Android Guides

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow?

Step-by-step guide on using micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow, and convert micro SD card from portable storage to internal storage.

Table of Contents hide
1) Step 0:  decide whether you want to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow.
2) Step 1:  Choose to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow
3) Step 2: Format the SD card
4) Step 3: IMPORTANT!!! Move data to new storage (micro SD card).
5) Step 4: Enjoy expanded phone storage.
6) How to change from portable storage to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow
7) What happens if I reset (factory data reset) the phone?
8) Can you use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow device now? Can you convert from portable storage to internal storage for the micro SD card in Android Marshmallow device?

Adoptable storage, using micro SD card as internal storage, is one of the most welcomed new features in Android Marshmallow.

As explained in this page, when you insert a micro SD card into a phone with Android Marshmallow, you will give 2 options:

  • use the micro SD card as internal storage. The micro SD card will be merged with phone internal storage. This usage is intended for owners who are facing  phone storage issues.
  • use the micro SD card as portable storage.  This usage is designed for owners who need move files among devices.

This guide will show you detailed steps to use micro SD card as internal storage in  Android Marshmallow.

Step 0:  decide whether you want to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow.

Although you can switch back and forth between using SD card as internal storage and as portable storage at any time, it may take some time to back up files on it. And you also need format the micro SD card whenever you switch the option.

So, you’d better think about your need carefully whether the phone internal storage will be an issue for you in next 12 months.

If your phone only has less than 16GB storage and you need install some games, you probably should consider to use SD card as internal storage to expand internal storage.

Step 1:  Choose to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

After you update your phone to Android Marshmallow or after you insert the SD card first time, you will get a notification like below.

You should NOT ignore the notification if you see it.  Even if you use the micro SD card as portable storage, you still need set it up once. Failing to setup SD card properly may give many unexpected problems in the future.

Tap Set up as shown below.

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

Now, you are given 2 options to use the micro SD card in Android Marshmallow devices.

Please note, some vendors may disable the option to use micro SD card as internal storage. For example, in Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, you can only use micro SD card as portable storage.

In this guide, I assume this feature (using micro SD card as internal storage) is not disabled by the manufacturer.

Tap Use as internal storage as shown below. Then tap Next.

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

Step 2: Format the SD card

To use micro SD card as internal storage, the SD card must be formatted.  This means all data on the micro SD card will be erased. You should backup them if there are any files you may want to keep.

In addition device encryption is enabled by default in Android Marshmallow. So, the micro SD card, after formatted as internal storage, cannot be used on any other devices until you format it again.

This warning is clearly stated in the page after you select to use micro SD card as internal storage as shown above(SanDisk micro SD is used as an example. You should see the brand of your own SD  card):

After formatting, this SanDisk SD card will only work in this device.

Formatting erases all data currently stored on the SanDisk SD card. To avoid losing the data, consider backing it up.

Tap Erase & Format as shown above to proceed.

Now, the phone will start to format the micro SD card.

A progress bar for the formatting will be active as shown below.

When the SD card is being formatted, you should NOT remove the SD card. It may damage the SD card!

Normally, it should just take one or two minutes to format a micro SD card.

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

Step 3: IMPORTANT!!! Move data to new storage (micro SD card).

After the micro SD card is formatted, you are given the option to move some files to micro SD card.

Please note, when you choose to use micro SD card as internal storage, you cannot control which files are saved in SD card, and which files are saved in the phone storage.

It will be always decided by the system based on many factors, for example, available phone storage and file type.

You can choose to move them now, or move them later.

You should always choose” Move now”. This is important. If you choose Move later, the system will  continue to use phone storage, not SD card!!!

Tap Move now, then tap Next as shown above.  The Next button is grayed out unless you make the decision.

Don’t exit at this stage!!! If you accidentally exit the procedure, you must start again.

Now, the system will try to move some files from phone storage to SD card.

As mentioned, the files to be moved to SD card are determined by some algorithms in Android Marshmallow.  If your phone storage is critically low, it will try to move more automatically.

Before moving data to micro SD card, the system will estimated the size of files to be moved.

For example, as shown below, system decides to move 108MB files to the micro SD card. This will free 108MB on the phone storage.

Tap Move as shown below to start moving data.

Now, a progress bar on data moving is active. The process highly depends on the size of files to be moved.

It usually take less than a few minutes. Be patient.

Some apps may not work when data moving is in progress. So, refrain from using phone for this one or two minutes.

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

Step 4: Enjoy expanded phone storage.

Once the files are moved to SD card, you can tap Done button as shown above.

From now on, the micro SD card becomes part of the phone storage system.

Technically, it can be used for any apps and data. But in Android Marshmallow, normally media files and app data are actually saved in the SD card.

When your actual phone storage is too low, some apps will be moved to SD card automatically. The bottom line is that you should not worry about insufficient phone storage as long as your micro SD card have space.

The pre-installed apps are always in the physical phone storage, not SD card.

