Really two questions

[bistritapcv]

My galaxy s4 kept overheating. One thing I read said to update all apps. So I used Google Play. It updated some but then said it ran out of space. I may have 700 mb on the phone, but 9gb free on the card and it never seems to use the card for anything even if I try to move apps to it. Anyway, on the phone shouldn't it use a bit of memory to download an update, but then after update, free up the memory?

So I try again to update. I click UPDATE ALL on google play. After about 5 seconds it says "unfortunately Google play has stopped". I try again, same thing. Or try again to update just one app and it says the same thing. Perhaps Google Play itself needs updating, but I can't do it. Also when I go to build version it says it is up to date.

so I guess my questions

1. How can I get update (when it works again) to use space temporarily on my card (or even permanently)? If I do move an app to the card, an update puts it back on the phone.

2. How can I update or fix Google Play when it itself does not work even after a phone reboot?

 

[lunatic59]

How much are you in love with the S4?

Update is probably failing because it's got a failed update stuck in cache. Reboot the phone and see if you can get back into Play. If that doesn't work, then you can try going to settings>apps>Google Play and clearing the cache there (clear cache only, not data) and then reboot your phone into recovery and clear the system cache.

As for the space ... practically speaking, it's not going to happen. You could root your device and use Apps2sd to move some apps to your SD card, but the most likely scenario there is that they will perform horribly, be rather flaky and you'll have frequent app crashes, if not worse.

The problem is the limited memory of the phone itself. If you could free up some storage by moving pictures and music to the SD card (making sure everything is backed up off the phone ... please. Do this, you will regret it if you don't) But moving apps is only a stop gap, and a poor one. The S4 officially stopped at Lollipop (Android 5.x). Had it gone to Marshmallow (6.x) you'd have something called 'adoptable storage' where on first inserting an SD card you'd have the option to use it as expanded system memory.

With adoptable storage, the card is encrypted and from that point forward shouldn't be removed from the device. Removing the card wouldn't do any good anyway because of the encryption. If you choose regular storage, then you can use it for photos and media like you do now, but you can't use it for apps.

If you want to keep the S4, I'd recommend backing up everything and performing a factory reset. Then be careful about storage use. A better solution would be to get a newer phone.

 

[bistritapcv]

Your suggestion didn't work ;-( Thanks though. I fear I have to do a factory reset.
I have been thinking of getting a new phone. Problems I have had with this Galaxy S4:

1 - Battery drains quickly
2 - Overheating
3 - Chargers often don't work very well. I keep hearing the "beep" and the charge shows, and then the charge symbol disappears after a short time and it keeps repeating. Some chargers seem better than others, or maybe it depends on the phases of the moon.
4 - storage issue.

Wondering what phones would be suggested by you or anyone? Problem is, I think I want to stay with Verizon but do not want to sign a contract because then I will lose my "grandfathered" unlimited data plan.

 

[lunatic59]

I think your problems are all connected. I suspect you have a process 'stuck' on that is causing a load on your device. This would account for the battery drain, heat and poor charging. A factory reset would probably fix that ... and I'd make sure you had the latest patches for the device in the process.

You could go a couple of routes with a 'new' phone. Buy an unlocked device that works with VZW, like the Moto G+ for $230.00 (plus tax, tags and delivery ) or you can buy a used device (for the love of God, NOT on craigslist ). You can get some very good deals on sites like Swappa or Amazon.

 

[bistritapcv]

That one looks pretty good. It says internal 32gb or 64 gb. Do you know what causes the difference? Also, does it take a regular micro usb charger? I would have to forget about the spare batteries I bought for my Galaxy, I imagine.

The one thing I don't like is this fingerprint unlock. Sometimes I want a friend of relative to be able to unlock the phone, and they don't have my fingerprint.

Also, $230 is a lot cheaper than I paid for my Galaxy.

 

[lunatic59]

You'll pay $70 more for the 64 GB version. That's really the only difference. Having more internal storage is better in terms of stability and performance because SD cards can be notoriously unreliable at the most inconvenient times.

As far as the fingerprint reader goes, it's not an "either/or" but you do have to have some sort of security to use it. With the fingerprint unlock you still have to set a pin or password which will work to unlock the device too.

Plus you can save several fingerprints, so if you have a trusted friend who needs to use your phone frequently, just save their fingerprint, too.

 

[nu2andy]

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-move-apps-to-the-microsd-card-on-your-galaxy-s7-s7-edge/
I have a rooted S4 with Android version 7.1.2 (Nougat) and this is how I have moved Apps to 64GB SD card. Works 100%.

 

[sonicbluemustang]

Set your camera to store your pics on the SD card and download Google Photo app so it will back up your pics before you reset.