Fixing and Avoiding the "Low on Space" error

[Ruthie]

Hello there,

I've been getting the "Low on Space: Phone Storage Space is getting low" error on my Droid ERIS for a while and though I know it's different for everyone, I discovered my culprit: TEXT MESSAGES. If you've deleted apps, cleared your cache, etc., here's another thing to check before resorting to a reset.

Know these things:
- Unlike every phone I've ever owned before, Droid ERIS (and other models too) apparently doesn't autodelete your texts, or have a cap that would prompt you to know it was a problem. My phone was crashing when I got a new text and wouldn't let me open old ones.
- The way the Droid handles sms text messages is also different: in threads, rather than an inbox. The problem with this is that you can't delete individual texts, only a whole thread. I didn't want to delete a whole thread. I want to keep my boyfriend's text from this morning, but not the ones from 3 months ago. But I may want to read the older ones later.

Try this:

1. Open your Messages app. Find a thread with 50-200 messages in it and delete it. (Less won't make a difference unless you delete a lot more, and more will take a long time and possibly freeze the phone.) This frees up SOME space.

2. On the Android Market, download "SMS Backup" (free) [android-sms - Project Hosting on Google Code] and "Delete old messages" (free) [Delete old messages - JADS Limited - Innovative Software Solutions].

3. Link the first one to a Google Account for a backup of all your old messages in your Gmail inbox. Use the second to delete all the old messages from your phone from more than a certain time period ago of your choice (I used 2 months).

Tip: If you are having trouble deleting messages, or opening apps, try restarting your phone. Also try using Advanced Task Killer to shut down all apps you can.

 

[doogald]

2. On the Android Market, download "SMS Backup" (free) [android-sms - Project Hosting on Google Code] and "Delete old messages" (free) [Delete old messages - JADS Limited - Innovative Software Solutions].

Great post, but I actually like SMS Backup+ more - it has more features (and is just as free.) For example, it can backup MMS messages, and it can also restore messages if you do a factory reset. Also, it can backup calls to a gmail calendar as well.

SMS Backup + - Android app on AppBrain

 

[SirEagle]

I don't understand why people save texts for extended periods of time.

As far as deleting one text and not the full thread, it's possible to do. Just long press on the text you want to delete and it will be in the pop-up menu.

 

[Frisco]

I don't understand why people save texts for extended periods of time.

I need to save client confirmation texts, some of which go back weeks before they are asked for.

After 500 (200 with the Eris) I store them on my laptop, which is one of my daily tasks.

 

[doogald]

I need to save client confirmation texts, some of which go back weeks before they are asked for.

After 500 (200 with the Eris) I store them on my laptop, which is one of my daily tasks.

That's one of the things that I love about SMS Backup+. It puts texts as conversations in a label in Google mail (the default label is "SMS", but you can change that) and that makes all of the texts available in gmail at any time - both on the phone or on a computer that can get to gmail. They are stored as they are received automatically (and anything that you send gets backed up on a schedule if you do not get an incoming text or MMS before the schedule expires.) And they are accessible to a very fast Google search.

Oh, and you can set it up to back up only from specific contact groups, so if you get spammy messages sometimes you can keep them from being backed up.

 

[japapino808]

how do i erase sms

 

[doogald]

how do i erase sms

Probably the quickest way is to install a different app called "SMS Backup & Restore", which has a button that will erase all messages on the phone with one tap.

 

[wildtouch83]

This is messed up. I had to clear my Facebook data and Contacts Storage data in order to get rid of this message. Together they were consuming about 22MB of data. After I deleted the data and re-synchronized that info, they are using under 6MB now.

 

[fiyamedic]

This is messed up. I had to clear my Facebook data and Contacts Storage data in order to get rid of this message. Together they were consuming about 22MB of data. After I deleted the data and re-synchronized that info, they are using under 6MB now.

Holy cow !!! I too have been having a problem with the " low storage " message poppng up and staying on. I tried many things with no luck until.... I tried clearing the "Contacts Storage" and bam !!! No more message. Also noticed that the factory installed "Market" app that I cleared helped tremendously.Thanks for the help,these forums are a saviour!

 

[zerocool79346]

The solution to phones hanging when deleting Text messages is to not use the messaging app to do so. Instead clear data from contact storage, dialer storage, and whatever 3rd party SMS app you are using (handcent, chomp...etc) this will clear your messages (all of them) and won't hang up the phone. I personally only keep my girlfriend and I's thread (well over 3000) and delete everyone else as soon as I'm done talking to them.

 

[specv118]

I have this same problem. Read this thread.

And have done a lot of stuff trying to solve this problem.

I just noticed I have 90.3MB tied up in ****ing Dialer Storage (idk how its so high) But whats stored in this and will I be fine clearing the cache?


I also just cleared 25.5MB of facebook cache.

This phone sure does love to hold onto information.

 

[jenjen31]

what will happen if you clear the Dialer Storage data? it shows the "cache" blacked out. what if anything will i lose clearing the Data??

 

[tinks1016]

If you clear the Dialer Storage data, it will delete all of your SMS/MMS messages. Deleting the cache didn't seem to matter. My phone did automatically delete my SMS/MMS messages once when my space was low for too long...

I am curious about deleting the Facebook and Facebook for HTC Sense data...each are at 22 MB, but I am tired of getting the "low on space" message every day.

