yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Apps and Games] cheeklitched:
I'm trying to update an app from the Google Play Store but it keeps hanging. Somehow my internal storage is full even though I have most apps on SD card. For an app to update must it use internal storage first?
[Android Apps and Games] tebas91:
Exactly, Google play use internal storage to store downloaded file before install it. I recommend to delete Cache from MOST (if not all) App in your device. it should be enough.

But if it isn't, you can delete "data" from Google Play Service app that quite big (it mostly safe, but not recomended).
[Android Apps and Games] Song0329:
Download link2sd plus and link 2sd from google play store,open link2sd plus from google play store for verify key
[Android Apps and Games] Flo3960:
I have a question regarding an issue I have with Link2SD on my rooted Galaxy A3 2017:

I recently partitioned my SD card, first partition is ExFAT, second is ext2 (for Link2SD).

In general, everything works fine, but I encountered a problem with mounting the SD: At normal start-up, Link2SD and all linked apps work fine. But the external memory isn't recognized by Android, the ext2 partition says "damaged" in Android storage settings, which I think is usual, and the ExFAT partition says "ready" but is obviously not mounted as I can't access any data on this partition or see how much space it has overall and left free. If I now eject the SD card while the phone is running and put it in again, the external storage is accessible through Android and it also shows free space on this partition (second still "damaged" for sure). Link2SD of course demands a reboot to work properly after its storage was disconnected unexpectedly. If I reboot the phone now, all linked apps work again but Android again says "ready" and I can't access first partition, so I'm back to the start again.

Does anyone know how to deal with this problem?

Thanks!

Flo
[Android Apps and Games] lastsaskatchewanpirate:
I had exactly this problem with my A3 2017 (A320FL). When I checked the phone was mounting the first partition as "HiddenMount" which is why it wasn't accessible.

Couldn't work out a way to stop this except to use the SM tools to create the partitions directly on the phone. Don't know if those tools are available in all ROM, I uses A7 ROM (now at V6.0) from Astrako on my phone (recommend this)

This is how I got it to work on my A3 2017

https://xdaforums.com/t/app-1-6-link2sd.919326/post-82757807
[Android Apps and Games] Flo3960:
Thanks for your reply!

I just looked into my phone, and somehow the problem resolved itself. I really couldn't discover the trigger for that, I just opened the camera app (as I already did often in the past few days) and it said that the SD card will be used as storage for the photos since it was detected now (possibly that was the trigger for mounting it correctly?). I then switched into Link2SD to see if it still has the second partition working, and it did. Also the linked apps worked. I rebooted the phone to see if it persists, still does. Problem solved, at least for now, hopefully it lasts. I won't dare to eject the SD card tray, never touch a running system. 😆

Only thing left to do now is getting the banking app to run correctly with root, but I've already read about some solutions for that.
[Android Apps and Games] Flo3960:
Today I spent the whole day to switch from SuperSU which I was using before to Magisk as I couldn't find a way to run the banking app with SuperSU and read from Magisk being more "stealth" in these terms. Definitely was a pain in the ass, but I got it to work. Amazingly, the banking app now doesn't fully deny the access as it did with SuperSU, but it still detects the root but now only notifies about the dangers of using the app with root access. Very strange, but fine for me.

Unfortunately, my (lucky) Link2SD solution mentioned before in the prior config is not working anymore. At each full reboot the 2nd partition is not mounted (or according to Link2SD "was not mounted during the boot but afterwards") so I have to do a fast reboot in Link2SD, then it works, but only until the next full reboot. Also the first partition is not mounted and just says "ready". What I found out: If you do "encrypt SD card" in Android settings and just abort it during the process, the first partition will be mounted and accessible. Also only until next reboot. So if I do a fast reboot in Link2SD and start the SD card encryption for a moment each time the phone was rebooted, I'm fine. But that really can't be the last word on this subject, can it? Hope someone has someone has some helpful hints. I'll still try reformatting the SD card, possibly with an app, but I really don't think that this will solve this issue.

Flo
[Android Apps and Games] lastsaskatchewanpirate:
Magisk definitely seems to be the way to go for root access. Now that you have got Magisk working, you could try a custom mount script, see previous link for what worked on mine (but that had 3 partitions so you would need to edit it a bit). Store it in /data/adb/service.d for Magisk to run it on startup. Hope that gives you some pointers towards getting it going. The first partition was the pain for me until I formatted it using the tools on the phone (even in TWRP it wouldn't work)
[Android Apps and Games] MysteryIII:
I have problem with this step, trying on S5 G900F with crDroid 7.11 (Android 11 LOS based).

