Don't y'all detest it when you endeavor to install a new app on your Android device and the "Not Plenty Space" alarm pops upward? It means all those games, photos, and 4K videos take finally taken their toll.

If your phone has a memory card slot, so the solution is piece of cake. A microSD carte is a cheap manner of expanding your telephone'south storage. You tin movement apps to an SD card to gratis up infinite, rather than removing apps on your Android device.

How you exercise this depends on what Android version you lot're using. Nosotros'll take a look at all the means to move Android apps to an SD carte in this guide.

Using an SD Card on Android: Basics

Before you get started, consider a few points.

Memory cards are slower than internal storage, and so y'all may discover slightly worse performance for resource-intensive apps. When picking a bill of fare, go for the fastest memory bill of fare with the largest chapters that your phone can support—cheque your phone's specifications to meet what cards it'due south compatible with.

Besides, exist sure y'all know how to spot a fake microSD menu to avoid getting scammed.

Information technology isn't possible to move preinstalled apps without rooting, and even some 3rd-party apps may non support it. Also, on older versions of Android, you might not be able to use widgets associated with apps you've moved to your memory card.

With all this in heed, let's see how to move apps to an SD card.

Utilize an SD Carte du jour as Internal Storage

Android Marshmallow introduced changes to the style Android phones can handle memory cards, and these changes have continued into the later versions of Android.

You can now set microSD cards to work as internal storage. Instead of having internal and external storage existing as separate spaces, Android views the card as an extension of your built-in infinite.

Data and apps tin write to either as needed, and information technology all happens seamlessly. As a result, you don't need to worry most where your apps are stored.

You have to set this up first. Your bill of fare will exist wiped in the procedure, so brand certain you've backed up whatever data you need:

  1. Insert the card into your phone. When the New SD Menu notification appears, tap Set Up.
  2. Adjacent, y'all demand to choose how your phone should use the card. Select Telephone Storage on Android 9, or Employ as Internal Storage on older versions. Alternatively, go to Settings > Storage, select the carte, tap the menu button, and select Storage Settings. Tap Format equally internal.
  3. On the next screen, tap Format SD Card, or Erase & Format. This volition wipe your card.
  4. On Android 9 and newer, you're offered the adventure to motion your content—including apps—onto the card. It also shows you how much infinite y'all'll save. Hitting Motility content to complete.

This characteristic is chosen Adoptable Storage, and it requires you to continue your card in your telephone permanently. The card is too encrypted, so you lot cannot put it in another device to copy the data.

The big downside to adoptable storage is that all Android phones are unlike, then some manufacturers choose non to offer it on their devices. If you don't have it, then yous'll take to move your apps to your SD card manually.

How to Movement Apps to an SD Card on Android 9 Pie and Above

You can all the same transfer apps to an SD carte du jour on Android nine and later manually, even if your phone doesn't back up adoptable storage. Just remember that you tin can't do it for every app, and not at all for pre-installed apps:

  1. Get to Settings > Apps & notifications > App info.
  2. Notice the app yous want to move in the list and tap it.
  3. Select Storage. If the app supports moving to a carte du jour, yous'll see a push hither labeled Alter. Tap this.
  4. Select the SD Card in the Change storage dialog box. This brings up a confirmation screen. Tap Move to brainstorm.

To motility the app back to internal storage, echo the steps above but select Internal shared storage in the final footstep. You should always do this when you lot want to change or remove your retentivity card.

How to Motility Apps to an SD Card on Android 8 Oreo

The procedure for moving an app to the SD card on Android 8 is basically the aforementioned as for Android 9:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > App info.
  2. Coil down to notice the app you want to movement to the carte du jour and tap on it.
  3. Select Storage. If the app supports being moved to a card, you'll meet a section labeled Storage used. Striking the button marked Change.
  4. Select the card you want to move the app to, followed by Move.

How to Move Apps to an SD Carte du jour on Android 7 Nougat

Yous can motility apps to a retentivity card on Android seven Nougat through Settings. However, you tin't move all apps. If they don't back up it, yous won't see the Change button in Stride 3:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps.
  2. Locate the app yous want to move to your microSD bill of fare and tap on it.
  3. Go to Storage > Change and cull your card from the prompt box that opens.
  4. Tap Move to complete the process.

Depending on the size of the app, it may take a few moments to complete (especially in the instance of large games), and so don't touch your telephone until information technology's washed. To motion the app back, repeat the steps and choose Internal shared storage in Stride 3.

How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android half-dozen Marshmallow

Moving apps to a microSD card is the same on Marshmallow as information technology is on Nougat:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps, then tap on your called app.
  2. Tap Storage > Change, so cull the carte when prompted.
  3. Hit Movement to consummate the procedure.

