What is internal storage in a phone? How to effectively free up memory on an Android device: step-by-step instructions

There are two symptoms when the internal memory on the phone is sorely lacking:

1. Applications and Android are slow,
2. The phone displays a message that you need to take action and free up the occupied space.

The internal memory of the phone has a fixed volume, and it (seemingly) cannot be increased. However, in the guide we will tell you how to clear your phone’s internal memory of unnecessary files and applications.

By increasing the free space in Android memory, you will save time and stop noticing lag on your phone and tablet. The entire “cleaning” will take about 20 minutes.

Error: Insufficient memory on mobile device

Android usually displays this message if a process or application does not have enough free space in the phone's internal memory.

Lack of memory can make itself felt by constant freezes. If this is not noticeable when you buy a phone, then over time, after installing dozens of mobile applications and becoming overgrown with “garbage,” you begin to notice it.

The question involuntarily arises: do the phone’s characteristics “lie”? If not, then why does the same smartphone/tablet work stably for others?

Checking the amount of free memory on Android

When a notification appears about insufficient internal memory, the question arises: how much memory is available, what part of it is occupied?

You can check your free space through your mobile phone settings. To do this, go to Settings – Options – Memory (Settings – Device Maintenance – Storage – Storage settings – Device memory). We carefully study the data, paying attention to the following figures:

• Total space – the amount of internal memory of Android
• System memory – the minimum amount of space reserved for system operation
• Available space – how much space is left in the internal memory.

Accordingly, if the built-in memory is not enough, you need to increase the memory on the phone to the size of System memory so that the system does not display the corresponding error.

In the following chapters, I will tell you how to clear the internal memory on Android.

Clearing your phone's internal memory

You can remove unnecessary things through the built-in tools of the operating system and through third-party applications. They analyze occupied space and help identify files that can be safely deleted.

Removing applications from Android system memory

There are probably applications installed on your phone that are hanging around like dead weight and are not being used for their intended purpose. Their size can reach hundreds of megabytes (including cache).

You can remove useless programs through: Options - Settings - Application Manager (Settings – Apps).

In Android 8, it is convenient to use the free utility FIles Go to calculate unnecessary applications. For other OS versions it is available for download via Google Play.

How to remove unwanted apps in FIles Go:

1. Go to the Unused apps section,
2. We sort applications by modification date or size,
3. To remove, mark unnecessary programs with checkboxes and click Uninstall.

Video instructions for deleting applications:

Transferring files to a memory card

The internal memory of the phone, as already mentioned, has a fixed volume, so you need to constantly check whether there is enough free space for applications and the OS to work correctly.

In general, Android memory is divided into internal and external. External memory is easy to “expand”, fortunately, SD cards are inexpensive today (for $25 you can buy a 256 GB memory card).

Actually, you can transfer files through any file manager - via phone or PC.

Moving unnecessary applications from internal to external memory card

As an alternative to CCleaner, it is convenient to use the aforementioned Files Go application.

How to increase memory on Android manually

To manually clear your phone's memory, any file manager will do. We recommend ES Explorer or Total Commander.

Be careful and only delete unnecessary user files in Android internal memory that you created/copied yourself.

So, open the file manager, go to the root of the internal memory, start searching and deleting what is unnecessary.

Which files should you delete (transfer to a memory card) first:

1. Photos, videos, voice recorders and other documents saved not on SD, but in internal memory;
2. Documents received by mail or via social networks (most often they are saved in the Download folder);
3. E-books and other files saved by third-party applications to the device’s memory;
4. Contents of the DCIM, bluetooth, sounds folders.

We use Storage Analyzers (for clarity)

For clarity, we recommend using the Files Go application or any other storage analyzer for Android, which will show which files take up the most disk space and where they are located in the form of a diagram. Among these applications we note:

Transfer photos and videos to Google Photos service

It is photos and videos that “eat up” the most space on your phone, so you can quickly free up space on your memory card or built-in storage. If your phone doesn't support a memory card, move files you don't access often to the cloud. The best app for this is Photos, or Google Photos. It automatically uploads photos to the service, where they are available in their original quality through a browser or application.

