How do I move files from internal storage to SD card on Samsung?

Moving files between a Samsung device’s internal storage and external SD card is a common task for many users. Offloading files to the SD card helps free up space on the internal storage, while still keeping the files easily accessible. SD cards also allow you to expand the total storage space on your device. This guide provides an overview of the process for transferring files between the internal storage and SD card on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets.

We will cover how to access the file manager, select files to move, copy/cut and paste to transfer the files, confirm the file transfer was successful, and optionally delete the originals. Following these steps allows seamless file management between the internal and external storage on your Samsung device.

Prerequisites

Before transferring files from your Samsung device’s internal storage to an SD card, you’ll need to make sure you have an SD card inserted and that there is enough free storage space on the SD card to hold the files you want to move. Here are the key prerequisites:

SD card inserted into device – Make sure you have an SD card inserted into your Samsung device’s external SD card slot. Your device may have come with an SD card pre-installed, or you may have inserted one yourself. Double check that the card is properly inserted before trying to move files.

Enough storage space on SD card – Check how much free space is available on your SD card before transferring files. You can find this under Settings > Device care > Storage. Make sure there is enough free space on the SD card to accommodate the files you want to move from internal storage. If needed, delete content on the SD card or move items to your computer to free up space.

Accessing My Files

To access the My Files app on your Samsung device, locate the My Files icon in your app drawer or home screen and tap to open it. My Files allows you to view and manage files stored locally on your device as well as on external SD cards or cloud storage services.

When you first open My Files, you will see a folder structure containing:

• Recent files – View recently accessed files
• Categories – File types sorted into Downloads, Images, Videos, Audio, and Documents
• Storage – Internal device storage and any external SD cards
• Cloud services – Connected cloud accounts like OneDrive or Google Drive

You can navigate through the various folders to find your files. Tapping the 3-dot menu in the top right provides additional options like searching, creating new folders, and more.

For more details, see Samsung’s guide on using My Files: https://www.samsung.com/ie/support/mobile-devices/how-to-use-my-files/

Selecting Files

After accessing My Files, you will need to navigate to the files stored on your device’s internal storage that you want to move. The easiest way is to select the Internal Storage folder.

From there, browse and open folders until you find the files you wish to move. Tap and hold on a file to select it. This will highlight the file name and a checkbox will appear next to it to indicate it is selected.

You can select multiple files to move by tapping on each one. A blue checkmark will appear next to each selected file. Tap a selected file again to deselect it.

Once you have chosen all the files you want to move, tap the More options button in the top right (it looks like three vertical dots) and select Move from the menu.

For more detailed instructions with screenshots, check out this guide: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00084130/

Copying Files

Once you have located the files you want to transfer from internal storage to your SD card, you will need to copy them. To copy files on a Samsung device, open the My Files app and navigate to the files you want to copy. Tap and hold on a file to select it, then tap on additional files to select multiple files. Once your files are selected, tap the Copy button at the top of the screen (it looks like two documents stacked).

This will copy the selected files, getting them ready to paste to the new location on your SD card. According to Samsung’s support site, using the Copy function creates a duplicate of the selected files that will remain in the original location even after pasting the copy elsewhere (source). The Copy function does not remove or delete the original files like the Move function does.

Moving Files

To move files from the internal storage to the SD card on a Samsung device, we can use the move function. The move function transfers ownership of a file resource from the source location to the destination, avoiding unnecessary copies. This helps optimize performance and save storage space.

To use the move function for file transfer:

1. Open the My Files app on your Samsung device and navigate to the files you want to move. You can find these in the Internal Storage folder.
2. Long press on the files and select Move from the menu.
3. Choose SD card as the destination location.
4. Tap Move here to begin the file transfer process.

The move function will cut the files from internal storage and paste them directly onto the SD card without making copies. This allows fast and efficient file transfers between storage locations on your Samsung device. The original files in internal storage will be removed after the move.

Compared to copy and paste, the move function avoids duplicating data and frees up valuable storage capacity on your device’s internal memory. It also preserves the original folder structure and filepaths when transferring multiple files. Move is the best way to migrate large amounts of data like photos, videos, and apps to your SD card (source).

Pasting Files

Once you have copied or cut the files you want to transfer from your device’s internal storage to the SD card, you are ready to paste them into the destination folder on the SD card. To paste the files, navigate to the folder on your SD card where you want them copied and tap the Paste icon, which looks like two documents stacked on top of each other.

Pasting the files will move them from your device’s internal storage over to the selected folder on the external SD card. If you used the Copy function, the originals will remain in the source location while a duplicate is created in the destination. If you used Cut, the files will be moved from the original location to the new destination folder.

According to forums on Android Central, when cutting and pasting files between folders on an external SD card, the operation works as expected – the files are moved from the original folder to the newly pasted location ¹. The pasted files will now reside solely on the external SD card.

Once you paste the files, you should see them appear in the destination folder on your SD card, completing the transfer process.

Confirm File Transfer

After moving or copying files to the SD card, it’s important to check that the files were properly transferred. Here are the steps to confirm the file transfer on a Samsung device:

Open the My Files app and navigate to the SD card folder, such as Photos, Music, Documents, etc. Verify that the files you selected to move from internal storage are now present in the SD card folder.

If any files are missing, go back to the internal storage folders and copy/move them again. Check the SD card folder again to confirm.

You can also open the individual files if possible, like photos, songs or documents. This will verify that the entire file contents were moved, not just the folder itself.

Being diligent to check that all selected files were properly transferred to the SD card will ensure you don’t lose anything important during the move process.

Removing Originals

Once you have confirmed the files have successfully transferred over to the SD card, you may want to delete the original files off the internal storage to free up space.

When deleting files off internal storage, it’s important to do so safely and securely. Simply tapping and deleting could leave traces of the files behind that could potentially be recovered. According to The Hazards of File Deletion on Android Devices, specialized software can retrieve deleted files from Android devices even after they have been deleted.

To safely remove the originals from internal storage, use the ‘Secure Delete’ option found in your device’s Files app. This overwrites the data before deletion to prevent recovery. Go to internal storage, select the files you want to remove, press and hold to bring up the menu, choose ‘Delete’, and then select ‘Secure Delete’.

Only once the files have been completely overwritten and securely deleted from internal storage should you proceed to free up space. With the files safely deleted, internal storage space will be freed up.

Conclusion

In summary, transferring files from your Samsung device’s internal storage to an SD card is a straightforward process. The key steps are:

1. Insert the SD card into your device if not already inserted.
2. Open the My Files app and select the files you want to move.
3. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner.
4. Select “Move” from the menu.
5. Choose the SD card as the destination.
6. Allow a few moments for the files to copy over.
7. Open the SD card folder and confirm the files have been transferred.
8. Optionally, you can delete the original files from internal storage to free up space.

Following these simple steps allows you to easily migrate files such as photos, videos, music, and documents off of your Samsung device’s internal storage and onto the external SD card. Just be sure to have a high quality SD card installed for maximum performance.