Technical Questions R.e., Smartphone Storage.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

It's only frustrating because you make it so. You're already jumping to Moon Reader and Calibre Companion when what you need is a file manager.

If you install a third party file manager, you wouldn't need manufacturer and firmware specific instructions on how to move files from internal memory to SD card. You could use instructions/tutorials for the app which are easier to find than various manufacturer skin+firmware specific ones. Older versions of Android don't come with built-in file managers so one would've needed to install a third party file manager on those anyway. I've used Android since the Android 2.2 Froyo days hence, ES File Explorer Pro is an automatic install on my Android devices.

Actually, I never did install Moon Reader or Calibre Companion. Someone's post persuaded me to hold off on that and try using the phone alone (first?). It might have been one of your posts, I don't remember.

I actually installed ES File Explorer (I don't think that it is the Pro version; if it cost any money, I know that I didn't). That was one of the three or four apps that I uninstalled, however, when my phone told me that I was about to run out of storage (However, uninstalling it apparently didn't help, because the phone showed the same amount of storage left, afterwards, as it did before I uninstalled ES).

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

This apparent limitation in knowledge is why I previously suggested to buy a fast SD card (UAHS1) and follow the advice given previously by Dopeangel. Then he wouldn't have to worry about internal memory versus SD card.

I had to go back and re-read Dopeangel's post (it is #10):

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

If you are on Android N I would recommend following this video and converting your sd card to internal storage. The limitation is that you will have to treat the SD card as part of the phone from then on you won't be able to just take it out and use it another device
https://youtu.be/_7tkrFzM1Gg

I have no problem with buying a fast SD card--I'd probably even buy a 64 GB one if the phone would support one of that size. I take it that the reason for buying a fast SD card is to try to get the SD card's speed (slower) as close as possible to that of internal storage (faster)? I wouldn't care whether or not I could ever take the new card out, especially if it is a 64GB card--surely that amount of storage would be plenty as long as I owned the phone.

The only potential problem that I see concerns the fact, that I mentioned in an earlier post, that somehow there has ended up 4 or 5 GB of stuff on the existing SD card (the only way that that could have happened, it seems to me, is that while "playing around" with the phone and the storage, I accidentally transferred the files from internal storage to the SD card!). Now, how do I transfer off of the SD card the files that are apparently on it now, so that I can put them on the new SD card? The video that Dopeangel mentioned may very well give the answer to that. It also occurs to me that that may be the time to try the USB-cord-and-PC approach that someone mentioned. I might try that, anyway, before installing a new card.

All the while, as I was writing this post, I was thinking that I am missing something obvious. I think that I'll "play around" with the phone's settings and built-in file explorer, again, tonight when I go to bed, and see if I can come up with some answers.

As always, thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.

[4691mls]

As a fellow over-50 non-computer-geek person, I'll tell you that I do have File Explorer installed on my phone but I still find it simpler to just hook up the phone to the computer if I want to move or copy things - I guess this is a matter of personal preference, as some people on this thread have advocated for each way of doing things.

I still don't understand why when you uninstalled apps it didn't change your internal storage numbers. I have always been able to see a difference if I added or removed an app.

My phone has 16GB total internal storage with 5.04 GB of that devoted to Android OS files, leaving 10.96 GB of internal storage for my use. I currently have 6.42 GB used of 10.96 GB. This number (6.42 out of 10.96) is the one that changes if I install or uninstalled something.

My SD card is set up as external storage and I have the camera set to store photos on the external card. This setting can be found by opening the camera app and going to its settings (I suppose this affects only future photos and not ones already in storage?)

I don't have a lot of music (I usually listen to the radio or CD's) but I think I have those files set to store on external.

I mainly do my reading on my Sony reader and I read mostly library books anyway, so book storage on the phone isn't a big issue for me. I did set the Overdrive library app to save downloaded files to the card (this setting is found by opening the Overdrive app and accessing its settings).

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

As a fellow over-50 non-computer-geek person, I'll tell you that I do have File Explorer installed on my phone but I still find it simpler to just hook up the phone to the computer if I want to move or copy things - I guess this is a matter of personal preference, as some people on this thread have advocated for each way of doing things.

I'm 57, and have been using pc's since the 80's at work and a personal pc since 1990. I have made myself keep up to date with most of the changes with technology simply because being computer illiterate will leave you unemployable!

When I got my first Reader (Sony) in 2010, I loaded all of my books by hooking up the reader to the pc and letting Sony for pc do the transferring. All books were downloaded to my pc and transferred over to the reader. This is how I learned and simply kept it that way because doing things by my pc is just faster and easier for me when I can see clearly exactly what I'm doing and what's happening.

I'd rather rely on a mouse click/drag and drop from a pc rather than poking at tiny buttons on a phone screen. The only time I have to rely on the phone is when I sometimes have to tell it to import newly added books.

[4691mls]

Cfrizz - I still use the Sony software to put books on my Sony reader. I find it easier and more efficient to browse and download from a store or library on the PC than directly on the reader (though I do occasionally get library books directly on the reader if I am away from my PC). I know there are plenty of people on the forum who don't like the Sony software but it works fine for what I use it for.

I'm with you on preferring the mouse over the tiny phone buttons. Even though I have small fingers, I still have problems with accidentally tapping on wrong buttons on the phone. I'm glad to have the phone as a secondary internet/email device but the PC is really easier to use for a lot of things.

[GtrsRGr8]

I've figured out, with much help from you all, how to move files from internal storage to an SD card! That's the short version; the rest of this post is optional reading. ha

I've freed up over a gigabyte in internal storage; the files making up that gigabyte are now on the SD card. I now have some breathing room! And, there is a lot more storage that I can free up in internal storage, whenever I want to.

I'm a big boy now, and can admit when I've goofed up. Much of my problem was that I wasn't following the correct procedure for moving files on Android 7. This being my first smartphone, to speak of, I just had to learn how to do it correctly. In retrospect, I should have watched a tutorial or two. I found neither the LG "quick start" guide _nor_ the big "owner's manual" of help in this matter.

I learned _much_ from your posts about Android, and other smartphone things, in addition to things which were of direct help to me in solving the problem at hand.

Thanks, again!

[4691mls]

Yay! Glad you were able to figure it out.

[GtrsRGr8]

I know that ya'll were hoping that you wouldn't hear from me again. (ha?)

But I ran across a great short article on how to free up storage on a smartphone. It applies to Android, but other phones as well. It's point #3 on this webpage. I hesitated to quote all of it because of being unsure about the copyright issues, even though the point itself is not all that long. The writer packs a lot of great information in a short amount of space.