In addition to Google Photos, you can pay attention to alternatives such as Dropbox, Flickr or Microsoft OneDrive.

Even when the photos are only available on the server, you can easily access them if you have a working internet connection. And most importantly, this is a really convenient and fast way to free up a couple of gigabytes of internal memory!

Memory clearing: questions and answers

1. The phone did not have enough internal memory, I sent half of the photos to the SD card, after that I open it, and they are all kind of cloudy. I tried to transfer it back to the internal memory of Android, but the photos are the same. How can I get my old photos back? so that it is as before, cleaned up without any distortions.

2. I didn’t have enough internal memory on my phone, so I wanted to clear it. I transferred the data (photos, music) to the memory card. Now the files cannot be read, although the phone sees the card. How can I get at least a photo back?

3. Samsung A5 phone. I didn’t know how to increase the internal memory, so I used my laptop to move folders with music and files from the internal memory to an SD card. After that, when opening the folders, they all turned out to be empty. Neither the phone nor the computer can see the files and music. The internal memory of the phone did not seem to decrease after this. How to find these files?

Answer. You probably copied sketches, not originals, to the memory card. The original photos may have remained in the phone's internal memory. If this does not happen, it will help you.

If there is not enough space in the device memory, you should copy the files to your computer (make a backup copy) and only then move them to the memory card. It will be useful for you to read the instructions on how to clear internal memory on Android (see text above).

I have a Sony Xperia phone, when I go to the Play Market, I want to download some program, the system says that there is not enough memory on Android, although the flash drive is 16 GB! What to do?

Answer. Most likely, the “insufficient memory” error on Android is due to the fact that there is not enough internal memory - this is where the installation files are downloaded from Google Play.

1. Transfer the largest files from the internal memory of Android to your SD card.
2. Remove unnecessary applications using a file manager or Files Go.
3. Use the CCleaner utility to clean up unnecessary files in your phone's memory.

I cleaned my phone's memory and deleted many folders. And now I can’t view the gallery through Android, it says: “The storage is not available.” How can I get it back?

Answer. During cleaning, you probably deleted the folder with photos on the memory card (SDCARD/DCIM/CAMERA). You can recover files from there using CardRecovery or PhotoRec programs.

“Phone memory is full” is an annoying message that annoys every second Android OS user. The point of explosion is the fact that this dialog box can pop up if there is free memory on the flash drive. This is where the typical average person grabs his head, not knowing what to do and how to proceed.

Usually it all ends with the user deleting his favorite music, valuable photos, videos and other content that almost fills the memory.

First, let's figure out what we're dealing with. It turns out that there is not just one type of memory, but three! Let's talk about each in more detail.
ROM (ROM) is the memory on which system files are stored.

If we draw an analogy with a computer, then a storage medium of this type of memory will be called a hard drive or hard drive. This type of memory is called “non-erasable”; the data remains here even when the phone’s power is turned off.
RAM (RAM) - with this type of memory everything is more complicated, since it is a real-time “worker”. Let's remember the well-known computer operating memory. You have most likely encountered the problem of its lack.

The amount of operating memory is negligible compared to ROM. A modern computer may have a 600 gigabyte hard drive, but still run very slowly due to insufficient RAM. In smartphones, this memory performs the same function as on a computer.

It records data about running tasks, regulates them, constantly cleaning and launching new system processes. This memory only functions when the power is on, which is why it is called “erasable”. Data on its workload can be seen in the “task manager” tab.

IS (Internal Memory) is the memory that regulates the installation of applications on the Android system. Applications can be stored both on IS and on external media. This memory in a smartphone is unchangeable, as it is part of the built-in flash memory.

In other words, this is the native memory of the smartphone - which is given to the user.
MicroSD and other types of cards. It is a non-persistent type of memory that is used to store user information. Cards come in different sizes and types.

