resetting phone with or without SD card installed?

greenbergman

Commendable
Jul 17, 2016
3
0
1,510
I am about to perform a reset on my Samsung Galaxy S5 because it's doing some weird inexplicable things. I have apps that I moved to the SD card (because I didn't have enough space in the built-in memory). Do I leave the card in during the reset? (I have backed up all the data that's stored on the card: music, photos, etc.). Either way, how does Google know where to reinstall apps that have resided in the sd card?
Thanks
 
Solution
My apologies. I missed that part. :) Were it me, I wouldn't leave it in. Not that you can't, but I have seen it both turn out fine with it in, and turn out really bad. So, I suggest not leaving it in.
Apps installed on the card and running from the card are a tad tricky with phone resets. The problems usually occur when either an app is moved to the card any way other than the option within the phone itself (settings... apps... individual app... move to sd card). If you move it any other way, then the files may not actually transfer correctly, or all of them don't move.

Also some apps, even though they let you run them from the card, also have items that stay on the device itself. Leaving you missing said items when you do the reset.

This is, of course, different than if the card has been made "Internal" storage rather than the usual "External". However, in this case, the information on the card was formatted and encoded (for "Internal" storage only), because of this, the card may not be readable by the device after the reset.

Your best bet, if possible, would be to save copies of things like videos, photos, music, etc., on a cloud account or a computer, prior to the reset. In regard to apps, see if you can save the information you have added/created within the apps, then re-download and install them after the "Hard Reset". The reason this is usually the best option is that something you installed, updated, or something an app installed on its own, could be part of the cause for issues on your device.
 

greenbergman

Commendable
Jul 17, 2016
3
0
1,510
Thank you webworkings. All the apps were moved via the sequence in Settings. The one thing, unless I missed it, that you didn't mention is my primary question of whether to leave the card in during the reset!