 

[Neera]

So finally I have been hit with the "Low on Space: Phone Storage Space is getting low" message as well.

A little bit of a mystery to me since I don't have that many apps installed and religiously clear cache almost every day and also regularly delete/backup texts.
I suspect maybe updates for apps make them grow and add data instead of replacing data?
So my last resort short of rooting the phone is to remove an app or two.

Which leads to my question. How do I uninstall the "Facebook for Android" app??

It has been buggy and I really don't use it that much, accessing FB through my browser will do just fine, but for some reason I do not see an uninstall option in the market for it.

This is not FB for HTC Sense that came with the phone.
It is the "Facebook for Android" official app made by Facebook I installed from the market.
The only option it gives is to uninstall "updates", but not the app itself.

Anyone having the same problem?

 

[doogald]

So finally I have been hit with the "Low on Space: Phone Storage Space is getting low" message as well.

A little bit of a mystery to me since I don't have that many apps installed and religiously clear cache almost every day and also regularly delete/backup texts.
I suspect maybe updates for apps make them grow and add data instead of replacing data?
So my last resort short of rooting the phone is to remove an app or two.

Which leads to my question. How do I uninstall the "Facebook for Android" app??

It has been buggy and I really don't use it that much, accessing FB through my browser will do just fine, but for some reason I do not see an uninstall option in the market for it.

This is not FB for HTC Sense that came with the phone.
It is the "Facebook for Android" official app made by Facebook I installed from the market.
The only option it gives is to uninstall "updates", but not the app itself.

Anyone having the same problem?

You can try to uninstall in settings->applications->manage applications. Wait for the list to refresh, then tap on Facebook and there should be an uninstall button on that screen. Also, after you let manage applications refresh, you can press menu and choose "sort by size" to get an idea about which apps are consuming data.

 

[Neera]

You can try to uninstall in settings->applications->manage applications. Wait for the list to refresh, then tap on Facebook and there should be an uninstall button on that screen. Also, after you let manage applications refresh, you can press menu and choose "sort by size" to get an idea about which apps are consuming data.

Thanks Doogald, but I am already past that point.
I frequently go to "settings->applications->manage applications"
and clear caches after I sort by size.

For the "Facebook by Android" app there is of course the "clear cache" button, but then there is only a "uninstall updates" button, but no option to uninstall the app itself which is very odd.

 

[doogald]

Thanks Doogald, but I am already past that point.
I frequently go to "settings->applications->manage applications"
and clear caches after I sort by size.

For the "Facebook by Android" app there is of course the "clear cache" button, but then there is only a "uninstall updates" button, but no option to uninstall the app itself which is very odd.

You could try uninstalling updates and then see if there is an uninstall app button.

You are not rooted, are you?

 

[Neera]

Not rooted here, but I am thinking that may be the way to go.

I did uninstall the updates, but then the "uninstall updates" button turned into a greyed out "clear data" button, no general uninstall button in sight!

 

[doogald]

The reason that I asked about root is that the behavior you describe sounds a lot like what happens when you are rooted and move and app from where they are normally installed, in the /data/apps, to the /system/apps. This happens with apps that are built-in to the ROM, like Google Maps, when there are updates in the market but there is a base install that was built-in. The thing is that the Facebook apps is not built-in to the stock Eris build - or, at least I don't think it is.

If you want to root, there are a lot of us ready to help you through the process, when you're ready. Look in the All Things Root subforum.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

There was a thread or two long ago when the Eris first got root discussing all the things you could delete from the phone without having a negative impact.
Every time I flash a new ROM I go through and delete things I don't use or want like twitter, amazonmp3, and the like.

Maybe that thread is still somewhere in the All Things Root section.

The cache2cache (by zach.xtr) thing is pretty slick too. I haven't seen that warning in ages and I owe it to cache2cache and that delete button

 

[bluewhite79]

this is a big issue for my wife's eris. She keeps getting the message and this is a mystery for sure. I can count up to about 120MB worth of apps on her phone.

Question. isn't there a way to get these on teh SD card? why can't they go from the market to being stored on the 7 gigs worth of free space on the SD card? PLEASE let me know if there is a way to get them there. BTW, when i mount the phone to the computer, it will only let me see the contents of the SD card. Is there a way I can MOVE these over ot the SD manually?

I will see if her pictures (MMS) are taking up space.

 

[doogald]

With the Eris, the only way to move apps to the SD card is to root the phone.

 

[bluewhite79]

With the Eris, the only way to move apps to the SD card is to root the phone.

you gotta be kidding!? they give us 256 mb of internal storage and expect all apps to go there? wtf?

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

I highly recommend rooting and going with one zach.xtr's roms XTRsense (if you like sense) or XTRrom if you don't care for sense. They are very very stable and smooth (smoother than stock if I remember right). With rootroot, cache2cach, apps to SD, and overclocking (not to mention all the cool apps available for rooted devices) you can't lose IMHO.
Plus, you have oodles of support from someof the best here and over on XDA.
I owe so much to these guys and gals.

 

[ngamtns]

If you have updated Adobe Flash to version 11 or higher it is a resource hog. You cannot remove Adobe Flash completely but you can remove the updates. Once I removed the update I no longer get the low storage alert. Hope this helps.