External Storage on iPhone 4S

[rigster79]

Hi all

Having used Androids phones for sometime, my Niece recently gave me her old iPhone 4S.  In Android I had set my Spotify to get Local Files off of a 32GB mini SD card.  Now I have made the decision to try out her old iPhone, I am hitting a bit of a brick wall.

My local files comprise a total cost of just under 7GB and seeing as the internal storage that I have left amounts to less than 5GB, I started investigating external storage options for mobile devices.  I found a selection of card readers/mobile battery chargers made by a company called RAVPower and with my Amazon account I decided to buy one (WD01) and send it back if it didn't work.  The company did add a disclaimer concerning Dgital Rights Management and iTunes but this did not bother me as I have accumulated all of my MP3's from CD's over the years so I figured it was worth a try.  I am pleased to say that I got the iPhone to play files (stored on the SD card from my old Android) in the app provided by RAVPower (it was either that or another third party app.)  So essentially I reckon I am halfway there.

When it comes to grabbing the files and playing them in Spotify is where my question comes in.  I have found a section in settings on my old Android called Other>Storage where I can select the Device storage or the SD card storage.  When I look at settings on the iPhone the whole menu appears to be less comprehesive and of course it does not have an Other section.  Is this down to Apple limiting iOS or can Spotify utilise this technology and include a new section in the settings menu?  I can't be the only person who requires more space from Apple, can I?

Does all of that make sense?  I hope I haven't missed anything out.  The iPhone is up to date with iOS 9.3.1.

Any idea's?

Thanks, Rich

[Swanny]

Hi @rigster79, first of all, you can view storage information on iPhone by going to Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage > Manage Storage (under the Storage heading)

Unfortunately SD card support is limiting on iOS. Generally you need to use a certain accessory to connect it to the device, and then it's only built to function with a particular app.

I don't believe SD card support on iOS is an avenue that Spotify will explore, unfortunately.

Let me know if you need any further assistance!

[rigster79]

Hi Swanny

The Storage and iCloud Usage is showing up as just the 5GB of internal storage but the app used by th RAVPower is playing the MP3 files without any problem at all.  So I must be in need of something written into either Spotify or the iOS/firmware.

Should I suggest this to Spotify as an idea as it must be possible?

Thanks, Rich

[Swanny · Accepted solution]

Hey Rich, yep due to iOS's sandboxing, RAVPower can only interact with their devices using their own app by default.

You're more than welcome to submit it as an idea into the Ideas board though so other users can vote on it.

[desmo666]

yeah I have a mophie storage and battery extender, spotify just hogs the ios storage unlike other apps that i can use via the added storage