How to Move Apps from phone memory to SD Card for Android smartphones

For Android Smartphone users, this guide will show you how you can transfer or move apps to SD card. Moving your installed Apps to your SD card has advantage. By moving your installed App(s) to SD card, it helps you save more internal storage.

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UPDATE: Stop! This article is out dated and this doesn’t work anymore. Check out my latest article instead -> How to Move Apps to External SD Card in Any Android Phone. This one really works!

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For example, if you are using Samsung Galaxy Y (Young) S5360 which has a very limited internal storage, only a limited amount of apps and games can be installed in that unit. I’m a user of Samsung Galaxy Young and from time to time I use to uninstall apps or games to give room for new apps and games.

Thankfully I found this app that will help you move apps installed in your phone memory to the SD card. This called app is called APP 2 SD. It basically moves apps to the SD card, notifies you when app is installed, manages your apps efficiently and a lot more. Best part is App 2 SD is FREE! Below are the steps on how you can do this to.

How to Move Apps to SD Card on your Android Phones:
1. Download free App 2 SD latest version here.
2. After you have downloaded and installed App 2 SD to your android smartphone, you good to go!
3. Watch the video below for more instructions and tutorials.

App 2 SD (move app to SD) Instructions and Tutorial video:

See also: Best Android Battery Saver App

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Comments

58 responses to “How to Move Apps from phone memory to SD Card for Android smartphones”

  1. after i searched everywhr urs is very useful for me.thank you very much

  2. Dulip Avatar

    i have a galaxy y s5360 and there was a error what phone notification showing memory full. And after that i uninstall all programs and other things in my phone. but only 50MB minus there, now nothing in phone but 141/190MB used. Please help, best regard !

    1. whatswithjeff Avatar
      whatswithjeff

      Hi! the 190MB you mean is the internal memory right?
      Even if you uninstall all the app in the Galaxy Y, I don;t think you will achieve a 190MB/190MB. There are bloatwares installed and the OS too. Also a portion of the size is allocated to its file allocation table. So basically you can’t achieve 190MB/190MB or 100% unused space.

  3. hi! I have a galaxy mini. can i ask if i can move my apps from phone only to SD CARD?

  4. Basavaraj88 C Avatar
    Basavaraj88 C

    thanks a lot dude…:)

  5. Hi Jeff can you please help me how to expand my internal memory of my alcatel inspire 991d coz every time i want to download different applications my phone keeps on saying my internal memory is low. please send me emails here jeff chaosdestroyer03@yahoo.com i will very much appreciated any response from you. thanks in advance :)-shirley

    1. Hi Shirley,
      I’m not sure if this will work, but you can try this step here: How to Increase internal phone memory of Samsung Galaxy Y S5360
      Since the Alcatel Inspire 991d is an android phone you can try the steps. But you will have to root your alcatel. I do not have rooting instructions for the alcatel yet.
      Let me know how it worked for you

  6. Hi Jeff i really appreciate your reply i really dont know how to start with i have one friend who has his friends that knows how to root and expand the external memory of my alcatel my friend told me that since its really hard to root my alcatel phone i have to pay for it. and i really dont have the choice but just to pay in-able for me to use my alcatel phone.thanks jeff you really help when you reply. thanks for the idea you really help people who doesn’t have the idea on how to root there phones. Godbless

  7. will this work on non-rooted galaxy Y?!

    1. I’m not sure. Just try it. I already have my phone rooted. But there are some apps that cannot be moved to SD card’s memory.

      1. is it safe to root phones . like samsung galaxy y?

  8. Shirley Avatar

    Hi Sir Jeff just want to us hows the alcatel 991D rooting status?is there any new forum site that they tackle the rooting method for this unit? Thanks in advance Godbless

    1. Hi Shirler, sorry for the delays. I’m still drafting the article. I can’t try the rooting guide since I do not have an alcatel 991D or 918N. So you will have to try it at your own risk.

  9. Shirley Avatar

    Hi Jeff its ok take your time im the one who ask for a favor so no need to rush ha.its fine its just that i want to check the status of it yah ill print it out once you send it and give it to the one who knows how to root my alcatel 991D phone thank you so much for your time to do grant me a big favor i really appreciate everything. thanks in advance Godbless

  10. Hi,

    I just got Samsung galaxy S duos and am having the same problem….there is no option to move the apps to sd card in the phone…will this app that you mentioned work on this model as well?

