Develop Bugs

[Q] Why I think the GN doesn't have an SDcard?

As I've posted a few times in this forum I think Google excluded the SDcard on purpose due to issues with the use of an SDcard with Android 3.0 and higher. I've seen this first hand with my Xoom tablet.
Here is a recent post by a developer on the Motorola Xoom forum on the details.
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/493078#493078
Android is a really wierd beast. As much of the functionality in Android OS really isn't Anrdoid functionality but is functionality provided by the linux kernel and services underneath. Below might be a little over some folks head, but kind of sumarizes everything I currently know of the "external storage" issue with 3.2 and ICS going forward
Right now as it stands in Honeycomb 3.2.2:
SDCard
Tablet recognizes external SD Card and mounts it for R/W (/mnt/external1)
Special new android permission required to write to sdcard
Permission exists but is only to a few specific services in Honeycomb
Permission can not be requested by installed applications so they can't directly write to external SDCard via Java file IO commands. (apps can request permission for internal SDcard /mnt/sdcard but not external)
This means no write access using traditional Java.File IO methods you have to access files through the MediaStore provider API's as it can access the files for you. (Am working a utility app for this)
USB Storage
Linux Kernel in Android recognizes USB volumes when plugged into Xoom (but doesn't mount them)
Vold Daemon (http://vold.sourceforge.net/) is not configured (on GED device) to mount USB volumes when connected to device
MediaScanner/MediaStore service in android appears to scan all mounted volumes, but has issues with volume removal and doesn't store volume name with file information (covered in depth in other threads)
NO USB Storage mouting/read/write as configuration of Android default config doesn't have it setup
ICS - What I know so far:
External SD Card Storage
Issue of External SDCard access could be solved at either Kernel Level (just fix permissions on mount point) or Android Level (make android API for file access easier to use)
Don't see any evidence that anything has changed at the exposed API level. BUT the API's might be doing stuff differently on the back end that makes things work
The undocumented permission for accessing the external storage that you can't request for an application in 3.2 doesn't seem to be documented in 4.0. (Still don't know if an app can request it though)
Don't know if additional applications are given the "special" permission by default in ICS. In 3.2 things like Camera App, MediaPlayer, Email, etc don't have "special" permssion to write to external SDCard.
Don't know if they are changing the mount point locations in ICS, which could also change how its accessed. (permissions, priviledges etc)
USB Storage
No new documentation or changes (in SDK doc's at least) on MediaStore or other API's that traditionally deal with media storage.
Since most of the things keeping us from using removable storage are "behind the scenes" stuff there is no way to know if this will work or not untill Google tells us, or we have ICS and can test it.
MediaStore API "technically" has correct fields in current API's to allow it to support multiple removable storage devices, but with out more documentation, source code, or binary code there is no way to know if back end was updated to support it. Content would still need to be mounted by Vold first though.
Important to note that Google coould have implemented removable USB storage support just with modifications to Vold config without making changes to Android API's. And it would have some functionality (as it does on Custom Made Xoom 3.X roms) and it wouldn't show up as a change in the SDK docs.
Google made a big deal about how they were looking at new ways of handling external/removable storage in a way that made a file's location irrelevent/transparent for the user. Based on those comments earlier in the year I personally expected to see many more modifications to storage and file handling API's. All throughout the Android documentation they mention this is how the API's access the "primary" storage, but they don't get into details on how to access "secondary" storage, but they do hint that it exists.
The API's in theory could have been extended without changing their call arguments (just add new options to existing function arguments). But if that has occured, then its not in the current documentation. Incomplete documentation of the SDK is fairly common though on major revision releases from google, as their developers aren't exactly the best documentation writters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

They didn't have SDcard expansion on the Nexus S either....

The Nexus S also didn't have an SD card slot. Would that be the same reasoning behind that?

_illmatic_ said:
The Nexus S also didn't have an SD card slot. Would that be the same reasoning behind that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That could've just been a way to show off the new support for devices without sdcards that was a new feature in Gingerbread though.

vzontini said:
Permission can not be requested by installed applications so they can't directly write to external SDCard via Java file IO commands. (apps can request permission for internal SDcard /mnt/sdcard but not external)
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Click to collapse
Wait, what? The Motorola Xoom shouldn't have an internal SD Card. With Honeycomb, the internal storage of a device is only partitioned into boot, recovery, system, data, and cache. There is no FAT-formatted partition on the internal storage that is mounted as a fake "SD Card" partition, because starting with Honeycomb when a device is connected to a computer file transfer is accomplished using MTP with the help of a FUSE daemon. So since there is nothing mounted at /mnt/sdcard if all you have is internal storage, then if you plug in a real SD card it should just mount at /mnt/sdcard and apps should be able to access it just fine using the old API and permissions used to access SD cards that have been in Android for generations.
Basically the problem he described boils down to Android's inability to deal with apps reading and writing to multiple external partitions. The API only deals with one external storage partition (http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/data/data-storage.html#filesExternal) so if you have a device with the internal storage partitioned like, for example, the Nexus S, where a large chunk of the internal storage is in a FAT-formatted partition mounted as if it were an SD card, and if this device also has a slot for a real SD card, then apps can't request permissions to read and write to the real SD card because the API only lets you deal with the fake internal SD card.
But this shouldn't have anything to do with devices like the Xoom and Galaxy Nexus, where there's only one internal storage device and on that device there is no FAT partition mounted like a virtual SD card, so any real SD cards you plug into the device should just mount as regular old SD cards that Android has always worked with.
EDIT: It just occurred to me that on devices like the Xoom and Galaxy Nexus, probably a directory on the /data partition is mounted at /mnt/sdcard so that poorly programmed apps that hardcode that directory to use for external storage will still work. Unfortunately this means that the API for accessing external storage will only be able to return file objects pointing to this portion of the internal storage and won't be able to make use of a real SD card. Until the Android API is enhanced to let apps read and write to multiple "external" storage partitions, this is indeed an issue.

