A very bottleneck in many cheap smartphones and tablets is insufficient memory for installing applications and games. This article describes in detail with pictures how to increase the memory of Android.
Before you start increasing Android memory, it is recommended that you read the article on Android internals to understand how everything works. Also, in order for you to succeed, you need Root rights set.
Boost Android memory by MicroSD card
It is worthwhile to understand that after increasing the Android memory due to the memory card, the size for storing personal files will decrease, but it will increase for applications! The first thing you will need to do is copy all the contents of the card to a safe place (on a computer) and then delete all data from there.
Dividing a memory card into partitions - method 1 (CWM)
2. Go to the Advanced section
3. Select an item Partition SD Card
4. Select the volume of the EXT section on the map (for applications)
5. Select the volume of the Swap section (select 0)
6. Wait until partitions are created
7. Return to the main menu and click on restart - Reboot System Now
8. After downloading Android, you can return all the files that you saved to your computer back to the memory card
Go to the article section to increase Android memory using Link2SD
Dividing the memory card into partitions - method 2 (via PC)
Place the memory card in a card reader or other device, the main condition is that the device is not recognized as an MTP.
1. Connect the card reader in which the memory card is already inserted to the computer
2. Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard Home program
3. Run the application MiniTool Partition Wizard Home
4. Right-click to select a memory card
5. Select an item in the menu Create
6. In the menu that opens, set the following parameters:
- Create As: Primary
- File System: Fat32
7. Now on the new unallocated zone of the memory card Select the item in the Create menu
8. In the menu that opens, set the following parameters:
- Create As: Primary
- File System: Ext2 or Ext3 or Ext4(better Ext3)
Press OK again and accept the warning
9. Confirm the action by clicking the button Apply(top left)
10. Close the MiniTool Partition Wizard Home program
11. Return files to the card previously saved on the computer
12. Return the memory card back to Android
Boost Android Memory with Link2SD
2. Open the newly installed Link2SD app
3. In the application settings, select remounting paths
4. In the list of available installed applications, select the required one and transfer
RAM on devices is not unlimited and at some point, its volume may become insufficient. For example, when launching additional applications, the device starts to slow down. This is where the question arises - is it really possible to increase the amount of RAM on a tablet or smartphone?
A few years ago, a concept of a smartphone was presented in which the user can change the amount of RAM, the amount of internal memory and even the processor on his own! Perhaps this was due to the fact that the smartphone was created from composite parts and a collapsible body. Alas, in real life it is impossible to add RAM to the existing hardware, but there are other ways that we will consider today.
Disable unnecessary applications
This is a kind of optimization of applications by disabling them. The fact is that when the Android OS starts, many different applications are launched, some of which the user does not need at all, but they use RAM.
Go to the settings of your phone or tablet and select the "Applications" section.
Here, select the "Running" or "Running" tab, as in our case, and look at the list of applications.
If among them you see applications that definitely should not be used in your opinion, click on this application, then on the "Stop" or "Disable" button.
The downside is that when you restart, the same applications will be launched again, so you can delete some of them. The exception is system applications, which cannot be removed so easily - only with the help of superuser rights (root-rights). It should be remembered that the removal of even one system application can lead to the collapse of the entire system. Be careful!
Removing applications
As for removing the applications you have installed if you have root rights (optional), everything is simple here. Go to the same section "Applications" and see a list of installed applications.
Go to the application and just click on the "Delete" button.
Again, be careful when uninstalling system apps, it can cost you dearly!
Using an application to create a swap file
There is one very interesting ROEHSOFT RAMEXPANDER application that allows you to create a swap file up to 2.5 GB, while freeing up RAM for more demanding applications. Before using, be sure to check the device for compatibility with the application using another application called MemoryInfo & Swapfilecheck. We also remind you that ROEHSOFT RAMEXPANDER is required to function.
Download the ROEHSOFT RAMEXPANDER application and launch it.
We grant superuser rights.
After that, click on the "Optimal value" button, although you can set the paging file size at your discretion.
Now we tap on the "Enable" button.
The creation of the SWAP file begins. It may take time.
Then you will see a message about SWAP activation. Click Close.
That's all, the paging file is activated. Use applications and see the speed of your device.
Sometimes the RAM gets heavily clogged, and users are faced with the question of how to increase the RAM on Android. This can be done by cleaning garbage, using standard settings or third-party software, stopping unnecessary applications, adding a paging file.
