[How to] Moving Apps to SD Card

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Eambo

Senior Member
Jun 19, 2012
133
45
***UPDATE***

As of update MF5 and higher, this feature is now part of Samsung's software (YAY! :))

To move apps to SD, simply Go to:

1] Settings
2] More
3] Application Manager
4] Select your app from the list
5] Select the "Move to SD card" option

For those of you on older firmwares or wanting a slightly more powerful tool, read on! :)


Hi Everyone,

I'm posting this here hoping to save others some trouble of finding how to move Apps to SD Card. Officially it's not supported, but there's already a few methods of doing so. First, some warnings:

Rooting: Currently there is no recoveries for the Galaxy S4, so if rooting somehow goes wrong, you've got an expensive paperweight.
Apps to SD Card: SD Card memory is more vulnerable than the internal memory, so there's always a risk of data loss on them. Keep anything you can't afford to lose in the internal memory!

Step 1: Prepare your phone for rooting:

First up you need to Root your Galaxy S4. To do this:



[On your Phone]
- Go to Settings --> More Tab --> About Device
- Tap "Build number" multiple times - I think after 9 it enables "Developer Options"
- Go back to the "More" menu, and open the new developer options tab
- Enable "USB Debugging"
- Plug your phone into your computer via USB

[On your Computer (Windows only instructions)]
- Download the Galaxy S Drivers from HERE and save them somewhere handy (IE: Desktop)
- Right click "Computer/My Computer", go to properties, and open your device manager
- You should see your galaxy in there somewhere (Possibly under "other"). Right click this, go to "update driver software", and browse for drivers. Select the S Driver folder mentioned above and hit next, and it should update/install itself.
View attachment 1935015

Step 2: Root your phone:

For versions before MDN/MDM - thunderserpent's guide should do the trick: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2266336
For versions ending in MDN/MDM - djembey's guide should work great: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2255190

For older versions (stock without an OTA Update), use the below method:

[On your Computer (Windows only instructions)]
- Once installed, download the Motochopper software HERE to root the phone
- Double click the motochopper "run.bat" in the folder, and follow the instructions onscreen.

Step 3: Install and use FolderMount:

[On your Phone]
- Once rooted, download foldermount HERE
- Once installed, open FolderMount and grant superuser access when asked.
- In FolderMount, you have the options to:
View attachment 1935014
:: Name your folder (IE: "Generic Game 1")
:: Select the "Source" Folder (the one on your local storage)
:: Select the "Destination" Folder (the one on your SD Card)

When you enter these details, it will then move them to your SD Card! :)

Personally I paid the £1.40 for the FolderMount Pro, because it also shows you filesizes when browsing - and it's finally made my S4 useful!

I know it's not the easiest process ever, but hopefully I've explained it enough to get people started. I have a 32GB external and the measly 8.8 internal I was left with was useless. Now I can move apps to the external card to save space internally! :)

Common Locations of Large Files:

Two common locations for games (IE: Gameloft games, EA Games, etc.)
Android/data
Android/obb

Potential Downfalls:
- Loading times may increase from the external memory
- Updates may cause problems, although testing so far shows it doesn't have any problems
- You may need to re-mount after reboot, the mount on boot option may not always work

If you get prompted to redownload a game/update that you already have - check in FolderMount that it has been mounted okay :)

Disclaimer: These instructions are purely to try and help people - I don't own, maintain, or affiliate with any of the downloads. Use at your own risk! :)

Update

Some people using Adam Kernel/root having been having issues - please see some steps below from abheshekk who managed to get it working fine:

Hi,

Follow following steps to resolve this issue, mine is working now:

I9500 should be on stock rom mine was on mdk indian latest firmware.

1. install Adam kernel 1.1 using odin
2. install cofface cwm recovery
3. install busybox

this will work for you :) enjoy
 
Last edited:

rushless

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2008
3,684
446
Please note you will probably have to reinstall the apps when updates for the app are available in the market.

Not too mention Samsung's response was misleading and stupid, since misleads customers thinking it fixes the app storage.
 
Last edited:

GhostLeader

Senior Member
May 2, 2013
142
46
Duesseldorf
Samsung's response to the lack of built in memory is an SD Card, yet they don't officially support this - so after a bit of looking around I managed to get it working. Figured if it helps even one or two people out, yay :)

Can you plz add the information where my installed apps are on android? Dont know the path, its my first android smartphone ;)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
 

Eambo

Senior Member
Jun 19, 2012
133
45
Can you plz add the information where my installed apps are on android? Dont know the path, its my first android smartphone ;)

Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app

So far, I'm not entirely sure. They seem to have different locations:

Android/data
Android/obb

Are a huge chunk (6.6GB on mine - mainly games - Gameloft etc.)
The rest are in 100s of MB at most, so those seem to be the main places. If you get the 'paid' version of the FolderMount app, it shows you the folder sizes in the app which helps a lot :)

As for updates/reinstalling, this may indeed be true. I haven't had a chance to test/play with this unfortunately! :( If I get an update anywhere, I'll update this! :)

Edit: I deleted one of my folders from NFS MW and it redownloaded to the SD Card which was handy - however I don't know how google play will work with updates, whether it does a "smarter" check or not.
 
