Apps movable to SD Card

[Deleted User]

Is there a way to tell if an app can be moved to the SD card before installing the app? I looked on the Android Market and AppBrain, but I don't see that listed anywhere.

 

[Wonderlad]

Is there a way to tell if an app can be moved to the SD card before installing the app? I looked on the Android Market and AppBrain, but I don't see that listed anywhere.

Not afaik. For me it's trial & error. Only after installation will Android tell me if it can be moved to the SD card. That can be a problem with phones with limited internal memory.

'App2SD' let's you move (installed!) apps around if they can be moved around.

 

[lunatic59]

Is there a way to tell if an app can be moved to the SD card before installing the app? I looked on the Android Market and AppBrain, but I don't see that listed anywhere.

If the developer enables it, you can go to menu>settings>applications>manage applications and tap on each app. If "move to sd card" is enabled you can move it.

 

[Deleted User]

Not afaik. For me it's trial & error. Only after installation will Android tell me if it can be moved to the SD card. That can be a problem with phones with limited internal memory.

'App2SD' let's you move (installed!) apps around if they can be moved around.

Yeah, I have Apps2SD and it will tell me an app can be moved right after I install it. I was just being lazy and wanting to find out before I even tried to install an app.

Thanks for confirming I didn't overlook something obvious.

 

[jefboyardee]

SDMove does that and offers a companion app called SDWatch, which pops up with every new movable app.

 

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the suggestions. What I am really looking for is a way to tell if an app can be moved to the SD card BEFORE I install it.

For example, on the Android Market webpage (and app), I can see the size of an app, the version number, etc. It would be useful to have a Yes / No flag saying if the app could be moved to the SD card.

 

[Wonderlad]

It would be useful to have a Yes / No flag saying if the app could be moved to the SD card.

Suggest it to the Market's webmaster...

 

[lunatic59]

Thanks for the suggestions. What I am really looking for is a way to tell if an app can be moved to the SD card BEFORE I install it.

For example, on the Android Market webpage (and app), I can see the size of an app, the version number, etc. It would be useful to have a Yes / No flag saying if the app could be moved to the SD card.

you could always set your default install location to the SD card, then unless the app were specifically set to install to internal memory, it would go directly to the sd card. The only thing you have to watch is installing widgets and polling apps, which if installed to the sd card would have to be moved back to the phone.

 

[bioforce]

you could always set your default install location to the SD card, then unless the app were specifically set to install to internal memory, it would go directly to the sd card. The only thing you have to watch is installing widgets and polling apps, which if installed to the sd card would have to be moved back to the phone.

Where is the setting for that? I don't see it under Settings/Application or the Marketplace settings.

 

[lunatic59]

Where is the setting for that? I don't see it under Settings/Application or the Marketplace settings.

It's not a setting, per se. Here's how you set the default install location to your SD card, no rooting required. Just be aware that a.) widgets, services and polling apps should always be installed to your phone's internal memory. b.) Any new widgets and services installed after you set the default location must be checked and moved back to internal memory before using them, and c.) Even with the default location set to external memory, some apps will always install to internal memory.

If you've got 2.2 or higher You change the default location to the SD card like this ... (And, once that is changed you can move even more apps to the SD card, even though they were installed to internal memory.)

You'll need to have the Android SDK installed. How-To Install Android SDK On Windows, Mac and Linux

Then on your phone go to settings>applications>development and enable USB Debugging. Plug your phone into the PC using the USB cable.

open a command prompt on your PC (start>run type "cmd" press ENTER)

Change directory to the android-sdk-windows\tools folder

At the prompt type

adb devices

and you should see your phone listed as a serial number.

type

adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2

Done.

Now the default location to install apps is the SD card. And, some apps that you couldn't move to the SD card will now be able to be moved. If you follow the steps above and you install a widget afterwards, you will need to go to settings>applications>manage applications and manually move it to the phone. If you want to set the default install location back to the phone, you simply repeat the process but use

adb shell pm setInstallLocation 0

 

[chanchan05]

Install Apps 2 SD. It will show which are moveable and which arent