Swap internal and external memory. How to make a flash drive as memory for an Android phone. How to swap memory on Android? What to do

By default, all applications are installed on the internal memory of the Android device. It is also used to store their cache. But even memory modern smartphones sometimes it's not enough to download everything necessary software. It's good that there are memory cards with enough capacity for this. We will look further at how to use them to offload main memory.

How to switch Android phone memory to memory card

Let us clarify that in in this case We are considering a situation where the user needs to ensure that downloaded files and programs are saved on microSD. IN Android settings installed by default automatic download to internal memory. So we will try to change this.

First, let's look at the transfer options already installed programs, and then - ways to change internal memory flash drive memory.

Note: The flash drive itself must have not only a large amount of memory, but also a sufficient speed class, because the quality of the games and applications located on it will depend on this.

Method 1: Link2SD

This is one of best options among similar programs. Link2SD allows you to do the same things you can do manually, but a little faster. In addition, you can forcefully move games and applications that in a standard way do not move.

You can download Link2SD

Instructions for working with Link2SD are as follows:

1. The main window will display a list of all applications. Select the one you need.
2. Scroll down the app information and tap " Transfer to SD card».

Please note that those applications that are not transferred in the standard way may reduce their functionality. For example, widgets will stop working.

Method 2: Setting up memory

Let's go back to system tools. On Android, you can specify the SD card as the default installation location for applications. Again, this doesn't always work.

In any case, try the following:

1. While in the settings, open the “ Memory».

2. Click on " Preferred installation location" and select " SD card».

3. You can also designate storage to save other files by designating the SD card as " Default memory».

The location of elements on your device may differ from the examples given.

Method 3: Replacing internal memory with external memory

And this method allows you to deceive Android so that it perceives the memory card as system memory. You will need any of the tools file manager. The example will use Root Explorer.

The procedure is as follows:

1. In the system root, open the folder “etc" To do this, open your file manager.

2. Find the file " vold.fstab" and open it with a text editor.

3. Wednesday and the entire text, find 2 lines starting with “ dev_mount"without a grid at the beginning. They should be followed by the following values:

• « sdcard /mnt/sdcard»;
• « extsd /mnt/extsd».

4. You need to swap the words after “ mnt/", so that it becomes like this:

• « sdcard/mnt/extsd»;
• « extsd/mnt/sdcard».

5. On different devices there may be different designation after " mnt/»: « sdcard», « sdcard0», « sdcard1», « sdcard2" The main thing is to swap them.

6. Save the changes and restart your smartphone.

As for the file manager, it is worth saying that not all such programs allow you to see the above-mentioned files. We recommend using ES Explorer.

Method 4: Transfer applications using the standard method

Starting from Android 4.0, you can transfer some applications from internal memory to an SD card without using third-party tools.

To do this you will need to do the following:

1. Open " Settings».

2. Go to the section "Applications».

3. Tap (touch with your finger) the desired program.

4. Click the button Move to SD card».

The disadvantage of this method is that it does not work for all applications.

In these ways you can use SD card memory for games and applications.

If your device does not have enough internal memory, can use SD card as internal storage for your Android phone. This function, called Adoptable Storage, allows Android OS to format external media data as permanent internal storage. The information on the installed SD card is encrypted and cannot be subsequently used on another device.

SD Card is very convenient option for storing photos, songs and videos. Even if you have a large amount of internal memory on your Android smartphone, you may always need a large chunk of memory to store long videos. filmed by camera high resolution your phone.

Important to know

There is one drawback, the SD chip can lag when recording high-definition video.

Android by default in the internal memory and only occasionally uploads data to the SD card. Thus, you are deprived of installing any additional applications, if your phone is experiencing a noticeable lack of internal storage capacity, for example, in the case of budget devices on Android One.

What is storage storage?

Storage storage is the main memory of your smartphone, but if necessary, it can be expanded using an SD card. This on Android it is called Adoptable Storage. This will allow you to use a removable microSD card installed on Android phone,as the main storage. This way, you can easily solve the problem of how to make an SD card the main memory on Android and overcome the lack of space if the phone has a small internal volume.

