It’s frustrating when you start running out of storage space on your Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
With large apps, photos, videos and more, it’s easy to fill up the internal storage. Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to free up space on your Galaxy device.
Check Your Storage Usage
First, it’s helpful to understand what’s taking up space on your phone. Go to Settings > Device care > Storage to view a breakdown of which apps, photos, videos, music and other files are using up space.
This will show you which apps and files are the biggest storage hogs, so you know where to focus your efforts. You may be surprised to see how much space is being used by apps you don’t really need or use anymore.
Clear Cache and Data from Apps
Temporary cache and data files can build up from apps over time, taking up valuable storage. For each app in your storage usage list, tap on it and select “Clear cache” and “Clear data” to wipe these files.
This frees up space without deleting anything important. Keep in mind any login details or preferences for that app will be reset when you clear data.
Uninstall Unused Apps
Take an honest look at all your installed apps and consider removing any you no longer need. This can be a big source of reclaimed space. Tap and hold an app icon, then tap “Uninstall” to remove it.
If the app came pre-installed on your Galaxy S21 and can’t be fully uninstalled, you may be able to disable it instead to free up some space.
Remove Infrequently Accessed Files
Your downloads folder, media files and other documents can also pile up and eat up storage over time. Browse through these folders and consider deleting:
- Large files you no longer need
- Videos you’ve already watched
- Music you don’t listen to anymore
- E-book files you’ve finished reading
Be diligent about removing anything that’s just taking up space unnecessarily on your Galaxy.
Back Up Photos and Videos
Camera photos and videos tend to consume more storage real estate than anything else on your phone. Regularly back these up to the cloud and remove them from your Galaxy to open up a lot of space.
You have a few good options for backing up your media:
- Sync photos/videos automatically to Google Photos or Samsung Cloud.
- Manually transfer files to cloud storage like Dropbox or OneDrive.
- Transfer files to a computer periodically.
Once your media is safely backed up elsewhere, go ahead and delete the files from your phone’s internal storage.
Expand Cloud Storage
Speaking of the cloud, most cloud storage services offer paid subscription plans that provide more space beyond the free tier. It may be worth upgrading to a paid plan for services like:
- Google One
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Dropbox
- Apple iCloud (for iPhone switchers)
With ample cheap or free cloud storage available, you can keep fewer files stored locally on your Galaxy device.
Use External SD Card for Storage
If your Galaxy model supports external MicroSD cards, this provides a quick way to expand your storage capacity. Insert an SD card and you can:
- Set your camera to save photos/videos to the card by default.
- Move your media files to the card for backup.
- Change the default download location for apps, videos, music and other files to the card.
A high-capacity SD card up to 1TB lets you significantly increase the storage space for your Galaxy at an affordable price.
Clear Browser Cache and History
Web browser apps like Chrome and Samsung Internet can accumulate a lot of cached data and browsing history over time. To delete this data:
- Chrome: Tap the three dots > Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data. Choose a time range, then select what you want to delete.
- Samsung Internet: Tap the three lines > Settings > Data management > Clear history and Clear cache.
This can free up a surprising amount of storage on your device.
Reduce App and System Size
Beyond your own files, apps themselves as well as the Android system software can hog storage. A few tips to reclaim space from these areas:
- Use the “Optimize Now” button in Device care > Storage to have the system reduce app sizes.
- Check for app updates, which may include size reductions.
- In Settings > Apps, sort by size and delete old app versions you don’t use.
- Clear residual files after major Android system updates.
Offload Unused Apps
The “Offload unused apps” feature in Settings is handy for removing apps you don’t use often while keeping their documents and data. Offloaded apps appear grayed out in your app drawer. To reinstall them, just tap on the app again when needed.
Delete Cached and Residual Files
Leftover cached and residual files from the operating system can build up over time. You can safely delete these to recover storage space.
Go to Settings > General management > Reset and tap “Reset app preferences” and “Clear cached data.” This will wipe these temporary files without deleting anything important.
Reduce Animation Effects
The animated transitions and effects when navigating your Galaxy device require processing power and storage space for the animation files. To reclaim some space:
- Go to Settings > Developer options.
- Turn off the following animation options:
- Window animation scale
- Transition animation scale
- Animator duration scale
Your phone’s interface will now feel snappier too!
Clear Log Files and Reports
Diagnostic log files and reports generated by the Android system and apps can safely be deleted to recover storage:
- Go to Settings > General management > Reset > Auto-restart.
- Tap “Delete all bug reports” and “Delete log files.”
This will wipe these space-hogging technical files without impacting your personal data or apps.
Clear Google Play Services Cache
The Google Play services app manages a lot of background tasks but can build up a bloated cache. To trim this down:
- Open Settings and search for Google Play services.
- Tap Storage & cache > Clear cache.
This quickly frees up valuable storage on your Galaxy.
Remove Bloatware Apps
Bloatware refers to unnecessary apps that come pre-installed on your Galaxy. Safely uninstall or disable any of these apps you don’t need:
- MSN News
- Samsung Global Goals
- Galaxy Wearable
- Samsung TV Plus
- AR Zone
This can potentially give you back over 1 GB of storage if you remove several bloated apps.
Clear Text Message Attachments
Large files received via text can take up space in your messaging app storage. To clear these out:
- Open the Messages app.
- Tap the three dots > Settings > Text messages.
- Tap “Clear attachments” to remove files.
Compress System Files
The Android system uses storage space for compressed files to optimize performance. You can have it compress these files again to save space:
- Go to Settings > Developer options.
- Turn on “Recompress system apps.”
This will take some time but can recover gigabytes of space on your Galaxy storage.
Clear All App Cache Files
Instead of clearing cached data for individual apps, you can wipe it for all apps at once. Just go to Settings > General management > Reset and tap “Reset app preferences.”
This one-tap solution frees up gigs of cached storage used by your apps.
Format SD Card
If you’re still running out of internal phone storage, formatting your SD card can help optimize it for maximum space. Back up the SD card files first, then:
- Go to Settings > Device care > Storage.
- Tap your SD card name.
- Tap Format and confirm.
This will wipe the SD card and reformat it for optimal storage capacity.
Update to Latest Android Version
Major Android OS updates like One UI 5 can include file size optimizations, allowing you to reclaim storage. Ensure your Galaxy is updated to the latest Android version.
Go to Settings > Software update and download any available updates for your device. The latest updates will help your system run leaner.
Reduce Display Resolution
Your phone’s display consumes storage for high-resolution image assets. To reclaim space:
- Go to Settings > Display.
- Lower the screen resolution from high values like QHD+ down to Full HD+ or lower.
This reduces the resolution of UI elements and images, allowing the system to use lower resolution assets and textures.
Toggle Adaptive Storage
Adaptive storage is a feature that combines your internal storage and SD card into one volume. Turn this off to optimize storage on your Galaxy:
- Go to Settings > Device care > Storage.
- Tap your SD card name.
- Turn off Use as internal storage.
With adaptive storage off, your phone can better manage storage across the separate drives.
Delete Downloads Folder
Your Downloads folder is easy to ignore but can be filled with random files you already used and no longer need. Periodically deleting the entire folder is an easy way to mass clear these.
Just tap and hold on the Downloads folder, then select Delete. This single action can reclaim gigabytes of storage.
Conclusion
Running out of storage space on your Samsung Galaxy can be frustrating.
Thankfully, with some diligent maintenance and adopting smarter storage habits, you can reclaim plenty of space for your apps and files.
Make use of cloud backups, external SD storage and other optimization tips outlined here to keep your Galaxy storage worries at bay.