I believe ICS will have full support for sd card slot.
Why?
There are lots of devices that can be upgraded to ICS, and it has sd card slot.
Otherwise, people will be mad if they upgraded to ICS, then the sd card slot becomes read only :-*
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

gogol said:
I believe ICS will have full support for sd card slot.
Why?
There are lots of devices that can be upgraded to ICS, and it has sd card slot.
Otherwise, people will be mad if they upgraded to ICS, then the sd card slot becomes read only :-*
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't be read-only. They fixed that in Honeycomb already. However, apps still won't be able to read and write to it using normal file IO operations. They'll have to use the MediaStore APIs. Assuming nothing has changed from how it works in Honeycomb right now.

Personally I think we are giving Google/Samsung too much benefit of the doubt here. They are not putting in an SD card slot for the same simple reason that Apple doesn't have expandable memory on their devices; so that they can charge us more for higher capacity models. If they actually had a good reason for it then they would have explained it officially a long time ago.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Chrono_Tata said:
Personally I think we are giving Google/Samsung too much benefit of the doubt here. They are not putting in an SD card slot for the same simple reason that Apple doesn't have expandable memory on their devices; so that they can charge us more for higher capacity models. If they actually had a good reason for it then they would have explained it officially a long time ago.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The other reason is that they can control the speed of the storage. How many class 2 sd card disasters are out there where the person didn't know it was a slow card and wouldn't work with video recording, or even slow the experience down?

vzontini said:
As I've posted a few times in this forum I think Google excluded the SDcard on purpose due to issues with the use of an SDcard with Android 3.0 and higher. I've seen this first hand with my Xoom tablet.
Here is a recent post by a developer on the Motorola Xoom forum on the details.
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/493078#493078
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an asus eee pad transformer and it has had full sdcard support (read and write access for all apps I installed) since its release with honeycomb 3.0 and it still has now on hc 3.2. Xoom was just crappy in this case. So this cannot be the reason for no sdcard on GN. But as some said before, the Nexus S also didn't have a sdcard.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App

qwer23 said:
I have an asus eee pad transformer and it has had full sdcard support (read and write access for all apps I installed) since its release with honeycomb 3.0 and it still has now on hc 3.2. Xoom was just crappy in this case. So this cannot be the reason for no sdcard on GN. But as some said before, the Nexus S also didn't have a sdcard.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Docked the transformer actually handles 2 SD cards and can also handle additional USB drives just fine. They get mounted to /removable/MicroSD and /removable/SD.

Chrono_Tata said:
Personally I think we are giving Google/Samsung too much benefit of the doubt here. They are not putting in an SD card slot for the same simple reason that Apple doesn't have expandable memory on their devices; so that they can charge us more for higher capacity models. If they actually had a good reason for it then they would have explained it officially a long time ago.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Then why did Samsung put an SDcard slot in the SGSII models? And they're surely going to sell millions more SGSII's than Galaxy Nexus'. If they wanted to make money they should've taken SDcard slots out of the SGSII.
I think they did internal storage only on purpose, but not to make money... my guess is its for speed and chassis space reasons.

gbroon said:
Docked the transformer actually handles 2 SD cards and can also handle additional USB drives just fine. They get mounted to /removable/MicroSD and /removable/SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right, I own the dock also. But even without the dock, SD card worked perfectly from day one. Additionally I think that ASUS offer the freakin' best support in terms of fast Android&firmware updates and (useful) pre-installed apps (like Polaris Office, Supernote, Splashtop Remote, MyLibrary, a nice File Manager, ...) of any manufacturer I know. But that's off-topic now

Chrono_Tata said:
Personally I think we are giving Google/Samsung too much benefit of the doubt here. They are not putting in an SD card slot for the same simple reason that Apple doesn't have expandable memory on their devices; so that they can charge us more for higher capacity models. If they actually had a good reason for it then they would have explained it officially a long time ago.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Bingo. This to me sums it all up.

True, iPhone 16gb - $199, 32gb - $299. Not bad, 16gb extra for $100. I'm not sure it will work the same way with a Google phone. It's the exclusivity, you want an iOS device then you'll have to buy Apple's, with Google you have many other options and manufacturers.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

slimslim said:
True, iPhone 16gb - $199, 32gb - $299. Not bad, 16gb extra for $100. I'm not sure it will work the same way with a Google phone.
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Click to collapse
Well, Samsung did it with the Galaxy Tab 10.1, it has no SD slot and on introduction the 32gb version was $100 extra.
Which is rather rich considering that a high quality 16gb microSD card can be had for $25. As an extra insult the internal memory in todays devices is almost always eMMC, which is more or less an SD card made to be soldered down, it has no better performance or features than a normal SD card. So it's a $75 markup straight into the manufacturers pocket.

