# Phone is "out of space". it's "full". Full of what!? NEED HELP



## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 8, 2017)

*TL;DR on bottom.*

i've had my LG Escape2 (shit phone, i know...) for about a year now and i've never been able to DO anything with it. Luckily, i haven't needed or had much desire to download and install mass amounts of apps, games or whatever. it's only got 8 gigs of onboard storage but i thought that would be enough.

it's not.

The ONLY apps i've ever installed that didn't come pre-loaded is a Firefox, a tiny app for ripping YouTube videos that i haven't used more than once, VLC, a basic podcast player, chiptune player and ArtFow, a super-basic drawing application. All together, _i've installed less than 100Mb on this shite phone's internal storage_. i also have a 32Gb SD card for art storage (<500Mb), music (mostly chiptune, so tiny) and photos i've taken which is fewer than 50 pics altogether. There's _truckloads_ of space on my SD but the phone refuses to let me install apps and stuff there.

Now (and forever) my bitch of a phone is constantly complaining about being "_full_". "_No free space for updates_", she says. "_Delete some stuff_", she says.

*Delete WHAT!? There's nothing to delete!*

i've installed CCleaner, cleared up cache, manually cleaned files, moved whatever i could to the SD card and there's nothing left i could possibly move or delete. _All the AT&T bloatware bullshit is required_ for my phone to operate apparently because every single app is synchronized with every other app and if i disable, uninstall or disable updates on ANY of them, my phone's basic operations cease to function. -Even though i have (preloaded) two different map applications, three address books, four camera/video conferencing apps and countless others i have hidden from view due to screen clutter.

There's an LG address book, an AT&T address book, a Google address book and a basic contacts list for phone numbers. WHY!?!?!?!? if i get rid of any of these things, my phone will implode!!

Keep in mind: if i delete, uninstall or otherwise disable ANY of these AT&T or Google apps OR their updates, my phone will cease to work and/or pester me about updating each and every fucking application. Every 30 seconds my phone complains that "_This apps need to be updated!_", "_This app and its updates are required for X to function!_". i haven't even used or plan to use any of these stupid apps but after deleting even just one or two of them a few months ago, my phone bugged out and started pestered me NONSTOP about reinstalling them. One address book app automatically downloaded and "updated" my contacts with _old phone numbers_ for family, added 50+ coworkers and people i don't even talk to anymore and added 100+ addresses to my contacts list of old ebay sellers, FurBid buyers and art commission from the early 2000's. Why do i need the email address for some dub fuck i bought a toaster from 12 years ago!? it fucked my WHOLE DAY up because i had to manually clean out each and every one of them. i disabled the offending app and it crippled every other function on my goddamn phone! i couldn't use wifi hotspots around town, location data stopped working, my email client crapped out, etc.

So i had to turn it all back on and here we are...

What's the point of having a phone if the software included and required for the phone's function is going to use every kilobyte of space? What good is a Google Play store if i can't download anything with it!?!? i realize that operating system, backup roms and system files are required but the phone's software claims that it only takes 5.2Gb of storage...supposedly. i've done everything i can to clean this thing out and make space for these "required updates" but it's simply never enough. ...EVER.

-

*TL;DR - My 8Gb phone is "out of space" and i've installed all of 100Mb of shit to it EVER. i've cleaned it out both with automated software and manually. No luck. Of 8Gb, this shit phone has a whopping 30Mb free. Apps are begging to be updated and some are refusing to run altogether because i'm out of space.*

*PLEASE HELP!*


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## Fuzzylumkin (Nov 9, 2017)

honestly, a lot of that is bloatwear, when you get a phone, its got say... 8 gigs... well generally at least half of that is full of pre built programs that can not be removed or uninstalled, all sorts of useless crap. its actually crazy easy to fill up a phone like that. You can sometimes help the situation by disabling programs than uninstalling updates on them


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## EmpressCiela (Nov 10, 2017)

Have you tried rooting your phone? I have a Samsung Galaxy stardust with 8GB of total space (minus the SD Card) and I had that exact same problem for a while. I could really only have 2 or maybe 3 downloaded apps before things started not updating and my RAM usage was nearing 100%. Rooting is a risky process for a number of reasons, but it allows absolute control over your phone by bypassing the restrictions placed on it by the factory creators. For instance, you can remove all the bloatware (pre-installed apps) from your phone just as easily as you could any other app.


