Before anyone answers, no, I am not looking to simply enable write access to the external SDcard!
Q: Is there a Sense 6 based rom (for the M8 of course), that returns pre-Kitkat functionality for the external SDcard?
I hardly have any apps installed, but because I use GPS apps with offline maps, and the numerous e-books (lots of graphic novels) and such I take along to pass time, my internal memory space is already getting close to full. I've already used the supposed SDcard Fix, which does allow me to write to the external SDcard, but the apps still use the internal storage space only. If not a Sense 6 based rom, is there a alternative rom which returns functionality to the external SDcard? Or maybe some way to change or add symbolic links? It's driving me crazy that I purchased a 64GB card just so that I can carry as much as I can with me and not worry about space, yet can't really make any use out of it.
Btw, I'm looking for a Sense 6 based rom because I love the HTC camera app. Much better then the Google camera app imo, and pretty much the only app I have that actually uses the external SDCard.
Nearly all custom Roms are with sd card fix
Then I'll try one of the Sense roms on here for the M8, though I don't see any specifically mention how the external SDcard is handled.
Yea there won't be no real mention, but we have full access to sd card, and if not there is a xposed module which fixes that, but I use renovate 4.0.1 and I can do all things which I was able to do before with the one x too...deleting music , changing direction really all things, so yea the fix is inside
Even apps using the external SDcard like in previous Android versions? That is what I'm looking for. Simply making the external SDcard writable is not enough, because the apps still don't use the external SDcard when they are installed or they download the needed data for the app. For example, I want the GPS map data to install itself and the app to make use of it from the external SDcard. Me being able to move the data does nothing if the app still wont use it.
Hopefully that makes it clear what I'm looking to do, as I've seen plenty of other posts in other similar threads where no seems to understand what the question really is.
I'll look into the Xposed fix, as I already use Xposed.
Aren't you able to select yourself where to save the data? If the app won't allow it because of slower read and write speed for example you can't do anything against it...external sd are often or always slower then the internal which is nearly like a ssd
You are correct. I was expecting some of the apps to use the ext_sd to write the downloaded data automatically, but apparently only a few of my apps do as such, or give the option. My previous Android devices had much smaller internal memory, so the default action for apps was to write the app to the internal, but download data to external. I was expecting the M8 to work the same, but with 32GB of internal memory (I know its less then that after the OS/stock apps), all the apps defaulted to writing everything to the internal memory and do not use the ext_sd at all. Looks like I'll need to use Folder Mount and see if that will solve my problems.
Mpegger said:
You are correct. I was expecting some of the apps to use the ext_sd to write the downloaded data automatically, but apparently only a few of my apps do as such, or give the option. My previous Android devices had much smaller internal memory, so the default action for apps was to write the app to the internal, but download data to external. I was expecting the M8 to work the same, but with 32GB of internal memory (I know its less then that after the OS/stock apps), all the apps defaulted to writing everything to the internal memory and do not use the ext_sd at all. Looks like I'll need to use Folder Mount and see if that will solve my problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Comparatively few Android devices offer external storage and Google seems to be on a mission to discourage OEMs from implementing it (no Nexus device has it...). So my guess is, that even the guidelines for Android app development are heading the same way. I wonder if the KitKat version of your GPS app just dropped ext-SD support because of the new rules or they made a general decision that it is not worth developing for it because relatively few devices have it.
Because even under KitKat (IF I finally understood the new permissions correctly) that app should be able to create a folder on ext-SD which it can read and write to.
That is how I understand the KitKat permission system: A third party app cannot write to the ext-SD except to a folder it created itself (=owns it).
So if you create a folder in File Manager on ext-SD, drag your maps in there, File Manager owns that folder. The GPS app should still be able to open them (if it lets you browse to it), but cannot change them or save new ones to that folder.
However, if you create that storage location from within the app it should still have full r/w permissions to that location. If the app does not offer that functionality, you're out of luck.
But that's a limitation of the app - not of KitKat.
If you still have an older TiBu backup of your GPS app that allowed you to save to ext-SD, restore it to your Kitkat rom and check if that works.
Related
Another Newbie Question here.
So AT&T only provides the 16MB Note 2, so of course we add a nice juicy 64GB SD card. But it seems that the stock phone does not really use it for much (that I can tell) to store anything.
