Why does my phone say there isn't enough space to install an app when there is? - Moto G 2014 LTE Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

After shenanigans yesterday I've pretty much got my Moto G 2014 LTE running on Marshmallow.
\the problem I have now is one I've experienced a number of times before, on various devices and Android versions:
Why is it that, despite the storage screen showing that I have plenty of available space, am I not unable to install some larger apps?
Settings > Storage shows internal storage 1.15GB used of 5.52GB (as well as SanDisk SD card 890MB used of 14.59GB)
But when I try to install Injustice: Gods Among Us (1.12GB) i get the error message App requires external storage: "Injustice: Gods Among Us" can't be downloaded. Insert an SD card or USB storage with sufficient storage, and try again.
This app was installed prior to upgrading the OS, and while quite large, should still fit on to my device.
Can anyone tell me what causes this, what I can do to get round it, and also, if there is a way to make the OS see the SD card as part of the internal memory so I can install apps directly to it

On Marshmallow, it is possible to use external SD card as internal but don't do it.
Why ? Because you have a too small SD card. This option doesn't merge internal and external, it just sets the external as internal. So you need a 8gb or more SD card (or you will get less storage than before)
Maybe the play store doesn't want to install because your SD Card doesn't have enough space to install the game. I know it is weird, but sometimes even if you want to install to internal, it checks the SD card's available memory.
You can try to wipe the play store cache and data, and if it doesn't work do a wipe cache from recovery.

Try getting the apk file by google'ing it. Install it. Open it then check if it is downloading files or not.
Sent from my Moto E using XDA Free mobile app

Mavireck said:
On Marshmallow, it is possible to use external SD card as internal but don't do it.
Why ? Because you have a too small SD card. This option doesn't merge internal and external, it just sets the external as internal. So you need a 8gb or more SD card (or you will get less storage than before)
Maybe the play store doesn't want to install because your SD Card doesn't have enough space to install the game. I know it is weird, but sometimes even if you want to install to internal, it checks the SD card's available memory.
You can try to wipe the play store cache and data, and if it doesn't work do a wipe cache from recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry that should have read 14.59Gb for the SD card, so loads of space

Mavireck said:
On Marshmallow, it is possible to use external SD card as internal but don't do it.
Why ? Because you have a too small SD card. This option doesn't merge internal and external, it just sets the external as internal. So you need a 8gb or more SD card (or you will get less storage than before)
Maybe the play store doesn't want to install because your SD Card doesn't have enough space to install the game. I know it is weird, but sometimes even if you want to install to internal, it checks the SD card's available memory.
You can try to wipe the play store cache and data, and if it doesn't work do a wipe cache from recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried to download the apk and it just days no SD card. I know its there, still shows up in settings and shows apps installed on it. Must be a dodgy card or something, but now i cant work out how to tell the phone to stop using it for apps and install internally unsteady (told it to use it as internal when I did set up, not sure how to go back)
EDIT: OK worked out how to get it to stop using the SD as internal and formatted it for data, and seems to be installing the game now. So I think that pretty much solves my immediate query, but still interested as to why android sometimes says insufficient space despite it reporting in settings that there is plenty

KeransHQ said:
Tried to download the apk and it just days no SD card. I know its there, still shows up in settings and shows apps installed on it. Must be a dodgy card or something, but now i cant work out how to tell the phone to stop using it for apps and install internally unsteady (told it to use it as internal when I did set up, not sure how to go back)
EDIT: OK worked out how to get it to stop using the SD as internal and formatted it for data, and seems to be installing the game now. So I think that pretty much solves my immediate query, but still interested as to why android sometimes says insufficient space despite it reporting in settings that there is plenty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah sorry for my mistake I have read 1.xxgb instead of 14.xxgb
Android reports the storage to be full as soon as XX% of the storage is filled (maybe 90%, I'm not sure). Then if you have a 100gb device, even if you have 10gb free it won't allow you to do anything.
That's weird, but that's how it works.
Have you tried wiping cache ? It sometimes solves the problem.
It is better not to use the format as internal storage except if you really know what you are doing.

