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How to save applications directly to a memory card. Android won't save to microSD card

The lack of space on the internal storage of Android devices, which is set by default as the main storage, gives users a lot of problems with saving downloaded information. That is why most owners of such gadgets end up trying to somehow solve the problem of how to download applications to a memory card. Android offers its own means for this. However, you can also use some third party programs, which will be discussed separately.

How to download applications and games to a memory card on Android: general information

Before proceeding to the solution of the main issue, it should be clearly understood that loading installation distribution to removable media - this is only top part iceberg. But then you also need to do it so that the application is installed not on internal media, but on an SD card.

If we talk about the problem of how to download directly to a memory card, "Android" systems of any modifications assume the initial setting of the parameters in such a way that instead of the internal drive, specify the external one by default. Only in this case, downloading programs from Google Play or classical method using an Internet browser will be made exactly on the card. And to begin with, let's dwell on the simplest methods for setting these parameters.

Primary Storage Preset

For installation necessary settings until the download is required. Usually in the system you need to open the main settings menu of your smartphone or tablet and go to the memory section.

Tapping on it and calling the appropriate parameters, you need to find a line like "Default memory" or "Main memory", where a marker (checkbox) is set opposite the SD card line instead of internal storage.

But that's only general case. For example, in some mobile ASUS devices first you need to use section individual settings, in which you should find the application installation settings subsection and set the necessary configuration there.

Memory settings on the example of Samsung Galaxy smartphones

Consider another example of solving the problem of how to download to a memory card (“Android” 5.1), using the example of smartphones from Samsung.

Setting the memory used to load information by default on such devices is done through the Internet section, where you need to click the "More" button, and then select the settings item (in some models of this line, instead of the "More" button, names like "Options" or "Menu").

Next, in the settings, you enter the section additional options, where the content options clause is used. If not, you can move on to the next step. Now it remains only to set the priority of the SD card from the drop-down menu of the main storage.

Downloading Applications Using a Computer: Setting the Master Option

Now directly about loading information. One of the most simple solutions the question of how to download the game to the memory card of the "Android" system is to download using desktop computer or laptop that have a card reader on board or can interact with mobile devices by connecting via a USB port.

In the first case, you won’t need to set any special parameters, and for the second option, you need to set the permission for USB debugging on the gadget itself (without this, the download and installation may not work).

How to download files to an Android memory card through a computer: two simple methods

With stationary computer systems, the situation is quite simple. How to download applications or games to a memory card on Android devices? The optimal solution it will be removed from the device and inserted into the card reader using a special adapter, which, as a rule, comes with the purchase of an SD card.

After that, it is enough to launch a browser or any other loader in the system and in their settings specify the location for saving the downloaded content with the choice of external media. Do not forget also that after removing the card at the end of the download, some programs may give errors. For example, uTorrent application reports the absence previous volume. Therefore, in this situation, the settings will have to be changed to those that were set before.

The second solution to the problem of how to download applications to the memory card of an Android device is very similar to the previous one. The only difference is that in this case The device is connected via a USB cable. Stationary computer system recognizes both internal and external storage. Further, the parameters to be set are similar to the previous situation.

Application installation

Now let's leave aside the question of how to download applications and games to a memory card on Android devices, for now, and look at the steps associated with the subsequent installation of programs on the device itself.

The main problem is that even when installing an application from an APK file saved on a memory card, the installation is carried out exclusively on internal storage. And there's nothing you can do about it. But when setting up a card as the main storage on some devices, the problem of installing an application from Google Play is solved in a jiffy. But what about manual installation?

Transferring applications to an SD card using the system

To solve this problem, you can use control programs mobile gadgets (Samsung Kies, My phone explorer, Sony PC Companion, Mobogenie, etc.).

But on devices that direct installation on external drive do not support, you will have to use application transfer programs from internal memory to the external one (again, if the gadget itself supports such a function). Actually, the Android system itself has a similar function.

To call it, you need to use the main settings section with a transition to the menu installed applications. Next, just tap on the name of the application that you want to move, and select the line "Move to SD card". After that, the transfer process starts. In the case when the system displays a message stating that the device does not support this function, you will have to put up with it, since no even the most advanced programs will help here.