Chrono_Tata said:
Personally I think we are giving Google/Samsung too much benefit of the doubt here. They are not putting in an SD card slot for the same simple reason that Apple doesn't have expandable memory on their devices; so that they can charge us more for higher capacity models. If they actually had a good reason for it then they would have explained it officially a long time ago.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
If this was the case... Where the hell are all the 32g nexus s devices at???
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

i'll probably wait for the 64GB version before i get my hands on one

No SDcard support and a max internal storage of 16GB is a great way to get people to use Google Music...

[Q] Note II - Apps2sd Issue

I have a Note II (Sprint) and i recently purchased a class 10 64GB Sd card, i rooted my phone and followed Galaxynote2root video on youtube (i can't post link but it's the one about apps2sd) https:// www youtube.com/watch?v=QUF7R0mmk00
It did work, it's showing that i have at least 59GB on my "Internal" and my REAL internal is now showing up as SD with 700mbs.
The Problem: While it shows that i have a lot of space, anything i download is going straight to internal (real) not the 64GB card.
What i want be able to do: - To take all my apps/files from my internal drive and move them to the 64GB SD card
- Have any files i download/install go directly to 64GB SD card
I purchased Titanium backup but it's not moving the files to SD it says it moved but storage app is not counting
I'm so confused if anyone has the time to help me i will greatly appreciate it.

Google in all their wisdom removed app2Sd in Android 4.0 and up. This is why we need a 32 and 64 version off this phone. Make sure your titanium backup defaults to your external as well as the camera to save internal space.

kronium said:
Google in all their wisdom removed app2Sd in Android 4.0 and up. This is why we need a 32 and 64 version off this phone. Make sure your titanium backup defaults to your external as well as the camera to save internal space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this isn't the ideal solution, but can we at least move the large Data or Obb files onto the extSD card and then move them back when we want to play the game (Like Asphalt 7 and Dark Knight)?

jconway1968 said:
I know this isn't the ideal solution, but can we at least move the large Data or Obb files onto the extSD card and then move them back when we want to play the game (Like Asphalt 7 and Dark Knight)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly no. I've not been able to use any kind of apps to do this.
Between Google Music cache, google maps/earth cache, tumbler cache, Bard's Tale, and Asphalt 7 that's using up almost 9gb of space on the internal "card" partition. It's crazy that the Evo3D could easily move apps/data to the SDCard but we've taken such a huge step back with this flaw.

kronium said:
Google in all their wisdom removed app2Sd in Android 4.0 and up. This is why we need a 32 and 64 version off this phone. Make sure your titanium backup defaults to your external as well as the camera to save internal space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh? There was apps2sd in 3rd party ics builds for my evo4g. It will probably take some time to port it to the various N2 ROMs unless there is some overpowering technical reason for it bot working. N2 is still new and young and devs are still getting the hang of it. Stock OTA might not ever get it but who stays at stock?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

Skripka said:
Huh? There was apps2sd in 3rd party ics builds for my evo4g. It will probably take some time to port it to the various N2 ROMs unless there is some overpowering technical reason for it bot working. N2 is still new and young and devs are still getting the hang of it. Stock OTA might not ever get it but who stays at stock?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
In the Play Store description on apps2sd the developer specifically lists the Galaxy Note 2 as a device which is NOT compatible. :crying:, not happy about that one either. Cause with the potential of this device and its display I want to d/l kick ass games but can't plug up my internal storage when I have a perfectly good class 10 32Gb SD card!
The only fix for this to my knowledge at this time(which my knowledge about moving apps to the sd card is not extensive at the moment. I have done a little research. ) the only solution at the time is an available script. Which I saw on Galaxynote2root.com as well. But I am personally not familiar enough with the method nor how it may interact with a custom ROM therefore I am personally waiting for either a clearer description of the process or a different method all together.
-Thanks

I got it guys!
Okay
The video teaches you how to flip your SDcard for the Internal, so the phone thinks you are installing on the internal but it's actually the SD (CONFUSING LOL) So when i went to titanium pro, i was super confused with the whole "Move to SD" i didn't know if it was moving to SD or the Internal since i flipped it was all super confusing to me i'm new to android, i've had an iPhone since the first one and decided to get a Note II about a week ago.
So what i did was just deleted all my apps, followed the video and installed all the apps again from the play store and it went to the 64GB card!!! So yay :highfive:
Apps/games run great not even lag at all, camera/videos save to 64GB so i'm really happy.

Careful with that card. Definitely not as reliable as internal memory. Especially if your taxing it with everyday constant use .

I just ran into this issue, no space at all! I just realized that my titanium had been installing to my internal.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Tw1sted247 said:
In the Play Store description on apps2sd the developer specifically lists the Galaxy Note 2 as a device which is NOT compatible. :crying:, not happy about that one either. Cause with the potential of this device and its display I want to d/l kick ass games but can't plug up my internal storage when I have a perfectly good class 10 32Gb SD card!
The only fix for this to my knowledge at this time(which my knowledge about moving apps to the sd card is not extensive at the moment. I have done a little research. ) the only solution at the time is an available script. Which I saw on Galaxynote2root.com as well. But I am personally not familiar enough with the method nor how it may interact with a custom ROM therefore I am personally waiting for either a clearer description of the process or a different method all together.
-Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cry no more... This worked for me.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410262&highlight=note+2
Jusy make sure you read all the posts.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

jconway1968 said:
Cry no more... This worked for me.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410262&highlight=note+2
Jusy make sure you read all the posts.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all 105 pages though right?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Subiegsr said:
Not all 105 pages though right?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least the first several... and this one for sure...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=34291347&postcount=1001
Good luck and don't forget to hit the thanks button if I help you...
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

jconway1968 said:
At least the first several... and this one for sure...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=34291347&postcount=1001
Good luck and don't forget to hit the thanks button if I help you...
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Says I don't have enough space to install wtf
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Highly disappointed with lack of app2sd RANT

