Database Users

[DISCUSS] Memory Matters...(A Mini Rant)

Well I have had the Xperia Play for over a week now and there is one thing that is annoying me, as one might guess from the title.
First though, let me list all the Android phones (tablets omitted) I've had in the past year to give a bit of insight into my rant:
Xperia X10, Desire, Galaxy S, Desire HD, LYNX, LYNX 3D, Nexus S, Xperia Play.
Now, of these phones (I don't really count the X10 as I had it for 2 weeks before ditching it for the Desire), the HTC Desire has been the only one that really ticked me off. EVERY day there was a memory issue. I would test out a new app only to find that, lo and behold, the storage was filled from the other apps. It seemed like there was eternally 20MB or less free at any given time. I remember actively having to put downloads on "hold" in my mind so that when I got a new phone I could get them.
(BTW I realize that last April/May we had Android 2.1 and thus there was no option to save to Micro SD. Nonetheless, all of the other phones have been great, including the Desire HD.)
NOW we fast forward to my spending $800 on an unlocked Xperia Play. NOT happy. I have already, on three occasions, been notified of low memory on the phone. Why? Well I downloaded various games from the marketplace that are optimized for the Play, and I downloaded Adobe Air (absurdly large file size for something I don't ever recall using).
I find it quite ironic that a device designed to play GAMES has basically no on-board memory. Worse yet, IIRC many of the large games that are designed for the Play (including some that are pre-installed no less) will not migrate to SD and thus they are stuck on the phone occupying space.
Could I delete some of the applications? Sure. But the thing is, why do I have to? Why is it that my Nexus S and Desire HD, both of which I actively use, have not once experienced this problem and have MORE content on them no less. The HD still has 512MB free, and I'm even willing to overlook the NS entirely given that it ONLY has on-board memory.
Sorry, I'm just ticked off that I have this brand new phone (which I bought explicitly for games mind you, not even to use as a phone or take out of my house) and it requires micromanagement so as not to run out of space. I mean it's great that SE was nice enough to include a 16GB Micro SD, but WHY couldn't it have been built into the **** internal storage instead?!?! For crying out loud, even the PSP Go (which this is more or less a follow-up to) had 16GB on-board...
Is anyone else annoyed by this issue?

Mhh, I can see where you're coming from, but I found it to be a little bit of a non-issue, personally. I found it to be a huge issue with my Motorola Milestone, but mostly, because it's Android 2.1 and thus doesn't want to cooperate with the SD. Nowadays, you can just set the default install location on the SD with "adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2" and everything gets thrown on the SD, even programs that don't support it. And thankfully, the included Class 10 SD is very fast from what I've seen and could probably be even faster if we format it into ext4 - altho for that, we need root-access, otherwise Android still tries to mount it as a vfat.
It's unfortunate, yes, but it's not really that much of an issue to me, personally. I still have around 140MB free, and basically all apps I buy also allow me to throw them on the SD by default.

TokyoGuy said:
I find it quite ironic that a device designed to play GAMES has basically no on-board memory. Worse yet, IIRC many of the large games that are designed for the Play (including some that are pre-installed no less) will not migrate to SD and thus they are stuck on the phone occupying space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
umm i'm pretty sure all the pre-installed game files are pre-loaded on the 16gb card you get. plus any large game you install, almost in all cases you download the game data files to the SD by default. so yeah.....

Actually I was concerned that my phone had some kind of malware preinstalled because of the 3 minute start up issue and thus I formatted the memory and SD card. Exactly what was on there anyway? I'm quite worried I deleted something important, though when I went to play Crash Bandicoot it said the file had to be downloaded. Was it just the games and SE's sample music and pictures?
As for the large games, Asphalt 6 (29.30MB) won't move to SD, Pixeline (18.84MB) and some others. But it's also that I have things like Swype installed, and various other things that are also taking up space.
Nowadays, you can just set the default install location on the SD with "adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2"
Sorry, how does that work? It might sound ignorant, but is that something that you can do after rooting the phone or such? It would definitely solve my problem though.
Also, on a side note, has anyone experienced the phone randomly turning off? It happened to me twice today. I don't even have a SIM inserted so it is clearly something hardware related.
And on a final note/question, I have System Panel installed on the phone, however upon restarting, the icon is nowhere on the Application icon menu. It is still installed on the phone, but the icon is gone. Is this some kind of hardware/software compatibility issue?

