{"id":11134,"date":"2018-01-23T13:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T10:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unlockunit.com\/blog\/?p=11134"},"modified":"2018-02-02T13:50:11","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T10:50:11","slug":"cant-move-apps-sd-card-android","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unlockunit.com\/blog\/cant-move-apps-sd-card-android\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do if you can’t move apps to SD card on Android"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, you happen to remain without any storage space on your phone\u2019s internal memory, but this isn\u2019t something to worry about. After all, this is why you get a microSD card for, to move stuff away on it. But what if you…can\u2019t?!<\/span><\/p>\n

No need to worry, <\/span>as a lot of Android users get the \u201ccan\u2019t move apps to SD card\u201d error <\/b>when they\u2019re trying to do this. Fortunately, there are a few solutions for this, allowing you to empty your internal memory and transfer all your stuff to the card with ease. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sounds good enough for you? Ok, let\u2019s see how it can be done!<\/span><\/p>\n

How to move apps to SD card<\/span><\/h2>\n

Technically speaking, <\/span>moving apps on your memory card is a very easy procedure<\/b>. Everything you need to do is go to Settings > Application Manager and see the list of all your downloaded apps.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Move<\/p>\n

Here, you can choose the app you want to move by tapping on it and you will get a few options, including the <\/span>\u201cMove to SD card\u201d button<\/b>. Simply press on it and the transferring process will begin. Depending on the size of the app, it can take from a few seconds to a few minutes. <\/span><\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another quick way of doing this is to <\/span>use a PC or a Mac<\/b>. Just connect the phone to it via USB, then open a window and look through the content. You will see both the internal storage and SD card as separate storage units. And the moving process is actually pretty easy since you just <\/span>drag and drop items from one side to another<\/b>. Just make sure you leave those system files alone!<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget about the dedicated apps for this as well. <\/span>ES File Explorer<\/span><\/a> is by far one of the most popular choices for this, while <\/span>AppMgr III<\/span><\/a> also does a great job. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why can\u2019t I move apps to the SD card?<\/span><\/h2>\n

However, you should know that <\/span>some apps can\u2019t be moved to the microSD card<\/b>, while <\/span>some phones won\u2019t let you move any app at all<\/b>. On older versions of Android, the \u201cmove to SD card\u201d option is actually <\/span>greyed out<\/b>!<\/span><\/p>\n

As a side note, some people were saying – initially – that the SD card is working fine, the device just doesn\u2019t choose to save it. These are isolated cases, though.<\/span><\/p>\n

And this can be really frustrating and make you say a lot of not-so-nice-words about the phone and the folks who made it like this. Because yes, this is can be either an app developer or manufacturer-related issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Picture this: you have a phone with a small storage capacity, of 8GB, let\u2019s say. You bought a microSD card and you\u2019re happy that you\u2019ll now have way more space. Until you pop it in and get that lousy \u201ccan\u2019t move apps to SD card\u201d error\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Which apps can\u2019t be moved to SD card?<\/span><\/h2>\n

As mentioned above, there are quite a few apps which simply can\u2019t be moved. Unless you\u2019re rooted, that is. <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m talking about those who come pre-installed on your phone, such as Google Chrome, YouTube or the Messages app. Also, let\u2019s not forget about that bloatware cra…sorry, unnecessary amount of apps each manufacturer loads the phone with. I\u2019m looking at you, Samsung, but some other manufacturers are in the same situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides these apps which have the \u201cMove to SD Card\u201d option greyed out, there are also devices which don\u2019t support this functionality. Basically, they just don\u2019t display the moving option, like the Motorola<\/a> Moto X Pure, for example, which a lot of users are complaining about. This is what happens when they rush updates into production so quickly, as a Reddit users concludes.<\/span><\/p>\n

It looks like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Can't<\/p>\n

A special \u201caward\u201d goes to those phones who are able to move a part of an app on your SD card, while the rest remains on the internal storage. Man, technology can be weird sometimes\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

But let\u2019s say you really want to move those apps away. Is there a way to hack the system and do it, even though it\u2019s not possible initially? Well, there might be a few solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to move apps to SD card even if the option is greyed out<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ok, there\u2019s one thing I want to start with, before getting into technical details: I\u2019m not the biggest fan of rooting. I\u2019ve done this once, things went ok, but for me, stock Android is more than enough. But in order to enable this option, you must have a rooted phone. All good, let\u2019s see how it\u2019s done now!<\/span><\/p>\n

Presuming that you rooted your phone and you know what this is about, you need to <\/span>start the terminal on the phone<\/b>, then type these two lines of code: <\/span><\/p>\n

Su<\/span><\/p>\n

Pm set-install-location 2<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What this step does is to set the default install location to the external SD card. In order to check if it was done properly, type: <\/span><\/p>\n

Pm get-install-location<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Your phone should display \u201cexternal\u201d if everything was done properly. Also, if you want to revert the action, type: <\/span><\/p>\n

Su<\/span><\/p>\n

Pm set-install-location 0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And yeah, this is it. You shouldn\u2019t have any issues with this, as it\u2019s actually a <\/span>simple procedure, used to move data to SD card<\/b> if your phone doesn\u2019t allow it at first.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wrap-up<\/span><\/h2>\n

There you have it, no more \u201ccan\u2019t move apps to SD card\u201d errors anymore! Hopefully, you will find this guide useful and rely on it every time you need to make some extra room on your phone\u2019s internal storage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you know other solutions for this? If so, please let us know about them, so we can update our guide, using the comments section below.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, you happen to remain without any storage space on your phone\u2019s internal memory, but this isn\u2019t something to worry about. After all, this is why you get a microSD card for, to move stuff away on it. But what if you…can\u2019t?! No need to worry, as a lot of Android users get the \u201ccan\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101017,"featured_media":11135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[152],"tags":[358,2698,2703],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to do if you can't move apps to SD card on Android | UnlockUnit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A lot of Android users get the \u201ccan\u2019t move apps to SD card\u201d error when they\u2019re trying to free some space. 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