Don't y'all hate it when you attempt to install a new app on your Android device and the "Non Enough Infinite" warning pops up? It means all those games, photos, and 4K videos take finally taken their toll.

If your telephone has a retentivity card slot, then the solution is easy. A microSD card is a cheap style of expanding your telephone's storage. You can move apps to an SD card to free upwards space, rather than removing apps on your Android device.

How yous practice this depends on what Android version you're using. We'll take a look at all the ways to motion Android apps to an SD card in this guide.

Using an SD Card on Android: Basics

Before you become started, consider a few points.

Memory cards are slower than internal storage, and so you may find slightly worse operation for resource-intensive apps. When picking a card, get for the fastest retentivity carte du jour with the largest chapters that your phone can support—bank check your phone'south specifications to see what cards it's compatible with.

Also, be sure y'all know how to spot a false microSD card to avoid getting scammed.

Information technology isn't possible to move preinstalled apps without rooting, and even some 3rd-party apps may not back up information technology. Also, on older versions of Android, you might not be able to use widgets associated with apps you've moved to your memory carte du jour.

With all this in heed, permit'south see how to movement apps to an SD bill of fare.

Use an SD Card as Internal Storage

Android Marshmallow introduced changes to the way Android phones can handle memory cards, and these changes take continued into the later on versions of Android.

You can now fix microSD cards to work equally internal storage. Instead of having internal and external storage existing as separate spaces, Android views the card as an extension of your built-in space.

Data and apps can write to either equally needed, and it all happens seamlessly. As a result, you don't need to worry most where your apps are stored.

You have to set this up first. Your card will be wiped in the procedure, so make sure you've backed upwards whatsoever data you need:

  1. Insert the card into your phone. When the New SD Card notification appears, tap Ready.
  2. Next, y'all need to cull how your phone should use the menu. Select Phone Storage on Android 9, or Utilise as Internal Storage on older versions. Alternatively, go to Settings > Storage, select the card, tap the menu push, and select Storage Settings. Tap Format as internal.
  3. On the side by side screen, tap Format SD Menu, or Erase & Format. This will wipe your carte du jour.
  4. On Android 9 and newer, you're offered the run a risk to move your content—including apps—onto the card. It likewise shows you how much space you'll save. Striking Move content to complete.

This feature is called Adoptable Storage, and information technology requires you to keep your bill of fare in your phone permanently. The card is also encrypted, and so you lot cannot put it in another device to copy the data.

The large downside to adoptable storage is that all Android phones are different, so some manufacturers choose not to offer it on their devices. If you don't have it, then yous'll have to motion your apps to your SD card manually.

How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android ix Pie and In a higher place

You lot tin nevertheless transfer apps to an SD bill of fare on Android nine and later on manually, even if your telephone doesn't support adoptable storage. Just remember that yous can't do it for every app, and non at all for pre-installed apps:

  1. Become to Settings > Apps & notifications > App info.
  2. Find the app you want to move in the listing and tap it.
  3. Select Storage. If the app supports moving to a carte, you'll come across a button here labeled Change. Tap this.
  4. Select the SD Card in the Change storage dialog box. This brings upwards a confirmation screen. Tap Motility to brainstorm.

To move the app back to internal storage, echo the steps above but select Internal shared storage in the last pace. You should always practice this when you want to modify or remove your retention bill of fare.

How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android eight Oreo

The process for moving an app to the SD carte on Android 8 is basically the same as for Android 9:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > App info.
  2. Scroll down to find the app yous want to movement to the bill of fare and tap on it.
  3. Select Storage. If the app supports beingness moved to a carte du jour, you'll see a section labeled Storage used. Hit the push button marked Modify.
  4. Select the card yous want to motion the app to, followed past Move.

How to Motility Apps to an SD Bill of fare on Android 7 Nougat

You tin can move apps to a memory bill of fare on Android 7 Nougat through Settings. However, you lot can't move all apps. If they don't support it, you won't meet the Change push button in Step 3:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps.
  2. Locate the app you want to move to your microSD card and tap on it.
  3. Go to Storage > Modify and choose your card from the prompt box that opens.
  4. Tap Move to complete the process.

Depending on the size of the app, it may take a few moments to complete (particularly in the case of large games), so don't touch your phone until it's done. To move the app back, echo the steps and cull Internal shared storage in Stride 3.

How to Move Apps to an SD Menu on Android 6 Marshmallow

Moving apps to a microSD bill of fare is the same on Marshmallow every bit it is on Nougat:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps, then tap on your chosen app.
  2. Tap Storage > Change, then choose the card when prompted.
  3. Hit Move to complete the process.