First question: On the stock ROM, what apps can be told to use the SD card as default, and how do you change the app settings?
Second Question, for the future: Assuming one Root's the Note 2, what can be safely moved to the SD and how? Or is another ROM required?
Humbly yours - thanks in advance!
Flame Red said:
Another Newbie Question here.
So AT&T only provides the 16MB Note 2, so of course we add a nice juicy 64GB SD card. But it seems that the stock phone does not really use it for much (that I can tell) to store anything.
First question: On the stock ROM, what apps can be told to use the SD card as default, and how do you change the app settings?
Second Question, for the future: Assuming one Root's the Note 2, what can be safely moved to the SD and how? Or is another ROM required?
Humbly yours - thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have a 64gb card. I put all of my Titanium backups and Nandroids on the external SD (right now TWRP doesn't work with the exfat formatting of my card, so if I want to restore I'll have to move it from ext to int SD).
I also have Spotify set to store any offline music on the external SD. You can do this by installing an old version of Spotify, pointing it to external SD, then updating the app. A quick Google search will find this if it's something you want to do.
It's hard to tell you what to move to the external card without knowing what apps you use. You can get an app called Directory Bind that will point any internal SD location to your external SD. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1889550
SD card setup/directory optimization
Really like Android and the Note 2 so far.
Thanks for the directory bind guide link...interesting. Maybe my answer is somewhere in there, so I will take a look either way.
New to external SD use on Android as well (or any phone, that is). I have a 64GB sandisk as well, and It was pre-formatted for Android apparently with some s/w on it. Which is fine, if that is the way I should go.
Just playing around with it at first and copied a music album over, in similar format to my iTunes directory structure -I figured, why not. Perhaps there is a better way to structure my directories though? More general way for all apps to recognize? Moot point?
I assume different apps might require different directory structures...to be efficient, or to be able to work with those dirs/files. I'd rather have the most optimal structure now, before I start messing with creating more directories, etc down the road.
The general questions are, should I format this as something else? What is best to use? (Still looking into different file manager/transfer apps for now, and MAY root and keep stock ROM in the future, but acclimating myself with Android OS has been more than enough for now...I do enough Linux at work, so not in any rush )
Since I went there, I don't know if the OP's question was fully answered...so again, here's a quick (newbie) question for those who root but keep the stock ROM: can apps be moved to the SD card in that case? Or do I need to break out of stock ROM to do that?
Thanks in advance!
Wanted to report back that I tried a simple case of using Directory Bind for something non-critical as a test. Used it to remount Titaniumn Backup to the external SD. Yes, I know you can just point it there. Just wanted to test Directory Bind.
It seemed to work until I rebooted the phone. Then it lost all the binding even tough I had checked off to save it for reboot and saved the binds to a file. So just beware that if you were using Directory Bind for something critical - you might have to recover the phone! I removed the package for now.
dponte said:
Really like Android and the Note 2 so far.
Thanks for the directory bind guide link...interesting. Maybe my answer is somewhere in there, so I will take a look either way.
New to external SD use on Android as well (or any phone, that is). I have a 64GB sandisk as well, and It was pre-formatted for Android apparently with some s/w on it. Which is fine, if that is the way I should go.
Just playing around with it at first and copied a music album over, in similar format to my iTunes directory structure -I figured, why not. Perhaps there is a better way to structure my directories though? More general way for all apps to recognize? Moot point?
I assume different apps might require different directory structures...to be efficient, or to be able to work with those dirs/files. I'd rather have the most optimal structure now, before I start messing with creating more directories, etc down the road.
The general questions are, should I format this as something else? What is best to use? (Still looking into different file manager/transfer apps for now, and MAY root and keep stock ROM in the future, but acclimating myself with Android OS has been more than enough for now...I do enough Linux at work, so not in any rush )
Since I went there, I don't know if the OP's question was fully answered...so again, here's a quick (newbie) question for those who root but keep the stock ROM: can apps be moved to the SD card in that case? Or do I need to break out of stock ROM to do that?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your'e just talking about music, you can put it in any folder and any structure you'd like. The Android Media Server process scans your entire SD card for media (including music) except for folders with a ".nomedia" file in them. It will use the tags to identify the artist, song, and album, then sort them based on that information.
