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Lost internal memory on Android. Freeing up built-in memory on Android. What fills the free space?

Recently, all kinds of gadgets have become an integral part of the lives of many modern people. Most owners of smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system sooner or later face the problem of lack of memory. In budget models, its volume is, as a rule, no more than four gigabytes, but it should be taken into account that at least a quarter is occupied by the operating system itself.

All modern games, like high-quality photographs, music and films, require ever-increasing amounts of available memory. So, at some point the user simply will not be able to install required application, download the necessary data. The lack of free space also negatively affects the speed of the device itself. So how to free internal memory on Android? You can move files to external storage and optimize the operation of your smartphone.

What fills the empty space?

When figuring out how to free up the internal memory of an Android phone, you should pay attention to several points. Certain methods may be effective in some cases, but completely inappropriate in others.

Before you free up internal memory on Android, you need to understand where the data filling the device comes from. Here are some of the most common options:

saving photos, music and videos;
data used in social media sharing;
audio from a voice recorder;
data downloaded via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi;
applications from Play Store, located in the device memory.

How to prevent files from being saved to the device memory?

To prevent the problem from recurring from time to time in the future, you need to redirect the download of files from the device memory to other media. For example, to a memory card (SD card). To do this, you should change the save path settings in the settings of some applications:

camera options;
voice recorder options;
Browser download space;
location of cached files from applications;
regulation of messengers;
regulation of bootloader programs;
regulation of GPS navigation maps.

In all of the above settings, the path to a specific folder (or several folders: separately for music, videos, pictures and files) must be specified, which is located on the memory card.

How to move data?

It is better to move files from the device memory to a memory card in similar folders. If there are none, you can create them using any file manager, which is downloaded from the Play Store, or by connecting the device to the computer via a cable. Moving to places with similar standard names will avoid unnecessary confusion. Folders usually have the following names:

Bluetooth;
DCIM;
download;
media;
movies;
music;
video;
sounds.

Transferring files, as well as creating new folders, can be done in two ways: directly by the functions of the device itself or using a computer. You should not transfer data whose purpose is in doubt. Moving program files can cause device malfunctions, so you should be aware of this before freeing up space on Android's internal memory.

How to transfer files directly to the device?

To transfer pictures, music and videos directly to the device, it is better to use a file manager. The ES conductor is simple and reliable to use. The main function of the manager is precisely to work with folders and files. This file manager is very lightweight, does not take up the already small amount of memory, and is convenient.

To transfer the necessary data, you need to select it with one long press. When choosing the “move” action, click on “SD-card”. The advantage of this file manager is that the menu allows you to immediately create new folders for transferring files.

How to transfer files using a computer?

In order to clear the internal memory of Android using a computer, you need to connect the device to it using a USB cable. To ensure the ability to manage data on a smartphone or tablet, specialized programs and drivers must be installed on the PC. As a rule, such software is installed automatically, but you need to wait a little while the computer determines the type of device and finds the appropriate drivers on the network.

Problems that arise when transferring files using a PC are easily resolved free service AirDroid, which provides the ability to work with the device at a distance by connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Firstly, this is good because you don’t need to install any additional programs or drivers to recognize your smartphone or tablet. Secondly, this service ensures communication between devices over a distance longer than a cable.

And yet, how to free up system memory on Android via a computer using this method? Everything is very simple here - data management is possible through any browser.

How to move apps to SD card?

How to free up internal memory on Android to unload devices? Let us note right away: this is not an easy task. The reason is that in order to carry out this operation for applications, as a rule, you need to have special rights, namely administrator rights, which will allow you to fully manage all files.

You can obtain administrator status by installing an additional software or changing smartphone settings. In the latter case, everything is much simpler. Devices in the settings of which you can set “developer mode” allow you to perform many actions that are not available to ordinary users, for example, installing a fake localization.

If administrator access is already enabled, you should next install the Link2Sd application. It allows you to transfer both installed additional and standard applications from the device memory to the memory card. But here you need to remember that such actions can lead to malfunctions of the device.

Without administrator rights, you can only move some applications. This action can be performed in the device settings. But the standard method is not very convenient, and if you don’t want to change the settings, it’s better to download Android app Assistant.

