A smartphone is not only a convenient dialer, but also a full-fledged entertainment center. However, immediately after purchase, there are not many applications, games and interesting features in the device itself. To eliminate this drawback, the user is provided with a huge selection of applications for every taste in the Google Play On-line store (we described how to install applications in this article).
Sooner or later, any person who installs various applications on their smartphone or tablet will face the problem of not having enough free space in the device’s memory, although there are still a lot of free Gigabytes on the memory card. This is due to the fact that most applications are installed in the memory of the smartphone/tablet itself, which is not very much, and not on the memory card. The result is a lack of free space, a decrease in the speed of the device, and constant slowdowns. This problem can be solved in different ways:
Option 1. A radical solution to the problem - Hard Reset
This step is good because the smartphone returns to factory settings and literally begins to “fly”, since it is not overloaded with unnecessary data and is not clogged with files. But on the other hand, the user is forced to reinstall all applications and restore deleted data. We talked about how to do a Hard Reset in this article.
The green robot's "stomach" is smaller than a thimble. Especially on devices with little memory. I fed him a dozen or two super-mega-necessary programs - and the place ran out. But... many of us have the opportunity to install a second “stomach” in the gadget and continue feeding.
Today we’ll talk about transferring applications from internal memory to an SD card in Android smartphones and tablets.
Which apps can be transferred and which ones can't?
Among mobile applications, there are those that can be transferred between drives and those that cannot. When you transfer a program to external media, some components remain in the same place - in the permanent memory of the device.
If the program is relatively autonomous and not too fussy in terms of the location of files and data, it will remain functional. And if it is deeply rooted in the operating system, when the work of other structures depends on it, the transfer can end disastrously - not only this program will stop working, but also everything that interacts with it. For this reason, you should absolutely not try to move system applications.
The ability to transfer third-party products to microSD varies. It depends on whether the program author has provided for this possibility. They don’t write about this in the characteristics - everything is learned experimentally, but such experiments do not threaten serious consequences. If after transferring the program does not work, it is enough to return it to its place or reinstall it into the device’s memory.
Moving by system means
Modern versions of Android, starting from 6.0, support transferring software to cards without additional funds. They use a micro SD card as an extension of the internal storage, and the movement function is built into the firmware.
To transfer a program from the memory of a smartphone or tablet to a card in Android 6.0 and higher, do the following:
- Open system settings and go to " Device» – « Applications».
- Open the menu (properties section) of the desired program with a short touch.
- Tap " Storage", then " Change».
- In the window " Changing storage location» select « Memory card».
The instructions are applicable to devices of many brands and models, but adjusted for individual characteristics. Some manufacturers, for example, Samsung, instead of " Storage"You need to go to the section " Memory" Others have a button Move toSD" is located in the menu of applications that support this function. Well, others... simply didn’t bother and refused to implement the transfer function into the firmware of their devices.
The ability to transfer applications to SD cards “without intermediaries” also exists in very old versions of Android - 2.2 and lower, and everything that appeared later - up to the sixth version - requires third-party tools, which will be discussed further.
Mobile software for moving applications to SD
AppMgr III
Many Android users are familiar with the problem of insufficient internal memory on their phone or tablet. One of the main ways to free it up is to transfer games and applications to a memory card, of course, if you have one.
However, having decided to transfer the game to an SD card, many encounter various difficulties. In this article, we’ll try to figure out what’s what and look at a couple of useful applications for transferring data to Android.
To begin with, it is worth noting that transferring applications to a memory card can be done without third-party applications, using built-in tools. But the possibility of transferring depends on each specific application. Some developers block this feature, apparently for the reason that internal memory provides better performance than an SD card.
In order to check whether an application can be transferred to a memory card, open the “Applications” item in the system settings and see if the “Move to SD card” button is active.
If the button is active, then the application supports transfer; if not, or the button is absent altogether, then transfer is not supported.
Transferring applications using AppMgr Pro III
A more convenient way to transfer applications is the special application AppMgr Pro III (Formerly App 2 SD), which, in addition to transferring applications, has several more useful functions:
- Hide an application in the application menu
- Notification that application installation is complete
- Clear cache with one tap
The main advantage of AppMgr Pro III is that it automatically sorts applications based on location. This sorting is done in the form of tabs:
- On phone – applications located in the phone’s memory, and supporting transfer to a memory card
- On SD card – applications already moved to the SD card
- Phone only – applications that do not support transfer
Transfer cache to memory card
If the first method doesn't work. (But it doesn’t work in the latest versions of Android)
The methods described above are good, but, as already mentioned, they do not always work, and in addition, they leave a cache in the internal memory, which often takes up much more than the application itself. The FolderMount application, unlike AppMgr Pro III, allows you to move not the application itself, but its cache, to a memory card. For this program to function, you will need root rights, if you don’t know what it is and how to get it.
Transferring the cache is done in a few simple steps:
- Launch the application and click on the “+” icon in the upper right corner
- In the menu that opens, in the “Name” column, specify the name of the application whose cache you want to transfer
- In the “Source” column, specify the folder with the game cache, which is located in Android/obb/ your folder with the name of the application
- In the “Destination” column, select the folder on the external SD card where you want to transfer the cache
- After everything is filled out, click on the checkmark at the top right and then on the “pin” opposite the name you gave in the first paragraph.
