The smartphone Samsung Galaxy A6, released several years ago, was initially equipped with 32 GB of internal memory, which is often insufficient for modern realities. Over time, the system becomes overgrown with “garbage”, applications take up more and more space, and photos and videos fill the remaining space, causing the device to slow down. Users begin to notice that messages do not arrive, and new applications simply do not install due to the “Insufficient space” error.
Solving this problem requires a comprehensive approach, since simply deleting a couple of pictures rarely has a long-term effect. In this article, we will look at professional methods for freeing up space, starting from standard tools One UI and ending with a deep analysis of hidden folders. You will learn how to safely delete unnecessary things without damaging important data, and how to configure your phone so that the memory fills up more slowly.
Why does this particular model require special attention? The memory architecture in mid-range devices of those years does not always effectively manage the cache without user intervention. Therefore, manual optimization becomes a necessity to maintain the performance of your gadget.
Analysis of occupied space and system tools
The first step before any actions to delete files should be diagnostics. You need to understand exactly what exactly is “eating up” gigabytes. The shell Samsung One UI (or earlier Samsung Experience) has a built-in powerful analyzer that visualizes the distribution of data. Go to Settings → Device maintenance → Memory.
The system will show a breakdown by category: images, videos, audio, documents and applications. Pay attention to the “Other” or “System Files” section - often the remains of uninstalled apps or temporary update files are hidden there. Clicking on any category will take you to a detailed list where you can sort files by size.
Use the built-in Clean Now feature, but don't rely on it entirely. Smartphone algorithms may miss large files in the folder Download or cache of instant messengers, which are not considered system garbage. For deep cleaning, it is better to go through each item manually.
⚠️ Attention: When using the “Clean” function, carefully read the pop-up messages. Sometimes the system suggests deleting “rarely used applications”, among which there may be an important tool for you.
Pay special attention to the application section. Often one social network can take up 2-3 GB of space due to the accumulated cache of media files. In the list of applications, sorting by size will help you quickly identify such “leaders” of consumption.
Managing the application cache and clearing instant messengers
The fastest way to free up space is to clear the cache. A cache is temporary data that applications store to speed things up, but over time it becomes redundant. For each specific application, this is done through the menu Settings → Applications. Select the desired app, go to Storage and click Clear cache.
Do not press the “Clear data” button under any circumstances if you do not want Reset the application to factory state. This will delete your logins, settings and chat history within a specific application. The cache can be cleared safely and regularly.
Messengers such as WhatsApp i Telegramdeserve special attention. They save all received photos and videos to the phone's memory by default. In the settings of WhatsApp itself there is a section Data and storage → Storage management. There you can see the chats that take up the most space and delete sent media files, leaving text correspondence.
In Telegram, enable the “Auto delete media” function. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Automatic media deletion and set the period, for example, 3 days. This will prevent old files from clogging your memory.
For users who actively exchange files, it is recommended to regularly check the download folders inside messengers. Often duplicate documents or pictures that were opened once and are no longer needed are stored there.
Working with the gallery and transferring media files
Photos and videos are the main consumers of memory on a smartphone. A modern camera Samsung A6 takes pictures in high resolution, and one minute of Full HD video can weigh more than 100 MB. It is irrational to store thousands of such files in the internal memory.
The ideal solution is to use a memory card microSD. If you haven't installed it yet, this is the first thing to do. Once installed, go to the Gallery app, highlight the files you don't need or have already watched, and select the "Move to SD card" option. This will free up precious internal space for the system to operate.
It is also worth using cloud services. Google Photos offers the “Free up space” function, which automatically deletes from the device those pictures that have already been securely uploaded to the cloud. This allows you to access your entire media library via the Internet without taking up disk space.
| File type | Average size | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|
| Photo (JPEG) | 3–5 MB | Transfer to cloud or SD |
| Video (Full HD) | 100–200 MB/min | Delete after viewing or archiving |
| Selfies (High Res) | 5–8 MB | Sorting and deleting unsuccessful ones |
| Screenshots | 1–2 MB | Regular cleaning of the Screenshots folder |
Don’t forget about the “Trash” folder in the gallery. Deleted files do not disappear immediately, but are stored there for another 30 days, continuing to take up space. To clear the memory instantly, you need to go to the trash can and click “Clear”.