In my case the partitions (both) will automatically be mounted by system. And I get the error

It's mounted as private:179,67 and also appears as emulated:179,67. Unmounting private will also make emulated disappear, however it still doesn't fix the problem with being in use.

Any suggestions?

€1: In the end it didn't matter. I just format the card on PC (with DiskGenius) and the problem was gone. The partition would no longer be mounted, but it didn't matter as your script takes care of it.

On first click it looks like Link2SD is satisfied, but when trying to link file it will abort with "can't stat '/data/app/com....' No such file or directory"

€2: Writing with Root Explorer to sdext2 is no issue, so I guess there is an permission issue with the app, as it isn't developed for Android 11. Is there a way to force the permission (or force to ask for the permission to write)?

€3: I could pin down the problem to linking cache and linking libs. Linking App and App data is working as expected.

So does anyone have an idea why this to things don't work and how to fix it?
[Android Apps and Games] lastsaskatchewanpirate:
Thanks for the various updates, useful to see what is working. Only thing I could suggest would be too check that Link2SD is getting root permissions. I think it asks when first loaded, but if you miss accepting that it will probably remember it as being not allowed to have root. Check inside Magisk Manager if you are using that. Otherwise I am out of ideas, not tried Android 11 yet...
[Android Apps and Games] MysteryIII:
Root access isn't the issue at all. But does a root App always work with root or access or is it designed to use root access only for some needed stuff and use normal access for things that doesn't require it? I really don't know how it work on the side of the App (in general not just Link2SD).

But I also made a Magisk module of Link2SD which makes it a privileged system App, therefore there shouldn't be any problems by permission.

Did the design of how to access memory so much change, that it conflicts with the old design? Or did the way files are named by system so much change that it doesn't recognize the belonging data?

I would experiment to find the cause, but I really don't have a clue.

Thank you for your answer and your tutorial in first place!
[Android Apps and Games] PeeHoo:
Hi!

Is this app & Method still working with Android 10?

I have Galaxy S8+ where I have DJI Mimo app for creating timelapse videos. I'd needed this because DJI Mimo app is SO STUPID it cannot store videos to the external sd-card.

This means that DJI Mimo is almost unusable because internal storage doesn't have reasonable amount free storage for creating multiple hours timelapse videos...

If this is not anymore working - could someone plz tell me other way to manage this?
[Android Apps and Games] ch3mn3y:
It works, but it doesn't at the same time - Android has it technically built in right now as it can format SD as part of internal storage.

I tried it on A9, didn't on any newer, but than Android saw ext partition on SD and thought that it's formatted as internal. It broke not only the connection to L2SD, but the partition itself as well...
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
I m using app2sd for linking apk files to /data/sdext2/apk/. My Question is split files. If there are split files for an apk e.g. /data/app/xyz/base.apk, a.split.apk then if I move split files to sdext2 partition also, will it work . I am asking bcos I dunno if it will load split apks on time at boot so that apk is recognized... fear is if they aren't then the links become invalid and the app is not recognized. I am On Android 10.29
[Android Apps and Games] devilhopper:
Hi all,

I'm afraid I screwed up with Link2SD, I froze an app I shouldn't have frozen, and now my phone won't boot anymore (boot process is stuck for a few minutes and ultimately ends up in Recovery).

Phone is rooted, running LineageOS, recovery is TWRP.

The app that needs to be unfrozen: /system/priv-app/FusedLocation/FusedLocation.apk

Any way this can be fixed from recovery? Last backup is from end of October, having to roll back >4 months would be a nightmare.

Thank you!
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
In recovery mode connect to pc on adb shell

pm enable /system/priv-app/FusedLocation/FusedLocation.apk

Or

pm enable FusedLocation

Reboot
[Android Apps and Games] devilhopper:
Unfortunately, pm isn't available in TWRP.

Turns out, apps can be unfrozen by editing the /data/system/users/0/package-restrictions.xml file.

Cannot log in after disabling Android package from TWRP or with ADB

I have Google packages on Android disabled for security. Today I enabled the Play Store, Framework, and other stuff and now I can't log in to Android without restarting. I can't remove the package ...

android.stackexchange.com

Alternatively, there's als a convenient install file that will unfreeze ALL deactivated apps automatically (tried it and worked like a charm):

System and user apps accidentally frozen

READ AT THE END OF THIS POST FOR THE SOLUTION I accidentally used Titanium Backup's widget to frost all system and user apps, leaving mi phone in a infinite boot animation loop. I dont have aNandroid Backup and I would really love to solve this...

xdaforums.com
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
amazed your still using l2sd i using a2sd pro

and I have written a whole bunch of scripts around it

just curious Which android s running on your phone. a2sd rooted on 11.x
[Android Apps and Games] Androiduser2390:
The creator of this app should make it open source by now since it has not been updated in years and is abandonware (I still have to use this for LineageOS).