Partially my fault for not researching jellybean...just read about how smooth it was & didnt expect them to take features away. I recall reading the article about the bs reason saying people confuse the internal & external memory. U would think they wouldve learned from wp7 when they took away sd support & started being like apple. I figured it was bs article. I wasnt even planning on buying a phone but my 4g slide tapped out after a few case less drops. I was just gonna buy another mytouch since theres not much of high end qwerty selection but gn2 note caught my eye.

I was sort of mad too, but around 10gb for apps has been plenty for me when I put everything else on external memory.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

Note_2 said:
I was sort of mad too, but around 10gb for apps has been plenty for me when I put everything else on external memory.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im deleting apps all the time to be able to get new one.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

There has to be a way around this...

It's not that people confuse the memory. The problem is that when an app is put onto your SD card, it cannot sync correctly with the operating system. Therefore, Google is doing what they can to keep users from putting apps onto their SD cards. Hence the lack of the SD slot in Nexus devices.

lowandbehold said:
It's not that people confuse the memory. The problem is that when an app is put onto your SD card, it cannot sync correctly with the operating system. Therefore, Google is doing what they can to keep users from putting apps onto their SD cards. Hence the lack of the SD slot in Nexus devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u sound like a pr rep lol...im still a android newbie but Ive never have ne problems with apps relating to my sd. If a app/game works best or only on the phones memory most developers ive came have stated up front it even back to my wm days.

I'm pissed at this too. This app2sd and the "no more free tethering" thing is pushing me over the edge to go rooted.
I'll never buy a Nexus because of their flawed philosophy that Google has adopted:
1. Non removable battery.
2. No removable storage. "Everything belongs in the Cloud" I call BS!
I've got a 64 Gb SD card that's somewhat useless if I can't install apps on it. And since only the 16 Gb versions of the Note 2 are in circulation it's very disappointing.

The ship has sailed. Google hates external storage. Don't expect to ever see official OS support for it going forward. It's irritating but reality.

I agree this is total bs. I will not buy another phone that doesnt have external sd. Had an Htc one S and I hated it for that reason. (sense is terrible also)

Hope there's an easy fix soon since I use the GN2 as my table and smartphone now. Didn't have any issues before since I had most games on my N7 but now I'm out of room

There are work arounds. But real fix as of this date.
This is Samsung following Google wishes. I just hope the GN3 will have at least 64gb of internal storage. Then we can use the SD the way Google wants SD cards used. The worst part is that many apps that download media content into your device doesn't allow to save the media content within the extSdCard. That is really annoying. Without being able to use the extSdCard as a media content storage then what does Google expect we use SD cards for?
Samsung is part in fault too. Samsung is well known to put too little storage and main memory into PPC devices. I remember my Samsung Omnia i910. I had to move so many files from the main memory into the storage memory and even into SD card. Then I had to work on other files, like the registry, ini files, etc.. to point to the files I moved. All just to get more space within the main memory for more apps. Windows OS, even Windows Mobile, added major files within the Windows directory every time you install another app that took so much room within the smallest main memory. Samsung is doing similar with GN2. 10gb is barely any room now days with Android.
Samsung needs to lead the pack all the way. SD card, large screen and large capacity of removable battery, 1.6 quad-core, 2gb RAM is not enough to lead the pack all the way. They also need to lead the pack with 1080+ res screen and 64gb+ internal storage memory. I feel that Samsung miss the "leader of the pack" mark with GN2. Samsung needs to realize they are competing against other Androids as well as iPhone.
But the blame starts at Google on app2sd issue.

Switch internal to external(sdcard)
want to have more app storage space for your HD games and what not, here’s a simple App2SD script you can use to store all of your apps on your microSD card. *This will essentially swap your internal storage with your microSD card and allow you to use up to 64GB of space (if you use 64GB microSD card).This should work on all the Galaxy Note 2, test on international GT-N7100, T-Mobile SGH-T889, and Sprint SPH-L900.
Step 1. First, you will need a rooted Galaxy Note 2. *This will work on any custom ROMs except CM10 or AOKP.
Step 2. Second, I highly recommend you to format your microSD card before using this. *Also, after formatting you can copy the contents of your internal storage to your microSD card
Step 3. Download the script on your phone: downloadandroidrom.com/file/GalaxyNote2/app2sdNote2
Step 4. Install and open Script Manager app on Play Store.
Step 5. Using Script Manager app, find the app2sd script on your microSD card and enable “SU” and “Boot”. Step 6. Reboot. *You should now see your microSD card used as internal storage and internal storage as microSD card.