How to Motion Apps to an SD Carte on Android 5 Lollipop

Lollipop has less robust back up for memory cards than later versions of Android, but yous tin still movement apps from within Settings.

Yous're limited in which apps yous can place on your external storage; it depends on the developer supporting the option. Also, the entire app doesn't move across to the card either—only part of it does.

You can encounter which apps you've got on your card by swiping to the right tab in the App screen, labeled On SD Card. This makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to place any that you may wish to move back in the time to come.

To motion apps:

  1. Become to Settings > Apps and tap the app you lot want to move to your SD card.
  2. Side by side, under the Storage department, tap Move to SD Card. The push will be grayed out while the app moves, so don't interfere until it's done.
  3. If there's no Motility to SD Carte du jour option, the app cannot exist moved.

Once information technology'southward done, the Storage department will update to show how much of the app is now stored on the menu (and how much is still in internal storage). The Move button will now read Motility to Phone or Motility to Device Storage.

Tapping on this allows you to remove the app from the carte.

How to Move Apps to an SD Carte on Android four.x and Before

Support for microSD cards was extremely limited in all Android 4.10 versions (including KitKat, Jelly Bean, and Water ice Cream Sandwich). Stock Android didn't support the ability to move apps to an external card at all, as Google seemed intent on phasing cards out entirely.

Yet, some manufacturers did opt to include the feature in their own versions of the operating arrangement. If your older device supports information technology, the process is straightforward:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps.
  2. Next, locate and tap the app you want to movement to the menu.
  3. Select Movement to SD carte du jour. If this push isn't available, yous can't motion the app (or your phone doesn't support doing and then).

In the unlikely event that you lot're still using an Android ii.x device, these steps are roughly the same ones you'll encounter. Home screen widgets are non supported in these erstwhile versions—you lot'll need to keep an app on internal storage if you lot want to use a widget.

If you don't accept the choice on your phone, then y'all'll demand to look into a third-political party app.

How to Motion Apps to an SD Carte Using Link2SD

If your phone doesn't support moving apps to the SD bill of fare, or if you want to motion an app that doesn't support it individually, there are a few old third-party apps that can help you out. Apps2SD is a popular option, every bit is FolderMount. Both require a rooted Android phone.

We're going to wait at another choice, Link2SD, which has both root and not-root features. You lot can use it to motion apps to your card in bulk, to "force-motion" apps that don't normally allow information technology, and to offload data folders for larger apps and games to your external storage.

Showtime, launch the app and grant root permissions if your phone is rooted. Then tap the app you desire to motility and select an option:

  • Link to SD Card: This requires root and moves the unabridged app and its information to your card.
  • Movement to SD Card: This doesn't require root and only works if your phone supports moving apps to external storage. If y'all do accept root, y'all tin can besides force-movement apps that don't otherwise support it.
  • Link to SD Card (Data and Cache): Moves information files, and requires root.

To motion more than one app at a fourth dimension, tap the bill of fare button in the top right corner and choose Multi-select. Now tap all the apps yous want to move, hit the carte button again, and cull either Link to SD bill of fare or Motility to SD bill of fare. These are the same options every bit described above.

Link2SD is complimentary, with a paid upgrade. It hasn't been updated for some time, but still works on Android 2.iii and up.

Download: Link2SD (Complimentary) | Link2SD Plus ($2)

How to Move Apps to an SD Carte on Android

The best way to transfer apps to your SD card depends on what version of Android you're using, whether your telephone's manufacturer has implemented all the features, and what app y'all desire to motility.

In summary:

  • On phones that support adoptable storage, that'due south the best choice. It removes whatever need to manage your carte du jour manually.
  • For phones that simply support moving apps to the menu manually, that method is the all-time and cleanest.
  • If your telephone doesn't back up any of this, or if you have specific requirements, consider rooting and using Link2SD.
  • Don't overlook the occasional disadvantages of using an SD card on Android.

If your apps are taking upwards also much space, another good solution is to use Light versions of popular apps. Not only are they smaller and take upward less space, just they run faster on older or less powerful phones also.

10 Low-cal Android Apps That Are Faster Than the Full Versions

If you have an onetime or slow Android phone, or have a slow data connection, these apps will be much better for you than their mainstream counterparts.

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About The Author

Andy Betts (216 Articles Published)

Andy is a freelance writer and inferior editor for Android at MUO. He'southward been writing well-nigh consumer tech since the early on 2000s for a wide range of publications, and has a passion for all things mobile.

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