Android 6.0.1 can Apps be moved to an external SD Card

[Percy Veer]

I have just bought a Lenovo tablet which has Android 6.0.1 because my Hudl 2 tablet gave up. The Hudl was Android 5.1.1 and I had a 32Gb SD Card fitted. I inserted this in the Lenovo and all the files on there can be read OK. But when my Apps were downloaded on the Lenovo from the Play Store they alll were loaded in Internal Memory. When I look at the apps in Settings there is no tab to move them to the SD Card as there was for some apps in Android 5.1.1

I can see that the card can be configured as internal memory but this will wipe all the files as it will be reformatted to be read only by the 6.0.1 software.

Is there a way to move apps to an external sd card?

Thanks

 

[B. Diddy]

Not all devices support the Move to SD function. If you don't see the option for any app when you go to Settings>Apps and select that app, then it's not supported. You'd have to root the device and use an app like Link2SD or App Mgr III.

 

[Percy Veer]

Thank B Diddy for your reply. So is it a function of the device i.e. the Lenovo tablet, or the Android software 6.0.1 that it runs on. I know from my Hudl 5.1.1 that some apps did not offer Move to SD Card, but in Settings/Apps there was still a tab but it was greyed out for some apps. On this Lenovo tablet in Settings/Apps there is no tab at all for Move to SD Card

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm pretty sure Marshmallow still supports Move to SD, but it's up to the device manufacturer to implement it (and not all apps can be moved to SD either -- that's dependent on the app developer). When I get a chance, I can check my one Marshmallow device with an SD card (an Honor 5X) to see if it has a Move to SD option.

I can also check my daughter's Lenovo Tab4 8 (running Nougat) to see if that has the Move to SD feature. If not, then it's probably a decision that was made by Lenovo.

 

[Percy Veer]

Thanks B.Diddy for your reply.

I have done a bit of searching on the internet and found this article which although not for a Lenovo tablet describes the "Adaptable Storage" capability of Android 6, Marshmallow.

(Sorry, I am a novice with all this and don't know how to paste the link in this message)

It appears that apps can only be moved to an SD card if it has been formatted as "internal" storage. This obviously significantly extends the internal storage capacity of the device but the downside seems to be that the card becomes exclusive to that device , that is can only be read by that device. I have now also seen sites that say that if the device ever has to be Factory Reset then the card will not be able to be read afterwards because the Encryption Code will be lost in the reset. The data on the card will be trapped there for ever. I did not realize this when I bought the Lenovo with Android 6.0.1 and I will have to find out how I can backup any data I might put on a new card configured as "internal". Also I will have to find out how to move data from my existing "external" card on to the new "internal" card, presumably via my pc ?

 

[B. Diddy]

You need to be careful with Adoptable Storage -- only certain manufacturers support it, and those that do sometimes mess up the implementation. I think Moto phones were somewhat notorious for odd glitches with Adoptable Storage, and considering that you have a Lenovo tablet, I'd be cautious.

I thought that it was possible on Marshmallow devices to choose between using Adoptable Storage and using the old Move to SD feature (onto an SD formatted as Portable Storage). I checked my Honor 5X, and I don't see the Move to SD feature -- but that might also be a design decision by the Huawei firmware engineers. I also checked my daughter's Lenovo Tab 4 8 (running Nougat), and there's also no Move to SD feature there.

This article indicates that it should be possible on Marshmallow, at least on some devices: How To Move Apps To The SD Card in Android 6.0 Marshmallow | Droid Lessons.

Moving the existing data on your current SD formatted as Portable Storage can be a little tricky. For discrete files (like photos, videos, documents), that's a simple matter of copying them somewhere else (like your PC or the cloud), then copying them back to the phone after you've formatted the card as Internal Storage. But some apps might also use the SD card for data, and I'm not sure if copying those files/folders somewhere else and then copying them back will be recognized by the app.

 

[Percy Veer]

You need to be careful with Adoptable Storage -- only certain manufacturers support it, and those that do sometimes mess up the implementation. I think Moto phones were somewhat notorious for odd glitches with Adoptable Storage, and considering that you have a Lenovo tablet, I'd be cautious.

I thought that it was possible on Marshmallow devices to choose between using Adoptable Storage and using the old Move to SD feature (onto an SD formatted as Portable Storage). I checked my Honor 5X, and I don't see the Move to SD feature -- but that might also be a design decision by the Huawei firmware engineers. I also checked my daughter's Lenovo Tab 4 8 (running Nougat), and there's also no Move to SD feature there.

This article indicates that it should be possible on Marshmallow, at least on some devices: How To Move Apps To The SD Card in Android 6.0 Marshmallow | Droid Lessons.

Moving the existing data on your current SD formatted as Portable Storage can be a little tricky. For discrete files (like photos, videos, documents), that's a simple matter of copying them somewhere else (like your PC or the cloud), then copying them back to the phone after you've formatted the card as Internal Storage. But some apps might also use the SD card for data, and I'm not sure if copying those files/folders somewhere else and then copying them back will be recognized by the app.

Thanks B.Diddy for your reply and for checking yours and your daughter's devices.

I've had a look at the link you sent and have tried the instructions it gives to change app storage to the SD card on Marshmallow devices.

But unfortunately it looks as though on my new Lenovo this capability is not included, so it does seem as you have said that some manufacturers may not include it.

After I select Settings/Apps/appname/Storage and for all the apps I have tried this, there is no SD Card option on the screen which follows.

Thanks for your help