Android Assistant consists of eighteen tools for versatile work with Android. Directly transferring applications is carried out as follows: open the program, go to the “Toolkit” section and select “App2Sd”. A list of applications that can be transferred will open.

Also using this application you can perform a comprehensive removal, which will help optimize and increase the speed of the device.

How to clean your device from unnecessary debris?

By following the above steps, you can make significant progress in the process of clearing your memory. Once you have set the correct settings, you most likely will not have to do all the steps again from time to time. But you will have to use information on how to free up internal memory on Android by removing garbage often. So, by installing a special application (for example, Clean Master), you can make the cleaning process quick and easy.

The so-called garbage in the device, which occurs through the accumulation of cached data from the Internet, browser history, and applications, is a very common phenomenon. Periodic cleaning allows you to increase the free space on your device and speed up all actions.

If we look at cleaning a device from debris using the example of the most optimal and convenient Clean Master program, then there will be no difficulties in using it. You just need to select the “garbage” option and click “clean”. The application, conducting an in-depth analysis, makes sure to specify which files should not be deleted.

How to store files on the Internet?

To free up internal memory on Android 4.2, you can use so-called cloud storage. They allow you not only to store files, but also to open them using various devices. Having installed an application of this type on a smartphone, to gain access to the data you will only need to register (when you turn it on for the first time), and subsequently enter your username and password.

Constant access to the Internet is also important when working with cloud storage, because the data is stored in “ virtual memory" Among the most successful cloud storages are Google Drive, Mega storage, "Yandex.Disk" or Dropbox.

How to completely clean the device?

To radically clear the device memory, you need to do complete removal all data. The action is performed using the “Format” option. As a rule, this item is located in the device settings in the “” tab. Backup and data reset." After confirming the user’s intentions and deleting the data, the device will reboot and take on its original appearance, that is, the smartphone will be missing everything that was installed and downloaded after purchase.

In general, the instruction “How to free up memory on Android” includes several steps, some of which are interchangeable. Consistent execution of various types of actions will lead to an increase in free space, which certainly entails optimization of the device.

Android users often encounter the fact that after some time after starting use, the “system” memory disappears somewhere. This also applies to users of budget versions of smartphones and mid-range ones. Rarely concerns only flagship users, although it would not hurt them to read this note. Moreover, the majority still have budget devices on hand.
When you buy an Android smartphone for the first time, it is not clear whether there is a lot of memory or not enough for real use, the amount that is indicated in the specifications. My first Android smartphone was Samsung Galaxy Gio GT-S5660. It has 178 megabytes of “built-in memory”. Thoughts when purchasing:
- So, the main applications are already installed. I’m buying another memory card for multimedia, files and other programs. And those who cannot put themselves on the map, then for them it’s 178 meters with their heads.
And after a while, insight and disappointment comes. But let's talk about everything in order. Let's try to understand the basic concepts in file system and how to “treat” the problem at a minimal level. I'm greatly simplifying the material, so don't look for "inaccuracies" from a Computer Sense point of view.

operating room android system based on Linux. If we look at it from the root, we will see something like the following picture:

That is, approximately the same as in any Linux. I will not describe all the folders, if you need it, read the relevant literature. Now we are interested in “built-in memory” and “system memory”. Where is it and what?

The Android operating system itself is installed in the system memory. These are all of these files and folders that you see in the screenshot, except for a couple. Manufacturers don’t write about this memory anywhere or ever (I haven’t seen it, you’ve seen it - show me). You will not see “XXX MB system memory” in any press release or “specs”. Everyone is here system files, which are of little interest regular user. Using special utilities you can still watch it. IN Galaxy Gio its 206 megabytes. Of all system memory we are interested in one folder /system/app.

It is in this folder that all “pre-installed” applications are installed. Here are located those programs without which the smartphone cannot function normally, for example, a “dialer”, and all sorts of “synchronizers”, and those that were installed by the vendor (phone manufacturer) by default. For example, Youtube, some office or “operator” software.

Now, where is that “built-in memory” or “user memory” located? In simple terms, it is in the catalog /data. Speaking correctly, a section of internal non-volatile memory accessible to the user is mounted in the file system as a directory /data, but I will simplify everything.
What's in this directory? A novice user thinks that it is empty, and he is given All space (in my case 178 MB) at your disposal.

