreciate it.

My confusion arose b/c the button which initiates the move of the files to sd card storage (if not the app itself) was active / not greyed out. It also implied that the files had in fact been moved because of the changed text.

Cheers,
Jens (I'm the OP but wasn't signed in when posting.)

 

[SpookDroid]

If you, at some point, updated the app, that might have triggered the move back to internal memory.