If you wish to save space in your phone’s internal memory, moving apps to the SD card is an excellent way to free some space. You can move apps to the SD card by going to Settings > Applications, selecting the application, then tapping the “Move to SD card” button. You may notice that for some apps, this option is grayed out though. Why is that?
Reason 1. Developer Choice
Developers of Android apps need to explicitly make their apps available to move to the SD card using the “android:installLocation” attribute in the <manifest> element of their app. If they don’t, the option to “Move to SD card” is grayed out. Why would many developers not enable this button? Well, Android apps cannot run from the SD card while the card is mounted. So if the app handles something like an alarm to remind you of your dentist appointment, that’s pretty important, and the app would not be able to sound the alarm if you happen to have your device connected to your PC. So the developer may choose to lock the “Move to SD card” capability down so they never get an angry email from somebody claiming the app doesn’t work.
Reason 2. Widget Support
Widget support is another big reason apps may be prevented from running on the SD card. If an app is installed on the SD card, the widgets from that app become unavailable to select in certain versions of Android once the device is mounted. The device must be restarted for the widgets from the app to show up as an option again.
Reason 3. Syncing, Service, or Account Interface
If the app handles a certain type of background syncing, runs as a service, or utilizes an account, the app will not fully function from an SD card while it is mounted. Therefore, the option to move it to the SD Card is disabled. You can read more about this issue and how apps run from SD cards on the Android Developers – App Install Location page.
FAQ
How do I make apps download directly to the SD Card?
You will need to have root access on your device, then set your home directory to the SD card using the Android SDK Tools. There used to be a way to enable the option on older versions of Android without root access. But now you must have root access on newer Android versions to be able to set the home directory.
What apps can I move?
Look at moving any gaming apps to the SD card. Games typically don’t have to run in the background or handle any important tasks on the device throughout your day. They also typically take up the most space, making them perfect candidates for an SD card install.
Now you know why the “Move to SD card” button is grayed out for many of your Android apps. Still have questions? Comments? Leave one in the comments section below.
How do I enable the “Move to SD Card” option on any app?
There used to be a way for non-rooted users to enable the “Move to SD card” option. This is no longer the case. You will need to gain root access to your device to be able to move any app to the SD card.. If you’re not sure how to do this, you may want to have a look over at XDA Developers for suggestions.
Reader Interactions
- You can move apps to an SD card from the Apps section of an Android phone's Settings with just a few taps.
- If your Android phone has an SD card slot, you can move apps out of internal storage.
- Storing apps on an SD card can free up space on your phone for other apps and data.
Most Android phones have an SD card slot — or, more likely, a microSD card slot— which allows you to significantly expand the storage space in your phone. Most of the time you'll probably get a lot of value out of this expansion slot by storing data files like music and documents.
But you can also free up your phone's internal storage space by moving apps to the SD card as well. It's simple to do and takes just a few taps.
How to move apps to an SD card from an Android
1. Open the Settings app and tap "Apps."
2. Tap an app that you want to move to the storage card.
3. On the app's details page, you should see a section called "Storage," which summarizes how much space the app is taking up on your phone's internal storage — tap "Storage."
Select "Storage" on the app's details page. Dave Johnson/Business Insider4. You should see that the storage being used is Internal Storage. Tap "Change" and then, in the pop-up window, choose the storage card.
To move the app to your SD card, just tap "Change" and then choose the SD card. Dave Johnson/Business Insider5. On the next page, tap "Move."
6. When it's done, the app will now be located on the SD card.
Keep in mind that while you can move many apps to the phone's storage card, this won't work for everything. The app's developer gets to decide whether the app can run from an SD card, and so for some apps this won't be an option. In particular, you can't move many built-in Android apps and bundled apps that come with your phone.
Make sure you have an SD card installed
If you're not sure if you have an SD (or microSD) card installed in your phone, there are two ways to check: You can physically eject the card tray to see if it's occupied, or look in Settings. Using Settings is more informative because it will also show you how much free space is available on the card.
Your phone might include a standalone tray for your SD card or combine it with the SIM card. Dave Johnson/Business InsiderTo find out, start the Settings app and then use the search icon at the top to look for "Storage." Tap "Storage" when you see it in the search results. If you have a storage card installed, you'll see it displayed on the screen, along with its capacity and how much is in use.
Check the Settings app to see how much space is available on your SD card. Dave Johnson/Business Insider
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Dave Johnson
Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.
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