Samsung S3 mini running low on space

[Agent_Smith]

Hi All,

We have some Samsung S3 Mini's at the office and so far, two of the users have come to me complaining of low storage space messages. I did the usual checks (installed apps, music, photos etc) but something on the phone is taking up over 4gb of space (according to the info displayed in my 'My Computer' window when the phone is connected to my pc). I've checked each folder on the phone and the biggest that any one folder is, is only about 47mb.

Before I go do anything drastic like reformat the phone, is there any other way I can check if there's a hidden folder that might be taking all the space. I did try download an app called Diskmanager to see if I can drill down into the phone and check but it wasn't much help.

 

[mercurial]

It's a common bug with Samsung phones. Delete some apps and try again or move them to SD Card if that option is available.

 

[corwill]

hi ,
you most probably find its the Samsung system files plus " bloat " ?
thats taking up most of the space .
Nothing much you can do about that ,in general , if and on stock rom and not rooted . etc etc.

 

[kingrob]

It's 8GB total storage and 4.55GB is available to the user.

It's a budget phone, to be expected.

 

[TheGuy]

I had the same issue with my mini. Bought a sd card and moved all my music and photos. Problem resolved.

 

[Fox1]

Download "Clean Master" from the PlayStore and run it. It will find all sorts of left over junk files and remove them from your phone without touching your personal files.

 

[Hidden Attribute]

You can also try deleting the content of these folders:

/cache
/data/dalvik-cache
/data/log
/data/lost+found

 

[Agent_Smith]

Wiped both phones and set them up again. Problem sorted... but very weird.

 

[kingrob]

Thanks for the feedback, Agent_Smith.

 

[Fox1]

Wiped both phones and set them up again. Problem sorted... but very weird.

When thumbnail caches and old apks after upgrades build up, that's when the storage starts getting taken up.

 

[dunkyd]

Wiped both phones and set them up again. Problem sorted... but very weird.

Please lead me thru the how you do this. Would like to clean my S3 and a mini.
Type slowly please....
Thanks

 

[PieterLouwCY]

I had same problem with my daughters S3 mini. Did all the usual but still no space given back.
This worked for me:
dial *#9900# on the phone and then select from menu - delete dumpstate/logcat. I tested this solution on s3mini and it worked!!!

This solution was posted on forums from androidcentral, post thread : 350410-samsung-galaxy-s3-ghost-data-problem

 

[dickeos]

had the same problem with my wifes mini and this worked like a charm increasing the memory from 300mb to over 4 gig -thanks big help

I had same problem with my daughters S3 mini. Did all the usual but still no space given back.
This worked for me:
dial *#9900# on the phone and then select from menu - delete dumpstate/logcat. I tested this solution on s3mini and it worked!!!

This solution was posted on forums from androidcentral, post thread : 350410-samsung-galaxy-s3-ghost-data-problem

 

[RyanPCMR]

Also check using a file manager like ESExplorer or 7Zipper. Some people might also have discovered Vaulty and use it for storing their big videos and photos on android.

 

[wpeg]

had the same problem with my wifes mini and this worked like a charm increasing the memory from 300mb to over 4 gig -thanks big help

+1

 

[RiD1]

I had same problem with my daughters S3 mini. Did all the usual but still no space given back.
This worked for me:
dial *#9900# on the phone and then select from menu - delete dumpstate/logcat. I tested this solution on s3mini and it worked!!!

This solution was posted on forums from androidcentral, post thread : 350410-samsung-galaxy-s3-ghost-data-problem

You sir, deserve the internet....My mom keeps getting this notification about low space, I ended up here after i googled it now after many attempts at uninstalling programs to free space. Didnt think this code would work but im shocked :wtf: all the way from 300mb free to 3.51GB free

 

[cartmanOne]

I had same problem with my daughters S3 mini. Did all the usual but still no space given back.
This worked for me:
dial *#9900# on the phone and then select from menu - delete dumpstate/logcat. I tested this solution on s3mini and it worked!!!

This solution was posted on forums from androidcentral, post thread : 350410-samsung-galaxy-s3-ghost-data-problem

+1 You sir deserve gold! - there are still these phones floating about and this worked to clear up my cleaning lady's phone.
After all this time, the answer is still not easy to find.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

+1 You sir deserve gold! - there are still these phones floating about and this worked to clear up my cleaning lady's phone.
After all this time, the answer is still not easy to find.

If you know how, you can also root the phone, and install Titanium backup. Then unininstall apps that you would otherwise not have been able to. This would also free up space. In many instances, the OS are the biggest headaches on phones that do not have much memory.