How to get more storage on Android

Android smartphones and tablets are not like traditional computers as you cannot simply unscrew the casing and easily upgrade the onboard storage. That said, with Android there are some ways you can improve the physical storage and more importantly the management of your available space - here’s where we show you how to get more storage on Android. See also: what is the best Android phone?

How to get more storage on Android: microSD card

The best way to get more storage on an Android device is to simply buy a microSD card and insert it into your smartphone or tablet. A decent 64GB microSD card can be bought for as little as £30 from Amazon. Once you've done this you can go to Settings > Storage and assign what you want to be saved to your microSD card in future and also move existing files.

The only issue with this option is that not all Android smartphones and tablets have microSD card slots, if your device doesn’t then this obviously isn’t an option for you.

How to get more storage on Android: cloud storage

Another really good option for freeing up space on your Android is to embrace cloud storage on your smartphone or tablet.

Cloud storage is only really a viable option on your Android for storing images. All other files are either too big, or too small to make accessing them via a data connection worthwhile.

However if you download a cloud storage app such as Dropbox to your Android device, you can set it to automatically back up all of your photos to the storage site. From here you simply need to double check that your pictures are saved on the cloud app and then delete the files from your Android smartphone or tablet.
The upside for the average user is that it will free up a lot of space, the down side is that you will need an internet connection to view all of your photos on your Android device.

Take a look at our article on 2014's best cloud storage services to see which one(s) is best for you.

How to get more storage on Android: Music

Google Music

This is sort of sticking with the cloud storage theme, but concentrating specifically on your music collection.
The initial benefit of Google Music is that once you install it on your traditional computer it can/will back up all of your excising music files free of charge.

This means you can then download the Google Music app on your smartphone and stream music directly from the Google Music's cloud storage and listen to all of the songs stored on your computer - even when your computer is turned off.

Again, the down side to this is that is that the music is only accessible when you have access to the internet. The workaround is that you can download the music you listen to the most, and stream the rest. Don't download too much, or you are defeating the object of freeing up storage space.

Spotify

A music streaming service like Spotify is another good way of freeing up the space mp3s take on your Android device.

Music streaming services will offer 99% of the music you want to listen to and can be accessed either via a free service (with adverts), or a paid for service for £10 a month (with no adverts).
An internet connection is required to play songs when using the free version of the app, however you can download/save and play specific playlists when offline on the paid for version of the app… this obviously takes up space on your Android device, so you need to be careful not to download everything otherwise it just defeats the object of this scenario.

How to get more storage on Android: Apps

If you have a relatively new Android smartphone and you’re already running out of space, then you can free up some valuable MBs by deleting any bloatware that might come preinstalled on your device. The only person who can really decided what apps are bloatware is you. To delete apps (some bloatware apps can’t be deleted unfortunately) simply go to Settings > Apps and then click on the app you want to delete and press the Uninstall button.
If you've had your Android device for a while, then the chances are that you have more than likely downloaded a few apps that are rarely used now. A regular cull of the apps you don’t use is a good way to free up some storage on your Android device.

How to get more storage on Android: Wireless hard drive

One final option you have for getting access to more storage on your Android device is by using a wireless hard drive. A wireless hard drive is exactly the same as a normal portable hard drive, but you connect to it via Wi-Fi.

One of the best wireless hard drives available right now is the £80 Kingston Digital’s Wi-Drive. This lets you boost storage by upto 32GB and you can access all of the files stored on the Wi-Drive via the free bespoke app. Click here to read our Wi-Drive review.
How to get more storage on Android

Source : pcadvisor