Storage Location Reverts Back to Internal Storage from SD Card

[MohawkTimmy]

Plan
Premium

Country
Australia

Device
Samsung Galaxy S20

Operating System
Android 11

Either after an app update, or seemingly randomly, Spotify reverts the storage for downloaded music back to internal storage from the SD Card.

I have had the music stored on the SD Card before, so it isn't a permission issue. I can also transfer the music back to the SD Card, but that can be a 50/50 chance on finishing without an error.

The issue is not that the music can't be stored on the SD card is that something is happening that causes it to move back to the internal storage. I'm not 100% sure, but quite sure, it is downloading all the music again each time after an update.

I have tried uninstalling and rebooting the phone to make sure it is a clean install, but this hasn't helped.

[jmarcil1]

This has apparently been an issue on Samsung phones for a while. The only workaround is to turn on Developer options in the phone's settings so that you can force entire apps to save to the SD card. When you do this, you won't have this issue when the phone restarts, BUT you will need to go through this process every time the app updates, so it's a temporary work-around. 

[Novy]

Hey there @MohawkTimmy, 

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community, and welcome 🙂

We'd first recommend checking your SD card to make sure that it's formatted as External Storage, otherwise Spotify won't be able to differentiate between the card and the phone's internal storage, which might cause this to occur.

If this doesn't do the trick, could you let us know the exact Spotify version you're currently running? 

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[MohawkTimmy]

Hi,

The SD Card is formatted, and works fine. Other apps are using it, and Spotify can see it. It can also move the music back to the SD Card after an update.

The app version that is currently installed (noting it seems to happen when Spotify gets updated) is: 8.6.64.1081

Thanks

[MohawkTimmy]

It happened again today. It seems to be when the Samsung phone gets a software update. After a reboot Spotify starts downloading all my offline playlists again.

Today the phone received an update for the September Android Security updates. 

Opening the app, Spotify had moved back to the internal storage.

[Ver]

Hey @MohawkTimmy,

Thanks for getting back to us 🙂

Could you try removing the SD card, reinstall Spotify and then try running the app without the SD to see if that makes a difference?

If possible, it's also a good idea to try with another SD card to see if that changes anything.

Let us know how it goes.

[MohawkTimmy]

I cancel the downloads by flicking the offline switch, and then reselect the SD Card as storage location. It can then complete the migration of whatever was downloaded. Going back "online" it when then download to the SD Card.

It is not an issue with the SD Card.

It is a combination of an app issue and a phone issue where after an update to the phone software the app seems to forget that offline music is stored in the SD Card and goes to download the music again to the internal storage.

[Ver]

Hey @MohawkTimmy,

Thanks for keeping us posted.

In this case it sounds like with the software update, the SD card is remounting and the storage pathing is getting automatically virtualized.

This can lead to the app getting moved to the internal storage by default.

[peppito]

I have the same issue and it's nothing to do with software update, it happens with every restart of the phone. So it's only Spotify having this issue and there is still no solution to this?

[Ver]

Hey @peppito,

Thanks for posting here.

Just to double-check-are there any changes after trying the steps mentioned in the thread? Does another SD card make a difference? 

Keep us posted.

[wanderlust1985]

I'm having the same problem as well with a Samsung S20 FE

If you do a google search this problem has been around for over 7 years and it seems to be due to Spotify forgetting that the SD card exists after a reboot. It's an issue with the Spotify app that they need to fix.

[ajvollmer]

I've been dealing with this for years. I can't count how many times I've found my phone internal storage is entirely full because Shitify has defaulted to internal storage. Waste of data, electricity, everything. FOR SIX YEARS they have failed to address this. I'm officially out. That spotify doesn't fix something that causes android users to have a terrible experience is immensely dumb.

[RaphyBear]

Same things here. 3 years dealing with this problem. Now i tested with 3 factory reset of the phone and 3 microSD and i have a Galaxy Note 20 ultra. 

[Aladin4387]

Lots of people with this problem also own Samsung phones. I too have this problem on my Samsung Galaxy A71. Plus it shows 4 options for storage instead of 2.

[Kloberdanz]

Bro this problem is not solved. I'm looking at this in April 2022 the exact issue has not been changed at all.

Keep us posted on the fix that should be on it's way

[lennychuck]

This definitely sounds plausible as it's definitely not the SD card. However, this does not help address the problem or provide a fix. Are Spotify dev teams looking into how to subvert the storage path issue when/if an SD card is unmounted during an update?

[tunaman_jim]

While this is certainly a Spotify problem, I think the issue has something to do with Android 11. I never had this problem until my old phone upgraded from Android 10 to Android 11. It's so annoying that I felt like I had to go out and buy a new phone with 128GB storage, since Spotify didn't like any of the THREE SanDisk 128GB cards I bought to "fix" the issue, and Spotify was taking up 25GB on my old 64GB phone.

No other apps seem to have a problem with any of the micro SD cards I've used... just Spotify.

PHONE: Moto g Stylus 5G (also had same issue with precious Moto g Power.

OS: Android 10/11

LOCALE: US

[Sporthaas]

Have the same issue with a samsung S20+

Very frustrating. 

[AndresM]

Hey @Sporthaas,

Thanks for posting on the Community and welcome. 

In this case, we recommend that you check if you have the Samsung Device Care app installed (Settings > Device Care). If so, adjust the settings in order to exclude Spotify from any optimization that may affect your downloads. Since the Device Care app optimizes the device's performance by managing tasks and clearing cache and info, its functions may generate conflicts with Spotify. 

Once you do this, we suggest that you log out everywhere. You'll find this option by scrolling down here. 

Keep us posted. 

[tpl89]

I have the exact same issue with my Sony Xperia 10 iii.