Linda Ford asks:
I have a new Samsung Note 10.1. I can’t find a way to use external storage that I bought specifically for this machine. No Google Play apps work and the ‘Move To’ option is NOT available under app management in settings. No help from Android forums, Samsung, or Google. I’m getting really frustrated and am hoping you can help me please.
3 Answers -
Kannon Y
November 1, 2012Hey Linda! I’m sorry you’re having troubles with your SD card. Unfortunately, most app developers don’t design their programs for use on the SD card. Even when they do work, they’re slower than when installed on system memory. Unfortunately, this is an inherent limitation of the Android operating system, although there are workarounds.
Chris Hoffman did an extraordinary piece on how to successfully move apps to your SD card, however, this approach is quite complex and probably not worth your time. It’s not recommend for casual use.
The modern role of the SD card has evolved from holding apps (in Android 2.2) to holding large quantities of media, such as photos, PDFs, movies and music. It’s also highly useful for offloading the configuration files of your programs, which would otherwise just waste system memory. It’s also a great place to store backups of your programs and settings using Titanium Backup.
Hope something in here was of use to you. Good luck!
Agreed! Thanks for clear info provided.
November 1, 2012My pleasure Douglas!
This is perhaps TMI, but the problems with the SD slot are why many Nexus devices using Android 4.0+ have begun switching entirely to internal memory, instead of using the optional SD card.
My first two Android phones came standard with a 2GB SD ejectable SD card and 2.2 installed. However, pretty much all the apps that were offloaded to SD ended up getting terrible performance and stability issues. In Android 4.0, supposedly (if I understand it right) the OS sees multiple internal memory locations as a single drive.
There’s a really good article by Martin Brinkmann that summarizes the shift in design strategy. Brinkmann, however, concludes that Google should have just allowed SD cards and just designed the OS to see all flash drives, including SD sources, as one single drive.
November 1, 2012Thank you very much but am finding that Note 10.1 doesn’t allow moving to ext sd. Wondering why it came with a micro sd slot.
Anyway, perhaps its possible to save to a usb Adapted micro sd?
November 1, 2012It came with SD card slot because it will allow you to store media files and other stuffs than apps.You can change the default storage location of camera pics like images and videos to SD card.You can also copy stuffs from PC to SD card.Hence,SD card slot becomes useful.
November 2, 2012susendeep dutta
November 1, 2012The option of moving apps to SD card is not present in the Application management settings.You need to install app named MoveApps – App 2 SD -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.probcomp.moveapps
This will notify you when you install an app that can be moved to SD card.Although,some traces would be left behind in internal memory.
Did That twice :{ Doesn’t work on Note 10.1 as it goes straight to App Mgr which doesn’t have the. ‘Move To’ option. Thanks though.
November 1, 2012Only those apps designed to be moved to SD card will show up Move To option such as Winamp(~99% sure). You can see movable apps if you missed notifications by opening the MoveApps app.
November 2, 2012For rooted samsung galaxy users please try app(GL TO SD) to transfer the apps to external sd card.
May 13, 2013ha14
November 1, 2012move to sd can be possible if the software is programmed to be functional in SD card also the hardware of the mobile is ready in that direction. if Samsung Note do not officially support running software from external storage then doing it can harm the mobile.
Some program installed from googleplay automatically they are shifted to external sd card depending how they are programmed.
you can have