Help "Low on space" phone/application storage notification

[zm15]

menu>settings>sd & storage

Thanks, it's the same readings.

Internal phone storage: 5.7 GB's free

 

[Medion]

WOW!!! I wish that this was a thread I checked back on a lot sooner, but I don't have this issue. Probably cause I thought I'd get it if I came close to 512 mb in the 'Phone Memory's' 'Available Space'. I need to ask, though, for someone to show me where I can find this piece of information. Every source I check, including HTC, says this, "Memory Flash 8GB + 512MB/RAM 512MB."

I'm not saying that I still think I am right, cause this entire thread seems to agree that we have 1 GB of ROM/App Storage with 748 MB available. But how did you find that out; through developing?

P.S: sorry if it's a bit off topic...

The Incredible actually has 8GB of ROM. However, this is partitioned as follows:

EMMC -6.7GB
/system - 256MB
Internal - 748MB

As usual, it won't add up evenly due to the way the numbers work (1024 vs. 1000).

 

[The_Horak]

Right, okay. That explains why you only get 6.7 GB out of the advertised 8. I know, like you said, it's always less, but that seemed too high a percentage to me. Thank you.

 

[bird jam]

I have had it up to here (holding hand over head).

I got the Gingerbread OTA this morning and had faint hope that the changes would get rid of the "Phone storage space is getting low." warning that pops up on an irregular but frequent basis.

No such luck. The warning is back.

I have tried everything I have read on here. I've cleared caches. I've moved stuff to the SD card (which in turn made it disappear with the update this morning. Awesome.) I've deleted data from CityID and Facebook and from everything else at one point or another. But this thing is like a zombie - it keeps coming back. And I will be damned if I am going to re-log in to Facebook every time I want to upload a picture.

This is it for me. I have loved this phone - other than this annoyance - but I can't take this anymore.

Yes, I know rooting will get rid of this for me. But I do not want to feel like a combination criminal/computer technician. I just want a phone that works as advertised without annoying warning messages that aren't even accurate. I know I have plenty of space on my phone.

Argh. Anyone have a link to the rumored specs for the next iPhone?

 

[iowabowtech]

Have you checked out the "low space" sticky? Lots of tips in there and although root can help, you can still get it when rooted too. It's a huge thread so my advice is start at the end of the thread and read backwards for as long as you can stand it.

 

[bird jam]

Yes, I've been through there. Lots of temporary band-aids but nothing to actually solve the problem. Very disappointing. I figured the OTA update would fix this. But it seems to have made it worse (for me, at least.) Even the usual temp fixes (CityID, Facebook) aren't making it go away this time. So frustrating.

 

[euph_22]

Have you checked out the "low space" sticky? Lots of tips in there and although root can help, you can still get it when rooted too. It's a huge thread so my advice is start at the end of the thread and read backwards for as long as you can stand it.

You should get all you need to know in the last page or 2.

Yes, I've been through there. Lots of temporary band-aids but nothing to actually solve the problem. Very disappointing. I figured the OTA update would fix this. But it seems to have made it worse (for me, at least.) Even the usual temp fixes (CityID, Facebook) aren't making it go away this time. So frustrating.

If you have the update, try moving large apps to the sd card go to settings>manage applications>all then sort by size (it will take a few moments to load the sizes). then go through the largest apps and start moving them to the sd card and/or clear cache and data. Be advised that that when you move an app to the sd card you break any home screen widgets for that app. Also if you clear data, you'll erase all the saved data for the app.

 

[bird jam]

Oh, and in the last couple of weeks I have also been getting the random re-boot more and more frequently.

*Sigh*

It was fun while it lasted. This is a great phone in theory. In practice, not so much. For me, at least.

 

[bird jam]

Ha, and also, this phone randomly deletes all my text messages every now and then.

Didn't mean to turn this into a "Reasons I am thinking about ditching this damned phone" thread, but it's all just bubbling up to the surface right now.

But my main issue is the bogus "Low on space" warning. You would think I would have more of a problem with losing all my text message and my phone re-booting for no reason. But no, I can handle those. I've gotten used to them. It's the constant warning on my screen that taunts me and keeps me up at night. I'm weird like that.

 

[sdrawkcab25]

But my main issue is the bogus "Low on space" warning. You would think I would have more of a problem with losing all my text message and my phone re-booting for no reason.

