Newb Q: basi Q about memory storage and apps

Piliger

Hi all from an iPhone user trying to solve problems for my son and his XperiaJ.

He says that he has sh1t memory and when trying to install an app the phone said not enough memory....

His Xperia also has a 32Gb external SD card as well as internal 2Gb. But he hasn't managed to t/f music to it yet.

When I go to setting/storage ... it seems to list the details of three types of memory.

Phone Memory: Total Space 754Mb. Apps 61.2Mb Available 79.55Mb
Internal Storage: Total Space 2.01Gb. Apps 153Mb ... others... Available 1.61Gb
SD Card: Total Space 29.71Gb. Available 29.50Gb

Can someone explain the meaning of the "Phone memory" and the "Internal Memory" ? Where do the apps go when they are downloaded ? and why would this phone say not enough memory ? I don't get it.

Tks.

daytob

I may be wrong here but the operating system is on the 2gb, and depending on what space is free thats where the apps go 1.61gb. You can get apps like super a tool which will allow you to send the app to the sd card though, mind you some apps dont like this.
the music will go to the 32gb, or 29.15gb
The issue here is the 750mb. This is the ram, or apps that run constantly. cached files are stored here too. So its not long before this fills up and slows down the phone. Your son will have to go through the stuff he has installed * fb is a big ram eater iirc, and try uninstall things just to put on super atool box. then reinstall them, and put them into the sd card.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.lepeng.superboxss&hl=en

Piliger

daytob wrote: »

I may be wrong here but the operating system is on the 2gb, and depending on what space is free thats where the apps go 1.61gb. You can get apps like super a tool which will allow you to send the app to the sd card though, mind you some apps dont like this.
the music will go to the 32gb, or 29.15gb
The issue here is the 750mb. This is the ram, or apps that run constantly. cached files are stored here too. So its not long before this fills up and slows down the phone. Your son will have to go through the stuff he has installed * fb is a big ram eater iirc, and try uninstall things just to put on super atool box. then reinstall them, and put them into the sd card.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.lepeng.superboxss&hl=en

Thanks for all that help. Appreciate it. Strange because he has only added two apps since I got the phone for him. I would have expected the phone to take more than that before saying it's full.

Piliger

We tried to update apps today ........ and attached is a screenshot of where it displays a series of errors due to lack of memory. The memory details as as in my previous post..

Any ideas anyone ?


Screenshot

daytob

any chance of a screenshot of the apps you have installed?
there is no way it shouldnt be able to install them unless there is loads.
also it might be wise to talk to someone about rooting because its not looking likely you will fit anything on that

Piliger

Thanks daytob .... Can you say why ? According to the memory numbers above in my post, there is >1.6Gb free ... ?

daytob

cos the installed apps are using up the Phone Memory: Total Space 754Mb. Apps 61.2Mb Available 79.55Mbnothing to do with the 1.61gb
have you tried installing super a tool and moving apps to sd card? you might have to uninstall somethings first

Daverk

Sony unfortunately don't supply enough ram with their phones,still!! Should always check out before one commits to purchase

Piliger

Daverk wrote: »

Sony unfortunately don't supply enough ram with their phones,still!! Should always check out before one commits to purchase

I should have checked ... but I didn't know the issue even existed being only used to iPhones for the last 6 years.

I am tempted to sell the XperiaJ and get a better one, maybe a nexus if an opportunity arises :rolleyes:

Kavrocks

Daverk wrote: »

Sony unfortunately don't supply enough ram with their phones,still!! Should always check out before one commits to purchase

Seriously? The Xperia J was released in late 2012 as a low end phone. It can currently be bought new for €100. Sony's high-end Xperia Z range all include 2GB RAM comparable to both the Nexus 5, S4 and HTC One. If you want more RAM you will have to pay for it. Your statement is completely unfounded and your post has no relevance to the OP's issue.

daytob wrote: »

I may be wrong here but the operating system is on the 2gb, and depending on what space is free thats where the apps go 1.61gb. You can get apps like super a tool which will allow you to send the app to the sd card though, mind you some apps dont like this.
the music will go to the 32gb, or 29.15gb
The issue here is the 750mb. This is the ram, or apps that run constantly. cached files are stored here too. So its not long before this fills up and slows down the phone. Your son will have to go through the stuff he has installed * fb is a big ram eater iirc, and try uninstall things just to put on super atool box. then reinstall them, and put them into the sd card.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.lepeng.superboxss&hl=en

The issue is not with the 750Mb section as you state as this is not RAM but where the OS and core system apps are installed. The amount of RAM on the phone has very little to do with the ability to install apps on it.

The downloaded apps should be going to the 2Gb Internal Storage memory of which there is plenty of room. I could not be certain why this particular issue is arising without more info but my first recommendation would be to try a factory reset. There could be an issue with the file system that a factory reset could fix.