    1. Generally it will work since the App is for all android phone. Anyway, there are apps that can’t be move to SD card no matter what you do. I’m not sure if more tweaking and hacking would solve it.

      1. Hi Jeff,
        Its not working on Samsung Galaxy S Duos, it gives the list of movable of apps, but gives the error of emualted storage..
        I think its not supported on S duos, if you have other ways. please help!!!

        Thanks in advance
        Giri

        1. have you tried checking google play for alternative apps?

        2. i also have s duos and facing this prob… if you got any solution den plz lemme knw

    2. albert lim Avatar

      “apps 2 sd” is useless in s duos, delete the app if u want. there is 1 way of doing it, first go to setting-storage, then note d avail space for both the phone n sd card. then go toyour My File folder, u will see ext sd card folder & sd card folder, open the sd card folder select any folders, apps ,music,videos etc. long press then choose move. go back to ext sd card folder, u can create new folders if u want, then press “move here” note: if you move the apps, dont open apps in ext sd folder, open it the normal way in the desktop. go check the setting-storage again u will see changes in both avail spaces. if you remove your ext sd card, anyhting u moved will not show in ur fon. then insert back.

      1. thanks for your help Albert Lim…so sad that I have to do it manually. I hope that someone can develop an app that can easily move apps to sd for samsung s duos.

  11. Useless app! i downloadewd it on my samsung galaxy y young and opend it in movable apps it always says 0 apps movable.

  12. I have a galaxy y duos lite model i am downloaded from market app 2 sd application same as this video. After installed it say`s failed to move. The apps icon corner shows hidden mark (X) like this…… what`s this…..? how can do to move the apps from phone to sdcard.

  13. hi jeff!! are facebook and twitter can be transferred to sd card? i have samsung galaxy … pls reply. thank u 🙂

    1. Haven’t tried it. You will see on the app2sd if they are transferable or not.

  14. Hello Jeff,

    Gud morning, well sir i have same problem with my Samsung Galaxy y s5360 as some of users have, actuly i have downloded some apps from Google play but these all are stored in phone memory and

    when i am going to move to SD card by using APP 2 SD CARD (as u mentioned above) & through
    settings (MANAGE APPLICATIONS) it shows cant be moved to SD CARD through “APP2 SD CARD” or through settings in the option “MOVE TO SD CARD” IS SILENT.
    so m unable to move any apps to SD CARD.

    But some of Applications like UC BROWSER, OPERA and VIBER and etc already Downloded in SD CARD……. No Need to Move to SD CARD, so plz sir help me out in this.

    THNX A LOT IN ADVANCE 🙂

    1. Hi Gourav,
      Well moving apps to sd card totally is more complicated than I thought.
      The App2SD app simply makes the transferring of the app to sd easier by consolidating them into a menu form.
      These are the apps that can be moved even without the app2sd app. (just by going to options, applications and move to sd)
      Moving the apps, or forcibly make them install into the sd card by default requires more hacks and tweaks, like changing the kernel or something
      You may try to check xda forums for further development on this matter.

  15. Javed Khan Avatar

    Hi friends,

    I am having Samsung galaxy S DUOS. I have downloaded App to SD application . while running this application its gives messages ” The device does not have a real primary external storage or the primary external storage is emulated” kindly suggest how to solve this problem

    1. did you insert a microSD?
      did you made any modification or tweaking?

      1. Hundhausen Avatar

        Have the same problem.

        I didn’t make any changes. The phone is still original.
        Only the camera is using the external card.

        Stored pictures, music or films are avaiable.

        Any suggestions?

        Thx for help

  16. kruti dhruva Avatar
    kruti dhruva

    am having Samsung galaxy S DUOS. I have downloaded App to SD application . while running this application its gives messages ” The device does not have a real primary external storage or the primary external storage is emulated” kindly suggest how to solve this problem..
    also i have inserted 8gb memory card to my phone still its showing me the msg..wat to do??

  17. am having Samsung galaxy S DUOS. I have downloaded App to SD application . while running this application its gives messages ” The device does not have a real primary external storage or the primary external storage is emulated” kindly suggest how to solve this problem..
    also i have inserted 8gb memory card to my phone still its showing me the msg..wat to do??

  18. S duos doesn’t seem to have the ‘MOVE to SD’ button itself under ‘Manage applications’.:(

    1. This app just shortcuts the moving process. If you want to really move the app to your sdcard, you will need to do some tweaking and modifications.

