Save Google Play Music to External SD(SOLVED FINALLY)

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skittles

Member
Nov 10, 2007
38
63
SAVE YOUR GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC OFFLINE MUSIC TO EXTERNAL SDCARD
So I've been researching this issue for a long long time and have tried so many different approaches. I've finally found one that works! You can now save your google play music to your external sd instead of the internal sdcard.

This is based on the post found here. Please go and thank the original author. This will probably work on any phone.

So what this basically does is mount the google play music cache to a directory on your external SD on boot.

Requirements:
1. Root
2. external SD(obviously)


Steps

  1. Using whatever task manager you have or just go into settings->apps->running, close google play music.
  2. Open your file manager and browse to /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/cache and delete all of the files found in music dir and artwork dir in this directory. This is very important step. If you do not delete your cache then your files will take up space but will no longer be available after this process.
  3. Browse to the root diretory of your external sdcard and create a directory called "MusicCache".
  4. Browse to the root of your internal sdcard and create a text file called "MusicScript.txt".
  5. Using your favourite text editor open the the file and past the following: "mount -o bind /emmc/MusicCache/ /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music/" and the save the file. Please note that if your using stock room, then /emmc/ might be /external-sd/. Please make sure to check the directory name for your external sd and replace /emmc/ with whatever your external sd directory is named.
  6. Go to the google play store and install script manager - Smanager. Open smanager, and on first open you should see an option to select root, check that option and click ok and make sure to grant root to the app when the su dialog appears.
  7. In Smanager browse to the root of your sdcard and click on and hold the "MusicScript.txt" to open a options dialog. Select "open as" and then select "Script/Executable".
  8. Then Select "Su" and "Boot" and hit save.
  9. You might not need this stop but it might solve some issues. Go to settings app->apps->google play music-> and hit clear data.
  10. Reboot your phone.
  11. Open up google play music and click on Choose on device music, and you should see the total space available equal to what is available on your external SD Card
  12. (Optional) Hamster dance.

Note: While downloading all of your music offline you may want to go to the settings app->developer options->check Keep Awake to keep the phone awake while charging so that the phone won't go to sleep. I did this so that I could finish up the download while keeping my phone charger connected. You should definitely turn this option off after your done.


**I assume no responsibility if this damages your device in any way**
 
Last edited:
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S

switters1

Senior Member
Nov 19, 2010
433
37
skittles said:
SAVE YOUR GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC OFFLINE MUSIC TO EXTERNAL SDCARD
So I've been researching this issue for a long long time and have tried so many different approaches. I've finally found one that works! You can now save your google play music to your external sd instead of the internal sdcard.

This is based on the post found here. Please go and thank the original author. I just slightly modified this to work for our phones.

So what this basically does is mount the google play music cache to a directory on your external SD on boot.

Requirements:
1. Root
2. external SD(obviously)


Steps

  1. Using whatever task manager you have or just go into settings->apps->running, close google play music.
  2. Open your file manager and browse to /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/cache and delete all of the files found in music dir and artwork dir in this directory. This is very important step. If you do not delete your cache then your files will take up space but will no longer be available after this process.
  3. Browse to the root diretory of your external sdcard and create a directory called "MusicCache".
  4. Browse to the root of your internal sdcard and create a text file called "MusicScript.txt".
  5. Using your favourite text editor open the the file and past the following: "mount -o bind /emmc/MusicCache/ /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music/" and the save the file. Please note that if your using stock room, then /emmc/ might be /external-sd/. Please make sure to check the directory name for your external sd and replace /emmc/ with whatever your external sd directory is named.
  6. Go to the google play store and install script manager - Smanager. Open smanager, and on first open you should see an option to select root, check that option and click ok and make sure to grant root to the app when the su dialog appears.
  7. In Smanager browse to the root of your sdcard and click on and hold the "MusicScript.txt" to open a options dialog. Select "open as" and then select "Script/Executable".
  8. Then Select "Su" and "Boot" and hit save.
  9. You might not need this stop but it might solve some issues. Go to settings app->apps->google play music-> and hit clear data.
  10. Reboot your phone.
  11. Open up google play music and click on Choose on device music, and you should see the total space available equal to what is available on your external SD Card
  12. (Optional) Hamster dance.


**I assume no responsibility if this damages your device in any way**
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks! I've been trying to figure out how to do this. I figured I'd just have to wait for Google to get their act together. But external storage has clearly not been a priority for them.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
 
S

skittles

Member
Nov 10, 2007
38
63
switters1 said:
Thanks! I've been trying to figure out how to do this. I figured I'd just have to wait for Google to get their act together. But external storage has clearly not been a priority for them.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad I could help someone. I've been mostly a lurker on this board. But I've benefited so much that I felt I had to give back once I got this working. I've been at this issue for a long long time.

