Can I add more memory to my phone?

[pbuk]

I just checked my service provider (Fido) online (and thereby tipping my hand that I'm in the market).

I thought you wanted to decouple the purchase of a phone from your service provider?

Oh. Here's an iPhone 11 for $560 or $15/mo.

Why on Earth would you want an iPhone? I'd spend a couple of hundred dollars on a Samsung Galaxy A- or M- series and look for the best SIM only deal you can get.

OMG I've just looked at the cost of data in Canada - that's ridiculous. In the UK you can get 160GB a month for GB£20 (thats US$25 or CA$32).

 

[pbuk]

I have a slot for memory. But my original question was: does that extra storage help with apps, or just with data for the apps?

And it's answered more than once upthread: external storage can be used for pictures, video and music, but many apps cannot use it at all. FFS just put an SD card in and you will find out (click on an app in the Apps section of Settings and it will tell you how much storage it is using and whether you can move it to the card).

 

[anorlunda]

I have a slot for memory. But my original question was: does that extra storage help with apps, or just with data for the apps?

That depends on the service provider. Many of them don't allow apps on external SD cards. I suspect that there is some security reason.

But you can use external SD for images or music files. How much of your storage is tied up in those files?

I have always wanted a "date last used" information for apps. If I haven't used an app for a year, the chances of wanting to use it in the future is slim.

 

[Motore]

That depends on the service provider.

Did you mean phone manufacturers / os systems? Because service providers have little to do with the apps you can install on the phone or where.

On my Samsung (Android) you can install/move the apps to the external storage.

I have a slot for memory. But my original question was: does that extra storage help with apps, or just with data for the apps?

It helps with freeing up space, so you can install additional apps but it won't help with the slowness of the apps (that's what the RAM is for).

 

[Arjan82]

I have a slot for memory. But my original question was: does that extra storage help with apps, or just with data for the apps?

Depends a bit on the app, but in general, unfortunately, neither... Some data-gobbling apps, like WhatsApp, refuse to install the app on the external storage, but also refuse to store its data on the external storage, while that should not be a problem at all... There is a business model in there somewhere... (it is almost, just almost as if they do that on purpose...)

 

[DaveC426913]

And it's answered more than once upthread: external storage can be used for pictures, video and music, but many apps cannot use it at all.

Exactly. Motore's solution isn't helpful.

But you can use external SD for images or music files. How much of your storage is tied up in those files?

Effectively none. I purge them all regularly to make room.

I have always wanted a "date last used" information for apps. If I haven't used an app for a year, the chances of wanting to use it in the future is slim.

I have that.

Gotta say, there's a metric buttload of baked-in stuff that I can't delete. I think that's what the "Zen" part of Zenphone is: all these ZenTalk and ZenCommunity nonsense things I never touch. That's what's fillning up the 6Gb of reserved memory. And I imagine it's the price I'm paying for a "simple" cheap phone.

 

[anorlunda]

I imagine it's the price I'm paying for a "simple" cheap phone.

Sometimes you can't afford free.

 

[grandbeauch]

I have no issues with making most of my apps, pics, documents and videos go to my sd card. An LG k51 has room for 2 gig micro sd card and it is or was 180.00

 

[grandbeauch]

I thought you wanted to decouple the purchase of a phone from your service provider?
Why on Earth would you want an iPhone? I'd spend a couple of hundred dollars on a Samsung Galaxy A- or M- series and look for the best SIM only deal you can get.

OMG I've just looked at the cost of data in Canada - that's ridiculous. In the UK you can get 160GB a month for GB£20 (thats US$25 or CA$32).

I think Apple bites too bc you cannot add additional memory AND it is too proprietary. The OS on the phone is way rudimentary as well.

 

[grandbeauch]

Exactly. Motore's solution isn't helpful.Effectively none. I purge them all regularly to make room.I have that.

Gotta say, there's a metric buttload of baked-in stuff that I can't delete. I think that's what the "Zen" part of Zenphone is: all these ZenTalk and ZenCommunity nonsense things I never touch. That's what's fillning up the 6Gb of reserved memory. And I imagine it's the price I'm paying for a "simple" cheap phone.

Buyer beware ..and read the fine print. At least next time u buy a phone you will know what questions to ask. :)

 

[DaveC426913]

Buyer beware ..and read the fine print. At least next time u buy a phone you will know what questions to ask. :)

I did know what questions to ask. And I did get exactly what I wanted. I wanted a simple, cheap phone with as little nonsense on it as possible.

But that was four years ago, and my needs have changed. The pandemic has put pressure on my phone to serve as a nexus for all manner of checks and tests to get into restaurants and theatres, and do contact tracing and check-in at international customs, etc.

Those couple of things pushed it over the limit - and I suspect that phone-as-ID is not going to ease up as we go forward.

 

[anorlunda]

I did know what questions to ask. And I did get exactly what I wanted. I wanted a simple, cheap phone with as little nonsense on it as possible.

But that was four years ago,

Yeah, but another part of the modern world is that we are expected to get a new phone every 18 months.

 

[DaveC426913]

Yeah, but another part of the modern world is that we are expected to get a new phone every 18 months.

Yes. I'm not complaining in that sense.

(I have several family members who are pathologically incapable of coping with a world of progress - nay, even a world of people. Compared to them, I abide like The Dude*).

But - as I must keep telling my wife - just because something is expected doesn't mean we're obliged.*

 

[DaveC426913]

OMG I've just looked at the cost of data in Canada - that's ridiculous. In the UK you can get 160GB a month for GB£20 (thats US$25 or CA$32).

Yeah. It's onnacounta the polar bears. They keep knocking our cell towers down.

 

[Rive]

there's a metric buttload of baked-in stuff that I can't delete. I think that's what the "Zen" part of Zenphone is: all these ZenTalk and ZenCommunity nonsense things I never touch. That's what's fillning up the 6Gb of reserved memory.

That's what the custom rooms (with GApps: selectable amount of the so called 'comfort') are for.
Your phone, I think

Ps.: on second thought, your phone is so low with storage that a custom rom would mean only temporary relief and could not make much difference on the long run. So I still suggest to get a better phone.

 

[Melbourne Guy]

Yeah, but another part of the modern world is that we are expected to get a new phone every 18 months.

That cycle is extending and the phone manufacturers have noticed, hence their commitments to providing three or four major O/S updates and security patches after purchase. In practice, that means you can safely plan for four years ownership before the lack of security patches should trigger a new phone. At that point, a degraded battery is likely, which also prompts a replacement decision because the phone will not last out the day.

Keeping the phone beyond the point where security patches are issued increases the risk of a cyber-breach, and is not recommended.

 

[fluidistic]

I think it's called xda forums or something like that, they give you indications on how to root your phone. I "saved" a completely unusable phone (with Android 4) by rooting it, and deleting the crap apps it had preinstalled. In the end the phone still had big troubles and was far off a smooth experience, but it was usable for web browsing, camera, etc.

This of course removes any warranty, and you may brick your phone. But if you're going to trash it anyways for a newer phone, I would suggest to give it a go.