With WhatsApp being one of the most popular messaging apps, it’s common for the app data to take up a lot of internal storage space on your phone over time. If you find your phone low on storage, one option is to move WhatsApp to an external SD card or USB drive to free up internal storage.
Why Transfer WhatsApp to External Storage
Here are some key reasons why you may want to transfer WhatsApp to external storage:
- Free up internal phone storage space if WhatsApp is taking up a lot of space.
- Store more WhatsApp data like messages, media files on a larger external SD card.
- Easily back up your full WhatsApp data to an external drive.
- When changing phones, you can move your WhatsApp account info and data to the new phone via the external storage.
Requirements for Moving WhatsApp to External Storage
Before transferring WhatsApp data to external storage, ensure the following:
- Your phone must be rooted to enable transferring apps to external storage.
- An external SD card must be installed and mounted if you’re moving WhatsApp to an SD card.
- A USB OTG cable is required if transferring WhatsApp to a USB drive.
- Ensure the external SD card or USB drive has enough free storage for the WhatsApp database and files.
- It’s recommended to have more than 1GB free on the external storage.
How to Transfer WhatsApp to SD Card
Follow these steps to move WhatsApp to an SD card on an Android phone:
- Install a file manager app like ES File Explorer and open it.
- Go to the storage location of WhatsApp, it is usually in the internal storage at: Internal Storage/WhatsApp.
- Long press the WhatsApp folder and tap on the menu option to cut the folder.
- Next, go to the SD Card storage location in the file manager.
- Long press on an empty space in the storage and tap on the paste option to paste the WhatsApp folder here.
- Allow some time for WhatsApp data to be moved to the SD card.
- Once moved, go to WhatsApp and you will see it now shows the app as being stored on the external SD card.
How to Transfer WhatsApp to USB Drive
To move WhatsApp to a USB drive on Android phones, follow these steps:
- Connect the USB drive to your phone’s USB OTG port using the OTG adapter cable.
- Open the file manager app and navigate to the WhatsApp folder location on internal storage.
- Long press and select cut for the WhatsApp folder.
- Now go to the mounted USB drive location in the file manager.
- Long press on an empty space and select paste to paste the WhatsApp folder here.
- Allow time for the data transfer to complete.
- Once moved, open WhatsApp to confirm it now shows as being on the connected USB drive.
- You can now disconnect the USB drive if needed.
Transfer WhatsApp Back to Internal Storage
If you ever need to move WhatsApp back to internal phone storage from the external storage, you can follow the same cut and paste steps:
- Open the file manager app.
- Navigate to the WhatsApp folder on your SD card or USB drive.
- Long press the WhatsApp folder and select cut.
- Go to the internal storage location, long press and select paste.
- Allow time for WhatsApp to transfer back.
- Once moved, open WhatsApp to confirm it’s now on internal storage.
Tips for Transferring WhatsApp Storage
Here are some useful tips when moving your WhatsApp data storage location:
- Take a full WhatsApp backup before moving storage locations.
- The whole WhatsApp folder needs to be moved, not just media files.
- Use a high speed SD card rated Class 10 or higher for best performance.
- USB drives must be USB 3.0 type for fast data transfer speed.
- Moving to USB drive is mainly useful for backups, not daily usage.
- After moving WhatsApp, allow time for media files to upload before messaging.
- If any issues, clear WhatsApp data and restore from the backup.
FAQs About WhatsApp External Storage Transfer
Here are some commonly asked questions about transferring WhatsApp to external storage on Android phones:
Does WhatsApp get deleted when moving storage?
No, WhatsApp does not get deleted when you transfer the app data and files to an SD card or USB drive. The process simply moves the WhatsApp folder to the new external storage location.
Can I move WhatsApp to an SD card without root?
Unfortunately no, your Android phone needs to be rooted to be able to directly move apps like WhatsApp to external storage. Without root, you can only transfer WhatsApp media but not the app itself.
Is my WhatsApp backup saved when transferring storage?
Your WhatsApp backup is not directly transferred when you move the app’s storage location. It’s best to manually take a full WhatsApp backup before transferring and restore it after.
How do I make WhatsApp stop using phone storage?
The only way is to root your Android phone and directly move the WhatsApp folder itself to external SD card or USB storage using file manager. This will stop WhatsApp using the internal storage for app data and files.
Can I use WhatsApp normally after storage transfer?
Yes, once the WhatsApp folder is moved to the external storage, you can open WhatsApp and use it normally. All your messages, calls, media will remain accessible.
How do I restore my chats after moving WhatsApp storage?
If any issue after storage transfer, take a fresh backup and uninstall WhatsApp. Then reinstall WhatsApp and restore your backup to get your chats back.
Conclusion
Moving WhatsApp to external storage like an SD card or USB drive is a handy way to free up phone storage space if the app is taking up a lot of internal memory. The process requires root access on Android and involves cutting and pasting the WhatsApp folder itself using a file manager app. Remember to back up chats before transferring WhatsApp storage location. Overall, once transferred properly, WhatsApp works normally from the external storage allowing you to save space on your phone.