How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android
If your phone’s storage is full, an SD card can give apps somewhere else to live — but only if you set the card up the right way.
Why: Android treats an SD card one of two ways. As portable storage, the card holds files like photos and videos but can’t run apps. As adoptable (internal) storage, the card is merged with your phone’s built-in storage so it can hold apps. Which one you picked when you inserted the card decides whether moving apps is even possible.
Adoptable storage isn’t offered on every phone — many Samsung Galaxy models, for example, only support portable SD cards. Paths below follow Google’s generic Android docs.
Fix 1: Set up the SD card for apps (adoptable storage)
Apps can only go on a card that’s formatted as internal/adoptable storage.
- Insert the SD card. When the SD card detected notification appears, swipe down and tap it.
- To use it for apps, choose Format another way (the Internal/adoptable storage option) rather than the plain Format (portable) choice.
- Follow the prompts to format the card.
Important: Formatting permanently erases everything on the card, so back up its contents first. An adoptable card is tied to this phone and won’t work as removable storage in another device.
Fix 2: Move content onto the card
Right after formatting as adoptable storage, Android offers to migrate data:
- When prompted, choose Move content (or Move content later if you’d rather wait).
- To do it afterward, open Settings > Storage, tap the SD card, open its menu, and look for the migrate/move option.
Once the card is adopted, the system spreads app storage across it automatically — you don’t move apps one by one.
Fix 3: If your phone only supports portable cards
Many newer phones (and Android versions from 10 onward on some devices) dropped the old per-app “Move to SD card” button. If your phone only offers portable storage:
- You can’t run apps from the card, but you can offload photos, videos, and downloads to it to reclaim space for apps on internal storage.
- Use Settings > Storage (or the Files by Google app) to move media files to the card.
- As an alternative to an SD card, see our guide on freeing up internal storage.
FAQ
Why is there no “Move to SD card” button on my app? Recent Android versions removed per-app moving on many phones. Either set the card up as adoptable storage (Fix 1) or move media instead of apps (Fix 3).
Can I move the card to a new phone later? Only a portable card moves between devices. An adoptable card is encrypted to one phone and must be reformatted to use elsewhere.
Will moving apps to the card slow them down? SD cards are typically slower than built-in storage, so a fast (UHS) card is worth it if you’ll run apps from it.