Comments on: Insufficient storage to update apps on Nexus S?

Question: Insufficient storage to update apps on Nexus S?

a box and a stick and a string and a bear — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:29:53 -0800

My Nexus S has been displaying "insufficient storage available" errors when trying to update apps for the last few weeks. The USB storage (the main partition) has plenty of space (~9gb), but I can't figure out how to move apps over there so they have some breathing room. Halp?

I'm running stock Jelly Bean, in case it matters. The bootloader's unlocked, and the phone's never been rooted.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:35:57 -0800

You want the App2SD app.

By: Sunburnt

Sunburnt — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:36:59 -0800

There's a nice little free app called app2sd that'll tell you what apps can be moved and what can't.

By: fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit

fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:51:49 -0800

My Nexus S is still on Gingerbread, but the way to do it in the OS there is:
Open the Settings
Tap Applications
Tap Manage applications
Tap on an app
There should be a button marked Move to USB Storage

By: a box and a stick and a string and a bear

a box and a stick and a string and a bear — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:53:51 -0800

App2SD worked perfectly. Thanks!

By: disillusioned

disillusioned — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:10:34 -0800

Please note that with the Nexus One at least, when the Insufficient Storage notification was showing, this would also indicate a COMPLETE SUPPRESSION of all sync activity: so you'll stop receiving emails and the like. Point being, it's not just your apps can't update. Instead, you're not getting mail, etc.

Apps2SD should work well. So glad that they moved to unified storage with the Galaxy Nexus. The N1 only had 250 MB available internal storage space, and no matter how the apps are set, sometimes some apps require a fair internal footprint even when you move them.

You can also clear up space by going to the Applications menu from Settings, browing to your browser and clearing its cache, which can sometimes be egregious. Check that and see. Also sort by app size and see who the primary offenders are.