Here we go again: you bought a smartphone or tablet with a rather limited amount of memory and now you find yourself fighting every day with annoying warnings about the limited space available. The most immediate solution to the problem is to buy a microSD card and move most of the files that weigh down the internal memory of the device on it: photos, videos, documents, apps and so on.
How do you say? Have you already purchased a microSD card but don’t know how to properly configure its use on your device? Perfect, I am happy to tell you that you have come to the right place at the right time: with today’s guide, in fact, I will point out some apps to move from internal memory to SD and I will explain to you transfer all the files you deem necessary from the internal memory to that of your device. In addition, I will also show you how to move apps to the SD card, so that you can further free up your device’s internal storage.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a tech genius: by following my advice to the letter, you will quickly learn how to transfer photos, files, apps and other data from your device’s internal memory to the external one. Make yourself comfortable, take five minutes of free time and continue reading the next paragraphs. Happy reading and good work!
Index
- Preliminary operations
- App to move files from internal memory to SD
- Google files
- File Manager
- Move apps from internal memory to SD
- Move apps from internal storage to SD HUAWEI
- Move apps from internal storage to Samsung SD
- Move apps from internal memory to Xiaomi SD
Preliminary operations
Before moving on, I want to clarify a fundamental point: below I will focus exclusively on Android devices , because iPhones and iPads do not allow memory expansion via microSD. If you own an iPhone, I suggest you take a look at my dedicated guide on how to expand its memory. If you have an Android terminal, read on to find out how to make the most of your memory card.
The first step you need to take is to buy a good quality microSD, possibly officially certified for use with Android devices: if you want a hand in choosing, consult my buying guide dedicated to microSD . After purchasing the microSD, insert it into your smartphone or tablet following the necessary procedures. In this regard there is not much to say: turn off your device and, if you have a phone or a tablet with a non-removable body, identify the trolley dedicated to the microSD (in some models it is in common with that of the SIM), remove it from the device using the appropriate paper clip , insert the memory card in the appropriate direction, then mount the trolley again and turn on the device.
Otherwise, if your smartphone or tablet has a removable shell, remove the shell gently, identify the slot dedicated to the microSD, insert the card in the appropriate direction and close the shell.
At this point you can safely turn on your smartphone or tablet: the microSD will be recognized immediately, and you can immediately start moving your files. Keep in mind that, if the microSD is not formatted in FAT32 , Android will ask you immediately whether to make it usable for your device: answer Yes / Format to the message, keeping in mind that any files already present will be deleted. Alternatively, you can format your SD card to FAT32 by following my dedicated guide .
App to move files from internal memory to SD
Once you have inserted the SD card inside your smartphone you can finally take action and start transferring the files inside it. How do you say? Have no idea how to proceed and which apps to move files from internal memory to SD you could use?
Before proceeding I want to clarify that, usually, inside all smartphones there are file management apps that allow you to manage both the internal memory and the SD card and transfer files to the latter. Since each brand usually uses different apps, below I will tell you about some very complete third-party apps that you can use on any smartphone.
Google files
The first app I want to talk to you about is Google Files and it is a real file manager created by the Mountain View company and that you usually find already installed by default on Google devices and those Android smartphones that use a stock interface. If it is not present, do not worry, just download it for free from the Play Store according to the usual procedure .
With the app installed, open it, tap on the Continue button and then on Allow . Once in the main screen of the app, in order to manage the files in the device memory, touch on the Browse tab located in the bottom bar, then scroll down and touch on the Internal memory item (if you have inserted the SD card correctly you will also find related item listed).
Now all you have to do is locate the folders containing the files you want to move on the SD card. Specifically, I recommend that you move folders that contain photos, videos, documents and music, since only those that usually take up the most space. For this reason, the folders you will need to copy only the following: DCIM (photos and videos), Documents , Downloads and Music .
Once you have identified the folder you want to move to the SD card, tap on the three dots next to it and then on the Move to item from the menu that appears on the screen: now all you have to do is select the SD card item from the menu that appears from the bottom and confirm the operation by tapping the Move Here button .