To install the apk on Android 14+ you gotta do this adb install --bypass-low-target-sdk-block (your apk here).
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
apps2sd can be reversed but need to spend ⌛⌚⏳ on it
[Android Apps and Games] idkmanimjustlookingforans:
To anyone watching this thread, I need your tips on this matter.

I use Link2SD to simply link my game files to external storage, a very simple and short process, then I'm able to play these games with their data sitting on my SD card

Everything went to **** after I flashed my phone and upgraded to Android 12, Link2SD links my game data to my SD card, only problem is when I actually launch the games, the games simply don't recognize the link and they create a new data folder in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data.

I downgraded to Android 11 but a slightly newer ROM than what I started with, same issues and it's very frustrating, I only have 64gb internal storage and I've managed to play Genshin Impact and Honkai Star rail until this whole fiasco.

I've tried in built adoptable storage, with apps2sd, nothing. Now I'm looking at downgrading to Android 10 and trying Fbind but I've been reading some stuff and I'm wondering if this all stems from my SD card not using a Linux Filesystem, I'm gonna format it to ext4, I hope that will do it

Any tips will be appreciated, thanks guys.
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
the issue could be at the app end or android verify. If app upgraded then likely it uses storage isolation aka it wont use the app folder /data/data/<app> but but writes its data to external data folder. or it may be OS mandate. 1st try downgrade the app then OS . Later try these if no luck

-- In Link2Sd there is an op to link external data -if u use that /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data<appname> gets linked to /data/sdext2/Android/data<appname> - try that

-- run bind mount at boot via magisk or init.d

mount /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/app1 -o,bind /data/sdext2/Android/data/app1

on a side note app2sd pro ( kicked off google play because it was too good now d/l via apk sites ) got better ops for many tweaks including running bind mounts . Check it out to replace l2sd. I had l2sd+ & dev wasn't bothered in responding. I bought pro when it was still on play. Now After being hammered by Google clerks on Playstore and kicked out he's giving it away free.
[Android Apps and Games] idkmanimjustlookingforans:
Hi, thanks for replying, first off, Idk where I'd find /data/sdext2/Android.... I'm not very familiar with this, Do I gotta partition my memory card?

I don't partition my SD card at all, I was able to simply link the data folder found in internal storage to the first partition of my SD card (which was probably using exFat filesystem) and everything worked, I launch the game and it recognises the link, that was before I flashed my phone.

Now even though the game I'm trying to play hasn't seen any updates from Play store, it creates a new data folder at /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data after the link, this struck me as very odd so maybe it could be my current ROM idk

I tried using apps2sd pro to bind the data folder to my external storage but it's no different than with link2sd, should I try using fbind?
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
I tried to use fbind long ago - it did not do anything. That was long ago it the later versions might work for you . Ok I see you have'nt partitioned your card as yet - that is an option provided the size of your game is is large and you want to write it to 2nd partition - it will help save space and at the time of phone migration - all imp app data can be restored from 2nd partition. L2sd and A2sd both create 2nd partition as /data/sdext2 and then they write a shell that runs under magisk that will mount /data/sdext2 at boot time . app2sd does have a partition tool ( its a swiss knife ..many tools unlike link2sd ) . You need to check that target for /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/app1 to external card . What is that .path ( e.g. /data/sdext1/Android/data/app1 ) Check if that is 1) not empty aka your app data is not deleted 2) it is owned by the app user id e.g. for whatsapp

dumpsys package com.whatsapp | grep -i userid
userid=10218
then ..
chown -Rv 10218:10218 /data/sdext1/Android/data/app1

step back before that . If you want to find out where your sdcard is mounted use this
mount | grep -i mmcblk1p1
p1 for 1st partition of memory card
[Android Apps and Games] idkmanimjustlookingforans:
I'm saying, previously I was able to link that large data folder to the first and only partition of my sd card, along with all the other files on my sd card, and the game recognized the link (I was able to play), now the same game, same version, will ignore that and make a new data folder in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data

Say I create a second partition, 1.) will it actually link the folder in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data and not just the other parts of the game?

2.) will the game really recognise the linked data folder?

3.) Should I store my ordinary files and media in the first partition?

4.) Should I make Link2SD a system app? how do I?

5.) what filesystem should I use for the second partition?
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
No the suggestion for the 2nd partition was to store your app data /data/data/<your appname> . App data in Android is stored in couple of places . The primary storage is /data/data/<app> --> /data/sdext2/data/<app> by l2sd / a2sd

Yes because a2sd l2sd chown the app folder to app UID

Yes if you can mount it and then bind mount it to sdcardfs then you can. Most likely you phone does this automatically since most ROM's support exFAT so there's nothing for you to do. The 1st partition ( and only if card isn't partitioned ) is automatically mounted.