A little about RAM
Before talking about cleaning RAM on Android, you should clarify what RAM is in principle. This abbreviation translates as "random access memory". Simply put, RAM. If the system memory stores the applications themselves, then the RAM contains various processes and data that are simply necessary for the operation of a particular application. You can clear system memory on Android by deleting system applications or moving some to a memory card. Clearing RAM on Android is already a little more difficult.
Lack of memory can lead to the fact that the phone will lose its performance, and accordingly, it will slow down. Some of the processes you never use, so the question of increasing RAM is an acute issue for users.
Using the default settings
Before installing additional software, let's figure out how to clear RAM using standard OS tools. Android has a huge functionality, so in most cases you can quickly and easily increase the amount of memory on Android.
Optimization of an android smartphone or tablet is largely carried out by cleaning the RAM using a standard "cleaner". It usually looks like a small icon that shows the amount of used RAM in percentage.
How do I clear my memory? It is enough to click on this icon, and the system itself will free up the RAM. If you don't have this shortcut on your desktop, then add it:
You will have a similar button on your desktop.
Unloading applications and stopping processes
The above method can actually clean up RAM, but how do you clean up RAM from applications? Everything is very simple. They need to be unloaded from memory. Note that now the question is, of course, not about how to clear the system memory. This is completely different.
To unload unnecessary programs from the RAM and increase the amount of free space, you need to:
It is recommended to clean the RAM in this way at the end of each working day. You can also stop background processes that are "hanging" in RAM. It is also useful for optimization. To do this, you simply need to do the following:
The disadvantage of this method is that when you start this program, you will have to stop it again this way.
Delete information in the clipboard
All copied text or images are stored on the clipboard. All this takes up memory, which is why many ask how to clear the Android clipboard. There are several ways:
- Delete all content in the / data / clipboard folder (superuser rights are required);
- Open the clipboard on Android, and then delete all blocks (supported only in new models);
The system itself clears the buffer when it overflows, so a large amount of information is not stored there.
Using third-party applications
There are thousands of programs in the Google Play store that allow you to do almost anything, from the banal turning on of a flashlight to how to overclock the processor on an android. The Clean Master application will help expand the functionality of the OS, and then clear the RAM on android. It is completely in Russian, provides the user with wide functionality and optimizes the gadget.
To optimize your device, you should:
Now you don't have to manually free memory. The increase in free memory is possible through such programs. Also, the functionality has a super-optimization function, thanks to which, without overclocking the processor, you can speed up the phone.
There are two symptoms when the internal memory on the phone is sorely lacking:
- Apps and Android slow down
- The phone prompts you to take action to free up the used space.
The internal memory of the phone has a fixed size, and it seems that it is impossible to increase it. Nevertheless, in the guide we will tell you how to clear the internal memory of your phone from unnecessary files and applications.
By increasing the free space in the Android memory, you will save time and stop noticing the brakes on your phone and tablet. The entire "cleaning" will take at most 20 minutes.
Error: Not enough memory on mobile device
Usually, Android displays such a message if a process or application does not have enough free space in the internal memory of the phone.
Lack of memory can make itself felt by constant freezes. If you don't notice it when you buy a phone, then over time, after installing dozens of mobile applications and getting overgrown with "garbage", you start to notice it.
The question involuntarily arises: are the characteristics of the phone “lying”? If not, why does the same smartphone / tablet work stably for others?
Checking the amount of free memory on Android
When a notification about insufficient internal memory appears, the question arises: how much memory is available, how much of it is occupied?
You can check the free space through the settings of your mobile phone. To do this, go to Settings - Options - Memory (Settings - Device Maintenance - Storage - Storage settings - Device memory). We carefully study the data, paying attention to the following figures:
- Total space - the amount of internal memory of Android
- System memory - the minimum amount of space reserved for system operation
- Available space - how much space is left in the internal memory.
Accordingly, if the built-in memory is not enough, you need to increase the memory on the phone to the size of System memory so that the system does not give a corresponding error.
In the next chapters, I will tell you how to clean the internal memory on Android.
Clearing the internal phone memory
You can remove unnecessary things through the built-in tools of the operating system and through third-party applications. They analyze the occupied space, help identify files that can be safely deleted.