How could it not be so! This folder is already full of directories with files after the first start. Again, I will not dwell on all catalogs, but will only talk about the main “eaters” of space.
The first folder is dalvik-cache. The android part is Dalvik Virtual Machine, Google's own implementation of virtual java-the machine on which all applications run. Dalvik cache is an intermediate buffer with quick access. In simple terms- here android puts pre-compiled program code so that when the program starts, it starts as quickly as possible. Moreover, this does not depend on the location of the program itself, be it system, be it in the user’s memory, or be on a memory card - dalvik-cache in one place in /data. On Galaxy example Gio this folder after the first start takes about 100-110 megabytes. Well, 178 megabytes of memory suddenly turns into 60-70 for the user. Sadness. You can't do without this cache at all. There are a number of instructions online that allow you to transfer this cache to an external memory card. Of course, this slightly affects performance, and there are glitches. I will not describe this technique. (If you have your own description of this method, knock on the door and we’ll exchange links)

Let's look further. Folder /data/app. All user programs that cannot be transferred to the memory card for some reason are installed into it. There are usually two reasons. The first is a widget, programs with a widget cannot be transferred to the card due to Android restrictions. Secondly, the developer has scored on users of budget smartphones.

And now the main surprise, which is why I started writing this post. When a program that was "system" is updated, for example Youtube, it apk also fits in /data/app. And we get the following: B /system/app the old version of the program lies still there, and in /data/app- new. Of course, “parts” of the program are also in dalvik-cache and in other caches and places, but this is as if usual, but such duplication is not useful for us. It turns out that even if you haven’t installed any programs yourself, after a while the user’s memory (/data/app) will be “used up” for updating “system” programs (if you update, of course). Android will not move this apk itself to /system/app never.

What to do?
Firstly you need to get root, otherwise the system will not allow you to write anything to /system/app.
How to get root for your specific device I suggest you search the Internet yourself or look through this topic on 4PDA .

Root rights are not scary. Often, users of competing systems present this as some kind of terrible crime that allows them to do unknown things. For example, “pirate” as with JailBreak on iOS. For “piracy” on Android, all this is not needed :) A smartphone with root rights enabled only allows some programs, the list of which is controlled, to always or temporarily obtain the right to write to system directories. That's all. How sudo on linux or in run as administrator" on windows. Scary? No. Now on some firmware phones, root is turned on simply by a switch in the settings.

The second point we need is the SystemCleanup program

Donat program. That is, every time you start it asks you to buy Inteks Donation Key, which comes with several of the author’s programs, for about $3, but this does not take away the functionality. In general, the program allows you to do a lot of things: “dex” programs (maybe I’ll talk about this later) on the device itself, clear the cache, delete system applications, make backups, and much more.
Let us consider only the restoration of universal justice and the transfer of updated system programs in its place.

Launch the program and switch to the tab Apps.

Here you see the list installed applications with additional information. We are looking for applications under which it says in red system+data. These are our “penalties”. A single tap on the line will show Additional Information about the space occupied by a given application in different “memory locations”. Do a long tap and select " Update system app" and agree to the action in an additional dialog box. Usually, after all the movements, a device reboot is required, which the program will offer to do.

In this simple way you can free up several tens of megabytes of valuable user memory occupied by clones.

In general, the program can do quite a lot useful actions. I repeat. For example, you can remove pre-installed system applications that you do not need. Moreover, under most applications there is a signature indicating whether it is safe to delete it. You can transfer an application from main memory to a memory card with full functionality preserved (only if it is not a widget). Or you can make some applications “system”. For example, you freed up several megabytes in the system memory occupied by unnecessary operator software, and at the same time installed a third-party dialer. It is not advisable to transfer it to a memory card due to speed or fault tolerance, and it takes up space in the “built-in memory”. Long tap and select Move app to /system/app, and your program has moved to the folder /system/app, that is, it has become systemic (from the android point of view).

That's all for today. Once again: the program has many more useful functions - study it yourself or maybe I’ll describe it someday. Eat more radical methods of “expanding” user memory related to remounting the Dalvik cache or the folder in general /data to a memory card. But they are associated with certain risks and other inconveniences.

And the goal of this post has been achieved. I wish you good luck and keep your memory sharp :)

And visit 2 cool resources.