      1. like what tweaking and modifications ???? please help me out dude…

  19. hey i m using SAMSUNG GALAXY S DUOS s7652 When i download aap to sd i didnt find any button MOVE TO SD 🙁 🙁 please help me out how can i store my games data file in external sd ….

    1. Hi amit
      not all apps can be moved to sd. the App2SD is just a simple app that consolidates all the apps that can be moved to SD. If you noticed when you check the options-> applications-> and tries to uninstall an app, you will see a “move to phone” or “move to sd” button. right? App2SD simple put them all together.
      There is another way on how to “really” move apps to SD, even the non movable apps can be moved to an SD card. Please read some threads on XDA forum. You might find your answer there. good luck!

  20. Hi Jeff,Thanks for this post, it really helped me a lot……
    Since, from some kind of irregular android update,my phone started showing this message”sd card removed suddenly”…..
    Can u help me to fix this problem,Please…..
    Reply……

    1. I often get that massage also before. All I did was update to the latest Android version available for my unit. that’s all

  21. is it SAFE to root my phone? does it have negative effects? thank you ..

    1. rooting is potentially dangerous specially if you do not know what you are doing and the consequences of your action.
      it could temporarily brick your phone or permanently brick your phone. It will also void warranty
      Rooting could be SAFE if you know what you are doing and the procedures that you have done and the files that you used for a particular phone model are correct

  22. OMG thank you SO SO MUCH =D

  23. hey i m also using samsung galaxy s duos n tried many times to move my apps from internal to sd card. but all things r not working yaar. me tired. can u plz help me. n u said tht go in apps 2 sd option then go to uninstall. nothing is working yaar.

    1. Hi Jay
      I’m still looking for a solution on how you can “really” move apps to SD. the app2sd simply moves the apps that are movable.
      I’ve seen a solution but it’s for samsung galaxy note 2 and s3 only.

  24. hey i m using SAMSUNG GALAXY S DUOS s7652 When i download aap to sd i didnt find any button MOVE TO SD please help me out how can i store my games data file in external sd ….

    1. hi gautam, it simply means all the apps installed in your phone can not be moved to sd. App2Sd is simply a shortcut tool for those app that can be moved to sd. You might want to consider using link2sd instead.

  25. Hi god pm jeff i have samsung galaxy y i have same problem.i have more download i want applecition on android but i have i folder [my file] all app we go my file but my external storege full.i have download app2sd card.my problem its same then phone none file,and my phone its not move sd card,game,personalys and tolls.pls help me my problm.tnx to ur tym 4 u read my messge pls reply as soon pcble.tnx god pless.

    1. Hi Myca, the app App2SD only moves apps that are movable to sd card. Unfortunately most of the apps are not movable. You need to do some tweakings and mods to really move apps to sd. Have you tried increasing your phone internal memory instead? See here

  26. i have andriod lg 1400 but i put 8gb sd card but all apps have in phone storage plz help me how to transfer to all apps in sd card

    1. You can try using the Link2SD method. However, there is no 100% solution for this. Just temporary solutions

  27. hey ! can i ask ? what can i do to move all the applications from phone memory to SD card ? thanks and good day !

    1. Basically you can’t do that. As most of the apps are restricted to the onboard storage. But there are tweaks so that you can transfer if not all, partially of your apps to sd card. Try Link2SD

  28. I just got Galaxy Y and I don’t get why some apps it says are on the SD card, yet when I delete them, exactly the same amount of storage is freed up in the internal memory. I had some angry birds & I thought there was no way they were using up internal memory, but they were 3mb and I mysteriously got 3mb back by deleting them. Seems suspicious to me. Also I’ve got a 2gb card that came in the box, why can I hardly use any of this storage? What’s the point of having an SD card in there? Luckily I have an iPad and PSP to get my fix of games, because there’s no way I’m getting any on this phone. I don’t wanna root it because it’s still in warranty.

    1. Hi! By default it will install all your apps in the internal memory. Also most of the apps can not really be moved to the SDcard. There are hacks like Link2SD, but you need to root your phone and it’s not a 100% solution. There are also hacks like switching internal memory to external memory, but then again it needs rooting. External memory are only good if you want to put mp3s and videos. But for apps, you won’t be able to maximize them.

  29. Ivan Coelho Jr. Avatar
    Ivan Coelho Jr.

    On my samsung galaxy s 2 how do I move pictures, movies and also downloads from internal storage to my sd card storage ?!!

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