Last edited:

opz187

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2012
1,459
480
I can't find most of my apps. There's a few in Android/data. . But idk where the rest are at. Nothing in obb
 

Eambo

Senior Member
Jun 19, 2012
133
45
As an update, I just updated an app through Play and it looks to have updated without a problem to the SD Card - I can't really poke around much to tell, but it launched and looks fine to me, and looks to still be mounted on the SD Card :)
 
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beagio

Member
May 2, 2013
17
3
Thanks for confirming that - from the description of FolderMount it sounds like the phone should be unaware of it being external, so I was hoping there wouldn't be a problem :)
Seems to me that it's basically created a symbolic link pointing to the external SD card. Android shouldn't know the difference. That's just a guess tho, as I'm new to this Android malarkey :)
 

Eambo

Senior Member
Jun 19, 2012
133
45
I had an update today for Iron Man 3, which is on my external card. It updated fine through Google Play, and when I launched it it just went "Verifying Files" then launched - no issues :)

The only problem I've found so far is with the gallery and hidden folders. I went into the gallery and hid a folder - a few times I couldn't get the option to show hidden folders. I rebooted, and can no longer either hide or show hidden folders - which is strange. The option is entirely missing now...may be unrelated, but not entirely sure.
 

drenco

Member
Apr 28, 2013
45
3
I had an update today for Iron Man 3, which is on my external card. It updated fine through Google Play, and when I launched it it just went "Verifying Files" then launched - no issues :)

The only problem I've found so far is with the gallery and hidden folders. I went into the gallery and hid a folder - a few times I couldn't get the option to show hidden folders. I rebooted, and can no longer either hide or show hidden folders - which is strange. The option is entirely missing now...may be unrelated, but not entirely sure.

So as im new to Android guys with this method you can download,install and run/play apps/games straight from a micro sd card thus freeing up the internal storage ?
 

onesolo

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2006
2,580
227
Nexus 7 (2013)
Google Nexus 5
Wow, I'm using it on S3, and it works much better than Directory Bind, than never did work on my S3 (I don't know why)!!!

Thkx a lot for this!!! Now I finally can have all my big games installed!!!
 

Eambo

Senior Member
Jun 19, 2012
133
45
So as im new to Android guys with this method you can download,install and run/play apps/games straight from a micro sd card thus freeing up the internal storage ?

Sorry for the delayed response - yep, that's exactly what it does. Again it has some negatives as the external is a bit slower to load and has a higher chance of failure, but I know I certainly had no room internally - this allows me to use the 32GB External for games, apps, etc. :)
 

bons

Senior Member
Jan 1, 2005
267
57
The Netherlands
Link2SD

Hi all,
I installed Link2SD from market. Working nicely, also with updates and new apps.
Does this this foldermount option do the same, or is it more efficient?
 

Markuzy

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2012
529
120
Singapore
FolderMount allows you a choice in moving your large app data and obb folders and even media like the whatsapp photos folder to the external SD.

It's more flexible in what you can do.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
 

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  • 22
    ***UPDATE***

    As of update MF5 and higher, this feature is now part of Samsung's software (YAY! :))

    To move apps to SD, simply Go to:

    1] Settings
    2] More
    3] Application Manager
    4] Select your app from the list
    5] Select the "Move to SD card" option

    For those of you on older firmwares or wanting a slightly more powerful tool, read on! :)


    Hi Everyone,

    I'm posting this here hoping to save others some trouble of finding how to move Apps to SD Card. Officially it's not supported, but there's already a few methods of doing so. First, some warnings:

    Rooting: Currently there is no recoveries for the Galaxy S4, so if rooting somehow goes wrong, you've got an expensive paperweight.
    Apps to SD Card: SD Card memory is more vulnerable than the internal memory, so there's always a risk of data loss on them. Keep anything you can't afford to lose in the internal memory!

    Step 1: Prepare your phone for rooting:

    First up you need to Root your Galaxy S4. To do this:



    [On your Phone]
    - Go to Settings --> More Tab --> About Device
    - Tap "Build number" multiple times - I think after 9 it enables "Developer Options"
    - Go back to the "More" menu, and open the new developer options tab
    - Enable "USB Debugging"
    - Plug your phone into your computer via USB

    [On your Computer (Windows only instructions)]
    - Download the Galaxy S Drivers from HERE and save them somewhere handy (IE: Desktop)
    - Right click "Computer/My Computer", go to properties, and open your device manager
    - You should see your galaxy in there somewhere (Possibly under "other"). Right click this, go to "update driver software", and browse for drivers. Select the S Driver folder mentioned above and hit next, and it should update/install itself.
    View attachment 1935015

    Step 2: Root your phone:

    For versions before MDN/MDM - thunderserpent's guide should do the trick: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2266336
    For versions ending in MDN/MDM - djembey's guide should work great: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2255190

    For older versions (stock without an OTA Update), use the below method:

    [On your Computer (Windows only instructions)]
    - Once installed, download the Motochopper software HERE to root the phone
    - Double click the motochopper "run.bat" in the folder, and follow the instructions onscreen.