TokyoGuy said:
Sorry, how does that work? It might sound ignorant, but is that something that you can do after rooting the phone or such? It would definitely solve my problem though.
Also, on a side note, has anyone experienced the phone randomly turning off? It happened to me twice today. I don't even have a SIM inserted so it is clearly something hardware related.
And on a final note/question, I have System Panel installed on the phone, however upon restarting, the icon is nowhere on the Application icon menu. It is still installed on the phone, but the icon is gone. Is this some kind of hardware/software compatibility issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just enable USB debugging, attach the phone and run the command in the Android-SDK/tools directory via a command window. As far as I know, it doesn't need to be rooted to work.
I had no problems with the phone turning off yet, but it might be related to a "random reboot" bug the Nexus S had in 2.3.2 as well. It was fixed in the 2.3.3 update.
The default Launcher is very buggy and sometimes seems to "forget" applications. For now, I'd advice you to use an alternative launcher like Launcher Pro, ADW Launcher, Go Launcher oder SPB 3D Shell.

Meister_Li said:
Mhh, I can see where you're coming from, but I found it to be a little bit of a non-issue, personally. I found it to be a huge issue with my Motorola Milestone, but mostly, because it's Android 2.1 and thus doesn't want to cooperate with the SD. Nowadays, you can just set the default install location on the SD with "adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2" and everything gets thrown on the SD, even programs that don't support it. And thankfully, the included Class 10 SD is very fast from what I've seen and could probably be even faster if we format it into ext4 - altho for that, we need root-access, otherwise Android still tries to mount it as a vfat.
It's unfortunate, yes, but it's not really that much of an issue to me, personally. I still have around 140MB free, and basically all apps I buy also allow me to throw them on the SD by default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure apps that don't support being moved to SD can be used like this?

TokyoGuy said:
As for the large games, Asphalt 6 (29.30MB) won't move to SD, Pixeline (18.84MB) and some others. But it's also that I have things like Swype installed, and various other things that are also taking up space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol dude you should be thankful Asphalt only takes 30 mb on your phone, check your SD card, see that 800mb+ folder? yh THAT'S Asphalt!

RacecarBMW said:
Are you sure apps that don't support being moved to SD can be used like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It usually works fine, but I think it can cause issues if Widgets are installed that way.

Hey guys
I have had no problems like yours all u need to makesure thst u move the apps to sd card which is an android issue not enough int memory
My se play is brill screen res is better than iphone 4 also speed for loading webpages better than any htc especially the cam as it is sony
They have a winner here watch out apple.
I have had all the phones out there and sold them all this se play has a great gps aswell not agps which idveven better and agrest battery life
Rock on sony this shouldbe your flagship phone not the others u are producing like the arc or neo
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

well each to their own i guess. iphone has a better screen res FYI. but i also prefer the screen over iphone as 3.5" is too small. but i disagree, the only thing the Play does good is handle games that require controls. my galaxy s had a better screen, waaaay better web browsing experience, xperia play seems clunky and cumbersome imo.
but for gaming, cant beat it

Can anyone confirm if adb shell setInstallLocation2 is a viable option here ? Because I'm running out of space fast !

DeadlyDazza said:
Can anyone confirm if adb shell setInstallLocation2 is a viable option here ? Because I'm running out of space fast !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Code:
adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2
adb: permission denied
Bootloader unlocked Play, latest SDK on Mac - doesn't work for me.

Thanks for that buddy

Worked for me using the windows android-sdk before I unlocked my bootloader, but didn't actually test it.

Hopefully it's just something I am doing wrong then.
Moved a lot of stuff over to SD card anyway so not critical on space (yet)

Laird_Attwood said:
Code:
adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2
adb: permission denied
Bootloader unlocked Play, latest SDK on Mac - doesn't work for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worked fine for me no permission denied errors.

