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I'm trying to install a large application (EA games' Scrabble free), but I have insufficient space on my phone, so I can't complete the installation. I have plenty of space on my SD card though, but I don't see any option to install the app directly there without passing through the phone. What can I do about this?

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3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

You are out of luck sorry!

The only way to do so, is to install to internal space on Phone, then:

  • Tap on Settings
  • Tap on Applications
  • Then tap on Manage Applications
  • Scroll down looking for the appropriate game, then tap on it
  • Finally, tap on Move to SD Card...

You will have to free up space temporarily in order to do this.

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Does this also apply to rooted phones? – sampablokuper Jan 25 at 3:27
Yes. And to tablets, too :) Only work-around I can think of (but not sure whether it really works, as I haven't tried): If you can get hold of the .apk, you could copy that to the sd card (so the playstore doesn't need to download it and keep a copy in /data/local) and install from there. In combination, you could also set your preferred install location to the card. Having root, you could try moving /data/local to the card (replacing it by a symlink). – Izzy Jan 25 at 7:47
up vote 1 down vote

There is no such option that applies for all apps.You still have to go through your internal memory.

As far as I know rooted phones also don't offer this functionality.

But some apps will allow you to do that on newer phones. App developers can say in their app that it is best (preferred) to save the app on an SD card. But in the case they say that, it's in the hands of the phone if it listens to it or not. So even though some apps will allow you to install it straight on your SD, some phones will still install it on your internal memory.

Though the last part is not an answer to your question, I thought it may be interesting to know

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up vote -1 down vote

I am able to install software directly to the SD card. For example, I succeeded in installing a 123MB game (called Robinson) even though my device holds only 23MB. The game went straight to the SD card.

My success due to AppManager2, available on the Google Play Store, which installs larger data like that automatically. I suggest you try it out!

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It's very difficult to understand what you are saying here. What information does this add that other answers to not? – Al Everett Apr 13 at 23:44

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