Flame Red said:
Wanted to report back that I tried a simple case of using Directory Bind for something non-critical as a test. Used it to remount Titaniumn Backup to the external SD. Yes, I know you can just point it there. Just wanted to test Directory Bind.
It seemed to work until I rebooted the phone. Then it lost all the binding even tough I had checked off to save it for reboot and saved the binds to a file. So just beware that if you were using Directory Bind for something critical - you might have to recover the phone! I removed the package for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bummer
don't bother moving any apps to the external sd, since you have TONS OF ROOM in your internal memory on this phone..On the original note, I had over 300 apps installed on the internal, and still had over 5 gigs of room left..
just keep your music, movies, pictures, and other space hogs on it..trust me, leaving apps alone will never be a problem when you have a phone with this much storage space!
wase4711 said:
don't bother moving any apps to the external sd, since you have TONS OF ROOM in your internal memory on this phone..On the original note, I had over 300 apps installed on the internal, and still had over 5 gigs of room left..
just keep your music, movies, pictures, and other space hogs on it..trust me, leaving apps alone will never be a problem when you have a phone with this much storage space!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
11GB is a lot (available to start with on the ATT model) if you use the external for media (and app cache) and leave the internal for apps mainly...agreed.
Most apps are small in size...however, one app like NOVA3 is 2GB and that is a big bite of your 11GB available, so that is a little concerning
I haven't had the device or android long enough to know, but, are app databases and cache allowed to reside on the external card --in lue of the ability to move apps to the SD being taken away since Jelly Bean (was it at that update)? Can someone point to a good thread on the reason and discussion about that? Thanks.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994046
App2SD change external to internal.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
You can make your external your main storage device by using this root technique. But some people don't advise it saying it slows down your processing on apps.
wase4711 said:
don't bother moving any apps to the external sd, since you have TONS OF ROOM in your internal memory on this phone..On the original note, I had over 300 apps installed on the internal, and still had over 5 gigs of room left..
just keep your music, movies, pictures, and other space hogs on it..trust me, leaving apps alone will never be a problem when you have a phone with this much storage space!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note II is a Unified Storage device. It has 11gb available for both user content (pictures, movie, music etc) and apps. I lost 2gb of space moving from my S2 to the N2.
S2 is not a Unified storage device, so it has 11gb of storage available for user content and a separate Apps partition of 2gb.
Hello. I bought a SM-T210R for my daughter she burnt through her 8GB pretty fast. I told her to just move her apps to the SD card..... Than I found out you couldn't. I rooted it. I would like to know if there is a good app to use to move the apps. I tried some of the apps on the store app2sd, and a few others. They don't seem to work and suggest you ask Samsung for a new rom.... Any Ideas? I am sure it has been asked before, I was looking through all the threads couldn't seem to locate one. So I am sorry if you are answering this question yet again :cyclops: Thank you in advance.
trinitykilla said:
Hello. I bought a SM-T210R for my daughter she burnt through her 8GB pretty fast. I told her to just move her apps to the SD card..... Than I found out you couldn't. I rooted it. I would like to know if there is a good app to use to move the apps. I tried some of the apps on the store app2sd, and a few others. They don't seem to work and suggest you ask Samsung for a new rom.... Any Ideas? I am sure it has been asked before, I was looking through all the threads couldn't seem to locate one. So I am sorry if you are answering this question yet again :cyclops: Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gl to sd (root) or foldermount. I am not responsible for any damages to your tablet. But these two apps worked for me.
Sent from my SM-T210R using XDA Free mobile app
trazfer said:
Gl to sd (root) or foldermount. I am not responsible for any damages to your tablet. But these two apps worked for me.
Sent from my SM-T210R using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion I'll giveum a shot. But note I hold everyone responsible for damages!!!!! First you, Then Obama and then THE WORLD muhahahahahahaha!!!!
Really tho thanks
4.2.2
trinitykilla said:
Thanks for the suggestion I'll giveum a shot. But note I hold everyone responsible for damages!!!!! First you, Then Obama and then THE WORLD muhahahahahahaha!!!!