You can check the storage usage in Settings– Storage & USB as shown above.

For example, as shown above, my 8GB Moto G 3rd Gen becomes a 40GB phone.

Please note,  you can only see the SD card storage here. All other file explorer apps (e.g., ES file explorer) should display phone storage+SD card as one storage.

And again, you cannot specify file saving locations as SD card or phone storage in any apps.

How to change from portable storage to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

If you currently use micro SD card as portable storage, you can easily convert to use the micro SD card as internal storage.

You should backup important files on the SD card. Converting the micro SD card as internal storage will remove all files on the card.

Go to Settings —Storage & USB .

Tap SanDisk SD card as shown below (SanDisk is used as an example. You should see the brand of your own SD  card).

Then tap menu key (3 vertical dots) near top right.

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

Among the menu items, tap Settings as shown below.

In the next page, tap Format as internal as shown below.

Then you will go through the similar procedure to format the micro SD card as internal storage as mentioned above.

As mentioned, the micro SD will be formatted and encrypted. All files on it will be erased, and you cannot use the micro SD on other device unless you format it again.

How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow How to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow

What happens if I reset (factory data reset) the phone?

If you set the micro SD card as internal storage, after resetting the phone, NO device,  including your own phone, can read the SD card.

All data in the SD card were encrypted when you chose to use the SD card as internal storage. The encryption key was saved in the secured location in the internal storage.

But if you reset the phone, all data in the internal storage are erased, including the encryption key.

So, NO device can read the SD card. You have to format the SD if you want to use the SD again.

It is important to back up your data (including your files and data) in the phone before resetting it.  Back up, back up and back up.

Can you use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow device now? Can you convert from portable storage to internal storage for the micro SD card in Android Marshmallow device?

If you have any questions or problems on how to use micro SD card as internal storage in Android Marshmallow device, or to convert from portable storage to internal storage, please let us know in the comment box below.

The community will help you.

For any questions or problems with Android Marshmallow, please check our Android Marshmallow Guide page.

If your question is about Android Lollipop, please check out Android Lollipop Guide page.


Reader Interactions


Comments

  1. Adrian says

    Hi
    I bought a LG K8 and went with portable memory at first but now i want to use my SD as internal . THe problem is that when i go to storage and USB , i tap the SD – settings , i have only eject and format . i can not format it as internal . i know at 1st when i configured the phone, i had those two options ” use as internal” / ” use as portable ” . I tried to reset (factory reset) the phone , use new SD , put back the old one . useless .
    Any new ideas ? xD

    Ty !

    Reply

  2. Edward Brunck says

    Yesterday everything was fine until I managed somehow to get my SIM card PUK’d meaning locked. So I had to call the service provider to get the PIN to unlock it. Which I did and it was unlocked. Afterwards everything was work fine, until this morning when I went to use it to listen to an Audible book the app was gone and when I went to look at storage it told me that the “SD card is “not inserted”. When I updated to Android 6.0 I made the SDHC card part of internal memory(32Gig). Never had any problems till today. Can anyone help me, please?

    PS. When I remove then put it back in it tells me “SD card Checking” after its run it tells me “Not inserted”. I’ve done it with power off n on and get the same message and it doesn’t give me a option to mount/unmount SD card Oh and I’m using a Moto G 2nd Gen.

    Reply

  3. Adam Rene Melchor says

    Since I was having memory problems I decided to do a factory reset on my phone after i backed it up, installed marshmellow and its not giving me the option to change from portable storage to internal storage. Here are the screenshots of what I see. I do not see the 3 little dots. Also my micro sd card is a Samsung 128GB EVO Class 10 Micro SDXC Card with Adapter up to 48MB/s (MB-MP128DA/AM). Any help would be appreciated.

    Reply

  4. TazimHossain says

    Hi, I have Samsung Galaxy S5 and updated to 6.0.1.

    When i tap on SD Card from “Settings > Storage” But i don’t see any settings icon, even “Format as Internal”.

    Reply

  6. Sarah says

    Is there any work around for the S5? I would love to be able to have my apps download straight to the memory card instead of on internal storage (which is almost completely full with just apps & system data), but I am night quite brave enough to root my phone.

    Reply

  7. Mike B. says

    So I only have 5 available gigs on my S5’s 16 gigs of internal storage. My current SD card has 8-ish GB in use (meaning I won’t have enough space to back up my current SD card into my phone’s internal storage). What’s the best way to back up my SD card before re-formatting it to make sure I don’t lose the 8 GB of stuff on my SD card? Or am I missing something obvious?

    Reply

    • simon says

      Samsung doesn’t support the feature of using micro SD card as internal storage on Marshmallow.

      You may do some cleaning work by uninstall apps you don’t use often. Also some apps have all data synced on the cloud. It’s safe to uninstall them temporally.

      For your own files, you can always back up them to a PC or cloud.

      The least option is to power off the phone, remove the SD card, copy all files to the PC. Then copy then to the new SD card. You need keep the directory structure. You can then insert the new SD card into the phone and power on it. But a few apps may not work properly.

