Database Users

Google Play Music Marshmallow Saving to Internal Storage

I have the Moto X Pure Edition US running marshmallow. The phone is 16 GB with a 64 GB SD Card, when I download playlists from Google Play Music they save to the internal storage and not the SD card. How do I change this behavior? I have the SD card as adoptable storage.

when you have the sd card integrated with the internal storage, the phone will automatically determine where to actually place content depending on amount of space free, speed of sd card, and what the content is. Otherwise, google play music would have an option to save to sd card in its settings. Since the sd card is "adoptable", everything will be recognized as "internal storage".

Good question. I have the same setup and regretting not getting 32GB internal. I don't know how it saves things to certain areas. I had to manually move a bunch of apps to SD card to free up internal space even though everything is recognized as internal storage. I have to do that after every flash of a new ROM?

sp44 said:
Good question. I have the same setup and regretting not getting 32GB internal. I don't know how it saves things to certain areas. I had to manually move a bunch of apps to SD card to free up internal space even though everything is recognized as internal storage. I have to do that after every flash of a new ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the exact same boat. I bought the 16 gig(that's all best buy had) thinking that MM will negate any storage issues I may have.

lazerus06 said:
I am in the exact same boat. I bought the 16 gig(that's all best buy had) thinking that MM will negate any storage issues I may have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What If you removed play music using tibu and downloaded it so it's not system app, then move play music to your sd card using the adaptive storage option? I tried that with spotify but it tells me to re login each time.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

patt2k said:
What If you removed play music using tibu and downloaded it so it's not system app, then move play music to your sd card using the adaptive storage option? I tried that with spotify but it tells me to re login each time.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not rooted.

lazerus06 said:
I am not rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then I don't know lol
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Glad I'm not the only one with this issue. It's really disappointing I bought this phone in a hurry there was only a 16gb available, I thought adoptive storage would be fine it's not. Google Maps saving maps offline also saves to Internal Storage also with no option to put the stuff somewhere else. I already have my regular phone storage almost full with no way to move stuff around.
Disappointing.

pauldavid77 said:
Glad I'm not the only one with this issue. It's really disappointing I bought this phone in a hurry there was only a 16gb available, I thought adoptive storage would be fine it's not. Google Maps saving maps offline also saves to Internal Storage also with no option to put the stuff somewhere else. I already have my regular phone storage almost full with no way to move stuff around.
Disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, I figured the new storage option would take the internal and the sd card and basically format it into 1 storage option.

lazerus06 said:
Same here, I figured the new storage option would take the internal and the sd card and basically format it into 1 storage option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you by any chance do migrate data? after I did that (not using play music) my sd-card would show as internal.
my 32GB space only shows in the storage & usb section and everything is being used off the 64GB card.

The issue is raised on google forums here https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/play/CgNiUtLjC1I
I am trying to see if i can move GPM to userland with tibu but the real solution would be for google to fix GPM to store data on the sd card when in adoptable storage mode. Suggest upvoting / commenting on the issue if you have the problem.
---------- Post added at 05:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 AM ----------
I tried tibu but after a series of hung tibu "processing" boxes, and reboots I finally had it as a user app and could move it to sd card. I then went to reboot again to clear an erroneous tibu notification and suddenly the gpm app is back to a system app on internal storage. Wtf.
Anyone else had success?

sweets11 said:
The issue is raised on google forums here https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/play/CgNiUtLjC1I
I am trying to see if i can move GPM to userland with tibu but the real solution would be for google to fix GPM to store data on the sd card when in adoptable storage mode. Suggest upvoting / commenting on the issue if you have the problem.
---------- Post added at 05:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 AM ----------
I tried tibu but after a series of hung tibu "processing" boxes, and reboots I finally had it as a user app and could move it to sd card. I then went to reboot again to clear an erroneous tibu notification and suddenly the gpm app is back to a system app on internal storage. Wtf.
Anyone else had success?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uninstalled with tibu. All sorts of ugly errors. Installed apk version of gpm. Reported it was in user land but couldn't move to sd. Rebooted. Moved ok and gpm reports full adoptable storage space. Not game to restart. Working so I'm happy.

