Smartphone owners Samsung Galaxy often face a critical lack of internal space, especially when loading modern “heavy” games. The built-in memory quickly fills up with cache, resources, and the installation files themselves, which causes the system to slow down. Using a memory card microSD becomes the only reasonable way to expand storage without purchasing a new device.
However, the process of transferring data on devices with a shell One UI has its own nuances that differ from the standard Android. Manufacturers deliberately limit the complete transfer of applications to external media for security and stability reasons, but workarounds exist. In this material, we will analyze in detail how to configure the card, move game files and what restrictions the operating system imposes.
Before you begin manipulations, you need to make sure that your smartphone model technically supports working with external drives. Flagship series of recent years often lack a memory card slot, so the procedure may not be possible at the hardware level. If the slot is present, proper preparation of the media will be the key to successful installation of game content.
Preparing the memory card and checking compatibility
The first step is to choose a high-quality drive that can provide sufficient speed for reading and writing data. Slow class cards Class 4 or Class 6 will lead to long loading levels and periodic freezes in games. It is recommended to use standard cards UHS-I or UHS-II with a speed marking of at least A1 or A2, which guarantees optimization for working with applications.
Insert the card into the smartphone slot and wait for the system notification. The device will offer several options for using the drive: as portable storage for photos and music or as internal memory. For installing games, the second option is often preferable, as it allows the system to see the card as an extension of the built-in disk. However, remember that formatting the card as internal memory will delete all data on it and encrypt it for use only on that specific device.
Use memory cards with a capacity of 64 GB or more to comfortably install modern games, as one project can take up more than 10 GB of space.
⚠️ Attention: When formatting the card as internal memory, it will be tied to your account and a specific smartphone. You won't be able to insert it into another phone and read the data without a full reset.
You can check the card status in the settings section. Go to Settings → Device Maintenance → Storage. The total volume, occupied space and connection type are displayed here. If the system sees the map correctly, you can proceed to setting the default saving paths.
Setting the default saving path in the Samsung system
Shell One UI provides built-in tools for managing storage, but they are not always obvious to the user. In order for new downloaded files and some types of data to be saved directly to the card, you need to change the settings in the standard file manager. This will not transfer existing games, but will free up space for future downloads.
Open the application My files, which is preinstalled on all smartphones of the brand. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen to open the context menu. In the list of options, select Settings. Here you will find the "Default storage location" section, where you can switch the checkbox from "Internal memory" to "Memory card".
- 📂 Changing this setting will affect downloading files from the browser Samsung Internet or Chrome.
- 📷 Photos and videos taken through the standard Camera application will also begin to be saved to external storage.
- 📝 Documents created in office suites will be written to the SD card by default.
It is important to understand that this setting is not universal for all applications. Many apps, including instant messengers and some game launchers, ignore the default system path and use their own recording algorithms. However, this is a basic optimization step that cannot be ignored when fighting for free space.
Transferring installed games through application settings
The most legal and safest way to move an already installed game to a memory card is to use the standard Android application menu. This method does not work for all games, as the developer must explicitly allow their product to be ported to external media in the application manifest. If such an option is provided, you will see an active move button.
Go to Settings → Applications and find the desired game in the list. Click on its name to open the information page. Select section Storage. If the game supports transfer, there will be a button Change or Move to SD card. Click it and confirm the action. The system will automatically copy the files and update the access paths.
| Application type | Possibility of transfer | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Simple arcade games | High | Often support full transfer |
| Online shooters (PUBG, CoD) | Low | Only part of the data is transferred, the cache remains inside |
| System utilities | Prohibited | Require quick access to the system core |
| Offline RPG | Average | Depends on the version game and developer |
While moving, it is not recommended to launch a game or use the phone for other heavy tasks. Aborting the operation may result in corrupted files and the need to reinstall. If the move button is missing or inactive (gray), it means that the developer has prohibited installation on external media, and other methods will be required.
☑️ Check before transfer
Using the Adoptable Storage function
The company Samsung has officially disabled the "Adoptable Storage" function in most their modern devices, considering it unsafe. However, on some models or through hidden menus this function can be activated. It allows you to combine internal memory and a microSD card into a single space, where the system itself decides where to write the data.