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## -..Legacy..- (Nov 10, 2017)

Your phone needs the space, to be able to transfer data packets to the SIM

You're trying to shove a bowling ball through a straw at this point.


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## Deleted member 82554 (Nov 10, 2017)

Root.
Custom ROM.
Profit.

You'll find that not even 16GB is enough these days.


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## Simo (Nov 10, 2017)

Bring a pot of water to boiling.

Immerse phone.

Boil for 20 minutes, or until tender.

Then, it will work.


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 11, 2017)

Simo said:


> Bring a pot of water to boiling.
> 
> Immerse phone.
> 
> ...


Do i need to salt the water?


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## modfox (Nov 11, 2017)

too mutch yiff


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## Simo (Nov 11, 2017)

PlusThirtyOne said:


> Do i need to salt the water?



Oh, yes, as you would for pasta! Forgot to mention this key step!


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 13, 2017)

AkuroZinnui said:


> Have you tried rooting your phone?





Mr. Fox said:


> Root.



Believe me, if i had the confidence, i'd totally try it. Problem is, last time i fucked with a phone like that, i börk it. i don't wanna go through all that crap again...



modfox said:


> too mutch yiff



Nah, man, that's all on the SD card. Besides, i don't collect. *i create*. That's like...90% of what i draw on my phone but the pile comes close to half a jigga-bite.


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## Deleted member 82554 (Nov 13, 2017)

PlusThirtyOne said:


> Believe me, if i had the confidence, i'd totally try it. Problem is, last time i fucked with a phone like that, i börk it. i don't wanna go through all that crap again.


LOL I just recently "borked" my one too, sent it back to get fixed. That's why you buy a phone that is developer friendly, like OnePlus or Google. Samsung isn't terrible either.


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 13, 2017)

Mr. Fox said:


> OnePlus


Never heard of 'em but it sounds...familiar. -And somehow fitting.


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## Deleted member 82554 (Nov 13, 2017)

PlusThirtyOne said:


> Never heard of 'em but it sounds...familiar. -And somehow fitting.


They're a chinese OEM that basically set the benchmark for affordability and features in the smartphone market and is renowned for their developer friendly phones, the nerds speak highly of them. But that's the risk with any phone and development, you really have to do your homework before flashing custom ROMs, rooting, bootloaders, using half-baked tools, etc. I mean, I'm running OmniRom (KitKat) on my old S3 MINI while my other one gets fixed and it's been a fairly solid experience minus a few gripes. Tried a few versions of Nougat but the phone is a bit to dated to handle it, unless the devs can pull a rabbit out of their ass and get it running well.


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## Pipistrele (Nov 13, 2017)

Mr. Fox said:


> Root.
> Custom ROM.
> Profit.


Warranty void. Long-term regret.
As a 7 years long Android user, I'll also say installing Custom ROMs on the phone isn't the smartest idea if you don't _really_ know what you're doing (as in _absolutely, most certainly, positively_ know what and why you're doing, in which case OP would already install the thing anyway). You can brick your phone up, you can install a shitty ROM, you can have problems with IMEI numbers being erased and antennas not working, and since every phone/tablet has its own set of available ROMs, it's not even always that you have a good, stable custom one for your model in the first place.
I would refrain from giving people potentially harmful advices.

@PlusThirtyOne Have you tried to transfer data from phone to an SD card? There's a function in phone settings for that - your apps will still be on a phone, but all the additional data will be transfered to an SD card, which should free up a lot of system space in your situation.


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## Deleted member 82554 (Nov 13, 2017)

Pipistrele said:


> Warranty void. Long-term regret.


Depends.



Pipistrele said:


> As a 7 years long Android user, I'll also say installing Custom ROMs on the phone isn't the smartest idea if you don't _really_ know what you're doing (as in _absolutely, most certainly, positively_ know what and why you're doing, in which case OP would already install the thing anyway). You can brick your phone up, you can install a shitty ROM, you can have problems with IMEI numbers being erased and antennas not working, and since every phone/tablet has its own set of available ROMs, it's not even always that you have a good, stable custom one for your model in the first place.
> I would refrain from giving people potentially harmful advices.



It's only harmful advice if you don't know what you're doing, that's why I suggested developer friendly phones. And depending on who and how many are developing any specific ROM determines the quality. It's always best to stick to big name ROMS with a reputable community, not ones that people that are just learning about android develope.


