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Most often, mobile device owners do not have enough built-in memory to store information. Knowing about what is sd card on android and how to use it, we can significantly expand the amount of existing memory and, accordingly, the capabilities of our phone.
SD card on Android: what is it and how to choose it?
Even the most inexperienced user usually installs a lot of applications on his device. To save space, it is recommended to move them to an SD card.
A secure digital card, or SD card, is a special format of memory cards used on portable devices. These can be smartphones, cameras, PDAs, electronic books, navigators, etc. Today, this format of memory cards is the most popular and very common.
MMC is considered the predecessor of the SD card. It has the same parameters, however, the Secure digital card provides information protection (both from erasure by the user and from unauthorized copying).
So, we found out what an sd card is on android. How to choose such a card? First of all, we should definitely make sure that this particular format is what we need. In this case, it will not be superfluous to read the instructions for the mobile device. It is also desirable to find out which speed class suits our phone. This is especially important for cards with a large amount of memory. The price of an SD card directly depends on the volume and speed class. Some manufacturers also provide warranties for their memory cards (average 1-5 years).
How to install android app on SD card?
All our programs remain on the built-in memory of the mobile device. Unfortunately, the amount of such memory is usually quickly exhausted, and therefore a memory card can significantly expand our ability to store information.
Developers android version 2.2 managed to foresee this. Owners of such devices can install programs on the SD card using standard tools. To do this, go to the "Applications" menu through the phone settings and select the "Manage applications" item. From there we will be able to transfer programs to the memory card.
However, what if we have a version up to and including 2.1 installed? main way correct the situation - root your phone, after making a back-up of all the information on the map. It is not recommended for inexperienced users to do this.
After that, you will need to split the SD card into several departments using special software (for example, MiniTool Partition Wizard). Next, connect the mobile device to the PC, run installed program and delete all sections from the map.
The next step is to create a large Primary FAT32 user partition where our information will be stored, and a 2nd partition, Primary ext2. Now everything that was stored on the memory card can be transferred back (in case we previously made a back-up). We reboot the device and start installing Link2SD, thanks to which we can install programs on the SD card. Reboot again and allow root access. A prompt will appear where we need ext2.
Reboot our device again. Now you can click the "Create link" button and transfer the programs you need.
Any modern digital technology is designed to use flash drives. When working on a desktop computer or laptop, it is most convenient to use a USB flash drive that connects to the device using a USB connector. But when it comes to smaller equipment, it is advisable to use special memory cards (Memory Cards).
Each of us is the owner mobile phone. Someone has a smartphone of the latest generation, someone has an old and proven "button". Phone memory card is not needed in extremely rare cases (for example, the amount of internal memory allows or the device is simply not designed).
Many of us have very limited understanding of flash drives for phones. They are only at first glance identical. In fact, there are a large number of options for memory cards on the phone.
The following article will help you understand their diversity, characteristics and how to properly approach the purchase of this attribute.
Types of memory cards
The distribution into types is based on a predetermining moment - for which device the card is intended. For example, for cameras it is SD (Secure Digital). They come in various capacities and are additionally divided by generation.
For professional cameras CF (CompactFlash) format is used. The choice of a memory card will largely depend on the year of production of the equipment.
AT Everyday life most people for smartphones, tablets and other medium-sized gadgets are used to using the microSD version. It is a mistake to think that the amount of memory will also depend on the physical size.
Miniature memory cards in terms of functionality are in no way inferior to their larger relatives. The transfer speed and memory capacity of microSD and SD are no different.
The size of the memory card for the phone - the basis of choice
Before buying, first of all, you should decide on the volume. Each card can be measured not only in bytes, but also in the number of photos or video hours. There is a direct dependence of the price on the volume: the more - the more expensive, and vice versa.
If the card is purchased for a smartphone, then it is worth taking into account some characteristics: camera resolution, HD format support, etc. After all, photos from a 13-megapixel camera will take up more space than from a 6-megapixel one.
Storing HD videos will also take up a lot of space. Therefore, for normal user needs, you can set the card to 8, maximum 16 GB. Otherwise, you will run into a problem when the smartphone does not see / does not read the memory card.
The division of memory maps into classes. Which to choose?
Not everyone knows that memory cards have such an important parameter as speed. It is she who determines the scope. We look in the table for the correspondence of speed to class:
Speaking of speed, first of all, we are talking about writing information to the drive. Similar correspondence for CF (Compact Flash) type cards.
Maximum indicators are most often used for professional digital equipment (camcorders, cameras). A secondary characteristic is the read speed, which is either equal to or greater than the write speed.