If you want to move all the folders in one go, all you have to do is press and hold on a folder you want to move, for example DCIM , and then select the other folders: once this is done, tap on the button with the three dots at the top on the right and from the menu that appears tap on the item Move to . The subsequent operations to follow are the same as I indicated earlier.
File Manager
The second app I want to tell you about is called File Manager and is available for download on the Play Store and alternative stores . It is an alternative solution to Google’s Files , especially if you have a HUAWEI smartphone equipped with HMS .
The app is free , but there are small, minimally invasive advertising banners. If you want to remove them, there is also a Premium version at a cost of 1.99 euros per month or 7.99 euros one-off . In addition to removing the advertising, the dark theme is also activated.
Once downloaded and installed , open it, tap the Next button twice and then allow access to the device memory. Once in the main screen of the app, you will find listed all the main items you can access, including those dedicated to main memory and SD card .
The first thing you need to do is tap on the Main Memory item and in the screen that appears, you will find the list of all the folders inside it. Now all you have to do is press and hold on the folder you want to move, for example DCIM , and from the menu that appears tap on the Move item : go back by tapping the appropriate button at the top left, select the SD card item and then tap on Paste .
Repeat the operation for all the folders you want to move, or, if you want to do it in one go, select them all and then move them following the same instructions I gave you previously.
Move apps from internal memory to SD
After learning how to move files to SD card, now you would also like to understand how to move apps from internal storage to SD .
Before proceeding, allow me a necessary clarification: starting from Android 9 , Google has removed the possibility of using the SD card for installing apps, so now it is only possible to move a portion of the app, which usually refers to components not necessary for its startup. For example, in the case of a navigation app, you can move the downloaded map files to the SD card.
However, not all apps allow you to do this, since the ability to move part of the app to the SD card is at the discretion of the developer, who can decide whether or not to include this possibility.
Since the procedure for moving apps to the SD card is different depending on the smartphone in your possession, below I will show you how to act on the smartphones of the main Android brands.
Move apps from internal storage to SD HUAWEI
Your HUAWEI smartphone has a little too small internal memory, perhaps because it is a very cheap model, or not too recent. However, it does come with SD card support, so you would like to remedy this memory problem by moving apps from internal memory to SD HUAWEI .
No problem, now I’ll show you how to proceed. The first thing you need to do is open the Settings app, usually recognizable by the gear icon, and tap twice in a row on the App item. Once in this section, you will find the list of all the apps on your smartphone. To proceed, tap on the app you want to move and then on the Memory item: tap on the Edit / Move button and then select the microSD from the menu that appears on the screen.
For more information on the subject, take a look at my dedicated tutorial.
Move apps from internal storage to Samsung SD
The memory of your Samsung smartphone is almost completely full and, even after moving all possible files within the SD card, there is still very little free space. For this reason you would like to understand how to move apps from internal memory to Samsung SD .
To proceed, the first thing you need to do is open the Settings app , recognizable by the gear icon, and tap on the Applications item . From the list of installed apps, locate the app you want to move to external storage and tap it.
In the screen that appears, tap on the item Storage memory and, if the app in question allows transfer to SD card you will find the Change button : tap on it and select the microSD from the drop-down menu.
How do you say? Does the Change button not appear in the app you want to move? Unfortunately, in this case you can’t do much, as it means that the app in question cannot be moved natively to the microSD.
For more information, check out my tutorial on the subject .
Move apps from internal memory to Xiaomi SD
You have a Xiaomi smartphone and would like to try to solve the problem related to your internal memory which is rather small. You have already managed to recover some space by moving files to the SD card following the instructions I gave you in the previous paragraph , but now you would also like to understand how to move apps from internal memory to Xiaomi SD .
Unfortunately, in the case of Xiaomi smartphones, there is no possibility to move apps to the SD card, even when the app allows it. the only option you have is to set the SD card as the main storage for the Camera, Themes and Gallery app. To do this, open the Settings app , recognizable by the gear icon, and go to System Info> Storage space .
Once in this section, scroll down and tap on Storage Settings . Now you just have to tap on the Camera, Themes and Gallery items and select the External memory item .
If you want to force the installation of apps on the SD card, I suggest you take a look at my tutorial on the subject . However, this solution does not allow you to move previously installed apps, so you should uninstall the app and then install it again.
