I'm so confused... please help!

[Carlm]

Hello, I'm a novice android user having just moved from an iPhone. I have a Moto G 4G and I'm wondering whether you can help me with my storage issue.

I want to download movies for offline viewing off of my Google Drive. I can not for the life of me find a solution to storing Google Drive files offline on my MicroSD card...

All 32GB going to waste! Can you help please? Thank you!

 

[zorak950]

You should be able to download (among other things) by pressing the circular (i) icon. Not having a Moto G or an SD card, I'm not sure if and how to download to your SD card versus internal storage, but there may be a setting somewhere.

 

[Carlm]

In Google Drive I have the option to download to the device. It does not give me an option where on the device I can store it. I have tried looking in app settings and see if I can change storage location but there is no option available. I am pretty good when it comes to finding these things and I just can't on this occasion

 

[zorak950]

Have you tried just clicking it and seeing where it goes? I suppose in the worst case you can download the files and move them manually.

 

[Carlm]

My actions are like follows on both my Moto G and Tesco Hudl.

Click on Google Drive, select my Movies Folder (has a grey i with a circle but no option to choose storage location), then press the grey i in the circle on the movie and press the tab which is labelled "Keep on this device". It then starts downloading with no option to choose where. I have been in the Storage/Apps settings and searched around for a storage location for offline files and no joy. Surely they don't expect you to use all your internal memory?

The Google Drive has the permission to "modify or delete the contents of your SD card" so surely it works somehow.

What is annoying is that Google Play Music has the option to choose where data is stored when the music is downloaded to your phone for offline use.

 

[zorak950]

Try clicking download instead of keep on device.

 

[Carlm]

Ah there you go, I'll have to do it that way. It would be nice if Google could allow a download location setting...

 

[Carlm]

Another issue... I have downloaded it to my device. I go to Downloads and it's not there. It's using up memory so where has the bugger disappeared to?

 

[zorak950]

It should be in the Download folder located on your internal storage root.

 

[Carlm]

I go to settings -> storage and see that there's now 1.4GB of data in the downloads folder. I assume this is the two movies I have just downloaded. I click on this and the Downloads app opens up with nothing displaying at all.

Edit: I restarted my device and only one is showing there now. Very strange that I have to restart and very strange only one is there.

Another edit: All of my apps have now decided to update, including Google Drive. Let's see if this was an old version that has only just decided to update and it has a fix in it.

 

[zorak950]

To be honest, since you have to download and move them one by one anyway, I'd recommend just transferring the files from a computer. Google has decided not to integrate SD cards into Android very well, so you're probably best off thinking of your SD card as a mass storage medium: plug it into your computer, fill it up, and let it be until you want to mess with it again.

 

[zorak950]

I go to settings -> storage and see that there's now 1.4GB of data in the downloads folder. I assume this is the two movies I have just downloaded. I click on this and the Downloads app opens up with nothing displaying at all.

You can't use the Downloads app. You need a file manager if you want to move things around on your phone without using a computer.

 

[Rugwed Soman]

Try accessing your Google Drive with some file explorer like ES File Manager.See if that gives you an option to download your movies the way you want it,and you need to use the file manager to move apps around.It cannot be done with the Downloads app

 

[Carlm]

I figured out that I need a file manager this morning... not best pleased but that's the way it is. Do I need to access my movies from the file explorer then? Once they are moved there that's how I view them? Thanks...

 

[zorak950]

Like I said, I don't have experience with SD cards, but I think your media player should pick them up.

 

[zorak950]

Google has been pushing for a long time to move people to internal and cloud storage, and SD support has suffered as a result. It still works fine for mass storage of media, but trying to manage an SD card's contents actively from your device is a pain. That's why I recommended using a computer to load the card up between mobile forays: it just massively simplifies the process of file transfers. File managers are all well and good, but for shifting files around there's no good substitute for a mouse and keyboard.