How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android v Lollipop

Lollipop has less robust back up for retentivity cards than later versions of Android, but you can however move apps from within Settings.

Yous're limited in which apps you tin place on your external storage; it depends on the developer supporting the option. Also, the entire app doesn't move beyond to the carte either—only part of it does.

You can see which apps y'all've got on your carte du jour past swiping to the right tab in the App screen, labeled On SD Card. This makes it easy to identify any that you may wish to move dorsum in the time to come.

To move apps:

  1. Get to Settings > Apps and tap the app you want to move to your SD card.
  2. Adjacent, under the Storage section, tap Move to SD Bill of fare. The push will exist grayed out while the app moves, and then don't interfere until it's done.
  3. If at that place's no Move to SD Card selection, the app cannot be moved.

One time it'southward done, the Storage section will update to show how much of the app is at present stored on the carte du jour (and how much is still in internal storage). The Motion push will now read Movement to Phone or Move to Device Storage.

Borer on this allows you to remove the app from the carte du jour.

How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android 4.x and Before

Support for microSD cards was extremely limited in all Android 4.x versions (including KitKat, Jelly Bean, and Ice Cream Sandwich). Stock Android didn't back up the ability to move apps to an external card at all, equally Google seemed intent on phasing cards out entirely.

Nevertheless, some manufacturers did opt to include the feature in their ain versions of the operating organization. If your older device supports information technology, the procedure is straightforward:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps.
  2. Next, locate and tap the app you want to move to the card.
  3. Select Motility to SD carte. If this push isn't bachelor, yous tin't move the app (or your phone doesn't back up doing so).

In the unlikely event that you lot're nonetheless using an Android ii.x device, these steps are roughly the aforementioned ones you'll encounter. Habitation screen widgets are not supported in these old versions—y'all'll need to keep an app on internal storage if y'all desire to employ a widget.

If you lot don't have the option on your phone, then you'll need to look into a third-party app.

How to Motion Apps to an SD Card Using Link2SD

If your phone doesn't support moving apps to the SD card, or if you desire to move an app that doesn't support it individually, at that place are a few onetime third-party apps that tin help you out. Apps2SD is a popular pick, as is FolderMount. Both require a rooted Android phone.

We're going to look at another choice, Link2SD, which has both root and non-root features. You tin utilize information technology to movement apps to your menu in bulk, to "strength-motion" apps that don't normally allow it, and to offload data folders for larger apps and games to your external storage.

Beginning, launch the app and grant root permissions if your phone is rooted. Then tap the app you want to move and select an choice:

  • Link to SD Carte: This requires root and moves the entire app and its data to your carte du jour.
  • Move to SD Card: This doesn't require root and only works if your phone supports moving apps to external storage. If you lot do accept root, you tin besides force-movement apps that don't otherwise back up information technology.
  • Link to SD Bill of fare (Data and Cache): Moves data files, and requires root.

To move more than than ane app at a time, tap the menu button in the acme right corner and choose Multi-select. Now tap all the apps you want to move, striking the menu button again, and cull either Link to SD card or Move to SD menu. These are the same options as described in a higher place.

Link2SD is gratis, with a paid upgrade. Information technology hasn't been updated for some time, but still works on Android 2.3 and up.

Download: Link2SD (Free) | Link2SD Plus ($ii)

How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android

The all-time way to transfer apps to your SD card depends on what version of Android yous're using, whether your phone's manufacturer has implemented all the features, and what app you want to move.

In summary:

  • On phones that support adoptable storage, that's the best choice. It removes any need to manage your menu manually.
  • For phones that only back up moving apps to the card manually, that method is the all-time and cleanest.
  • If your phone doesn't support whatsoever of this, or if you have specific requirements, consider rooting and using Link2SD.
  • Don't overlook the occasional disadvantages of using an SD card on Android.

If your apps are taking up too much space, another good solution is to utilize Lite versions of popular apps. Non only are they smaller and take up less infinite, but they run faster on older or less powerful phones too.

x Lite Android Apps That Are Faster Than the Full Versions

If you take an old or wearisome Android phone, or have a wearisome data connexion, these apps volition be much amend for you than their mainstream counterparts.

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Andy Betts (216 Articles Published)

Andy is a freelance writer and inferior editor for Android at MUO. He'due south been writing about consumer tech since the early on 2000s for a broad range of publications, and has a passion for all things mobile.

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