I am using a 32GB micro SD card with my S4 which is being used as adoptable storage.
What is the best and sure shot way to migrate to a bigger card without losing data/apps/settings etc? Has anyone here done this?
Best way? Connect the device to a computer and pull the data off the device, then revert to standard storage. Replace the card, convert to expandable storage, then move the data from the PC to the card.
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So, Marshmallow for Pure should be right around the corner, and it's nice to be able to use SD card as internal memory. My question is, when I need to upgrade the SD card (say, from a 32GB to 128GB in the future), what is the process? The thing is I have a 32GB card lying around, and I don't need a storage at the moment, so I plan to just start using that for now. But then later, may need to upgrade it to a larger/faster card.
namartlu said:
So, Marshmallow for Pure should be right around the corner, and it's nice to be able to use SD card as internal memory. My question is, when I need to upgrade the SD card (say, from a 32GB to 128GB in the future), what is the process? The thing is I have a 32GB card lying around, and I don't need a storage at the moment, so I plan to just start using that for now. But then later, may need to upgrade it to a larger/faster card.
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This is from the Styles update notes: https://motorola-mobility-en-in.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/108821
Expandable Storage
Android Marshmallow enables your SD card to fully extend device internal storage rather than just being used for media files.
After inserting a new SD card to your phone, you will see a notification to set it up. You can choose to use your new SD card as a portable storage or as internal storage:
Portable storage: use your SD card to store your pictures, videos, audio and other media files. You can remove the SD card at any time and transfer it to other device.
Internal storage: in addition to media, you can store downloaded apps and games, all their media and data. The SD card acts as an extension of the internal storage of your phone.
If you have an SD card inserted in your phone when you upgrade it to Android Marshmallow, the card will be defaulted to portable storage. Any existing application stored in your SD card before the upgrade will run as expected (in portable storage). In order to move any new application to the SD card, you have to adopt it as internal storage first. To set your SD card as internal storage:
Back up and preserve any data you have on the card, as formatting for internal storage will erase it.
Swipe the status bar down with two fingers and tap the gear icon at the top right corner of your screen.
Once in the Settings menu, scroll down and tap Storage & USB, then select your portable SD card from the list.
Tap the menu icon (3 vertical dots) at the top right corner of the SD card screen and select Settings.
Select Format as internal and follow the steps in the tutorial.
Important: when the SD card is adopted as internal storage, it is formatted and encrypted to protect your information. It cannot be removed and transferred to other device. If you want to use the SD card as portable storage or in another device after adopted as internal storage, then you need to format it. When doing so, please remember that formatting erases all the data stored in your SD card.
thanks, I have read that but doesn't seem to answer my question... I suppose someone could write an app to do it... migrating from one SD card to another...
Dump the smaller card's data on to a pc, then transfer that to the larger card. But if you choose to designate it as internal storage I think you'd have to dump it into the cloud first.
Sent from my SM-T230NU using XDA Free mobile app
namartlu said:
So, Marshmallow for Pure should be right around the corner, and it's nice to be able to use SD card as internal memory. My question is, when I need to upgrade the SD card (say, from a 32GB to 128GB in the future), what is the process? The thing is I have a 32GB card lying around, and I don't need a storage at the moment, so I plan to just start using that for now. But then later, may need to upgrade it to a larger/faster card.
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My assumption is that since this is a formatting to internal storage extension, then you will later (when ready to upgrade to the larger storage card) dump the current data either into a cloud, or usb into a desktop by copying/moving the files (app, media, system etc) onto the desktop into a new folder with just those files, (maybe name it moto x files) then copy/move them from the desktop folder onto the device with the new larger memory card via usb after it's been formatted as the new internal extended memory.
If we change the SD card to internal storage will it mean that sdcard read/write operations will be slower??
So, if adopting the SD card as internal encrypts the card what happens if you try to download music to it from a streaming service like Rhapsody? Will it successfully download? Will it successfully play back in the Rhapsody app on the phone? I have the feeling Rhapsody support won't even have a clue what I am asking. ?
opti1 said:
So, if adopting the SD card as internal encrypts the card what happens if you try to download music to it from a streaming service like Rhapsody? Will it successfully download? Will it successfully play back in the Rhapsody app on the phone? I have the feeling Rhapsody support won't even have a clue what I am asking. ?