      Our Facebook page || Galaxy S6 Guides || Galaxy S7 Guides || Android Oreo Guides || Galaxy S8 Guides || Galaxy S9 Guides || Google Home Guides || Galaxy S10 Guides .

      Reply

      • David Messinger says

        Does anyone know WHY Samsung does not support the feature of using micro SD card as internal storage on Marshmallo ?

        I was trying to install the SD card as Internal Memory as an article had suggested, and in talking with Verizon Help, they thought it should work till I finally took a tech through the process – then they connected me to Samsong who told me it had to do with IMEI and that maybe Verizon could flash the phone and then it may or may not let you use the SD card as Internal Memory… – not sure I want to try that or if it would even work.

        Reply

        • Lieven Tytgat says

          I believe this is only about making more money. Just look at their marketing strategy :
          First :They ask about 200€ extra for a device which has 16gb data extra available. (cost =5€?). hence if they enable the feature they lose a lot of profit per sale. Second: people will last longer with their devices, hence the number of sales will drop. Third : Since they have more or less a monopoly in the market they might get away with it. They will only enable this if they lose market share because of it. Fourth :competitors might enable this feature to get more sales in the short run, but their devices will last longer, reducing their long-term turnover. The only way they could actually benefit is by making this feature a full blown marketing argument and gain market share this way.
          Sadly I have not seen any competitor doing this atm. Does anybody know of any?

          Reply

          • Keir Doubas says

            Dead right. People run out of internal storage, they need to upgrade. Why would they take away this very useful feature? Answer: to make more money.

            Reply

        • Steven says

          Apparently, Samsung is under the impression that their customers only use SD cards to transfer audio, video, and images. However, Samsung devices still support adoptable storage, it’s just that the option to adopt an SD card as internal storage has been removed. By using USB Debugging under Developer Options and the Android Debugging Bridge, you can partition the SD card as internal memory and gain access to the appropriate menu options for the SD card after rebooting your phone. This can be done without rooting it. Google “samsung galaxy use sd card as adoptable storage using adb”.

          Reply

  8. Rajaneesh says

    My phone internal memory is 2 GB but I have android marshmallow to use this option I bought 32 gb class 10 memory card. I have done everything as you mentioned it is fine, but when I am installing any new apps from play store it is still showing no storage why the apps are not taking sd card storage please help me

    Reply

  9. Patrick Thibaut says

    I got a Samsung J5-2016, especially because it has Android 6 and I want the option to use the SD card as internal memory. Did Samsung also remove this feature here, like in an updated S5? Thank you Samsung, I got this model phone, and a super fast SD card just for this!

    Reply

    • Patrick Thibaut says

      Hello Dmytro, you might want to look at Motorola, they are known for leaving the Android ‘stock’. Alcatel is also pretty close. There could be more but I don’t know them all.

      Reply

  11. Appoo says

    I have the new Note 7, supported by Marshmallow 6.0.1, it looks cool and all but there is a thing that’s so frustrating. The micro SD card issue,

    1- Can’t format it as Internal Storage
    2- Can’t set defult media download on Whatsapp to it.
    3- Can’t download apps on it from Google Play or Samsung Apps.

    It’s like having a very big yard but can’t build anything on it nor use it. 125 Micro SD Samsung. Pretty sad, if you guys know the solution WITHOUT ROOT, please share the knowledge.

    Thanks!

    Reply

  12. JueBob says

    Okay, so I have a Motorola Moto G (2nd Gen) and was REALLY happy with it, with the exception of the torage as it was only an 8gb phone :o(

    I used the “adoptable storage” facility, and that seemed to have worked a treat, I did as the above guide said and chose “move now” for documents/data/photo’s etc. and it did exactly what it was supposed to have done!

    All has been working okay for months, until…………

    Tried using the camera and kept getting “Camera error: Please restart the camera”, in addition to other app crashing errors hitting up. I started by removing any app’s that weren’t needed (and some I used a LOT, but got shut to try and make some room. No joy!

    What I want to do now, is to move the documents/data/photo’s etc. BACK to the main storage, so I can then back-up and do a factory reset on the phone!

    Unfortunately, while it’s really easy to set-up and apply the adoptable storage, getting back in control of it all is somewhat more difficult :o(

    Another issue I’ve noticed, is that despite following the process (and google’ing lots of other possible solutions), I can’t clear the 260mb cache that YouTube has stolen and won’t release!!!! There’s a few apps that are in a similar position, but just can’t get that space back!

    If anyone has any answers to some of these issues, your help would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply

    • simon says

      Camera error probably have nothing to do with SD card. You can try to clear cache and clear data fire camera app. You can also try other camera apps.

      For photos, you you can copy them to PC. You can also automatically back up them to Google drive with Google photos app.

      For YouTube cache, you can disable the app to see whether it helps. Then enable it again.

