If you wish to save space in your phone’s internal memory, moving apps to the SD card is an excellent way to free some space. You can move apps to the SD card by going to Settings > Applications, selecting the application, then tapping the “Move to SD card” button. You may notice that for some apps, this option is grayed out though. Why is that?
Reason 1. Developer Choice
Developers of Android apps need to explicitly make their apps available to move to the SD card using the “android:installLocation” attribute in the <manifest> element of their app. If they don’t, the option to “Move to SD card” is grayed out. Why would many developers not enable this button? Well, Android apps cannot run from the SD card while the card is mounted. So if the app handles something like an alarm to remind you of your dentist appointment, that’s pretty important, and the app would not be able to sound the alarm if you happen to have your device connected to your PC. So the developer may choose to lock the “Move to SD card” capability down so they never get an angry email from somebody claiming the app doesn’t work.
Reason 2. Widget Support
Widget support is another big reason apps may be prevented from running on the SD card. If an app is installed on the SD card, the widgets from that app become unavailable to select in certain versions of Android once the device is mounted. The device must be restarted for the widgets from the app to show up as an option again.
Reason 3. Syncing, Service, or Account Interface
If the app handles a certain type of background syncing, runs as a service, or utilizes an account, the app will not fully function from an SD card while it is mounted. Therefore, the option to move it to the SD Card is disabled. You can read more about this issue and how apps run from SD cards on the Android Developers – App Install Location page.
FAQ
How do I make apps download directly to the SD Card?
You will need to have root access on your device, then set your home directory to the SD card using the Android SDK Tools. There used to be a way to enable the option on older versions of Android without root access. But now you must have root access on newer Android versions to be able to set the home directory.
What apps can I move?
Look at moving any gaming apps to the SD card. Games typically don’t have to run in the background or handle any important tasks on the device throughout your day. They also typically take up the most space, making them perfect candidates for an SD card install.
Now you know why the “Move to SD card” button is grayed out for many of your Android apps. Still have questions? Comments? Leave one in the comments section below.
How do I enable the “Move to SD Card” option on any app?
There used to be a way for non-rooted users to enable the “Move to SD card” option. This is no longer the case. You will need to gain root access to your device to be able to move any app to the SD card.. If you’re not sure how to do this, you may want to have a look over at XDA Developers for suggestions.
Link says
Basically, the real reason is that Android is crap. The SD card could function the same as the phone’s memory, but it’s not designed properly. The ability to use an SD card was my last real reason not to go iPhone, but since Android won’t let it work anyway, what the heck?
Jay says
My phone would just not have the SD option available and now it shows it as grayed out even though it was available before on certain apps…what would cause it to be grayed now for those same apps?
Stas S says
It’s possible that the phone companies want people to buy their ‘newer’ smartphones more often. That will be greedy of the companies.
Debbie says
Some what, but Why don’t we have Widget to do everything. Why can’t it install when we put the SD card in?
John Delacroix says
I used to have a Samsung s4 mini and I was able to move apps from device storage to SD card and run the apps without any problem. I am now using a Samsung j7 and tried to do the same to save device storage space, however, the apps I moved aren’t accessible by the phone. I tried to move them back by going to “Files” and move the storage back to device storage, but the change storage button isn’t available.
Really wondering why it doesn’t work now when it just worked on my S4 mini probable 8-9 months ago.
I would really appreciate if someone can help me with this.