Piliger

Kavrocks wrote: »

Seriously? The Xperia J was released in late 2012 as a low end phone. It can currently be bought new for €100. Sony's high-end Xperia Z range all include 2GB RAM comparable to both the Nexus 5, S4 and HTC One. If you want more RAM you will have to pay for it. Your statement is completely unfounded and your post has no relevance to the OP's issue.


The issue is not with the 750Mb section as you state as this is not RAM but where the OS and core system apps are installed. The amount of RAM on the phone has very little to do with the ability to install apps on it.

The downloaded apps should be going to the 2Gb Internal Storage memory of which there is plenty of room. I could not be certain why this particular issue is arising without more info but my first recommendation would be to try a factory reset. There could be an issue with the file system that a factory reset could fix.

Kavrocks - Many thanks for your reply ... I haven't unappreciated it .. I was following up on your post, googling and posting on other fora, but forgot to comment back and thank you

a) re the 750Mb: Any idea of why does the settings I quote in my first post mention apps within that section of memory ?

b) I am sure you will realise that I have googled this issue as much as possible before posting, and since. There appears to be widespread occurrence of this same problem with the 'J' and a total paucity of solutions. I cannot find anywhere that states with clarity what you state ... that is not inferring anything ... except that it is extremely difficult to find any definitive description of this situation.

Is there any additional info I can pull from this phone that would help diagnose the issue ?

Kavrocks

The apps in the 750Mb partition will be system apps.

Do you need more clarity about how RAM is used or the partition where the user apps should be installed to?

What have you tried so far to fix the issue?

Piliger

Kavrocks wrote: »

The apps in the 750Mb partition will be system apps.

Do you need more clarity about how RAM is used or the partition where the user apps should be installed to?

What have you tried so far to fix the issue?

To be honest I have focussed on finding out what the likely cause is, and if it is indeed an error at all.

Previous posts above have been firm that there is no error as such, only a real and actual shortage of memory, and the only way past it is to 'root' or move apps to the SD card.

So as yet, I have not actually tried to do anything physical to the phone without knowing what it is I am doing I was on the verge of installing an app to do that moving of apps to the SD when I read your comment above :-)

If you are indeed correct - my only option appears to be to a factory reset .. but you mentioned "without more info" so I wondered what additional info I could supply that might help ? Could there be some option in the settings telling the software to put the apps in the Phone memory and not the 2Gb Internal Storage ? seems unlikely but the phone is operating perfectly in every other way ...

tks again.

Kavrocks

Piliger wrote: »

Previous posts above have been firm that there is no error as such, only a real and actual shortage of memory, and the only way past it is to 'root' or move apps to the SD card.

If the memory statistics you listed earlier are indeed correct then there is no shortage of memory and there is infact an error. I believe this to be case after a very quick Google.

Piliger wrote: »

So as yet, I have not actually tried to do anything physical to the phone without knowing what it is I am doing I was on the verge of installing an app to do that moving of apps to the SD when I read your comment above :-)

My comment should not have deterred you from doing that. Do it. You won't break the phone by doing it. Rooting it, unlocking the bootloader, installing a custom recovery, updating/changing the phone's OS and various other actions if not done properly will break it.

Piliger wrote: »

If you are indeed correct - my only option appears to be to a factory reset .. but you mentioned "without more info" so I wondered what additional info I could supply that might help ? Could there be some option in the settings telling the software to put the apps in the Phone memory and not the 2Gb Internal Storage ? seems unlikely but the phone is operating perfectly in every other way ...

Your only option is not a factory reset (at this point in time). I couldn't even definitively tell you that will work but it will give a starting ground whereby tests can be run under assumed conditions.

As far as more information goes a start would be more accurate readings of the amount of storage used on the phone by what and where, followed by information about the software installed on the phone and where the phone is attempting to install applications to/has previously installed applications to.

Piliger

Ok - I started tonight by moving some apps from "phone" to "Internal memory". Some moved, but most would not. It freed enough to complete a set of updates. I will come back with more information and hopefully a step toward a solution. My son is sitting exams so it will be the weekend. Tks for the continued help.

120_Minutes

Also bear in mind that the phone's memory is shared memory. based on previous posts it seems your son is not availing of the space that his micro sd card offers, so if all his music and photos are taking up space on the internal memory thats adding to your space issues. get his media transferred over to the sd card asap.

Also, while he may not have many apps installed, the ones that he has may be taking up more "real estate" than he realises. Facebook is a good example of this. The app itself is no more that 10 or 12mb, but when you use it it generates data which takes up space within the app, so its not uncommon for facebook to take up to 50 or 60 mb in space. check the memory usuage of individual apps.

Piliger

Thanks 20 .. will check that. There is no music at all, or or media on the phone.