Most often we come across MicroSD. This chip is inserted into a special slot located in the smartphone. Memory cards are the only type of memory that can be expanded.

An out of memory message may appear when three types are full. Knowing this is very important because you often delete data from memory that is not completely full. The notification may be caused by insufficient both RAM and IS.

If the Android memory is almost full, then you need to clear all types of memory. To clear RAM, select the appropriate tab in the “Clear RAM” settings. There are also many programs that will clean the operating memory in normal mode if the Android memory is almost full.

You can free up external memory by deleting content you no longer need. Go to the task manager and start deleting. But with IS memory everything is more serious. This memory may be full due to stored data from the market, maps, navigator, and also as a result of updating them. Deleting internal memory files is accompanied by obtaining root rights.

Clearing this type of memory requires a lot of time and effort. If you still encounter the problem that the IS Android memory is almost full, then contact advanced users or read the relevant articles. You can do the cleaning yourself, but you need to have some knowledge.

Recently, all kinds of gadgets have become an integral part of the lives of many modern people. Most owners of smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system sooner or later face the problem of lack of memory. In budget models, its volume is, as a rule, no more than four gigabytes, but it should be taken into account that at least a quarter is occupied by the operating system itself.

All modern games, as well as high-quality photographs, music and films, require increasing amounts of available memory. So, at some point the user simply will not be able to install the necessary application or download the necessary data. The lack of free space also negatively affects the speed of the device itself. So, how to free up internal memory on Android? You can move files to external storage and optimize the operation of your smartphone.

What fills the empty space?

When figuring out how to free up the internal memory of an Android phone, you should pay attention to several points. Certain methods may be effective in some cases, but completely inappropriate in others.

Before you free up internal memory on Android, you need to understand where the data filling the device comes from. Here are some of the most common options:

• saving photos, music and videos;
• data used in social media sharing;
• audio from a voice recorder;
• data downloaded via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi;
• applications from the Play Store located in the device memory.

How to prevent files from being saved to the device memory?

To prevent the problem from recurring from time to time in the future, you need to redirect the download of files from the device memory to other media. For example, to a memory card (SD card). To do this, you should change the save path settings in the settings of some applications:

• camera options;
• voice recorder options;
• Browser download space;
• location of cached files from applications;
• regulation of messengers;
• regulation of bootloader programs;
• regulation of GPS navigation maps.

In all of the above settings, the path to a specific folder (or several folders: separately for music, videos, pictures and files) must be specified, which is located on the memory card.

How to move data?

It is better to move files from the device memory to a memory card in similar folders. If there are none, you can create them using any file manager that is downloaded from the Play Store, or by connecting the device to the computer via a cable. Moving to places with similar standard names will avoid unnecessary confusion. Folders usually have the following names:

• Bluetooth;
• DCIM;
• download;
• media;
• movies;
• music;
• video;
• sounds.

Transferring files, as well as creating new folders, can be done in two ways: directly by the functions of the device itself or using a computer. You should not transfer data whose purpose is in doubt. Moving program files can cause device malfunctions, so you should be aware of this before freeing up space on Android's internal memory.

How to transfer files directly to the device?

To transfer pictures, music and videos directly to the device, it is better to use a file manager. The ES conductor is simple and reliable to use. The main function of the manager is to work with folders and files. This file manager is very lightweight, does not take up the already small amount of memory, and is convenient.

To transfer the necessary data, you need to select it with one long press. When choosing the “move” action, click on “SD-card”. The advantage of this file manager is that the menu allows you to immediately create new folders for transferring files.

How to transfer files using a computer?

In order to clear the internal memory of Android using a computer, you need to connect the device to it using a USB cable. To ensure the ability to manage data on a smartphone or tablet, specialized programs and drivers must be installed on the PC. As a rule, such software is installed automatically, but you need to wait a little while the computer determines the type of device and finds the appropriate drivers on the network.