Programs for moving applications to a memory card

But for those happy owners of smartphones and tablets on which the transfer function is provided initially, we can recommend using programs like AppMgr Pro III or Link2SD.

They have the advantage that you can first bulk provision the applications that you want to move instead of migrating each one individually. In principle, in this case, the download program will also not be needed. Separately, it is worth paying attention to the fact that in some cases for correct operation these programs may require root rights.

And what to do with your favorite applications and games under Windows?

Many users who are wondering how to download once popular games and programs that work exclusively on Windows systems to a memory card on Android devices also find a very original solution.

To get started, just install windows emulator. Versions from Windows 98 to Windows 10 are currently available. the best option the installation of the seventh modification is considered, although a lot of space will be required on the SD card itself to save the image. But then in this environment you can start the download or the standard installer, which will behave like a normal installer during installation. windows installer and will prompt you to choose a place yourself by pressing the browse button. As it is already clear, the location is chosen on removable media, after which the program will be installed exactly in this place.

Instead of total

As you can see, the issues of downloading applications on external media solved quite simply. Problems may begin during the installation of programs or their transfer to the card. But here, too, there are several universal solutions. True, if the device does not initially have such an opportunity, no programs or root rights will help. AT best case you will have to change the firmware to custom. But with unofficial releases, in most cases, experiments are not recommended, otherwise the whole system may turn out to be completely inoperative.

Many owners of Android devices sooner or later, especially if the user is not sophisticated in knowledge computer technology, face similar situation. By manually or automatically installing applications on the internal memory of the gadget, we gradually reduce its volume. Over time, the device starts to work more and more slowly. Programs that used to run in a matter of moments now run slowly. And then it is generally impossible to send SMS or listen to the song normally. In addition, it pesters the message that there is not enough space in the memory of the android device. So they've arrived. It's time to start optimizing the internal memory of the device. Otherwise it is impossible. The main way to solve this problem in android installation applications to the memory card. But first you need to understand what types of memory your device has.

Types of Android memory

RAM is the memory that is used by various processes and applications while the device is running. When the power is turned off, all data in it is erased. The larger its volume, the more application instances can be running at the same time. That is, the more operational, the more you can afford immediately. For example, listen to music and surf the Internet through a browser.

At this stage, the gold standard is the volume random access memory in 1 GB. AT budget models this figure averages 512 MB. To some extent, a large amount of RAM allows you to do without transfer longer android apps to a memory card. Moreover, starting with version 2. 2 of this operating system, support for selective launch of processes is built into it. Now the device itself knows which application data to leave active. In more early versions when the entire amount of "RAM" was filled, the user received a message about its overflow and the impossibility of launching the application.

ROM is the internal memory of the device, to which the data of the operating system itself is written during firmware. Unlike operational data, this data is saved after recording without changes even after turning off the power of the device or rebooting it. They are not modifiable and you will not be able to move apps to android memory card.

Internal memory of the device - user information and data are recorded here installed programs. All information is subject to change. How much is left free space in the internal memory is displayed in the settings. If the entire volume is almost full, then you can move the applications to the android memory card.

Memory cards

An expansion card, or flash drive, is used to increase the amount of internal memory. It happens various types and sizes depending on the supported slot. All information recorded on it is available for modification and is stored when the power is turned off. You can also find out about the degree of filling in the "settings" section of the gadget menu. The main purpose of expansion cards is to free up internal memory resources of the device.

The essence of the problem

After buying a new device, the owner who understands the controls begins to customize the gadget “for himself”. Personalize by installing all new applications and gradually filling the internal memory. In the end, in addition to filling the RAM with many running processes, and the volume of the internal is filled to capacity. In this case, the system issues messages about this. Removal unnecessary programs and data solves the problem for a short time due to the constant influx of information and automatic installation updates. System optimization and removal temporary files also a temporary solution. There is nothing left but to transfer applications to the android memory card.