I have an HTC M8 16gb I integrated a 64gb SD card and it seems to work fine, except for the fact that regardless of the music player that I use it can't seem to find my music but it is there on my phone

Is there any fix yet ?

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.
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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.
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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
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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.

Moving all downloaded apps to SD card

So i noticed recently that while many games and apps i download can be moved to the sd card no problem (riptide 2 for example), there are dozens of big applications that don't seem to have the option to be move (GrooVR for example).
I have a 200gb sd card and only 32gb internal storage so i was hoping to move a LOT more stuff to the external storage. I don't understand why some apps can't be moved. Anyone else experienced this? Is partitioning the card and using adaptive storage the only true way to free up internal space?

I think that may be our only solution without root. I noticed too that some large apps will allow to move to SD card but it doesn't move all the data, it only moved around 125mb and left well over a gig in the internal. Doest work as good as it should imo.
sent from the sm-g935t unrootd.

Apps to SD or Adoptable Storage... I'm torn. My 200GB card should be here tomorrow and I'm not sure how I want it set up just yet. I'm assuming the adoptable option is able to keep more on the card... can anyone verify this though? Searching the forum hasn't helped much.

Just be sure your card has a fast write speed if you're gonna use adoptable storage. Or else there will be slow down on some apps.
I've tried this before but since went back. But im gonna try adoptable again with a 128gb Evo pro plus sd card. It wont be as fast as Samsung internal speeds of course but if its not too bad I'll post an update. I plan on trying it out with some large games.
sent from the sm-g935t unrootd.

Its a good card. Sandisk deal on amazon few weeks back. But does anyone know why i can't move certain non-system apps to sd via settings?

If the issue is write speeds for things like recording video and transferring media files to the phone for playback I'm not concerned. Don't mind waiting to copy files and don't really record video (ever). Now if playback is a big issue (the part I'm not sure about as most reviews hit primarily on write speed concerns) then I'll stick to the old Apps to SD methodology. I'd just like something more seamless and more consistent.
I haven't looked into it yet, but is it a pain to "divorce" a card? Do you pretty much end up resetting everything?
---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:01 PM ----------
DRSdroid said:
Its a good card. Sandisk deal on amazon few weeks back. But does anyone know why i can't move certain non-system apps to sd via settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may be wrong or things may have changed, but initially when this function was introduced the developer had to specifically set a flag that the app was allowed to be moved. Hence the introduction of some utilities which boasted moving even incompatible apps to SD.

cuezaireekaa said:
Just be sure your card has a fast write speed if you're gonna use adoptable storage. Or else there will be slow down on some apps.
I've tried this before but since went back. But im gonna try adoptable again with a 128gb Evo pro plus sd card. It wont be as fast as Samsung internal speeds of course but if its not too bad I'll post an update. I plan on trying it out with some large games.
sent from the sm-g935t unrootd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know how it works for you. I was trying to avoid it, but i dont think i have a choice. The VR apps are big and most will not move to SD

DRSdroid said:
Let us know how it works for you. I was trying to avoid it, but i dont think i have a choice. The VR apps are big and most will not move to SD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure.. I might do it this weekend if time permits. I have to back up everything again and factory reset and reinstall all my apps again manually. Damn I miss titanium back up. It and viper are the only things I needed root for..
Wish we could have a working eq on this phone. The default is ok but it could be way better. My note 3 is how I listen to music for now.
sent from the sm-g935t unrootd.

cant move all apps to sd
Well, i maybe know how to move apps(not including system apps) to sd. Most of phones have developer options (if you dont know what is it, u can open it by going to settings, click on about phone, and click 10 on "build number" and then it will be unlocked), in developer options scroll down and look if you have "force allow move to sdcard/external".

kakikaka1 said:
Well, i maybe know how to move apps(not including system apps) to sd. Most of phones have developer options (if you dont know what is it, u can open it by going to settings, click on about phone, and click 10 on "build number" and then it will be unlocked), in developer options scroll down and look if you have "force allow move to sdcard/external".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beat me to it

did it worked?

Moto E4 (Verizon) [xt1767] Move Apps to SD without root

This phone has no root and likely never will.
Is there anyway to move apps to the sdcard without formatting to internal (adopted storage)?
I don't want to do that because It encrypts the card and im fearful if the phone was ever damaged I'd never be able to pull the card and recover anything.
At the very least is there a way to shuffle off the OBB files to the sdcard without root?
Bonus question: is there a fix for this if root was possible?