Related

Running Cyan's 4.2.15.1. - Apps installing to phone Memory

Hello Everyone, I was hoping someone could tell me if there was a quick fix or if I need to do a reinstall & add something that I didn't add.
I noticed today, my phone telling me it is running low on space & when I checked, it said I only had 9 megs left on the phone memory, however it did show I still had 465 megs on the secondary sd memory free.
I decided to try & install an app to see if the sd memory would go down or the phone memory. Well, the phone memory went down, but not the sd secondary.
I'm looking at the storage & unmount sd card & format sd card are "grayed out"
I also do have a \system\apps folder with some apps, along with the same one under \sd card\system\apps which that also has some apps.
Is there something I can do that can fix this? Or something else I need to check?
The only thing that I didn't do originally was create a swap partition.
Thanks
i believe if u reboot your phone all apps get thrown into ext partition. also try using cachemate , that will free up tons of space on your phone
choli0090 said:
Hello Everyone, I was hoping someone could tell me if there was a quick fix or if I need to do a reinstall & add something that I didn't add.
I noticed today, my phone telling me it is running low on space & when I checked, it said I only had 9 megs left on the phone memory, however it did show I still had 465 megs on the secondary sd memory free.
I decided to try & install an app to see if the sd memory would go down or the phone memory. Well, the phone memory went down, but not the sd secondary.
I'm looking at the storage & unmount sd card & format sd card are "grayed out"
I also do have a \system\apps folder with some apps, along with the same one under \sd card\system\apps which that also has some apps.
Is there something I can do that can fix this? Or something else I need to check?
The only thing that I didn't do originally was create a swap partition.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to have your apps on your sd card then you need an ext partition. You cannot currently house your apps on your sdcard.