Let's start solving the problem

An inexperienced user would do this by first copying all the data to a computer and then moving it to a flash drive. Another solution could be online storage data. To do this, you need to download all the necessary “extra” information from your phone to the server of some specialized Internet resource for further storage and use in right moment. This is where the problem of accessing this data via the Internet arises. Unlike foreign countries, access to the network via wi-fi is still too poorly developed in our country. And downloading through Edge will not only be long, but also expensive.

Everything is much easier. Transferring data to an expansion card is possible through the built-in operating system toolkit using the file manager. It is only necessary to mark those that should be transferred. And if you need to move an android application to a memory card? To do this, in this operating system, starting from version 2. 2, this feature is implemented at the software level.

Open the gadget menu. Let's go to the "Settings" item. Further in the sub-item "Applications" and from there to "Manage applications". You will see a list of installed programs. By clicking on the name desired application, we will see all the information about it. On the right, there is a button that says "move to SD". If it is active (displayed in white), then this application on sd android can be transferred from the internal memory of the device.

Application Transfer Software

Of course, a new version operating system is good. But what to do for those whose devices work on versions below 2. 2 and their system does not know how to install android applications on a USB flash drive.

The first option that immediately comes to mind is flashing the gadget. But this is so troublesome and time-consuming that for a start it is better to look for other ways to solve the problem.

All-knowing programmers have already thought for us and have written a number of special programs for android transfer apps on sd.

App 2 SD program.

It contains all the necessary tools for transferring applications not only from external memory to the expansion card, but vice versa. Having launched the program, a table with icons appears in front of us. available functions. There are three selection buttons on the top desired option work: with roaming applications located on the memory card and located in the internal memory of the device. Before transferring applications to a memory card on android, click on the icon of the program to be moved. Before us is displayed all the information about it and possible options actions: transfer, deletion of data.

Using the menu that appears after pressing function keys devices, you can migrate all installed programs, update the list, configure, clear the cache, or update App version 2 SD to professional. Moreover, the price of the issue of transition to pro versions is only $2.

Move2SDEnablerv0 program. 96.

It will be useful not only for those whose gadget runs on Android below version 2. 2. In devices with more later version operating system Move2SD Enabler v0. 96 allows you to move to a USB flash drive even those applications that are marked as “non-portable” in the standard file manager (the transfer button is inactive). Before you save applications to an android memory card, check out the space occupied by this program.

Link2SD program.

Unlike others, it allows you to export applications not only completely, but also in parts. That is, you can move individual libraries. Another advantage of Link2SD is that it is installed in one package at once without copying files and running scripts.

After transferring the application by this program, in devices running on versions of the operating system prior to 2. 2, it starts to be displayed only after the device is rebooted.

To export, 2 partitions must be created on the expansion card. One based on file FAT systems 32, and the other ext2 (the restriction is not relevant for new versions).

Of course, these programs completely solve the problem. But in android how to install applications on a USB flash drive right away?

Install right away

Of course, the memory of devices, especially phones, is not infinite. And constantly transfer programs with specialized applications or Android's built-in file manager is tedious.

And I would like to know how to install applications on a memory card on android.

Unfortunately, by default, all applications are installed in Android of any version on the expanses of internal memory. The solution to this problem can be considered a flashing of the gadget third party version OS. But this is a very tricky business. In addition, you need to have decent skills and knowledge in handling this kind of software.

After installing the application, if possible, immediately move it to the memory card. Compliance with this simple rule help you conserve internal memory resources.

Install one of the cleaning utilities on your gadget. For example, Android Assistant. After a while, systematically run it, and clean up the system and clear the cache. Using this program allows you to clear the internal memory from temporary and not desired filessystem junk”), and thus save space.

Comfortable work

Make it a habit to uninstall applications as soon as they are no longer needed.

When downloading various multimedia information through a browser on the Internet, immediately set the folder on the expansion card in the save path.

By following these tips, you will be able to comfortable work on your device, even if its internal memory resources are low. And about how to make applications installed on an android memory card, developers will definitely answer us with the release of one of next versions this wonderful operating system.