Raztan said:
This phone has no root and likely never will.
Is there anyway to move apps to the sdcard without formatting to internal (adopted storage)?
I don't want to do that because It encrypts the card and im fearful if the phone was ever damaged I'd never be able to pull the card and recover anything.
At the very least is there a way to shuffle off the OBB files to the sdcard without root?
Bonus question: is there a fix for this if root was possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I'm aware of. But you could do a hybrid sd card to put apps on the adopted partition, and keep your photos/music/other stuff on a standard unencrypted partition.

dandrumheller said:
Not that I'm aware of. But you could do a hybrid sd card to put apps on the adopted partition, and keep your photos/music/other stuff on a standard unencrypted partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Genius, That sounds like a workable solution.
So do I need to format the card in any special way or can I just repartition the card in half and android will see both partitions?

Raztan said:
Genius, That sounds like a workable solution.
So do I need to format the card in any special way or can I just repartition the card in half and android will see both partitions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the guide I followed:
http://blog.sam.liddicott.com/2016/02/android-6-semi-adopted-storage.html?m=1
I got yelled at over on Reddit for suggesting this for to the potential for killing your SD card (as they're not 'designed' for this much read write action). That may be true. I've been running this way with no issues for over a year. YMMV.

dandrumheller said:
Here's the guide I followed:
http://blog.sam.liddicott.com/2016/02/android-6-semi-adopted-storage.html?m=1
I got yelled at over on Reddit for suggesting this for to the potential for killing your SD card (as they're not 'designed' for this much read write action). That may be true. I've been running this way with no issues for over a year. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been following a similar dual partition practice on a rooted Android 5.x device using symbolic links to migrate apps to the ext4 formatted partition while retaining a larger FAT32 partition for general use. I used the free version of Partition Wizard on Windows to format the SD card to my liking. To date no issues with card endurance.
I never considered this approach for adoptable storage until seeing your post! Very interested in trying this on on an unrooted Android 6 device that's getting a little snug on internal storage. I'll post outcomes if they differ from your findings.
Thanks again for sharing!

Confirm, Works on Verizon Moto E4
I tried to be clever about it and repartitioned with Gparted, Then aligned the fat under linux mint.
I popped the SDcard back in teh phone and it detected 2 SDcards.. great I thought.. I went into the smaller partition 48gb / 10gb
Hit internal memory format.. to my horror it took over the entire card..
I tried the guide and it worked fine, although you're sort of at it's mercy on how it formats.. it's a fairly simple procedure.
I am somewhat confused though after I did it before I moved anything to the card it says 5.5gb of space is being taken by "system" on the internal portion of the sdcard, It says total internal memory is 32gb but actually it should be more like 26gb (16 onboard + 10gb sdcard)
Im seriously confused on how to tell what files are stored on the sdcard and what's stored on the onboard memory.. it shows them separate under "storage" but ES explorer just shows the 48gb fat partition and the 10gb.. does not seem to be able to separate the internal and the sdcard, but it shows total space as 10gb so something really wrong there.
Maybe cause Im using a old version of ES before it went to hell.. 4.0.3 I think.
Im not sure now when I select sdcard if im getting the 48gb portion the SDCard or the 10gb "adopted storage" sdcard..
Very confusing.
EDIT: Ok I think I see what's going on.
The 10gb Im seeing is actual internal memory.. So it does not appear I can access the 10gb I set aside on the sdcard at all.. is that how it's suppose to work?
I installed a few large games, If I go into storage and click on the 10GB partition it says each game is saving about 50mb out of about 700mb /ea on the card.. whoa what a savings, I don't what that 50mb is but it sure ain't the huge ass obb file sitting in internal memory.
If I go into the app's data storage list it says it's storing to the adopted 10gb but obviously that's a lie since only a fraction is actually making it to the card...
if this is the best I can hope for out of adopted storage I'd be better off just going full portable.
Am I missing something?