      Our Facebook page || Galaxy S6 Guides || Galaxy S7 Guides || Android Oreo Guides || Galaxy S8 Guides || Galaxy S9 Guides || Google Home Guides || Galaxy S10 Guides .

      Reply

      • JueBob says

        Hi,

        I’d agree that the camera error itself isn’t concrete proof of an issue with the SD card, but everything else in the mix is starting to make it look that way 🙁

        I’ve copied whatever files I can get hold of on the device, but my concern is putting it all back in the right place after I’ve factory reset.

        Tried doing a back-up of WhatsApp and that fails (suspect it’s writing to the SD card), and when I hit an issue with an app install, something online suggested ejecting the card and re-trying….. THAT WORKED!!! Suggesting some app’s are trying to install direct to the card (unfortunately couldn’t run the app as it wants to use the card!)

        Is there a way of cloning an SD card as it’s current state formatted as adoptable storage? I’ve got another card that’s smaller, but still big enough and wondered if I could swap it out???

        Reply

        • simon says

          For whatsapp, photos, you can automatically back up them to Google drive. You just need to enable the backup.

          For app data, unless the app can back up itself, you cannot copy them. Some apps can be synced to the cloud. Some app data can be backed up by Google automatically (depending on apps).

          As SD card is now encrypted. The full clone will not work due to different hardware id (different sd cards).

          If I were you, I would back up important files and data, then reset the phone.

          If you want, you can manually move apps to SD card in Settings –Apps –XXXX app–Storage. Then try a new SD card.

          Anyway, If I were you, I would not try to clone the SD card and swap them. It is not easy to make it work.

          Our Facebook page || Galaxy S6 Guides || Galaxy S7 Guides || Android Oreo Guides || Galaxy S8 Guides || Galaxy S9 Guides || Google Home Guides || Galaxy S10 Guides .

          Reply

          • JueBob says

            So, for all the ney-sayers that said the camera issue was nothing to do with the memory card issue (on this and other forums), just to let you know……. IT WAS!!!

            Got all I could off the phone and memory card, and ended up reloading back to factory settings, guess what??? The phone works like a dream now!!!

            Unfortunately it means I’m in the “rock and hard place” territory, as I don’t trust the adoptable storage function, and it’s only an 8gb phone, so I can’t really have hardly any app’s on there and looks like I’m gonna need to change phone for a 32gb unit (as seemingly the apps like Link2SD don’t work properly with Marshmallow cos they can’t get anything to run off the SD when it’s in as just another drive 🙁 unlucky I guess!)

            Just thought I’d update everyone on what’s happened in case anyone else gets a similar issue. Bottom line for me, is that Lollipop was sooooooooooo much better, less memory/storage hungry, and the adoptable storage effort is a near miss/fail in my view. Still sticking with Android though, as I don’t want to go back to Apple having already escaped from the dark side once 🙂

            Reply

  13. Becky says

    Hi. I was using my micro SD card in my Samsung Galaxy S5 as internal storage, but after the Android Marshmallow update this past weekend, I no longer see that option. Did Marshmallow disable using SD card as internal storage on the S5?

    Reply

  14. Danny raffo says

    Hi I have the same problem as most people on here. I only have two options of eject or format not format internal. I’m thinking my phone doesn’t support this but I’ve seen no mention of a sony experia aqua m4 not supporting this. Do you know if it does. ??? Thanks

    Reply

  15. Victor says

    I followed the instructions to format internally, went through process, SD card no longer shows up. Inserted SD card into computer, Does not show up in File Explorer, although it appears in the eject icon.

    Reply

  17. Patrick Thibaut says

    When you format an SD as internal storage in Android 6, it becomes an extension of the internal memory. It’s not supposed to show up separately. To do this the phone formats it in a special file system, that’s why you can’t use it in your PC.

    Reply

  20. Harihara Kumar says

    Hi,

    I am using a Samsung Galaxy A8. It got recently upgraded to Marshmallow. I own an external SAN Disk micro SD 64GB card. Can it be converted into an internal storage ? If yes, please let me know the steps to do it.

    Reply

  21. Harihara Kumar says

    Hi,

    This is in continuation with my earlier question. If external to internal is not possible, then I have another question here.
    My 64GB MicroSD gets corrupted twice so far. No clue how it is happening. This issue has started only after the Marshmallow uggrade in my Galaxy A8. Any suggestions to overcome this pain would be much appreciated.

    Reply

  22. Nick Hatch says

    Using a Moto G 3rd Generation and have had storage issues for months. Even with Lollipop, there were almost no applications that could be moved to the SD Card. Recently got the update for Marshmallow (6.0.1) and formatted the SD card as internal, thinking I could save a good portion of the apps to the SD Card.

    However, after formatting as internal, none of the apps allow me to change the storage location from internal to SD Card. Why is the phone not allowing me to move the storage location when the SD Card is formatted as internal? I am unable to download any additional apps from the play store because the internal memory is full, even though I have 10+ GB of free storage on the SD Card. Any ideas that will allow me to save apps to the SD Card?

