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Help How best to free up internal memory and preserve files?

A

AppleUser

Android Enthusiast
My 16 GB Samsung S5 has reached the internal memory limit. It's not operating properly as a result. I'm using an SD card only for photos. How best to free up internal RAM and still have everything work? (including text messages with embedded pictures).

I enjoy this model because of the size, replaceable battery, and with a $10 wafer, induction charging.
 
AppleUser said:
My 16 GB Samsung S5 has reached the internal memory limit. It's not operating properly as a result. I'm using an SD card only for photos. How best to free up internal RAM and still have everything work? (including text messages with embedded pictures).

I enjoy this model because of the size, replaceable battery, and with a $10 wafer, induction charging.
Click to expand...
Depending on which of the 42 models of Samsung Galaxy S5 you have, it will come preloaded with a lot of Samsung and even carrier bloatware running in the background 24/7. Bear in mind that apps are being updated on the Play Store for the larger, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12GB, RAM's in phones these days. It is possible to regain some of your internal memory by moving any apps that allow it, to your external SD card. This is not always ideal as SD memory will be slower and it is only the app that is moved and not its data and could slow your phone down even further.

With only 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal ROM, this means that your phone is having to operate and store both the bloatware and your apps and this slows it right down and consumes space.

Depending on which of the 42 models you have, I would recommend either...

1. Rooting your phone to freeze/remove the built-in bloatware with Titanium Backup from the Play Store.

or, my preferred option...

2. Rooting your Samsung Galaxy S5, installing a custom recovery and a custom firmware, such as LineageOS and a nano gapps, (Google Apps), package. The LineageOS has the benefit that it is still being updated regularly and receives the latest Android security patches. It is a very light firmware that is fairly close to stock Android and comes with no frills and bloatware. The nano gapps package is a cut down version of that on your existing firmware.

Carried out correctly, the latter option offers a bloat free package with ongoing updates and better optimised RAM usage and frees up internal ROM. It does, however, require a certain amount of reading and research on your part.


ironass motto... "Flash in haste... repent at leisure" ;)
 
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Great reply. Too complex for my feeble mind. Perhaps will get a new Samsung with 24-32GB. Are any of the batteries in the new Samsung's user replaceable.
 
AppleUser said:
So nice of you! Replaceable battery is very important. Which of these would you choose, and can you remember any other Samsung models with removable / replaceable batteries and >16 GB internal?
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Your choice of phone will be down to your...

1. Personal preferences, finances and needs

2. Your location and carrier (the two I linked to are global/European models and not suited particularly for, say, China or U.S.)

Here is a link to GSMArena's site that lists all past and present models of Samsung and other models, along with their spec's... https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung-phones-9.php Grab a coffee and start reading. :D
 
ironass said:
Your choice of phone will be down to your...

1. Personal preferences, finances and needs

2. Your location and carrier (the two I linked to are global/European models and not suited particularly for, say, China or U.S.)

Here is a link to GSMArena's site that lists all past and present models of Samsung and other models, along with their spec's... https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung-phones-9.php Grab a coffee and start reading. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks.... Make that 100 cups and start reading! So far, LG V20 looks acceptable.

How to completely clone (except for Visual Voicemail) one S5 to another? Android file transfer? Syncios? ShareIt? CloneIt?
 
lg has a transfer data app that should move everything over to the new phone, if you went with an lg phone. samsung has Smart Switch which you can do the same thing as well, if you went with Samsung. both should work wirelessly
 
AppleUser said:
Are any of the batteries in the new Samsung's user replaceable.
Click to expand...

No, and therein lie the problem. This is why I still hang on to my s5. It was the last Samsung s5 with a user replaceable battery.

I see your name is AppleUser, I am going to assume you are (or were at some point) coming from Apple products. If so, the thing you should understand is that there is only one hardware model of iPhone in any given generation, however with Android any licensee can make a phone and therefore the device specs (CPU, RAM, GPU, storage) can and do vary widely.

IMO, you are better off with a flagship phone from a few years ago (like the s5) than a newer mid-range phone (or any mid-range phone, to be honest). You are simply going to have a bad time on mid or low range phones. I don't think people coming from Apple realize this at first, because in Apple land there is only one hardware...

Also you will find lots of support not only in terms of finding accessories like OtterBox cases, but also aftermarket firmware (like LineageOS, mentioned above). I had a couple mid/low range phones back in the day, and driver/operating system support was always hit or miss, because those are not the phones that most of the developers are interested in working on...
 
AppleUser said:
Thanks.... Make that 100 cups and start reading! So far, LG V20 looks acceptable.

How to completely clone (except for Visual Voicemail) one S5 to another? Android file transfer? Syncios? ShareIt? CloneIt?
Click to expand...
Isn't this a different question, one S5 to another? Or did you mean "one phone to another"? And what do you mean by "completely clone"? As I would understand that phrase (the operating system, all apps, all accounts, all data of every sort) none of them can do it, but I suspect you mean something more limited (I'd be certain except you did say "one S5 to another", in which case my literal interpretation is possible).

Android File Transfer can only copy the contents of the user-visible part of the internal storage (and possibly SD card, I've never tried that). This doesn't include your apps' internal data & settings, SMS, call logs, contacts, calendar, accounts,etc. The others I know less well, but I'd try @ocnbrze's suggestion of the manufacturer's own transfer tool first, with (assuming you are a Mac user) Android File Transfer as a backup for any media or general data files you have in the internal storage. SD cards you can just swap (remember that apps moved to SD will not transfer to a new phone by your swapping SD cards: that's not how it works)..
 
ocnbrze said:
lg has a transfer data app that should move everything over to the new phone, if you went with an lg phone. samsung has Smart Switch which you can do the same thing as well, if you went with Samsung. both should work wirelessly
Click to expand...

I just used Syncios and it transferred every desired, including text messages and embedded photos.
 
Hadron said:
Isn't this a different question, one S5 to another? Or did you mean "one phone to another"? And what do you mean by "completely clone"? As I would understand that phrase (the operating system, all apps, all accounts, all data of every sort) none of them can do it, but I suspect you mean something more limited (I'd be certain except you did say "one S5 to another", in which case my literal interpretation is possible).

Android File Transfer can only copy the contents of the user-visible part of the internal storage (and possibly SD card, I've never tried that). This doesn't include your apps' internal data & settings, SMS, call logs, contacts, calendar, accounts,etc. The others I know less well, but I'd try @ocnbrze's suggestion of the manufacturer's own transfer tool first, with (assuming you are a Mac user) Android File Transfer as a backup for any media or general data files you have in the internal storage. SD cards you can just swap (remember that apps moved to SD will not transfer to a new phone by your swapping SD cards: that's not how it works)..
Click to expand...


Thanks. I'm an Apple desktop/laptop user. Never had an iPhone. Stupid me---- didn't mean clone, but rather "transfer all useful sections to another Android". Sorry.

Mission accomplished.
 
TRS-80 said:
No, and therein lie the problem. This is why I still hang on to my s5. It was the last Samsung s5 with a user replaceable battery...
Click to expand...


Samsung does have a few current cell phones with replaceable batteries, but those models are not as good as the S5.

I just deleted two "conversations", one being Amazon notifications, and the phone is better.

Looked at other Androids with replaceable batteries and the LG V20 64GB looks tempting.
 
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