Can't figure out how to save apps to sdcard

ReggieTee

Well-known member
Jul 17, 2010
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Am I missing something? When I go to my apps to move to sd card, the option isnt there.
 
They changed things around a bit. On the GS2 for example, they gave you 2 GB for apps. You then could manage your applications and move them to the SD card. They did away with this by giving us just one big partition on the phone itself. If you go to the applications manager and select any of your downloaded apps, you will see how it breaks down used storage of the app on your phone, the option to move to sd card is now gone though since it really isn't all that necessary anymore. I just keep all my pictures and music on my sd card and leave all the space on the phone for apps. Having them on the phone storage has two advantages. 1. They load faster. 2. Some cheaper micro sd cards can become corrupted and because of that your apps that are partially installed on the sd card (with the core part of the app being on the phone itself) will no longer work. Since this isn't permitted anymore, we no longer have to worry about #2.

Will you run out of space if you install enough games? Certainly, just depends on how much memory your version of the phone came with. For now, keep the phone memory clean of pictures, music and videos. Thankfully the camera app is nice enough to ask where to store your pictures and gives you the sd card as an option.
 
ICS does not allow apps to be on the SD card.

Sent from my A500 using Android Central Forums
 
My 32GB S3 will arrive on the 26th. Can't wait to be able to install whatever I want. Currently I only have the basic must-have apps (Whatsapp, FB, Tapatalk, Dolphin etc) and I only have 19MB left on phone memory. Installing anything at this point would prompt low memory warnings.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Ace using Tapatalk
 
ICS does not allow apps to be on the SD card.

Sent from my A500 using Android Central Forums

my epic touch (sgs2) with a leaked ICS build allows me to move them to the sd card. So it cant just be ICS. Like MannyZ28 said I only have 2gb of app space where as my wifes sgs3 has one big partition(12gb) to use.
 
This is a bigger issue than I thought initially. I remember on my Skyrocket and previous phones, there was a folder linked to the memory card named "external sd" on the internal memory. That's not the case with this phone. I'm looking for a way to make the external memory accessible from the internal memory in apps. Without using the built in file manager, I cannot find the external memory card. My pics and videos that are on the memory card show up in the gallery but I can't get my apps to see the memory card.
 
They changed things around a bit. On the GS2 for example, they gave you 2 GB for apps. You then could manage your applications and move them to the SD card. They did away with this by giving us just one big partition on the phone itself. If you go to the applications manager and select any of your downloaded apps, you will see how it breaks down used storage of the app on your phone, the option to move to sd card is now gone though since it really isn't all that necessary anymore. I just keep all my pictures and music on my sd card and leave all the space on the phone for apps. Having them on the phone storage has two advantages. 1. They load faster. 2. Some cheaper micro sd cards can become corrupted and because of that your apps that are partially installed on the sd card (with the core part of the app being on the phone itself) will no longer work. Since this isn't permitted anymore, we no longer have to worry about #2.

Will you run out of space if you install enough games? Certainly, just depends on how much memory your version of the phone came with. For now, keep the phone memory clean of pictures, music and videos. Thankfully the camera app is nice enough to ask where to store your pictures and gives you the sd card as an option.
Yeah, I googled last night and learned this. I have the 16gb version with a 32gb sdcard. I'll be fine. I don't play too many games. On the other hand, if Best Buy gets a 32gb model in within my 30 days, I'm going to do an exchange.
 
what about for apps that download things, and like tubemate? Will I just have to keep moving the files to the external sd card? And flixter, that downloads whole movies with no option to move to external sd card
 
there is an app out there called easy manager you can download it from your Google store. It provides an easy way to move the applications back and forth to your phone to your sd card.. be warned some the applications that came with your phone cannot be moved over to an SD card. Hope this helps
 
what about for apps that download things, and like tubemate? Will I just have to keep moving the files to the external sd card? And flixter, that downloads whole movies with no option to move to external sd card

Nope, you can set download location to the external sd card but the apps live on the internal memory

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Android Central Forums
 
This isn't Sammy, it's an ICS issue.

its not ICS, its the way Google want Android devices to work in the future, its more secure ;)

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or crazy) guess ;)
 
what about for apps that download things, and like tubemate? Will I just have to keep moving the files to the external sd card? And flixter, that downloads whole movies with no option to move to external sd card

until the apps update to have extSDCard as a location, youre just gona have to keep a couple GB internal to download to n then move them to Ext manualy.
wonder if theres an app that automates the whole thing... say, uses 100mb internal memory as like a buffer and moves the download to Ext Sd while its downloading??
wow if that doesnt exist then ive just had yet another app lightbulb moment lol.
im gona teach myself coding in jail ;)

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or crazy) guess ;)
 
Last edited:
I'm noticing a bit of confusion here.

If you're running ICS or JB and you use a file manager such as Astro, to find your files, look under the Mount directory/folder, you will see an "SD Card" listed. SD Card is internal--it's what you're paying for when you buy a 16 GB or a 32 GB S3. And, yes, you can put apps on it. That's what it's for.

If you have inserted an SD Card into the expansion slot inside the battery compartment, you'll also see "External SD Card" listed. You can't put apps on the external card. You just can't. So, yes on "SD Card," but no on "External SD Card."

But you can store music, pics, videos, backups...that sort of stuff...on the external card.

This is by design. Google doesn't want you to use external cards for apps or storage anymore. That's why some manufacturers ship their devices WITHOUT expansion slots. We old f?rts. who remember all the way back to the S2 remember being able to put your apps on the SD Card (which was external). We also remember when app2SD was essential to life as we knew it.

That was then. This isn't.

Got that, now? You can't put working apps onto your shiny, brand-new 64 GB Micro SD Card. You just can't.

(Unless some coder figures out some genius workaround.)


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Android Central Forums
 
I'm noticing a bit of confusion here.

If you're running ICS or JB and you use a file manager such as Astro, to find your files, look under the Mount directory/folder, you will see an "SD Card" listed. SD Card is internal--it's what you're paying for when you buy a 16 GB or a 32 GB S3. And, yes, you can put apps on it. That's what it's for.

If you have inserted an SD Card into the expansion slot inside the battery compartment, you'll also see "External SD Card" listed. You can't put apps on the external card. You just can't. So, yes on "SD Card," but no on "External SD Card."

But you can store music, pics, videos, backups...that sort of stuff...on the external card.

This is by design. Google doesn't want you to use external cards for apps or storage anymore. That's why some manufacturers ship their devices WITHOUT expansion slots. We old f?rts. who remember all the way back to the S2 remember being able to put your apps on the SD Card (which was external). We also remember when app2SD was essential to life as we knew it.

That was then. This isn't.

Got that, now? You can't put working apps onto your shiny, brand-new 64 GB Micro SD Card. You just can't.

(Unless some coder figures out some genius workaround.)


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Android Central Forums

exactly mate. app2sd came with 2.2 (froyo) and was essential when phones had such puny internal memory. now the s3, nexus7 etc have one huge partition of internal memory named SDCard.
google would love us to store all our media on the cloud and stream it but unless they buy or become a carrier all over the world offering non-profit unlimited data to all android devices then thats not really gona happen so thankfully Sammy gave us an expandable sd EXT SDCard slot for all our media :)

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or crazy) guess ;)
 
I don't know for sure but I am told there is an app to do it but only for rooted phones. I wish they had mentioned this in the advertising as I would have gone for the 32gb. Google are aholes for doing this. I hate to say it but they are getting a bit like apple.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Android Central Forums
 

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