Removing apps from Android system memory
Surely there are applications installed on your phone that hang like a dead weight and are not used for their intended purpose. Their size can reach hundreds of megabytes (including the cache).
You can remove useless programs through: Options - Settings - Application Manager (Settings - Apps).
In Android 8, it is convenient to use the free utility FIles Go to calculate unnecessary applications. For other OS versions, it is available for download via Google Play.
How to remove unneeded applications in FIles Go:
- Go to the Unused apps section,
- We sort applications by modification date or size,
- To uninstall, mark unnecessary programs with checkmarks and click Uninstall.
Video instructions for uninstalling applications:
Transferring files to a memory card
The internal memory of the phone, as already mentioned, has a fixed volume, so it is necessary to constantly check whether there is enough free space for the correct operation of applications and the OS.
In general, Android memory is divided into internal and external. External memory is easy to "increase", since sd cards are inexpensive today (for $ 25 you can buy a 256 GB memory card).
Actually, you can transfer files through any file manager - via phone or PC.
Moving unnecessary applications from internal to external memory card
As an alternative to CCleaner, it is convenient to use the aforementioned Files Go app.
How to increase memory on Android manually
Any file manager is suitable for manually clearing the phone memory. We recommend ES Explorer or Total Commander.
Be careful and only delete unnecessary user files in the internal Android memory that you created / copied yourself.
So, open the file manager, go to the root of the internal memory, start looking for and deleting unnecessary things.
What files are desirable to delete (transfer to a memory card) in the first place:
- Photos, videos, recordings on a voice recorder and other documents saved not on sd, but in the internal memory;
- Documents received by mail or through social networks (most often they are saved in the Download folder);
- E-books and other files saved by third-party applications to the device memory;
- Contents of folders DCIM, bluetooth, sounds.
We use Storage Analyzers (for clarity)
For clarity, we recommend using the Files Go application or any other storage analyzer for Android, which will show which files take up the most disk space and where they are located in the form of a diagram. Among these applications, we note:
Transferring photos and videos to the Google Photos service
It is photos and videos that “eat up” most of the space on the phone, due to them you can quickly free up space on a memory card or in the built-in storage. If your phone doesn't support a memory card, move the files you don't often access to the cloud. Photos, or Google Photos, are best suited for this. It automatically uploads photos to the service, where they are available in their original quality through a browser or application.
In addition to Google Photos, you can look at alternatives such as Dropbox, Flickr, or Microsoft OneDrive.
Even when the photos are only available on the server, you can easily access them if you have an Internet connection. And most importantly, this is a really convenient and fast way to free up a couple of gigabytes of internal memory!
Clearing memory: questions and answers
1. The phone did not have enough internal memory, I sent half of the photos to the sd card, then I open it, and they are all kind of cloudy. I tried to transfer it back to the internal memory of Android, but the pictures are the same. How can I get my old photos back, i.e. so that it was cleaned up as before without any distortions.
2. I didn't have enough internal memory in my phone, I wanted to clear it. I transferred the data (photos, music) to the memory card. Now the files cannot be read, although the phone sees the card. How can you get back at least a photo?
3. Phone Samsung A5. I did not know how to increase the internal memory, I moved the folders with music and files from the internal memory to the sd card using a laptop. After that, when opening the folders, they were all empty. Files and music cannot be seen by either the phone or the computer. The internal memory of the phone did not seem to decrease after that. How do I find these files?
Answer... It is likely that you did not copy the originals to the memory card, but sketches. The originals of the photos may have remained in the internal memory of the phone. If this does not happen, it will help you.
If there is not enough space in the device's memory, you should copy the files to your computer (make a backup copy) and only then move them to the memory card. It will be useful for you to read the instructions on how to clear the internal memory on Android (see the text above).
I have a Sony Xperia phone, when I go to the Play Store, I want to download some program, the system says that there is not enough memory on Android, although the flash drive is 16 GB! What to do?
Answer... Most likely, the "not enough memory" error on Android is due to the fact that there is not enough internal memory - this is where the installation files are downloaded from Google Play.
- Transfer the most voluminous files from the internal memory of Android to your sd card.
- Uninstall unnecessary applications through the file manager or Files Go.
- Use the CCleaner utility to clean up unnecessary files in your phone's memory.
I cleaned the phone memory, deleted a lot of folders. And now I can not watch the gallery through Android, writes: "The storage is not available." How can I get it back?
