I’m pretty sure you’ve seen this message displayed on the notification bar of your Android device:
‘Low Storage Space’. You may also have seen this when you wanted to install a new app, and it probably changed your mood …
‘what’s wrong with this phone again?’ ?
We’ve all been through this with our devices.
No matter how large the storage capacity of your device is, it can get crammed easily especially if you’re a power user. The easiest way out of this is usually to transfer your media files (photos, videos…) from your internal storage to your SD card and delete the unnecessary ones. It’s usually very funny and frustrating how short-lived the space you create is because, within a short while, you’re back to square one.
To find an all-embracing and enduring solution, there are a few important aspects you’ll need to consider to keep your device clutter-free:
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REMOVE UNWANTED APPS
Operational applications make use of your phone’s RAM and storage space to function. Having apps that you don’t use on your device will only constitute a build up of unnecessary files and reduce its performance. It’s best to uninstall them.
If your Android phone like mine, came with a carrier, you’ll need to disable pre-installed apps.
- How to disable Pre-installed Apps
One safe way to remove these apps and stop them from launching in the background is from your device settings. Follow the steps below … (Steps may differ depending on your device and android version)
- Go to your device settings by either drawing down the notification bar and clicking on the settings icon, or from your app drawer.
- Scroll down to applications and click on it.
- In Applications, click on application manager.
- Find the app you want to disable and click on it
- If the app is preloaded you will find the uninstall updates button, click on it when the updates have been removed, you’ll find the disable button, click and disable the app.
- If the app is not preloaded, you’ll immediately see the uninstall button, click on it and uninstall the app completely.
If you want to use this app later you can follow the steps and enable it
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Delete Junk Files
Cache files are created by apps to store commonly used information so it doesn’t have to be generated or downloaded again.
These files can constitute a large clutter if you don’t remove them regularly. Depending on your device and Android version, you can clear the cache files by following the steps below:
- Go to device settings
- Click on Storage
- Tap Internal Storage
- A list of file categories and memory use will be displayed, (click on Applications to see the apps installed on your device and their memory usage)
- Scroll to Cached Data, click on it and choose clear data.
- This will erase the cached data of every app installed on your device.
To run a deep clean to remove left over files from uninstalled applications, download the 1-Click Cleaner app from Google play store.
Thumbnails are reduced sizes of images created by your device when you open them, to help recognize and organize your images for easy access.
Deleting thumbnails do not in anyway affect the original files, your device will recreate them afterwards.
To access .db (thumbnail) files, install a file manager app, I suggest you download and install ES File Explorer from the Google play store.
Open the app, go to the app settings and enable hidden files.
Go to DCIM, select and delete the thumbnail folder.
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Avoid Security Threats
The Speed and efficiency of your Android device also depend on how you protect it from external threats. Malware, Adware and Ransomware; These files find their way into your device from different places, from websites to
networks e.t.c
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Factory Restore/ Hard Reset
If you’ve tried all the above steps and you feel it’s not enough, you can perform a hard reset on your device to return it to optimum performance.
If your phone has been giving you storage issues, try the steps listed above, to return your phone to its original performance.