1st of all, let me apologize for being a complete n00b !
I've found a couple of how to's on the net regarding installing & using the android windows SDK to set installlocation.
However, when I plug in my Play I don't actually get any prompt to install drivers. So naturally, when I try to run the command line I get a device not found error.
If anyone could spare the time to help me out here I'd probably love you forever ! ;-)

I hope new android roms will give us more memoria, because I always have 80-90 mb free, and have to use advance task killer allways to restore to 200 mb

Yes and yes to your issues.
I dont have any where as near as many apps installed as I did on the X10 but, am constantly getting the low or out of memory notification. I downloaded a couple apps yesterday and the second one wouldn't even download because there was no space. I've moved everything I can possibly move onto the SD card. Itd be great if all game files could be put on the SD card. I have quite a few games, all the Play optimized ones (well and Angry Birds ) and thats just the launch titles. In a few months time, I'll have had to uninstall games, even if I'm not finished with them, to make room for new games. I've had to uninstall some apps, which I downloaded to try and as I say, I've moved everything I can to the SD card, next step will be to remove games. It's a shame that my favourite, Asphalt 6, is the one that takes up the most room, almost 30MB . Never too bothered about root on my X10 but, desperately want it on here to remove the unwanted crap which is taking up needed space.
Also, I've also had the phone switch off several times. A few times it's been off when I've gone to it, other times it's powered off when I'm using it and is nothing to do with a low battery.

This worked great for me! I have all the Gameloft games installed and a crap load of other games on my phone and i still have 170mb free. You need to install both Sony Ericsson PC Companion and Update Service before ADB detects the phone.

[Q] New Owner Confused About Games

I just got my Xperia Play today and I'm a little puzzled about some of these games. I see that my Nova 2 cannot be moved onto my SD card (or atleast that button is dimmed under "manage apps"), but it requires an almost 400 Mb download to play. If there is only 400 Mb of memory on the phone, how is this possible? And if most Play games require additional downloads but can't be moved onto my SD, does that mean you will only have a few games at a time? Sorry if it was posted elsewhere, I did try to look around but couldn't find them

Use adb to set the install location to sd then everything can go to sd card, but as it is now just the app will be installed on the phone memory then the additional download will be put on the sd card
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

O I don't have adb yet... do I need to root my phone to use that? I recall it appeared when I put CM7 on my last phone. Thanks for clarifying that, all the games said they would download more stuff, didn't state where it would DL to, so I assumed it would go with the game

HellRazor379 said:
O I don't have adb yet... do I need to root my phone to use that? I recall it appeared when I put CM7 on my last phone. Thanks for clarifying that, all the games said they would download more stuff, didn't state where it would DL to, so I assumed it would go with the game
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent adb guide (no root required):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1089282

HellRazor379 said:
I just got my Xperia Play today and I'm a little puzzled about some of these games. I see that my Nova 2 cannot be moved onto my SD card (or atleast that button is dimmed under "manage apps"), but it requires an almost 400 Mb download to play. If there is only 400 Mb of memory on the phone, how is this possible? And if most Play games require additional downloads but can't be moved onto my SD, does that mean you will only have a few games at a time? Sorry if it was posted elsewhere, I did try to look around but couldn't find them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not need to move anything to download and store alot of games on your Xperia Play.
That would be stupid.
You download the apk, which gets stored on the phone. Its only a few mb. Then you download the game data which gets stored on your sd card.
The above users should of mentioned this before they sent you down a path of using commands to manually move things to the sd card.
I have about 9 large games on my phone at the moment and have around 155mb of free phone memory unused.
Also, the easiest way to move everything to the sd card is with titanium backup. Once you have rooted your phone, select batch move and it will automatically move everything you select to the sd card in one go.
Just as a tip, do not move wallpapers or clocks to your sd card. Your wallpaper and clock settings will get forgotten every time you plug your phone into your PC. (this is because your phone disconnects itself from the sd card so your pc can access it).

I think the biggest one ive seen so far is asphalt which takes up 30mb on the phones internal memory (after downloading the 400+mb to your sd).
But as dsswoosh has said if you root your phone you can use the free version of titanium backup to moves the games to the sd card. Now asphalt takes up less than 500kb rather than 30mb. Same with the other games once moved to the sd.
Games that are unable to be moved to the sd card normally such as nova and ashphalt can be moved once rooted.

Thank you all so much! Very useful, I think I was mainly just confused about where the game data was being downloaded to. With widgets and such having to stay on phone, plus the bloatware and programs that are phone only, 30 meg games still seemed pretty big so I was kind of worrying about space still, but after this thread I'm def going to root my phone. Thanks again!