If it gives you any comfort, the message isn't bogus, it actually does mean you are running out of space in the data partition (150Mb).

 

[samstein]

I have an Incredible (original) and got the Gingerbread notification this morning on my way to work.

Sometime within the two hours after I let it install, I noticed a "Low On Space" warning which appeared on the top bar and whenever I click the notification, it takes me to my internal phone storage list which says that the majority of my space is free -- 185mb used / 563mb available.

Since this warning appeared, my phone is no longer syncing and I cannot send or receive email through my usual Gmail app. Not sure yet what else is affected. Turning power off and restarting does nothing and I cannot get rid of the warning.

Basically, from my vantage point right now, Gingerbread semi-bricked my phone. This sucks.

I've also seen this issue reported in a few other places...

Help???

 

[sdrawkcab25]

did you check out the huge thread at the top of this forum?


...where i'm moving this too

 

[samstein]

actually, yes, I did look at the huge thread. I also noticed that that thread was like 99% messages from before Gingerbread got pushed to the Incredible in the past day or so

I had only seen a similar (but slightly different looking) Low Space message a couple times in the 16 months that I've had the phone - and each previous time, it was only very temporary and did not disable a major functionality on my phone

this was clearly related to the Gingerbread roll-out (it popped up right after the installation and my phone has been effed up ever since), so I thought it merited a different topic

 

[dogfishjones]

the issue has changed since the Gingerbread update. Before, the fixes listed in this thread worked... sometimes and/or temporarily. Now, the low on space error is nigh permanent, and nothing I've done even comes close to affecting it. And the only place I'm short on memory is the SD card.

Nothing like an update that makes problems worse.

 

[samstein]

yeah, same here... my 2 gig SD card is totally empty, my internal storage reads 6.47 GB available out of 6.60 GB, and my phone memory reads 564 MB available out of 748 MB

besides doing a total phone reset (which I'd really like to avoid), I have no clue how to address this

 

[euph_22]

yeah, same here... my 2 gig SD card is totally empty, my internal storage reads 6.47 GB available out of 6.60 GB, and my phone memory reads 564 MB available out of 748 MB

besides doing a total phone reset (which I'd really like to avoid), I have no clue how to address this

Here ya go...

Short term fix, clear cache from larger apps in settings>manage apps. You can also clear data from larger apps were you won't miss data saved on the phone (facebook, netflix, and other apps where it would just download the data it needs).

Longer term fix requires root, and either installing Not Enough Space (an app on the market), or possibly trying various roms that are less susceptible to the problem (although they are not free of the problem). Supposedly the rom Gingerbread rom/update will let address the problem by moving larger apps to the sd card (because it moves the library file to the sd card as well).

If you have the update, try moving large apps to the sd card go to settings>manage applications>all then sort by size (it will take a few moments to load the sizes). then go through the largest apps and start moving them to the sd card and/or clear cache and data. Be advised that that when you move an app to the sd card you break any home screen widgets for that app. Also if you clear data, you'll erase all the saved data for the app.

 

[jpcolli]

Just wanted to add weight to the claims that Gingerbread is causing new incidences of this problem. Never seen this error message in my life (16 months of this phone?) until it pops up a few hours after updating Android today. 205mb used of 543mb internal storage, SD card has 5 free gigs, and 2 gigs on phone storage. I double checked the problem apps suggested in this thread. Moved every app that would let me to the SD card. Sad day my friends.

 

[kicksave41]

Just wanted to add weight to the claims that Gingerbread is causing new incidences of this problem. Never seen this error message in my life (16 months of this phone?) until it pops up a few hours after updating Android today. 205mb used of 543mb internal storage, SD card has 5 free gigs, and 2 gigs on phone storage. I double checked the problem apps suggested in this thread. Moved every app that would let me to the SD card. Sad day my friends.

