Android 5.02 - Keep running out of space

mrcheez

I have a cheapo Vodafone Smart Prime 6 with 5 GB internal storage and have a 30 GB SD card.

The phone is rooted.

I've tried a variety of linking apps to "move" my installed apps onto the SD card but they just don't seem to work and any attempts to move or install on the SD card fails.

Hence I'm constantly having to clear my cache to enable updates etc.

At least photos appear to be saving to the SD card, but even WhatsApp is storing images on local storage so I've had to disable auto download of images.

I have very few apps installed bar some smart home apps and Revolut/Spotify. No games.

Recommend anything that will move all my apps or app caching onto the SD card please?

AllForIt

I don't know what is causing your issue but from memory I think 5.1.1 has better support for what your looking for so if you could upgrade it would be worth a try and wouldn't be a bad idea anyway.

mrcheez

Cool, how do I upgrade? Via Play Store?

I haven't been prompted to upgrade anywhere on the device.

AllForIt

mrcheez wrote: »

Cool, how do I upgrade? Via Play Store?

I haven't been prompted to upgrade anywhere on the device.

No it's not that simple I'm afraid. If your phone doesn't update automatically by the methods mentioned above then your outta luck for a straightforward update.

Have you tried Link2sd ? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.buak.Link2SD&hl=en

sentient_6

Honestly? New phone time. Apologies I appreciate that mightn't be an option.

mrcheez

Not really an option, the phone does what I need, bar the storage thing.

I'm not a text-walker, so I only use my phone passively and don't rely on it, nor generally carry it on my person, so not really interested in investing in another model until this one dies and then I have to.

I tried Link2SD alright.. will give it another shot and try to see why it didn't work last time

mrcheez

Forgot to mention, I had my phone unlocked by one of those blokes on Moore St so I could use it on Three.

Would an upgrade to the OS undo that?

I believe it was a firmware fix, so maybe not.

AllForIt

No, once it's unlocked it's unlocked no matter what you do with the system.

AllForIt

mrcheez wrote: »

I tried Link2SD alright.. will give it another shot and try to see why it didn't work last time

For that app to work you have manually create a dedicated space called a partition on your SD card , the app won't do that for you so you have to figure out how to do it yourself. Instructions here https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2142844 If your not accustomed to doing this type of stuff it might be more trouble than it's worth and it may still not work as we are not sure what the problem is. Btw apps will run slower if placed on the SD card as the speed of the sd card is slower than the internal memory.

An alternative option would be to reset your phone which would wipe everything and then re-install only the apps you really need. If you really need all those apps then you should consider getting a new phone.

mrcheez

AllForIt wrote: »

For that app to work you have manually create a dedicated space called a partition on your SD card , the app won't do that for you so you have to figure out how to do it yourself. Instructions here https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2142844 If your not accustomed to doing this type of stuff it might be more trouble than it's worth and it may still not work as we are not sure what the problem is. Btw apps will run slower if placed on the SD card as the speed of the sd card is slower than the internal memory.

An alternative option would be to reset your phone which would wipe everything and then re-install only the apps you really need. If you really need all those apps then you should consider getting a new phone.

It's not the apps that are taking up space, it's the associated data.

I have about 8 apps installed apart from the google/built in stuff

mrcheez

I've used Link2SD to move some of the native VF apps to the SD without needing a partition so I'll see how I get on first with that.

Can't seem to delete those, even with my super user access.

AllForIt

mrcheez wrote: »

It's not the apps that are taking up space, it's the associated data.

I have about 8 apps installed apart from the google/built in stuff

If you don't need the associated data you could just delete it. If you do need the app to keep the data and you can't sort the sd card you need a new device. Wipe the cache first and see how much that releases, if it's not enough then wipe the data which is effectively a full reset of the app.

mrcheez

AllForIt wrote: »

If you don't need the associated data you could just delete it. If you do need the app to keep the data and you can't sort the sd card you need a new device. Wipe the cache first and see how much that releases, if it's not enough then wipe the data which is effectively a full reset of the app.

Ive set Link2SD to automatically clear my cache every hour so I'll see how I get on there.

As mentioned already buying a new device ain't an option till this one is completely dead.

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Ive set Link2SD to automatically clear my cache every hour so I'll see how I get on there.

As mentioned already buying a new device ain't an option till this one is completely dead.

When a device stops functioning as a normal device without jumping through hoops, it is dead. Nobody should have to live like that :pac:

mrcheez

If this method doesn't sort it I can upgrade

mrcheez

AllForIt wrote: »

I don't know what is causing your issue but from memory I think 5.1.1 has better support for what your looking for so if you could upgrade it would be worth a try and wouldn't be a bad idea anyway.

Hmm seems the upgrade idea was a bad idea

Out of curiosity I decided to try the upgrade as well and now it's stuck on the Powered By Android screen.

I've got it to the boot selection screen and currently clearing out the cache, but I take it I've got to do a factory reset now?

Any tools I should try first to see if I can start it without clearing out my data?

Quackster

Had this space issue when I had a Vodafone Smart 4 Turbo and the first thing I always did when apps refused to update from lack of space was to use Link2SD to move all updated system apps onto the system partition.

This, and deleting the app data of a few serious offenders (Google Play Services, Facebook) always did the trick.

mrcheez

Phone won't start now so looks like I'll have to upgrade after all....d'oh!

AllForIt

mrcheez wrote: »

Phone won't start now so looks like I'll have to upgrade after all....d'oh!

Christmas present to yourself

And when your shopping - don't forget about the memory

mrcheez

Indeed, or just bring it into Moore st again!