Backup a Game to Reinstall Later

jonathan_67 · December 29th, 2012, 12:32 PM

Hi All,

I'm new here. I'm also relatively new to Android. I hope this isn't a silly question.

I just installed NOVA3 on my Galaxy S3. It works great but I've just realized how much space it gobbled up on my internal SD. Now as far as I know there is no way to move the app to the external SD is there? (I have 64 GB so that would be ideal but I don't think it's possible)

So my next question would be whether I can back up all the files to my PC and then uninstall it from the phone and then reinstall it later. For example if I was going on holiday I might just take it to play on that specific trip, but I don't want all that space taken up in the meantime.

How would I know which files to copy and is it just a case of copying it off and copying it back on, or are there likely to be config files which will get messed up doing it that way.

Or does Google Play just remember that you've paid for an app and allow you to uninstall and then reinstall as and when you like without having to pay again? That might be a good solution too.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jonathan

D-U-R-X · December 29th, 2012, 04:10 PM

Hello and welcome to the forums Jonathan - thanks for joining!

It is usually possible to move apps to SD card when rooted, although rooting a phone voids the warranty... if you wanted to go down this route, I am sure that our members would be able to help you out.

You wouldn't HAVE to root though... when you purchase a game from the Play Store, it will be saved to your Google account.

If you go to the store and press "menu=>my apps" it will then display a list of apps you have installed and, when you swipe to the right, it should show all apps you have ever installed. This includes any free apps you have installed

I am pretty sure that any game data would be lost, but you wouldn't have to pay for it again

jonathan_67 · December 29th, 2012, 06:47 PM

Thank you very much for the comprehensive answer. I am nervous to root the phone, but as long as I can reinstall the game later I think I will just remove it for now. Jonathan

D-U-R-X · December 29th, 2012, 06:55 PM

No problem

As I said, it is possible to get a game you've already bought back on your device by going to "my apps" on your phone when in the Play Store.

If you head here - Android Phones - Android Forums - and scroll down until you find your phone's name, you will be able to get to the sub-forum for your device. In there you can connect with other users of the same phone, who would be able to give you tips, tricks, hints and advice on how to get the most out of your new phone

If you need any help navigating the forums, feel free to hit one of the Guides/Mods up

syi · December 30th, 2012, 07:00 PM

you most likely wont be able to keep save data without root, depending on your game. nearly every game that has SD data is set to read it from internal memory, so that kinda goes out the window. I bought a 32gb Sd for games and found this out the hard way. now I just keep everything but large games on it.