Some SD card-stored apps not updating

[Shane_Malone]

I recently reset my FP3 in order to start from scratch. I formatted the memory card as internal storage. Everything has been working fine for some time, but recently some apps stopped updating, stating they no longer had permission to access the SD card. This has now grown to

Has anyone encountered this issue?

[Incanus]

Similar problems are reported her several times, when formatting a SD card as internal memory. So it is recommended, to use it as mobile or external memory, at least at the moment.

[anon9989719]

As @Incanus has indicted :

A little guide to... using SD cards

Android 6 introduced new options for using an SD card in your phone. When you format an SD card or insert a new SD card, you’ll have two options: Internal/phone/adopted storage or external/portable storage. The option that most closely matches older Android versions is the external option. There are a couple of things to take into account when choosing which option works best for you: TL;DR: Formatting as internal will allow you to store apps on it and have it encrypted with the system interna…

[Ralf2]

I have the same issue with my FP3. Android 10, latest update and SD Card as internal storage. Updates for several apps does not work. The same error message always occurs: For updating the app external storage is required. As of now grown to:

Fortunately, the apps continue to work without problems so far.

[Incanus]

But it doesn’t get better, so I would recommend to change the SD card settings as soon as possible to prevent data loss and using unsecure apps.

[Alex.A]

A workaround was posted, perhaps you could try it:

Android 10 - MicroSD as phone storage

I just ran into this problem myself and found a temporary solution so I wanted to share my experience with the rest of the community. I have a Fairphone 3, after setting it up and restoring my data from a Google Drive backup I added a 128GB SanDisk Ultra micro-SD and formatted it as internal storage. I did not migrate my data at the time because I needed to use the phone right away and the procedure is rather long. Fast forward one year the photo app informed me that I was running out of stora…

If that doesn’t work, reformatting as external storage is certainly a good idea. You will only have problems with an SD-card as internal storage. Also, you might want to contactsupport to report the issue.

[Ralf2]

Today I made one last attempt with an OTG adapter to connect an external USB stick to the FP3. Unfortunately, this did not allow the apps to be updated either. I then reformatted the memory card as external storage. After that, all apps that had not been updated before could be updated without any problems. It actually seems to be best to use SD cards only as external storage in the FP3.

[AnotherElk]

@Ralf2

It actually seems to be best to use SD cards only as external storage in the FP3.

That’s the case in general, not only in the Fairphone 3.
The current bug in Android 10 on the Fairphone 3 with SD cards as Internal Storage “just” adds an urgent issue to the existing lingering one (that the SD card might suddenly fail, which SD cards tend to do after a while, and the whole Internal Storage might go down with it).

[anon9989719]

Yes formatting or using the SD card as external storage is recommended on this forum. Further the card is not encrypted so your images etc, if stored on it, can be accessed by another machine if the SD card is transferred.

A little guide to... using SD cards

Android 6 introduced new options for using an SD card in your phone. When you format an SD card or insert a new SD card, you’ll have two options: Internal/phone/adopted storage or external/portable storage. The option that most closely matches older Android versions is the external option. There are a couple of things to take into account when choosing which option works best for you: TL;DR: Formatting as internal will allow you to store apps on it and have it encrypted with the system interna…