Phone memory disappearing

Paul Davison · Jun 21, 2021

Hi,
I have a work phone. Once setup, including an SD card I had a fair amount of apps on the phone and about 1.5 gig space on the phone, but gradually (over 3 years) the space has disappeared. All downloads removed, no photos, screenshots, large files,unused files,duplicate files, unnecessary files and I have deleted the thumbnail file.
I gave gradually deleted less used apps off the phone, then ones that are regularly useful as space continues to disappear.
It seems some part of the operating system or app has an ever growing log that is not being cleared.

It is worth noting that I bought an A3(2017) for myself and it had the same issue. Eventually I swapped it for a Gakaxy S20.

Any ideas what I can do?

Thank you.

ocnbrze · Jun 21, 2021

first off, your phone is over 4 years old now, so things will start to slow down regardless. also updates can take a chunk out of your storage. you can try and setup your sd card as internal storage. keep in mind that there are pros and cons to doing it.

the cons:
it will create more wear and tear on your sd card and could increase the chance of the card failing at some point. also you will not be able to move the card to transfer storage like normal.

the pros:
it could potentially open al lot of space for you on your phone.

puppykickr · Jun 22, 2021

Most likely you have allowed auto-update on Google PlayStore.

This will make apps continuously larger, until the phone will no longer function properly.

To make matters worse, Google PlayStore has made it even more difficult to return these apps to their native state- the versions that they were when the device was new.

It can be done, but you will lose some features in these apps that have accumulated over time, and some of them (like Google Play Services) may not function at all.

Other apps may not work with such old software anymore.

If you choose to use an SD card to help with this, it WILL wear out very quickly.
And when it does, whatever is on that card will be gone- forever.

So that is the last ting that I would do.

Is this old of a device your every day phone, or is it an extra device?

I ask because at that age, this may be the best thing for the device and you.
Get something new to walk around with, and use the old one for Wi-Fi access.
That way you can uninstall all those updates and get some space back, yet not miss any advantages of said updates.

Personally, I have a 2015 model phone that I use in this way, and as I removed my Google account and do not update any apps on it the open space remains the same.

On a side note, it is a good rule of thumb to leave at least as much open, unused memory as there is RAM on the device.

Paul Davison · Jun 22, 2021

puppykickr said:
Most likely you have allowed auto-update on Google PlayStore.

This will make apps continuously larger, until the phone will no longer function properly.

To make matters worse, Google PlayStore has made it even more difficult to return these apps to their native state- the versions that they were when the device was new.

It can be done, but you will lose some features in these apps that have accumulated over time, and some of them (like Google Play Services) may not function at all.

Other apps may not work with such old software anymore.

If you choose to use an SD card to help with this, it WILL wear out very quickly.
And when it does, whatever is on that card will be gone- forever.

So that is the last ting that I would do.

Is this old of a device your every day phone, or is it an extra device?

I ask because at that age, this may be the best thing for the device and you.
Get something new to walk around with, and use the old one for Wi-Fi access.
That way you can uninstall all those updates and get some space back, yet not miss any advantages of said updates.

Personally, I have a 2015 model phone that I use in this way, and as I removed my Google account and do not update any apps on it the open space remains the same.

On a side note, it is a good rule of thumb to leave at least as much open, unused memory as there is RAM on the device.

Thank you.
It is a work provided phone with 16G internal drive and 2 gig memory. It only had about 2 gig space when the phone was given to me. Almost redundant when purchased.

Paul Davison · Jun 22, 2021

puppykickr said:
Most likely you have allowed auto-update on Google PlayStore.

This will make apps continuously larger, until the phone will no longer function properly.

To make matters worse, Google PlayStore has made it even more difficult to return these apps to their native state- the versions that they were when the device was new.

It can be done, but you will lose some features in these apps that have accumulated over time, and some of them (like Google Play Services) may not function at all.

Other apps may not work with such old software anymore.

If you choose to use an SD card to help with this, it WILL wear out very quickly.
And when it does, whatever is on that card will be gone- forever.

So that is the last ting that I would do.

Is this old of a device your every day phone, or is it an extra device?

I ask because at that age, this may be the best thing for the device and you.
Get something new to walk around with, and use the old one for Wi-Fi access.
That way you can uninstall all those updates and get some space back, yet not miss any advantages of said updates.

Personally, I have a 2015 model phone that I use in this way, and as I removed my Google account and do not update any apps on it the open space remains the same.

On a side note, it is a good rule of thumb to leave at least as much open, unused memory as there is RAM on the device.

Fantastic. I have uninstalled updates for as many apps as I dare, then reinstalled the latest update for key applications. I have just gained 2 Gig of space. The phone lives again.
Thank you.

puppykickr · Jun 22, 2021

Paul Davison said:
Thank you.
It is a work provided phone with 16G internal drive and 2 gig memory. It only had about 2 gig space when the phone was given to me. Almost redundant when purchased.

Sounds terrible!
Was it new when you got it?

Is it full of work things?

A device with those stats tends (in my experience) to have a system that takes up about 6GB, leaving about 10GB for the user.

Newer devices are better than that.

The SD card is where your pics, videos, and documents should go- nothing else.

What is the device?
(name, brand, etc.?)

puppykickr · Jun 22, 2021

Be sure to get onto the PlayStore, and turn off auto-update.

Otherwise Google will update everything again, forcing you to start all over.

(Ask me how I know...)

Phone memory disappearing

Paul Davison

Lurker

ocnbrze

DON'T PANIC!!!!!!!!!

puppykickr

Android Expert

Paul Davison

Lurker

Paul Davison

Lurker

puppykickr

Android Expert

puppykickr

Android Expert

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