'Insufficient Storage' Error: Reasons Why and How to Fix It on Android
Memory and storage in recent phones have never been better thanks to bigger and bigger space each year. We are seeing how each smartphone vendors keep innovating by bringing you bigger and better space in their latest phone. However, insufficient storage can happen to anyone, and perhaps it is happening to you right now. We know how it sometimes can be troublesome as you wouldn't be able to take pictures, videos, and even download your favorite apps.
If you are getting 'insufficient storage' error, you might find this article useful as I will share with you some things that might have contributed to the cause of why you are running out of storage and how you can free up more space in your smartphone.
Reasons Why You Got 'Insufficient Storage' Error
You stored too many files
We know storing files on your smartphone can often be convenient as you can access your files in anytime and from anywhere you like. You may also store anything from pictures, videos, and even files related to your work. However, while you keep storing new files on your phone, you might have missed a clue that your phone's storage space is depleting for each file you store.
Although it is often noticeable when you save big files on your phone, you should be aware that smaller files in massive quantities can also deplete your storage in a way more than you think. To see how much you have occupied the storage in your phone, you may go to settings and look for the storage option or you may simply go to your file manager and see how much space you have left in your storage.
You installed too many apps
Installing an app from the app store has never been easier than in recent smartphones and it often may only take a few taps from downloading the desirable app of yours. However, it is also easy for you to overlook the number of apps that you might have installed and simply forget. These numerous unused and neglected apps unfortunately are taking up quite a lot of storage space and it might even take up your RAM resources and possibly slow your phone down.
There are too many temporary and cache files
You might have not noticed this but your phone is regularly producing temporary and cache files in order to work properly. These files typically take in form of small, randomly generated names, and usually come in massive quantities. However, these files could take up too much space that they can become junk files and therefore, take up memory and space from your Android smartphone.
How to fix 'Insufficient Storage' Error
In order for you to keep your phone away from being notified insufficient storage, you basically need to free up the storage from your phone. There are quite a number of ways for you to make more space in your phone.
Manually deleting your files
The first way for you to make more spaces in your phone is to manually delete files. You may do this by using the File Manager app that usually already come within your system right out of the box. However, there are plenty of best third-party file manager apps which come with useful built-in features that you might want to consider using.
Uninstall unused apps
As easy as it is to download an app, it is even easier for you to uninstall your unused apps. The easiest way for you to do it is to tap and hold onto the unused app and there will be an option to delete it. A more complex but comprehensive way for you to delete the unused apps is to open your settings and then select the Apps option and then there will be a menu where you can choose to Manage Apps. Although it is gonna be a bit more complicated, it is useful to use the latter as it will show you all the data and insights before you make a decision to uninstall such as how often you're using the app and even how much storage does the app take in your storage.
Clear your phone cache
As you might have already known by now, your phone's cache might be taking a chunk of your storage and the only way for you to get rid of it is to clear those caches away from your phone. The way for you to do it might be different from one manufacturer to another but the basic is the same: go to settings and then go to the Storage section. There you'll find a data labeled cache and then you may proceed to clear the phone's cache. However, if you still find it difficult to clear your phone cache by yourself, you should consider trying the next method.
Use a cache cleaner
If clearing your phone's cache sounds like a lot to you, consider using a phone cleaner. Do not get deceived, there is no physical cleaning of your phone involved. Instead, it is an application that helps you clean all the unwanted and unused stuff including garbage files and caches in your phone, ruling out all the hassle for you. In most apps, you are also in control of what things you want to keep and what things you want to get rid of. However, if you are confused about which apps you should get, here is our take on the best cache cleaner available on Play Store.
Use an SD card
When you have tried every method available and yet are still getting the 'Insufficient Storage' error, perhaps you should extend your storage with an external SD card and put all your personal files there. However, this could only apply to you if your phone has an extra slot for an SD card in your sim tray.
Conclusion
There are quite a few reasons why you are getting 'Insufficient Storage' error which generally are due to excessive personal files, apps, and garbage files or cache. If you are wishing to fix the error, you may need to delete and clean all the unwanted files and apps up until the point where you have sufficient available space in your smartphone. If you have done everything to make up more storage in your phone and yet it doesn't get solved, you might want to consider extending your storage with an SD card or even consider upgrading your phone with larger storage.