Really tho thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi I know android 4.2.2hasent been officially released for our tablet but a Dev called @mkaymuzik has been porting it works really good and it has move apps to sd card just incase his doesnt help
Since you're already rooted and (I assume) running a custom recovery, there's a somewhat easy solution for this. First, back up everything from the internal memory located at /sdcard, and copy it all over to whatever physical SD card you plan on using - I went with a 64gb. This is probably fastest if you just back up all of /sdcard to the pc, and use some kind of card reader to transfer it over, you'll get much better speed, but you can do this all over MTP with the usb cable if you don't have a reader. Next, reboot into recovery and flash this kernel, which among other things adds support for a storage swap. Clear the cache for good measure, this won't affect any user data. Reboot, and using a terminal emulator or adb shell, run the following command:
Code:
su
setprop persist.customboot.sdcard internal
Reboot once more, and you'll find your physical sdcard is now mounted as /sdcard, while the internal is mounted as /.sdcard (which virtually nothing will use, but that's fine). Any large games you install should put their data in /sdcard/Android/obb, or /sdcard/Android/data, or just random folders on /sdcard, all of which are now your physical card. Once you've finished the swap, you'll want to delete most/all of the files on /.sdcard, since everything there directly uses space in /data/media. Now the only thing that will eat up your internal memory are actual .apk files.
This does have one downside, the storage interface in settings doesn't really know what to think of the mod. It will claim you only have 8gb internal, but then show the free space available on the physical card. If you've got more than 8gb of stuff on the card the bar graph is completely useless, but at least the text does show the correct free amount. I've currently got around 20gb of misc games installed and working great, however if you have any Humble Bundle games keep in mind that these don't use .obb files and the larger ones will quickly eat up your internal space with gigantic .apk files.
You might also want to disable zram once you flash the new kernel. It compresses ram that's not actively being used, effectively giving you more ram at the cost of cpu/battery. I find we have plenty of ram and I'd rather have longer battery life. As root, the command is:
Code:
setprop persist.service.zram 0
You'll need a reboot after running it, of course, but you can enable the sd card swap and disable zram at the same time, rebooting only once.
This is probably the most transparent method, once it's set up you won't need to manually move new apps as you install them, and you don't need to worry about apps that write to random locations on the sdcard.
bakageta said:
Since you're already rooted and (I assume) running a custom recovery, there's a somewhat easy solution for this. First, back up everything from the internal memory located at /sdcard, and copy it all over to whatever physical SD card you plan on using - I went with a 64gb. This is probably fastest if you just back up all of /sdcard to the pc, and use some kind of card reader to transfer it over, you'll get much better speed, but you can do this all over MTP with the usb cable if you don't have a reader. Next, reboot into recovery and flash this kernel, which among other things adds support for a storage swap. Clear the cache for good measure, this won't affect any user data. Reboot, and using a terminal emulator or adb shell, run the following command:
Code:
su
setprop persist.customboot.sdcard internal
Reboot once more, and you'll find your physical sdcard is now mounted as /sdcard, while the internal is mounted as /.sdcard (which virtually nothing will use, but that's fine). Any large games you install should put their data in /sdcard/Android/obb, or /sdcard/Android/data, or just random folders on /sdcard, all of which are now your physical card. Once you've finished the swap, you'll want to delete most/all of the files on /.sdcard, since everything there directly uses space in /data/media. Now the only thing that will eat up your internal memory are actual .apk files.
This does have one downside, the storage interface in settings doesn't really know what to think of the mod. It will claim you only have 8gb internal, but then show the free space available on the physical card. If you've got more than 8gb of stuff on the card the bar graph is completely useless, but at least the text does show the correct free amount. I've currently got around 20gb of misc games installed and working great, however if you have any Humble Bundle games keep in mind that these don't use .obb files and the larger ones will quickly eat up your internal space with gigantic .apk files.
You might also want to disable zram once you flash the new kernel. It compresses ram that's not actively being used, effectively giving you more ram at the cost of cpu/battery. I find we have plenty of ram and I'd rather have longer battery life. As root, the command is:
Code:
setprop persist.service.zram 0
You'll need a reboot after running it, of course, but you can enable the sd card swap and disable zram at the same time, rebooting only once.
This is probably the most transparent method, once it's set up you won't need to manually move new apps as you install them, and you don't need to worry about apps that write to random locations on the sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome thanks!!
Most of us probably know that Android 6 Marshmallow comes with a new feature regarding the SD cards which can be formatted and configured as something very similar to internal memory.