low on space notification almost 4GB free still? why

what would cause this odd error when i still have so much free?
found this answer on an other droid forum is it true?
"There is a bug that causes this error, but since 3 big companies are involved, none of them are going to fix it any time soon. Basically, app space is limited to some arbitrary amount and is not equal to the space available on your phone."
I suspect you may be low in system memory. Scroll down to the very bottom of the SD card & phone storage settings. How much available System memory do you have?
system memory is alway around 100Mb even with the space notification.
when I uninstall enough apps it does go away.
stopping open apps or services does not help.
You may want to reset your device. I had a similar problem once with my Atrix. 100mb is a low amount of system memory. I have over 400mb still available on my Thrill.
I have over 650mb left in system memory and its says I have insufficient space whenever I try to download any game around 40mb. I cleared the cache and it worked for one game.
Sent from my LG-P925 using xda premium
think i got it...
using ES task manager
memory T:442MB A:96MB =ram?
internal storage T:.98GB A:117MB =system nand or partition of internal sd?
sd card T:5.57GB A:3.92GB =internal sd card?
I have a 32GB external sd card.
I thought "system memory" under "SD card & phone storage settings" was RAM
but is seems to be what "ES task manager" reports as "internal storage"
why the hell is the android set up this way?
seems so ass backwards,
/ = system memory (root dir? is this a partition or seperate physical memory from the internal sd)
/sdcard/ = internal sd
/sdcard/_ExternalSD = external sdcard
What is being referred to as internal storage (or system memory) is where the apps are installed by default. You could try moving some apps to SD and it should help. However, I had a problem like this with my Atrix and I never could figure out what was using all the space, so I just did a factory reset. Of course, I used Titanium Backup first.
I've noticed that the thrill thinks the 4gb internal is an SD card and the actual SD card is labeled as "External" when you explore the files. I was thinking of doing a factory reset so I moved all my apps to SD, when I looked in file manager at my SD there was nothing there. I found them all in a folder called "SDCard" on my internal memory. This may have something to do with your issue.
TylDurden said:
I've noticed that the thrill thinks the 4gb internal is an SD card and the actual SD card is labeled as "External" when you explore the files. I was thinking of doing a factory reset so I moved all my apps to SD, when I looked in file manager at my SD there was nothing there. I found them all in a folder called "SDCard" on my internal memory. This may have something to do with your issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have 3 types of memory in the phone. There's your external SD (labeled as _External SD), Internal Phone Memory (internal SD), and System Memory (where by default apps are stored). You can move your apps to the internal SD if you desire and that's why it's showing a folder there with the apps in it.
Gr8Danes said:
You have 3 types of memory in the phone. There's your external SD (labeled as _External SD), Internal Phone Memory (internal SD), and System Memory (where by default apps are stored). You can move your apps to the internal SD if you desire and that's why it's showing a folder there with the apps in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what good does it do to put Apps on the internal SD?
TylDurden said:
So what good does it do to put Apps on the internal SD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So that it doesn't take up your system memory. If your system memory gets low, it won't let you install additional apps and may also slow down your phone.
Some people are saying that it is reporting wrong? No there actually is an SD card inside the phone and the one outside under the back plate.
To keep things straight:
System= Actual memory on the phone where apps are installed by default, moving to SD and uninstalling apps can create more space.
Internal= SDcard inside the phone where Apps are moved to when choosing move to SD also Alps will store data here and most downloads go here by default
External= The SDcard under backplate which you can access and change. A lot of apps will put backups here and if you choose SD storage in camera where your pics and vids will be. Usually this is set aside for actual personal storage of media and what not.
^ Is there a way to make the external SD card the default data storage? After installing some Gameloft games, my internal storage is already full (5.6 GBs is pathetic LG) but I still still have 2 more games (Dungeon Defenders and Spectral Souls) I want to install which take up about 2GB.
Killer Bee said:
^ Is there a way to make the external SD card the default data storage? After installing some Gameloft games, my internal storage is already full (5.6 GBs is pathetic LG) but I still still have 2 more games (Dungeon Defenders and Spectral Souls) I want to install which take up about 2GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I'm aware.
Urabewe said:
Some people are saying that it is reporting wrong? No there actually is an SD card inside the phone and the one outside under the back plate.
To keep things straight:
System= Actual memory on the phone where apps are installed by default, moving to SD and uninstalling apps can create more space.
Internal= SDcard inside the phone where Apps are moved to when choosing move to SD also Alps will store data here and most downloads go here by default
External= The SDcard under backplate which you can access and change. A lot of apps will put backups here and if you choose SD storage in camera where your pics and vids will be. Usually this is set aside for actual personal storage of media and what not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Close. System is where the OS and the system apps, the ones that come preinstalled are stored. The data partition is where market apps are stored. Installing apps from the market has no effect on the system partition. System apps cannot be moved to the sdcard, internal or otherwise. Its the apps on the /data partition that can be moves to the sdcard/internal storage.
Here's the breakdown:
System=619Mb (OS+system apps)
Internal (data)=1Gb (downloaded apps)
Internal SD=6gb (storage,a2sd)
External SD=8Gb (with included card).
LG claims 8gb internal space. All the above adds up to a little over 7.6gb. Leaving 60mb which is most likely the Cache partition.
Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk

