Phone with microSD card.
Daniel Jedzura/Shutterstock.com

Some Android phones don't have a lot of storage, so yous might run out of room for apps. If your device has an SD card slot, you tin use that to expand the storage and have more than room for apps. Withal, SD card support is more limited than information technology used to be.

What You Demand to Know

Android apps are installed to your device'southward internal storage past default. If you take a microSD bill of fare, you tin move some of your currently installed apps over to the microSD card. This is not supported by all apps, however. In fact, many don't support this characteristic at all.

The state of SD carte du jour support on Android is a shell of what it used to exist. Non merely is it much harder to find Android devices with SD card slots, but the functionality has been profoundly diminished likewise. We'll testify you what you might be able to do if you have a microSD card in your Android device.

Note: Running an app off your SD card volition almost e'er exist slower than running it off the internal storage, so only utilize this if you absolutely have to–and if you tin can, try to apply information technology for apps that don't require a lot of speed to run well.

RELATED: How to Gratis Up Storage Infinite on Your Android Phone

How to Move an Android App to an SD Carte

First, swipe down from the superlative of the screen (in one case or twice, depending on your device) and tap the gear icon to open the Settings carte.

Adjacent, select "Apps."

Select "Apps."

You may need to tap "Come across All [Number] Apps" for the full listing of installed apps. Some devices evidence the total list right away.

Tap to see all apps.

Select the app that you would like to move to the SD card.

Select an app.

Next, on the App Info page, select "Storage" or "Storage & Cache."

Select "Storage."

If the app supports moving to the SD card, y'all'll see a "Change" button. Tap information technology.

Select "Change."

A menu will pop upward with the option to change the storage location to "SD card."

Select "SD Card."

Tap "Move" on the next screen to begin the exporting process.

Tap "Move."

You'll see a progress bar during the process bar. When it'southward done, you'll exist returned to the Settings app.

Progress bar.

Can You Install Apps Directly to the SD Card?

Older versions of this article explained how to install apps directly to the SD card and move whatever app to it, whether it officially supported the feature or not. Unfortunately, as of 2022, that's no longer a feasible choice on modern versions of Android.

Some manufacturers—namely, Samsung and LG—previously allowed users to format microSD cards as internal storage. That meant apps and games would be installed there by default. Sadly, this feature is no longer present on newer devices.

Technically, information technology's still possible if you're willing to go through the problem of rooting your Android phone. In the past, this article recommended using apps that required root access, such as MiniTool Partition Wizard and Link2SD.

Rooting an Android telephone is not every bit worth it as information technology used to be. Android has gotten much meliorate and the rooting process has only gotten more difficult. It'south simply not a legitimate solution for the majority of people.

Sadly, non many Android phones have SD carte du jour slots anymore, and it seems that even fewer apps support the ability to be moved to external storage. If yous do have an SD card slot, yous should take advantage of information technology.

SAMSUNG PRO Plus 128GB microSD

A 128GB microSD card that comes with an adapter for easily transferring files from your phone to calculator. Samsung SD cards are highly regarded for their quality.