Answer... You probably deleted the photo folder on the memory card (SDCARD / DCIM / CAMERA) when cleaning. You can recover files from there using CardRecovery or PhotoRec programs.
Many smartphone / tablet users sometimes have the question "How to increase RAM on Android?"
The fact is that in some cases a device with this operating system starts to slow down very much.
It usually starts after a long enough time of use. Applications and files accumulate and this leads to the fact that the gadget's RAM simply does not have time to process all this. Therefore, it becomes necessary to increase its volume.
There are three ways to accomplish this task.
The first one is the simplest and consists in how to properly manage the already available resources of a smartphone / tablet.
The meaning of the second is practically the same, but in this case we will be dealing with the removal of applications.
Finally, the third way is to use one or another specialized program. These create a paging file and thus have the ability to increase the RAM. So let's get started!
Method 1: Optimize Existing Applications
Everything is quite simple here - you need to take and disable those applications that you do not need at the moment. Yes, it would be nice to remove them, but the problem is that not every program can be simply removed from the device.
But you can disable almost everything except the system ones. Unfortunately, nothing can be done with the latter. But even without them, the operating system will not work. Therefore, you just need to stop the execution of unnecessary applications.
To do this, follow a few simple steps:
- Go to settings and select "Applications" there. In OS Android0 and higher, you additionally need to go to the "Application Manager". But you, in any case, will not get confused.
- In some versions of Android, you need to go to the "Memory Usage" item. In others, it is enough to open the aforementioned manager or just the list of applications. Then you will see the picture shown in Figure 1. The open window will display all installed programs and the amount of memory that each of them occupies. The bottom will show how much memory is used and how much is free.
- Then click on the application that you are not using and open its menu. It will have several buttons. If it can be deleted, there will be a corresponding button in the menu. If it is not, there will only be Stop and Disable buttons.
Rice. 1. List of applications on Android and the menu of one of them
- First stop and then disable the selected application. Do the same with the rest of the programs you don't use.
Then the RAM will be slightly unloaded and the device will be ready for further loads. After such a procedure, the smartphone / tablet will immediately start working faster and will be able to process large amounts of information.
Method 2: Remove programs
As we said above, in some cases it may be better to simply uninstall the applications. Then they will definitely not be able to create a load on the system. However, some programs cannot be uninstalled. They are called systemic.
These include a standard flashlight, Microsoft programs, and the like. Of course, some of them are really better not to be deleted. But there are those that you can do without.
For example, every Android phone / tablet has a Gmail app. If you don't use Google email, then you don't need it, but you won't be able to delete it just like that.
So, there are two ways to remove non-removable applications:
- Obtaining superuser rights, which make it possible to delete absolutely everything that is on the device and perform other operations with it all.
- Using special programs to uninstall applications on Android.
Superuser rights are also called root rights. To get them, the easiest way is to use special programs. For example, there is KingRoot. This is one of the most popular root applications. To use it, do this:
- download KingRoot from the official website of this program and install it;
- run the application;
- if all is well, the "Try to root" button will become available, click on it;
- wait for the device to be granted superuser rights.
Rice. 2. Using KingRoot on a smartphone
If you can't follow the instructions above, try using the same KingRoot, but on a computer. To do this, follow a series of simple steps:
- Go to the official website of KingRoot again and download the program for your computer there. Install it.
- Connect your smartphone or tablet to your computer via a USB cable. Launch KingRoot. The program will automatically find the connected device. The search process looks like the one shown in Figure 3.
Rice. 3. Search for connected devices in KingRoot on the computer
- When the device is found, a window will appear on it, prompting you to enable USB debugging. Click OK to complete this action. Without it, it will be impossible to perform all further operations.
Rice. 4. Allow USB debugging on the phone
- Now in the program on the computer, click the "ROOT" button to give the connected device root rights.
Rice. 5. Button for assigning root rights to the connected device
- Some devices require a reboot. If this is the case in your case, a corresponding notification will appear on it. Click "OK" to reboot. If not, go to the next step.
- At the end, the "Finish" button will appear in the program window on the computer. Click on it to complete the process.
Rice. 6. End of assignment of root rights in KingRoot on the computer
After that, you will be able to work with superuser rights. Go back to the list of applications, open any and there will be a "Delete" button. Click on it to complete the deletion.
