My device is almost full and i can't clear space - what to do?

[twowhit]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 with Marshmallow. Play Store says I can't download any updates or apps because my device is almost full (<500MB of free space). I keep clearing the cache, moving to SD any app that can be moved, even deleting apps that I actually use, but it's no use. Play Store prompts me to delete apps that App Manager tells me are in external storage. Can't install a backup app because I can't download an app, period. If I do a factory reset I'll lose my bookmarks, my music, my docs and everything else.

Help!

 

[Rukbat]

Moving apps to the SD card frees very little storage, if any. Deleting icons doesn't uninstall apps.

You can connect the phone to a PC and back everything up (which you should do anyway - you can't recover data from a lost, stolen or destroyed phone).

Besides, a phone with 16GB storage is getting a little too small these days. Apps keep getting larger, Android keeps getting larger.

 

[twowhit]

What PC? I don't have one.

Besides, I didn't delete icons, I uninstalled apps. Seriously, why do you think I don't know the difference? Be specific.

And how is it that Play Store prompts me to uninstall apps that Application Manager says are in external storage? Why does Marshmallow contradict itself?

 

[Rukbat]

Seriously, why do you think I don't know the difference? Be specific.

Because most people who ask questions here don't.

And how is it that Play Store prompts me to uninstall apps that Application Manager says are in external storage? Why does Marshmallow contradict itself?

Prompts you to uninstall apps, or lists them as Installed? All that means is that you once installed that app to a phone that was on this account - even if the phone died and you threw it away years ago, it's still listed as Installed.

If you uninstall the apps, you uninstall the pieces moved to the SD card, and you uninstall the links. That should free up a little internal space, but not that much. It's almost a Catch 22 situation - moving them to the card doesn't free up much internal space and uninstalling them after that doesn't free up much internal space.

Don't blame it on Android or Google, though - Android was never designed to run apps from the SD card. That was a bug found by someone back around Eclair, and it's been exploited ever since. (And I suspect that Google is afraid to fix it, because it would appear to break so many phones.) But the rule of thumb now is the same as it was in Cupcake (1.5) - get a phone that has enough storage to last until you get your next phone, because storage in a cellphone isn't replaceable.

 

[twowhit]

I do run apps from the SD card - run at least one every day. Amazon Music, Kindle, Kobo, Dropwords, AcroBible, Pocket.

Is the problem that Android copies the apps to the SD card rather than moving them?

I'm trying to get my photos on Google Photos without having them on my device - so far, no luck.

Get a new phone until I get my next phone? Why not just get a new phone?