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## Pipistrele (Nov 13, 2017)

Mr. Fox said:


> Nope, I never messed with the bootloader, recovery, never rooted and it was an official ROM that fucked up my phone, so I should be good.


The rule of thumb is that if your phone is so incompetent at doing basic stuff that you need to mess around with ROMs and superuser access to make it usable, it's much better to just go and ask for a refund or a replacement. I did that a couple of times, in fact.



> It's only harmful advice if you don't know what you're doing, that's why I suggested developer friendly phones. And depending on who and how many are developing any specific ROM determines the quality. It's always best to stick to big name ROMS with a reputable community, not ones that people that are just learning about android develope.


I don't see how "developer friendly" phones are any harder to brick or screw up (in fact, due to vast array of options, it's even kind of easier). They just give you a bit more freedom with warranty - manufacturers of DF phones won't mind if you root them or mess around with bootloader, but if you actually screw your phone by messing around with software, they still have the right to say "No, it's your fault, now keep this brick to yourself". And as for custom ROMs, it's not like with desktop operating systems, where you can just install Windows/Linux and it'll work just fine on any PC - different ROMs have different required tweaks and hidden dangers with different models, which is why installing even reputable ROMs may require a lot of knowledge. I remember accidentally erasing my IMEI numbers when installing Cyanogen (probably the "reputablest" of them all, yet I still messed my phone up), by just forgetting to click one of the checkboxes in a list of 30-40 of those. Sure, it was my fault, but that's just saying that the process is complicated and varies a lot between different models, sometimes even finding the right instruction is a chore.

(Also, Samsung phones are horrible for developing and modding - rooting the things is a pain in the ass, and warranty is tight as an asshole of a scared person)


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## Deleted member 82554 (Nov 13, 2017)

Pipistrele said:


> The rule of thumb is that if your phone is so incompetent at doing basic stuff that you need to mess around with ROMs and superuser access to make it usable, it's much better to just go and ask for a refund or a replacement. I did that a couple of times, in fact.



Or that people want full control over the phone they paid for to extend the lifespan and use of it. Like, the ability to remove carrier and manufacturer bloatware and free up more space, or the ability to install a system wide ad-blocker to reduce the risk of malware, or new ROMs that have the latest security patches to ward of Stagefright. There are a multitude of reasons why modifying your phone is beneficial, but as stated it all comes with a potential risk. Research, research, research. 



Pipistrele said:


> I don't see how "developer friendly" phones are any harder to brick or screw up (in fact, due to vast array of options, it's even kind of easier).



Developer friendly phones are harder to brick because there are fewer restrictions put in place (mostly with the bootloader and unlocking) and OEMs generally release the necessary sources and tools to develop for that specific device, instead of leaving it up to the devs to build them from the ground up with very little reference and port patches from previous android versions to make something work in newer ones which also carries a risk.



Pipistrele said:


> And as for custom ROMs, it's not like with desktop operating systems, where you can just install Windows/Linux and it'll work just fine on any PC



Actually, Linux in and of itself can still be a bit finicky too and still requires certain hardware to run at it's best, abeit support has gotten better.



Pipistrele said:


> *I remember accidentally erasing my IMEI numbers* when installing Cyanogen (probably the "reputablest" of them all, yet I still messed my phone up), by just forgetting to click one of the checkboxes in a list of 30-40 of those.



You didn't backup your EFS and Modem, did you? That's where that important info is stored and provided you used TWRP, it's simple to backup and restore. And in Cyanogens defence, they were a lot better before they sold out. Cyanogen goes by the name "Lineage" now anyway and has gotten better.



Pipistrele said:


> different ROMs have different required tweaks and hidden dangers with different models, which is why installing even reputable ROMs may require a lot of knowledge.



Yes I'm well aware of the implications with custom ROMs from matching them to your device model and version to matching them with your baseband and region.



Pipistrele said:


> They just give you a bit more freedom with warranty - manufacturers of DF phones won't mind if you root them or mess around with bootloader, *but if you actually screw your phone by messing around with software, they still have the right to say "No, it's your fault, now keep this brick to yourself"*.



Not according to OnePlus with the OP3, they'll still honor your warranty with custom ROMs provided that the fault was not caused by it. Don't believe me, dig through the articles on XDA and Reddit, sure you'll find it somewhere.