BTW, did it work for you?
 
mfreywald

mfreywald

Senior Member
Aug 16, 2010
161
23
Awesome, I'm going to give this a try when I get home from work today. I'll let you know if I got it working. Very cool of you to share this.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
 
S

ss2pheonix

Member
Sep 21, 2009
37
1
Cincinnati, Ohio
Can't get it working

I'm on a htc evo lte and i cant seem to get this to work. In the root directory my sd cards are sdcard and sdcard2 but sdcard is mounted to /mnt/sdcard and sdcard2 is mounted to /mnt/sdcard/ext_sd how would the script look for me?
 
S

skittles

Member
Nov 10, 2007
38
63
ss2pheonix said:
I'm on a htc evo lte and i cant seem to get this to work. In the root directory my sd cards are sdcard and sdcard2 but sdcard is mounted to /mnt/sdcard and sdcard2 is mounted to /mnt/sdcard/ext_sd how would the script look for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just use the following instead of what I have posted for step 5.

mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard/ext_sd/MusicCache/ /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music/

Let me know if works out for you.
 
S

skittles

Member
Nov 10, 2007
38
63
MotoMudder77 said:
Its in there. has been for some time, hell if you've done any kind of research before you posted that, you'd see hundreds of posts about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah, you mean, settings->storage->storage configuration->layout configuration. But that moves all of your apps/media to external storage. The method I posted just moves gmusic cache which the solution I've been looking for.
 
Z

Zion800

Member
Apr 11, 2006
33
12
It seems like everyone has gotten this working except me! I was able to create the symlink using your script, and I even see the cache directory on the external SD card. The odd issue is that the cache directory remains completely empty no matter how many songs I store offline. Even when I remove the symlinks, the files are not in /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music. I have gone so far as to factory reset my phone twice (in two different ways) and the issue still persists. After factory resetting, my main goal was to just find where the offline files are being stored so I didn't even create symlinks.

I am using a Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 with the stock rom.

Can anyone help me with this? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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skittles

Member
Nov 10, 2007
38
63
Can you first confirm that files are available offline in music. Simply check On device only in the pop menu when you hit the menu button.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium HD app
 
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    skittles
    SAVE YOUR GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC OFFLINE MUSIC TO EXTERNAL SDCARD
    So I've been researching this issue for a long long time and have tried so many different approaches. I've finally found one that works! You can now save your google play music to your external sd instead of the internal sdcard.

    This is based on the post found here. Please go and thank the original author. This will probably work on any phone.

    So what this basically does is mount the google play music cache to a directory on your external SD on boot.

    Requirements:
    1. Root
    2. external SD(obviously)


    Steps

    1. Using whatever task manager you have or just go into settings->apps->running, close google play music.
    2. Open your file manager and browse to /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/cache and delete all of the files found in music dir and artwork dir in this directory. This is very important step. If you do not delete your cache then your files will take up space but will no longer be available after this process.
    3. Browse to the root diretory of your external sdcard and create a directory called "MusicCache".
    4. Browse to the root of your internal sdcard and create a text file called "MusicScript.txt".
    5. Using your favourite text editor open the the file and past the following: "mount -o bind /emmc/MusicCache/ /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music/" and the save the file. Please note that if your using stock room, then /emmc/ might be /external-sd/. Please make sure to check the directory name for your external sd and replace /emmc/ with whatever your external sd directory is named.
    6. Go to the google play store and install script manager - Smanager. Open smanager, and on first open you should see an option to select root, check that option and click ok and make sure to grant root to the app when the su dialog appears.
    7. In Smanager browse to the root of your sdcard and click on and hold the "MusicScript.txt" to open a options dialog. Select "open as" and then select "Script/Executable".
    8. Then Select "Su" and "Boot" and hit save.
    9. You might not need this stop but it might solve some issues. Go to settings app->apps->google play music-> and hit clear data.
    10. Reboot your phone.
    11. Open up google play music and click on Choose on device music, and you should see the total space available equal to what is available on your external SD Card
    12. (Optional) Hamster dance.

    Note: While downloading all of your music offline you may want to go to the settings app->developer options->check Keep Awake to keep the phone awake while charging so that the phone won't go to sleep. I did this so that I could finish up the download while keeping my phone charger connected. You should definitely turn this option off after your done.