☑️ Preparing to transfer photos
Removing unused applications and updates
apps that you have not used for months often accumulate on your smartphone. Games, trial versions of services, old utilities - they all take up space not only with their installation file, but also with data. Go through the list of applications and, without pity, delete everything that you have not used for the last 3 months.
An important nuance for owners Samsung: many pre-installed applications (system junk) cannot be deleted in the usual way, but they can be “Disabled”. This hides the icon and prevents the application from running in the background, freeing up some resources, although the disk space may remain occupied.
It is also worth checking for old system update files. Sometimes, after a major firmware update, an installation package remains in the memory that is no longer needed. It can be found through the file manager in the system root or in the folder Software Updateif it is available for viewing.
⚠️ Attention: Do not delete system applications with names like “Samsung Framework”, “Android System” or Google Play Services. This may lead to unstable operation of the phone or loss of connection.
For advanced users, it is possible to use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to remove system software via a computer, but this requires caution and an accurate understanding of which package is responsible for what.
Using a memory card and storage format
If the internal memory Samsung A6 is critically small, set the camera to save photos and videos directly to the memory card. To do this, open the “Camera” application, click on the settings icon (gear) and find the “Save location” item. Switch it from “Device memory” to “SD card”.
However, it is worth remembering that memory cards are slower than internal flash memory. This may cause burst shooting to experience delays, and saving high quality (4K, if supported) video may be interrupted. For regular photos and videos in 1080p, this will not be a problem.
You can also transfer some applications to the memory card if the developer has allowed it. In the application menu, select Storage → Edit → SD card. Unfortunately, in modern versions of Android this function is not available for all apps, since Google recommends storing application data in internal memory for security and speed.
Why can’t applications be transferred to SD?
Modern versions of Android limit writing application data to external media from security and stability considerations. When the card is removed, the application will stop working, so the system blocks this feature for critical services.
Check the health of your memory card regularly. File systems on flash drives can become corrupted, resulting in broken files that take up space but cannot be opened. Periodically formatting the card (after saving the data on the PC) helps solve this problem.
Resetting settings as an extreme measure of optimization
If all of the above methods did not help and the phone continues to signal about lack of space, it is possible that critical errors or hidden logs have accumulated in the file system. In this case, a full reset to factory settings helps. This will return the phone to the “like from the store” state.
Before performing this procedure, be sure to make a complete backup copy of all important data: contacts, photos, documents. After the reset, all information will be permanently deleted. Go to Settings → General settings → Reset → Reset data.
After resetting, do not immediately restore all applications from the backup “in bulk”. Install only the essentials. Often, it is restoring the old backup that returns to the phone the very “garbage” that you were trying to get rid of.
⚠️ Attention: Make sure that the battery is charged at least 60-70% before starting the reset. If the phone turns off during the formatting process, this can lead to serious software errors (“bricking”).
A hard reset is a radical, but the most effective way to remove all software junk and hidden file system errors that cannot be found manually.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Why was the space not freed up after deleting the files?
Most likely, the files were moved to the Gallery trash or file manager trash. Check these folders and clean them out. It is also possible that you deleted the shortcut, and not the application itself, or the messenger cache was automatically restored.
Is it possible to delete the DCIM folder?
No, the folder DCIM all your photos and videos taken with the camera are stored. Deleting this folder will result in the loss of the entire photo archive. You can only delete individual files inside it.
How to clear the cache of all applications at once on a Samsung A6?
In new versions of One UI there is no one button to clear the cache of all applications at once for the sake of security. However, you can go to Settings → Device maintenance → Memory and use the clear button, or clear the cache of each heavy application manually in the "Applications" section.
Is it safe to use third-party cleaner apps?
Most popular cleaners (Clean Master and analogues) themselves take up a lot of space and display intrusive advertising. Samsung's built-in tools are usually sufficient. If you really need to, use only proven solutions, for example, Files by Google.
What to do if the system writes “Memory is full”, but the files are not found?
This may be a media file indexing failure. Try rebooting your phone in safe mode or clearing the partition cache Media Storage in application settings (you will need to enable display of system processes). As a last resort, resetting the settings will help.