Will this work with a rooted phone but with stock rom? How effective is this method?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

I've been running the storage swap script for a couple months now with no issues. I've used it on stock based roms kernel s along with custom ones as well. I'm using a 32GB fat 32 and am not sure if it supports exfat on 64 cards. Go look for it via search. It's in the sgs3 section somewhere. It's truly a lifesaver for us app/game hoarders

Ill look into that i have a 64gb card i would really like to put to use i only have 2gb available after only 4 games, do you have a link don where to get instructions and files?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

This really is more of an issue with app developers not allowing data to be stored on extsdcard. They would only need to pop up a box with options of were to store the large data files. It could look like this:
search device for sdcard implementation (/sdcard, /extsdcard, /sdacard/ext/, etc.)
pop-up box displays radio button with each storage location, really cool deb's would add option for custom location.
Set location to variable, use variable throughout program.
Just my 2 cents, I think that either this needs to occur or google require a set way of implementing internal/external SD cards.
Sent from my SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Root and install Directory Bind
I was disappointed too and only got 1gb left on my internal and have 64 gb almost unused mSD. So I finally decided to root my phone and install Directory Bind.
Working as intended now.

I have a post in the themes & apps forum with an app I found on the market that let's you store your game data onto an sd card.
It's called gl2sd, you can check in that forum (there's a direct link to it), or just search the market.
Not sure it supports exfat, but it's worth a quick look.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

_Dennis_ said:
This really is more of an issue with app developers not allowing data to be stored on extsdcard. They would only need to pop up a box with options of were to store the large data files. It could look like this:
search device for sdcard implementation (/sdcard, /extsdcard, /sdacard/ext/, etc.)
pop-up box displays radio button with each storage location, really cool deb's would add option for custom location.
Set location to variable, use variable throughout program.
Just my 2 cents, I think that either this needs to occur or google require a set way of implementing internal/external SD cards.
Sent from my SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent point, friend! You always make good/useful comments and could always use more users like you.:highfive: A few minor points, I do miss move to sd option so the lack of kinda falls in line with this forced move to dropbox, cloud, lack of sd card etc. Oh sh!t don't get me started on the Nextel line these days. I have to say the manufacturers and Google are just as responsible as developers. They're all guilty really lol Besides those poor moves though, Android is doing great. I am so glad I preordered that G1 many moons ago. I guess its all who you ask I guess and sometimes we are stuck in our old ways... even us techies. Fo example, I was really stubborn about qwertys and surprisingly don't miss it. So who knows? It's either we're too stubborn to change or we don't like being told what to do.... maybe both Either way, the storage swap script works flawlessly once you set it up properly. As I mentioned earlier, not sure about 64 exfat but I'm sure you can switch it to fat 32 plus all you cm10 fans will have done this already. Hope that helps some...

I use this app to move big data files to the external sd https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slf.ListglApp&hl=en
I also use this app to get around the "insufficient storage" error that sometimes occurs https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.buak.Link2SD

[Q] Use SD-Card as main storage?

I saw a very lengthy and complicated way to use an sdcard as the primary storage (involving scripts, etc). So here's my quick question. I have rooted my device and want t know, is there an app or something very simple I can follow so I can start installing apps onto my 64GB sdcard? Right now it's just a piece of plastic with nothing on it.
Any help would be appreciated!

I am using this app it works perfect with Samsung 64gb uhs1 sd just change dev access 179:17 https://play.google.com/store/apps/...251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwiZXUuY29kbGFiLmludDJleHQiXQ..

Quick questions
Thank you for the reply, I have figured it out now

Interesting - let us know if it's got any gotchas, but it looks like it may do a lot of what the scripts I put together did.

Only gotcha is...
roustabout said:
Interesting - let us know if it's got any gotchas, but it looks like it may do a lot of what the scripts I put together did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only "gotcha" that this program has is as follows: If you reboot your device or power it off, you have to reapply the "fix". It doesn't know how to modify the boot rom or whatever it's called to reapply the patch. No big deal since it's literally just two clicks. One to open the app, the other click to "Apply fix".
Hope this helps someone

For me, that'd be a big gotcha - I reboot mine all the time
I took a run at setting it up and I actually found it harder to be sure of what I was doing than when I wrote the scripts but that's really just down to taste.
One thing I saw in the writeup: if you do enable init.d (scripts that run at boot time) this app can create a script which does its magic at startup.
I have a sneaking suspicion that boot scripts are going to be available to everyone pretty soon.

Use SD Card as internal memory or RAM
You can use your SD Card as an internal memory storage space by using "Link2SD" app. There is another app known as "Swapper" (Swapper2 is the latest version), by using which you can use a segment of your SD Card as your RAM.
In both the cases you actually dedicate a portion of your SD Card to use as internal memory or RAM (whatever you desire).
NOTE: In both the cases, i.e for RAM and internal memory, you first have to repartition your SD Card and for that i must recommend you to use "MiniTool Partition Wizard" app.
For more info simply ask me

Thanks for the information. MPW needs the card out of the Note I found out. Makes sense.
Minitool Partition Wizard doesn't see my Note. What am I missing?
Windows 7 64bit, GT-N5110

Thanks everyone for your contributions,
using the external microSD as RAM and/or internal storage sounds great, but.... how does it perform in real life?
I mean we all know that swapping RAM and HDD in a desktop PC isn't gonna speed up things, right?
And although it's an sd card and not an HDD it is none the less a lot slower than the built in memory I would guess.
Does somebody have solid knowledge about it? Is there an impact on app loading speeds and background OS operations?
Thank you very much in advance,
Yoko

hi! i am currently using a 64gb sandisk micro sd as my external memory. can i ask if this app works with the note 8: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.codlab.int2ext#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwiZXUuY29kbGFiLmludDJleHQiXQ
if it works, do i just follow the instructions on the description? if not, can someone give me a step by step guide? sorry, i'm new to android, it's my first time having a tablet actually, thanks!