If you haven't read about it, best first to Google the topic.
(I will add a few links later)
From reading about it, it seems to have its own disadvantages (e.g. that sdcard is slower than built-in storage; and some people claim it's not flexible, even claiming that built-in memory becomes not used almost), so this thread is to discuss this feature for use on the M9
I don't have 6.0 yet on my M9, but have been thinking about this (a lot). Coming from the One X+ with 64GB internal, the storage is the only area in which the M9 is a step back for me...
SD card formatted as Internal memory
Known:
- it's encrypted, strictly linked to 1 device. Card not readable on any other device or computer.
Questions
- what does it look like in a file system explorer?
- what is the built-in memory (32GB) mounted as?
- what is the sdcard memory mounted as?
- can the sdcard be written to *without* any restrictions by all 3rd party apps (the kind of restrictions introduced by KitKat, where apps need special permissions and programming to use external storage). (For me this is THE most important benefit)
- after formatting as internal, there is a choice to "move data from built-in memory to sdcard". What does it move? It's been suggested that if this is done, then the default location for new downloaded apps will be the sdcard - is it
I would think it's best to keep all apps & their data on the built-in memory - and use sdcard for (large collections of) pictures, music, movies, documents, e-books, ... all the stuff you don't need to read or write at super high speed, but take tons of space. Basically the way it worked before Google messed up the sdcard in KitKat.
Discuss away
Sent from my HTC One M9 using XDA mobile app
I also found out something interesting to let the rom see sd by titanium backup or solid explorer (I use these two mainly)
if you tap on sdcard in solid it lets you search the sd path which you can reach and set to use, works fine
also in titanium backup (I use sd backups) if you go to menu>preferences>backup folder path and tap on archiviation provider you can use different "methods" to reach your sd, if you use documentProvider it works just as solid explorer, you have the stock file manager and go to sd folder
I find it useful, I have the best card to get, for its storage to performance ratio (SanDisk Extreme PRO 64 GB).
Before formatting as an internal storage source, apps that could store cache and data externally (Spotify, camera)
But with android M, they where not storing externally anymore.
Now I have a device that has 100 Gb of storage internally.
The only minor downfall is that TWRP can not see this storage, it kind of sees its own partition I think, which is only around 25 GB in size. So to transfer ROMs or ZIPs, you have to plug in via usb
Anyone have experience to share with SD card on marshmallow stock ROM. Still haven't made the time to pop mine in and experiment. :-/
Personally I would want to keep the apps + main app data on built-in storage (32GB) (making the best use of that super fast storage) but give apps full access to the SD card.
throcker said:
I also found out something interesting to let the rom see sd by titanium backup or solid explorer (I use these two mainly)
if you tap on sdcard in solid it lets you search the sd path which you can reach and set to use, works fine
also in titanium backup (I use sd backups) if you go to menu>preferences>backup folder path and tap on archiviation provider you can use different "methods" to reach your sd, if you use documentProvider it works just as solid explorer, you have the stock file manager and go to sd folder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to move the heavy apps to the SD card. But I don't think see any major changes in the main built storage
nikeian said:
I tried to move the heavy apps to the SD card. But I don't think see any major changes in the main built storage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was talking about backups. I never move apps to sd, looks like a fake goodie for me
throcker said:
I was talking about backups. I never move apps to sd, looks like a fake goodie for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologies.
Talking about backup and restore HTC backup and restore doesn't work for Marshmallow 6.0
So being its encrypted for one phone,there is no way to reverse this and put in another phone. Example...if phone breaks or you upgrade.
Just received a notification for 6.0 update, can't wait to experiment on this new feature... If I understand it correctly, it would be beneficial for me since i've been using extsd to store large application data without moving the app itself...
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
Hello..
I have htc desire 816 with 8gb of internal storage ....when i bought it,it had about 4gb free of that storage.....which is quite normal.
After buying it, I updated to lollipop 5.1 then i got it rooted......
Lately i've noticed the insufficient internal sotrage,so I've uninsalled ALL the apps and games from internal and external memory,however,that only freed up about 2 gb of the intrrnal storage ....so what is taking all that space despite there is No apps ....I know that the system files are taking some space....but those files only took 4gb when i bought the phone
Now i don't have any apps ,However, there is only free 1.8gb
I tried using clean master,but it only cleaned about 300mb of junks and cache
This is strictly a personal opinion but you should lose Clean Master and anything else made by Cheetah Mobile.