Its usually mounted as /sdcard1 . In that your game folder needs to be bind mounted as explained before

No dont make that system app you will hose your phone. Its should always be an internal only app

Ext4 is a good choice. But that's not a must but l2sd . a2sd AFAIK always create ext4

What you need to do it figure out where your app has been writing its data. SD card or interna Memory l . See /sdcard/Android/data/<app> and /sdcard1/Android/data/<app> and check to see if the data is still there. if so backp ( just to make sure its not deleted by app) and then use the a2sd folder mounter and restore to mount source (/sdcard1/Android/data/<app>) , a copy of it and see if the app can recognize it. Also check ownership in Android/data<app> and chown if necessary by looking at other app folders. Android versions things have changed
[Android Apps and Games] idkmanimjustlookingforans:
the game definitely writes it's data in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data because I can freely copy and move the data folder anywhere, it's a large game with 25+ gbs of data lol, can't be downloading that crap over and over, so far, the game only works if I put that data folder in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data

and I just realized, Link2sd was missing the permission to access all files and data, surprisingly, I'm going to try linking the game data to my first and only partition like I always have and see what happens
[Android Apps and Games] Mikirok:
any similar tool for no root phone?
[Android Apps and Games] idkmanimjustlookingforans:
Bro, I can't lie, I almost have zero clue what you're talking about, It would help if it were conveyed in simple terms.

I normally just link my game files found in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data to my first and only partition and the game runs on that without trying to create a new folder in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data until I flashed my phone

Well, just now I was able to successfully create and mount a second partition of 85gb and ext4 filesystem from my 119gb SD card, which I failed to achieve in the past. I'm going to try linking my game data to that partition and see how that goes.

So I used link2sd to link the game data to the second partition, I launched the game and it immediately started downloading data to "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data" (the issue persists). I checked "/data/sdext2/Link2SD/bind/data", the game data folder was there.

I go back to "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data" and delete the fresh folder created by the game because that's not what I want. I go back to the Link2SD app and I can't move the original game data folder back to "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data" , it's like Link2SD forgot where it put the game data folder. I had to manually move it from "/data/sdext2/Link2SD/bind/data" to "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data" using a root explorer

Now I'm at a loss for what to do.
[Android Apps and Games] idkmanimjustlookingforans:
update: I used a2sd to link everything about the game to "/data/sdext2" but the game still didn't recognize the link and went ahead to create a fresh new data folder in "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data", I deleted that new folder, tried to unlink with a2sd but it seems like a2sd couldn't find the original game data folder it had just linked to "/data/sdext2" so I moved it manually back to "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data"

The game doesn't recognize the data folder anywhere else but "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data" no matter what I do

I use a Redmi note 9 pro on miui 12.5.7 Android 11

I just downgraded to miui 12.5.2, an older ROM, which is what I was using earlier this month and the game worked perfectly with l2sd on an SD card with no partitions and exFAT FS, I really hope it works now.

please let me know if there's anything I haven't tried
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
Your linking isn't going to change that app behavior. If it writes data recognize the link and went ahead to create a fresh new data folder in "/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/app1" it will ct to do so by linking we "cheat" and create a shortcut so it writes to wherever else it should we think it ought to while it thinks it has written where it should . so yes it will create a folder there . Most likely after you changed versions of ROM it implemented something called scoped storage Read this and it will no regress to the hitherto even if you go back.

so when you use file explorer and click /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/app1 you will see files and stuff like before even after you have linked, If your rooted you can run those commands in adb to see if it was linked or not or using file explorer if you linked /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/app1 to /sdcard1/Android/data/app1 you will see the exact same set of files . If that's causing confusion.

How do you link ? ( aka bind mount ) . Use A2sd mount folder applet that's there . But before you do that you move whatever was there in /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/app1 to /sdcard1/Android/data/app1 and make that /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/app1 an empty folder ! I mean I cant make it more 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 than this dude !
[Android Apps and Games] idkmanimjustlookingforans:
Correct me if I'm wrong but what I'm getting from this is Scoped Storage which prevents apps from writing to external storage, this is the exact reason why the game doesn't recognize the /Android/data folder link to my SD card like it has done in the recent past, and it was probably implemented because I flashed a ROM and updated my firmware, and you're telling me I can't revert it back even though I do a clean flash and downgrade to older ROMs?
[Android Apps and Games] sieger007:
No I am telling you 1) dont think in terms of downgrading ROM's and pulling off such Long jumps 2) think of just CORRECTLY linking your data folder to target . That art I sent says its all. There's some your doing ain't right. I told you how it should be done