Media Storage and Other storage issues

[Of123]

Hey all,

I hope someone can help as I've searched this issue here and on Reddit and found various answers to the problem but no solutions. My brother has a Pixel 5 and the "media storage app" hogged around 50 gb of storage (same issue as Oneplus, however Oneplus solved it with an update) and filled the device. In my searches I found 3 answers; it's the media on the phone just displayed incorrectly, it is a wrong reading from the phone, or it is duplicated media which doubles the used storage (makes more sense as you'll see below).

Another Issue was Android System taking only 2 gb of space when normally it should be around 11-12 (as on my Pixel 2 and Pixel 4a), but this was solved with a wipe.

Due to various software issues with the phone I convinced him to do a complete wipe and reflashing of the stock firmware through Android flash tool. Also knowing Whatsapp caused weird issues in the past (with his Pixel 1) I also made him delete all previous backups from the phone and Google drive and clean his media (deleted only a few hundred mb) then back up again. The backup was 27 gb (not around 50 as media storage showed).

We did the wipe and flashing and everything worked well. But when we started restoring the data again and Whatsapp started restoring media then the Media Storage app started growing again, I am yet to determine if it is duplicating or not, but I am 100% convinced that there is something wrong because I checked my Pixel 2 with Android 11 and my Pixel 4a with Android 12 beta and in both cases this app barely takes a few mb of storage, all the other "media" is properly organized as it should be in it's respective category, on his phone though its all in "other".

I am really out of solutions other than wiping Whatsapp completely clean without media, only backing up chats, but this doesn't guarantee that all the media won't duplicate or fill up in Media storage again. At this point I'm thinking of waiting until Android 12 official but it also doesn't guarantee anything since it's not clear where the issue is coming from exactly.

 

[blackhawk]

Jeeeesze... Deep Six WhatsApp asap.
The trouble it's causing is the least of it's damage potential. No social media app should ever be allowed to run as an app on the phone, period!!!

WhatsApp itself is a high risk liability just like FB, Twitter etc. A proven destroyer of worlds.
You aren't the customer, you're are the product.
Censored and molded by someone else's twisted vision, and end game.
For a few dollars more... power/money is their only motivation. Mining and weaponing your data Inc.

 

[Of123]

Jeeeesze... Deep Six WhatsApp asap.
The trouble it's causing is the least of it's damage potential. No social media app should ever be allowed to run as an app on the phone, period!!!

WhatsApp itself is a high risk liability just like FB, Twitter etc. A proven destroyer of worlds.
You aren't the customer, you're are the product.
Censored and molded by someone else's twisted vision, and end game.
For a few dollars more... power/money is their only motivation. Mining and weaponing your data Inc.

I totally understand the risks of using whatsapp but we can't just stop using it when everyone else is. Also I'm not 100% sure it's ONLY whatsapp causing this, there might be other apps as well.

 

[blackhawk]

I totally understand the risks of using whatsapp but we can't just stop using it when everyone else is. Also I'm not 100% sure it's ONLY whatsapp causing this, there might be other apps as well.

I can. I'm not like everybody else... say it.

 

[Ollie75]

Hey all,

I hope someone can help as I've searched this issue here and on Reddit and found various answers to the problem but no solutions. My brother has a Pixel 5 and the "media storage app" hogged around 50 gb of storage (same issue as Oneplus, however Oneplus solved it with an update) and filled the device. In my searches I found 3 answers; it's the media on the phone just displayed incorrectly, it is a wrong reading from the phone, or it is duplicated media which doubles the used storage (makes more sense as you'll see below).

Another Issue was Android System taking only 2 gb of space when normally it should be around 11-12 (as on my Pixel 2 and Pixel 4a), but this was solved with a wipe.

Due to various software issues with the phone I convinced him to do a complete wipe and reflashing of the stock firmware through Android flash tool. Also knowing Whatsapp caused weird issues in the past (with his Pixel 1) I also made him delete all previous backups from the phone and Google drive and clean his media (deleted only a few hundred mb) then back up again. The backup was 27 gb (not around 50 as media storage showed).

We did the wipe and flashing and everything worked well. But when we started restoring the data again and Whatsapp started restoring media then the Media Storage app started growing again, I am yet to determine if it is duplicating or not, but I am 100% convinced that there is something wrong because I checked my Pixel 2 with Android 11 and my Pixel 4a with Android 12 beta and in both cases this app barely takes a few mb of storage, all the other "media" is properly organized as it should be in it's respective category, on his phone though its all in "other".

I am really out of solutions other than wiping Whatsapp completely clean without media, only backing up chats, but this doesn't guarantee that all the media won't duplicate or fill up in Media storage again. At this point I'm thinking of waiting until Android 12 official but it also doesn't guarantee anything since it's not clear where the issue is coming from exactly.