Pipistrele said:


> (Also, Samsung phones are horrible for developing and modding - rooting the things is a pain in the ass, and warranty is tight as an asshole of a scared person)



I don't know what to tell you man, the custom binary count on my S3 MINI is at 39, and I have never had any major issues with any of those ROMs, not to mention that most newer ROMs come pre-rooted nowadays anyway. And if you have to root, "Magisk" is a lot more better than most conventional forms of rooting now, like with Chainfires "SuperSU". However, due to Samsung KNOX, it does make modifying their phones a little more troublesome, and rooting in general is a lot more difficult now due to the implementation of systemless and Android, an area where Magisk can help over more conventional rooting methods. So, phone and OEM isn't entirely to blame, some of that goes to Google.


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## Pipistrele (Nov 13, 2017)

Mr. Fox said:


> Or that people want full control over the phone they paid for to extend the lifespan and use of it. Like, the ability to remove carrier and manufacturer bloatware and free up more space, or the ability to install a system wide ad-blocker to reduce the risk of malware, or new ROMs that have the latest security patches to ward of Stagefright. There are a multitude of reasons why modifying your phone is beneficial, but as stated it all comes with a potential risk. Research, research, research.


There's nothing I could disagree with, it's just that we're not talking about a tech geek who wants to pack his phone full of adblockers and security patches, but about a person who just wants to free up some memory, in which case giving an advice to root the device and sacrifice warranty is not really a good one. It's like if someone asks me how to set up a Wi-Fi router, and I'll overclock his CPU instead.



> Developer friendly phones are harder to brick because there are fewer restrictions put in place (mostly with the bootloader and unlocking) and OEMs generally release the necessary sources and tools to develop for that specific device, instead of leaving it up to the devs to build them from the ground up with very little reference and port patches from previous android versions to make something work in newer ones which also carries a risk.
> You didn't backup your EFS and Modem, did you? That's where that important info is stored and provided you used TWRP, it's simple to backup and restore. And in Cyanogens defence, they were a lot better before they sold out. Cyanogen goes by the name "Lineage" now anyway and has gotten better.
> Yes I'm well aware of the implications with custom ROMs from matching them to your device model and version to matching them with your baseband and region.


I did backup the stuff, which is why I still use the device. My point was that the process itself is complicated, dangerous in wrong hands, and a bit of an overkill for solving the storage problem, at least until we get all the other methods. I don't diss the custom ROMs, and in fact, I use one, I just disliked the know-it-all tone - like, "Hey, you're having storage problems? Just root you device and install the ROM, you dum-dum". Does he really need all that stuff? As far as we know from the opening post, the guy is a casual user.



> Actually, Linux in and of itself can still be a bit finicky too and still requires certain hardware to run at it's best, abeit support has gotten better.


Not to the point of potentially breaking the hardware permanently, and there are a lot of self-installing distros too, be it Ubuntu or Debian.



> Not according to OnePlus with the OP3, they'll still honor your warranty with custom ROMs provided that the fault was not caused by it. Don't believe me, dig through the articles on XDA and Reddit, sure you'll find it somewhere.


With OnePlus, maybe, but even with that in mind, as appealing as it is, buying phones from second-rate chinese brands like OnePlus, Micromax or Xiaomi is a crapshoot in itself - they tend to be less stable, have more long-term problems with hardware, can bring you problems out-of-the-box (bought a cheap teXet phone for devs, it came with broken 3.5 jack, had to return the thing), it's not unusual for them to die by itself after year or two of use (I'll recommend to dig through the articles on XDA or Reddit). For actual developer, having a mod-friendly phone is a useful thing. For an ordinary user, it's definitely better to have something more stable and time-proven, be it Samsung, Nexus or LG.


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## Deleted member 82554 (Nov 13, 2017)

Pipistrele said:


> There's nothing I could disagree with, it's just that we're not talking about a tech geek who wants to pack his phone full of adblockers and security patches, but about a person who just wants to free up some memory, in which case giving an advice to root the device and sacrifice warranty is not really a good one. It's like if someone asks me how to set up a Wi-Fi router, and I'll overclock his CPU instead.



We don't even know if his phone is still under warranty, and rooting carries far less risk than physically changing the operating system, a benefit of which with some custom ROMs allows adoptable storage, a lifesaver if your phone has limited storage, an external SD and your stock ROM doesn't support it by default.

As far as rooting goes, you'd be surprised how easy it is for some Android devices. With some you can just use KingoRoot, Install SuperSU from the Play Store, or like with my S3 MINI flash TWRP via Odin and get root that way, no unlocking needed. But, as mentioned above, there are risks, and it's up to the end user to know what he or she is doing, but if the pros outweigh the cons and the risk then it's a win win situation if successful.



