Help Downloading error (insufficient space when plenty of space is available)

[Tyler Derden]

Hey guys.

Have been dealing with this problem now for a couple weeks. When I try to download an app or .apk, I get error from play store (insufficient storage space available), and (after .apk downloads) when I hit install I get the "Out of space. Try deleting or managing apps to free up some space."

Nothing I have tried will get me to where I can install the download. I have wiped the davlik cache, deleted some apps, tried restoring my backup several ways and nothing changed much (and when it did, it didn't fix the problem). I have plenty of internal and external sd card space, yet I still get the "need to free up space prompt."

After looking tirelessly through forums and troubleshooting, I reach out to my android brothers and sisters. In hopes that someone can help me fix my undesirable situation. (Especially since downloading the newest, most up-to-date apps is one of most enjoyable things I like to do on my phone.)

Thanks to all for any insight or information on the matter.

 

[Tyler Derden]

Also tried the *#9900# call and it didn't work. Still looking :-\...

 

[ravenslight]

First, r u using a custom rom or stock, second, what vers of gapps did u flash if u r using a custom rom, n third, what happened just before this issue occured

 

[tc0566]

I had this issue when using the boot switcher zips..phone showed twice as many apps installed as there actually was clearing the delvik cache fixed it.

 

[Tyler Derden]

Thanks.. no I'm running stock rom except a few tweaks. It could be because I have been trying EVERYTHING to get my phone to hold apps, etc. In the external sd card. For a while once I downloaded something when I went to click install it wouldn't. When I finally fixed that problem to where my phone would download again( via: unchecked installers option to have downloads go to text sd card), it seems like that same day or next day google play store was giving me th no connection error. I'll try to wipe the delvick cache again.

I was also thinking about trying to overwrite/install a version of apps on the phone to get the right permissions back. I have already tried clearing the host file and force closing play store after data wipe but still didn't work. Now I'm unsure if a blank host file with busy top line is ok or I should somehow download the proper criteria to make the host file work. ANY ideas, and thanks for all the help so far.

Ps.. I already tried the time/date floor too. All the basic ones haven't worked, that's why I'm thinking gapps or host file solution hopefully will do it

 

[Hadron]

Can you tell us how much space you have in /data (i.e. the internal partition that apps are installed to)? You say you have "plenty", but Android will keep some minimum amount free as working space and won't download apps if they would bring the free space below that.

In most modern android phones /data and /sdcard are mapped onto the same partition, but some (either very old phones or budget Chinese models) still have the old Froyo/Gingerbread storage model where these are separate. So if you have a phone where these are different it's definitely internal and not sd card that is important here. External SD card space is never relevant to this question.

In the Froyo/Gingerbread days, when storage was more limited, Android usually reserved 10% of /data. These days 200 MB is a common limit. In that case if for example you have 201 MB free in /data you would be able to load a 100 kB app fine, but not a 2MB one (note that installed size is larger than download size too).

Clearing the dalvik cache won't create space, because that will just rebuild then you reboot the phone (if you see any messages about optimising apps, that's the dalvik cache being rebuilt). Clearing app caches will (temporarily) free some space though, but it depends on how much you need.

If you have several hundred MB of free space in /data then the problem is something else. I'm really posting this because you didn't say how much space you actually had free, so "plenty" might have been based on incorrect assumptions about what is needed.