Raztan said:
Confirm, Works on Verizon Moto E4
I tried to be clever about it and repartitioned with Gparted, Then aligned the fat under linux mint.
I popped the SDcard back in teh phone and it detected 2 SDcards.. great I thought.. I went into the smaller partition 48gb / 10gb
Hit internal memory format.. to my horror it took over the entire card..
I tried the guide and it worked fine, although you're sort of at it's mercy on how it formats.. it's a fairly simple procedure.
I am somewhat confused though after I did it before I moved anything to the card it says 5.5gb of space is being taken by "system" on the internal portion of the sdcard, It says total internal memory is 32gb but actually it should be more like 26gb (16 onboard + 10gb sdcard)
Im seriously confused on how to tell what files are stored on the sdcard and what's stored on the onboard memory.. it shows them separate under "storage" but ES explorer just shows the 48gb fat partition and the 10gb.. does not seem to be able to separate the internal and the sdcard, but it shows total space as 10gb so something really wrong there.
Maybe cause Im using a old version of ES before it went to hell.. 4.0.3 I think.
Im not sure now when I select sdcard if im getting the 48gb portion the SDCard or the 10gb "adopted storage" sdcard..
Very confusing.
EDIT: Ok I think I see what's going on.
The 10gb Im seeing is actual internal memory.. So it does not appear I can access the 10gb I set aside on the sdcard at all.. is that how it's suppose to work?
I installed a few large games, If I go into storage and click on the 10GB partition it says each game is saving about 50mb out of about 700mb /ea on the card.. whoa what a savings, I don't what that 50mb is but it sure ain't the huge ass obb file sitting in internal memory.
If I go into the app's data storage list it says it's storing to the adopted 10gb but obviously that's a lie since only a fraction is actually making it to the card...
if this is the best I can hope for out of adopted storage I'd be better off just going full portable.
Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what the method is for determining where a specific app lands when installed. Maybe up to the developer? But going into settings > storage shows me what's below. Drill down to the apps section, and you can manually choose what storage you want for each app.
This is my setup with a 128gb card with 32gb used as adopted storage.

Your's looks similar to mine.
Are you able to actually access the adopted storage partition... browse for files? see I can't.. I can see internal storage and the public portion of the sdcard..
The adopted storage is not accessible via file manager.
It does not look like it will switch over once internal is full either.. I filled up the internal memory and then tried to install a app and it is telling me im out of space.
If this is the the way adopted storage is suppose to work it's fairly useless imo.

Raztan said:
Your's looks similar to mine.
Are you able to actually access the adopted storage partition... browse for files? see I can't.. I can see internal storage and the public portion of the sdcard..
The adopted storage is not accessible via file manager.
It does not look like it will switch over once internal is full either.. I filled up the internal memory and then tried to install a app and it is telling me im out of space.
If this is the the way adopted storage is suppose to work it's fairly useless imo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not aware of any file manager that can see the adopted storage. Haven't filled up internal to know if it will "spill over".
Some apps cannot be moved to adopted. Some install there by default.
My use case is to dump my low use or less resource demanding apps to the adopted storage, freeing internal faster storage for high use apps.
It's certainly not an ideal solution, but it at least provides an option for reducing limited internal storage...

I gotcha, I can only seem to get about 50mb's to transfer over, dead trigger 2 and hitman sniper
the bulk of it (the OBB files) stick around on internal whether or not I tell it to "change" to the sdcard or not..
Oh well Im just gonna reformat to portable and just limit what I install.. Why does google do this crap to us.
I lived without root on some of my previous phones but from here on out if it don't have root I got no use for it

Raztan said:
I gotcha, I can only seem to get about 50mb's to transfer over, dead trigger 2 and hitman sniper
the bulk of it (the OBB files) stick around on internal whether or not I tell it to "change" to the sdcard or not..
Oh well Im just gonna reformat to portable and just limit what I install.. Why does google do this crap to us.
I lived without root on some of my previous phones but from here on out if it don't have root I got no use for it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NVM, forgot you said no root. My apologies