Choosing the best memory card for your smartphone
Having understood the parameters, you are now able to do right choice and choose the most suitable option for your smartphone or tablet.
Of course, each of the above characteristics is important, and therefore it will be most correct to select a flash drive based on the capabilities and specifications your gadget. And it certainly won't hurt (maybe even help) rating best cards memory format microSD 2014-15.
This list has been compiled based on user feedback and preferences.
Transcend MicroSDHC 16GB Class 10 was recognized as the best card. Further in descending order:
The above models can be used for absolutely any gadget. Small matter - choose required amount volume. It is worth remembering such a concept as formatting a memory card.
This allows you to quickly clean the flash drive from existing files “to zero” or fix problems in its file system. You can perform this action on any device (where you can put it). But the most convenient way- use a desktop computer.
Instead of a conclusion
Armed with all this information, you will undoubtedly get the most suitable memory card. Decide on the volume and the amount that you can spend, and enjoy the downloaded music and photos taken.
If your Android 6.0, 7 Nougat, 8.0 Oreo, or 9.0 Pie phone or tablet has a memory card slot, then you can use a MicroSD memory card as your device's internal memory, this feature first appeared in Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Note: When using a memory card in this way, it cannot be used in other devices - i.e. take it out and connect it through a card reader to a computer, it will turn out (more precisely, read the data) only after full formatting.
Using an SD Memory Card as Internal Memory
Before proceeding with the setup, transfer all important data from your memory card somewhere: in the process, it will be completely formatted.
Further actions will look like this (instead of the first two items, you can click on "Setup" in the notification that a new SD card has been detected, if you just installed it and such a notification is displayed):
This completes the process: if you go to the "Storage and USB drives" options, you will see that the space occupied in the internal memory has decreased, on the memory card it has increased, and the total amount of memory has also increased.
However, the function of using the SD card as internal memory in Android 6 and 7 has some features that may make using this feature impractical.
Features of the memory card as the internal memory of Android
It can be assumed that when to the inner android memory with N capacity is added with M memory card capacity, the total available internal memory capacity should become N+M. Moreover, this is roughly displayed in the device storage information, but in fact everything works a little differently:
As a result - after the moment when the SD memory card began to be used as internal memory, the user does not have access to the "real" internal memory, and if we assume that the device's own internal memory was more than microSD memory, then the amount of available internal memory after the described actions will not increase, but decrease.
Formatting a memory card for use as internal storage in ADB
For Android devices where the function is not available, for example, on samsung galaxy S7-S9 Galaxy Note, it is possible to format the SD card as internal memory using ADB Shell.
Since this method can potentially lead to problems with the phone (and may not work on any device), I will skip the details of installing ADB, enabling USB debugging and running the command line in the adb folder (If you do not know how to do this, then , perhaps it’s better not to take it. And if you take it, then at your own peril and risk).
The necessary commands themselves will look like this (the memory card must be connected):
- adb shell
- sm list disks(as a result of running this command, note the output disk ID of the form disk:NNN,NN - you will need it in the next command)
- sm partition disk:NNN,NN private
When formatting is complete, exit the adb shell, and on the phone, in the storage options, open the "SD card" item, click on the menu button in the upper right and click "Transfer data" (this is mandatory, otherwise the phone's internal memory will continue to be used). When the transfer is completed, the process can be considered completed.
Another possibility for such devices, if you have root access, is to use the Root Essentials app and enable Adoptable Storage in this app (a potentially dangerous operation, at your own risk, do not perform on older versions of Android).
How to return the normal functioning of the memory card
If you decide to disconnect the memory card from the internal memory, it is easy to do this - transfer all important data from it, and then go to the SD card settings, just like in the first method.
Select "Portable media" and follow the instructions to format the memory card.
A memory card is needed to store information. In order not to lose valuable files, memory cards should be purchased only from trusted places.
How to use the memory card
The memory card is easy to use. All modern devices have special inputs for such cards. As a rule, they are located on the side or bottom panels. Usually, the device itself has a picture showing exactly how to insert the memory card (for example, beveled corner to the right). Insert it into the connector as it should, and start working with the equipment.
Some memory cards have an additional button. Lowering it down to the inscription Lock, you will block the card. Thus, it will be impossible to delete information from it, nor to write a new one.
How to check a memory card through a computer
The simplest of the options for checking a memory card and its volume is checking through a computer. You need to insert a memory card into a special slot in a computer or laptop (or using a card reader). Next, select a memory card in the detected devices and go to its properties. All the necessary information will be displayed there.
More information on this topic.