Good sir.... that ist the app we are discussing since post #2
Regards,
Yoko

thanks! i'll try..i'll post again if i have any more questions!

Having been told by samsung customer services not to expect a larger memory device for a while, I'm jumping on this thread to explore my other options as I really had my heart set on the 32GB model. I had limited success when trying this with my ASUS Transformer but I didnt try very hard to make it work to be fair...
Once you have an app like link2sd up and running is there any limitation to what apps you can use it for? My plan is to use it with large games that would otherwise fill up the internal memory.
Are there any performance issues with doing this with large apps due to lower read and write times on a micro SD card vs the internal SD?
Are there any issues if you remove the external SD card when not running those apps (id like to review photos from my camera on my tablet while I am out and about)?
If the answer to these questions are all no, I'll likely order the 16GB tablet ASAP.

Just found this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2285221
Think I will go for FolderMount if I can confirm there are no issues using it with a rooted Note 8.0. Im not fussed about moving the APK files. I'm sure there will be enough room on the internal SD for those. I'll just move the data files.
I dont think there would be any benifit of using a partition of the SD card as SWAP (unless someone can correct me on this). It already has 2 GB and the SWAP will be slow due to the max read write speed of the microSD.
If all goes well I will be picking my tablet up on Sunday ready to start playing

You may want to check out this thread as well:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2276193
Worked wonders for me. Easy as pie.

External SD Card as Internal Storage

I've got an external microSD card that I'd like to use as internal storage, or at the very least be able to move apps to the card, but EMUI doesn't want to allow me to. I've already set it as my default storage, but that doesn't much help my situation since none of the apps actually go there.
I know older versions of android had a function to merge the SD card into internal storage so that it seemed like one big drive. Anyone know if you can do that on the Honor?

Short Answer..
drizzl said:
I've got an external microSD card that I'd like to use as internal storage, or at the very least be able to move apps to the card, but EMUI doesn't want to allow me to. I've already set it as my default storage, but that doesn't much help my situation since none of the apps actually go there.
I know older versions of android had a function to merge the SD card into internal storage so that it seemed like one big drive. Anyone know if you can do that on the Honor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Builder's Choice...
Either External Storage can be Formatted as Internal Storage or it can not.. you would see the option under "Format".

drizzl said:
I've got an external microSD card that I'd like to use as internal storage, or at the very least be able to move apps to the card, but EMUI doesn't want to allow me to. I've already set it as my default storage, but that doesn't much help my situation since none of the apps actually go there.
I know older versions of android had a function to merge the SD card into internal storage so that it seemed like one big drive. Anyone know if you can do that on the Honor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have set my card as internal storage and since then all my apps and data goes in the that card but older apps installed pre card insertion wont obviously.

sid21 said:
I have set my card as internal storage and since then all my apps and data goes in the that card but older apps installed pre card insertion wont obviously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How you did that?

Me Too.....
sid21 said:
I have set my card as internal storage and since then all my apps and data goes in the that card but older apps installed pre card insertion wont obviously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
optionalmgrr.la said:
How you did that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On A Stock Device ?
I'd like to know how you've accomplished that feat as well..

RaiderWill said:
On A Stock Device ?
I'd like to know how you've accomplished that feat as well..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is everone hell bent on this one?
Just go in settings>memory & storage>change default location to memory card..
Am i missing something?
Everything from this point goes into memory card..
This isnt rocket science..

Really...?
sid21 said:
Why is everone hell bent on this one?
Just go in settings>memory & storage>change default location to memory card..
Am i missing something?
Everything from this point goes into memory card..
This isnt rocket science..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're Joking Right ?
We've all seen that.
You inferred one could.. (As The Original Poster Drizzi Stated..) "MERGE" Internal & External Storage.
Otherwise known as: "Formatting Your External Card As Internal Storeage.
Which... (Again to use Drizzi's term because it's correct) would Merge and create *One* Gigantic Drive.
Not simply chosing Internal or External... :victory:

RaiderWill said:
You're Joking Right ?
We've all seen that.
You inferred one could.. (As The Original Poster Drizzi Stated..) "MERGE" Internal & External Storage.
Otherwise known as: "Formatting Your External Card As Internal Storeage.
Which... (Again to use Drizzi's term because it's correct) would Merge and create *One* Gigantic Drive.
Not simply chosing Internal or External... :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh merging and using as one drive? Thats weird..
He just wants his apps to move into sd card or use memory card as the only source for every data storage..
Secondly why would anyone even want to use phone storage instead of memory card? Or even merge? Thats weird.. And i never saw any phone doing that ever in my life.. Samsung which gives transition the best to shift data from phone to storage also doesnt merge or use it as a whole.. Its either of them always..
Like i said earlier.. Theres no way to shift all the apps installed and data onto the memory card on honor 7x (only samsung can do that seamlessly) .. Since it was written on phone when it was the main storage at that time..
But when storage changed to memory card any new data will only be written on a memory card.. To free mobile storage.. Simply uninstall them and re install again to get it written on memory card this time..

