One of the most annoying problems of Android smartphones is the filling of the internal memory, which often goes low after installing a few applications or games, after taking many photos or after receiving many videos and GIFs on WhatsApp. Although it is possible to move some apps from the internal memory to the SD card, this does not solve the problem because on the internal Android memory we also find temporary files, data and application cache, photo thumbnails and other things that take up precious space, quickly exhausting it.
The problem of the internal memory space running out of an Android phone can be solved thanks to some applications and to the method integrated in most phones that allow you to move larger files to the SD card. Let's see together how to move files to the SD (Android), freeing up internal memory to install new apps or take new photos.
READ ALSO: Free up Android space on internal memory and SD card
Choose the right microSD
First of all we will have to choose the right microSD card, so that we can save all the bigger files that we will find on our phone. To be on the safe side, we recommend focusing only on microSD cards of at least 64 GB and, if the phone is recent enough, we can also already view 128 or 256 GB memory cards (much more capacious but expensive, moreover they are compatible only with some phones produced from 2018 onwards).Below we find a list of cheap microSD cards that we can buy for the purpose:
- Samsung EVO Plus 64 GB MicroSD Card (13 €)
- SanDisk Ultra 64 GB MicroSDXC Memory Card (18 €)
- SanDisk Extreme 64GB microSDXC Memory Card (21 €)
- Samsung EVO Select 128 GB MicroSD Card (25 €)
- SanDisk Ultra 128 GB MicroSDXC Memory Card (€ 29)
- SanDisk Extreme 128GB microSDXC Memory Card (€ 46)
- SanDisk Extreme Plus 256GB microSDXC Memory Card (€ 99)
After purchasing it, insert it into our Android smartphone, using the appropriate slot or by placing the card in the Dual SIM hybrid slot (usually where we insert the nano SIM, the microSD can also be inserted).
How to move files to microSD with Android
Now that the microSD is inside our device, we can use the tools that Android offers to be able to format it and use it as an external memory where you can save all the largest files.Once inserted, we choose to use it as external memory (if the selection window appears), then go to Settings, access the Memory section and locate the SD card on the screen, where it will be displayed as additional space or external memory space.
To move all the files on the memory card we can also use the internal transfer tool (not available on all phones): let's go to the internal memory, tap on the top right of the menu with the three dots then choose the option that allows us allows you to choose which files to move (Photos, Videos etc.).
Once you have chosen what to move, just tap on the Transfer item to be able to move larger files to the newly inserted memory card.
How to move files to microSD with third party apps
If our smartphone does not have a transfer system and / or we want to use an even simpler and faster method, just use one of the many file manager apps available for Android; for the guide we recommend trying the free Solid Explorer app.
Once downloaded to your device, all we have to do is navigate through the Android folders in search of the files or folders to be moved, then hold down on them and use the double sheet-shaped key (i.e. the Copy key, present down).
Now that the file or folder is copied, open the left sidebar (we can also press the key with the three horizontal lines at the top left), go to the microSD space (indicated in the Memories section) then paste the folder or file by tapping on the Paste item, present in the bottom bar. Immediately all our contents will be copied to the microSD and, after finding that the copy has been successful, we can also delete the original files or folders, so as to save space. If we are looking for another file manager for our phone, we recommend you read our guide on the Best Android File Managers to manage phone files and folders .
If we are looking for something even simpler and more immediate than a file manager (if we are inexperienced we may not even understand which folders we have to move), we can use the free app Files To SD Card.
With this app it will be very simple to move the larger multimedia folders and the folders that we consider appropriate to move to microSD, using the simple button on the top of the app: the folders will be automatically selected and transferred to the memory, without having to make other changes or select other settings.
If we are a beginner this is without a doubt the app to be used periodically, so you can always have your own larger files and folders saved on the microSD and not in the internal memory of the phone.
Conclusions
If our Android smartphone has little memory or tends to fill up very often (even when we have more than 32 GB of space), in this guide we have shown you the methods and apps to be used to be able to move files on the SD quickly and easily, so as to avoid flips when we need space for new apps or new photos / videos.If our phone space is occupied for the most part by apps, we invite you to read our guide on How to move Apps to SD card (Android), so that we can move compatible apps to the SD card and save a lot of space . If, on the other hand, the space is occupied by temporary files and by the system and app cache, we invite you to try the methods indicated in our guide to Apps to clean Android from unnecessary files that take up space .
Finally, we point out the guide on how to use the Google Photos App with unlimited backup from Android, iPhone and PC, so as to always have an online backup of our photos and be able to delete without problems those present in the internal memory of the device.
