Streaming cache always on internal storage?

[voice_of_reason]

I'm running Marshmallow 6.0 on a Moto X Play. From a clean installation, I have storage set to 'SD card' in the new Storage menu. I have never downloaded anything, I've only ever streamed. Spotify seems to be successfully using the SD card to store its streaming cache - it's steadily increased to about 3Gb of SD card storage now.

However it's also using 3Gb of internal storage.

Is that normal? It's definitely using the SD card to cache, so why has it *also* used the same amount (3Gb) of internal storage?

[voice_of_reason]

Nobody got any ideas?

Can anyone who is successfully using their SD card for storage confirm if they are *also* seeing large amounts of internal storage being used by Spotify?

[osornios]

I'm also on a Moto X Play. How is your Spotify storage divided?

Mine shows:

Total 2.99 GB

App 50.12 MB

Data 2.95 GB

Cache 7.67 MB

I have mine with internal storage, but I was curious what yours showed.

[voice_of_reason]

Yes, that's exactly what mine shows for internal storage. I've lost just under 3Gb of internal storage due to Spotify's data. This *must* be the streaming cache, because I've never downloaded anything.

What I don't understand is - why have I *also* lost 3Gb of SD card storage? Every time I stream, I lose a bit more SD card storage (as I would expect), but my internal storage is holding steady at 3Gb - that doesn't seem to increase any more now it's reached just under 3Gb. When I look under Spotify's settings, in the 'Storage' menu option, it tells me Spotify is using 3Gb of space on my SD card.

I asked Spotify support, and they told me that the streaming cache will *always* sit in your internal storage. I don't think that's true, based on the above.

I don't understand why I have to lose so much storage space both on my phone *and* SD card when I don't even download anything?

What's the point of being able to select SD card as the stoarge location if I'm still going to lose nearly a whole third of my phone's internal storage (the Moto X Play only has about 11Gb!).

[osornios]

How about formating the SD to be seen as internal?

With a Class 10 card, it could work.

I'm not suggesting for you to do it, but it could be a possible solution.

[voice_of_reason]

Yes, I did consider it. Although now I have a bigger problem. I've cleared the Spotify cache and data, uninstalled it, checked to make sure there are no Spotify folders left anywhere on internal storage, but it hasn't freed up the 3Gb of internal storage. It *has* removed the 3Gb from the SD card though.

In fact, my 'available internal storage' calculation in the 'Storage & USB' menu is now broken (it wasn't broken before I uninstalled Spotify). The space taken up by 'Apps' has successully decreased by 3Gb, but the overall 'available storage' hasn't changed. So all the components that make up internal storage (apps, music, videos, cached data, etc.), added together, no longer equal the total used.

I've installed a few different file managers and Disk Usage apps, and they all report that it's 'System Data' taking up the 3Gb - which you can't inspect the contents of.

Add it's not the Android OS taking up that space either. Out of my total 16Gb of internal storage, 5.11Gb is listed as 'Android OS', so I have 10.89Gb of AVAILABLE internal storoage. And it's from the 10.89Gb that I've 'lost' the 3Gb.

I'm 99.9% sure it's Spotify that's broken it. It's cached data somewhere other than the 'usual' places, and I can't find it or delete it.

[Daniel]

Spotify cache goes to: /Android/data/com.spotify.mobile

I've always found the detail shown by Android app settings is never correct and it sometimes treats cache on the SD card as internal and calculates it as such.

Try using something like ES File Explorer and the DiskAnalyser tool in the app to check where your large files actually are located.


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop

[voice_of_reason]

Thanks. Yes, I've done all that already. As mentioned, i can't locate the large files. ES File Explorer categorises the 'lost' data as 'Other', and the DiskUsage app classes it as 'System Data' which you can't view.

My phone is 16Gb.

Android OS = 5.11Gb

Therefore total available stoarge = 10.89Gb

Apps = 2.93Gb

Cached data = 1Gb

Everything else is negligible - just Kbs.

The SD card is empty.

And yet total used = 6.93Gb (which, coincidentally, is the sum of the apps and cached data PLUS the 3Gb that Spotify was using but should now have been deleted).

[osornios]

Have you tried installing anything after the Spotify uninstall? Maybe that will correct the 'available storage' discrepancy. The free space should be there for other apps to take.

As a last resort solution,there's always the good ol' soft or hard reset. 🙂

[voice_of_reason]

Unfortuantely installing apps afterwards doesn't make a difference. Having done some more reading, it actually seems to be quite a common problem on Android across multiple handsets. There are plenty of forum posts about people with exactly the same problem. Android has 'blocked' a chunk of storage for whatever reason - some poeple report attaching their phones to a PC and running checkdisk utilities, and it's marked as bad sectors. It seems like the only solution is to back up all your data, format the internal memory and put your data back on again. Or a factory reset is probably easier.

I'll wait to see if my next OS update (6.0.1) fixes the problem. Perhaps refreshing system files during an OS update may fix it.

In the meantime I've fixed the problem in a different way. I got a new 128Gb microSD card and formatted it as adopted internal storage in Marshmallow. Hopefully I shouldn't have any storage space issues now!

[Daniel]

Please make sure to read my post about Adoptable Storage, just FYI really 🙂

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Help-Android/Android-Update-6-x-Marshmallow-amp-Adoptable-Storage/t...

[voice_of_reason]

Thanks for the link. Yes, I made sure I fully understood the pros and cons of using adopted storage before deciding to try it. It's not an issue for me, because I have unlimited 4G and therefore never download anything. I've only ever streamed.

It's also even less of a problem for me now, because, after four years, I've cancelled my subscription and moved over to Google Play Music (sorry!). I like the way it lets you disable caching whilst streaming (and I'm hoping for a YouTube Red subscription at no extra cost when they finally launch it in the UK!). Although, to be fair, you can't download offline playlists to adopted storage on Google Play Music either - it only 'sees' your 'real' internal stoarge - again, not a problem for me as I never download anything.