The memory card in phones based on the Android operating system plays a very important role. It saves in itself what is better not to store in the phone's memory: videos, music, photos, some applications and other files. Therefore, we will analyze how to download to a memory card on “Android” various kinds information in different ways.

Why is she needed?

In fact, the answer to this question is very simple: to have more space. And although smartphones with internal memory of 16 GB are now being produced, there are still too many gadgets in everyday life that do not have this memory. For example, if the “Android” device has 1 gigabyte of memory, of which 400 MB is occupied by itself operating system, then there is not much left. It would seem that 600 MB is quite enough. However, it is worth installing a dozen or one and a half necessary applications and games that I will constantly leave behind a cache and data about account And this place is like it never happened. Not to mention that you need to save the rest somewhere multimedia files. Don't forget the simple push-button phones on which there is no internal memory at all.

Useful little thing

It is for this that you need to have additional data storage and know how to download to a memory card on Android. Before you buy an SD card, you need to find out what the maximum amount a particular gadget can support. You can find out about this in the passport for the device, as well as on many sites, including online stores. Since the card will always be in the device, you can take not yourself high class. Having acquired additional storage data, you can save various data to the memory card. The main thing is to leave some space for applications that can be moved to a USB flash drive.

How to download to a memory card on Android?

To do this, you will need a phone with a USB flash drive and a USB cable to the device (preferably native, because some outsiders may not be suitable). We connect the gadget to the computer via USB, on touch screen select a memory card (or something like that). Open “My Computer”, find the flash drive that appears and open it. As you can see, it already has several files and folders that were created by the Android OS. For convenience, we create thematic folders(music, video, etc.).

Before downloading data to the memory card on Android, we do the following: select the desired file or several files and simply copy them to Right place on a flash drive. This completes the data transfer.

If there is no USB cable or it does not work and the information will be reset from the laptop, you can use the adapter that comes with the SD-card. If this is a regular PC, then without a special adapter that connects to USB port, not enough. In general, there are plenty of ways to download files to an Android memory card. However, there are a couple more ways.

Cloud storage

It has long been no secret that there are which are a good solution for how to download the necessary data to the memory card on Android. This is a space on the Internet where you can upload any information. Something like hard drive in the Internet. it disk space is located remote server owned by a particular company.

These disks are of two types: search engine disks (Yandex Disk, Cloud mail.ru, Google Drive) and standalone (DropBox, Mega, etc.). They immediately have some free disk space from 2 GB to 100 GB. It doesn't matter what kind of storage will be used, but since mailbox almost everyone has it on google and mail.ru, you can use them.

Open mail, enter the cloud. We upload the files necessary for transfer there (most often this is done by drag and drop). Before downloading data to the memory card on Android, you need to install the application of this disk from the play market on the gadget. Install, launch the application, log in, download the file, after choosing where to save it. It is worth considering that installing the application and downloading data is best connected to Wi-Fi, since files can weigh a lot.

Create an FTP server

There are quite a few on the play store interesting application, which is called FTP server. And it is interesting because it turns a mobile device into ftp server, connecting to which you can exchange information and files. The only condition is that the phone must be connected via Wi-Fi to the same network as the computer, in other words, to the same router.

If all this is there, install this application for yourself and launch it. Click the big red icon in the middle of the screen. It should turn green and the IP address will appear below it (for example, ftp://192.168.1.200:2221). This address is needed in order to enter the file system of the smartphone. Open My Computer and enter this address in address bar. It looks the same as in the browser, only it displays the path to files and folders instead of the site address. Press Enter. Now you can see how it opened file system gadget. This utility also provides full control over the data, i.e. you can create, copy, delete, etc. Therefore, you need to be careful before downloading directly to the Android memory card, since by negligence you can lose a couple of necessary files or folders, which will be quite difficult to restore.

Porting Utilities

There is nothing easier than how to download to "Android" without a memory card. However, Android from the very beginning provided the function of transferring applications and games to an SD card to save space. And a lot is saved, as there are utilities and toys that weigh several tens of megabytes. And the saved 100, 200, 500 megabytes will never be superfluous. Therefore, it is a sin not to use such a function.

