How to get more storage in Android: microSD card
The easiest way to add storage to your Android phone or tablet is with a microSD card - even if it doesn't support one.
Assuming it does, when buying a microSD card for your phone or tablet you should first check the manufacturer's specification or reviews of that device to see what type of cards it will accept. Many budget phones, for example, will accept only 32GB, while higher-end devices typically handle 128GB. You certainly don't want to pay out for a 128GB card only to find it won't work in your phone.
You'll find manufacturers offer various types of microSD card, with some claiming to be faster or more secure than others. For simple storage of your files any microSD card will do, but note that fakes can be found online, so be wary of anything too cheap or brands you haven't come across before. Also see:
How to spot fake tech.
If your phone or tablet doesn't natively support MicroSD, it's easy to attach one to make use of on an ad-hoc basis using a microSD card reader, which connects to your phone's Micro-USB port.
Another option is to use a wireless microSD card reader, such as the
Verbatim MediaShare Wireless Mini, which is available for £31 from
Amazon UK. It looks like a USB flash drive - and, indeed, can be inserted into your PC's USB port where it will act as such, allowing you to drag and drop files on to it - but inside is a microSD card, which supports the transfer of files but also content streaming.
By downloading the Verbatim MediaShare Wireless Mini app (free from Google Play or the App Store), you can connect it to your Android phone or tablet over Wi-Fi to access the contents of the microSD card.
The great thing about using the wireless connection on the Verbatim is that up to five people can share that connection, and you can password-protect access to the drive. An internal battery lasts for up to three hours and is recharged over the USB connection.
How to get more storage in Android: USB OTG storage
You might not realise it, but many Android phones and tablets support USB OTG (On The Go), which allows you to plug in peripherals such as storage drives, just as you would with a PC.
Whether or not a device supports OTG won't always be listed in its spec. A quick and easy way to check whether your device supports OTG is to download to it the
USB OTG Checkerapp, free from Google Play.
Once you've established that your device supports OTG you simply need an OTG adaptor such as the
Inateck HB3001G. It costs just £12.99 from
Amazon, and has an assortment of USB slots and card readers for letting you attach peripherals to your phone or tablet. If you're going to use it simply to insert a microSD card to a phone that doesn't support removable memory then the phone should be able to power the device by itself. However, if you want to add an external hard drive you'll probably need to also power the OTG adaptor (a USB power cable is provided).
How to get more storage in Android: Delete unwanted apps and clear your app cache
Sometimes you don't really need more storage, you just need to make better use of what you've got. Your phone or tablet probably came with several apps you have no interest in using, and you've probably since installed even more that you never use.
If you don't use them, uninstall them. If you later decide you need them then just download them again - any apps you've paid for at Google Play will be available to any Android device on which you're logged into your Google account.
Even the apps you want to keep can be taking up more space than they require. Over time every app on your phone fills space with cached files, and clearing these out can free up some room without you resorting to one of the other methods listed here. Clearing your app cache can also help to solve problems with misbehaving apps - perhaps you're getting messages that '
Samsung Galaxy has stopped', for example.
Clearing your app cache won't delete any important files on your phone, but keeping things backed up is never a bad idea.
In clearing your app cache you have two choices. You can go to Settings, Apps and go through each app, clearing the cache as required, or you can wipe the whole lot at once.
We're not referring to a
factory reset (although that will solve your storage problems by returning your device to its out-of-box state), but to wiping the app cache. In order to do this you need to enter Android's
Recovery mode and choose to wipe the app cache.
It's not exactly the same process for all phones, so it's worth Googling your exact model to see how you enter recovery mode. On my
HTC Desire Eye, for example, you need to switch it off, then press and hold volume down, then press and hold the power button to enter recovery mode. You then press and hold volume up and power to access recovery options. An option here offers to wipe the cache partition (make sure you don't choose wipe data/factory reset).
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 apps such as Dropbox can automatically back up all your photos to the storage site, or you can upload only those you want to store online. Once in the cloud you can free up space by deleting them from your phone or tablet.
The only down side to using cloud storage is that you will be able to access those files only when you have an active internet connection.
Google offers several apps that are usually built into your phone or tablet for storing online your music, photos and more. For example, Play Music lets you store all your tunes in the cloud for accessing on any device, and if you need to hear them offline you can also download them to your phone or tablet. Similarly, Google Drive lets you store online all your word documents and spreadsheets.
Using a service such as Spotify is an alternative to storing tracks on your own device. This music-streaming service offers a free service (with ads) that will let you listen to almost any tune you like.
How to get more storage in 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. Loads of options are available, and they're becoming more affordable, too.
