The files take up quite a bit of memory. Since storage on a Chromebook is at a premium, I'd like to direct comiXology to save and read from my SD card. I'd like to do the same with Netflix, too, eventually. But the apps right now don't give me an option to save to my SD card (even though I have it installed and File Manager reads it just fine). Apr 07, 2015. Jul 17, 2017.
As of Chrome OS version 78 the method used to enable SD card access on a Chromebook has changed. This guide will show you how to allow Android Apps to access and use your SD card on a Chromebook.
Since your Chromebook probably doesn’t have a particularly large hard drive, it can be very handy to store things like audio and video files on an SD Card instead of the internal drive. When Google rolled out version 78 of Chrome OS, they changed the way Android Apps access an SD card on a Chromebook. It’s a bit more buried now, but it’s still totally possible to let apps like Netflix store downloaded files on an SD card instead of the hard drive. Here’s how –
![Card Card](/uploads/1/1/9/5/119572012/257231983.png)
- Open the Settings on your Chromebook.
- Select Device from the navigation panel on the left side of the window, and then Storage management in the Device section on the right side of the window.
- Select External storage preferences
- Toggle the SD Card switch to ON
- Now select Apps from the navigation panel on the right, and then Google Play Store from the panel on the right.
- Choose Manage Android preferences
- Select Apps & notifications
- Locate the App you want to allow to use your SD card. In this example we’re going to use Netflix. Note: you’ll need to perform the next 2 steps with each app that you want to be able to use your SD card.
- Select Permissions
- Toggle the Storage switch to ON
- At this point Netflix has been granted ‘permission’ to use your SD card. Depending on the App you may not be done quite yet. With Netflix, you need to configure the App itself to start saving data on the SD card rather than the internal drive. To do that, open Netflix and click the More icon at the bottom of the window.
- Choose App Settings
- Scroll down and select Download location
- Now choose SD Card
- Confirm that the Download location has changed to SD Card
- Going forward, when you download a video with Netflix to watch while you’re offline, it’ll be stored on your SD card instead of your internal hard drive.
- Remember – you’ll need to repeat steps 7-9 with each Android App that you wish to grant access to your SD card.
- You should be able to use your SD card to store files from Spotify as well, but there seems to be an ongoing issue which may cause you headaches.
There was no way to store apps on SD Card earlier. The Android tinkerers preferred to achieve root access in order to store apps on SD Card. But, following the launch of Android 5.0 Lollipop, some of the Android smartphones started offering the ability to its users to store apps on SD Card. And, it has been a consistent feature on many Android smartphones but not all.
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Storing the apps on SD Card would let you save a lot of Internal storage which in turn would help your device perform faster without any hiccups. While you store your apps on SD card, you must remember that those applications installed depend on the SD card. If you remove the SD card, you will not be able to get work done with the apps stored on SD Card.
Should You Store Apps On SD Card?
It depends on what type of SD Card you have. If you have an SD Card of Class 10 or higher (UHS or UFS), you can surely store apps on it. But, if you own an SD Card lower than what we suggest, it will not be a wise choice to have apps installed on your SD Card.
Note that the SD Card performance might be slower than the internal storage of the phone, unless the card class is high, and the protocol is the most recent, such as UFS. Not everyone will notice a speed difference, but it’s worth knowing.
How To Store Apps On SD Card?
If your device’s manufacturer allows moving apps to SD Card, you can follow the steps mentioned below to store apps on SD Card.
But, how do you know that the device you are going to purchase offers that option? Do we have a way to know which of the devices support moving apps to SD Card natively? No, unfortunately not. However, you can utilize the web and investigate about it through the forums/publications/social media before purchasing the device.
Steps To Store Apps On SD Card
- Head into the Settings menu.
- Scroll down to find “Apps“. Tap on it.
- Now, you will observe the list of applications installed on your device.
- Tap on any of the apps that you want to store on SD Card.
Note:You will not be able to store every app on SD Card. And, when you have successfully moved the app to SD card, you cannot make it work when you remove the SD Card. - Scroll down, and you will find “Move to SD Card” option. Tap on it to move the app to SD Card.
Download Android Apps On Chromebook
In worst case scenario, you can utilize Android 6.0’s feature and make your SD card as the default storage (your SD Card acts as the Internal storage), as a result your SD Card becomes the default storage for photos in theory. However, do ensure that you have installed a trustworthy SD card with faster reading and writing speeds (class 10 or above). Alternatively, you can head to root your device, but it is not something we would recommend doing.
Chromebook Install Android Apps On Sd Cards
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