Raztan said:
I gotcha, I can only seem to get about 50mb's to transfer over, dead trigger 2 and hitman sniper
the bulk of it (the OBB files) stick around on internal whether or not I tell it to "change" to the sdcard or not..
Oh well Im just gonna reformat to portable and just limit what I install.. Why does google do this crap to us.
I lived without root on some of my previous phones but from here on out if it don't have root I got no use for it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I messed around with this for a bit. Was able to partition the card to my liking using the simple sm command outlined in this post (manual method). Much easier and more understandable than the previously linked approach IMO. Installed and moved a few things; everything worked as expected although the feedback from Google's storage panel is less than reassuring. They really want to make the process transparent and in doing so dilute the detail that enthusiasts appreciate.
Someone asked if you could see inside adopted storage with a standard file manager. Nope, as the contents are encrypted and Google does not provide an API TTBOMK.
There are random posts mentioning lost of home screen icons on reboots and other 'weirdness' when using adopted storage. I didn't experience any of that but also didn't spend much time testing.
In the end I stepped away and returned the entire SD card to portable storage as the benefit wasn't worth the potential hassles. That said, I could see this as a potential solution for those who are bumping up against the limits of internal storage AND need/want to reserve part of the SD card for general purpose storage.

Davey126 said:
I messed around with this for a bit. Was able to partition the card to my liking using the simple sm command outlined in this post (manual method). Much easier and more understandable than the previously linked approach IMO. Installed and moved a few things; everything worked as expected although the feedback from Google's storage panel is less than reassuring. They really want to make the process transparent and in doing so dilute the detail that enthusiasts appreciate.
Someone asked if you could see inside adopted storage with a standard file manager. Nope, as the contents are encrypted and Google does not provide an API TTBOMK.
There are random posts mentioning lost of home screen icons on reboots and other 'weirdness' when using adopted storage. I didn't experience any of that but also didn't spend much time testing.
In the end I stepped away and returned the entire SD card to portable storage as the benefit wasn't work the potential hassles. That said, I could see this as a potential solution for those who are bumping up against the limits of internal storage AND need/want to reserve part of the SD card for general purpose storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any icons on home screens for apps that are in adopted storage will vanish after reboot until the device has time to re read adopted storage. Size and speed of card, and amount of data there all impact this. Pretty sure widgets are unavailable to apps on adopted storage as well.
It pretty much works about the same as the old apps2sd / link2sd options that we had to use back in the days of tiny on device storage sizes.

dandrumheller said:
Any icons on home screens for apps that are in adopted storage will vanish after reboot until the device has time to re read adopted storage. Size and speed of card, and amount of data there all impact this. Pretty sure widgets are unavailable to apps on adopted storage as well.
It pretty much works about the same as the old apps2sd / link2sd options that we had to use back in the days of tiny on device storage sizes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used symbolic linking (Apps2SD/Link2SD/etc) for sometime on rooted devices and never ran into such issues. I am also able to migrate apps and all associated data w/o limitation.
As you pointed out hardware/card speed and quantity of data likely are likely factors when using adopted storage. There is less setup and boot verification with symbolic linking; much of that takes place before the device is ready for user input. It's not a perfect solution as the mount scripts sometimes get borked and have to be rebuilt but supervisory apps detect/correct that with minimal intervention.
The biggest benefit of adoptable storage is it can be used on stock/unrooted devices. It's also relatively transparent for noobs. Beyond that it's more of a PiTA IMHO.

Davey126 said:
I have used symbolic linking (Apps2SD/Link2SD/etc) for sometime on rooted devices and never ran into such issues. I am also able to migrate apps and all associated data w/o limitation.
As you pointed out hardware/card speed and quantity of data likely are likely factors when using adopted storage. There is less setup and boot verification with symbolic linking; much of that takes place before the device is ready for user input. It's not a perfect solution as the mount scripts sometimes get borked and have to be rebuilt but supervisory apps detect/correct that with minimal intervention.
The biggest benefit of adoptable storage is it can be used on stock/unrooted devices. It's also relatively transparent for noobs. Beyond that it's more of a PiTA IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been a long time since I've played with symbolic linking. At the time it felt pretty cumbersome to me, relative to my current experience with adopted storage. Definitely less user control and fine tuning with adopted though. Also, as you mention, no root required.

