spotify or android? Unable to move the spotify app to the SD card.

[xankax]

I have an htc desire 500 cellphone and I am unable to move the spotify app to the SD card. Who's to blame, spotify or htc? I have had both an htc desire HD and an htc rhyme before, and no issues with spotify. Now I am reconsidering my spotify premium and quite angry, because I am unable to get my music on my phone. I have read a billion forum posts on several issues, but can't quite see one that fits my issue. 
Anyone else?

[Peter__]

When you install Spotify (or more accurately when the cache is created) the application will choose the storage location of its data cache based on whichever storage location in your phone has more free space (so internal vs SD card).

Does your internal memory have more free space than your SD card? 

[xankax]

No it doesn't, my phone storage is 4gb, my sd card is 32 gb.. I've cleared cache, done system updates, removed data, unmounted and remounted the sd card, uninstalled and reinstalled the spotify app.. and nothing works..I'm just not able to move the app, which is what I did on my previous cellphones. And it's the only way I know I have been able to get the downloaded playlists stored on the SD card before..Notice how the option to Move is not activated. And thanks for trying to help 🙂

[Joe]

Let's not confuse things. The Spotify app can't be moved to an external SD card unless you root your phone. I think what you're wanting to do is to have the cache which contains the music to be stored in your external SD card and that, as Peter said, should happen automatically as long as your external SD card had more free space than your internal storage.

Are you saying that the spotify cache isn't on your external SD card? 

[xankax]

I have nothing spotify related in my sd card, I've just checked. I also set streaming and downloading to extreme quality like someone said, it didn't work. I have 29 free gb on my sd card, because spotify wants to fill my 4gb phonespace. What I did on previous cellphones when the phone memory was filling up, was to use the option to move an app to the sd card, to free space. No idea if that's rooting or what, but nothing I tried so far, will let me download my playlists so I can use them offline.. 

[Joe]

Could you try these steps:

• Uninstall spotify
• Using a file explorer app on your device, or your computer with your device connected over USB:

1. Look for a folder called com.spotify.mobile.android.ui
2. It's usually located in \Phone\Android\data\ (or in the folder you chose on your SD card when you started Spotify the first time)
3. Delete the com.spotify.mobile.android.ui folder(s)

• Reinstall spotify from Google Play

[xankax]

Ok, I removed the app again and there is no such folder in my phone memory, anywhere. 

[jeffcollier]

I'm curious: what features in the Android Spotify keep you from letting us move it to the SD card in the applications/manage apps frame the xankax noted above? I can move many (but not all) apps from the phone to the card on my unrooted LG Optimus V (Android 2.2.1). Opera Mini (web browser) and Google's My Tracks are two examples.

My problem is that my internal storage is very low. I'm down to about 20M (that M is /not/ a typo...) before I downloaded the app.

So, I'm still confused: It's clear that not all apps require you to root your phone in order to move them to the SD card. In fact, my rudimentary research locates a developer's blog entry  that seems to say it's only a matter of a switch in the manifest.

Is it really just a switch? Is there something special that Spotify needs to prevents an install on an external card?

[Joe]

I'm not a programmer but my understanding is that current android versions do allow developers to enable their app to be moved to the external SD card without needing to root the phone. Why Spotify won't/haven't enabled this could be down to the way the music is protected in terms of DRM or maybe the app would just run too sowly from extrnal storage.

My guess is as good as yours 🙂

[beckywood1991]

I have also had the same problem with my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 phone, no it's not your phone, by the looks of it unfortunately it is Spotify, you look anywhere on the net and loads of people are having the same problem. I hope this matter get's resolved and fast too!

[Joe]

Have youtried the steps in the FAQ?

[Thunderkitty]

I've tried all steps mentioned in every single forum I found... nothing help. I have the same problem!

So

1) I've deleted all data and cache

2) unistalled spotify

3) Connected the phone to the pc and looked for the com.spotify.mobile.android.ui folder (or anythign spotify related) and there's no such folder.

4) turned of the device, removed the battery, the sim card and the sd card (some forums asked for that even if I think it makes no sense - still doesn't hurt to follow those steps)

5) Turned on the device and re-installed Spotify.

6) 4gb free space vs 29gb free space on sd card. Spotify chooses device storage.

Anyone resolved the mystery yet?

I'm on a Samsung Galaxy s4 mini (GT-I9195 - Android Version 4.2.2) with Spotify version 0.7.9.1170

HELP! 😄

Thanks!!!

[Peter__]

Just wondering what filesystem is your SD card formatted to @Thunderkitty ?

[Thunderkitty]

Hi @Peter

FAT32

Do you want me to format it to some other filesystem?

[Peter__ · Accepted solution]

I think that should be fine!

@Joe any ideas?

[Joe · Accepted solution]

Why do you think the spotify cache isn't on your external SD card? If you play a track is there not a com.spotify.mobile.android.ui folder under \Android on your external SD card? What you can't do is to actually move the spotify app to an external SD card.

[Thunderkitty]

Mmm thought so because I actually thought that the app was to be moved to the SD card. 

Ok, let me download some playlists and I'll get to back to you with the result. Also, in the "Applications Management" it says that the storage on the SD card was 0,00B. But some songs are already downloading and I don't see the total storage on the device going up (nor the sd storage)

I'll let you know in a bit!!

Thanks both for your help!! 

[Thunderkitty · Accepted solution]

Ok, so you guys were absolutely right!!

Even if the app itself it's still on the device's memory, the lists are saved in the SD Card. Though the only way to know that (at least in my device) is to check that the sd card has less free space than when you started to synchronize the lists. In the "App Manager" it still says that the Spotify app has a total amount of 0,00B of data storaged in the SD Card.

Thanks for everything!!!

[zuz]

I had the same problem and I made these steps: downloaded spotify app from web (look for "spotify.apk"), moved to SD card and then install it straight from SD card.

This actually works 🙂

[Joe]

@zuz the app is still installed in main memory. Sounds like a convoluted way to get the same result 🙂