After "why the chicken has crossed the road", mankind's second biggest question is why your phone won't let you download apps or take pictures when the memory card still has space available, an enigma that has been frustrating for many Android users for years.
Looks like it doesn't make sense, but so far there is a logical explanation so that your Android phone memory refuses to update or download new programs or take pictures. Here we will see why it happens, and what you can do about it.
Not all storage is the same
To understand why this happens, first we must understand the concept of data fragmentation. The partition is nothing more than a physical partition of the virtual disk. Android mobile storage available divided into several partitions.
The number and type of partition may vary from one mobile phone to another (for example, Huawei began using the EROFS file system for read-only in later EMUI versions), but something very similar to the mobile phones is three episodes: system, data and cache
There are actually many additional partitions, but those are the main partitions. In system partitioning the operating system and applications are used, in the cache the application code as well in data partitioning, remaining, which includes everything stored in the internal memory of the device.
That's why there are four mobile phones storage available to users rather than less than total (in the previous photos, 107/128 GB, 23,6/32 GB and 5.1/8 GB respectively). This is also the reason why a cell phone never stops giving you space problems even though the memory card is almost empty.
The main problem is that Android saves app and cache data in internal memory
Space on the memory card is different, but there are problems: application data is stored in internal memory, including downloads of Google Play apps and their subsequent installations. So, Google Play can tell you that you have no available space even though the memory card has gigas and gigas.
The only thing that is stored on the memory card directly – and depending on the camera app settings – photos and videos. The problem is that these photos and videos produce thumbnails and temporary pictures in the internal memory, so that, over time, or the photos are stored on the memory card, they also affect the internal memory.
That is, no matter how much space you have on your memory card, Android continues to use internal memory almost exclusively for all your needs, from downloading to using app and cache data. Photos you take on a memory card are also recognized in internal memory via cache or data in the Google Photos app.
What to do when you don't have space
If you have a memory card at the top of the space but the internal memory is full, your phone won't stop giving you errors every time you try to do anything. Fortunately, there are many strategies you can accomplish:
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It's free. It is the most effective way to bring the phone back to life, and it comes from removing apps from deleting files or deleting images or videos that you no longer love. Of course, those photos and videos are in internal memory.
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Use acceptable storage, if available. Allowable storage is an Android function that lets you format the memory card as if it's internal memory. It is a simple process, unfortunately not available on every mobile device. It is important to use a high-speed memory card and remember that you will lose yours to carry. Come on, you won't be able to read its content on another device.
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Select the microSD card as standard storage. It's not a standard feature of Android, but some manufacturers like Huawei and under Samsung, allow you to choose the default storage space between internal memory or microSD.
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Move applications to SD card. Moving apps to the SD card has been very popular over the last few years and some customization layers bring the option directly from the settings. It's not a panacea, but in some cases it may help to recover a few megabytes of internal memory.
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Switch to light apps. If none of the above is already started, you can try using more transparent programs and lesser types of applications you use like Facebook, Messenger or Twitter.
