Can't delete 'Other' on SD card

[gigglepot]

My SD card says it's almost full but there's hardly anything on it. I looked in storage and found that the 'Other' files are huge but I can't get into them to delete them. How do I delete them without reformatting?

 

[jhtalisman]

You should have the default Samsung file manager on your phone. It is called "My Files", if not you should be able to download it from the Galaxy Store.

Once you have it, long press on each folder and select "more" at the bottom and then "details". It will tell you the combined storage used by files in that folder. Then you can go through the individual files and see which are largest.

And upgrade your Micro SD card. 16gb is miniscule.

 

[gigglepot]

I am in My Files. The problem is I can't look in the Other files, there is no arrow next to it like Audio and Documents has (see attachment above). I even connected my phone to my PC and clicked View Hidden Files and looked at every file and folder in the SD card and still nothing. There was no 'Other' folder. I think it has to do with downloads from Netflix and Prime, even though I've deleted all those downloads in their respective apps.

 

[svim]

That screen shot is from your Settings menu so it's just an overall summary of your microSD card's storage -- that 'Other' is a generic reference to files/folders that don't fit into the other categories above it.
Using My Files, look for a folder or folders (not named 'Others') from a third-party app or one that you've created that's approximately that same 11.78GB.

 

[gigglepot]

Oh yes sorry, wrong screenshot. I'm in My Files and in SD card and hardly anything in any of the folders (attached new screenshots). Everything under these folders is music which is the 2.37gb.

 

[jhtalisman]

There is obviously at least 1 file that is taking up a large amount of space. You will have to look in each folder and subfolder to find the culprit.

 

[gigglepot]

I understand but that's what I'm saying, I've opened every folder and subfolder and there's nothing big. I'm starting to think it's a glitch?

 

[gigglepot]

I figured it out!! It was Netflix. Even though you delete your downloads on the Netflix app, it all remains in Other on the SD card. Simply deleting the Netflix app won't work, it only disables it. You have to go to the Play Store, uninstall from there, it will just delete all updates. Then when you go back into Netflix it will ask you to install updates. This basically deletes everything and you need to sign in to Netflix again. My SD card 'Other' went from 11.51gb to 1.73gb!!​

 

[jhtalisman]

You probably could have just went to app info for Netflix and performed a clear data and cache rather than Uninstaller.

Glad you figured it out though.

 

[gigglepot]

I tried clear data and cashe first, but no luck. Anyways hope this helps someone else too.

 

[mikedt]

I suspect the Netflix was DRM encrypted content. Which the phone's stock storage management couldn't identify as VIDEO, so it just got classified as OTHER.