SD Storage & Partition

I am running CM7.1.0 on my nook color off the SD card. I used the YouTube tutorial by the Crash Tech Dummies. Now I notice that I am only allowed only 1GB of storage on the SD card. I used partition wizard to increase the space on the 4th partition like I was instructed. I would prefer to install the apps to the SD card so I have already burned through the space provided. Bellow I have listed what I see in partition magic. Should I move the free space in the 4th partition into the first? Or should I load the cm7 onto the HD of the nook? I am a bit of a noob but I have gotten this far.
My 16 GB card partitions read:
G:boot 30.32mb used 118.69mb unused
*: 179.55mb used 283.25mb unused
*: 367.34mb used 597.50mb unused
*: 6.68 gb used 6.61gb unused
Any suggestions would be great…I don’t know what else to do.
Help me XDA Developers you my only hope…
Steve da Noob
First of all, what is "1GB of storage on the SD card" you're talking about?
Secondly, the 4th partition has nothing to do with holding installed apps.
votinh said:
First of all, what is "1GB of storage on the SD card" you're talking about?
Secondly, the 4th partition has nothing to do with holding installed apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i go into settings, apps, storage use, sd card it says 1.0 gb used 0.00 free...i was assuming this was referring to a section of the sd card. I also assumed that the 4th partition was being used by something do the fact that half of it has been used by something...
Steve
Quoting from VeryGreen's instructions
Partition layout for the SD cards depends on size:
Less than 600M - unsupported.
up to 1G cards gets: system of ~300M and data of the rest of space. No FAT partition
2G cards (more than 1G up to 1800M) gets: 300M system, 612M data, rest is FAT sdcard
more than 2G cards gets: 460M system, 975M data, rest is FAT for sdcard.
Your first partition is the boot, nothing else should go on here.
Your second partition is the system partition containing the OS and system applications
Your 3rd partition is the data partition used for downloaded apps. The space allocated is adequate for a decent number of downloaded apps but may get tight if you load lots of games. You can move apps to "SD" which is the 4th partition if you get tight on space.
Your 4th partition is the "SD" user data area. This can be used by apps for their working folders and is also where you put stuff like media (pictures, music, video). It is the partition that will normally get mounted as a drive on a PC when the USB is connected and USB disk storage is turned on via the notification panel.
You say the 4th partition has got 6.68GB data on already? That should start off fairly empty until you put stuff on there.
I do have music and pictures on the device that i uploaded so that's where the items on partition #4 came from.
When i try and move the applications to the sd card it tells me that there is not enough room on the card. Also when i plug in the nook to my computer without the sd card in it shows the applications on the internal hard drive. Should i try and move space from the 4th partition to the 3 and see if that helps?
Thanks,
Steve
WileECoyote79 said:
When i try and move the applications to the sd card it tells me that there is not enough room on the card. Also when i plug in the nook to my computer without the sd card in it shows the applications on the internal hard drive. Should i try and move space from the 4th partition to the 3 and see if that helps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a little surprised it says there is no room available to move an app if the partition still shows 6GB free. Have you tried using Apps2SD app. This will show space available and is a convenient way to move stuff around. Another possibility is that you are trying to do this whilst USB connected to the PC. That won't work as the Nook software can't access the SD partition while it is PC mounted.
Currently you said there was nearly 600MB free in your 3rd partition where new downloads go. If so I wouldn't bother with trying to move stuff until you get tight on space there.
If that happens and you just need to create some more app space in the 3rd partition then you can use a partition tool on the PC like minitools to reallocate some of the space from 4 to 3 to give yourself more app space.
I tried the apps2sd and i get the same error. It sends me to the same place as i discussed above and when i tell it to send it to the sd card i get the same error. "failed to move application, there is not enough storage space".
I am not trying to move anything while i have the nook attached to my computer. the only time i really used that function was to add music and some pictures.
This is really starting to get frustrating. I do appreciate all your help.
Is another option loading CM7 to the nook instead of the SD card?
I only used the SD CM7 method for a short while and I don't think I ever tried to move apps to the "SD" so maybe there is an issue trying to do this.
I think you have two choices.
If you stick with SD then increase the data partition to give yourself more room for apps.
If you never want to use the B&N OS then the internal memory is the best option. The SD card then becomes a single partition user space card and you can certainly move apps to it. If you do this then also consider using the zip that increases the internal data partition to 2GB to give yourself more internal room for apps anyway.
bobtidey said:
I only used the SD CM7 method for a short while and I don't think I ever tried to move apps to the "SD" so maybe there is an issue trying to do this.
I think you have two choices.
If you stick with SD then increase the data partition to give yourself more room for apps.
If you never want to use the B&N OS then the internal memory is the best option. The SD card then becomes a single partition user space card and you can certainly move apps to it. If you do this then also consider using the zip that increases the internal data partition to 2GB to give yourself more internal room for apps anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think ill try adjusting the partition and see if that helps. Like you said if it doesn't ill look into loading onto the internal memory. I am not to impressed with the B&N software and i use the kindle software for my e-reading.
Is there a method you could recommend for loading it onto the internal memory? A step by step tutorial would help out lots. I am not familiar with the zip you are referring to.
Thanks,
Steve
WileECoyote79 said:
I think ill try adjusting the partition and see if that helps. Like you said if it doesn't ill look into loading onto the internal memory. I am not to impressed with the B&N software and i use the kindle software for my e-reading.
Is there a method you could recommend for loading it onto the internal memory? A step by step tutorial would help out lots. I am not familiar with the zip you are referring to.
Thanks,
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. If you don't think you'll use the B&N then internal is the way to go. Especially if you use Amazon Kindle for your books.
The easiest method in my view is to use the Eyeballer Clockwork boot SD and use that then to flash the main ROM and gapps zips.
You can find the most straightforward instructions here but I would use the KANG MiRaGe ROM as the main OS.
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/8208-guide-install-cm71-clockworkmod-to-emmc-all-nooks-updated101111/
The 2GB partition zip can be found here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1094371
This can actually be applied at same time as installing the OS and gapps. Put the repartition zip, the ROM zip and the gapps zip on the Eyeballer SD card then use the menus to flash repartition, ROM and then gapps.
If you also follow the advice to put ROM manager and flash clockwork to the internal as well then future updates become very easy and do not even involve removing the SD card.
Ive decided that the best solution is to install on the internal rather than the sd card. i think this will be less of a pain in the butt in the long run.
being new to android and coming over from apple (booooo) is there anyway to easy re-install the apps that i have already downloaded? I do have one that i did pay for.
Steve
easy way to re-install? hmmm, maybe not but I would suggest you make the backup for all of your apps first (meaning save all .apk files to somewhere else)
ok here goes nothing lol
Titanium backup would allow you to back up all your apps. If you save the Titanium back up folder (say onto a PC via USB) then after you have done the internal install then put the Titanium back up folder back onto the fresh SD card and you can restore the apps back from there.
everything seems to be working just fine...thank you all for the help and advice...
Steve