This is done more simply. We go into the settings, look for the "Applications" section and go into it. Here you can observe several tabs, among which we need "Installed".

For greater convenience, it is better to sort them by size. So it will be seen in descending order, which program weighs how much. But before saving applications to the Android memory card, it is worth determining which ones will remain in the phone’s memory. These include the most necessary utilities that may be needed when the flash drive is removed. It's social media and mail clients, electronic wallets and banking programs, browser, etc. The rest, which are not urgently needed, can be safely transferred. Open any application and click "Move to SD card". In addition, in this window you can see how much the cache and temporary weigh, and if there is nothing important in it, you can clean the garbage. This can be done before saving applications to the Android memory card, and after that.

APKs

APK is the file format of any application or game on It's like an installer with .exe format on a computer. From the play store we immediately install desired utility in background. But if for some reason the Google store does not have desired program or it's just broken, you can do it another way by downloading the APK and saving it to a file. It is easier than ever to do this, since there are several ways to download programs to an Android memory card.

Download from browser

Every device must have a browser. Even if no one installed it (which is unlikely in itself), that is, built-in. We go into it and in the search we prescribe "Application such and such apk download". Now you need to find a good download site (usually it won't take long). We click "download" and, before downloading applications to the Android memory card, we choose where exactly to save the necessary installer.

Next, go to the directory where the APK was saved, click on it. At this stage, a security notification should appear in which you need to select the settings and check the "Unknown sources" item, allowing the installation of programs from unknown sources, and then install the utility. It is also worth understanding that the program will be installed from unknown source, which may contain viruses, spyware or In order not to run into such gifts, you need to read the description of the utility and comments before downloading applications to the Android memory card. If there are any problems in it, then dissatisfied users will definitely indicate this.

Computer to help

Few people know, but you can install games on a mobile device through a computer. You can go two ways:

  • download the application from the play market site;
  • install it from APK file.

In both cases, before downloading the game to the Android memory card, you will need to connect the mobile device to the PC via a USB cable and enable USB debugging on it. This is done in the following way. You need to open "Settings", find the item "Developer Features" and go into it. In it, in the first place there will be “Debugging via USB”, which must be ticked. Now let's move on to installing games.

With google play

Open a browser on your computer and go to play.google.com. But before downloading games to an Android memory card, you need to log in to google system the same account as on the device. Now we find necessary utility, open it. As in mobile google play, click "Install", then select a mobile device from the list in the window that opens.

Click on “Install” again, after which a notification of a successful installation will appear.

In addition, you can install the game from the market through a computer via Wi-Fi. The nuance is that both the computer and the smartphone must be connected to the same router.

Through the utility

There are quite a few utilities for Android through a computer. However, the easiest to use and appearance- Installapk. Therefore, before the android memory card, you need to install on computer installapk. This is easy to do, as it is completely free and is available on so many sites. Now download the APK file of the game.

Open the installer using InstallAPK. A small window of this utility will appear, where you will need to select through which the installation will be performed: USB or Wi-Fi. Click "Update". When the device appears, select it and click "Install". If the gadget was not recognized, you may need to install drivers for it on your computer. Find required drivers you can on the disk that came with the kit, on the website of the device manufacturer or on third-party sites and blogs. Very often, drivers are supplied through a service utility from the manufacturer. In this case, you need to install it, after which you will be prompted to install the driver on your computer.

Micro-USB to the rescue

Mainly on modern mobile devices the charging connector and the data connector are the same - Micro-USB. Often comes with a gadget Charger in the form of a USB cable that connects to the plug. That is why they came up with special adapters from USB to Micro-USB, so that you can connect a regular USB flash drive to your phone or tablet and use the information from it.

You can buy this miracle in any computer store, but there will be a lot of benefits from it. Also, before downloading to a memory card on Android, you need to install any file manager if it doesn't exist. After that, we insert the USB flash drive into the adapter, and then the whole structure to the device. Open the file manager, find the flash drive. Most likely, it will be in the list with a memory card. If it does not appear immediately, you need to wait a bit until it boots up and the gadget recognizes it.

It also happens that the flash drive was recognized and appeared in the list, but does not open. In this case, you should try another file manager.