I've got 21 games installed and a bunch of other apps and still got 240 mb of internal storage!
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

Bloatware you can easily remove when rooted. and if you force all the installs to sd throug adb, you can keep up to 300MB internal storge
I have 303 free atm.
Only modern combat you should keep on the phone i think, i had it on sd for a week or 2 and suddenly it stopped working and no possible way to get it to work again only after factory reset.

Been trying to do this for two years, still need to use sd card as internal memory

I ran out of storage for new apps a long time ago. My device is kind of useless for new things because there is no internal memory for INSTALLING APPS, even after removing 75% of my apps which includes system apps. There is just no more space. It still has 2gb of internal memory left BUT THAT CANNOT BE USED FOR INSTALLING APPS, stupidly. There are 8GB of total internal storage space.
I have plenty of storage for data. Just not for apps. I have a 32GB SD card as well.
App2SD apps, I maximized all possible data to be moved.
Apps with data larger than 20MB I just deleted the whole apps.
Still no more space.
Additionally, it means I CANNOT use this tablet for things like games, or for storing map data from gopilot live as a backup in case my phone dies. Which is VERY limiting. Especially because I used to like to play games on it but I had to remove all the games to make way for utilities.
Thus I DESPERATELY NEED to be able to install UNLIMITED NUMBER OF APPS using the SD card for internal storage.
I tried the vold.fstab method HERE, but it did not work.
PLEASE HELP!!! THANK YOU!!!
p.s. I WOULD BUY A NEW TABLET WITH MORE MEMORY BUT NO 7.0 INCH TABLET EXISTS THAT IS BETTER THAN THE TAB 4 BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL MAKING HUGE 8.0 and 8.4 INCH TABLETS THAT ARE TOO BIG SO I AM STUCK WITH THE TAB 4.

zxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzx said:
I ran out of storage for new apps a long time ago. My device is kind of useless for new things because there is no internal memory for INSTALLING APPS, even after removing 75% of my apps which includes system apps. There is just no more space. It still has 2gb of internal memory left BUT THAT CANNOT BE USED FOR INSTALLING APPS, stupidly. There are 8GB of total internal storage space.
I have plenty of storage for data. Just not for apps. I have a 32GB SD card as well.
App2SD apps, I maximized all possible data to be moved.
Apps with data larger than 20MB I just deleted the whole apps.
Still no more space.
Additionally, it means I CANNOT use this tablet for things like games, or for storing map data from gopilot live as a backup in case my phone dies. Which is VERY limiting. Especially because I used to like to play games on it but I had to remove all the games to make way for utilities.
Thus I DESPERATELY NEED to be able to install UNLIMITED NUMBER OF APPS using the SD card for internal storage.
I tried the vold.fstab method HERE, but it did not work.
PLEASE HELP!!! THANK YOU!!!
p.s. I WOULD BUY A NEW TABLET WITH MORE MEMORY BUT NO 7.0 INCH TABLET EXISTS THAT IS BETTER THAN THE TAB 4 BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL MAKING HUGE 8.0 and 8.4 INCH TABLETS THAT ARE TOO BIG SO I AM STUCK WITH THE TAB 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'd say you just need test different apps all over and over akd different methods from XDA, i have on my phone sdcard as internal memory but same method wont work on tab 4..... you should use folder mount to move appdata to sdcard and use it from there, it helps if you have big app data on internal sd card.

thelous said:
i'd say you just need test different apps all over and over akd different methods from XDA, i have on my phone sdcard as internal memory but same method wont work on tab 4..... you should use folder mount to move appdata to sdcard and use it from there, it helps if you have big app data on internal sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I tried that already. It does Not work because of the error "this has been limited due to kitkat so you're not authorized" or something to that extent. It's not an error, it is a limitation of the kitkat (and all subsequent) operating systems. Google did that on purpose to try to force people to have to upgrade their phone.

zxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzx said:
No I tried that already. It does Not work because of the error "this has been limited due to kitkat so you're not authorized" or something to that extent. It's not an error, it is a limitation of the kitkat (and all subsequent) operating systems. Google did that on purpose to try to force people to have to upgrade their phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, you could install cyanogenmod to fix issue.....