Android users often encounter the fact that after some time after starting use, the “system” memory disappears somewhere. This also applies to users of budget versions of smartphones and mid-range ones. Rarely concerns only flagship users, although it would not hurt them to read this note. Moreover, the majority still have budget devices on hand.
When you buy an Android smartphone for the first time, it is not clear whether there is a lot of memory or not enough for real use, the amount that is indicated in the specifications. My first Android smartphone was a Samsung Galaxy Gio GT-S5660. It has 178 megabytes of “built-in memory”. Thoughts when purchasing:
- So, the main applications are already installed. I’m buying another memory card for multimedia, files and other programs. And those who cannot put themselves on the map, then for them it’s 178 meters with their heads.
And after a while, insight and disappointment comes. But let's talk about everything in order. Let's try to understand the basic concepts of the file system and how to “cure” the problem at a minimum level. I'm greatly simplifying the material, so don't look for "inaccuracies" from a Computer Sense point of view.

The android operating system is based on Linux. If we look at it from the root, we will see something like the following picture:

The Android operating system itself is installed in the system memory. These are all of these files and folders that you see in the screenshot, except for a couple. Manufacturers don’t write about this memory anywhere or ever (I haven’t seen it, you’ve seen it - show me). You will not see “XXX MB system memory” in any press release or “specs”. Here are all the system files that are of little interest to the average user. You can still view it using special utilities. Galaxy Gio has 206 megabytes. Of the entire system memory, we are interested in one folder /system/app.

How could it not be so! This folder is already full of directories with files after the first start. Again, I will not dwell on all catalogs, but will only talk about the main “eaters” of space.
The first folder is dalvik-cache. The android part is Dalvik Virtual Machine, Google's own implementation of virtual java-the machine on which all applications run. Dalvik cache is a fast access intermediate buffer. In simple terms, Android puts pre-compiled program code here so that when the program starts, it starts as quickly as possible. Moreover, this does not depend on the location of the program itself, be it system, be it in the user’s memory, or be on a memory card - dalvik-cache in one place in /data. Using the Galaxy Gio as an example, this folder after the first start takes up about 100-110 megabytes. Well, 178 megabytes of memory suddenly turns into 60-70 for the user. Sadness. You can't do without this cache at all. There are a number of instructions online that allow you to transfer this cache to an external memory card. Of course, this slightly affects performance, and there are glitches. I will not describe this technique. (If you have your own description of this method, knock on the door and we’ll exchange links)

What to do?
Firstly you need to get root, otherwise the system will not allow you to write anything to /system/app.
How to get root for your specific device, I suggest searching the Internet yourself or looking through this topic on 4PDA .

Root rights are not scary. Often, users of competing systems present this as some kind of terrible crime that allows them to do unknown things. For example, “pirate” as with JailBreak on iOS. For “piracy” on Android, all this is not needed :) A smartphone with root rights enabled only allows some programs, the list of which is controlled, to always or temporarily obtain the right to write to system directories. That's all. How sudo on linux or in run as administrator" on windows. Scary? No. Now on some firmware phones, root is turned on simply by a switch in the settings.

The second point we need is the SystemCleanup program

Donat program. That is, every time you start it asks you to buy Inteks Donation Key, which comes with several of the author’s programs, for about $3, but this does not take away the functionality. In general, the program allows you to do a lot of things: “index” programs (maybe I’ll talk about this later) on the device itself, clear the cache, delete system applications, make backups, and much more.
Let us consider only the restoration of universal justice and the transfer of updated system programs to their place.

Launch the program and switch to the tab Apps.

Here you see a list of installed applications with additional information. We are looking for applications under which it says in red system+data. These are our “penalties”. A single tap on a line will show additional information about the space occupied by this application in different “memory locations”. Do a long tap and select " Update system app" and agree to the action in an additional dialog box. Usually, after all the movements, a device reboot is required, which the program will offer to do.

In this simple way you can free up several tens of megabytes of valuable user memory occupied by clones.