Davey126 said:
Someone asked if you could see inside adopted storage with a standard file manager. Nope, as the contents are encrypted and Google does not provide an API TTBOMK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya that sucks, It wouldn't be so bad if it would just move the largest chunk of an app over which on games is the OBB file(s)
Im sure google thinks this is better than the old move to sdcard option but imo they took a big step back.
I read their reasoning is how "wild west" the sdcard access was.. ya well if they're so worried about security maybe crack down on the overly abusive permissions on apps.. you can control some access, but some permissions they just treat like it's no big deal.
I guess google knows best right? /sarcasm.
Davey126 said:
In the end I stepped away and returned the entire SD card to portable storage as the benefit wasn't work the potential hassles. That said, I could see this as a potential solution for those who are bumping up against the limits of internal storage AND need/want to reserve part of the SD card for general purpose storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya that's where Im at, Im just gonna be real selective about what I install, with only 16gb's about 5 of which is the system (that's crazy imo that android needs that much space) leaving only around 10-11gb of user space a few large games can really eat it up on top of cache, and other apps.
I think GTA SA for example takes like 2-3 gb (iirc, been a while)
madbat99 said:
NVM, forgot you said no root. My apologies
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all, Im also interested in root solutions it won't help me on this phone but it would be good to know what other options are out there..
Next phone has to have root.. no two ways about it.

Raztan said:
Ya that sucks, It wouldn't be so bad if it would just move the largest chunk of an app over which on games is the OBB file(s)
Im sure google thinks this is better than the old move to sdcard option but imo they took a big step back.
I read their reasoning is how "wild west" the sdcard access was.. ya well if they're so worried about security maybe crack down on the overly abusive permissions on apps.. you can control some access, but some permissions they just treat like it's no big deal.
I guess google knows best right? /sarcasm.
Ya that's where Im at, Im just gonna be real selective about what I install, with only 16gb's about 5 of which is the system (that's crazy imo that android needs that much space) leaving only around 10-11gb of user space a few large games can really eat it up on top of cache, and other apps.
I think GTA SA for example takes like 2-3 gb (iirc, been a while)
Not at all, Im also interested in root solutions it won't help me on this phone but it would be good to know what other options are out there..
Next phone has to have root.. no two ways about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to say the Xposed module obb on SD looks promising. But then I remembered that no root was mentioned.
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/xposed/com.smartmadsoft.xposed.obbonsd

madbat99 said:
I was going to say the Xposed module obb on SD looks promising.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya exposed framework is one of my favorite things on a rooted device, although someone told me it's semi broken on a lot of newer devices?

Raztan said:
Ya exposed framework is one of my favorite things on a rooted device, although someone told me it's semi broken on a lot of newer devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works great on my moto e4 sprint (virgin mobile). And rovo89 just updated it for Oreo (beta of course), so it should be good. I'm using it with greenify, amplify, and gravitybox.

Raztan said:
Ya exposed framework is one of my favorite things on a rooted device, although someone told me it's semi broken on a lot of newer devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Outdated info; works fine on Marshmallow, Nougat and (very soon) Oreo.

Huawei P10 Lite - Expanding Internal Memory

Just bought a Huawei P10 Lite, was mainly looking for an Android 7.0 phone due to the newish Android feature of using an SD card to extend the internal memory and the P10 Lite seemed the most feature-rich phone at the price point.
To my horror there doesnt seem to be an option in the Memory & Storage options to configure the SD card as internal storage. I searched online but nothing about this phone and extending the internal storage which seems odd as I thought it was a popular phone. I noticed a post regarding the P8 where a user stated Huawei hadn't included this Android feature (seems bizarre) and they gave instructions on how to root the device and do something strange to it.
Surprised no one talking about it!

There's definitely an option to use the SD card as your main storage device in storage section as I used it before. What firmware is your on right now? It worked fine for me on my WAS-LX1AC185B172

If 32 gigabytes is not enough for you, then i don't know how much is enough. 128GB maybe?
Anyways, there is an option in "Memory & storage" called "Default location", which basically switches the internal storage for the SDcard. This is what you're looking for.

I think OP means adoptable storage - a feature introduced in Marshmallow. It merges your external and internal storage into one large pool. It, however, prevents the card from being portable. The card is formatted specifically to your device and I believe it'll cause problems with the device function if removed anyway.
I don't think Huawei supports it. I have only found the option to flip the default storage location. It may be available through some of the format options but I'm not too keen on risking it wiping my card if it doesn't give me a prompt if I was to test it.
It may be possible to force it through ADB commands. Not sure though.

