Fix Storage Space Running Out Error on Android
The sizes of operating systems, apps, and photos are getting larger. The Facebook app alone now takes up a whopping 250 MB. You are looking at well over half a gigabyte of storage space if you also use Pages Manager and Messenger. Images, Videos, Games, and back-ups will also eat through your memory.
You will quickly find yourself hitting your storage limits if you use the entry-level model of a newer device or even an older device. Whipping out your mobile is the worse thing. For a once-in-a-lifetime photo only to be met with the dreaded “Memory Full” message.
I’m going to show you a few ways of safely, easily, and quickly freeing up some much-needed storage space.
1. Identify Memory-Hogging Apps
How many apps that you currently have installed do you frequently use?
We all need an email client, a news app, some social media apps, perhaps a game or two. On concord, do you really need that random weather widget you downloaded? Or the app that distorts your face to make you look like your dog? Probably not.
Recent versions of Android make it easy to see which apps are the worst offenders. Go to Settings -> Storage. Tap on Apps. Wait for the list to populate. Then Tap the menu button in the top right-hand corner. Choose Sort by Size.
2. Delete Offline Content
You can access it when you are offline, lots of apps let you save content. For instance, one of the key features of Spotify Premium is the ability to save music directly to your device. As do bookmarking services such as the pocket, some RSS readers let you save articles to read later. OneNote will sync all your notes onto your mobile for offline access. This list goes on.
If you have enough memory, saving content for offline use is great. You will quickly start wondering why all your free space has suddenly vanished if you don’t have enough memory.
Try making a playlist on Spotify with just enough songs to cover your gym session or commute. Alleviate the problem by a few prudent steps. Open the notebooks you use most frequently on OneNote. Avoid downloading any huge files from cloud storage services.
You have two options to clear the offline content that you already have saved on your device. You can clear app caches on a case-by-case basis by going to Settings -> Apps -> [App Name] -> Storage -> Clear Cache. You can use a reputable third-party tool like SD Maid alternatively.
3. Move Photos to the Cloud
Automatically, Google Photo will backup all your photos to the cloud. They won’t count against your Google Drive storage limits as long as you are happy with a slightly lower resolution.
You won’t notice they’re not saved locally if you look at your photos. They will still be viewable and accessible through the app as they were before as long as you have an internet connection.
The app alerts you when it thinks it can help save you some space. That is with an on-screen notification making you aware that you are closing in on your memory limits.
You can get the app to check on your behalf if you think you’re close to capacity. Move to Google Photos -> Menu -> Free Up Space. The app scans your mobile and lets you know how many photos have already been backed up and can be safely deleted.
4. Move Content to an SD Card
With an SD Card slot, fewer and fewer devices are now shipping. The Nexus line hasn’t included one for a long time. The new Google Pixel doesn’t have one and lots of high-end phones from Motorola, Sony, and HTC are also missing one. The exception is the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Cheaper SD Cards will not perform as well as more expensive ones because they will have slower read/write times. This is the main reason for their absence. Many users won’t realize that their SD Card is at fault. They will just think the phone is sluggish. That’s bad publicity for manufacturers. With more storage, they’d rather you just bought a more expensive model.
You can move onto it depends on which version of Android you are running if you have an SD Card. You can format your SD Card as internal storage if you have Android 6.0 or later. Settings -> Storage -> Storage & USB and your phone will take care of the rest. You’ll only be able to move certain apps if you have an older version of Android. You’ll need to root your device to move everything.
5. Use a Storage Analyzer App
If all the above steps are performed but still can’t work out what’s taking up all your space, to investigate all your device’s folders you might need to turn to an analyzer app.
DiskUsage is the arguably the best one. This is a great way to find leftover files from games, old downloads, and other rogue entries.
The app displays all the results in an easy-to-understand on-screen graphic. Thus helping you find any directories and files which consume a lot of space.
You can delete those files and directories within the app itself.
Download: If you want to download, click on DiskUsage (Free)
How Do You Free Storage Space on Your Device?
These five methods can dramatically decrease the amount of internal storage space being used on your device.
There are lots more and I want to hear about them. To analyze your folders, what apps do you use? How do you prevent your device from hitting its memory limits? What space-saving tips do you have to pass on to your fellow readers?
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