Features of using the card as the main storage

There are a number of important features that should be taken into account during this procedure.

Will be useful

When using a storage device, be it an SD flash drive or a USB drive, it is important to remember what format the device is in and whether it supports it operating system Android, and the main ones file formats There are four types: FAT32 or exFAT, ext4 or f2fs.

How to change phone memory to android memory card? The question is not entirely correct, it is impossible to completely replace it, you can only “increase” additional volume.

Using your SD card as your main storage can be a great solution for music lovers and those who like to watch TV shows on the way to work or on a long trip. But, as often happens, memory expansion always depends on the cost of the required device, after all, they differ both in speed and in volume, as well as in the adaptable information storage function. Here are some nuances that you can consider with different sides– both negatively and positively:

How to use SD card as internal memory on Android?

How to replace the phone's internal memory with an external SD card on Android? Configuring your SD card to act as internal storage on Android is essentially a fairly simple process. There is nothing complicated about this and you will see for yourself later.

It is possible that the Adoptable Storage feature is not supported by your device, even if the smartphone is running Android control 6.0 and higher (this also happens, it all depends on the model and brand of the smartphone). The device manufacturer may have disabled this function. However, there are command line methods that allow you to force the use of a flash drive to store data.

Below are the basic formatting steps.

On the next screen you have one last chance to decide for yourself if you want to change your mind

Important to know

Don't forget to do backup copy data, after formatting the information will disappear without a trace!

Once the formatting process is complete, you can use the removable SD card as a “temporary” or “removable” permanent location. But keep in mind that hot swapping and ejecting will no longer be available as you may have previously done. That's why Do not remove the flash drive without using the Eject parameter. In addition, you can practically delete the place accepted by the operating system, which, accordingly, is not recommended, since this can cause certain errors in the operation of the device. Now you know how to make a memory card the main memory on Android.

The problem of lack of memory is one of the fundamental ones for both PCs and mobile devices. For small quantities free memory The system usually starts to slow down, freeze, and is unstable and unreliable. This is especially true for Android devices, many of which initially have a rather small amount of main memory (the so-called “Internal Storage”). In such a situation, some users may have the idea to try using external SD card as the main memory on their Android device. In this material, I will tell you how to make an SD card the main memory on Android gadgets, and what methods will help us with this.

Let's look at how to make an SD card the main memory on Android

To complete this task, you will need a high-speed SD card (preferably class 10 or faster). Cards of 6, and especially 4 and 2 classes are not suitable for such purposes; your system, due to their use, will significantly slow down its operation, which is unlikely to please any of the users.

It is also important to understand that the lifespan of such an SD card due to the active load on it will be significantly less than if the load on the card was in standard mode.

Method number 1. Changing the contents of the Vold.fstab file

The first of the described methods involves changing the contents of the file system settings"Vold.fstab". After making these changes, the Android OS will consider your SD card as the internal memory of the device, but keep in mind that a number of previously installed applications may stop working.

It is important to know that this method only works on rooted devices running Android OS below (!) than version 4.4.2. In Android OS versions 4.4.2 and higher specified file, most likely, you simply won’t find it.

Also note that there is a bug in the implementation this method(in particular, adding extra characters to the required lines) can have a very sad effect on the performance of your device. Therefore, carefully weigh the possible risks, and if, after all, you have made a decision, then proceed to implement it.

So, to implement this method, do the following:

For example, these could be lines like this:

• dev_mount sdcard/storage/sdcard0 emmc@xxxxxx
• dev_mount sdcard2/storage/sdcard1 auto/xxxxxx

To implement necessary changes we need to swap the path in the specified lines, that is, simply put, instead of 0, put a 1 in the first line, and in the second, instead of 1, put a 0.

After the changes, these lines will look like:

• dev_mount sdcard/storage/sdcard1 emmc@xxxxxx
• dev_mount sdcard2/storage/sdcard0 auto/xxxxx
  

Save the changes you made, and then reboot the gadget.