Hi all yes specifically referring to adoptable storage.
I have set the SD card as "Default Storage" but in my experience it doesnt mean more than the system storing user data like photos and music on the SD card which is a no brainer really (why would a user even need to set this as an option?). Doesn't seem to be any info about what this actually does on this phone though. I can't even see an option to move Apps to the SD card on the P10 Lite but that was always a bizarre and tediously repetitive and half-hearted operation on my old Samsung S5, even if an App supported it, after an update it would just revert back to internal phone storage.
Many of my messaging apps have bloated databases that grow to over 1Gb in size after a couple of years let alone the bloatware of most apps in general. I notice that some messaging apps even keep media files inside the internal filesystem structure which ends up being the internal memory space. I would rather this was instead eating up cheap SD card space than the faster internal memory left for just the OS.
Considering that half of the phone storage is used up by the time you first turn it on, the adoptable storage funcationality introduced in Android Marshmallow is a gods send. Can't believe phone manufactures are trying to protect product placement with their 32GB and 64GB models to the extent of leaving out a flagship Android feature!
God data storage on Android is still a mess after all these years!

longreat said:
Hi all yes specifically referring to adoptable storage.
I have set the SD card as "Default Storage" but in my experience it doesnt mean more than the system storing user data like photos and music on the SD card which is a no brainer really (why would a user even need to set this as an option?). Doesn't seem to be any info about what this actually does on this phone though. I can't even see an option to move Apps to the SD card on the P10 Lite but that was always a bizarre and tediously repetitive and half-hearted operation on my old Samsung S5, even if an App supported it, after an update it would just revert back to internal phone storage.
Many of my messaging apps have bloated databases that grow to over 1Gb in size after a couple of years let alone the bloatware of most apps in general. I notice that some messaging apps even keep media files inside the internal filesystem structure which ends up being the internal memory space. I would rather this was instead eating up cheap SD card space than the faster internal memory left for just the OS.
Considering that half of the phone storage is used up by the time you first turn it on, the adoptable storage funcationality introduced in Android Marshmallow is a gods send. Can't believe phone manufactures are trying to protect product placement with their 32GB and 64GB models to the extent of leaving out a flagship Android feature!
God data storage on Android is still a mess after all these years!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The SD card isn't as fast. That's one reason they don't want you to install apps onto it. It degrades the experience. And without an API of some sort it would be difficult to implement an app structure that split the data to place non-vital data on the card. Many devices don't have slots so it isn't an area developers give much thought.
If you use the format option, does it give you any option to select adoptable storage or is it just erase?
Otherwise I guess your best option is to try look for ADB commands or maybe even root.
Edit: I found an option to allow apps on external storage in developer settings if you scroll all the way to the bottom.

I used an SD card to store my Here we Go and Sygic maps when travelling.
Until I took a break from driving one day, connected an USB OTG cable with usb stick to the device and all my maps from the internal SD were gone.
From that day on I never install any data that is used by an app on the SD card. (and never had problems with it anymore)
Documents or music are no problem.

Spotify on P10 lite
Spotify in itself is using up most of my internal storage.
How can I move the songs from there to the SD card? If I can't then remind me never to buy a phone with less than 64GB internal memory next time.
The reviews all seemed too good to be true!!

chimneytops said:
Spotify in itself is using up most of my internal storage.
How can I move the songs from there to the SD card? If I can't then remind me never to buy a phone with less than 64GB internal memory next time.
The reviews all seemed too good to be true!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this

Spotify
Thanks but I do not see the Storage option in Spotify

chimneytops said:
Thanks but I do not see the Storage option in Spotify
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just downloaded the app to check and it's there. Found it immediately.

spotify
Under Other, I only see Delete Cache or Log Out.
I tried logging out and in again, but no difference.
So frustrating.
I cannot even send texts at the moment and I have already uninstalled loads of apps, complete disaster.

chimneytops said:
Under Other, I only see Delete Cache or Log Out.
I tried logging out and in again, but no difference.
So frustrating.
I cannot even send texts at the moment and I have already uninstalled loads of apps, complete disaster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to ask: you do have an SD card mounted, right?
Do you have the latest version of the Spotify app?
Do you have the latest ota update?
Have you tried clearing app data and cache?
Have you tried uninstalling the app and reinstalling?
However if you can't send texts then you have bigger problems. It may be related, it may not be.
Have you tried with another phone with the same sim? Have you tried a factory reset?

