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Forcing Apps to install to the SD card without root

:hello: Welcome to Android Forums, Tck1178

Yes, it should work with CM9. But if you are rooted, it would be better to use an app like Link2SD since you could also link system apps to the SD card gaining more space.
 
Oh.... that so? Well... thanks anyway! I got a 16gb note 2 as the carrier that I'm signing up with only offers 16gb note 2. >< So I was afraid i might not have enough storage space once i install heavy duty games.
 
this works but not for all apps. It has worked only 20% for me. Most of the time, it gets stored in the phone memory itself.
Anyways, it works atleast 20%. So, Thanks!:)

EDIT: Its actually amazing compared to the stock one. You can move the apps which you can't from phone to SD card!
 
thanks a lot buddy ........ u guys are genius... i was thinking to change my cell for memory issues but now no need to do this , coz u help me ... in last thank you for such a great work
 
It seems to me that rather than doing this complicated process you could just download the es file explorer and use it transfer the files to the sd card. Or is there something I am missing?
 
It doesn't work like that unfortunately, you can't access the location the files are installed without root access. Even if you could and moved them over yourself, without this process, the OS wouldn't know to look for them on your SD Card when you tried to run the apps.
 
I am not sure I understand so I'll try to make it clearer.

Using this process I can transfer apps to sd card from the phone with a few exceptions such as WhatsApp and the default system apps.

Using the es file explorer I can do exactly the same thing and apps seem to work all right. Every single game I've downloaded is now in the sd card and works perfectly well.

So is there something this process does that the es file explorer does not do?
 
Sorry it's taken a while to respond htdx02, I thought I already had. :o

So, you're using ES File Explorer to navigate to /data/app/, moving or copying the apk to the root of your SD Card, then opening the app from your app drawer? Or via some other method? What's the exact process?
 
There's not much to do. Es file explorer has an app manager tab from where I can directly move apps from the phone to the sd card and vice versa. Takes a few seconds and no need to mess around with apks

Basically,

I download app from playstore
go to es file explorer
go to the app mgr tab
find the app
press the app and click on details
then select move to storage card
 
htdx02 said:
There's not much to do. Es file explorer has an app manager tab from where I can directly move apps from the phone to the sd card and vice versa. Takes a few seconds and no need to mess around with apks

Basically,

I download app from playstore
go to es file explorer
go to the app mgr tab
find the app
press the app and click on details
then select move to storage card
Click to expand...

That is simply taking you right into Android's own task manager. You can get there without ES File by going to menu>settings>applications select the application there and you can move the app the same way.

Just so you know, with Android 4.0 (ICS) the internal partitions are virtualized and dynamically adjustable making all internal storage available to apps without taking anything away from the user file space. The "Move to SD" option is no longer there because it's no longer necessary.
 
lunatic59 said:
That is simply taking you right into Android's own task manager. You can get there without ES File by going to menu>settings>applications select the application there and you can move the app the same way.

Just so you know, with Android 4.0 (ICS) the internal partitions are virtualized and dynamically adjustable making all internal storage available to apps without taking anything away from the user file space. The "Move to SD" option is no longer there because it's no longer necessary.
Click to expand...

That does clear it up but my initial question remains unanswered. Does the method used in this thread do anything that my phone can't already do?
 
htdx02 said:
That does clear it up but my initial question remains unanswered. Does the method used in this thread do anything that my phone can't already do?
Click to expand...

IF you are running Android 2.1.x - 2.3.x (Eclair through Gingerbread) it will permit apps that weren't enabled to be moved to SD by the developer to be moved. And any new app is immediately installed to the SD partition without having to move it.

Maybe this will explain better:

Android has specific rules for where it installs apps. If the app has a specified location, that takes priority. If it is not specified in the app, then the default install location is used. Android has 3 identifiers for app storage location:

0 = Internal
1 = Auto
2 = External (sd card)

If 0 is set in the app, then it can only be installed on the internal storage regardless of the default install location. Widgets, services and apps that periodically poll need to be in the internal storage to run correctly.

Similarly the phone itself can have a default install location set so if the app is set to 1 (Auto) then it will direct the app where to be installed. The only thing you must remember is that 1 is not an option for a phones default location. If the app were set to Auto location and the phone was to, it wouldn't know what the default was.

You may find now that by setting the default install location to 2 you can now move more apps to the sd card that you couldn't before. If you go to menu>settings>applications>manage applications you can check which apps are able to be moved, paying close attention NOT to move widgets or polling apps.
 
Hello ! i am new here and been trying for days to find a possible solution to this error with internal memory . . . I followed step by step your guide and i made it but still i am getting an error when i am trying to download a new app to my phone ( i.e facebook on HTC explorer running android 2.3.5) Why doesn't it work ? :/
 
rel0aded said:
Hello ! i am new here and been trying for days to find a possible solution to this error with internal memory . . . I followed step by step your guide and i made it but still i am getting an error when i am trying to download a new app to my phone ( i.e facebook on HTC explorer running android 2.3.5) Why doesn't it work ? :/
Click to expand...

Most likely because the Facebook app is not permitted to be installed to external memory. Is it a memory error you are getting?
 
lunatic59 said:
Most likely because the Facebook app is not permitted to be installed to external memory. Is it a memory error you are getting?
Click to expand...

No it's just that the option move to sd is grey ,i cant press it:/ (btw the phone is rooted i dont know why i cant move them, i have tried everything )
 
It's because that app won't let you move it. It's a flag the app developer sets, and just being rooted doesn't change that.

If you are rooted there are other apps that can forcibly a move an app even if the Android system thinks it's not moveable. Titanium Backup Pro can, for example (don't know about the free version). Just long press on the app in Ti's list and it's in the options.

Note that some apps may not work if moved. The commonest example is that if you move an app to sd any widgets it has will fail on the next reboot.
 
hey...after this i m able to successfully transfer apps to sd card but my android market app is not working any more :(
 
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