bump

zxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzx said:
Extreme measures is NOT a solution. That's like saying, "I'm having an issue with my computer..." and someone saying, "well, you could always get a new computer." NO. Not a solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyanogenmod isn't an extreme solution, it runs better than touchwiz IMO and it takes up significantly less memory, which is a fact. It's more like saying, "I don't like Windows," and the reply being, "You should try out Ubuntu," especially since both cyanogenmod, like Ubuntu, is completely free

bump

zxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzx said:
Reinstalling my entire OS is not a solution. Get over it. I am not reinstalling a new OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With a quote like that you are on the wrong website my friend. Sorry for trying to help. And it is a valid solution since it would've solved the problem

Bump
Waiting for a real solution to the actual problem.

uh if youre not ready to install different rom i guess theres no solution

I'm having the exact same dilemma. In my case, not going to CM (or another rom/firmware/kernel..) is due to the fact that my children use the tablets, so the KidsMode needs to work. I've looked at that one from Zoodles, and its rubbish compared to the Samsung one available on their Galaxy devices. My original post never had any reply other than my own update.
By the way: I'm still searching for a solution to this... If only Samsung would/could release Marshmallow on this tablet, the Adoptable Storage option could be used...

Now, if you can just hold your breath...

lol I know right...?
Full disclosure: I've given up hope of finding a solution that will work with (essentially) stock 4.4.2, so now I'm looking into how to get the TouchWiz framework to run on a rom/kernel that DOES support support an external/internal swap.
Of course, that does nothing to help the OP, but IMO the best solution has already been presented to him: Install a custom ROM that supports what he needs. It's still the best solution since there don't seem to be any TouchWiz-dependent apps he needs.

Years later still no solution

zxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzx said:
Years later still no solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are willing to root your device you can use Apps2sd to actually move(link) whole app into sd card.
You'll need to repartition your sd card to do it, but there are good guides to do it.
EDIT:
Oh it's renamed app2sd but here is the link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.co.pricealert.apps2sd&hl=fi for it
you can also try link2sd app

keikari said:
If you are willing to root your device you can use Apps2sd to actually move(link) whole app into sd card.
You'll need to repartition your sd card to do it, but there are good guides to do it.
EDIT:
Oh it's renamed app2sd but here is the link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.co.pricealert.apps2sd&hl=fi for it
you can also try link2sd app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's very limited and actually doesn't do anything more than the native android system does already, ever since about 2013 or so

zxzxzxzxzxzxzxzxzx said:
That's very limited and actually doesn't do anything more than the native android system does already, ever since about 2013 or so
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know about how limited it is, but it's completly different than native android moving apps to sd. Linking is like actually increasing your devices internal memory(not really but somethign like that). Also it's easiest/(propably)best way to get more memory for apps.

LEMFO LEM4 smart watch - memory/storage problem

Before buying the LEM4 (512mb ram / 4gb storage) i looked at a lot of different "full android" chinese watches. (Thanks to Smartwatch Ticks youtube channel for helping me with the decision).
The 900mAh battery was the primary reason why i bought this one and not a smart watch with higher specs (e.g. 1gb memory and 8gb storagespace). I mean, what good is a faster smartwatch if the battery only lasts for a couple of hours.
The only problem so far that i have is the storage space. The storage space for this watch is strangely split into two parts. It has 601,39 mb of storage space, that's where you can install your apps to (has nothing to do with the 512mb of internal working memory). And then it has 1,97gb of phonestorage (you can compare this with some sort of internal SD card).
You can only install apps to the 601,97 mb of storage space (and a couple of stock apps already take a lot of space). So when you boot this watch the first time, you only get about 150 mb of space available to install extra apps. So you can't install a lot. But there is still about 1,88 gb available on the phonestorage (the internal SD card). I have tried to move the installed apps to this phonestorage, but only one app had the ability to let me do this.
My question : Is there another way (or some sort of app) that lets you us the "phonestorage" to install apps to, even if the app doesn't support moving it to this location?

I just returned that watch to Amazon for that exact reason. I could only install a couple apps before I ran out of space. I liked the watch but the whole reason I bought that type of watch was to install apps on it and more that just two or three. Wish that there was a solution for this.

msavu said:
I just returned that watch to Amazon for that exact reason. I could only install a couple apps before I ran out of space. I liked the watch but the whole reason I bought that type of watch was to install apps on it and more that just two or three. Wish that there was a solution for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, i managed to get root access, now i'm trying to find an easy way to change the partitions of the storage. But haven't got a clue how to even start doing that...

