Running apps off SD Card

[Narpstar]

Hi guys,

I'm a new Android user. Just switched from iPhone to Android with a cheap phone with limited internal storage. I'm baffled. I installed six apps and it told me I've run out of space on my phone storage. So I bought an SD card to put the apps onto it, but discovered this is not possible.

I've read things around the traps about rooting the device and expanding the internal storage to the SD card, but this seems INSANE. What's more - my internal storage is divided and could POTENTIALLY allow more apps to be installed, but the extra 2gb is allocated to media storage and the like. So I have 500 mb, most of which is already taken up by preinstalled apps, to play with.

I thought Apple were supposed to be restrictive, but I switch to Android and find I can't move apps to the external storage?!

My question is: is there something I'm missing here, and there's a simple solution to my problem? SURELY there is.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[El Presidente]

Welcome to AF Ben!

The process is dependant on phone and OS version, what's yours?

Normally, you can move part of the app to the SD Card with Settings- > Apps -> All -> App Name -> Move to SD Card. There may be a more detailed process for your handset though. If the handset is still running Gingerbread, something like this might work.

I wouldn't say it's an Android issue per s

 

[Narpstar]

Hi there, thanks for your help! I checked out your steps, and some of my apps had that ability, so I freed up a bit of space! I've still got a tiny amount of space left though. I guess that's just what I get for buying a cheap phone.

Thanks for your help!

 

[funkylogik]

I had the same problem on cheap devices. Its really frustrating having to decide which apps you need least. If you use facebook you should ditch the app and use the browser instead :thumbup:

 

[AndroidFan911]

Very important to always buy a device with sufficient space for your needs.
Thx.

 

[chanchan05]

Well you did go from a flagship level phone (iPhone) to a cheap Android one. I mean, even the 3 year old Galaxy S (iPhone 3GS counterpart) can store more than 100 apps because of the memory allocation.

So yeah, you want freedom, don't go for cheapos.

 

[out of ideas]

or buy a cheapo phone and partition your sdcard and get as much as you want.

win-win

 

[chanchan05]

or buy a cheapo phone and partition your sdcard and get as much as you want.

win-win

Not really. The cheapest don't really have enough computing power.

 

[kate]

Not really. The cheapest don't really have enough computing power.

Yep. Several people I know buy the mid range phones that have SD card slots. It's the sweet spot of value, performance, and storage.