Can you move Android folder to SD card?

ByJael Lawler

Many Android users want to move folders from their phone’s internal storage to an SD card in order to free up space on their device. The internal storage on most Android phones ranges from 16GB to 128GB, which can easily fill up with photos, videos, apps, and app data. By moving folders to removable SD card storage, you can dramatically increase the available storage space on your phone.

This can provide several benefits, such as allowing you to take more photos and videos, download more apps, and improve your phone’s performance by reducing clutter in internal storage. However, not all apps and data can be moved to SD cards, so it requires some management to determine what can be moved.

The general process involves going into your device’s storage settings or file manager app to locate the folders you want to move. You then navigate to the SD card storage and move or copy the folders over. There may also be ways to automate this process for certain folders, like those containing media files or app data. We’ll go over the specifics in the sections below.

Prerequisites

Before you can move Android folders to the SD card, there are a few requirements that need to be met:

First, your Android device needs to have an SD card slot that is enabled. Many modern smartphones no longer include microSD card slots, so you’ll want to ensure your device has this capability.

Second, you’ll need to have an SD card physically installed in the device’s card slot. The card should be properly inserted and mounted by the device before proceeding.

Finally, you’ll need to grant your Android device permission to write to external storage. This allows the OS to move data between the internal storage and external SD card. You can enable this by going to Settings > Apps & Notifications > Special App Access > Storage and toggling on the permission for your file manager app.

With an SD card slot, SD card installed, and external storage permission enabled, you’ll then be ready to move folders from internal storage over to the external SD card.

Move Media Folders

One of the easiest ways to free up storage space on your Android device is to move your media folders like Photos, Videos, and Audio to your SD card. Most Android devices have built-in settings that allow you to seamlessly move these folders.

To move your media folders to your SD card:

  1. Go to Settings > Storage.
  2. Select your SD card.
  3. Tap the three dot menu icon in the top right corner.
  4. Select “Migrate data.”
  5. Check the boxes for “Photos & Videos” and “Audio.”
  6. Tap Move.

This will begin the process of moving your media folders to your SD card. Depending on how much media you have, it may take some time to complete. The benefit is that all your photos, videos and audio will be automatically moved without you having to manually move each file.

Once completed, you’ll see the storage usage on your device decrease as the media has been transferred to the external SD card. You may need to reboot your device once it’s finished for the storage changes to fully take effect.

Move App Data

One way to free up internal storage is by moving app data to the SD card. App data consists of files like temporary caches, logs, and user data generated by apps. Here are some tips for moving app data to external storage:

Many apps include an option in their settings to change the storage location for data. Look in the app’s settings menu for a “Storage” or “Data” option. Select the SD card or external storage here if available. For example, Spotify and Netflix allow moving the cache and downloads.1

If an app does not have this setting, you can use a developer option in Android called “Force allow apps on external.” Enabling this will force apps to store data on the SD card if space is available. Go to Settings > System > Developer options and enable the “Force allow apps on external” option.

Large game apps take up significant storage with saved games, caches, and data files. Most games like Call of Duty, PUBG, Asphalt 9, etc. have in-game options to move the app data files to the SD card, freeing up internal storage.2

While moving app data to SD cards can free up internal storage, it may impact performance since the SD card is slower. Also, some system apps and data cannot be moved. But for non-critical apps, it’s an easy way to reclaim built-in storage.

Move Large Games

Large games like PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile tend to take up a lot of storage space on your Android device. While you can’t directly move the entire game package to your SD card, you can use certain apps to essentially trick your phone into thinking the game data is stored on the external storage.

One way to accomplish this is by using a “folder mount” app like Foldemount. These apps create a virtual folder on your SD card that links back to the actual game data stored on your device internal storage. By mounting game folders to the SD card folder, your phone will read and write game data from the external storage instead.