Potential...
froggerman said:
Well, i managed to get root access, now i'm trying to find an easy way to change the partitions of the storage. But haven't got a clue how to even start doing that...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pulled the trigger on this watch a few days ago.
First impressions, great build quality. Amazing battery life. I played on the watch half the day yesterday rooting it, installing apps and still had 60% battery life after several hours of constant use on WiFi.
When I first got the watch, before even charging it I immediately opened it up in the hopes that it might have a hidden removable sd like the Neptune Pine. The pc board is pretty tightly packed. There wasn't a sd card on top like I had hoped, but I wanted to look underneath the board to be sure. I disconnected all the ribbon cables and antenna wires, but getting the board out was pretty difficult due to how tightly everything was packed so I gave up for fear of damaging it.
After filling up the internal 600meg memory I moved as much as I could to the 2gb storage partition. Of course not all apps would move so I installed link2sd hoping I could force the other apps to move. The problem I had is the storage memory has to be partitioned with the second "app" partition formatted in ext3. I'm trying to find a way to do this over usb, on my WIn10 laptop, but I don't believe its possible.
I also installed exposed with the XinternalSD mod to swap the internal and storage memory, but no luck so far.
This brings me to another possibility. The Neptune Pine had a similar issue with its memory layout. It was installing the apps to the internal 600mb partition which obviously filled up quick. There was a mod here http://neptuneninja.com/sdcard-software-mount-issue-fix/ that basically swapped the internal with the external sd memory and made the sd card the default install location. We need some mod like this for the LEM4. I was almost going to try this mod on my watch, but realized that the mod is intended for the partition layout of the Pine and backed off for fear of bricking it.
Given these drawbacks this watch has a lot of potential so I'm not ready to give up on it just yet. Hopefully some more people purchase this watch so we can get some development action going.
Best

Awesome man! Good work. Thanks for trying to figure it out. I've just started working with mine.
Mind posting up a link to how you rooted it?

Brave777 said:
Awesome man! Good work. Thanks for trying to figure it out. I've just started working with mine.
Mind posting up a link to how you rooted it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure,
I just used https://www.kingoapp.com/ Its pretty self explanatory. You can to go the site right on the watch and download the apk. then install it, run it (make sure you are on wifi) and it will download the necessary files then root the watch. I also installed Nova Launcher to give it a more android look and feel. The stock launcher was driving me bonkers.
Best

Dang, thanks man. I'm going to go play now!

supergadgetman said:
I pulled the trigger on this watch a few days ago.
First impressions, great build quality. Amazing battery life. I played on the watch half the day yesterday rooting it, installing apps and still had 60% battery life after several hours of constant use on WiFi.
When I first got the watch, before even charging it I immediately opened it up in the hopes that it might have a hidden removable sd like the Neptune Pine. The pc board is pretty tightly packed. There wasn't a sd card on top like I had hoped, but I wanted to look underneath the board to be sure. I disconnected all the ribbon cables and antenna wires, but getting the board out was pretty difficult due to how tightly everything was packed so I gave up for fear of damaging it.
After filling up the internal 600meg memory I moved as much as I could to the 2gb storage partition. Of course not all apps would move so I installed link2sd hoping I could force the other apps to move. The problem I had is the storage memory has to be partitioned with the second "app" partition formatted in ext3. I'm trying to find a way to do this over usb, on my WIn10 laptop, but I don't believe its possible.
I also installed exposed with the XinternalSD mod to swap the internal and storage memory, but no luck so far.
This brings me to another possibility. The Neptune Pine had a similar issue with its memory layout. It was installing the apps to the internal 600mb partition which obviously filled up quick. There was a mod here http://neptuneninja.com/sdcard-software-mount-issue-fix/ that basically swapped the internal with the external sd memory and made the sd card the default install location. We need some mod like this for the LEM4. I was almost going to try this mod on my watch, but realized that the mod is intended for the partition layout of the Pine and backed off for fear of bricking it.
Given these drawbacks this watch has a lot of potential so I'm not ready to give up on it just yet. Hopefully some more people purchase this watch so we can get some development action going.
Best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened up my LEM4 too, but wasn't as brave as you to take it apart. To try and get it partitioned i wanted to get into recovery mode but with only one button on the phone this seemed impossible. With ROM Manager did get it into Recovery mode but not all of the information is beeing shown. It's like the screen zooms in (or the resolution of the screen is not big enough to show everything). Normally i should see a screen with a "dead" android logo and on top of the screen a choice menu but on the LEM4 only the middle part with the android logo is shown. So you can't see the choice menu. And even if you did, there are no up and down buttons (volume buttons) to make a selection and then enter that selection... I would like to go into the recovery mode but can't seem to find a way with the zoomed in screen and the lack of selection buttons...
I had to let the battery drain out to boot it and het it up and running again.

