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MicroSD cards are very important to increase the storage of our mobile. They serve to improve the performance of mobile phones with storage problems, but… Why are some apps not installed inside the microSD?
Although there is the possibility of getting a smartphone with a large storage capacity, we know that there is a significant audience that uses mid-range phones, devices with 16GB of internal storage or less, which do not take long to run out of space.
Why can’t I install apps on my microSD card?
Mainly it is because the Android operating system is prepared so that the apps that you are going to install are only saved in the primary storage. In most cases, that storage ends up being a part of the phone’s internal memory, so, microSD cards are often ignored as external storage.
So my microSD card is only for storing photos and videos?
No. Previously, in Android 4.4 KitKat, applications were only allowed to save their files inside the microSD memory, but not to be installed there. This was mainly because Google was looking for a way to protect the user since some apps could stop working correctly and cause problems.
However, starting with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, users are allowed to install applications inside the microSD. Also, a little before Marshmallow was released to the public, some manufacturers modified the operating system to be able to convert the microSD card into internal storage.
It seems that these inconveniences of insufficient memory are problems of the past that today have solutions. But if you still have problems, pay attention to what’s coming.
I have a microSD card. What do I need to do to convert it to primary external storage?
The first thing you should know is that this configuration will be much easier if you have a device with an Android operating system equal to or greater than 6.0 Marshmallow. If, on the other hand, you have a version prior to this, such as Lollipop or KitKat, things get a bit more complicated. So for the moment we will explain how to do this fix in a few simple steps.
- go to Settingthen select Storage and tap on the microSD section.
- Click on the button with the 3 dots and select Settings. Several options will appear and you will have to choose Format.
After waiting for the mobile to format the microSD, you must repeat the same steps but selecting the option Format as internal storage among the 4 possible choices. Doing so should cause the device to detect the microSD as new and show you the option to use it as internal storage or external storage.
Once the configuration is complete, it will give you the option to move all the content stored in the internal memory of the phone to the microSD card, but it will be up to you, the important thing is that now you can install the apps you want on your microSD.
How to move the applications that you already had installed to the microSD?
Once you’ve done the above setup, you may want to lighten up your phone’s internal space a bit by moving some heavy apps to your microSD card. So pay attention to these simple steps to achieve it.
- Go to Settings – Storage – Apps.
- Once there, all the apps that you have installed in the phone’s internal storage will appear.
Now you need to choose the tool or game you want to transfer to the microSD. Once selected, you must touch the option StorageWhen you do, a box will appear that says Change which you must press.
Once this is done, you will get the option to change the storage app, you just have to press the option SD card and it will be ready.
As you can see, even if your phone’s internal memory is full, a simple microSD can help you lighten the weight of some tools.
Remember that if you did all these steps and you have some applications installed on your external memory card, when you remove it, the apps will momentarily disappear from your smartphoneso from Androidphoria we recommend that the main tools you use are inside the internal storage of your phone.
Finally here we leave you another trick so you can move the photos from the camera to your microSD card.