As for your storage issues... You state you've rooted. Have you done a backup? If so, are you sure your recovery is saving backups to the external storage?
Sent from my YOGA Tablet 2-830F using Tapatalk
Ibrahim elhossiny said:
Hello..
I have htc desire 816 with 8gb of internal storage ....when i bought it,it had about 4gb free of that storage.....which is quite normal.
After buying it, I updated to lollipop 5.1 then i got it rooted......
Lately i've noticed the insufficient internal sotrage,so I've uninsalled ALL the apps and games from internal and external memory,however,that only freed up about 2 gb of the intrrnal storage ....so what is taking all that space despite there is No apps ....I know that the system files are taking some space....but those files only took 4gb when i bought the phone
Now i don't have any apps ,However, there is only free 1.8gb
I tried using clean master,but it only cleaned about 300mb of junks and cache
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had the same issue. The firmware is in it's own partition with room for updates but some of those files fill up your internal storage as well, they did for me when I updated so the solutions are either use a root file explorer or Titanium Backup app to move some user apps to system apps , use the forum here in XDA for altering your SElinux permissions and enable write permissions to your system partition(WP.MOD_KO) so that you can use Link2SD app to move your user apps to your external SD card or pay to obtain full S off using the Sunshine app and have those permissions plus more enabled at the system level so that you can also use Link2SD app to move user apps to the external SD card.
The last 2 methods are the most used and also require you to reformat your external SD card into 2 partitions using EaseUS PARTITION MANAGER on a P.C. Instructions for doing this are easy and available on Youtube and Google if you want to read them instead. These are really the only ways to help your storage issue other than just not using very many apps. I chose the full S off method and Link2SD but the other works it just alters your SElinux permissions and has to be removed to do stock updates whereas S off doesn't affect stock updates. Only system file changes do like the mod I described.
I also echo the previous posters thoughts on Cleanmaster and most all "task killing" apps. Android has built in RAM management that does a good job on its own of managing memory and there is the on screen square button on the right that shows you open apps and tabs and allows you to quickly close them all out. You'd be better off regulating Wavelocks using Amplify app and Greenify to freeze apps from staying on . Root required and there are paid version but the basics are free in both apps.
I had a brain f**t and misread that you've uninstalled "all" of your apps so the previous poster might be onto something if you've done any TWRP nandroid backups to internal instead of micro storage. They can take up to 2 to 4 gbs just on their own even with compression enabled. If you haven't and even if you have my previous info and advice is still accurate for improved storage space.
On my phone, the .thumbnails folder in DCIM takes 1 GB...
TobiBot said:
On my phone, the .thumbnails folder in DCIM takes 1 GB...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah mine says 550 mb total in thumb data but it is not pictures from my camera like the other few kbs are. Can't open it so I wonder if it's some sort of cache for something else. Don't know all the ins and outs of the Android file structure but I do know that when I started flashing custom roms,CM in particular, my internal storage went up due to the lack of bloatware coming from my stock Rom. Good to know this though. Not going to delete it though for now till I find out what it is.
Some Facts About Thumbnails
thoctor said:
Yeah mine says 550 mb total in thumb data but it is not pictures from my camera like the other few kbs are. Can't open it so I wonder if it's some sort of cache for something else. Don't know all the ins and outs of the Android file structure but I do know that when I started flashing custom roms,CM in particular, my internal storage went up due to the lack of bloatware coming from my stock Rom. Good to know this though. Not going to delete it though for now till I find out what it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some Apps, like WhatsApp save pics in .thumbnails to work smooth, i think.
You can delete them, but they will create themselves at the next boot again, i also tried to write an init.d script which deletes them at boot, but it doesnt work.
Also if you create a file ".thumbnails" which isnt writable, the system doesnt give you the space
Ive read something about creating this file before first boot after flashing so it works, but i havent tried it...
Damn thumbnails
Sorry if my english is horrible ^^
TobiBot said:
Some Apps, like WhatsApp save pics in .thumbnails to work smooth, i think.
You can delete them, but they will create themselves at the next boot again, i also tried to write an init.d script which deletes them at boot, but it doesnt work.
