If your Android smartphone or tablet is running low on
storage for your apps, photos, video, music and other
files - perhaps you have received an error message
suggesting you have insufficient storage available -
there are several ways to get around it. Here's how to
get more storage on an Android phone or tablet. See
also: what is the best Android phone?
How to get more storage in Android:
microSD card
The easiest way to add storage to your Android phone
or tablet is with a microSD card - even if it doesn't
support one.
Assuming it does, when buying a microSD card for your
phone or tablet you should first check the
manufacturer's specification or reviews of that device
to see what type of cards it will accept. Many budget
phones, for example, will accept only 32GB, while
higher-end devices typically handle 128GB. You
certainly don't want to pay out for a 128GB card only
to find it won't work in your phone.
You'll find manufacturers offer various types of
microSD card, with some claiming to be faster or more
secure than others. For simple storage of your files
any microSD card will do, but note that fakes can be
found online, so be wary of anything too cheap or
brands you haven't come across before. Also see: How
to spot fake tech.
If your phone or tablet doesn't natively support
MicroSD, it's easy to attach one to make use of on an
ad-hoc basis. We really like Inateck's MicroSD Card
Reader Adaptor, which costs just £6.99 from Amazon
UK.
This tiny gadget can house a MicroSD card up to 64GB
in capacity, and features a Micro-USB connection
that lets you plug it into your phone or tablet. As
long as your Android device supports USB OTG (many
do), the microSD card will show up as USB storage.
Clearly you won't want to leave the Inateck attached
to your phone or tablet at all times, but it's small and
lightweight, and features a tethered plastic plug that
lets you attach it to the headphone port so it doesn't
get lost. Our only gripe is the fact the end cap that
protects the Micro-USB port isn't tethered. New, it's
a fairly snug fit, but we don't suppose it'll be long
before this small plastic piece goes missing.
How to get more storage in Android: USB
OTG storage
You might not realise it, but many Android phones and
tablets support USB OTG (On The Go), which allows
you to plug in peripherals such as storage drives, just
as you would with a PC.
Whether or not a device supports OTG won't always
be listed in its spec. A quick and easy way to check
whether your device supports OTG is to download to
it the USB OTG Checker app, free from Google Play.
Once you've established that your device supports
OTG you simply need an OTG adaptor such as the
Inateck HB3001G. It costs just £12.99 from Amazon,
and has an assortment of USB slots and card readers
for letting you attach peripherals to your phone or
tablet. If you're going to use it simply to insert a
microSD card to a phone that doesn't support
removable memory then the phone should be able to
power the device by itself. However, if you want to
add an external hard drive you'll probably need to also
power the OTG adaptor (a USB power cable is
provided). For more information see How to add
microSD support to your Android phone or tablet.
How to get more storage in Android:
Delete unwanted apps and clear your app
cache
Sometimes you don't really need more storage, you
just need to make better use of what you've got.
Your phone or tablet probably came with several apps
you have no interest in using, and you've probably
since installed even more that you never use.
If you don't use them, uninstall them. If you later
decide you need them then just download them again -
any apps you've paid for at Google Play will be
available to any Android device on which you're logged
into your Google account.
Even the apps you want to keep can be taking up more
space than they require. Over time every app on your
phone fills space with cached files, and clearing these
out can free up some room without you resorting to
one of the other methods listed here. Clearing your
app cache can also help to solve problems with
misbehaving apps - perhaps you're getting messages
that ' Samsung Galaxy has stopped', for example.
Clearing your app cache won't delete any important
files on your phone, but keeping things backed up is
never a bad idea.
In clearing your app cache you have two choices. You
can go to Settings, Apps and go through each app,
clearing the cache as required, or you can wipe the
whole lot at once.
We're not referring to a factory reset (although that
will solve your storage problems by returning your
device to its out-of-box state), but to wiping the
app cache. In order to do this you need to enter
Android's Recovery mode and choose to wipe the app
cache.
It's not exactly the same process for all phones, so
it's worth Googling your exact model to see how you
enter recovery mode. On my HTC Desire Eye, for
example, you need to switch it off, then press and
hold volume down, then press and hold the power
button to enter recovery mode. You then press and
hold volume up and power to access recovery options.
An option here offers to wipe the cache partition
(make sure you don't choose wipe data/factory
reset).
How to get more storage on Android: cloud
storage
Another really good option for freeing up space on
your Android is to embrace cloud storage on your
smartphone or tablet.
Cloud storage apps such as Dropbox can automatically
back up all your photos to the storage site, or you
can upload only those you want to store online. Once
in the cloud you can free up space by deleting them
from your phone or tablet.
The only down side to using cloud storage is that you
will be able to access those files only when you have
an active internet connection.
Take a look at our article on 2015's best cloud
storage services to see which is is best for you.
Google offers several apps that are usually built into
your phone or tablet for storing online your music,
photos and more. For example, Play Music lets you
store all your tunes in the cloud for accessing on any
device, and if you need to hear them offline you can
also download them to your phone or tablet. Similarly,
Google Drive lets you store online all your word
documents and spreadsheets.
Using a service such as Spotify is an alternative to
storing tracks on your own device. This music-
streaming service offers a free service (with ads)
that will let you listen to almost any tune you like.
How to get more storage in Android:
Wireless hard drive
One final option you have for getting access to more
storage on your Android device is by using a wireless
hard drive. A wireless hard drive is exactly the same as
a normal portable hard drive, but you connect to it
via Wi-Fi. Loads of options are available, and they're
becoming more affordable, too.
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