Can no longer move apps to sd card after update

[Danno175]

I recently bought a Samsung A7 Lite Tablet and installed an SD card to increase the storage on it. Everything was working fine for a while and I was able to move apps to the SD card without any problems. I few days after I bought it an update became available for the device so I went ahead and updated my tablet. After that I was no longer able to transfer apps to my card. I kept getting a message saying "NOT ENOUGH STORAGE SPACE". I tried everything to fix it including resetting the tablet to factory settings and reformatting my SD card. NOTHING WORKED!!! Has anyone experienced the same problem?

 

[svim]

Do you have the 32GB or 64GB model?
https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_tab_a7_lite-10933.php
If you just recently bought your A7 Lite tablet and are already running out of free storage space it might be best to return it, if viable, and just buy a tablet with 128GB or more of internal storage:
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?mode=tablet&nIntMemMin=128000&sAvailabilities=1

 

[Danno175]

It's a 32 Gb model. I still have about 10 Gb of internal storage left, which will probably get me by for a while. Unfortunately it too late to return it and I would rather find a solution to the problem than buy a more expensive tablet. I think I bought the SD card for $15. There might be a really easy solution, but as of yet a frustratingly elusive one....In any case I appreciate your input! Thank you!

 

[Hadron]

Does the system menu still have the option to move apps to SD? If that has disappeared then nothing you can do will undo that, except perhaps complaining to Samsung that they've removed a feature (unlikely that a single complaint would make any difference to them though).

If the option is still there does it actually move the apps (i.e. does it tell you it has, and does it make any difference to the available storage)? I ask because "low storage" might be due to something else (you shouldn't get that message with 10GB left, so I assume that it was lower immediately after the update and that something you've done has changed that).

 

[Danno175]

Hi Hadron, Thanks for your post!Yes the system menu still has the option to move apps to the sd card....and when I try to move a movable app to the card the process actually starts, but when it nears completion is when the message pops up that there isn't enough storage space on the card. This is on a totally empty card that's just been reformatted...and a tablet that's been restored to factory settings..I attached a screenshot.

 

[ocnbrze]

what sd card do you have? i would try a different card.

or at least try and reformat the card and try again. keep in mind re-formatting the card will wipe any data on the card so backup accordingly.

 

[Danno175]

what sd card do you have? i would try a different card.

or at least try and reformat the card and try again. keep in mind re-formatting the card will wipe any data on the card so backup accordingly.

I have a Samsung card and I've tried re-formatting it several times. I've also tried swapping the card with the card in my phone. Both cards work in my Samsung phone but neither work for transferring apps in my Tablet

 

[ocnbrze]

I have a Samsung card and I've tried re-formatting it several times. I've also tried swapping the card with the card in my phone. Both cards work in my Samsung phone but neither work for transferring apps in my Tablet

are you re-formatting it on the tablet? or pc?

 

[Danno175]

are you re-formatting it on the tablet? or pc?

Tablet

 

[svim]

This is a bit of a long shot but since you were able to move apps previously and this just became a problem after an update, you might want to try wiping your tablet's system cache partition. This requires you to boot up your tablet into its Recovery Mode, and the interface is text-based so you need to use the indicated buttons to navigate the through the various menus. (... the wipe only takes a few seconds so just getting to that point is a lot more involved than just doing it.) Instructions, with graphics, here:
https://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-galaxy-tab-a7-lite/recovery-mode/
More recent versions of Android have stopped using a dedicated partition of its own for the system cache so don't be surprised if that option isn't even there in your tablet's Recovery. But back before its demise wiping the system cache was a more common task when a system update added some kind of glitch.
Just to clarify, was the update you're referring to an Android version upgrade or just a monthly security patch update?

 

[Danno175]

Thanks for the suggestion svim, but unfortunately it didn't work. The process to wipe the system cache partition was fairly easy...and I was very hopeful... but nope...Anyway, I think it was an Android version update, because it took a long time to complete. Maybe 15 min. or more. ...I'm at a total loss as to how a seemingly simple problem can be so difficult to fix. I'm almost at the point of giving up and just using the tablet without an sd card....but if you have any other suggestions I'm all ears, lol!

 

[ocnbrze]

all else fails you can do a factory reset. maybe it was a bad download or install of the update.

 

[mikedt]

AFAIK Samsung doesn't support moving apps to the SD storage. Certainly no Samsung phone I've had did it. And neither does Samsung support formatting SDs as "internal" storage.

Google deprecated moving apps to SD in Android a few years ago now. I believe mainly because it would only move part of the app, and some apps would malfunction when moved to SD.

 

[Danno175]

all else fails you can do a factory reset. maybe it was a bad download or install of the update.