Activation often requires access to hidden settings or use ADB commands via a computer. This is an advanced method that requires caution. If your model supports this feature natively, when formatting the card in the memory menu, select the "Use as internal storage" option. The system will offer to transfer data, including applications, automatically.
Risks of using internal memory mode
The speed of a microSD card is usually lower than the speed of the built-in UFS memory chip. This can cause the smartphone to run slower and games to take longer to load, even if there is more space.
If the standard menu does not offer such a choice, you can try entering a special command through the computer by connecting the phone in debugging mode. At the command line, after entering adb shell the command sm list-disks is used to locate the drive and then sm partition to convert it. Be prepared for the fact that after this procedure the card will become unreadable on a PC without special software.
⚠️ Attention: Interfaces and available functions depend on the Android version and the specific Samsung model. On new devices with Android 12 and higher, the ability to format as internal memory is often completely blocked by the manufacturer.
Manually moving game cache folders (for advanced users)
Many heavy games store the bulk of data (textures, models, sounds) not in the application itself, but in a separate cache folder. Usually it is located along the path Android/obb or Android/data in the internal memory. Moving these folders manually can free up gigabytes of space, although the application itself will remain hanging in the internal memory.
Using a file manager with access rights (for example, Total Commander or FX File Explorer), you can cut the game data folder from the internal memory and paste it into a similar directory on the memory card. After this, some games need to create a symbolic link so that they can "see" the files in the new location. Without root, this method works to a limited extent due to Android 11+ security restrictions.
- 📁 Find the folder with the name of the developer or the name of the game in the section
Android/obb. - ✂️ Cut out the entire folder without changing the structure of the attached files.
- 📥 Paste the folder into the appropriate section on the memory card:
/storage/sdcard1/Android/obb.
This method requires care: One mistake in the folder name will cause the game to display an error loading resources upon startup and prompt you to download them again. Always check that an exact copy of the folder structure that was in the internal storage has been created on the memory card.
Manually moving OBB folders saves space, but does not speed up the system, since the application's executive file still remains in the internal memory.
Solving problems and common installation errors
Even when If all instructions are followed, users may encounter errors like “Not enough space,” although there are several gigabytes free on the card. Often the problem lies in the file system of the card. If it is formatted in exFAT, some older versions of games or specific managers may not work with it correctly. In such cases, reformatting to FAT32helps, but this limits the size of a single file to 4 GB.
Another common problem is the game running slowly after transfer. This indicates the low random read speed of your memory card. Cheap drives cannot cope with streaming texture loading in real time. In this case, the only solution is to return the files to the internal memory or replace the card with a faster model of the series Pro Plus or EVO Select.
It is also worth considering that game updates via Google Play or Galaxy Store sometimes reset the file paths. After a major patch update, you may need to re-check the location of the cache folders or press the transfer button in the application settings again.
Why does the game not see files on the card?
Modern versions of Android restrict application access to the root directory of the SD card for security reasons. The game may simply not have the rights to read data from the folder that you manually placed there.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it possible to transfer a game if there is no "Move" button in the settings?
If the button is missing, then the developer has prohibited the transfer at the application code level. In this case, you cannot transfer the game using legal methods. You can try to transfer only the cache folder manually, but this does not guarantee stable operation.
Will progress in the game be deleted when transferred to a memory card?
When using the standard transfer function through the settings, progress is saved, since account and save data are usually stored in a protected area of the internal memory or in the cloud. However, when manually copying folders, there is always a risk of losing data, so it is recommended to make a backup copy.
Why did the game start to run slower after the transfer?
The speed of games directly depends on the read speed of the drive. The built-in memory of Samsung smartphones (UFS 2.1/3.1) is significantly faster than most microSD cards. When transferred to the card, the game is forced to load resources from a slower medium, which causes freezes.
Is it possible to run games directly from the card without installing them into internal memory?
No, the application executable file (.apk) and its libraries must always be installed in the internal memory of the system. You can only transfer additional resources (cache) to the card, but not the application itself.
What to do if the memory card is not detected after formatting?
Try to restart the device. If the card has been formatted as internal memory, it will only be visible on that phone. Insert it into the PC - the system will offer to format the disk, but this will delete all data. To restore access to files on another device, the card must be formatted again.