Move photos, videos and files from your phone to free up memory (Android)

One of the most annoying problems on Android phones is the filling of the internal memory, which often runs out after installing a few applications or games, after taking many photographs or after receiving many videos and GIFs on WhatsApp.

Since it is still possible to install microSD memory cards on some Android phones, we will show you how move photos, videos and files from your phone to your memory card. For phones without memory card support we will instead show you how to automatically move large files, synchronizing them with an online cloud or a network disk.

READ ALSO: Free up Android space on internal memory and SD card

1) Move files to microSD with Android

The microSD must be installed inside our device and, once we have obtained one card large enoughwe can use the tools that Android offers to format it and use it as external memory where we can save all the larger files.

Once inserted we choose to use it as external memory (if the choice window appears), then let’s go in Settingswe access the section Memory and locate the SD card on the screen, where it will be displayed as additional space or external memory space.

To move all the files to the memory card we can also use the internal transfer tool (not available on all phones): let’s go to the internal memory, tap on the menu with the three dots at the top right then choose the option that suits us allows you to choose which files to move (Photos, Videos etc.).

Once you have chosen what to move, just tap on the item Transfer to be able to move larger files to the newly inserted memory card.

2) Move files to the microSD with file manager

If our smartphone is not equipped with a transfer system and/or we want to use an even simpler and faster method, just use one of the many file manager apps available for Android; for the guide we recommend you try the free app Solid Explorer.

Once downloaded onto your device, all we have to do is navigate through the Android folders in search of the files or folders to move, then hold down on them and use the double sheet button (i.e. the Copypresent below).

Now that the file or folder is copied, let’s open the left sidebar (we can also press the button with the three horizontal lines at the top left), let’s go to the microSD space (indicated in the section Memory) then paste the folder or file by tapping on the entry Pastepresent in the bottom bar.

Immediately all our contents will be copied to the microSD and, after having verified that the copy was successful, we can also delete the original files or folders, so as to save space.

If we are looking for another file manager for our phone, we recommend that you read our guide on i Best Android File Managers to manage phone files and folders.

3) Automatic transfer with File To SD Card

If we are looking for something even simpler and more immediate than a file manager to quickly move photos, videos or files from a phone folder to the microSD we can use the free app Files To SD Card.

With this app it will be really simple move larger media folders and folders we see fit to move to microSDusing the simple button at the top of the app: the folders will be selected completely automatically and transferred to the memory card, without having to make other changes or select other settings.

If we are beginners, this is without a doubt the app to use periodically, so that we can always have our largest files and folders saved on the microSD and not in the phone’s internal memory.

4) Folder synchronization with Autosync

The best app to synchronize an entire phone folder with your favorite cloud (for example Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive) is definitely Autosync.

This app allows you to connect any folder present in the phone’s memory with a folder from a cloud service. By adding files to the phone folder it will be automatically synchronized with the cloud folder, without fear of losing any files.

Leaving the simple synchronization (from A to B) we can also periodically delete the contents of the phone folder, sure that we have at least one backup saved in the cloud chosen by the app. Before deleting, let’s make sure that we have actually synchronized the app and that the latest files are present.

For further information we can read the article on how to sync your phone only under certain conditions.

Conclusions

If our Android smartphone has little memory or tends to fill up very often we recommend you use the methods and apps seen in this guide, so as to move (even automatically) files to the microSD or to a personal cloudseamlessly erasing all content from main memory when synchronization is finished.

If the space on our phone is occupied mostly by apps, we invite you to read our guide on How to move apps to SD card (Android)so you can move compatible apps to the SD card and save a lot of space.

If, however, the space is occupied by temporary files and the system and app cache, we invite you to try the methods reported in our guide App to clean Android from useless files that take up space.

Finally we recommend the guide above how to use the Google Photos appreally excellent for synchronizing photos and videos and deleting those already synchronized online.