In general, the program can do quite a lot of useful actions. I repeat. For example, you can remove pre-installed system applications that you do not need. Moreover, under most applications there is a signature indicating whether it is safe to delete it. You can transfer an application from main memory to a memory card with full functionality preserved (only if it is not a widget). Or you can make some applications “system”. For example, you freed up several megabytes in the system memory occupied by unnecessary operator software, and at the same time installed a third-party dialer. It is not advisable to transfer it to a memory card due to speed or fault tolerance, and it takes up space in the “built-in memory”. Long tap and select Move app to /system/app, and your program has moved to the folder /system/app, that is, it has become systemic (from the android point of view).

And the goal of this post has been achieved. I wish you good luck and keep your memory sharp :)

And visit 2 cool resources.

Any smartphone user sooner or later faces one problem - there is not enough space in the memory of the Android device, how to fix this? After all, it would seem that there are devices with built-in memory of 16 GB or even more. But no matter how much there is, in the end it is always not enough. What's wrong? Where can it go and what to do with the overflowing device?

The owner of the phone should know something - he will never have full access to the internal memory. This is due to the fact that part of this very memory is occupied by the operating system and all those applications, and sometimes games, that the manufacturer considered necessary to install by default. In this regard, the Android memory, which remains at the user's disposal, is always 2-3 GB less than required for normal functioning devices. And therefore, if you have 4-8 GB of memory, there is very little of it left.

What affects the amount of free space and where does it go?

As already written above, first of all, part of the memory is lost due to the fact that the system itself uses it.
Next, it is filled with various applications that a person installs on his mobile phone or tablet.
Also, each program, and especially a game, gradually fills the space with a cache, which, although it speeds up loading in the future, often takes up a lot of space on the phone.
It happens that the cache of deleted applications does not go anywhere, and therefore also becomes the cause of the problem, because usually new applications are installed on top, and old files are not cleared.
I can say with confidence that not all phone owners immediately worry about where photos and videos will be stored when setting up their phone - in the internal memory or on a flash drive.
And don’t forget about various viruses, which, being malicious, are also good at stealing free place.

Methods to free up memory

Basically, we find out that there is not enough memory on the device when we are about to install a new application. At the same time, the error “Phone memory is full” or “Not enough free memory” pops up, Android offers to get rid of unnecessary and rarely used content.

A conscious smartphone owner always has installed utilities that can monitor the device for overflow and offer appropriate solutions to this problem. It would be a good idea to independently monitor the state of the device’s memory, for which it would be enough to go to the “Memory” section in the settings and see if free space may be running out.

Another signal that there is not enough memory can be considered when the phone suddenly slows down; the speed of response to user actions becomes significantly lower.

Removing unnecessary programs

This is possible using both installed utilities and simply the Device Manager. To do this, just go into it, find the desired program or game, click on it and then select “Delete”. The same method of reducing clogged space includes stopping the operation of built-in programs that cannot be deleted without providing root rights. This can also be done using the Dispatcher.

This video shows an example of the main ways to free up space on your device.

Clear cache

All the same Device Manager or special programs We delete the cache of any application, while not forgetting about the already deleted ones, a trace of which still remains. Simply empty folders will be deleted immediately. Even if there is nothing there, then why do we need them on our gadget at all?
This should also include antivirus programs, which, if pests are present, can also help free up space.

Transferring files to a flash drive or any other storage device

In the case when the memory is filled with a large amount of music, photos, videos and just pictures, you can free it up by simply moving the files through Explorer to a flash drive in your phone or computer. For Android users there is an additional and very convenient function - Google Drive. Thanks to it, you can store up to 15 GB of information in the cloud, while deleting its copies from your device.

You can also move some applications and games to a removable memory card. True, this can not be done on all models and only with the help Android programs Assistant, or rather one of the functions - App2SD.

There is a place, but the error does not disappear

What should you do if the error about lack of free space still pops up, although there is memory? You can try to fix the situation by deleting the cache Google Play Market. Pi necessary - and its updates (via Device Manager).
The last way is to delete the cache in Recovery mode. To do this you need:

turn off your phone or tablet;
turn on while holding the button to enter the mode (for different brands It differs between models, but often it is the power button + volume rocker + Home button);
select Wipe cache partition;
if there is an Advanced item, then select it, and in it - Wipe dalvik cache.

To summarize, I will say that there are many ways to increase the amount of free space on your device, but it is better to resort to the one in which you are confident. Just to avoid damaging your device even more.