Another option on how to make a memory card the main one on Android:

Method number 2. We use the settings of Android OS 6.0 and higher

In addition to the first method, in which I looked at how to switch the phone's memory to a memory card, there is another method that works only on the settings of Android OS 6.0 (Marshmallow) or higher, and allows you to use the SD card as the main one for saving files and working with them . To implement it, I recommend making a copy of the data from your SD card (if any on it), since this map will be formatted by the system.

Let me make a reservation right away that we are not talking about programs like link2sd. The principle is similar, but we will link not program directories, but the data directories of these programs, for example /sdcard2/Navigon -> /sdcard/Navigon or /mnt/extSdCard/Books -> /sdcard/Books, etc.
In addition, we need root (where would we be without it). By the way, after I found out about this program, this is another argument for me for root.

Many owners of Android smartphones or tablets with small built-in memory have probably encountered the following problem: a large SD card is inserted (for example, 16, 32 or even 64 GB), but after installing several heavyweight programs, our device or another program boldly declares that there is no memory on the card. enough space. Sometimes the program itself is small, but after installation it goes online and pulls gigabytes of data onto your smartphone.
Once again, having received the message “No space” and looking at the card, we see that it is almost empty, but the internal memory of the device is filled to capacity.
This is because internal memory is often used as the default directory for many programs. The fact is that it is mounted as /sdcard, which historically has always been an external SD card (it used to be the case on all smartphones). The external SD card is mounted in this case as /sdcard2, /mnt/sdcard2, /mnt/extSdCard or even /sdcard/.externalSD. As I understand it, this is done by the manufacturers so that the device works out of the box, i.e. no SD card at all.

Many “unscrupulous” programs always want to read/write data from/to the /sdcard/NameInsert directory. Rarely can this be changed in the program settings.
As a result, we have what we have, and several opportunities to improve the current situation:
The last two methods are also not a panacea, because... require certain skills from the user, in addition, they are not “clean” enough, for example, problems are known when connecting a smartphone to a computer via USB (cannot be unmounted), etc.

The DirectoryBind program will help correct the situation, which good man slig from xda wrote for himself and posted it on the forum for public use.

QR code

After installation, run the program (the first time, naturally, we permanently allow Root rights), click the menu, then “Preferences” and set the default paths to external memory“Default data path” for example /sdcard/external_sd/ and internal memory “Default target path” /sdcard/. We exit the menu.

Click menu, then “Add new entry”

Now let's create new connection directories, for example, move the CamScanner folder to an external card. Long pressing on the folder path opens a small built-in file manager where you can create and/or select a folder. The folder on the external card should be created (and empty).

By checking the “Transfer files from target to data” checkbox, files and folders will be transferred from the /sdcard/CamScanner/ directory to the /sdcard/external_sd/CamScanner directory.

It should be noted that connections are not automatically activated after creation (gray floppy disk icon, as in the screenshot below for gameloft). To complete linking folders, select the checkboxes necessary connections and click menu -> “Bind checked”. The active (linked) folder icons should turn green.

By the way, if you want to attach the entire external card, I fully recommend doing it not with /sdcard/externalSD/, but with a dot in front /sdcard/.externalSD/. This will save you from such troubles as double thumbnails in galleries, etc. True, it will not help for all galleries and players, because... some also search for media in hidden directories.
After suffering, I decided for myself to link only individual directories.

UPD. By the way, an external SD card is much slower than the internal memory, so transferring program data to an external SD naturally slows down the operation of this program. This should be especially remembered by those who decide to completely change the mount points of internal and external memory, because... Chances are your entire device will run slower than before.

I hope this program will complement your piggy bank. useful utilities for android devices.

If you decide to swap internal and external memory, i.e. reassign the external sd card to /sdcard and there is no such option in the device settings - if you have root, this can be easily done by performing the following operation:
In Root-Explorer we mount "/etc" as R/W (if R/O), find the file "/etc/vold.fstab", save a copy and open (long click) it in the Text Editor.
In the next two lines we change the names of the mount points: dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard emmc@fat /devices/platform/goldfish_mmc.0 ... dev_mount sdcard /mnt/external_sd auto /devices/platform/goldfish_mmc.1 ... to dev_mount sdcard /mnt/external_sd emmc@fat /devices/platform/goldfish_mmc.0 ... dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/goldfish_mmc.1 ...
You can read more. They also suggest, as an alternative, to use another interesting program Root External 2 Internal SD.
I will add that in both cases, before switching, you need to copy the entire contents of the /sdcard folder to an external SD card.
Remember that after the switch, your entire system may work better than before.
Be careful- you need to understand that everything you do as root is done at your own peril and risk, and for example, saving the wrong “vold.fstab” can lead to the inability to boot the device and for treatment you will need to boot into recovery and edit “vold.fstab” already there.