+1

 

[NightAngel79]

yeah, same here... my 2 gig SD card is totally empty, my internal storage reads 6.47 GB available out of 6.60 GB, and my phone memory reads 564 MB available out of 748 MB

besides doing a total phone reset (which I'd really like to avoid), I have no clue how to address this

+1

Try moving as many apps BACK TO PHONE as you can then re-moving them to SD card... when GB hit if the apps were already on SD card you won't get the benefit of GB's better memory management

 

[samstein]

checking back in since my post from yesterday...

thanks all

I was able to get my phone working again. I went into various apps through the Settings > Applications menu and cleared their data. I still don't understand why that helped or was necessary. And I still think there is a problem either with the way the Incredible either sees available memory OR the way it displays it to users (from my perspective now, I am using pretty much the same amount of memory as before and it is working fine)

 

[shysay2001]

does anyone know how to factory reset or hard reset i just got the android 835 and i have read alot of ways to fix my phone with low memory im told to go in&get it looked at but ive no car. It stinks that the store has a number but they never answer. I liked the phone but with all of this im rethinking why i ever got it. Hopefully i can get it working again, it stinks not getting any texts. I try to put memory of facebook&numbers on sd card but it dont go on. If anyone can help it would be really appreciated.

 

[beanzgirl]

Glad to know I'm not the only one having this issue after the GB push. I've had this message before the update but I know why...cause I WAS low on space. At this point I have completely removed all user installed apps as well as updates for pre-installed apps from the phone and everything as either been uninstalled or moved to SD and I still get the message. Also getting message saying I need to "free up at least 512Kb to receive any messages"...so at this point I'm not receiving any push notifications OR sms/mms messages even though I have removed all my text messages and all but 168Mb apps. I know I should probably just go the way of rooting and say screw VZW version of GB...so unless someone has any idea wtf is going on with this, any suggestions for good after market software?

 

[NightAngel79]

checking back in since my post from yesterday...

thanks all

I was able to get my phone working again. I went into various apps through the Settings > Applications menu and cleared their data. I still don't understand why that helped or was necessary. And I still think there is a problem either with the way the Incredible either sees available memory OR the way it displays it to users (from my perspective now, I am using pretty much the same amount of memory as before and it is working fine)

Apps store their data in a completely separate section of phones memory. This 'partition' is only 150mb (you wont find it listed anywhere) and once it fills up you get this message. The very first post in this thread explains this pretty well for any who want some more info on the problem (also check out page 12 i think)

does anyone know how to factory reset or hard reset i just got the android 835 and i have read alot of ways to fix my phone with low memory im told to go in&get it looked at but ive no car. It stinks that the store has a number but they never answer. I liked the phone but with all of this im rethinking why i ever got it. Hopefully i can get it working again, it stinks not getting any texts. I try to put memory of facebook&numbers on sd card but it dont go on. If anyone can help it would be really appreciated.

menu>settings>sd card & storage>factory reset
OR
turn phone off, hit power button and down volume at same time - this brings you to the 'hboot' menu and there should be a option to hard reset there also

can always try clearing data from some apps as explained in this thread though

Glad to know I'm not the only one having this issue after the GB push. I've had this message before the update but I know why...cause I WAS low on space. At this point I have completely removed all user installed apps as well as updates for pre-installed apps from the phone and everything as either been uninstalled or moved to SD and I still get the message. Also getting message saying I need to "free up at least 512Kb to receive any messages"...so at this point I'm not receiving any push notifications OR sms/mms messages even though I have removed all my text messages and all but 168Mb apps. I know I should probably just go the way of rooting and say screw VZW version of GB...so unless someone has any idea wtf is going on with this, any suggestions for good after market software?

See above comments^
Also first post and page 12 of this thread have very good explanations....

think i will post up the posts i talking about here for reference sake

 

[NightAngel79]

Here is what I found after some research on XDA forum and other sources. The DINC has a 150 Meg partition that contains program data. The location is /data/data. If this partition gets below 14 or 15 Megs you get the low space warning. What I've had to do is open my application manager and clear program and or cache data to free up space in this partition. The main culprits for space consumption in the data/data partition are Web Browsers, Barnes and Noble's Nook app stores a 10 Meg file (ridiculous if you ask me), Kindle (If you have a lot of books. Up to 2 to 3 Megs of data), Message app (If you store all your old text messages with image and movie attachments, this is a bigy.), The navigation app, and Double Twist just to name a few. Your mileage may vary but these are good starting points.

Couple tips added to the above post...

If you use an alternate browser, be sure to delete the data/cache from the native browser.

Dolphin is a large data hog. Clear cache for sure and make the call on your data. Mine's showing just under 4 MB right now which is significant. There is also a "Manage Space" option for Dolphin (we're still talking Menu > Applications > Manage applications here) where you can ala carte delete some data items without affecting others.

