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Useless Phone? Storage Almost All Gone...

A

anotherusername1

Newbie
Are these phones basically useless with all the crud that google keeps forcing on to them???

I only have 205mb of internal storage left, and I am using mostly just the stock apps, plus a few other apps (Skype, Naver Line, google sheets).

And to even get THIS MUCH space (205mb) I had to go and clear the data and cache for lots of the default google apps.

I previously had some apps on this phone that were helpful, but I had to delete them because there was no room in internal storage.

Also, it doesn't look like there is a way to root this phone any more and start moving apps over to the SD card.

Is there any way to remove some of the junk off of here? I have removed most of the MetroPCS apps, but of course, you can't just delete a bunch of the google apps.

Android 4.1.2

Thanks in advance. If I need to buy a new phone, what is the minimum amount of internal storage that I will need to have to deal with all the google android bloat that is forced upon us?
 
Looking up the specs for your phone 4 GB of internal storage is pretty low to begin with but you have a microSD card slot so that can help alleviate a lot of your personal file storage issues. Gripe all you care to about 'Google bloat' but in a practical sense 4 GB on any phone isn't that optimal, it's minimal at best. The F3 is a three year model so don't expect it be functionally equal to anything current. I've got an also dated Galaxy S3, it was Samsung's flagship model three years ago, now it's bargain bin special in the refurbished phone sites. But I don't have expectations beyond what my S3 is capable of so don't drive yourself nutty about your F3 beyond it's limitations.
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_f3-5509.php
 
rootabaga said:
Read some threads. There are various ways to root depending on the version (firmware).

Once rooted there are a few solutions, such as a custom rom, scripting to swap the internal and external storage, or using an app (I'm a big fan of Link2SD, pay the 2.35 and you can link not just apps, but their data, well worth it).

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the note and the suggestions?

Do you have a suggestion on how to root this phone? Which root program (and which ROM) are best for it?

I saw a thread on how to root them somewhere, but it seems like the info is outdated (i.e., the method for rooting that they suggested dosn't work any more).

Also, there are lots of "one-button" root methods that some people say are scams / install malware.
 
svim said:
Looking up the specs for your phone 4 GB of internal storage is pretty low to begin with but you have a microSD card slot so that can help alleviate a lot of your personal file storage issues. Gripe all you care to about 'Google bloat' but in a practical sense 4 GB on any phone isn't that optimal, it's minimal at best. The F3 is a three year model so don't expect it be functionally equal to anything current. I've got an also dated Galaxy S3, it was Samsung's flagship model three years ago, now it's bargain bin special in the refurbished phone sites. But I don't have expectations beyond what my S3 is capable of so don't drive yourself nutty about your F3 beyond it's limitations.
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_f3-5509.php
Click to expand...
Thank you for the note, svim:

Basically, I only really need this phone to last for about another month, until I will be "inheriting" my wife's Galaxy Note 2 (I know, another older phone, but still fairly capable.)
 
I'm still using a note II as my backup phone and have nothing bad to say about it at all... It's not latest and greatest... But it does the job very well and without any fuss all.

It's certainly a big step up from your current device so I'm sure you'll love it.
 
I personally use vicky bonick's apps2sd. I use the partition tool that's included to create a fat32 partition (up front), a ext4 partition (in the middle, 45/45 percent for each), then I create a 1 gb swap file, as this device has next to no ram, and really needs the help. Then I reboot, let it sit after bootup for a few minutes, then run apps2sd again, it usually has me reboot again, but oh well, I reboot again, then go into apps2sd again and bam! I can now move all my sh*t (I mean apps) to the ext4 partition. And I can default the app installations to the ext4 partition. And, and this is important, if your sd card is decent, you will see a performance improvement from having a swap file. If you go the extra mile you can install kernel aduitor (that's the way its spelled, trust me) and go into virtual ram (I think) and increase the swappiness to 130, which should make your phone utilize the swap file more.
There are other tools in apps2sd, they should all help. Only bummer is you have to see a stupid ad after choosing each one, but then again, the app is free.
I found link2sd to be a pain in the arse. I try to format my sd card (without a swap file - #1 bummer) with 50/50 fat32 ext4 partitions (i've also tried ext3 and ext2 and 2 fat32 partitions) but link2sd either doesn't recognize it at all, or it works for a little while then it gets borked all of a sudden and all the sh*ts gone. You don't get all the features without paying for the app either and, no swap file. I've tried to format the sd card with other phones and the same phone with aparted and have had the same results, just doesn't seem to work or works for a limited period. I got tired of it. Plus with apps2sd, if you feel brave, you can swap partitions (virtually), so android "thinks" the external sd card is the internal sd card, helpful when running kit kat, which really doesn't like putting apps on the external sd card.
 
I used towelroot when I was running carbonrom (towel root only works on kitkat, I think), but you have to root it on every bootup (I initally rooted it when I first got the phone with one of those one click pc root (command prompt scripts). You can easily check if the one click root is a scam by just right clicking the command prompt script and clicking edit with notepad. The non-scams with just run adb - reboot the phone into the bootloader - and run a script that will install the supersu files and init.d script into the proper folders. You could use stumproot too, I think. I am on gamerrom 1.0.3 now, it comes prerooted with busybox. As a side note, when using apps2sd, don't choose the option to move apps. It doesn't do anything except mess up the app and you'll have to re-install the app. Use the link app option at the bottom of the app selection in apps2sd. I have moved all my apps, including all the google apps, the play store, google services, everything. And they all work perfectly. They will move the (majority) of the app to ext4 partition BTW. I haven't tried to use the link folders option, but you could probably use the fat32 partition as app installation by linking a folder created within it with the /data/data folder from the root of the internal sd.
 
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