Having extra storage on your phone is always useful, but sometimes you need to actively move apps or media files over to your SD card. Forcing your phone to use the SD card storage can free up your internal storage for apps and media you use frequently. With some simple settings adjustments, you can configure your Android phone to default to the SD card for photos, downloads, and even apps.
Why Would I Want to Force My Phone to Use the SD Card?
Here are some of the main reasons to force your phone to use SD card storage:
- Free up internal phone storage space – Moving apps, photos, videos and other files to the SD card frees up your phone’s internal storage for faster performance.
- Store more apps – Many apps let you move the app itself to SD card, not just its data. This allows you to download more apps than your internal storage could normally hold.
- Keep media files accessible – Photos and videos stored on the SD card can still be accessed through apps like Gallery or file explorers.
- Use SD card as default storage – Setting the SD card as the default write location saves files directly to it versus filling up internal storage.
The only downsides are that SD cards are a bit slower than internal storage, and some apps don’t allow moving to SD card at all. But the storage flexibility is worth it in most cases.
How Android Manages SD Card Storage
When you insert an SD card on Android, it mounts as portable storage and acts as a separate volume from your internal phone storage. To control how this storage is used, you need to dive into the phone’s storage settings.
Options vary across Android manufacturers and versions, but generally you can:
- Set SD card as default storage for photos, videos, and downloads
- Move compatible apps to the SD card
- Designate the SD card as adoptable storage, which formats and encrypts it to act like internal storage
Adoptable storage requires formatting the SD card, so portable storage works best if you want to also use the card elsewhere. I’ll cover both methods below.
Setting Default Storage Location to SD Card
The easiest way to force your phone to use the SD card is by adopting it as internal storage. But if you don’t want to format your SD card, a simpler option is to set it as the default storage location for common file types.
Here are the basic steps to set your SD card as the default storage location:
- Go to Settings > Storage on your Android phone.
- Select your SD card.
- Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings or Storage settings.
- Look for the Default storage location option.
- Choose your SD card.
This will set your SD card as the default download location for files like photos, videos, and app install packages. New files will automatically save to your card without having to manually move them each time.
Change Default Storage on Samsung Phones
On Samsung Galaxy phones, the steps are a little different:
- Go to Settings > Device care > Storage.
- Tap the SD card name.
- Tap More options > Storage settings.
- Select your SD card under Default storage location.
Set Default Storage on LG Phones
For LG Android phones, here are the steps:
- Open Settings > Storage.
- Tap the SD card name.
- Tap the menu icon in the top-right corner.
- Select Set as default storage.
Default Storage on Motorola Phones
On Motorola phones:
- Go to Settings > Storage.
- Tap your SD card name.
- Tap the menu icon in the top-right corner.
- Select Default storage location.
- Choose your SD card.
The process is very similar across Android manufacturers – just locate the storage settings for your SD card and look for an option to set it as the default location.
Moving Apps to SD Card
Moving apps themselves to your SD card (not just their data) is a great way to free up internal storage space on your phone. Not all apps support this feature, but many large games and other space-intensive apps do.
To move an app to your SD card:
- Go to Settings > Apps or Application Manager.
- Select the app you want to move.
- Tap Storage, Change, or Modify (depends on device).
- Select your SD card as the storage location.
The app icon will change or indicate that it’s stored on the SD card after moving. You can later move it back to internal storage if needed.
Move Apps on Samsung Galaxy Phones
For Samsung Galaxy phones, the steps to move apps are:
- Go to Settings > Apps.
- Tap the app name.
- Tap Storage.
- Select your SD card.
Move Apps to SD Card on LG Phones
On LG phones, you can move apps with these steps:
- Open Settings > Apps & notifications.
- Select the app.
- Tap Storage.
- Choose Change storage.
- Select your SD card.
Move Apps on Moto Phones
For Motorola phones:
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > See all apps.
- Tap the app.
- Tap Storage.
- Select your SD card.
The process varies a bit by device but generally involves accessing app info and changing the storage location. Not all apps can be moved, however.
Adoptable Storage – Format SD as Internal Storage
Adoptable storage takes your SD card and fully integrates it with your internal storage by formatting and encrypting it. This allows your phone to treat it as built-in storage and use it for apps, media, downloads, and more automatically.
Here’s how to set up adoptable storage on SD card:
- Insert your SD card into your Android phone.
- Go to Settings > Storage.
- Select your SD card name.