[Bug] Camera Problem with "Adopt SD as Internal Storage" in Marshmallow

While using "Adopt SD as Internal Storage" in Marshmallow , Camera app is not working as it is searching for SD Card. Any solution ?
Works perfect for on Sparkle V running Marshmallow
ngr.hd said:
Works perfect for on Sparkle V running Marshmallow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using SD Card as Internal Storage ?
arunmcops said:
Are you using SD Card as Internal Storage ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish to point out some more observations:
1. You'll get a hell long time reboot if you've made your ext_SD to be used as Internal Storage.
2. Applications could crash more often resulting in freeze and auto reboot.
3. Atleast in my case Camera worked perfectly but FCs on other applications made me move back to use ext_SD as intended and NOT Internal Storage.
4. Also it messed up the MTP.
5. Lastly but the most important one: It's virtually impossible to go back to "use ext_SD as intended" from the Android itself AND formatting the card from Windows/Mac OS/Linux is messed up since the ext_SD will show its capacity as 30MB in case of a 4GB or 11.2MB in case of 2GB.
To correct this and regain it's lost capacity, I had to download the formating tool from this website (SD Association) since default formating tools preloaded on OSes will not work: https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ and format using the software.
This is just my hypothesis after flashing stock at least 20+ times and doing all the trial and error.
Based on the hypothesis, further I wish to conclude, ext_SD as Internal Storage on Marshmallow is way too buggy atleast on Android One.
EDIT: I'm dong some more trial errors on different TWRPs as 2.8.6.0 treats ext_SD as ext_SD while 2.8.7.0 treats it as a normal SD.
SuperSu Beta 2.52 is confirmed to cause bootloops.
It seems u have not formatted ur sd card properly to use it as internal storage. It happened with me also. I would suggest u to format it as portable and then again format and use as internal storage.
While formatting as internal it will be stuck at 20% for long time, so don't minimize the screen let it get complete to 100%. Afterwards u will get message that it can now be used as internal storage. Now u can use camera app as intended.
For those who are experiencing random reboots, i would suggest them to use class 10 sdcard.