Problems that arise when transferring files using a PC can be easily resolved with the free AirDroid service, which allows you to work with your device from a distance by connecting to a Wi-Fi network. Firstly, this is good because you don’t need to install any additional programs or drivers to recognize your smartphone or tablet. Secondly, this service ensures communication between devices over a distance longer than a cable.

And yet, how to free up system memory on Android via a computer using this method? Everything is very simple here - data management is possible through any browser.

How to move apps to SD card?

How to free up internal memory on Android to unload devices? Let us note right away: this is not an easy task. The reason is that in order to carry out this operation for applications, as a rule, you need to have special rights, namely administrator rights, which will allow you to fully manage all files.

You can obtain administrator status by installing additional software or changing smartphone settings. In the latter case, everything is much simpler. Devices in the settings of which you can set “developer mode” allow you to perform many actions that are not available to ordinary users, for example, installing a fake localization.

If administrator access is already enabled, you should next install the Link2Sd application. It allows you to transfer both additionally installed and standard applications from the device memory to a memory card. But here you need to remember that such actions can lead to malfunctions of the device.

Without administrator rights, you can only move some applications. This action can be performed in the device settings. But the standard method is not very convenient, and if you do not want to change the settings, it is better to download the Android Assistant application.

Android Assistant consists of eighteen tools for versatile work with Android. Directly transferring applications is carried out as follows: open the program, go to the “Tools” section and select “App2Sd”. A list of applications that can be transferred will open.

Also, using this application, you can perform a comprehensive removal, which will help optimize and increase the speed of the device.

How to clean your device from unnecessary debris?

By following the above steps, you can make significant progress in the process of clearing your memory. Once you have set the correct settings, you most likely will not have to do all the steps again from time to time. But you will have to use information on how to free up internal memory on Android by removing garbage often. So, by installing a special application (for example, Clean Master), you can make the cleaning process quick and easy.

The so-called garbage in the device, which occurs through the accumulation of cached data from the Internet, browser history, and applications, is a very common phenomenon. Periodic cleaning allows you to increase the free space on your device and speed up all actions.

If we look at cleaning a device from debris using the example of the most optimal and convenient Clean Master program, then there will be no difficulties in using it. You just need to select the “garbage” option and click “clean”. The application, conducting an in-depth analysis, makes sure to specify which files should not be deleted.

How to store files on the Internet?

To free up internal memory on Android 4.2, you can use so-called cloud storage. They allow you not only to store files, but also to open them using various devices. Having installed an application of this type on a smartphone, to gain access to the data you will only need to register (when you turn it on for the first time), and subsequently enter your username and password.

Constant access to the Internet is also important when working with cloud storage, because the data is stored in “virtual memory”. Among the most successful cloud storages are Google Drive, Mega storage, Yandex.Disk or Dropbox.

How to completely clean the device?

To radically clear the device’s memory, you need to completely delete all data. The action is performed using the “Format” option. As a rule, this item is located in the device settings in the “Backup and data reset” tab. After confirming the user’s intentions and deleting the data, the device will reboot and take on its original appearance, that is, the smartphone will be missing everything that was installed and downloaded after purchase.

In general, the instruction “How to free up memory on Android” includes several steps, some of which are interchangeable. Consistent execution of various types of actions will lead to an increase in free space, which certainly entails optimization of the device.

We use smartphones every day and over time, the internal memory runs out and it becomes impossible to record new files. In such situations, as well as as a preventive measure, it is necessary to clear the internal and RAM memory. This can be done using the OS capabilities of the smartphone itself, using special programs, or by connecting the mobile device to a computer. Let's look at the main ways to free up memory on Android.

When actively using a mobile phone, it is necessary to clear the internal memory from time to time. Even without writing new data to your smartphone, the space in the internal storage becomes clogged with the cache of applications, browsers and other garbage. This leads to the fact that you cannot install a new game from the play market on your phone or download your favorite movie to watch. In addition, clogged memory can cause system slowdowns and glitches. So how do you clear your internal memory? Let's look at the main methods, with and without a PC.