Did you try this???

Trixanity said:
I have to ask: you do have an SD card mounted, right?
Do you have the latest version of the Spotify app?
Do you have the latest ota update?
Have you tried clearing app data and cache?
Have you tried uninstalling the app and reinstalling?
However if you can't send texts then you have bigger problems. It may be related, it may not be.
Have you tried with another phone with the same sim? Have you tried a factory reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, SD card mounted and storing photos on it.
I have uninstalled the app and downloaded it again. I still do not see the option to store the songs to the SD card though.
What is the ota update and how do I run it?
If I clear app data and the cache will I lose all the songs saved to date?
I have yet to download all the many songs again, so that has freed up loads of storage. So I can send texts again.

chimneytops said:
Yes, SD card mounted and storing photos on it.
I have uninstalled the app and downloaded it again. I still do not see the option to store the songs to the SD card though.
What is the ota update and how do I run it?
If I clear app data and the cache will I lose all the songs saved to date?
I have yet to download all the many songs again, so that has freed up loads of storage. So I can send texts again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA update just means the latest version/update for the phone. Check for system updates.
I can't guarantee what happens to your songs but I would assume that those are not stored locally if it's just a list (you did say you cleared some out to regain space). I would assume you'd be able to access the same list from any device as long as you are logged in. Otherwise that's pretty bad design considering their business model.
If you have very little space on your phone the system will start to get sluggish and if really low system functions will stop working.
Can you tell me the version number of the Spotify app? The reason I'm asking (besides making sure it's the same as the one I downloaded) is that I seem to recall Spotify cutting support for their old app and launching a new one to replace it.
But if you do have the new app, then either something's wrong with the compatibility of your phone/sd card/app or it's because you can't switch storage while data is stored (kinda like an initial setup) hence clearing app data could fix it.
If it's still not working I may have one last trick up my sleeve.

Trixanity said:
OTA update just means the latest version/update for the phone. Check for system updates.
I can't guarantee what happens to your songs but I would assume that those are not stored locally if it's just a list (you did say you cleared some out to regain space). I would assume you'd be able to access the same list from any device as long as you are logged in. Otherwise that's pretty bad design considering their business model.
If you have very little space on your phone the system will start to get sluggish and if really low system functions will stop working.
Can you tell me the version number of the Spotify app? The reason I'm asking (besides making sure it's the same as the one I downloaded) is that I seem to recall Spotify cutting support for their old app and launching a new one to replace it.
But if you do have the new app, then either something's wrong with the compatibility of your phone/sd card/app or it's because you can't switch storage while data is stored (kinda like an initial setup) hence clearing app data could fix it.
If it's still not working I may have one last trick up my sleeve.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, the version I downloaded is 8.4.61.683 armV7

chimneytops said:
Hi, the version I downloaded is 8.4.61.683 armV7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the same one I tested.
Try go into your app settings and make sure Spotify has the right permissions granted.
If it's still not working (also make sure you have plenty space on SD card) then clearing the data is probably the best solution. Apparently it deletes preferences and offline playlists (whatever that means). I'm not sure if it affects your playlists or if you can save them online so you can retrieve them later. Otherwise make a backup of: internal storage/Android/Data/com.spotify.music/ just in case.
Rebooting the phone can also sometimes help by the way.

Trixanity said:
That's the same one I tested.
Try go into your app settings and make sure Spotify has the right permissions granted.
If it's still not working (also make sure you have plenty space on SD card) then clearing the data is probably the best solution. Apparently it deletes preferences and offline playlists (whatever that means). I'm not sure if it affects your playlists or if you can save them online so you can retrieve them later. Otherwise make a backup of: internal storage/Android/Data/com.spotify.music/ just in case.
Rebooting the phone can also sometimes help by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, what are the right permissions for Spotify in app settings?

chimneytops said:
Thanks, what are the right permissions for Spotify in app settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Storage access I guess. I don't think there's explicitly an SD card permission (at least not to my knowledge).
I also wondered if you had tried formatting the SD card?