Everything you can get in the store Google Apps Play market, is downloaded to your device's internal memory by default. And of course, sooner or later it is filled. And then you have quite a desire to use external memory. Flash drives for smartphones and tablets are called Micro cards SD and sold in any store mobile communications and gadgets.

So, when during the next download after pressing the "Install" button, you will receive the message "not enough space in the smartphone's memory", an SD card will come in handy for you - you can transfer something previously downloaded from the Play Market to a memory card, or reconfigure the system so that new downloads are immediately placed on external memory. We will now consider all the ways to implement this undertaking.

Method 1 - download previously purchased from the Play Market to a memory card

In fact, we just free up space on the internal memory of the device for the desired application. To do this, you need to transfer one or more existing applications (depending on their volume) to the SD card.

This can be done like this:


Method 2 - figure out how to download from the Play Market to an SD card using a computer

First, the application must be downloaded to your computer. For this:


After these manipulations, the application will be downloaded to the Downloads folder. Then you can transfer it to your smartphone or tablet.

We transfer the application from the computer through USB cord, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and install it in your smartphone or tablet on an external drive. And here's how we'll do it:

Both your phone and computer must have device synchronization programs installed, such as My Phone Explorer. This program has a corresponding part for both a smartphone and a computer (in the description of the program it is indicated that for the PC version you need to go to the website www.fjsoft.at and download the installation file).

If this program is not on your devices, install it on a computer, then on a smartphone (you can see how to install programs on a smartphone from the Play Market)

Method 3 - using special programs that allow you to install applications from the Play Market directly to your smartphone's memory card

I want to warn you right away: this method is quite complicated and not very reliable, since you need to enter administrator rights and if you accidentally delete something there or install it in a new way, your gadget may not work correctly. But the choice, of course, is yours.

To do what you want to do, you need to install special programs, which have the ability to record information immediately to external media, bypassing the memory of a phone or tablet. There are many such programs, we will show you using Link2SD as an example.

So, let's install.


Of course, you may have more specific questions about your gadgets. Look for answers to them.

Everything, after a short manipulation, all downloaded applications will be installed on an external drive.

As you can see, it is very possible to use a memory card to download programs from the Play Market to it. Try each of the methods suggested here to see what works best for you.

Over time on Android device accumulates a large number of applications and games. By default, they are all stored in the internal memory of your phone, smartphone or tablet. And if you do not save these applications to the memory card, then the space in the internal memory may run out, and you will not be able to install new applications until you free it up. In this short article, we will talk about how to save applications to a memory card on Android smartphone or tablet and free up internal memory for new applications and games.

Saving applications to the smartphone's memory card through Android settings

The easiest option to save applications to a memory card on an Android phone is to use the tool available in the settings. To do this, open the Android settings and go to the " Application Manager" (in some cases this section settings can be called simply " Applications»).

After that, you will see a list of all installed applications. AT this list you need to find the application that you would like to save to the memory card and open it. If your target is a device, then just select the app that takes up the most memory.

After you select an application from the list, you will see a screen with information about this application. Several buttons will also be available on this screen. In order to save the application on the memory card of your Android phone, click on the " To SD memory card».

After that, the Android operating system itself will transfer the application from the internal memory to the SD memory card and save it there. If you want to return the application to the internal memory, then this can be done using the same button.

It should be noted that not all applications can be saved to a memory card. For some applications given function will be unavailable. This is due to the features of the application and cannot be influenced.

Saving applications to a memory card using third-party solutions

To simplify the process of saving applications to a memory card, you can use special applications. For example, you can use the application. This application allows you to significantly speed up the process. In addition, AppMgr III (App 2 SD) allows you to hide and freeze applications.

The AppMgr III (App 2 SD) application displays all applications installed on the phone. They are sorted into three categories: movable(applications that you can save to a memory card), on the SD card(applications that have already been saved previously), as well as applications on the phone(applications that are currently in the internal memory). Thanks to this division, it is immediately clear which applications can be transferred to a memory card, which saves a lot of time if your goal is to free up as much space as possible in the phone's internal memory.

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