    Step 3: Install and use FolderMount:

    [On your Phone]
    - Once rooted, download foldermount HERE
    - Once installed, open FolderMount and grant superuser access when asked.
    - In FolderMount, you have the options to:
    View attachment 1935014
    :: Name your folder (IE: "Generic Game 1")
    :: Select the "Source" Folder (the one on your local storage)
    :: Select the "Destination" Folder (the one on your SD Card)

    When you enter these details, it will then move them to your SD Card! :)

    Personally I paid the £1.40 for the FolderMount Pro, because it also shows you filesizes when browsing - and it's finally made my S4 useful!

    I know it's not the easiest process ever, but hopefully I've explained it enough to get people started. I have a 32GB external and the measly 8.8 internal I was left with was useless. Now I can move apps to the external card to save space internally! :)

    Common Locations of Large Files:

    Two common locations for games (IE: Gameloft games, EA Games, etc.)
    Android/data
    Android/obb

    Potential Downfalls:
    - Loading times may increase from the external memory
    - Updates may cause problems, although testing so far shows it doesn't have any problems
    - You may need to re-mount after reboot, the mount on boot option may not always work

    If you get prompted to redownload a game/update that you already have - check in FolderMount that it has been mounted okay :)

    Disclaimer: These instructions are purely to try and help people - I don't own, maintain, or affiliate with any of the downloads. Use at your own risk! :)

    Update

    Some people using Adam Kernel/root having been having issues - please see some steps below from abheshekk who managed to get it working fine:

    Hi,

    Follow following steps to resolve this issue, mine is working now:

    I9500 should be on stock rom mine was on mdk indian latest firmware.

    1. install Adam kernel 1.1 using odin
    2. install cofface cwm recovery
    3. install busybox

    this will work for you :) enjoy
    2
    im 100% sure that my mobile has root access.

    ---------- Post added at 12:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:03 PM ----------



    same as me

    Hi,

    Follow following steps to resolve this issue, mine is working now:

    I9500 should be on stock rom mine was on mdk indian latest firmware.

    1. install Adam kernel 1.1 using odin
    2. install cofface cwm recovery
    3. install busybox

    this will work for you :) enjoy
    1
    As an update, I just updated an app through Play and it looks to have updated without a problem to the SD Card - I can't really poke around much to tell, but it launched and looks fine to me, and looks to still be mounted on the SD Card :)
    1
    Does the root work for UK firmware I9515XXUAMDD? I can't find any topics mentioning it.

    Is this the Exynos version as opposed to the Snapdragon?

    I only know anything about the SnapDragon versions unfortunately, so can't say much on the Exynos personally - hopefully someone else a bit more knowledgeable can help! :)

    According to the article on Sammobile (I cant post links yet):
    There are, currently, 3 variants of the Galaxy S4:
    GT-I9500 – Exynos 5 Octa 1.6 GHz without LTE
    GT-I9505 – Snapdragon 600 1.9 GHz with LTESHV-E300S – Exynos 5 Octa 1.8 GHz with LTE


    (If you want to read the whole thing, the article is called "Galaxy S4′s latest benchmark confirms Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa kills Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600")

    So it seems all 9505s (which is what I have) run snapdragon rather than Exynos, so I'm hoping it'll work. But I'm new to rooting, so I don't want to try it before I can be as sure as poss that it'll work ok.

    Thanks for the help so far!

    ---------- Post added at 05:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:22 PM ----------

    I also read some where that the higher the last letter in the "version code" (I don't know the correct term) the newer the version, i.e. MDD would be followed by MDE. Does anyone know if this is true?

    Apologies for such basic questions!
    1
    Thunderserpent has posted a brilliant guide which covers all firmware versions :)

    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2266336

    According to the article on Sammobile (I cant post links yet):
    There are, currently, 3 variants of the Galaxy S4:
    GT-I9500 – Exynos 5 Octa 1.6 GHz without LTE
    GT-I9505 – Snapdragon 600 1.9 GHz with LTESHV-E300S – Exynos 5 Octa 1.8 GHz with LTE


    (If you want to read the whole thing, the article is called "Galaxy S4′s latest benchmark confirms Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa kills Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600")

    So it seems all 9505s (which is what I have) run snapdragon rather than Exynos, so I'm hoping it'll work. But I'm new to rooting, so I don't want to try it before I can be as sure as poss that it'll work ok.

    Thanks for the help so far!

    ---------- Post added at 05:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:22 PM ----------

    I also read some where that the higher the last letter in the "version code" (I don't know the correct term) the newer the version, i.e. MDD would be followed by MDE. Does anyone know if this is true?

    Apologies for such basic questions!