my android phone is out of memory....

[ghworker2010]

I have an HTC android phone. One of the social media apps that I have wants to do an update. I tried to do it and my phone is out of memory. I have 8gb total.

I tried deleting things but to no avail the problem still exists. In the settings when I was trying to free up storage space I noticed that the 'Other' section was 4gb. What would this refer to? The photos I have represent a nominal amount of mb storage. The other 3.8gb are for apps that I need.

Can I add memory to my phone??

[KhunBENQ]

As a simple first step you could go to your browser (Chome?) and clear all cache and history (from the "beginning of time").

Then you might have room to install an application named "ES File Explorer".

This gives you a better insight what is up with your memory and does a good job in finding junk files that can safely be deleted.

You can also go to the "Application manager" and walk through the list of downloaded applications and look for "cache" which can safely be deleted.

Do NOT delete application data.

Edited July 6, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[SoiBiker]

You're out of storage, not out of memory.

Most phones can accept a MicroSD card for extra storage space.

[metisdead]

Moved to the Mobile devices forum.

[VBF]

As a simple first step you could go to your browser (Chome?) and clear all cache and history (from the "beginning of time").

Then you might have room to install an application named "ES File Explorer".

This gives you a better insight what is up with your memory and does a good job in finding junk files that can safely be deleted.

You can also go to the "Application manager" and walk through the list of downloaded applications and look for "cache" which can safely be deleted.

Do NOT delete application data.

I've found this app 360 Security to be very good at cleaning the junk off Android devices - the "Boost" function actually works as it should!

(Nexus 7, 2012 running 5.1.1, Lollipop)

[starky]

You're out of storage, not out of memory.

Most phones can accept a MicroSD card for extra storage space.

Correct but not all phones let you transfer all data to SD. I used to have a small shitty Samsung and once the phone memory filled up the phone was rats, it wouldn't have mattered how big the SD card. If possible delete as many apps as possible and as SB suggests move as much as you can to SD. Turn off all your auto updates and only update apps that really need it. Most apps don't require all the updates you are fed. Failing that is a hard reset. Start from scratch, only download apps you really need and follow other advice as above.

[dddave]

Check all your messaging apps for un-needed stored messages. There are photo apps that help identify duplicate photos and delete them.

If all else fails, back-up only those files and apps you must have and re-set the phone.

[Lannig]

I would start by rebooting (restarting) my phone, as this will clear up the main storage a tiny bit, maybe enough to install one of the cache cleaner apps (easier than doing it manually app by app as KhunBENQ suggested IMHO). Note that Android will refuse installing any new app (or doing update) unless there's over 10% storage free (or so). I like the "AppMgr III" app a lot because it's a small application with a lot of functions built-in: it gives a very clear view of what apps are in the main storage, how much they use for the app itself, their data etc. and also has a 1-click cache cleaning function. On top of this, it's a very convenient way to move your apps from the main storage to the SD card and see what app currently is where and how much storage is left in each area.

The SD card issue is tricky. Some rare phones don't support moving apps to the SD at all as mentioned above. On many phones the SD card isn't what it's supposed to be i.e. that tiny black chip you slot in. It's an area of the internal storage that is handled as a SD card and seen as such by Android. It can be separate from the main storage or being kind of an "overlay" that shares its storage space with the main internal storage. Yes, it can be a real headache and SD card management is my major gripe against Android, especially since Google has messed up with the protections badly since 4.4, making it even more difficult for apps to store large data on the SD since then. Windows Phone is much more sensible on that particular aspect.

In the end it's likely that you've run out of main storage as told above, so after cleaning cache, see if moving apps to the SD helps. Add a card if your phone manages this in the "regular" way (i.e. what Android sees as the SD card storage really is). Don't expect to free as much as every app's size because part of it has to stay on the main storage.

Last but not least, when there's not enough space for an update, a simple way to update is to uninstall an app and reinstall it. Unfortunately this means that all data of this particular app will be lost in the process. Also this often can't be done for preinstalled app (if they're system apps).

[MissAndry]

Out of operating memory, not out of storage memory. Moving stuff around from internal to external will do nothing.

Uninstall some apps you don't use. Old phone no good, they're coming with 3GB of operating memory these days.

Edited July 7, 2016 by MissAndry

[SoiBiker]

Out of operating memory, not out of storage memory. Moving stuff around from internal to external will do nothing.

Uninstall some apps you don't use. Old phone no good, they're coming with 3GB of operating memory these days.

I think you've completely misunderstood the issue here.