- Tap the menu icon in the top-right corner.
- Choose Format as internal or Adoptable storage.
- Confirm formatting when prompted.
Once it finishes formatting, your phone will treat the SD card as internal storage and use it as needed, without having to manually move files each time.
Format Adoptable Storage on Samsung
On Samsung Galaxy devices, here are the steps:
- Insert your SD card into the phone.
- Go to Settings > Device care > Storage.
- Tap your SD card name.
- Tap More options > Format as internal.
- Confirm the formatting process.
Adoptable Storage on LG Phones
To format adoptable storage on LG phones:
- Insert your SD card into your phone.
- Open Settings > Storage.
- Tap your SD card.
- Tap the menu icon.
- Choose Format as internal.
- Confirm formatting.
Motorola Adoptable Storage Steps
On Motorola devices, format your SD card with these steps:
- Go to Settings > Storage.
- Select your SD card.
- Tap the menu icon.
- Choose Format as internal.
- Confirm the formatting when prompted.
The adoptable storage setup varies a bit by device but generally follows the same process. Just be aware that it will format your SD card and encrypt it to act as internal storage.
Checking SD Card Usage
Once you’ve configured your phone’s default storage location or adopted your SD card as internal storage, how can you see if it’s actually storing files as intended?
It’s easy to check – on most Android devices, simply go back to the Storage page in your phone’s Settings app. Here you can view details on usage for both your internal storage and SD card. Look for:
- Amount of total and available space on SD card
- Breakdown of usage by type – apps, photos, videos, etc.
- List of apps currently stored on SD card
Monitoring this Storage screen lets you see if your phone is properly saving downloads, photos, videos and apps onto your SD card rather than to internal storage.
You can also use a file manager app to browse the contents of your phone’s storage and SD card. Check if recent photos and downloads are being saved in the card’s directories as expected.
Manage SD Card Storage
If you notice your phone is still saving a number of apps and files to internal storage instead of your SD card, you may need to take further steps to properly force it to use the microSD card. Try these troubleshooting tips:
- Double check that default storage location is set to your SD card in your phone’s storage settings.
- Open recent apps like Camera, Gallery and Files to make sure they are saving new media to the card.
- Use the device’s built-in Files app or a third-party file manager to manually move apps and media over to SD card storage.
- Check if there are any apps that do not support moving to external SD card and exempt them from your efforts to force phone storage to the card.
- Consider fully adopting your SD card as internal storage via the Format as internal option in Settings.
With the right settings configured, your Android phone should reliably use your inserted SD card for app data, downloads, media and other files. Just keep an eye on your storage usage breakdown to confirm it’s working as intended.
Removing or Replacing an SD Card
If you ever need to remove your microSD card from your Android phone, for example to transfer files or replace it, be sure to do so safely:
- Open your phone’s Storage settings and tap the SD card name.
- Select the Eject or Unmount option.
- Wait for the “Safe to remove” confirmation.
- Physically remove your SD card from the phone.
Following this process ensures any pending writes get flushed from memory before removing the card. Simply yanking out the card without unmounting could corrupt data.
To replace your existing card with a new SD card, power down your phone fully before swapping them. Then boot your phone back up – it will automatically detect and mount the new card so you can migrate data.
Adoptable storage cards are encrypted to a device, so don’t forget your encryption password if prompted after replacing adoptable SD cards.
SD Card Storage Tips
Optimizing your phone’s SD card storage usage provides several benefits. Keep these tips in mind:
- Set your SD card as default storage for photos, videos and downloads to automatically save new files.
- Only move apps to SD card that allow it – games and other large apps are prime candidates.
- Adoptable storage encrypts and formats an SD card to act like internal storage.
- Always unmount your SD card before removing it to avoid corruption.
- Monitor your storage breakdown to confirm your phone is properly utilizing the SD card.
Properly leveraging your phone’s external SD card storage can give you some breathing room when your internal storage fills up. With a few taps, you can configure your phone to automatically put apps, media, downloads and more onto your SD card.
Conclusion
Using your SD card effectively comes down to setting the default storage location in your phone’s settings and moving compatible apps. Adoptable storage provides full integration at the cost of formatting your card. Keep an eye on storage usage breakdowns and manually move files if needed.
Following the steps in this guide, you can force your Android phone to make the most of your valuable external storage. Free up space for apps and media that benefit from faster internal storage while enjoying the expansive capacity of microSD cards.