Pipistrele said:


> I don't diss the custom ROMs, and in fact, I use one, I just disliked the know-it-all tone - like, "Hey, you're having storage problems? Just root you device and install the ROM, you dum-dum". Does he really need all that stuff? As far as we know from the opening post, the guy is a casual user.



I really want to disagree with this, but you're kind of right. There is a lot of elitism in the Android dev community and if you don't know something people are often reluctant to help, and even downright criticize you for it, but not everyone is like that provided you have at least made some effort to help yourself first.



Pipistrele said:


> Not to the point of potentially breaking the hardware permanently, and there are a lot of self-installing distros too, be it Ubuntu or Debian.



The only time I've ever recalled of someone physically breaking their device is by flashing custom ROMs to the point where they've corrupted their NAND or are using a modified kernel to overclock. Other than the aforementioned, it's usually a software issue and is often fixable provided you have the knowledge and tools.  



Pipistrele said:


> With OnePlus, maybe, but even with that in mind, as appealing as it is, buying phones from second-rate chinese brands like OnePlus, Micromax or Xiaomi is a crapshoot in itself - they tend to be less stable, have more long-term problems with hardware, can bring you problems out-of-the-box (bought a cheap teXet phone for devs, it came with broken 3.5 jack, had to return the thing), it's not unusual for them to die by itself after year or two of use (I'll recommend to dig through the articles on XDA or Reddit). For actual developer, having a mod-friendly phone is a useful thing. For an ordinary user, it's definitely better to have something more stable and time-proven, be it Samsung, Nexus or LG.



Samsung, Nexus and LG aren't exempt from having out-of-the-box and short term problems, either. LG's flagship phones (their G series) are renowned for bootloops, unresponsive touch screens, overheating, connectivity, etc...

Samsung has a plethora of issues ranging from their AMOLED panels and dead pixels, inaccurate colours, exploding batteries, etc...

Nexus is also know for bootloops, bluetooth connectivity issues and poor build quality too.


If anything, China is really picking up the slack in the smartphone market and offering something that is not only affordable, but is feature rich and of decent build quality, that's not to say that they don't spit out a few crap products every now and then, just don't buy cheap junk and research before purchasing.


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 14, 2017)

Pipistrele said:


> Have you tried to transfer data from phone to an SD card?


Already done. Like i said, i've only installed a modest handful of apps of less than 100MB (bytes, not bits; i'm a moron). i moved whatever i could to the SD card but the space saved was negligible. Every possible app, file, whatever has been moved over to the SD card, which was unfortunately not a lot because the phone won't let me move any of the bloatware BS it came with. -And like (i think) i said before, i can't uninstall any of their updates without losing functions or being harassed to update them again.

Also, FAF didn't notify me of the mention, thus the late reply.


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## Pipistrele (Nov 14, 2017)

PlusThirtyOne said:


> Already done. Like i said, i've only installed a modest handful of apps of less than 100MB (bytes, not bits; i'm a moron). i moved whatever i could to the SD card but the space saved was negligible. Every possible app, file, whatever has been moved over to the SD card, which was unfortunately not a lot because the phone won't let me move any of the bloatware BS it came with. -And like (i think) i said before, i can't uninstall any of their updates without losing functions or being harassed to update them again.
> 
> Also, FAF didn't notify me of the mention, thus the late reply.


Huh, I see. Welp, it's kinda weird - I mean, you cannot transfer bloatware apps themselves, but as far as I know, your phone at least should allow you to transfer the data to SD card (and it's usually the data that eats up all the memory). I know that's an annoying and rather dumb question, but did you do it the right way? Like, "Settings => Apps", then clicking on the app and changing "Storage Used" option from internal to external storage. If that doesn't work, try to install some lightweight storage analyzer from Google Play ( this one does a good job) and see what folders are the most bloated - that way, you'll probably detect the app that brings you the biggest problems.


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## Butt_Ghost (Nov 18, 2017)

I've got this issue on my samsung S5. It built up over time so I'd imagine a factory reset would fix it but who can honestly be bothered to do that. In any storage analyzer it says there's 14gb of space taken up but if I add up the separate categories it comes out to about 8gb of used space. There's 6 gbs of mystery space being taken up. It's pretty bizarre.


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