Also if you create a file ".thumbnails" which isnt writable, the system doesnt give you the space
Ive read something about creating this file before first boot after flashing so it works, but i havent tried it...
Damn thumbnails
Sorry if my english is horrible ^^
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Your English is perfectly fine. Better even than some to whom English is their "first" language. Thanks for that breakdown and I bet that's what it is. I forgot about the apps storing their stock images in your phone. I used to love using the app called Pocket until I found that it stores all the saved links and images directly on your phone. I saved almost a full gb by deleting it finally. Great app other than that and if I had a device with more storage I'd still have it on my phone instead of just my computer. This is all why it pays to be curious about your own phone storage and learn how to navigate a good root file explorer.
This post documents a method of enabling Adoptable Storage with adb commands on sony phones where previously similar solutions seem hard to find. Please link similar methods if they exist somewhere else, I am curious to read.
Personal success on SO-02K (NTT DoCoMo XZ1c ) fw version 47.2.B.5.38 Android Pie, 128G A2 card.
The method results in a fraction of the microSD Card being recognised by the system to be able to transfer apps to, and another fraction where the sd card remains external storage.
The Stock Camera will only be able to save to the mentioned external storage partition after this process, and it will fail to save to internal storage.
Some apps may not work when transferred to the sd card and have to stay in onboard storage.
Premise
I carried out the process with a freshly flashed phone, with a minimal amount of apps present in the system. I cannot guarantee same success with an almost-full phone, although in principle it should be the same. If anyone has success on a more full system please let me and others know.
ADB Debugging should be turned on in developer options and authorization of PC given in advance; root or bl unlock not necessary.
SD Card will be WIPED in the process. For your data's safety do backup everything on your phone, both internal memory and external memory before proceeding! Don't yell at me if in the end it'll have to be restored.
Process
adb shell
sm list-disks this should return two integers such as 179,0
sm partition disk:179,0 mixed xx where the 179,0 should be your result in step 2 and xx be the amount of space reserved for /sdcard ; wait until command finishes. For the mixed xx see Miscellaneous#2 for explanation. Please also reply if you know the command to revert the changes made in this step, because I'd expect it be useful in the future and I don't know what it is.
Turn on force allow apps on external in bottom of developer settings if haven't done so.
Open camera app, click on OK until warnings go away, then set save directory in SD Card. Test if it saves successfully, if not, see Miscellaneous#1.
Reboot, then try moving some apps to your sd card! Some core function apps are not movable; that is to be expected.
Miscellaneous
If your camera won't allow you to open up settings (keeps saying cannot save), then you have run into a problem I have never seen before. If you can go into camera settings but the SD Card option is greyed out, that means either you have not reserved enough space in mixed xx or the command may have gone wrong. Or the card may not be in perfect condition for Adoptable Storage. You can unplug the sd card to see if the camera works fine after that, but I haven't tried that. If anyone knows the corresponding command to revert the changes made in Process#3, please let everyone know!
The mixed xx part allows a part of the sd card to remain.... an sd card. xx% of the space in your card will be recognised as external(portable) storage by your phone, and is readable by a PC. This portion will be the place where your future photos and videos are saved in, as the camera will fail saving to internal space. Thus you may want to use the fastest card you have and set xx based on your use patterns. The other part, the (100-xx) % of space is recognised by the phone as internal storage that it can put apps in, although some apps (especially some games) will still save assets in the phone's on board storage no matter where you move the main app.
This post is re-written from original post(chinese)
Thanks for sharing this but in my experience it does not work. I followed the guide and It looks like it worked, however now I don't understand how to move the apps away from the internal memory to exploit the new storage space provided by the SD "internal" memory... each time I try to move an app I get a "not enough memory" error message although there are about 64Gb free, no matter what app I try moving. I also noticed that deleting an app from the phone and then re-installing the app in the phone will finally install it in the SD but several apps I tried didn't work any more once re-installed in the SD storage.
indago said:
Thanks for sharing this but in my experience it does not work. I followed the guide and It looks like it worked, however now I don't understand how to move the apps away from the internal memory to exploit the new storage space provided by the SD "internal" memory... each time I try to move an app I get a "not enough memory" error message although there are about 64Gb free, no matter what app I try moving. I also noticed that deleting an app from the phone and then re-installing the app in the phone will finally install it in the SD but several apps I tried didn't work any more once re-installed in the SD storage.