In addition to KingRoot, pay attention to the following applications that will help you complete the task of assigning root rights:
- iRoot;
- Universal Androot;
- Framaroot;
- Vroot;
- KingRoot;
- Kingoapp;
- Towelroot;
- Root Genius;
- WeakSauce.
Most of them help to complete the task in one click.
Just. Is not it?
It is even easier to install special programs that allow you to uninstall other applications. For example, there is Super Cleaner. The app was created in 2017 by the Hawk App Studio development team. To use it, do the following:
- Download the app on Google Play (here is the link).
- Go to the "App Uninstall" menu.
- You will see a list of installed applications that you can uninstall. Those that cannot be uninstalled using the standard list of Android applications will also be displayed here.
- Click on an application to remove it from your smartphone / tablet.
Rice. 7. List of applications to remove in Super Cleaner
All such programs have the same usage algorithm - you need to go to the list of applications and click on the one you want to delete. Here is a list of other programs to uninstall apps:
- Clean Master Lite;
- DU Speed Booster;
- CCleaner;
- Clean My Android.
Removing unnecessary programs will significantly increase the amount of available RAM. Also, using swap files will help with this.
Method 3: using special programs
The principle is the same as on computers. There is a paging file that takes over the load that the main memory of the device cannot take. So, there are many programs that allow you to create such files and add them to your smartphone / tablet. Let's consider the most convenient and popular ones.
SWAPit RAM EXPANDER
Quite an interesting program created by ordinary geeks. It allows you to create swap files up to 2.5 GB. If you have, for example, 1 GB of standard RAM, then even 1 GB will be just a treasure. To use SWAPit RAM EXPANDER, do the following:
- Download the app. This can be done, for example, on the w3bsit3-dns.com forum (here is the link).
- Start it up. From the very beginning, you will need to choose a language. Unfortunately, there is no Russian here. In principle, there is no principle in which language this product will work, so you can leave the “English” option or put a checkmark next to the “Deutsch” inscription and click “OK”.
Rice. 8. Language selection in SWAPit RAM EXPANDER
- The program needs the abovementioned superuser rights. But you don't need to get them separately. SWAPit RAM EXPANDER will independently root your device. To do this, you just need to click on the "Allow" button in the window that appears.
- Then you will be taken to the main menu of the program in question. In it, click the "Optimal" button. This will provide an opportunity to go to the menu of functions responsible for achieving optimal parameters of the smartphone / tablet.
Rice. 10. Button "Optimal" in the main menu of the program
- Next, put a checkmark in front of the word "Swap Aktiv". This will cause a scan of the existing device parameters.
Rice. 11. Scan function
- The scan itself will start. It looks as shown in Figure 12. This process can be interrupted at any time by clicking on the "Bitte warten" button (if the interface language is German).
Rice. 12. The process of scanning a device in SWAPit RAM EXPANDER
- When the scan is over, the program will already know how much to add to the existing amount of RAM for optimal device performance. To be precise, SWAPit RAM EXPANDER will determine the optimal speed of operation. Accordingly, from this it will be possible to understand how much the device lacks at the moment.
Rice. 13. Result of scanning in SWAPit RAM EXPANDER
- Press the "schliessen" or "close" button (depending on the language) to activate the swap.
ROEHSOFT RAMEXPANDER
This program is paid and you have to pay to download it on Google Play. If you are ready to take this step, do this:
- Download ROEHSOFT RAMEXPANDER (here is the link). Run this program.
- In the field that says "Swap file = [size]" there is a slider that allows you to set the size of the swap file. Take advantage of one.
- Click on the "Activate Swap" button.
Rice. 14. ROEHSOFT RAMEXPANDER window
- Wait for the program to finish its work.
Now, every time the system starts up, the paging file will also start. As you can see, ROEHSOFT RAMEXPANDER is very simple. But this program is paid. You can use the free version of SWAPit RAM EXPANDER. Choose what is most convenient for you.
Good luck in job!
The video below shows another way to create a swap file on Android OS.
How to create a swap file correctly, and what it is
In the video I will talk about how to properly make a paging file on an android phone. P.S. In the video, I forgot to say that in the Swapit Ram Expander (Ram Expander) program, you do not need to disable and delete the paging file! The program will automatically disconnect the paging file when USB is connected!