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I believe as long as it is in the phone it will work as normal. If it is removed from the phone you won't be able to read it.
Sent from my Moto XPE
New android version Marshmallow has a feature to use microSD card as internal storage.
When Marshmallow detects a microSD card for the first time it asks to chose Portable or Internal storage mode.
If you choose "Use as portable storage" you will use it as before. You can save your photos, videos, some applications or their data,
backup/restore your phone, etc. and you can see your files if you take it out of your phone and connect to another device or PC, as usual.
But if you choose "Use as internal storage" and click "ERASE&FORMAT" button at next screen,
then your microSD card will be formatted as ext4 and encrypted. You will loose everything in your microSD card and it will
become your only internal storage. Now, If you take it out of your phone and connect to another device or PC, it will not possible to see your files
since it is encrypted. Your microSD is usable only with your phone.
Than, what is the advantage of using microSD card as internal storage?
If your phone's real internal storage very small (ex: 4gb) and you have trouble installing new apps then you may put a 32 GB microSD card and use it as internal storage. Then your internal storage will be 32 GB (Not total of 36GB).
It will act as your phone's internal storage.
Disadvantages?
microSD card used as internal storage is useless out of your phone since it is encrypted. You can not use it taking out of your phone and putting into another device to transfer your photos, music files, zipped ROM files etc.
It will not be visible as external storage anymore.
Phone's real internal storage is not visible.
So,
If your phone's real internal storage is not too small and especially if you want to use your external storage as usual, there is no need to use a microSD card as internal storage.
darkRd said:
New android version Marshmallow has a feature to use microSD card as internal storage.
When Marshmallow detects a microSD card for the first time it asks to chose Portable or Internal storage mode.
If you choose "Use as portable storage" you will use it as before. You can save your photos, videos, some applications or their data,
backup/restore your phone, etc. and you can see your files if you take it out of your phone and connect to another device or PC, as usual.
But if you choose "Use as internal storage" and click "ERASE&FORMAT" button at next screen,
then your microSD card will be formatted as ext4 and encrypted. You will loose everything in your microSD card and it will
become your only internal storage. Now, If you take it out of your phone and connect to another device or PC, it will not possible to see your files
since it is encrypted. Your microSD is usable only with your phone.
Than, what is the advantage of using microSD card as internal storage?
If your phone's real internal storage very small (ex: 4gb) and you have trouble installing new apps then you may put a 32 GB microSD card and use it as internal storage. Then your internal storage will be 32 GB (Not total of 36GB).
It will act as your phone's internal storage.
Disadvantages?
microSD card used as internal storage is useless out of your phone since it is encrypted. You can not use it taking out of your phone and putting into another device to transfer your photos, music files, zipped ROM files etc.
It will not be visible as external storage anymore.
Phone's real internal storage is not visible.
So,
If your phone's real internal storage is not too small and especially if you want to use your external storage as usual, there is no need to use a microSD card as internal storage.
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No way to read or write in ext4 in pc???
jaswinprakash said:
No way to read or write in ext4 in pc???
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Possible, on Linux
Ranpe said:
Possible, on Linux
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But its still encrypted, so that won't help I guess. Also once you flash your phone or something, the contents won't be available anymore I think. It's just a guess though, I don't know how it is decrypted and all.
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jaswinprakash said:
No way to read or write in ext4 in pc???
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It seems to be not possible out of your phone by anyway since it is encrypted.
I don't not know whether it is possible to extract encryption key from phone and decrypt the files using this key but this shouldn't be possible because of security reasons.
No one desires access to the important files in the sd card if it is captured by any one else.
darkRd said:
It seems to be not possible out of your phone by anyway since it is encrypted.
I don't not know whether it is possible to extract encryption key from phone and decrypt the files using this key but this shouldn't be possible because of security reasons.
No one desires access to the important files in the sd card if it is captured by any one else.