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Hi and Merry Christmas!
I do get system warnings saying the phone is full while it isn't; it seems that Android freaks out a little trying to gather disk usage info when the SD card is merged with internal space. However I can move most non-system-apps.
Did you move the app with the (Press&Hold App Icon)->App Info ->Storage->Change function? I found I didn't include this part in the original writing and might have been a source of confusion. Assuming it was done in App Info, could you tell me what apps don't work, and perhaps I can try on my phone. I also wonder how much storage did you allocate to each of the two partitions on the SD card.
Another potential source of error is the card itself, in some cases, the card may have bad blocks that Android doesn't correct for and cause read problems, as my SD card now begins to show. Sometimes I wake up to see my home screen devoid of apps, and I have to reinsert and restart the phone multiple times before the SD card gets recognized by the phone again.
Did you move the app with the (Press&Hold App Icon)->App Info ->Storage->Change function?
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yes.
Assuming it was done in App Info, could you tell me what apps don't work
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all. I was not able to move any app.
I also wonder how much storage did you allocate to each of the two partitions on the SD card
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50% of 128Gb, that is 64Gb each.
Another potential source of error is the card itself
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it doesn't seem the card, since the remaining 64Gb left for external storage, that is where the camera app is saving photos and videos and some other apps save data, still works fine.
Here it is the screenshot of how Android now sees the storage configuration (android settings > storage) after I performed the procedure described above for configuring adoptable storage (writings are in Italian but I think it should be easy to understand).
indago said:
Here it is the screenshot of how Android now sees the storage configuration (android settings > storage) after I performed the procedure described above for configuring adoptable storage (writings are in Italian but I think it should be easy to understand).
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mine looks the same. I don't know what to suggest. I'll look around on other forums to see if people have the same problem.
This post is re-written from original post in Chinese which in turn is adapted from a lost post on gfan.com.
It also turns out that googling sm partition would give a lot of information most dated back to android 6.
I've been looking around as well, but was able to find only people reporting failures in enabling odoptable storage on Sony devices. However, one difference between your phone and mine is fw version: mine has 47.2.A.11.228 (no brand) - don't know if this can make any real difference.
By the way, I'm wondering whether it could be possibile to install a rarely-used app in the internal memory, then "park" the app in the SD card's external memory by moving its files, then eventually move it back to internal memory only in the case you need opening that app. If it works, it could be a trick for keeping all the apps you want "freezed" in the phone, by taking the usually unused apps in the external memory, then moving one of them in the internal memory only in the rare circumstance you need using it. Then moving it back to the external memory if you think you won't use it any more for a long period. Obviously one could simply uninstall and reinstall those rarely-used apps on occurrence, but that would take more time, consume data traffic and lose the app existing data, so I think that >IF< this kind of trick could be feasible, I'd go for it.
indago said:
I've been looking around as well, but was able to find only people reporting failures in enabling odoptable storage on Sony devices. However, one difference between your phone and mine is fw version: mine has 47.2.A.11.228 (no brand) - don't know if this can make any real difference.
By the way, I'm wondering whether it could be possibile to install a rarely-used app in the internal memory, then "park" the app in the SD card's external memory by moving its files, then eventually move it back to internal memory only in the case you need opening that app. If it works, it could be a trick for keeping all the apps you want "freezed" in the phone, by taking the usually unused apps in the external memory, then moving one of them in the internal memory only in the rare circumstance you need using it. Then moving it back to the external memory if you think you won't use it any more for a long period. Obviously one could simply uninstall and reinstall those rarely-used apps on occurrence, but that would take more time, consume data traffic and lose the app existing data, so I think that >IF< this kind of trick could be feasible, I'd go for it.
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Striking news in the new year-- my sd doesn't work now. Yesterday I checked everything worked, but now no apps installed on my sd card open. using sm list-volumes shows both internal and portable partitions on the SD are mounted, but the apps still refuse to open.
The card looks like it's corrupted, now the two partitions can't even be recognized with my card reader, I guess I'm screwed.
at my asus max m2 .... working, camera, i can move app to sd card and they still works
butttt the only thing is at settings/storage/ information; it shows numbers that dont are correct and a option "to forget sd card " ?!?!?
well i don't know.....