This wikiHow teaches you how to move images from your Android device's internal hard disk to an SD card. You can do the transfer through the default Android settings or a free application called ES File Explorer.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Using a Samsung Galaxy Device
Step 1. Make sure the SD card is already placed on the Android device
If you need to insert a card, remove the back cover of the device first.
Sometimes, you also need to remove the battery from the device before you can access the SD card slot
Step 2. Open the My Files app
Locate the "Samsung" folder on the page or app drawer of your Samsung Galaxy device, touch the folder, and tap the My Files app icon, which resembles a folder with white outlines on an orange background.
The My Files app is the stock app or default app on almost every Samsung Galaxy phone running the Android Nougat (7.0) operating system and later
Step 3. Touch Images
It's in the " CATEGORIES " section in the middle of the page. After that, a list of photo albums stored on the Samsung Galaxy device will be displayed.
Step 4. Select an album
Touch the album containing the photos you want to move.
If you want to select all photos stored on the device, touch the folder “ Camera ”.
Step 5. Select the photos you want to move
Touch and hold a photo to select it, then touch the other photos you want to move along with. You can see a check mark on the left side of each selected photo.
You can also touch the “ ⋮ ” in the upper right corner of the screen, select “ Edit ”, and touch each photo you want to move.
Step 6. Touch
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen. After that, a drop-down menu will be displayed.
Step 7. Touch Move
This option is in the drop-down menu. After that, the save menu will be opened.
If you want to copy photos to the SD card (to keep the original photo files on the Samsung Galaxy device hard disk), tap the option “ Copy ”.
Step 8. Touch SD card
This folder is under the " PHONE " section at the top of the storage menu.
Step 9. Select a folder on the SD card
Generally, you need to touch the folder “ DCIM " and click " Camera ” to select the default photo storage folder. However, you can still choose another folder on the SD card.
You can also touch the option “ Create folder ” to create your own folder.
Step 10. Touch DONE
It's in the top-right corner of the menu. After that, the photos that have been selected will be moved to the destination folder on the SD card. The photos will also be deleted from the Samsung Galaxy's internal storage space.
If you choose " Copy ", and not " Move ”, a copy of the original photo file will be saved to the SD card. Meanwhile, the original photo files will still be saved on the Samsung Galaxy hard disk.
Method 2 of 3: Using Android Default (Stock) Settings
Step 1. Make sure the SD card is already placed on the Android device
If you need to insert a card, remove the back cover of the device first.
Sometimes, you also need to remove the battery from the device before you can access the SD card slot
Step 2. Open the Android settings menu (“Settings”)
Touch the settings app icon or “Settings” which resembles a colorful cog on the device's page or app drawer.
Step 3. Swipe the screen and touch Storage
It's in the lower half of the settings page. After that, a list of storage locations on the device, including the SD card, will be displayed on the screen.
Step 4. Touch Internal shared storage
This option is at the bottom of the "Device storage" group of options.
Some phones or tablets may only show the option “ Internal storage ”.
Step 5. Touch Images
It's in the middle of the menu.
Step 6. Select the location to save the image
Touch the folder Camera ” to view all photos taken using the device's camera.
You can also tap on the other folders shown on this page to select photos from a different location (eg apps) if possible
Step 7. Select the photos you want to move
Touch and hold a photo to select it, then touch the other photos you want to move along with.
You can also touch the “ ⋮" and click " Select all ” to select all photos stored in the folder.
Step 8. Touch
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen. After that, a drop-down menu will be displayed.
Step 9. Touch Move to…
It's at the top of the drop-down menu. After that, a pop-out menu containing the save location options will be displayed.
If you want to copy photos to SD card, select “ Copy to… ” in the drop-down menu.
Step 10. Touch the name of the SD card
The card name is displayed in the pop-out menu. After that, the SD card storage page will open.
Step 11. Select the folder you want to transfer the photos to
Touch an existing folder, or touch the “ ⋮ ” in the upper right corner of the screen, select “ New folder ”, and enter a new folder name.
Photos are generally stored in the “ Camera " which is stored in the folder " DCIM ” on the SD card.
Step 12. Touch MOVE
It's in the lower-right corner of the screen. After that, the photos from the device's internal hard disk will be moved to the SD card.
If you choose " Copy to… " and not " Move to… ”, photos will be copied to SD card. Meanwhile, the original photo file will remain on the device's hard disk.
Method 3 of 3: Using ES File Explorer
Step 1. Make sure the SD card is already placed on the Android device
If you need to insert a card, remove the back cover of the device first.
Sometimes, you also need to remove the battery from the device before you can access the SD card slot
Step 2. Download the ES File Explorer app
Skip this step if you already have the ES File Explorer app on your Android device. To download it:
-
Open Google Play Store ”
- Touch the search bar.
- Type es file explorer
- Touch " ES File Explorer File Manager ”.
- Touch " INSTALL ”.
- Touch " ACCEPT ' when prompted.
- Wait for the ES File Explorer application to finish installing.
Step 3. Open ES File Explorer
Touch the button “ OPEN ” on the Google Play Store, or touch the ES File Explorer app icon.
You may need to go through a few introductory pages before moving on to the next step
Step 4. Touch START NOW
It's a blue button in the center of the screen. After that, the main page of ES File Explorer will be displayed.
Skip this step if you've opened the app before
Step 5. Touch Images
It's in the middle of the page. After that, a list of photos stored on the device will be opened.
You may need to scroll through the screen first to see this option
Step 6. Select the photos you want to move
Touch and hold a photo to select it, then touch the other photos you want to move along with.
If you want to select all photos, touch and hold a photo to select it, then touch the option “ Select All ” in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 7. Touch Move to
It's in the lower-right corner of the screen. After that, the menu will be displayed.
If you want to copy the image to the SD card, select “ Copy to ” in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Step 8. Select SD card
Touch the name of the SD card shown on the next menu.
You may not need to select the SD card as it will open automatically depending on the Android device you are using
Step 9. Select a folder
Touch the folder on the SD card that you want to transfer photos to. After that, the photos will be directly transferred to the SD card.