OK...Jesus. What am I missing? Is the SD card slot the same slot as the sim card slot? Or is there another one somewhere??
Edit: SOB! I just read that it doesn't support TF or SD cards. It must have been listed on a bunch of generic Chinese listings that just list every feature you'd want to see. Sighh. Guess I'll join the struggle of figuring out how to repartition.

lemfo 4
i have this watch, i love this watch but i hate the memory. so far- rooted it, used app2sd, not link to sd to move apps. first of all i clicked on the top right and chose sd card as the default installation . could not get into recovery. had to let the battery die to get out of blank recovery screen. if only we can partition the sd, it will be great. i also use m2d receiver, m2d bluetooth and m2d sender to receive notifications. you can get those from the playstore. this works well when you are using other launchers from the playstore . i also get full inetrnet access 24 hrs by using the bluetooth internet feature which i connected through my phone bluetooth so weather is always up to date and i can surf the net like a mutha**cka

Anyone having issues with using the Lem4 as a standalone device with your sim inserted? I am having issues with the IMEI number being invalid and my carrier (MetroPCS) unable to recognize the IMEI.

hope you are not running on a 4g sim because the watch only supports up to 3g

Succesfully move apps to the 2GB storage partitio!n
froggerman said:
Before buying the LEM4 (512mb ram / 4gb storage) i looked at a lot of different "full android" chinese watches. (Thanks to Smartwatch Ticks youtube channel for helping me with the decision).
The 900mAh battery was the primary reason why i bought this one and not a smart watch with higher specs (e.g. 1gb memory and 8gb storagespace). I mean, what good is a faster smartwatch if the battery only lasts for a couple of hours.
The only problem so far that i have is the storage space. The storage space for this watch is strangely split into two parts. It has 601,39 mb of storage space, that's where you can install your apps to (has nothing to do with the 512mb of internal working memory). And then it has 1,97gb of phonestorage (you can compare this with some sort of internal SD card).
You can only install apps to the 601,97 mb of storage space (and a couple of stock apps already take a lot of space). So when you boot this watch the first time, you only get about 150 mb of space available to install extra apps. So you can't install a lot. But there is still about 1,88 gb available on the phonestorage (the internal SD card). I have tried to move the installed apps to this phonestorage, but only one app had the ability to let me do this.
My question : Is there another way (or some sort of app) that lets you us the "phonestorage" to install apps to, even if the app doesn't support moving it to this location?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all,
I made a succesfull move action with "AppMgr III" and the "Kingo Root (including SuperUser)". Set some settings set within AppMgr for all hidden and system application to be shown. After that Kingo will ask to Allow root permissions for the AppMgr. After this it can be easily moved to the 2GB storage. Works flawless!
Any questions, just ask!
Rgds,
Richard Kornson

Original Rom of LEM4 ?
Dear helpfull users,
i hope anyone can help !
I brick my LemfoLEM4 after a root and a launcherupdate. The watch hang on "LEMFO" logo.
YES, I KNOW !!! I am to blame myself...
Can anyone help with a BACKUP of her/his original LEM4 (4.4.4) ROM?
ADB does not work (for update launcher apk) ! only SP_flash_tool works...
Thanks for your time !
Michael

skydope said:
Hi all,
I made a succesfull move action with "AppMgr III" and the "Kingo Root (including SuperUser)". Set some settings set within AppMgr for all hidden and system application to be shown. After that Kingo will ask to Allow root permissions for the AppMgr. After this it can be easily moved to the 2GB storage. Works flawless!
Any questions, just ask!
Rgds,
Richard Kornson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you elaborate on the settings for showing hidden systems apps to move?could not find setting in App Mgr lll.Thanks.