To move a large game using a folder mount app:

  1. Install and open the folder mount app.
  2. Grant root access if prompted.
  3. Create a new virtual folder on your SD card.
  4. Select the game data folder on your internal storage.
  5. Mount this folder to the virtual SD folder.

The game will now treat the SD folder as its data location rather than internal storage. This effectively moves the large game files without actually transferring any data.

Move Entire Folders

Another way to move data from your Android’s internal storage to the SD card is through folder mounting apps. These allow you to link folders on your device’s internal storage to your SD card instead of needing to copy files individually.

Apps like FolderMount require root access, but can mount entire folders from internal storage over to the SD card. This moves the whole folder instantly without needing to copy files one by one.

The steps would be:

  1. Download and install FolderMount.
  2. Open the app and grant root permissions.
  3. Select “Mount” and choose the folder on internal storage you want to mount.
  4. Select the location on your SD card where you want it mounted.

After mounting, the entire contents of the internal storage folder will be accessible in the new location on the SD card. This provides a seamless way to relocate folders without manually moving each file.

Automating the Process

If you want to automate moving files and folders from internal storage to the SD card, there are a few options:

Apps like Auto Move to SD Card and Automate allow you to set up scheduled transfers or triggers to automatically move files from internal storage to the SD card. These apps let you specify source and destination folders, file types, frequency, and other criteria.

You can also use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) scripts and commands to script file transfers from internal storage to the SD card. For example:

adb shell
cd /sdcard
mkdir Backup
exit
adb pull /data/data/com.example.app/files ./Backup

This script logs into ADB shell, creates a Backup folder on the SD card, exits ADB shell, and pulls files from the internal data folder for the example app to the Backup folder. Tasker can also integrate with ADB to run these commands automatically.

Automating folder transfers takes the manual work out of managing storage and ensures important files get moved to the SD card on a schedule.

Caveats

While moving folders to the SD card can free up internal storage space, there are some caveats to be aware of:

Not all folders can be moved – Certain key system folders like Android, Data, and Obb cannot be relocated to external storage. Trying to move these folders could cause app crashes or other problems.

Can impact performance – Reading and writing data on an SD card is slower than internal storage. Having apps on the SD card may lead to slower load times or laggy performance.

SD cards can fail – External SD cards are more prone to corruption or failure compared to internal storage. Moving important app data to an unreliable SD risks losing that data.

Overall, moving non-crucial media folders like Photos, Videos, and Music can work well. But limitations apply when trying to move core app folders. SD cards are best for supplementary, non-vital storage instead of hosting intensive apps.

Troubleshooting

Here are some common issues you may encounter when trying to move folders to your SD card, and how to fix them:

Folder not actually moved

Sometimes a folder will appear to move to the SD card, but is actually still stored internally. To check, go to your SD card file explorer and see if the folder is present. If not, you may need to try moving it again or use a different method.

App data recreated on internal storage

Some apps will re-download or recreate data on your device’s internal storage, even if you move the app itself. Try restricting the app’s permissions or changing its default storage location in the app settings.

Performance issues

SD cards can be much slower than internal storage, so apps stored on them may lag or stutter. Make sure you’re using a fast, high-quality card. Only move non-essential apps and games to SD to avoid performance problems.

Conclusion

In summary, there are a few key ways to move Android folders to an SD card:

You can move media folders like Pictures, Music, and Download folders via the system settings. App data and folders can also be moved for specific apps in the App Info menu. Large game files may need to be transferred manually or using an app like FolderMount. And for complete control, apps like Link2SD can automate the process of moving entire app folders to SD storage.

The main benefits are freeing up internal storage and saving space on your Android device. The limitations are that not all apps support moving to external storage, and it can be a tedious process for less tech-savvy users. Automatic linking apps make it simpler but may require root access.

Overall, with some effort many folders and apps can be migrated to an SD card. Just be aware of potential issues like broken links or app instability. Backups and patience are recommended when moving Android folders to external storage.

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