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It is possible done it in my Lenovo A328. Courtesy of this mod:
http : / / forum.xda-developers.com / android / development / rom-flight-a328-custom-rom-based-150429-t3137708
Hey all,
Forgive me if this question has been asked before (Google did not help me find an answer) but I'm looking for the "best practice" method of upgrading my MicroSD card once it's already been mapped to internal storage using Marshmallow's "Flex Storage" capability.
I bought a 32GB Moto X Pure Edition and promptly installed my fastest MicroSD card (a 32GB PNY U3 Turbo card) and set it to function as internal storage after the Marshmallow update.
Since then, I bought a 64GB U3 card so that I'd have ample space for music and video. What I'm trying to figure out is the process to:
1) Take a snapshot of my internal storage (i.e. copy to an external HDD)
2) Remove the "old" microSD without any detrimental affect to installed applications
3) Mount the "new" larger microSD as internal storage
4) Copy everything back to the new internal storage
Is there a documented process for doing this, or some sort of migration tool I can use to upgrade the microSD capacity?
Good question
Bumpage. Has anyone seen anything on the nets describing the storage upgrade process for Flex Storage?
Probably not possible unless you flash a new ROM over the old. My understanding is that the sd card, once made to be part of the phone storage, is that it is 128bit encrypted in EXT4 format.
bw03 said:
Probably not possible unless you flash a new ROM over the old. My understanding is that the sd card, once made to be part of the phone storage, is that it is 128bit encrypted in EXT4 format.
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The thing is I currently have more internal storage free space available than actual data stored on my SD, so ideally there should be a way to migrate my data back to true internal storage, eject the SD, and replace with a bigger card?
Even if I have to do it manually, I want to make sure I don't screw with installed apps.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Might be a stupid question but have you tried taking out the card and seeing what happens?
I think the moral here is to start with the largest capacity card you think you'll need. 64GB cards are dirt cheap these days. Unless you need your entire mp3 collection on your phone, I doubt there is a real need for anything bigger.
I mentioned this in another thread, but probably more appropriate here. There is a way to partition the card for both internal and external storage. Portion of it is used for apps/data while the rest for pics/music and is visible when not in the phone.
The question is, can you create a twrp image of the system & internal storage with one sd card. Replace it with a different one, repartition it (in recovery), then restore your data?
http://blog.sam.liddicott.com/2016/02/android-6-semi-adopted-storage.html
Hello,
There might be a solution.
(Please notice I translate the android names from French, so there might be some variations)
In the settings/storage, click on the interal memory line.
In the settings -the 3 dots top right-, you might be able to transfer data from SD to internal memory.
Then, you can format back you sd card, remove and replace it, and voila, that should work.
My 2 cents,
What is the best Micro SD card for both Internal / Portable Storage Options?
I download Torrents on my phone daily mostly. I then copy them to a pc / usb stick. Should i look for better writes or reads?
Should i even use the internal storage option?
Thank you for your input
i dont know what card would be best, but dont EVER use the internal storage option. I used it about a month and the card(sandisk ultra) got broken today.
Any U3 card will do.
Hello,
Just wondering if anybody has any knowledge on how to install a new SD card when you already have adoptable storage enabled. I'm assuming I could power down the phone and copy everything over, but my new SD card is 200gb vs 128gb installed. I'm worried the partition table wouldn't be set properly.
Any advice would be great!
Thanks,
Jaime
I haven't tried but perhaps unmounting the SD card would help?
deepfriedbutter said:
Hello,
Just wondering if anybody has any knowledge on how to install a new SD card when you already have adoptable storage enabled. I'm assuming I could power down the phone and copy everything over, but my new SD card is 200gb vs 128gb installed. I'm worried the partition table wouldn't be set properly.
Any advice would be great!
Thanks,
Jaime
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The data stored on your card must be moved back to the internal storage in order to avoid breaking your apps. You can do that from the internal storage menu. If you can't fit everything, you'll have to delete things until you're under the limit. At that point, you can go back into the SD card storage menu and format it as "portable", meaning it will work in other devices. If there's any data still on it, you will lose it. Then put in the new card and set it up for "adoptable" as the previous card was.