Why is my phone saying that there is low storage space with 6GB free?

[AC Question]

Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

I am running Android 4.1.2 on the AT&T 16GB Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and can not update the firmware to the newest version. The phone says that I have insufficient storage available, even though I have over 6.5GB free. Can anyone help?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

Welcome to Android Central! How big is the update file? It usually mentions it in the update notification.

 

[Zarkamo]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

I never got an update notification but AT&T's website lists that the update has been available for over 3 months now (I can't link the page but it should be the first google result for "at&t galaxy note 2 update"). The site also lists that the update is only 804MB.

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

Try booting into Recovery and wiping the cache partition first: Reset: Samsung Galaxy Note II | T-Mobile Support

 

[Zarkamo]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

That worked and it's downloading now, thanks! Do you have any reasoning behind why this worked or is it just a known fix to the problem?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

The cache partition is where apk installer files are temporarily stored when you install an app from Google Play or elsewhere. Perhaps the cache partition was too full, and wasn't being emptied by the system. Anyway, glad it worked!

 

[Zarkamo]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

Well it got to downloading and finished that but it would not finish installing. After reboot it says Install interrupted, the software update could not be installed. I had my phone rooted before and unrooted it through the SuperSU app before trying to update it but do you think that it might be causing a problem still?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

I don't have rooting experience, so I can't give you a good answer, sorry!

 

[Resendetra]

Re: Phone Won't Update Firmware Due to Low Storage with 6GB free

When being prompted for an update and someone rooted actually wanting it, it's always best to unroot the phone, take the update, and try rooting again.

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