Hi,

I'm having the same issue on my Pixel 5 on Android 12. Tried downgrading to 11, factory resetting, etc.

The media storage process keeps increasing while I add files to the memory - let's say that I create a 4GB video, the media storage process is going to be almost as big in the apps section. It decreases equally when I delete something.

As a consequence the space occupied is nearly doubled (media + apps).

It seems to happen especially with media files such as pictures, audio and video files.
I reported the issue in the android 12 beta program feedback. However it sounds like it's not an urgent matter since it's been there for many releases and it is not clear how many people are affected.

I hoped that the last beta release - which is supposedly a mature one - would correct this bug and nope.

You can check out this article from Android central for a similar subject named "I couldn't stop this Android bug from eating up all of my phone's storage" Link here

I regret that I'm not bringing a solution yet.

 

[Ollie75]

Hi,

I'm having the same issue on my Pixel 5 on Android 12. Tried downgrading to 11, factory resetting, etc.

The media storage process keeps increasing while I add files to the memory - let's say that I create a 4GB video, the media storage process is going to be almost as big in the apps section. It decreases equally when I delete something.

As a consequence the space occupied is nearly doubled (media + apps).

It seems to happen especially with media files such as pictures, audio and video files.
I reported the issue in the android 12 beta program feedback. However it sounds like it's not an urgent matter since it's been there for many releases and it is not clear how many people are affected.

I hoped that the last beta release - which is supposedly a mature one - would correct this bug and nope.

You can check out this article from Android central for a similar subject named "I couldn't stop this Android bug from eating up all of my phone's storage" Link here

I regret that I'm not bringing a solution yet.

Hey, the last beta update, march 22 solved the issue. I had submitted the bug in August 21 and the ticket status turned to "fixed" in February.

A bit long but I guess issues are sorted by priority. Still really happy with the outcome.

Maybe you can spread the word on threads you've checked out so people can try the last beta release or wait for the next stable one.

That's great to know we can rely on such a support from the beta team, props to them !

 

[jitd]

Hey, the last beta update, march 22 solved the issue. I had submitted the bug in August 21 and the ticket status turned to "fixed" in February.

A bit long but I guess issues are sorted by priority. Still really happy with the outcome.

Maybe you can spread the word on threads you've checked out so people can try the last beta release or wait for the next stable one.

That's great to know we can rely on such a support from the beta team, props to them !

Hi, I'm presently having this Media Storage expansion issue with Op 9RT. Just to be clear, as you said, the Media Storage issue is now solved in your Pixel 5, right? Asking it now because if Google can solve it, then there is a feint chance that someday OnePlus will also solve it!!!

 

[Ollie75]

Hi, I'm presently having this Media Storage expansion issue with Op 9RT. Just to be clear, as you said, the Media Storage issue is now solved in your Pixel 5, right? Asking it now because if Google can solve it, then there is a feint chance that someday OnePlus will also solve it!!!

Hello, yes I confirm that the media storage problem has been solved for the Pixel 5 in the latest version, here is an article written about it after I contacted android central in April.

This pesky Android storage bug was finally fixed and we almost didn't know

"Ghost storage" that can't be freed up will no longer haunt users.

www.androidcentral.com

Hopefully it will be resolved for your OnePlus very soon.

Cheers

 

[jitd]

Hello, yes I confirm that the media storage problem has been solved for the Pixel 5 in the latest version, here is an article written about it after I contacted android central in April.

This pesky Android storage bug was finally fixed and we almost didn't know

"Ghost storage" that can't be freed up will no longer haunt users.

www.androidcentral.com

Hopefully it will be resolved for your OnePlus very soon.

Cheers

Nice!!! Pixel isn't officially sold in our country as yet, the few we have are actually unlocked devices from US and they are so damn expensive! So, I'm stuck with my 9RT for now....... Hopefully, OP resolves this, may be with Android 13!

 

[xunholyx]

Nice!!! Pixel isn't officially sold in our country as yet, the few we have are actually unlocked devices from US and they are so damn expensive! So, I'm stuck with my 9RT for now....... Hopefully, OP resolves this, may be with Android 13!

You might be able to find one that's reasonably priced on Swappa. It's affiliated with XDA and is a reputable site. It's mostly peer to peer sales.

https://swappa.com/

 

[jitd]

You might be able to find one that's reasonably priced on Swappa. It's affiliated with XDA and is a reputable site. It's mostly peer to peer sales.

https://swappa.com/

Thanks!!! Will look it up! But anything that comes from outside my country is a strict No for me as our Customs is notorious and they will tax me almost the same price of the handset if I import it!!!