Saving files to a microSD card

Before you clear the free space of the internal storage on your tablet or smartphone, you must prevent it from loading further. To do this, you will need to set the settings of the following applications to save the created files to the memory card:

• Camera.
• Dictaphone.
• Internet browsers.
• Various applications in which data is created, edited and saved.
• Mobile messengers in which multimedia files are exchanged (Skype, Viber, etc.).
• Downloaders of music, pictures, films, torrents.
• GPS maps, navigators.

Now the created files will be automatically saved on the microSD card, thereby not filling up the internal memory of your phone.

Move to microSD card without PC

To move files without a computer, you will need an installed explorer - a file manager. In some models of Android smartphones and tablets it is installed as standard software, but in most cases it must be downloaded separately. One of the most functional and convenient file managers, which can be downloaded for free from the play market, is the ES Explorer utility. Its main advantage is the ability to select and set an action for several folders or files at once.

To move files in Explorer, you need to select them with a long press. Note that to select multiple documents you need to check the boxes next to their names. After selecting the files, you need to click on the “more” tab in the lower area of ​​the screen, and in it select the “move to” item. Next, you need to select the path to the SD card, create or use a pre-created directory on it.

Moving from Android using a computer

To transfer files from the internal memory of your mobile phone to an SD card or any other external storage device, use a computer. To do this you will need:

• The Android smartphone or tablet itself.
• Computer with Windows or Mac OS.
• USB cable.
• Drivers for your mobile device and other software installed on your PC.

After connecting your mobile phone to your computer, you need to select the “data transfer” connection mode. After this, the internal memory and SD card files will be displayed as a separate partition on the PC. They can be moved, deleted or copied just like any other files on your computer, freeing up space on your mobile phone’s internal storage.

If you are not comfortable connecting your phone to your PC with a USB cable all the time, you can use the free AirDroid service. It allows you to connect Android to your computer both remotely and while on the same Wi-Fi network. In this case, the user also gets access to files stored in the internal memory of the mobile phone. All you need is free access to the Internet for both devices and any browser through which you can manage your phone files from your PC.
You can familiarize yourself with setting up the AirDroid service and its main capabilities in the video below.

Transferring apps to a microSD card

Probably many have noticed that applications and games on Android are mostly installed in the internal memory. To install them on the mircoSD card, you may need root access rights. After they are received, you need to install the Link2sd utility. With its help, you can also transfer pre-installed applications and games to the memory card. But it is worth noting that this may affect their operation, as well as the stability of the operating system as a whole.

Some applications and games can be transferred to a microSD card without administrator rights. To do this, you need to download the Android Assistant utility from the play market. It includes 18 tools for managing the Android OS. After launching it, you need to go to the “Toolkit” tab, and in it select the “App2Sd” item. In the list of applications that opens, you can select several at once to move them to the map. This way you can without deleting files.

Deleting files and cleaning up junk

You can delete applications from your phone's storage directly from the settings menu. To do this, you need to select the appropriate item, and then go to the properties of the selected program. To delete other files, you will need a file manager. In it, you can open any directory in the internal memory of your mobile phone and delete documents manually.

Cleaning your phone of junk: Internet browser caches, applications, registry files is getting rid of unnecessary data. For this, special utilities are used, for example, Clean Master. The advantage of this program is its maximum simplicity and ease of use. To clean, simply click on the appropriate button in the menu. In this case, the utility will scan all memory for garbage and present the cleaning results on the screen.

Using cloud storage

And the last way to free up space in the internal storage of your mobile phone is to use cloud storage. With a stable Internet connection, you can safely store files on: Yandex disk, google drive, [email protected], etc. The advantages of this method include the ability to access information from different devices and the reliability of file storage.

