Can I partition on an external SD card for Android 10 and use it for different purposes?

[montecarlo1987]

Hello! Question: Can you partition a microSD card into 2 partitions and then format one of those partitions for extended internal storage and leave the other partition for external storage such as file/folder backups, photos, videos, music, etc. with Android 10 smartphones? If possible, any risks or issues performing this? If so, how is this done too? If you could elaborate on the steps, that would be great!

I am using a Motorola Optimo Maxx (G7 Power equivalent) with Android 10 where I only have 32 GB Internal Memory and I am utilizing 21-30 GB and filling up my smartphone on a consistent basis. I have a 128 GB microSD (Class 10 A1) card installed right now for external memory where I save my file/folder backups, photos, videos, music, etc.. If I can do this, I would split my microSD card in half meaning 64 +/- GB for extended internal storage and the other 64 +/- GB for the external memory storage like before. I get the Android 10 message and from a few others of my installed apps that my memory is 97, 98, or 99 % full on a monthly basis now. I have cleaned out my cache each time and it brings me back down under the warning threshold. I admit I have a “few” apps installed. I must admit, that I do not want to remove any of them. I have my installed apps at this time where I am satisfied and I want them installed. I use 2 Google Play apps that I plan to utilize on a consistent basis if I can do what I have asked above. One is AppMgr III that would separate (move) from my 32 GB internal memory installed apps that I could place on my SD card. It is a good reliable app.. The other good app I like for routine scheduled backups from my internal memory to my SD card is FolderSync Pro.

Please reply with answers and solutions.

Thank you!

 

[Hadron]

Are you prepared to root the phone? If so then there may be options, though I've not used them myself for best part of a decade so have no experience of them in Android 10. They won't involve using the system menus to format one partition as internal, but rather add-on apps or scripts to move some of your apps and/or their data to the partition and set up pointers to them in the internal storage (so that the phone knows where to find them).

Without root the answer is simple: no, you can't. The phone software only expects there to be one partition on the card and won't look for a second one. All that will happen if you partition the card is that the phone will only see the first partition, so effectively you will have reduced the capacity of the card. To tell the phone to mount and use the second partition you will need to modify the system software, which means you will need root.