This method can be used in conjunction with DirectoryBind, only now it’s the other way around: “Default target path” (/sdcard) and all connections created in DirectoryBind will point to an external card.

Modern users cannot imagine their life without a smartphone in their pocket, because for many it is not just a device that helps contact the desired subscriber, but also a kind of window to the world. The presence of a good amount of memory in the device is highly valued by active users; many store not only entertainment items on the device, but also many other things. useful information, including documentary information.

Agree, it’s not very pleasant when downloading important file will be faced with the impossibility of saving it due to lack of memory. Faced with the problem of low memory, many people think about how to replace the internal memory of the phone with a memory card. It should be noted that this problem is faced mainly by owners Chinese phones and tablets.

Let's try to understand this problem in more detail. To change the application save path, you need to have specific program on your device. You should remember possible risks and related problems. If the memory is replaced incorrectly, an internal program failure may occur which will lead to complete flashing phone. An external storage device – a memory card – may also fail; to restore it, you will also have to use flashing the phone.

Editing the system file

So, in order to change the internal memory to external and install any applications directly onto the card, you need to find or install in your phone Root program Broswser or ES Explorer, you also need to be present in root system rights, how to get them quickly read in.

Replacing memory occurs as follows: you need to select the Root Broswser or Explorer program and start it, then look for the vold.fstab file in the system, it is located at device/system/etc/, open and carefully read the file, we will need to edit a couple of lines.

To read this you will need to be familiar with the file structure. If you carefully examine the file, you will easily find the corresponding lines responsible for replacing internal memory with external memory. After finding the corresponding lines, you need to perform a small manipulation and change the internal memory to external memory, in other words, swap the lines so that everything looks like the image below.

In this case, the line dev_mount sdcard…. is responsible for standard file safety, and dev_mount sdcard2…. for an external one (SD card). In order for our built-in memory to exactly change to the external one we need, for this we just need to change some lines. But not all and not completely, but only additional and final inscriptions that follow dev_mount sdcard/storage/sdcard0 and dev_mount sdcard2/storage/sdcard1. As soon as we do it in the image, we need to save it.

After replacing the internal memory with a memory card, you should restart the phone. After you reboot your device, you will be able to enjoy the availability of memory and the installation of all subsequent games will be performed on the SD card. Do not lose sight of the fact that you carried out all the manipulations manually and if there is something missing, you will have to send the phone for flashing.

There is no less effective way replacing memory without using the Root Broswser program. To do this, you only need to perform a few manipulations with your phone using a computer, literally three clicks. First of all, you will need to run the HTC Driver Installer file and install it on your computer so that all necessary utilities for further work.

The second manipulation will be to install the driver on the system media C:\\android-sdk-windows, then you should run the SDK Manager program to check the files and their readiness for installation. After this, you should connect the phone to the computer and confirm the command: transfer everything to the SD card, read on how to do this.

We use ADB

Connect your phone with USB debugging enabled in the settings.
Go to the folder with the program and run the adb.exe file using the command line cmd lines, with a clamped shift button right click on the file and select open command windiws here

Will open command line in which we write adb devices

Now run the following command, which will swap the memory, just type it and press Enter.

After these manipulations, you should disconnect the phone from the computer and reboot the phone. After the reboot, you can verify that the button is working: transfer everything to the SD card and voila, you can safely use your phone. Now all applications and important documents and downloaded files will be saved on the external drive.

Please remember that when removing the memory card from the phone installed applications will disappear, this is probably the only negative this method. It is also recommended to use external drives not lower than 10th grade, since small drives will not bring the desired result.