    **I assume no responsibility if this damages your device in any way**
    View
    8
    B
    bluez3023
    Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean

    SGH-T999 (4.1.1)
    Google Play Music (Version 4.4.811H.526848)

    1.     Open Settings > Application manager > All > Google Play Music
    2. Select "Force stop" and "Clear data"
    3. Open ROM Toolbox > Root Browser
    4. Create the following folder on your SD card /mnt/extSdCard/GoogleMusic/files
    5. Tap and hold the folder named "files" until menu appears, and select "Create shortcut" at the bottom of the list
    6. Navigate to /data/data/com.google.android.music/
    7. Select "Create" and the "files" folder should be linked
    8. Open "Play Music" app and sync
    9. Select "Choose on device music" and it should show the available space on your sd card
    10. Profit

    tl;dr the directory where music is stored has changed from /data/data/com.google.android.music/cache to /data/data/com.google.android.music/files for both music and artwork
    View
    8
    A
    awantoch
    I think you all are really over-thinking this...

    I found the absolute best and easiest way is by using symlinks. This can be accomplished with ROM Toolbox [Root Browser], without the need of scripting/commands/etc.

    0. Open ROM Toolbox > Root Browser
    1. Make a folder in your desired location (sdcard) called "Music" or something to that sort.
    2. Tap and hold, select the option "Create Shortcut" at the bottom
    3. Navigate to /data/data/com.google.android.music/
    4. Paste (to create the shortcut)
    5. Delete the "cache" folder in this directory
    6. Rename the shortcut to "cache"
    7. Enjoy!
    View
    6
    Ytsejamer1
    Ytsejamer1
    Using Root Explorer on Samsung Galaxy S3 on Sprint (Stock)

    bluez3023 said:
    SGH-T999 (4.1.1)
    Google Play Music (Version 4.4.811H.526848)

    1.     Open Settings > Application manager > All > Google Play Music
    2. Select "Force stop" and "Clear data"
    3. Open ROM Toolbox > Root Browser
    4. Create the following folder on your SD card /mnt/extSdCard/GoogleMusic/files
    5. Tap and hold the folder named "files" until menu appears, and select "Create shortcut" at the bottom of the list
    6. Navigate to /data/data/com.google.android.music/
    7. Select "Create" and the "files" folder should be linked
    8. Open "Play Music" app and sync
    9. Select "Choose on device music" and it should show the available space on your sd card
    10. Profit

    tl;dr the directory where music is stored has changed from /data/data/com.google.android.music/cache to /data/data/com.google.android.music/files for both music and artwork
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    Thank you very much. I did this almost to the letter on my Samsung S3 on Sprint using stock rom. I used root explorer to create the folders. Here were the different steps from the above list.

    Google Play Music (Version 4.4.811H.526848)

    1.     Open Settings > Application manager > All > Google Play Music
    2. Select "Force stop" and "Clear data"
    3. Open Root Explorer
    4. Create the following folder path on your SD card (/mnt/extSdCard) :/GoogleMusic/files
    5. Tap and hold the folder named "files" until menu appears, and select "Link to this folder" at the bottom of the list
    6. Navigate to /data/data/com.google.android.music/
    7. Hit the "Create Link" button at the bottom and the "files" folder should be linked to the location sitting on your external sdcard.
    8. Open "Play Music" app and sync
    9. Select "Choose on device music" and it should show the available space on your sd card
    10. Verify files and folders after initial sync has completed. You should see the artwork and mp3 files if you're temporarily caching files in there.

    I did the above because I didn't want all my cached music to hang around on the internal storage. I've got a 32gb class 10 card coming and that should give enough headroom for my use! :) Without the Google music option to temporarily cache music, the playback is pretty inconsistent here in the NH area. Caching it tends to allow the player to...well...play!

    Thanks to the OP of the instructions. I just wanted to throw my experience with Root explorer in there for anyone if they need it.
    View
    5
    junkedBrian
    junkedBrian
    awantoch said:
    I found the absolute best and easiest way is by using symlinks. This can be accomplished with ROM Toolbox [Root Browser], without the need of scripting/commands/etc.

    0. Open ROM Toolbox > Root Browser
    1. Make a folder in your desired location (sdcard) called "Music" or something to that sort.
    2. Tap and hold, select the option "Create Shortcut" at the bottom
    3. Navigate to /data/data/com.google.android.music/
    4. Paste (to create the shortcut)
    5. Delete the "cache" folder in this directory
    6. Rename the shortcut to "cache"
    7. Enjoy!
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    I wanted to say thanks, I did this (Downloaded Rom Toolbox Lite) and used the Root Browser, on my Rooted Galaxy S3 running stock Rogers ICS. Took under 2 minutes, and verified it's working.

    I tried to do it using root explorer but the shortcuts seems to have a bug and wasn't able to create it, downloading root browser was the trick.

    thanks!
    View

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