    Reply

  24. Steve says

    Nice guide! Provider just sent MM, can now use my 64gig SD card as internal storage on my Moto G (3rd gen). Your tutorial made it easy. Thanks!

    Reply

    • JueBob says

      MM???

      Incidentally, what card did you use?? After my experience with the card failing and causing all sorts o issues, I’ve been reluctant to do anything more with adoptable storage, but running marshmallow on an 8gb phone is just not feasible

      Well, okay, guess I should qualify that. Running marshmallow on an 8gb phone where the extent of the apps I can run that make my phone better than a Nokia 6310 are limited to email, instagram, Twitter and three or four other small apps!!!

      So, caught between a rock and a hard place really, either I out my trust in adoptable storage again and hit another failure (which I’m not 100% convinced was a card failure, as it all went Pete Tong after a marshmallow update, so could’ve been that Motorola and marshmallow were out of sync), or buy a new phone with better storage.

      I’ve been looking at phones (and considered switching my G2 for a G3), but the G3 is still only 16gb which I think will get eaten in no time too with the rate of the plethora of Motorola and marshmallow updates that keep rolling in.
      When you start looking at the bigger memory phones I.e. 32gb and 64gb, you’re talking iPhone money anyway, and as dirty as it feels even contemplating switching back to that “a” word, their stuff seems to be a lot more bullet proof than the marshmallow/adoptable storage thing.

      Loved all the previous android phones and OS versions I’ve had to date, but the experiences I’ve had with marshmallow are enough to tempt me back to the dark side!!!

      J

      Reply

      • simon says

        Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

        Adoptable storage is still new. I would think it is a gift for phones with 8GB or less internal storage. If you have any chance to try Android phones with 4GB storage, you will understand how helpful this feature is, although it may have this or than issues.

        For phones with 32 GB storage, for most users, portable storage is the ideal solution. Moto and ASUS have many quality middle-range phones with 32 GB storage. Motorola is the only major Android brand who offers adoptable storage at this time.

        Not all users can afford $700 phones, especially in many developing countries. Android offers options for all users with different budget levels. Of course, it is unfair to compare $100 or $200 phones with $700 phones.

        Our Facebook page || Galaxy S6 Guides || Galaxy S7 Guides || Android Oreo Guides || Galaxy S8 Guides || Galaxy S9 Guides || Google Home Guides || Galaxy S10 Guides .

        Reply

      • Steve says

        MM = Marshmallow. The card is a SanDisk 64gig, don’t recall the speed. Was on Lollipop, with card as external storage – lots of pics and music, and lots of apps “moved” to sd card. Had to delete many apps and move the rest to internal before I could reformat card to act as internal storage. I have not re-installed all the apps I want and thus have not yet tested the efficacy of the card-as-internal.

        For me, a higher priced, more internal memory phone is not warranted because of the way I use my phone. Not a lot of apps (but enough to hit my 8gig limit), and I regularly download pics and vids to my desktop storage. The 64gig will meet my needs for a long time.

        As for the issues you’ve experienced, it would seem that you have several options: live with the issues, wait for fixes, try other hardware (low-mid-end phones/better sd card), or get higher end phone. The choice you make will be influenced by your need to have a solid working phone now, and how much you’re willing to spend in time and/or money to get that need fulfilled. I wish you the best in that pursuit.

        Reply

  25. Aakash says

    Nice Guide that! But…
    I had been using my sd card as internal storage on my marshmallow device. Due to some issues i had to factory reset it. Before doing that, I had ejected the sd card without taking any backup and after the reset,when i inserted the sd card back, my device does not support it and asks to format it before using it either as portable or internal storage.
    Is there any way to read/get the data on the sd card back ? Please help…!

    Reply

  27. AlienTech says

    Well you CAN use an sdcard to store stuff and act as internal storage but it is a convoluted process. AND you have to use the ADB android developers tools. First you have to install the ADB drivers, get it working with a PC to transfer files and such, Turn the SDcard into a private storage space.. Then after a few reboots, it will show up in file manager as intrnal storage but you cant use it, only the operating system can. But you also get an option to migrate data.. Which will move media files and such to the sdcard. I think the built in Samsung programs are from CM transfer. Because I got a few error messages saying CM transfer has stopped.. and I had to reboot the phone.

    After which now in the drives listing on the PC I get a different set of devices.. Before it would show card as a 32GB space and Tablet as a 16GB space.. Now the card is 128MB space and the Tablet as a 32GB space.. Dont know what happened to the 16GB internal space.. NOW I can also copy photos and music etc to the Tablet.. Which is in reality th 32GB SDcard.. The previous installed files are supposedly somewhere which I cant see right now. It does leave like 2GB of free space in the internal storage. Not sure how or exactly how all this happens still… But the files on the internal memory also show up here with the files on the SDcard. so it must be juggling the files somehow. An app like AppManager 2 will allow you to find apps which can be moved to SDcard and move them for you that way. But normally there is no such option in the settings like before to move an app to sdcard. So many things now work differently but great to get an extra 32GB sdcard to show up as internal storage memory as it was getting difficult with internal memory almost at 15.99GB used..

