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If you're seeing an "Insufficient storage available" message on your Android, chances are that you've used up most of your device's available memory. To fix this, you'll need to make some space by deleting apps and/or media; you can also add external storage, such as a Micro SD card, to your phone. In some cases, however, this error shows up even when you have plenty of space. This wikiHow article teaches you how to fix the insufficient storage available error on your Android.
What do I do if my Android phone says its storage is full?
You can free up space on your Android in multiple ways. Your storage might actually be occupied by your operating system, so you may need to uninstall some apps to make more room. If this doesn't work, you can also use a cleaner app to free up some space on your phone.
Steps
Section 1 of 6:
Resetting Your Apps' Caches
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Open the Settings app. Open this by tapping the gear app icon in the App Drawer or from the Quick Panel (swipe down from the top of your screen). [1] X Research source
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Tap the icon of three lines with an arrow pointing down. It's to the right of the "Your apps" header.
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Tap Size . It's under the "Sort by" header and will list the apps by size so you can easily see the apps that are using the most space.
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Tap an app. You'll see more details about that app, like their notification settings, permissions, and if it's the default for anything.
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Tap Storage . It's usually the third item under the header "Usage."
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Tap Clear cache . Doing so will reset that app's cached data, which will clear up some space. You may need to repeat this process for multiple apps. [3] X Research source
- Some Androids allow you to clear all apps' caches at once from the Storage section of the Settings app. If this option is available, you'll see a Cached option here; tapping it will give you the option of clearing all cached data. [4] X Research source
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Section 3 of 6:
Clearing the Play Store Cache and Data and Uninstalling Updates
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Open Settings. Tap the app icon that looks like a gear or tap the gear icon in the Quick Panel. [6] X Research source
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Tap Google Play Store . The list defaults to displaying alphabetically, so you'll need to scroll down to find this option. [8] X Research source
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Tap Storage . You'll see this under the "Usage" header.
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Tap Clear cache and Clear data . You'll need to confirm that you want to delete the data before continuing. Tap OK to continue. [9] X Research source
- Open the Google Play Store and see if you can download the app you want. If you can, you're done and can skip the rest of this section. If, however, you are still getting the "Insufficient storage" error, try the next step.
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Navigate to the Google Play Store app section in settings. From Settings, go to Apps > Google Play Store .
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Tap â‹® . This three-dot menu icon is in the top right corner of your screen.
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Tap Uninstall updates . Doing this will reset your Google Play Store to factory settings, which will force it to update and re-evaluate your phone and its storage. [10] X Research source
- You shouldn't get the message in error again; if you do get the error message, you don't have enough space (your OS may be using all the free space) on your phone and need to free up space.
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Section 4 of 6:
Transfer Photos and Videos to a Computer
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Connect your Android to your computer. There are multiple ways you can do this, using USB , connecting wirelessly , or using a cloud service , like Google Drive.
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Move your photos and videos from your Android to your computer. You can either drag and drop files from your phone to your computer, or you can install the appropriate apps on your Android (like the Google Drive mobile app) and upload your photos/videos. [11] X Research source
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Community Q&A
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QuestionMy SD card shows 30GB with 29GB free. I get an error message of insufficient space when I try to add a new album to my gallery on the SD card. What do I do?Tim NewmanCommunity AnswerTry clearing the cache or unwanted images through apps like CCleaner. This is data that doesn't have to be stored but will affect the "insufficient space" errors.
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QuestionWhat do I do if my Android is saying I have no space when I've deleted most of my apps already?Community AnswerReset the Google Play Store app by uninstalling Google Play Store updates. The directions are in Method 3 above.
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Tips
- If you free up enough space to download an app or two, consider downloading a cache cleaner to speed up the cache clearing process. "CCleaner" and "Clean Master" are both reputable options.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- My wife encountered the insufficient storage message and discovered that her gallery was gigantic due to videos taken by our granddaughter. She deleted unwanted pictures and videos, but she still had the error message. We then discovered that the delete function was set to a 30 day delay, probably to retrieve accidentally deleted items. Once the 30 day delay was turned off, the deleted files disappeared and the error message went away.
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References
- ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00077611/
- ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00077611/
- ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00077611/
- ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/7431795
- ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/2521768?hl=en
- ↑ https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/9037938
- ↑ https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/9037938
- ↑ https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/9037938
- ↑ https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/9037938
- ↑ https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7513003?hl=en#zippy=%2Cuninstall-reinstall-play-store-updates
- ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/7431795?hl=en#zippy=%2Cdelete-or-move-files
- ↑ https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6128843?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid
- ↑ https://support.google.com/photos/answer/9921876?hl=en&ref_topic=6131427#zippy=%2Csamsung-devices
- ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/7431795
- ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/7667018?hl=en
- ↑ https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-do-i-clear-up-memory-space-on-my-device/
- ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/7431795?hl=en
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