Have you run out of space on your mobile? Can't download any more apps, photos or videos? This situation is like having a stone in your shoe: you ignore it, but you know that sooner or later you will have to attend to it. What can you do to fix this problem? Below you will find a series of tips that will help you free up mobile space and optimize its performance.
In most cases, it will suffice to delete all junk or duplicate files to gain several gigabytes in your storage. Other times it will be necessary delete those applications that receive little or no use, or transfer them to external memory. In the worst case, you may have to restore factory settings of your mobile to give it a deep cleaning and start again.
Seven tricks to free up space on your mobile
It seems that it is never enough: no matter how many gigabytes of internal memory your mobile has, it is always little. This is especially true of Android phones, due in part to the large number of apps that come pre-installed. After a few months (or years) of use, storage is running out and it's time to do something to free up space on your mobile.
If you are reading this, surely the first symptoms of full memory have already begun to appear: the mobile is slow, some apps crash, or the annoying 'There is little space left' warning has appeared. Don't lose your cool! Below you will find a list with Seven tricks to free up space on your mobile and improve its operation.
Delete apps you rarely use
The first option to free up space on your mobile is to delete apps that receive little use. It may be that at some point you have downloaded a game or any app, and it is still taking up memory. All you have to do is find the app icon and hold it down for the 'Uninstall' option to appear.
Another way to identify the applications that you have stopped using is entering the Play Store on Android mobiles. Once inside, you just have to press the symbol of your Google account and select the option 'Manage devices and Apps'. Next, click on the 'Manage' option to display the complete list of installed apps.
Keep in mind that you will only be able to uninstall apps that you have previously downloaded. Many of the pre-installed apps in the Android operating system cannot be uninstalled, at least through the regular methods. However, in these cases there is the possibility of deleting the data and the cache of the apps so that they occupy as little space as possible.
Clear data and cache of apps
If you have uninstalled all the unnecessary apps and still need more space on your mobile, it is time to clear the data and cache of those applications that cannot be uninstalled. To do so, you just have to follow the following steps:
- Go to 'Settings' or 'Settings' on your mobile.
- Select the 'Applications' option
- In the list of apps that you will see, locate the apps whose data or cache you want to clear. They are usually system applications, those that cannot be uninstalled manually.
- Select the application and, immediately afterwards, you will see that one opens that shows all the information of the application.
- Click on the 'Storage' option.
- You will see two options: 'Clear data' and 'Clear cache'.
If you select the 'Delete data' option, the application will remain as if we had just installed it, deleting accounts, data and any other registered information. On the other hand, the 'Clear cache' option It erases all the data that the application has been storing to work better and faster. If it is an app that you do not usually use, it is best to click on both options.
Take a look at the download folder
If you are used to downloading files from your cell phone, it is very likely that the 'Downloads' folder is larger than normal. Therefore, in order to free up space on your mobile, you should check this folder frequently and delete everything you don't consider necessary. You can access this folder from the file manager that your mobile has pre-installed.
Take advantage of cloud storage services
Using cloud storage services is an excellent option to free up space which is often not used to the full. It is very likely that the photos and videos stored in the internal memory of your mobile are also in the cloud. So they don't need to keep taking up valuable space on your phone, you can delete them without any problem!
Depending on the mobile and operating system, you may enjoy more than one cloud storage service: iCloud, Drive, OneDrive and Samsung Cloud are some of the most popular. You can also open an account on pages like Mega to enjoy several megabytes of storage completely free. The ideal is to activate the function so that the mobile makes a backup copy and uploads the files to the cloud automatically.
Use lighter versions of common apps
Another option to recover storage space on your mobile is replace heavier apps with their lighter versions or lite. In addition to taking up less space and consuming fewer resources, these lightweight apps are often faster and perform better. Of course, it is possible that some options or functionalities are only available in the main version.
Move apps to memory card
Moving applications to the memory card is not the most recommended option, but It can work to relieve the internal storage of the mobile a bit. The problem is that apps that move to the microSD become slower and often have other performance issues. Also, some apps do not allow you to switch from internal memory to microSD.
Formatting the mobile: the most drastic and effective option
Finally, you can resort to the most drastic and effective option of all: format your mobile and start from scratch. Doing this will erase all your stored data, accounts, downloaded apps, photos, music, and other files. That is why it is important that you first make sure that you have a complete backup with the files that you want to keep.