    Reply

  28. domagoj says

    I upgraded to android n and it doesn’t support the SD card anymore is there a way to open it from PC so i colud restore my data(befor formating it as internal again)

    Reply

  29. Deepak says

    I am in need of help, if someone can, I will be most thankful.
    Due to some reasons i have to factory reset my HTC 816 but due to marshmallow-6, my internal & external memory was merged. I removed sd card before factory reset the mobile. But after reset now i am unable to use the sd card in my phone. Message appear format the sd card. But I have very important data in sd card and also unable to open it on PC & any other phone, How i can take backup of my data.

    Reply

  31. John Braunschweiger says

    I recently purchased a “like new” Samsung s5 on Amazon. Everything seems to be working ok except that the phone will not recognize a ScanDisk Ultra 64gb. Does not register under notifications or sd under settings – storage. Tried disk on my Moto e and it showed up ok. Can also see it on my Windows 10 PC. The s5 has been updated to 6.0.01. Any thoughts. I only needed the additional memory as external.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  32. Rusty says

    Hi guys – wonder if you have any tips for me….Using a Moto G 2014 on Marshmallow and was using a sd card as adoptable storage , a handful of apps on there plus pics and downloads automatically stored there too. All going well for probably close to a year but then weird camera errors kept popping up and some of those apps would stop working. I would boot into recovery, wipe the cache and everything would be fine for a few days. Then some of my pics started disappearing and thats when I suspected my sd was corrupted.
    I backed up what I could, removed it, put a new card in, chose adoptable, downloaded those apps again which happily went to the sd.
    BUT….I tried to transfer old files from my PC to the new card using usb MTB(?) and it would come up saying it had been disconnected, error blah blah…. AND i wasnt able to take photos because of a lack of internal storage!!! So apps worked but media wouldn’t.
    Tried again today with another SD card and same problem.
    Would a factory reset be necessary do you think or is it something simple that i’m missing?

    Reply

  33. hazim says

    I have huawei 5x i use sd card as internal for a month suddenly I cant open es explorer and my whatsapp always crash I though the phone when crazy so I factory reset.
    I install the app again and same crash issues so I format as portable my sandisk then when I want to set up it say my sandisk not supported.
    I also try to format as internal but fail it say cannot format error bla bla bla.
    Please help

    Reply

  35. Rahul says

    After performing factory data reset on my Android 6.0 mobile ,the sd card which I have earlier formatted as my internal sd card is not working and my phone is again asking to format it to use it as internal or portable.I want to get my photos cand files back but it is not working on any device. Help me.

    Reply

  36. priyam chakraborty says

    My phone is samsung j5.update my in marsh mellow version(6.o.1).my internal storage is only 8 gb and.now i want to use sd card as a internal storage.i cant format sd as a internal storage.plzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me how can i do the process.

    Reply

  37. Fahim says

    Hye…im using samsung galaxy j2prime and my device setting is differents and there is no storage and USB…I used my sd card as a portable storage…so is there any other way to use my sd card as internal storage…TQ

    Reply

  38. dragoons says

    Hi guys! I also have an issue with this android version, when i try format my SD as internal memory, the formatting process get stuck at 20% and after some while pop up an error message!

    Reply

  40. Eicoon says

    I have some problems with Whatsapp on my internal storage. After expanding my internal storage with an UHCmicroSD i can’t send bigger files. I tried to send a Video with 13MB bit then Whatsapp said I don’t have enough free space…but I did! Also i can’t send Pictures that i saved from the web. Seems like there is something wrong with the storage… Can someone help? Every other App works fine. Of Course i reinstalled whatsapp multiple times…

    Reply

  41. zack says

    hye..i am trying to format my 64 gb sd card as internal,but it always failed to do that,can you help me to fix it?it stuck on 20% and exit the process

    Reply

  42. Ateo Feroce says

    Hi, I formatted the SD as internal storage exacly as depicted in the instructions, also moved data to the SD.
    Phone storage is 8 GB, SD added is 32 GB.
    All went right, but now the Devige storage reports: « -18253983744.0.. Total used of 8.00 GB». This is clearly mistaken. The total capacity should be 40 GB, not 8 GB. Before with the SD as portable storage the report was correct. How can I remedy this problem? Is this affecting the storage use?
    Thank you!