[nellyp]

Lots of advice on here. What android does your phone run? You may be able to root it and change the storage values so your SD card (32Gb) will become your internal memory. There are a lot of apps that will swap things around and clear your cache history for you (easily). If I was you I would uninstall everything you don't need, and I would run an app that will empty the caches. Job done

[owenm]

I had the problem with a Samsung S4, I couldn't update apps because of lack of memory. Had been happening for several months, and I would uninstall rarely used apps. But it kept happening. I read somewhere that cache data can accumulate in your phone taking valuable space. So in the Settings, Storage, Cache data was using 1.9gb of space. I cleared the cache and my phone storage problem was solved. Updated all my apps, reinstalled some apps I deleted and still have 950mb of storage remaining. The sd external storage made no difference with my storage issue. Everything on the phone is running perfectly, haven't noticed any issues, and storage issue is solved. It did cause me months of frustration prior.

[nellyp]

By the way, make sure you have the phone set up so that all your pictures and vids save to the (external) SD. This is a click of a button and will save you loads of space, but you will still need to clear your cache

[Lannig]

Out of operating memory, not out of storage memory. Moving stuff around from internal to external will do nothing.

Uninstall some apps you don't use. Old phone no good, they're coming with 3GB of operating memory these days.

Not likely as the OP specifies that the error has shown up during the update of an app.

So it's very likely to be storage memory, pal.

Running out of RAM (what you're calling "operating memory") seldom produces any error message on Android. Its memory manager will kill running apps as required to free RAM. At most you'll see "Application xxx has quit unexpectedly" and that's all.

Edited July 7, 2016 by Lannig

[owenm]

And besides clearing your cache as I suggested earlier, go into you Application Manager and move as many Apps as you can to SD card storage. I'd previously also done that, but never previously cleared the cache. And as Nellyp suggested, make sure all photos and videos are stored to SD, and not internal memory.

[losworld]

This is an android related problem. What you can do in most cases is go to apps then go to google play then unistall updates then retry should work.

[MissAndry]

Out of operating memory, not out of storage memory. Moving stuff around from internal to external will do nothing.

Uninstall some apps you don't use. Old phone no good, they're coming with 3GB of operating memory these days.

Not likely as the OP specifies that the error has shown up during the update of an app.

So it's very likely to be storage memory, pal.

Running out of RAM (what you're calling "operating memory") seldom produces any error message on Android. Its memory manager will kill running apps as required to free RAM. At most you'll see "Application xxx has quit unexpectedly" and that's all.

It's a common problem with updating Facebook. (and some other social media apps)

Usually nothing to do with storage space, it's to do with RAM, and that's fixed, you can't expand it or shift it around.

Old phone with 500Mb of RAM + latest Facebook = 'insufficient storage available'.

New phone with 3GB RAM + latest Facebook = no problem.

Edited July 7, 2016 by MissAndry

[SoiBiker]

Out of operating memory, not out of storage memory. Moving stuff around from internal to external will do nothing.

Uninstall some apps you don't use. Old phone no good, they're coming with 3GB of operating memory these days.

Not likely as the OP specifies that the error has shown up during the update of an app.

So it's very likely to be storage memory, pal.

Running out of RAM (what you're calling "operating memory") seldom produces any error message on Android. Its memory manager will kill running apps as required to free RAM. At most you'll see "Application xxx has quit unexpectedly" and that's all.

It's a common problem with updating Facebook.

(and some other social media apps)

Please don't attempt to give advice on things you don't understand.

[gandalf12]

As a simple first step you could go to your browser (Chome?) and clear all cache and history (from the "beginning of time").

Then you might have room to install an application named "ES File Explorer".

This gives you a better insight what is up with your memory and does a good job in finding junk files that can safely be deleted.

You can also go to the "Application manager" and walk through the list of downloaded applications and look for "cache" which can safely be deleted.

Do NOT delete application data.

I've found this app 360 Security to be very good at cleaning the junk off Android devices - the "Boost" function actually works as it should!

(Nexus 7, 2012 running 5.1.1, Lollipop)

"Clean sweep" isnt bad either

[owenm]

A lot of different advice from different people. I had the same issue. Clear your Cache and you'll regain a ton of extra storage and your problem will be solved. It took me a long time to discover the issue on my android Samsung.

[bermondburithesecond]

8GB is nothing, my latest phone has 64.

[nellyp]

8GB is nothing, my latest phone has 64.

Snob

[SoiBiker]

I currently have 144GB of storage in my phone. But that's not really the point, is it?

[Mrjlh]

You should have an extra memory slot. Put a 32GB chip in and the go to settings. Format the card but many still use the old Fat system. One of the settings allows you to move aps one at a time to the ext memory. You shoiuld be able to move all except the OS and support files. But one problem with some phones (the OS) is it doesn't free up the internal space. Then you need to change the settings as which memory to use. Should solve your problem.