Email is a big user of both data and cache if you use one or more pop3 or similar accounts on the phone.

Google Voice...do you have a ton of old messages?

Take the time to weed through all aps looking for the large data users. Good luck.

I have literally hundreds, at least 300 apps installed, so it's not the number of apps, it's the size that the apps decide to take out of \data\data, regardless of whether you move them to SD or not.

For those of you who aren't rooted, let me tell you what's hogging space in my \data\data partition although, (as I've mentioned above in this thread), I run an app called NotEnoughSpace which moves stuff out to other locations so it's not "really" in that partition any more.

First of all, the single biggest hog of \data\data is your contacts database. I have 1690 Outlook Exchange contacts and that takes up nearly 27 megabytes in the partition. Remember, you have 150 megabytes, but you only want to use 135, so contacts can take a huge chunk of that.

Another thing I've seen repeatedly murder the space is synchronization of Facebook contacts. Can't understand why, but I do not recommend syncing Facebook contacts to the phone --- will absolutely kill that partition and bring the handset to its knees if you lots of Facebook friends. My daughter did that on her Incredible (even though its rooted and running Nothing Special (Plain) mentioned above, and completely lost functionality of her handset until I talked her through deleting the Facebook contacts.

Mobiplayer takes 10 megabytes.
Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Air each take at least 1 megabyte.
Google Earth takes several megabytes.
Firefox takes 8.1 megabytes
"Internet" (the default browser) takes 1.1 megabytes.
PowerAmp takes 1 megabyte
Angry Birds (any of the 3 versions), Shazam, gReader Pro all take gobs of space.

And, finally, the Mail app is a huge pig, even if you don't use it (it's required for Exchange functionality, regardless of which email client you ultimately use).

Finally, the only way you can directly manipulate what's in the partition is to be rooted. Period.

I just wanted to say that those all depend GREATLY on your individual situation. Just because contacts for you are the biggest user doesn't mean that is universally true. If somebody has a lot of text messages or picture messages, for example, that might be a greater culprit.

A FACTORY RESET is not an option for most people so i've been looking elsewhere for solutions to this annoying notification memory problem.
My research has shown me that this error doesn't appear to be the same for everyone.

1. Some people have a problem with the HTC mail app (better settings below)
2. Some people have a problem with the internet browser cache.
3. Some people have a problem with the Peep cache.
4. Some people have too many messages- have to delete
5. Some people have an insanely large call history- have to delete

HTC MAIL SETTINGS- these settings changes had a short term affect (one week)

SETTING 1
MAIL>Menu>more>Settings>General settings>Temporary attachment storage> sd card


SETTING 2
Send & receive> mail size limit> no limit

My possible solution- hopefully long term
Clear the contact storage cache
SETTINGS>APPLICATIONS>MANAGE APPLICATIONS>CONTACT STORAGE>clear cache

I'm curious if this solution is longterm or not.
I cleared the peep and browser cache but it only helped for 2 days.
Taking off the HTC MAIL app also only had a temporary effect.

Does clearing the CONTACT STORAGE cache have a long term effect?

PLEASE READ ALL THESE QUOTED POSTS!!

This is what i could come up with combing through several pages of this post. Funny thing is that most of them are from page 12... it seems that page was the most help in the thread

 

[dpicker3]

I am having the same issue. All of my memory stats look very good for both internal and SD card storage, but I get the Low On space notification. If I move a few programs to the SD card it seems to go away for a while, but by the next day it's back.


This started a day or two after the 2.3.4 OS update I received last week. I have never seen this in the past 1+ years I've had this phone, and I didn't install anything new. Somehow it MUST be related to the update.


Moving applications around simply doesn't make sense if the phone is reporting that memory is not low. It is not a long-term fix. Replies on this forum to clear caches etc are all fine, and I've done that, but they do not address the real issue, which is why it is complaining that memory is low while simultaneously showing plenty of available memory.


The quoted statement that the phone will complain if the /data/data partition of the DINC is above 14 or 15MB sounds like a promising lead, but using Astro File Manager it says that /data is an empty folder, let alone /data/data (which doesn't exist)! I am not familiar with the file structure of an Android phone so I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, so please be kind Can someone help me out?


Thanks!