There are never too many applications and games. You always want to download something new, interesting and useful. But, unfortunately, everything does not always go smoothly at such moments. Users of smartphones running the Android operating system, when downloading any program, encounter an error that says that there is not enough free space on the phone. How to be in such a situation? In this article, we will figure out how to fix the “Not enough space in the device memory” error.
The first thing to understand: even if you have a map, and you store all the content on it, then the place of the smartphone or tablet itself is still used. At the same time, the internal reserve cannot be fully used, since a certain free space is required for the system to work.
Contents
Clearing the cache
Having dealt with the reasons for this problem, let’s move on to solving it. The easiest approach is to clear the cache. How it’s done? Open the phone settings menu and select the Storage & USB storage category. Then find the item “Cache Data”. You will be surprised how much space it takes up. Click on this item and confirm clearing the cache. At the end of the operation, try downloading the desired utility again.
If you wish, you can delete not the entire cache, but only the cache of individual programs. To do this, go to the settings, select the “Applications” category. In the list that opens, find the one you need and tap on it. On the About screen, select Storage, and then click Clear Cache. If the error began to appear after installing updates for a specific program, try also clicking the “Erase data” button.
Moving programs
The next thing you can do to get rid of the error is to move the programs to the memory card or delete them from the device itself. Check the list of all games and utilities in the list of programs. It is likely that there are programs that you no longer use. The programs stored in the internal memory of the smartphone can be transferred to the microSD card. To do this, simply click the “Move to SD Card” button.
Now let’s move on to more radical methods. Keep in mind that the methods discussed below may slightly disrupt the operation of certain components, so using such methods is at your own risk.
Removing updates
The first of these methods is to uninstall updates. Go to the list of utilities in the settings. Select “Google Play Services”. Go to the repository. Delete the data and cache there, then return to the previous screen, open the menu and click “Delete updates”. Then do everything exactly for the “Google Play Store”. After that, try to install the desired game or utility again. If prompted to update Google Play services, agree to the updates.
If you’ve got root privileges on your smartphone, clearing the data folder can help. In addition to root rights, you also need a file manager. Go to the application folder located under the data / app-lib path and delete the lib directory from there. If this method does not give the desired result, erase the entire application folder from the app-lib section. Read more about increasing memory here.
Dalvik Cache clearing method
Here it is immediately important to focus on the fact that the presented method is not suitable for all devices running the Android mobile operating system. But it’s worth a try.
This requires:
- go to the Recovery menu, starting from the instructions specifically for your Android device;
- most often, to enter the menu, it is enough to turn off the device and hold down a certain combination of buttons when it starts;
- the volume keys and the power button are used to control the recovery menu;
- in the Recovery Menu that opens, find the item called “Wipe cache partition”;
- open this section;
- in it, select the “Advanced” item;
- then click on Wipe Dalvik Cache. ”
When the procedure for clearing the additional cache is completed, boot the mobile device, but in normal mode. Check if the error is gone and if you can now install new applications normally.
Help from third-party applications
Oddly enough, but in order to be able to install applications and other actions that are hindered by the error about the lack of free space, you must install one of the special programs.
Clean Master is an effective application for such cases. When you start this program, you are first asked to clean up various garbage, get rid of the cache and other unnecessary files. Then you can move on to the advanced cleaning process.
Only here you should be extremely careful. Try to delete only those files and data that you do not need.
In addition to cleaning and deleting, this application has the functionality to transfer applications from the internal memory to the card.
There is also an excellent utility Link2SD. Its functionality is even more interesting. It allows you to coordinate the work of internal and external memory in such a way that they become practically one whole. But for this you cannot do without superuser rights (root-rights).
Before installing this utility, be sure to back up your operating system and all important files.
The external memory will have to be pre-formatted using the Ext3 file system. Here you will be helped by standard tools of the Android mobile operating system, or special applications.
Dealing with the Link2SD functionality is not difficult. It uses a Russian-language menu, as well as a simple and intuitive menu.
Removable flash drive
Previously, in order to transfer data from a phone to a USB flash drive, an intermediate link in the form of a computer or laptop was required.
Yes, this option is still relevant. That is, you can connect a phone, where a message appears about an insufficient amount of memory, dump some of the data to a computer and store it there. Or further transfer to a USB flash drive.
But nowadays there are much more versatile and practical USB sticks. Their peculiarity is that they have 2 connectors at the same time. One is designed to be connected to a regular USB port, and the second is connected via the charger connector in the smartphone itself. The result is a phone with a removable flash drive.
Her device will be perceived as a memory card where you can transfer all the data.
For example, if it becomes necessary to conduct a video session or take a lot of high-resolution photos, you can connect such a flash drive and use it as a place to save files. This will not clog the internal memory, and no errors will appear on the screen.
Influence of viruses
It cannot be ruled out that the device’s memory is not actually clogged. And the reason for the appearance of the corresponding error is a virus infection.
Therefore, in this situation, it is recommended to run a virus scan on the phone. This can be done by means of the mobile device itself. But if the clogged memory does not allow you to install any antivirus, then use an assistant in the form of a computer or laptop.
Connect your smartphone to the computer using a USB cable, and then run the anti-virus program to scan the contents of the internal memory, as well as the memory card, if any.
It is important to understand here that computer viruses are somewhat different from those that spread through smartphones and mobile devices. Therefore, use programs that can recognize malware on your phone.
The toughest way
It also happens that in fact there is free space on the device, but still an error message related to insufficient memory appears on the screen.
One of the reasons is malware infection. But if the virus is not detected and after scanning the situation has not changed, then only a system failure can be blamed for the situation.
Some users may not want to use this method. And this is to be expected. It is important to understand here that we are not talking about resetting the device to factory settings. This is really a last resort. But sometimes only she can correct the current situation.
Be sure to save all important data, contacts, and other information before resetting. After resetting, all this will no longer remain on the device. Or transfer to a memory card. When a factory reset is performed, the memory of the external card is not affected.
Only after that, having entered the already familiar Recovery Menu, select the reset function. It will take a while, and then the phone will boot up with a completely clean mobile operating system. You will have to install everything on it again, log into accounts, etc.
It is because of the difficulty of returning all data, accounts, restoring settings, many do not dare to carry out a full reset of Android. But if the situation has developed in such a way that the problem cannot be solved in any other way, you will have to resort to this method.
Outcomes
Now you know how to fix the “Not enough space in device memory” error. As you can see, getting rid of such an error is quite simple. Write in the comments if this article was useful for you, tell other users how you dealt with this problem, and ask if something from the article remains incomprehensible to you.