honor 4x insufficient storage

I bought a used honor 4x phone emui 4, updated , after enter my gmail account updated apps and I got 345mb in internal storage I heard about adopted sd system , can I use it with emui 4 ,my phone non rooted
jana1991 said:
I bought a used honor 4x phone emui 4, updated , after enter my gmail account updated apps and I got 345mb in internal storage I heard about adopted sd system , can I use it with emui 4 ,my phone non rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can use it. The short answer is that adopted storage is not an optimal solution, but it can work just fine if you set it up the right way. Which Honor 4x variant do you have, btw? What I write now is valid for the Che2-L11.
Many people think that adopted storage is the same as mounting an extra partition which Android will then use in the most rational way. This is not correct. Developers of Android decided to not use the card for essential files, so when you add adopted storage, Android will still install some parts of each app on your internal storage. Also, some developers of apps have not made their apps ready for adopted storage, and they will install on internal.
For this reason, your internal storage will continue to be filled up with new files even after you have added adopted storage, and might approach 100%, so your phone will tell you there is no more space left for installing new apps. All the while your card still has plenty of space.
But don't worry, you can avoid such a scenario if you do prepare your phone a little.
To get the best possible result, I recommend that you wipe your phone and do a fresh install of EMUI. You need to unlock the bootloader, set the USB developer option, install TWRP, and then flash the firmware the normal way. (This is quite complicated procedure, you should study how to do this yourself.) After that, put an SD card into the phone, and it should be a card that doesn't contain anything important so you can format it. Follow the instructions for adopted storage, which will format your SD card. EMUI will have problems if you use all 100% of the card as adopted, so choose the option mixed 50. The SD card must be minimum class 10 speed for apps to work normally.
Then you should root your phone, and install Root Essentials. Then set the option for "install apps on SD card". After that, your phone will try to install all new apps on the SD card on the adopted storage. You will probably be using around 75% of your internal storage, and might reach 85%, but you can continue adding a lot of apps before you get a problem. I have installed 30+ apps and am using 82% of internal storage. Good luck. :good:
jana1991 said:
I bought a used honor 4x phone emui 4, updated , after enter my gmail account updated apps and I got 345mb in internal storage I heard about adopted sd system , can I use it with emui 4 ,my phone non rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer your question, EMUI doesn't support adaptable storage out of the box.
Bob1900 said:
Yes, you can use it. The short answer is that adopted storage is not an optimal solution, but it can work just fine if you set it up the right way. Which Honor 4x variant do you have, btw? What I write now is valid for the Che2-L11.
Many people think that adopted storage is the same as mounting an extra partition which Android will then use in the most rational way. This is not correct. Developers of Android decided to not use the card for essential files, so when you add adopted storage, Android will still install some parts of each app on your internal storage. Also, some developers of apps have not made their apps ready for adopted storage, and they will install on internal.
For this reason, your internal storage will continue to be filled up with new files even after you have added adopted storage, and might approach 100%, so your phone will tell you there is no more space left for installing new apps. All the while your card still has plenty of space.
But don't worry, you can avoid such a scenario if you do prepare your phone a little.
To get the best possible result, I recommend that you wipe your phone and do a fresh install of EMUI. You need to unlock the bootloader, set the USB developer option, install TWRP, and then flash the firmware the normal way. (This is quite complicated procedure, you should study how to do this yourself.) After that, put an SD card into the phone, and it should be a card that doesn't contain anything important so you can format it. Follow the instructions for adopted storage, which will format your SD card. EMUI will have problems if you use all 100% of the card as adopted, so choose the option mixed 50. The SD card must be minimum class 10 speed for apps to work normally.
Then you should root your phone, and install Root Essentials. Then set the option for "install apps on SD card". After that, your phone will try to install all new apps on the SD card on the adopted storage. You will probably be using around 75% of your internal storage, and might reach 85%, but you can continue adding a lot of apps before you get a problem. I have installed 30+ apps and am using 82% of internal storage. Good luck. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you
Thanks all
Sent from my Che2-L11 using Tapatalk
Adopted Storage? Nope.
Do you even checked the Settings > Storage menu? You can pick either use internal (its small) or the microsd (Im maxed out at 128gb, anybody tried 256gb?)
Or get root, and use Apps2SD. Keep going and install as many apks as you want.
U can try adopted storage . Check if this feature is available in storage menu

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