I've already tried a factory reset twice. Unfortunately that didn't work

 

[Danno175]

AFAIK Samsung doesn't support moving apps to the SD storage. Certainly no Samsung phone I've had did it. And neither does Samsung support formatting SDs as "internal" storage.

Google deprecated moving apps to SD in Android a few years ago now. I believe mainly because it would only move part of the app, and some apps would malfunction when moved to SD.

I have a Samsung Galaxy s20 Fe phone and it allows moving apps to an sd card, in fact I just tried it today with no problems. My Samsung A7 lite tablet also moved apps to the sd card until I updated it, then it stopped working.

 

[mikedt]

I have a Samsung Galaxy s20 Fe phone and it allows moving apps to an sd card, in fact I just tried it today with no problems. My Samsung A7 lite tablet also moved apps to the sd card until I updated it, then it stopped working.

I got a Galaxy Note20 Ultra, with latest updates.
But it's not actually moving the app though, it's only moving the app's user data and/or temp files. Which not all apps support.

Also as SD card storage is much slower than internal, one could experience sluggishness and lag when using apps. As well as possible increased wear and tear of the SD card due to repeated read/write cycles of some apps.

 

[Shrennie]

Hi - I'm also unable to move apps to the SD card after the last update. I previously has no issues (I have 32GB Internal/64GB External-SD Card). I even called Samsung CSU and they have no idea what I am talking about. They told me to send the tablet in for repair. What are they repairing? I spoke with 2 CSU's and they were both a nightmare. They need to fix this...it appears that the last update changed/messed up a lot on my Tablet.

 

[bugnimp]

I bought an A 7 lite last month. 32 gb. I had an old sd card that I formatted in it and it will not transfer any apps. I get the “not enough space” error. I bought a new 128 gb card and formatted it in the tablet. It recognizes the card but always gives the same error message. I have removed it and re installed and formatted several different cards in it multiple times. Nothing! This is the first Samsung tablet I have bought. It was to replace my daughter’s stupid Amazon Fire because I got tired of the 57 steps it takes to change 1 thing in parental controls.

 

[craigmoviescape]

I recently bought a Samsung A7 Lite Tablet and installed an SD card to increase the storage on it. Everything was working fine for a while and I was able to move apps to the SD card without any problems. I few days after I bought it an update became available for the device so I went ahead and updated my tablet. After that I was no longer able to transfer apps to my card. I kept getting a message saying "NOT ENOUGH STORAGE SPACE". I tried everything to fix it including resetting the tablet to factory settings and reformatting my SD card. NOTHING WORKED!!! Has anyone experienced the same problem?

I have similar issue. My son has an A7 lite, we’ve had a 32gb sd card for a while with some of the basic apps and games he plays on it with no issue until updating android somfteare this morning. Now all the app icons are missing and when trying to open it just pops a banner up saying app not installed. The settings pages have all changed too and the apps on so card no longer retrieve the information about them in the settings either. This tablet is useless without the sd card supported, we literally only bought this over others because it had that functionality and now looks like they removed it. Had it too long to return it but certainly haven’t had it long enough to be considering replacing it, more than a bit annoyed with this if it is the case they have stopped that function being supported!!
Would appreciate any info regarding this or if there is a fix, otherwise it will be a serious complaint and refund demand to Samsung I guess.

 

[UltraDino64]

I also have the same problem with my Samsung galaxy tab a7 lite even though I have 1TB sd card inserted into it.

 

[ocnbrze]

apps have never been fully been able to move to the sd card....unless you format the card as internal. but not all devices has this option.

here try this:
https://www.techyloud.com/how-to-set-sdcard-as-default-storage-on-samsung-galaxy-tab-a7-lite/

 

[UltraDino64]

Yah I know that already I already format my sd card when I insert into my tablet around few months ago and I only use around 1.98GB of storage in the 1Tb sd card. This is definitely a bug that seriously need to bug fix but I wondered if other android tablets have the same problem as the Samsung galaxy tab a7 lite?

 

[Hollis Bewley]

I've always been able to move some apps (and their databases which can be quite large for some field guides (eg Audubon birds, iBird Pro, etc) to the SD card beginning with an S2 tablet and S7 phone, an A52 phone and now an A7 Lite tablet until the last software update for the A7. The move will begin and then abort with the "NOT ENOUGH STORAGE SPACE" message. Yes, my tablet has enough internal storage (64GB) to accommodate these but I have stuck with Samsung through device upgrades due to SD support for not only my own photos & documents, but also for large databases used by some applications. I can write other files to the SD card using file management and could move applications over until the the last software update, so it's not a matter of formatting nor a corrupt card and the write protect tab hasn't been accidently engaged. Something broke with the most recent software update

 

[Jvmlove]

So, any one find a solution with this problem?
It's become annoying for me!
Samsung please, could you arrange this problem !!!

 

[corvino3]

Add me to the list please.