How to add more storage to any smartphone

It’s a problem most smartphone users face at some point: running out of space on your device.

Whether you’re trying to install more games or apps, or add more music or videos, you’re notified with a message on your screen that says something like “There is not enough available storage.”

The good news is you can add more storage to your smartphone, even though you bought it with a set amount of internal memory, such as 32 gigabytes (GB) or 64GB. It doesn’t take much to go over it.

And so the following are a few things you can do to add more storage on your phone (or tablet).

First things first

Before we look at few simple solutions, be sure to first go through your smartphone and uninstall content you no longer need.

You’d be surprised how many apps, games, music and other media you may have on your device – and haven’t opened in many months or even years.

For iPhone users, go to Settings>General>Storage & iCloud Usage>Manage Storage, and see what are some of the biggest storage culprits. Tap “Delete App” to uninstall it.

For Android, the process varies a bit, but you can go to Settings>Applications>Application Manager, and tap to uninstall on each app you no longer want.

Don’t worry if you bought the content from an app store, because even if you delete it off your device, you can always reinstall it at a later date at no charge.

Wireless storage

A new crop of USB thumbdrives let you wirelessly access content on it, as if it were stored locally.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick, for example, emits a Wi-Fi Direct signal, allowing up to three phones, tablets and laptops to access content off the thumbdrive at the same time. After you load it up with files from your PC or Mac, unplug it and take it to go – now press the small button on the side and you can access everything wirelessly via a free app. You can also wirelessly back up photos from your phone to the drive, and delete them off your device to make more room. Prices are $39 for 32GB, $59 for 64GB, $89 for 128GB, or $129 for 200GB.

Also from SanDisk is the iXpand Flash Drive. As the name suggests, it expands the storage of iOS devices with a teeny Lighting connector that snaps into the bottom of iPhone or iPad, and there’s a USB 3.0 port on the other end of the drive to plug into a PC or Mac. Therefore, this product can be used to automatically back-up your photos and/or videos; easily transfer media to and from a personal computer; or even play media off the drive itself when plugged into your iOS device (therefore your movies, photos and music won’t take up precious storage on your phone or tablet). Capacity ranges from 16GB ($47) all the way up to 128GB ($119).

Memory cards

If your phone accepts them, and most Android devices do, you can purchase inexpensive microSD memory cards, which slide into the side or back of the phone (usually near the SIM card). This could double, triple or even quadruple your phone’s storage for a loose change in your pocket (seriously, you can pick up a 16GB card for $10 these days).

If you’re running Android 6.0 (“Marshmallow”) or newer, you can take advantage of “Adoptable Storage,” which means you can set up your external memory card as internal storage — and thus store applications, their data, and media on it. Simply insert a microSD card and the operating system will ask if you’d like to treat it as portable storage or as internal storage.

Embrace the cloud

A few other ways to avoid running out of space on your smartphone or tablet:

• Rather than download media, such as movies and music, it’ll help you save space to simply stream it – especially if you consider you likely have an Internet connection wherever you go. Whether you’re on Wi-Fi or if you have a healthy data plan to use cellular connectivity, you’ve got no shortage of great services to access on-demand video and audio content, such as Netflix and Spotify, respectively. Some services are free, while others require a monthly subscription.

• Take advantage of free cloud services to store your digital stuff, and simply access it when you need it – providing you’ve got an Internet connection, of course. Popular cloud providers include Dropbox, Microsoft’s OneDrive, Google Drive, and iCloud. You typically get between 2GB to 15GB of free storage, per account, but can add more for a fee. If it’s movies, music and ebooks, most of these services let you access it in the cloud instead of having to download it first.

• Services like Plex are becoming popular as you can access all of your media on all of your devices, anytime and anywhere. Along with smartphones, tablets and computers, this also includes video game systems, smart TVs, media boxes and sticks (like Roku and Chromecast). While Plex is free, a premium account ($4.99/month) adds many extra features.

• Finally, another option is an Internet-connected hard drive (“Networked Attached Storage,” or “NAS”) you might keep on at home, but lets you access files on it as it were stored locally on your device. Consider it your own private cloud solution. Examples of these products include WD’s My Cloud, from $169 for 2 terabytes (TB) and Seagate’s Personal Cloud (from $189 for 3TB).