To Conclude...
drizzl said:
I've got an external microSD card that I'd like to use as internal storage,I know older versions of android had a function to merge the SD card into internal storage so that it seemed like one big drive. Anyone know if you can do that on the Honor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sid21 said:
Ohh merging and using as one drive? Thats weird..
He just wants his apps to move into sd card or use memory card as the only source for every data storage..
Secondly why would anyone even want to use phone storage instead of memory card? Or even merge? Thats weird.. And i never saw any phone doing that ever in my life.. Samsung which gives transition the best to shift data from phone to storage also doesnt merge or use it as a whole.. Its either of them always..
Like i said earlier.. Theres no way to shift all the apps installed and data onto the memory card on honor 7x (only samsung can do that seamlessly) .. Since it was written on phone when it was the main storage at that time..
But when storage changed to memory card any new data will only be written on a memory card.. To free mobile storage.. Simply uninstall them and re install again to get it written on memory card this time..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Pulled His Quote In As Well Sid..
As you can see my friend... He inquired about the "Old Fashioned Way" of doing it... Formatting External as Internal.
I understand you may not have seen this before.. so I am including a pic (see below) so you can see what it would look like in a settings menu that had this option.
The reason why one would want this option? Basically because of just what you said..
Only certain things will tranfer / store on the External drive..
If you format the External as "Internal" Now 100% of your content will store there.. because, it's one HUGE drive..
Think of it.. if you have a FAST SD-Card with 256 or even 128 gigs of storage.. you can Merge that with your 32 / 64 gigs of internal.. have no visible slowdown in performance by the naked eye.. (read/write scores may drop some if you care about such things.. ) and you have all.... this space... for movies , pics , ( porn.. :angel whatever..
That's what makes that option an inviting one..

RaiderWill said:
I Pulled His Quote In As Well Sid..
As you can see my friend... He inquired about the "Old Fashioned Way" of doing it... Formatting External as Internal.
I understand you may not have seen this before.. so I am including a pic (see below) so you can see what it would look like in a settings menu that had this option.
The reason why one would want this option? Basically because of just what you said..
Only certain things will tranfer / store on the External drive..
If you format the External as "Internal" Now 100% of your content will store there.. because, it's one HUGE drive..
Think of it.. if you have a FAST SD-Card with 256 or even 128 gigs of storage.. you can Merge that with your 32 / 64 gigs of internal.. have no visible slowdown in performance by the naked eye.. (read/write scores may drop some if you care about such things.. ) and you have all.... this space... for movies , pics , ( porn.. :angel whatever..
That's what makes that option an inviting one..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get the option to format as internal? I only have Eject and Format as options.

N/A...
drizzl said:
How did you get the option to format as internal? I only have Eject and Format as options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry Drizzi...
That pic was for Sid's edification... that option does not exist for the Honor 7X..

RaiderWill said:
Sorry Drizzi...
That pic was for Sid's edification... that option does not exist for the Honor 7X..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK Thanks for the follow up anyway!

But...
drizzl said:
OK Thanks for the follow up anyway!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Drizzi The Device Does Support OTG..
So that might be an additional option for you..

RaiderWill said:
I Pulled His Quote In As Well Sid..
As you can see my friend... He inquired about the "Old Fashioned Way" of doing it... Formatting External as Internal.
I understand you may not have seen this before.. so I am including a pic (see below) so you can see what it would look like in a settings menu that had this option.
The reason why one would want this option? Basically because of just what you said..
Only certain things will tranfer / store on the External drive..
If you format the External as "Internal" Now 100% of your content will store there.. because, it's one HUGE drive..
Think of it.. if you have a FAST SD-Card with 256 or even 128 gigs of storage.. you can Merge that with your 32 / 64 gigs of internal.. have no visible slowdown in performance by the naked eye.. (read/write scores may drop some if you care about such things.. ) and you have all.... this space... for movies , pics , ( porn.. :angel whatever..
That's what makes that option an inviting one..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This technique is called adopted storage and is an AOSP feature since 7.0. I tried it also in my prior phone, but I would not recommend it any longer, even though it looks promising on the first sight. Unfortunately there are drawbacks:
- The technique behind is a daemon, that scans the internal storage and relocates larger file to the external card. You do not have any control which file gets relocated when. Nevertheless it is a transparent process.
- Since the data get copied asynchronously, copying large files to the device requires at least free space in the internal memory of the size of the largest new file. In case you are dealing with a number of video files, there might easily raise a storage size error message during copy even though your system tells you, that there should be enough memory available.
- The SDCard has to be prepared, which means, it has to get formatted in an encrypted way. Encrypted SDCards are the second best option out of a selection of two ... if you have an issue with it by whatever reason, there is no way to recover the data e.g. via a PC.
- If you have an issue with the card by whatever reason (occurs more often than you would expect, expecially when you are more often on low battery than expected) and since you have no control which data is located on that storage, you will have an unclear amount of corrupt data ... even if your "internal" storage (which is part of the bundle) may lead to some running apps, in worst case your available data is completely ruined.
- It requires newer custom recovery (AFAIK TWRP >= 3.1.x) to decrypt adopted storage.
- Last but not least: Even if you have an SD card with really fast read and write speed (usually known as U3), the real access speed (usually read speed) depends on several other facts like the HW interface to the sd card. In general it is much slower than access to the internal memory which I can confirm (e.g. by speed test apps).
So why would you want such an instable and performance impacting technology? On low-end phones with very little memory probably it would make sense, but the 7X has enough memory in any delivered option, regardles whether you take the smallest or the largest available sizing. In general it is a smartphone and not a NAS system in your pocket. So there is usually no need for the whole world in offline maps accompanied by 200k audiobooks and a dump of the whole music data from your preferred streaming service (even though it would be incredible cool).
Just my point of view ...