Once the data transfer is complete, the “pin” will turn green. After this you can use the application
Internal memory on a phone is expensive. Gadgets with large capacity are expensive, so many people face the problem of transferring applications to a memory card in Android 7.0. There are two ways to perform the move: from the manufacturer and using third-party software.
Each smartphone by default has the installed function of transferring from internal memory to an SD card. The process is not complicated, so we will consider it step by step.
- 1. On the main screen, click “Settings”.
- 2. Look at the “General” tab. There will be an “Applications” category at the bottom.
- 3. From the list that appears, select the desired software that you are going to export.
- 4. Now find something like a category called phone memory or SD card.
- 5. By clicking on “Change”, specify the route - SD card.
- 6. Otherwise, you just have to agree with the changes being made and wait until the application is exported.
Some inaccuracies in the description of Android 7.0 cannot be ruled out. Different installed themes or other third-party applications can easily change the menu names. However, based on this diagram, you will still understand the course of action.
Third-party software for transferring applications to an SD card
If for some reason it is impossible to transfer the application according to the manufacturer’s scheme, we resort to the help of third-party software. Officially, in stores you can download a lot of programs that will help you export from internal memory. Their control comes down to a few clicks in the menu - everything is intuitive. The following programs are in great demand on the market:
- AppMgr III
- Link2SD
- Recovery utility
- EaseUS Partition Master
- Link2SD
Not everyone works on smartphones. The EaseUS Partition Master application will require manipulation from the computer. In addition to exporting, moving software can be deleted, renamed, and much more. Third-party utilities are more convenient than factory settings due to their advanced capabilities. Although you will have to spend more time studying the export process.
You will also need to get root access to Android 7.0. All manipulations are possible only on behalf of the developer.
Root rights are unlocked by using appropriate applications. You can read more about this topic on the Internet. Be sure to check for root access before using software to export applications.
Features of internal and external memory
It is always worth considering that the internal memory of a smartphone ensures more stable operation of applications. Some game manufacturers, due to this feature, remove the ability to export their products. That is, in order to make a move, this function must be implemented by the manufacturer himself. Not all software can be transferred to external memory. There are no options here - there is no memory, download other games and programs that have an export function.
An SD card is not suitable for storing many powerful applications. Due to their high performance, they need to work directly in symbiosis with the processor. Moving to external media will reduce performance and cause a number of problems. Therefore, despite the availability of export, such a function is not always advisable in its use.
Conclusion
I hope you have figured out how you can transfer applications to a memory card in Android 7.0, and you also know the key differences between internal and external memory on your Android device. If you have other questions or difficulties in using it, ask questions in the comments to this page or our contact groups.
If you like to install a large number of games and programs on your device, but the memory capacity of your smartphone does not allow this, then very soon there will simply be no memory left to install applications. In this case, the best solution is to use a third-party media, but how to transfer applications to a memory card on Android manually and what will be needed for this?
Transferring using a system function
So, let's begin. Of course, many people immediately thought that the whole transfer process was unbearably complicated. But don’t worry, because the procedure is quite simple and quick.
- To get started, click “Settings”;
- Next, go to the item called “Applications”;
- In it you need to select the desired file (game or application);
- Now you need to click on it and find the “Move to SD card” tab;
- If the button is active, you need to click on it. Ready.
Quite often it happens that developers initially block this feature and do not allow you to transfer your application to an SD card. They justify this by the fact that their application works better on a standard one than on an external drive, no matter what data processing speed it has.
If you do not see this option when you click on the application, then consider that this is a blocking of the developer himself. Then you will need third party applications. We'll talk about them below.
Below are the 2 best applications that I used and everything worked. But remember that the free version does not guarantee full functionality, better support the author and then you will be able to transfer applications to the SD card.
The most popular application for such purposes, which is used by many users. This program is completely free, and at the same time it can move games and other files quickly and without any problems to the SD card.
Any user can understand the controls. And all because games and programs are divided into 2 large categories. In addition to transferring, you can clear the cache using this program, select applications and games in bulk, and also receive a notification about clearing or changing any programs.
Another worthy tool isLink2 SD. The utility can also be freely downloaded from, installed in the standard way and enjoyed the free space on your device.
Unfortunately, the program does not work without, the interface is not very simple and it will be difficult for a beginner to understand all the nuances and actions, but you will get an excellent functioning application manager.
Let's look at the advantages of Link2SD:
- Easily transfer, for example, a game to external media, even if its system options do not support this. Everything will run as before, no problems with launch, quality or performance.
- Clear cache, duplicate files and unnecessary application data in two clicks.
- Creates a special section on the memory card, which is why the smartphone begins to recognize it as an internal storage location. That is why the functionality of portable programs is not affected.
- It supports a huge number of languages (more than forty, including Russian, of course), which is quite a rarity for such programs.
How to transfer application cache to Android memory card using FolderMount
This method is much more useful than all those described above, because thanks to it only the program or game cache is transferred, which very often takes up more space on the device than the application itself.
In this case, you will need to use the FolderMount program. But in order to use it, you need the “Superuser” mode. If you have them, you can start.
- Open the program and click on the plus image, which is located in the upper right corner.
- There you will see a field "Name", into which the name of the application is entered.
- Paragraph "Source" needed to indicate the folder where the cache is located. As a rule, it is located at the following address - SD/Android/obb/name.
- Folder "Destination" needed to specify the cache relocation path.
- After filling out each item, you need to click on the checkmark located at the top of the screen, and then on the picture of the pin located opposite the name entered in the first item. When the transfer is complete, the pin will turn green.