IN modern smartphones The average amount of permanent memory (ROM) is about 16 GB, but there are also models with a capacity of only 8 GB or 256 GB. But regardless of the device you use, you notice that over time the memory begins to run out, as it fills up with all sorts of junk. Is it possible to clean it?

Initially, out of the indicated 16 GB of ROM, you will only have 11-13 GB free, since the operating system itself takes up some space, plus, it can be supplied with specialized applications from the manufacturer. Some of the latter can be removed without causing much harm to the phone.

With time of using a smartphone, the memory quickly begins to “melt”. Here are the main sources that absorb it:

Applications you have downloaded. After purchasing and turning on your smartphone, you will probably download several applications from the Play Market or third-party sources. However, many applications do not take up as much space as they might seem at first glance;
Photos, videos and audio recordings taken or uploaded. The percentage of fullness of the device’s permanent memory depends in this case on how much media content you download/produce using your smartphone;
Application data. The apps themselves may weigh little, but over time they accumulate various data (most of it important for operation), increasing their share of the device's memory. For example, you downloaded a browser that initially weighed 1 MB, and two months later it began to weigh about 20 MB;
Various system junk. It accumulates in approximately the same way as in Windows. The more you use the OS, the more junk and broken files begin to clog the device’s memory;
Residual data after downloading content from the Internet or transmitting it via Bluetooth. Can be classified as a variety junk files;
Old versions of applications. When updating the application in Play Market Android creates backup copy his old version so that you can rollback.

Method 1: Transfer data to SD card

SD cards can significantly expand the memory of your device. Now you can find small copies (about the size of a mini-SIM), but with a capacity of 64 GB. Most often they store media content and documents. It is not recommended to transfer applications (especially system ones) to the SD card.

This method is not suitable for those users whose smartphone does not support SD cards or artificial memory expansion. If you are one of them, then use these instructions to transfer data from the permanent memory of your smartphone to an SD card:

If you do not have the opportunity to use an SD card, then you can use various cloud Internet storages as an analogue. It’s easier to work with them, and besides, they provide a certain amount of memory for free (about 10 GB on average), but you will need to pay for an SD card. However, they have a significant disadvantage - you can work with files that are saved in the cloud only if the device is connected to the Internet.

If you want all the photos, audio and video recordings you take to be saved directly to the SD card, then you need to do the following manipulations in the device settings:

Go to "Settings".
There select the item "Memory".
Find and click on "Default memory". From the list that appears, select the SD card inserted in this moment into the device.

Method 2: Disable automatic Play Market updates

Most applications downloaded on Android can be updated in background from a Wi-Fi network. Not only can new versions weigh more than old ones, but older versions are also saved on the device in case of failures. If you disable automatic application updates through the Play Market, you will be able to update only those applications that you consider necessary yourself.

You can disable automatic updates in the Play Market by following these instructions:

However, some applications from the Play Market can bypass this blocking if the update is very significant (according to the developers). To completely disable any updates, you will have to go into the settings of the OS itself. The instructions look like this:

No need to trust third party applications, which promise to disable all updates on Android, since at best they will simply perform the setup described above, and at worst they can harm your device.

Thanks to the shutdown automatic updates you can not only save memory on your device, but also Internet traffic.

Method 3: Cleaning up system junk

Since Android produces various system garbage, which over time greatly clutters up the memory, it needs to be cleaned regularly. Fortunately, there are special applications for this, and some smartphone manufacturers also do this. operating system a special add-on that allows you to remove junk files directly from the system.

Let's first consider how to clean the system if your manufacturer has already made the necessary add-on to the system (relevant for Xiaomi devices). Instructions:

If you do not have a specialized add-on for cleaning your smartphone from various debris, then as an analogue you can download a cleaner application from the Play Market. The instructions will be discussed using an example mobile version CCleaner:

Unfortunately, not all applications for cleaning junk files on Android can boast of being highly effective, since most of them only pretend to delete something.

Method 4: Factory reset

It is used extremely rarely and only in emergency situations, as it entails the complete removal of all user data on the device (only standard applications remain). If you decide to use this method, it is recommended to transfer all the necessary data to another device or to the cloud.

Freeing up some space on your phone's internal storage isn't that hard. As a last resort, you can use either SD cards or cloud services.

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