Insufficient storage bug?

[ev0lution3731]

Hi all,

I'm having an issue with my Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900V), running stock Android 6.0.1.

I have a 64GB SD card attached where I put most of my app data (Spotify music, Instagram image cache, etc..), and 16GB internal storage. Right now, my phone thinks I am using 15+GB of that storage, most of it being tied to app data (3.5GB for Spotify).

The issue is Spotify is NOT using 3.5GB of data on the internal storage. All of that is being stored on the SD card. In fact, when I go to my 'Files' app and look at the space using on my Internal Storage, it only totals 849MB.

Is this a known bug that the OS is still taking into account apps using the SD card when figuring it the space used on internal storage? It's to the point that I'm blocked from installing updates/new apps because my phone thinks it is full.

Screenshots:

Internal Storage in Settings:

Files app showing actual usage:

 

[Hadron]

The trouble with "my files" is that it only shows user-accessible part of the storage system. Internal data stored by apps, and the apps themselves, are not visible this way. The phone storage menu has a better overview.

If you have a number of large apps, or apps storing large amounts of data internally, the storage menu may well be telling you the reality. Look at the app manager to find out how much space your apps are using.

 

[El Presidente]

My G4 does that with my downloaded music in Deezer. But when I check space using a file manager the Deezer folder on the SD card is taking up most of the storage.

To check, install this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lonelycatgames.Xplore

Then use the diskmap option and you'll be able to see a graphical representation of your storage, letting you know exactly what space Spotify is using and where.

Is this preventing you from installing apps etc? As I mentioned above, my phone does this but I know for sure it's not taking up the 15gb of internal storage it's telling me as I wouldn't have any space left of that were the case.

 

[ev0lution3731]

My G4 does that with my downloaded music in Deezer. But when I check space using a file manager the Deezer folder on the SD card is taking up most of the storage.

To check, install this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lonelycatgames.Xplore

Then use the diskmap option and you'll be able to see a graphical representation of your storage, letting you know exactly what space Spotify is using and where.

Is this preventing you from installing apps etc? As I mentioned above, my phone does this but I know for sure it's not taking up the 15gb of internal storage it's telling me as I wouldn't have any space left of that were the case.

Yep, it is. I end up not being able to install/update anything. I downloaded the Xplore app and checked out the graphical representation of the storage. It says I only have 1.8GB of 11GB, but even adding up all the MB in the image only equates to ~900MB. So not sure what is eating up the other 8 unaccounted-for GB. I'd assume I would have to root my phone to see what apps are ACTUALLY using on my internal storage, but I'm on Verizon and apparently rooting isn't possible with the S5 6.0.1 Verizon model.

Hrm..

 

[ev0lution3731]

The trouble with "my files" is that it only shows user-accessible part of the storage system. Internal data stored by apps, and the apps themselves, are not visible this way. The phone storage menu has a better overview.

If you have a number of large apps, or apps storing large amounts of data internally, the storage menu may well be telling you the reality. Look at the app manager to find out how much space your apps are using.

According to the App Manager, it does say Spotify is using 3.5GB. I'd just find it hard to believe Spotify would need to store 3.5GB of metadata if I'm storing the music I download on an SD card.

 

[ev0lution3731]

Update.

I cleared my Spotify data that it said was being used on internal storage and it did nothing to improve the available space. I also confirmed that it deleted the songs I had downloaded locally on my SD card.

So I'm not sure if this would be an OS bug or a Spotify bug at this point.

 

[El Presidente]

Yep, it is. I end up not being able to install/update anything. I downloaded the Xplore app and checked out the graphical representation of the storage. It says I only have 1.8GB of 11GB, but even adding up all the MB in the image only equates to ~900MB. So not sure what is eating up the other 8 unaccounted-for GB. I'd assume I would have to root my phone to see what apps are ACTUALLY using on my internal storage, but I'm on Verizon and apparently rooting isn't possible with the S5 6.0.1 Verizon model.

Hrm..

Does the graphical overview not give you any idea of where/what the space is?

 

[ev0lution3731]

Does the graphical overview not give you any idea of where/what the space is?

The graphical representation says I have 1.8GB of 11GB of space free, but the used space of the listed things in the graphic still only adds up to ~1GB of space total. I'd assume that would mean I'd have ~10GB of space free.

 

[codesplice]

You might try using the free Disk Usage utility to get a better idea of what's using your storage: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.diskusage

That may be similar to what you've already looked at, but I've found this app to be a bit more straight forward.