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I'm sure many people like me are aware and annoyed by the extremely limited amount of RAM in Nexus S (512MB but only 300+ is usable), I have searched all over google for a solution to increase the amount of RAM available and came up empty (I tried swap file applications but they just broke my system's SD card partitions causing a complete reset).

I wonder if there is any hardware solution to this problem. Is it possible to swap the chip out for a bigger capacity one? I realize that it is not as simple as swapping out PC RAM from a dimm but I haven't seen any schematics for the chip layout on the ARM boards in the smartphones so I really hope that it is somewhat possible to increase the amount of RAM on the board.

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The rest of your RAM is used by the OS, "not usable" isn't exactly true. – Matthew Read♦ May 14 '12 at 16:20
I can only wish :( – Narayanan Nov 20 '12 at 8:47

migrated from superuser.com May 14 '12 at 7:53

6 Answers

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You can't. Most smart phones are designed as a System-on-Chip; which means that the CPU, RAM, GPU, device controllers, etc are all in a single chip. Updating RAM in such system means replacing a whole lot of other stuffs. Not to mention that you probably would have a hard time finding a chip with different specification which fits perfectly into the hole that was left behind after you dismounted the chip; due to size restrictions, the components around the chip are designed to fit tightly into the available space.

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It may be possible to add swap space, see Adding Swap Space Ram to G1 for example.

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No it isn't. At least if you have to ask about it. Replacing any chip would require several thousand dollars worth of equipment and experience. Not to mention obtaining the correct replacement.

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The place to go for PDA and smartphone memory upgrades has always been PPC Techs but they may not do them for your device.

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This is possible but not even remotely easy to do by yourself (unless you are experienced repairman or electronics hobbyist). Unfortunately, device manufacturers are interested in quickest possible technical obsolescence of products so it's unlikely that they will agree to install some standard RAM slot so hardware solution to this problem requires soldering.

For example this site explains how to replace RAM chips on a HTC Universal which is Windows Mobile phone but it can be considered Android device too ;)

Basically it is enough replace RAM chips. To find compatible RAM chip you should first find out which chips are inside your device and teardown reports may help with that. Then you can try to find usual computer RAM modules with bigger compatible chips (datasheets about your RAM chip may help with that). If compatible RAM chips are accessible and you have good soldering skills you can replace them using rework station, heat gun, soldering iron or of course you may ask some repairman to do this for you.

If you have any questions about RAM replacement process you can ask them on electronics.stackexchange.com

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Even if you were to replace the RAM you'd also have to patch the BSP software to change the memory map visible to the CPU, so that it can use the extra RAM. Without access to the internal specifications that the manufacturer has, you'd probably brick the device trying to do that. The site that "explains how to replace RAM chips" is a dead link. – Dan Hulme May 19 at 13:47
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Use RAM Expander expanding to SD card

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That doesn't add more RAM. Could you also provide a link? – ce4 15 hours ago
The OP already stated that they've tried swap file apps. – Dan Hulme 9 hours ago

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