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I have a problem of huge storage space missing in my newly bought Galaxy Tab 2 tablet.

It is the 16 GB version, but even after resetting twice to factory settings, the available storage space remains at about 5 GB, with the remaining 11 GB inaccessible, because it is "used for Android system files".

I suspect that there may be back-up or batch files from the previous installations that Android does not remove when I restore to factory settings.

Does anybody know in which directories I should look, and how I can delete the relevant folders to free the expected 6-7 GB of remaining storage space that I need for my applications?

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Samsung devices are 'known' for their excessive use of internal memory for Android system files and Samsung's own programs (bloatware?). To free this space you'll need to root the device and put a slimmer ROM on it.

Rooting is a practice which requires some knowledge what you're doing and it will void your warranty. If you have no idea what rooting is, I would recommend you to stay away from this practice since it can not only void your warranty, but also render you device useless (so-called 'brick' it). If you do know what rooting is, then you'll also know which sites to use for this, so I won't tell them here. Hope you'll understand I'm trying to avoid inexperienced readers from doing things to their devices which they regret. Good luck! :)

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    As for what rooting is, and important related questions, we have a nice rooting tag-wiki – so you're correct to not going into details on that. Besides, there's also one for "rom" :) And yes, Samsung reserves quite much for /system: about a 3rd would suffice. They just want to make sure to have enough reserve for future updates...
    – Izzy ♦
    Nov 28 '13 at 20:17
  • Hi, there. Thanks for your reply. However, I find difficult to believe that Android ate 6 - 7 GB of space for system files. As this tablet was bought second hand, I think here there must be something else, like a hidden partition, or something like this. Anyway, I hope the tablet is still under Samsung warranty, as I'm not going to root it. If not, it will be sent back to the seller.
    – user47108
    Nov 28 '13 at 21:35
  • @Izzy Thanks, pretty new here, so didn't think of it myself to include the tags! :)
    – Jordann Gross
    Nov 29 '13 at 15:36
  • No problem, that's what we "seniors" can do for you to get you started :) @user47108 It's not Android ate the space for system files, it's Samsung reserving it. And yes, they do that; it's not the first time I've read this.
    – Izzy ♦
    Nov 29 '13 at 15:40
  • @user47108 Since it is second hand, you could try and factory reset it: Settings > Personal - Backup & reset > Factory data reset Be sure to copy the photos and other files you want to keep to a computer first, because it will erase all data. Mind you that the chance of this freeing up space is kinda small, since Samsung is known for taking up lots of space.
    – Jordann Gross
    Nov 29 '13 at 15:46

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