    Reply

  43. FahmidaToqi says

    Hi… ☺..
    My one is android marshmallow. Its samsung galaxy j1 nxt prime duos. Its internal memory is only 8 gb.. and my sd card is 16 gb… when i mounted sd card.. i saw an option.. showing ‘set up sdcard’.. but i ignored that option.. now i am having lot of problems.. cause i dont have enough storage in my internal storage.. now that i didnt set up my sd card before.. the sd card isnt working as internal storage.. i tried formatting and mounting the sd card.. but it is showing only one option.. which is “portable storage”. My 1st question is ‘ Do i need to insert a new sd card to use the sd card as internal storage?? ‘
    I am not even can understand the features of j1 duos. It doesnt shows those options which are suggested by online software guide websites. So i m facing many difficulties to run this handset.
    2nd problem:
    I cant move many apps from internal storage to sd. It dont have that option ‘Change’.. I dont understand that why the default download path is internal storage for many apps on playstore. And i even cant move these apps from internal storage to sd. I have changed the default downloading path to sd.. but still device storage is storing some internet caches or bluetooth datas which is causing me around 890 mb.. the more i try to delete those datas or move these data to sd, sd is getting filler. But it isnt removing from the device storage. What should i do??
    I am not pro at technology. So i m not able to understand what is the main problem of this device. I tried to see many guidelines for samsung j1 next prime marshmallow version. But this device dont match with many options or with many features, the websites are showing. I m really at a mess.
    I hope u guyz understood my problem. I will be very much pleased if u giv da solution in brief. Thank u..

    Reply

  44. Mike says

    Hey!
    I have a sony xperia m4 aqua. I saddly have only 8 gb of internal storage. I have a sony SD card that i want to set up as a part of my inner storage. My internal storage is 95% full. I just want to know, how to transfer files from SD card that i have on now, to the storage when my card will be set up as internal space. Is that even possible? And, do i really have to re-set my phone again?
    Ty

    Reply

  45. Igor says

    Hello, I have LG G4 Beat device and SD card installed and set as portable storage. When I try to convert it to internal storage, there is not option Format as internal, only Eject and Format options. If there is a limitation of phone model or any other limitation? Currently I use the SD card for store data of some applications installed on device.
    Thanks

    Reply

  46. Henrik pade says

    Have noted the Samsung policy of not allowing SD use as internal. Would a move to a different operating system like CyanogenMod soleve this ? In using a S5 .

    Reply

  47. Dencio says

    When you format your sd card as an internal storage, is there a way that i can acess the phones internal storage. I have 12 gb free on internal but i cant find the access to that all downloads and files are.going to sd card.

    Reply

  48. Steve says

    Since Samsung removed it from their phones, what about Samsung Galaxy S4 Active phones? Also what is I stay with an older version of Android, is there an option to allow micro SD card as internal storage or will I have to keep manually moving apps to the SD card?

    Reply

  49. Paul says

    I have Moto g3, i adopted an SD card as internal storage and it’s worked fine, but yesterday, while showing someone how to migrate data I accidentally set it to migrate 26gb from the SD card back to internal storage, it stopped after filling the internal storage, now I can’t find a way to move it back, there’s no option to migrate back to SD card and file managers I’ve tried can’t view the internal storage, any ideas?

    Reply

  50. Danny says

    I have a solution with TWRP, Super SU root and root essential.
    I have j5 SM-J500G use external SD as internal memory. And installed a lot of android application.
    Please let me know if you need direction.

    Reply

  52. Naleen says

    Please tell me, is this feature available in J5 phone too ???. Because my J5 phone doesn’t show any massage at inserting the SD card first time. Also there is no option as format as internal and move media, only available options for SD card are unmount and format. OS has updated to 6.01 version. Please tell me the issue in my phone…

    Reply

  53. JOHN says

    SOME ONE HELP ME WHEN I INSERT SD MICRO INTRO MY SAMSUNG J7 (2016) THERES NO NOTIFICATION HOW DO I VIEW THE SD SETTINGS

    Reply

  54. nat says

    Hi, when I choose Format as Internal Storage on my Asus Zenfone Go, and then I choose to move the apps now, it says “not enough storage space” although my micro sd card is 128 gb and brand new…
    What have I missed?

    Reply

  55. nat says

    I forgot to say that when I select Portable storage, the system detects 125gb on the card. So the card is not the problem…
    And the other thing that happens is I get the message “card corrupted” if I pick Internal Storage>erase and format…

    Reply

  56. Zed Zee says

    Hello

    I have Moto G3 (third gen) phone. 32GB SD card is set as internal storage.

    I want to transfer some files (photos, especially) from the SD card for various reasons (including that the SD card is running out of space).

    When I attach the phone to my Windows 7 notebook, using USB cable, and set the transfer mode to either to either PTP or MTP, I cannot seem to see the content of the DCIM folder.

    When I browse to this from my notebook, the folder is blank. However, if I transfer any photo from DCIM to any other folder on the SD card, the photos become visible.

    What I would like some help with is knowing whether this is ‘normal’ behaviour in Android Marshmallow or something wrong with my Windows 7 machine or indeed, something that I’m doing wrong?

    I would appreciate some input and help on this matter. Thank you.

    Reply

  57. Aya says

    What happens when the adoptable SD card gets full (and assume you have some free ‘real’ internal memory? I do not see anywhere that Android knows to spillover to the real internal memory. How can this be solved?