Freeing up RAM

RAM plays a vital role in the multitasking of a smartphone or tablet, the ability to open several Internet browser pages at once, etc. Background processes, installation of programs, as well as additional widgets load RAM. As a result, even the most advanced smartphone models are faced with a lack of RAM and reboot. Let's look at several ways to clear RAM that will help your phone work more efficiently.

Using OS features

Most manufacturers provide their phones with a special utility that allows you to clear RAM. It can be called differently, but most often: clean or purification. Just click on it and the utility will automatically unload unnecessary programs and widgets from the RAM.

Via Application Manager

Used RAM

To use this method, you will need to enter the system settings menu of your mobile phone. Next, go to the “applications” item and select “working”. This tab displays information about which programs and processes are open and running at the moment, as well as how much RAM they are consuming. Before closing them all, you need to see what can be removed from the list of background processes so that the system does not crash. In most cases, desktop services, various launchers, etc. don't touch it.

Using special utilities

The easiest and most reliable way to clean RAM is to use special utilities. We have already discussed one of these above; this application is . By launching it, you can choose not only to clear the internal memory, but also the RAM. To do this, click on the corresponding icon on the main screen, and then click on the “Accelerate” item. In this case, information about the amount of freed RAM will be displayed.

Video “How to easily free up RAM on Android”

In this video you will get some more useful tips.

This is the question we received from one of the users of our site, Alexey. He writes that when downloading an application from the Google Play Store, an error is displayed: “The application could not be downloaded. There is not enough space in the device memory." At the same time, there is plenty of memory space - at least several gigabytes, while the size of the downloaded application is only a few megabytes. What to do, what to do?

This is what the error looks like when downloading the application:

Let’s say right away that there is no single solution to this problem, so let’s consider various options that can help cope with the problem.

Clearing the cache in the Google Play app

If you believe numerous reviews on the RuNet, the first thing the user needs to do is clear the cache for the Google Play application. It is primarily recommended to take this action in cases where there is a lot of space on the device, but the application is not installed.

Go to the settings of your phone or tablet.

Select the “Applications” section.

Find the Google Play Store or Google Play Services application (the name may vary depending on the firmware) and tap on it.

Here, click on the “Erase data” button, then “Clear cache”.

After that, try to install the application from the Market. This method should help you.

Make sure there is actually enough memory

In some cases, the available memory may not be correct. For example, you think there are a few more gigabytes of memory available, but in reality there are only a few megabytes available. To make sure you have free memory, go to settings and select the “Memory” section.

As you can see, in our case there is very little free memory and if you install applications several hundred megabytes in size, there really won’t be enough space.

Clear the contents of your device

If there is really not enough memory, you need to get rid of garbage and unnecessary applications, as well as files.

To delete temporary files, cache data, etc., it is better to use a special application, for example, Clean Master. Download it, run it, then click on the “Trash” button.

When the system finds all unnecessary and temporary files, simply click on the “Clean” button.

This way you can free up quite a lot of space, but if it is still not enough, we recommend deleting unused applications that are usually always present.

In some cases, memory is occupied by various files, such as music, video files, photos, etc. They need to be deleted manually, preferably using a file manager. We use ES Explorer. Find the file or folder that you want to delete, tap on it, highlight it and click on the trash can icon.

Often there can be a lot of such files and deleting them frees up a huge amount of memory.

Transfer applications to a memory card

If you have a memory card and have the ability to transfer applications to it from the main memory, use this option so as not to delete applications.

To do this, go to settings, then to the “Applications” section. Here, select the desired application and click on the “Move to SD card” button (in our case, the button says “Go to SD card”).

Please note that system applications are not migrated. It is possible that your device does not have the ability to transfer applications to a memory card at all.

What else can help?

Tips from the web that may or may not help. If it is worth using them, it is only in the most extreme cases, when nothing helps at all. You can also try:

• Uninstall updates for the Google Play application.

• Delete cache and data not only for the Google Play application, but also for the Google Service Framework.

• Clear Dalvik cache using .

• Do . In this case, all data will be cleared and files will be deleted.