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(Pocket-lint) – It’s no secret that the internal storage of Amazon’s Fire tablet range is a bit limited. If a child has ever complained to you that they can no longer download games or videos to their tablet, you know it better than anyone.
Luckily, you can expand the storage of almost any Fire tablet model. You can certainly expand the storage of all the newer models, and even use a feature that lets you adopt the microSD card as internal storage to save apps and games on.
What do I need?
You will need a microSD card, preferably Class 10 to ensure sufficient read and write speed. These cards are very affordable these days; even the basic versions from Amazon have high read and write speeds, so you don’t have to worry about performance.
We still recommend that you opt for a SanDisk Ultra card. You can get a 128GB Class 10 card for a very reasonable price and with it double or quadruple your Fire tablet storage. Also, apps will run fine on it if you decide to use the SD card as internal storage.
Of course, if you want more than 128 GB, you can get it. Most Fire tablets support up to an additional 512GB, and some larger, newer models even support up to 1TB of additional storage. We think 128GB will be enough for most people, though.
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Which Fire tablet models can be expanded?
All current Fire tablet models support a microSD card, and many older models do as well. Just look for the little plastic flap on the bottom edge if you’re holding the tablet in landscape orientation with the camera on top.
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This means that you can buy any of the Fire tablets currently offered by Amazon and know that you will be able to add storage space if needed.
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How to expand storage?
Fortunately, the process of inserting your SD card into the tablet is simple. All you have to do is locate the aforementioned SD port under the plastic flap.
If you’re holding the Fire HD 8 in landscape mode with the camera on the top bezel, the microSD port is on the bottom edge, near the right corner. If you’re holding the device in portrait mode with the ports and buttons on the bottom edge, the microSD port is on the right side, near the left corner.
Open the plastic flap and insert the microSD card, making sure the top of the card is facing up and the gold touch points on the bottom are facing down (or in the same direction as the back of the tablet).
“Incompatible microSD card” message, what should I do?
If you receive a notification on your Fire tablet that the inserted SD card is unsupported or faulty, you need to format it. Again, this is a fairly simple process. Just click on the “Format and Erase” option on the notification to enter the format card screen. You can choose to format it as a standard “portable” SD card or format it to adopt it as internal storage.
If you want to manually erase it and format it again, you can go to Settings > Storage > Choose SD card, then tap the three dots in the top corner and select “format as portable storage” or “format as internal storage “.
Use SD Card as Internal Storage on Fire Tablet
Since the Fire tablet’s operating system is Android-based – and Android has had the ability to “adopt” external storage as internal for a few years now – you’re using a memory card as internal storage. This means that you can not only save files and content there, but also install apps and run them from the microSD card.
Again, if you get “incompatible microSD card” message, tap “Format and Erase” option in the pop-up message and then choose “use as internal memory”. Read the warning message about erasing existing content from the card and tap “Format storage device”. Now wait for the formatting to complete.
Move Apps or Data from Fire Tablet to SD Card
Once the card is in place and formatted, you can move your data, content, and apps to the SD card. It is a simple process. To move content/data, the process is as follows:
- Open Settings
- Tap “Storage”.
- Select “Move data to SD card”.
- On the next screen, confirm that you want to move the data/content.
That’s all. Wait for the tablet to move your content from internal storage to the microSD card. It’s almost exactly the same process for moving apps:
- Open Settings
- Tap “Storage”.
- Select “Move apps to SD card”.
- Read the warning that appears, then tap “Move apps”.
The process of moving apps from internal storage to SD card takes a bit of time, so you will have to be patient and wait for the process to complete.
Written by Cam Bunton.