    Reply

  59. Lester says

    Hie l hv tried to format my as card bt lm still struggling cz it doesn’t want to use my sd card lm using j5 and also how many gb should l use

    Reply

  60. John says

    This is for Danny, I also hv a J5G n would like to follow your steps. Could u post here, or email REMOVED (please do not post emails publicly). thanks

    Reply

  61. Yusuf says

    in storage & USB menu, i only see eject and format options. Format option makes the card a portable storage (i use xperia m5). I heard there is a way which includes connecting to windows, opening USB debugging and command line, can someone who found this method with steps share the link?

    Reply

    • simon says

      1. Sony does not support using SD card as internal storage in Marshmallow/Nougat. You can only use SD card as external storage.
      2. you don’t need USB debugging mode. If you really want it, you can enable it in developer options. By default developer options are hidden. You can tap Build number quickly for 7 times (You can find build number in Settings –abut phone). To use ADB commands, you need to install ADB packages, which is included in Android Studio. Anyway, I don’t think you need it at all.
      3. To let your computer recognize the phone, you need install USB driver of the phone on the PC. The simplest way is to install Xperia Companion on your computer (PC or MAC). The link is here. Actually, you should have installed it when you got your Sony phone. Anyway, after installing this program, your PC will recognize your phone as a USB storage. You can then copy files between PC and the phone including SD card.

      Our Facebook page || Galaxy S6 Guides || Galaxy S7 Guides || Android Oreo Guides || Galaxy S8 Guides || Galaxy S9 Guides || Google Home Guides || Galaxy S10 Guides .

      Reply

  62. Greg says

    Question – Once my SD card becomes full…Is it possible to transfer the files to a new & larger sd card? Thanks.

    Reply

  63. peter says

    Hello,
    I have a LG K100, which according to the information provided by you above, I won’t be able to convert SD memory space to Internal memory. This is, unfortunately for me, clear. However, I would like to kindly ask someone to provide the steps to flash my phone to be able to use SD memory as internal memory.
    Thank you very much in advance,
    Peter

    Reply

  64. Masoud says

    Hi
    I just converted my sdcard to a internal memory. After formatting sdcard, it becomes unusable for example i couldn’t move any data to sd card from Windows or downloading apps. After restarting the phone the problem has solved. But the only solution that isn’t fixed yet is that my musics in the sd card is not recognized by android. It’s available in the music applications but it has no album picture or any music details. It’s set the time of musics to 0:00. I tried to clear cache but it doesn’t work. How can i do?

    Reply

  65. Alberto says

    Hello, I have Samsung J5 cell… tried to convert my external SD card but it doesn’t show the option FORMAT AS INTERNAL …can it be some solution…? Thank you

    Reply

  66. Nazmul says

    Hello I’m Nazmul,
    I have micromax q300 phone lollipop version. How can I use sd card as internal storage in my phone without rooting my phone?

    Reply

  67. Kimberly A Gavurnik says

    I have a ZTE831. I have a 64gb sandisk card and I mistakenly set it up as portable storage. Now it won’t let me change it to internal. I have the option to erase and format as portable only. What can I do?

    Reply

  68. Richard Cornwall says

    Hope you can help. Tracfone Galaxy Luna S120VL. 6.0 Marshmellow, 32G xternal Card. When my internal space runs out, will space auto switch to the 32G card?
    Thanks

    Reply

  69. Khaiera Aashiqui says

    Hi..I use the Wiko Jerry (Android 6.0 marchmallow-1GB internal 8GB external) so I will use the new micro SD card as an internal storage..the question is whether after the formatting process is done, I absolutely do not have to direct any exchange newly downloaded apps, data, or anything else for storage changes although there is a setting for me to make an option to change storage management .. eg Instagram application in internal storage. CHANGE SD CARD. in this case it should be ignored because the system will act in automatic or still needs to be changed as it appears, whereas my device is in the format for internal storage?Thanks for any feedback n answer..have a nice day..

    Reply

  70. bob palmer says

    so i got me a gold plated sd card and did exactly what was shown here and it failed. so now what you going to show us to do. i even tried to root the phone and nothing so anyone ever root the on5 phone from metropcs? if so put the exact steps in a youtube and show us how you did it. i say it can’t be done. i tired 3 different youtube procedures and and not one of them worked.

    Reply

  71. Raihan says

    I had skipped the option whether I want to use the ad card as an internal storage or a portable storage for the first time. But now I can’t find the option… I need to extend the phone memory vary badly.
    I had done a factory reset for 3 times, but I did not got the option. I was using a samsung sd card as an portable memory. What can I do now???? Help plz

    Reply

  72. Raihan says

    My phone model is samsung galaxy grand prime plus (SM-G532F).If the feature of using SD card as internal storage is disabled for this model, what should I do?
    Root/ downgrade android version or anything else…? I must need to increase the storage. Otherwise this phone is trash to me.
    What do u suggest??

    Reply

Leave a Reply