I'll Step Aside..
drizzl said:
I've got an external microSD card that I'd like to use as internal storage,
I know older versions of android had a function to merge the SD card into internal storage so that it seemed like one big drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RaiderWill said:
If you format the External as "Internal" Now 100% of your content will store there.. because, it's one HUGE drive..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ZB2016 said:
This technique is called adopted storage and is an AOSP feature since 7.0. I tried it also in my prior phone, but I would not recommend it any longer, even though it looks promising on the first sight. Unfortunately there are drawbacks:
- The technique behind is a daemon, that scans the internal storage and relocates larger file to the external card. You do not have any control which file gets relocated when. Nevertheless it is a transparent process.
- Since the data get copied asynchronously, copying large files to the device requires at least free space in the internal memory of the size of the largest new file. In case you are dealing with a number of video files, there might easily raise a storage size error message during copy even though your system tells you, that there should be enough memory available.
- The SDCard has to be prepared, which means, it has to get formatted in an encrypted way. Encrypted SDCards are the second best option out of a selection of two ... if you have an issue with it by whatever reason, there is no way to recover the data e.g. via a PC.
- If you have an issue with the card by whatever reason (occurs more often than you would expect, expecially when you are more often on low battery than expected) and since you have no control which data is located on that storage, you will have an unclear amount of corrupt data ... even if your "internal" storage (which is part of the bundle) may lead to some running apps, in worst case your available data is completely ruined.
- It requires newer custom recovery (AFAIK TWRP >= 3.1.x) to decrypt adopted storage.
- Last but not least: Even if you have an SD card with really fast read and write speed (usually known as U3), the real access speed (usually read speed) depends on several other facts like the HW interface to the sd card. In general it is much slower than access to the internal memory which I can confirm (e.g. by speed test apps).
So why would you want such an instable and performance impacting technology? On low-end phones with very little memory probably it would make sense, but the 7X has enough memory in any delivered option, regardles whether you take the smallest or the largest available sizing. In general it is a smartphone and not a NAS system in your pocket. So there is usually no need for the whole world in offline maps accompanied by 200k audiobooks and a dump of the whole music data from your preferred streaming service (even though it would be incredible cool).
Just my point of view ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm Eh... Going To Step Aside On This Subject...
I'll let you 2 discuss the Finer Points.. Pros vs Cons etc... Enjoy. :angel:

RaiderWill said:
I'm Eh... Going To Step Aside On This Subject...
I'll let you 2 discuss the Finer Points.. Pros vs Cons etc... Enjoy. :angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:crying:Why? I'd prefer more standpoints on it than just one or two, because it will give arguments about aspects, that are of interest for someone else. :good:

Final Answer...
ZB2016 said:
:crying:Why? I'd prefer more standpoints on it than just one or two, because it will give arguments about aspects, that are of interest for someone else. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well Let's See...
Point 1) OP question was answered with a viable solution by Sid21.
Point 2) OP specific question was answered "Directly" by Raiderwill.
Point 3) Discussing the merits of Adopt Storage further based on how "You" personally feel about it for me, is pointless.
Point 4) I'm sure there are threads here on XDA that you can search out to continue why your point of view is relevant.
Point 5) I'm sure if the OP wants to continue a private discussion with you he knows how to contact you.
Well.. that's pretty much all "I" have to say about Adoptive Storage.
Now... if you want to start a thread about why you think Huawei is giving you false promises in regards to the EMUI 8.0 / OREO 8.0 / FACIAL RECOGNITION UNLOCK and PROJECT TREBLE updates... I'll be more than happy to indulge in your thread in regards to that conversation..
Because quite frankly... I disagree with you 100% in regards to the updates and in regards to rooting the 7X now.. it makes ZERO sense... and even you had to fork over money to fix your phone.. because Rooting got you in a hole...
Now, By All Means.. start a thread and let's discuss that.
https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-oreo-emui-8-pro-9i-7x/

Hi there i am a honor 7x user the issue here is very critical suppose i am deleting a file of from my internal storage the file gets deleted but i dnt get the free space back like the internal storage is not being cleaned up

Please Clarify..
Honor7x said:
Hi there i am a honor 7x user the issue here is very critical suppose i am deleting a file of from my internal storage the file gets deleted but i dnt get the free space back like the internal storage is not being cleaned up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sir.. Are You Saying You've Deleted System Files To Make More Space?
I hope this is not the case.
I hope.. you mean you deleted "Applications" and expected to get more space in return..
It's proportionately based... By that I mean, lets say you had a game installed that was 1.00 GB in size.. and you had 20 GB free.
If you uninstalled that 1.00 GB game.... you would now have 21 GB free..
Just in case you meant to say "RAM" and why have you not freed up more of it... People make the classic mistake thinking if they reomove every conceivable app from their device they are going to free up more RAM..
Not The Case.
RAM management will simply load something else into that allotted space...
Anyway (I digress) if you are still running stock (hopefully) all you have to do is preform a Factory Reset..:good: and you are right back where you started from.
If you are out of space.. I believe this device supports OTG.

Proper solution needed for same issue
Can someone pls give a solution for this problem asap