Lemfo Lem 4 STORAGE FIXED
froggerman said:
before buying the lem4 (512mb ram / 4gb storage) i looked at a lot of different "full android" chinese watches. (thanks to smartwatch ticks youtube channel for helping me with the decision).
The 900mah battery was the primary reason why i bought this one and not a smart watch with higher specs (e.g. 1gb memory and 8gb storagespace). I mean, what good is a faster smartwatch if the battery only lasts for a couple of hours.
The only problem so far that i have is the storage space. The storage space for this watch is strangely split into two parts. It has 601,39 mb of storage space, that's where you can install your apps to (has nothing to do with the 512mb of internal working memory). And then it has 1,97gb of phonestorage (you can compare this with some sort of internal sd card).
You can only install apps to the 601,97 mb of storage space (and a couple of stock apps already take a lot of space). So when you boot this watch the first time, you only get about 150 mb of space available to install extra apps. So you can't install a lot. But there is still about 1,88 gb available on the phonestorage (the internal sd card). I have tried to move the installed apps to this phonestorage, but only one app had the ability to let me do this.
My question : Is there another way (or some sort of app) that lets you us the "phonestorage" to install apps to, even if the app doesn't support moving it to this location?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i just got the LEMFO today dec 12, 2017 just USE usb charger that came with the phone & plug it into your pc and drag all of your extra movies,music,pictures & apk's just tried it worked like a charm.
BY: Movieman365 awesome watch/smartphone

supergadgetman said:
sure,
I just used ***CENSORED*** Its pretty self explanatory. You can to go the site right on the watch and download the apk. then install it, run it (make sure you are on wifi) and it will download the necessary files then root the watch. I also installed Nova Launcher to give it a more android look and feel. The stock launcher was driving me bonkers.
Best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note: this will not work with an updated Google Play with its Play Protect system, which happens if you added your account. Uninstall that with ES File Explorer Pro sideloaded. THEN root.
I know this is far late but this watch phone was $70 at the time, and I wanted to wear the app "com_alarmclock_xtreme" with its math-solving disabling system. that makes sure you are quite awake to turn it off. (it gives you a half second to read and memorize the puzzle to solve, it changes if you back out. Quite extreme, eh?) I used root to remove some bloatware, and apps that I know would just eat up space, like Maps.. I put in some music and videos, but there were no volume controls, so off they went.

Fire HD 8 2017 (7th gen): move app's cache to sd-card without root?

I know it's very possible with the root but we don't have one (yet) for 7th gen.
Is any way to move app's cache to the sd-card? My 7 yo daughter loves her new Fire HD 8 very much, same as installing bunch of free games from the store. But internal storage size is too small (even I've installed 128GB sd-card on her tablet) 'cause a lot of games came with a huge caches.
Maybe some shell tricks via adb can do a trick (if permissions allows that)?

You can try this. Skip to part 5. Don't hold your breath though. If it won't work, you'll get an error.

@DragonFire1024, thanks for suggestion but looks like Link2sd requires root
From the app description:
What you need:
Linking apps
- root permission
- second partition on SD card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

sensboston said:
@DragonFire1024, thanks for suggestion but looks like Link2sd requires root
From the app description:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd still try. There are a lot of things on these tablets that should require root and don't. There are a lot of things that tell us what we can't do, and in the last several days, a quite a few of the 'we can'ts' have gone out the window.

OK, please let me (us) know results. I believe there are lot of 7th gen owners will be interested in this hack.

sensboston said:
OK, please let me (us) know results. I believe there are lot of 7th gen owners will be interested in this hack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I meant I'd try it if I were you. But that's just me. Who knows...maybe I'll find a script stashed away in this thing that unlocks the SD card. I still have a lot of files to look at and I haven't even torn apart the framework yet. Just glanced at it. There is some interesting things in there.

I'm out of space too, A LOT of apps can't be moved to SD and we can't try any app that force-move/link without root!

16gb can run out fast. i enjoy playing games like the tales series and batman alone takes almost 6gb. theres no root yet and i do wish we were able to use sd cards as internal storage. till the day root comes available tho you can do what i do which is make a backup folder on sd card and inside that make 2 more labelled data and obb, download cache from play store, move just the data to respective folder and when you want to play a certain game just move that data back to internal. its a hassle but its better than always waiting to download data since transferring from sd is alot faster