Samsung Galaxy S5 save maps to external SD card

[BikeFlagAZ]

I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S5 and a 64 GB micro SD card thinking I would be able to save my maps in GAIA GPS to the SD card.

Looks like I just made a $500+ mistake.  It would seem that Android Kitkat does not allow (most?) apps to write to the SD card.

Am I missing something here?  Is there any fix that does not involve rooting my phone, and thus voiding the warranty?

[Andrew Johnson]

Hmm, I thought we fixed that.

In Settings, the option to select where you store data now has options for External and Internal storage. Does that work for you?

Regards,

Andrew

Andrew Johnson

Co-founder

www.GaiaGPS.com

415 335 7447

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[Douglas Rosenberg]

Is there a particular directory location on the card that you recommend?

[BikeFlagAZ]

If I tap on "Settings" then scroll down to Storage, the Root folder is set to: /storage/emulated/0  which is the phone's internal storage.

I can change it to: /storage/extSdCard but Gaia will not allow me to download any maps.  If I try, I don't see the red rectangle used to specify the download area.

I even tried removing the SD card and creating a folder on it named GaisGPS, put the card back in the phone, and changing the root folder to /storage/extSdCard/GaiaGPS but still no luck.

[Don]

Have you  already tried non Gaiagps apps to save data on that card?  Like saving a photo there?  I wonder if most apps themselves don't know  that the card is there.  Perhaps the only way to use the external memory is to use a file manager to move data there?  I've got an S4 but I don't have an external flash card yet.  It seems like Android,  like Iphone,  does not expect their customers to be sophisticated enough to use other memory devices.  I installed a "notepad" like app but for the life of me I cannot figure out where it stores this file.  I am using ES3 file explorer to look around in the directory.

[BikeFlagAZ]

The phone's camera saves all photos (except for burst mode) to the card without any input from me.  It also appears to cache maps from the built in mapping programs (i.e. Google Maps and Google Earth) on the SD card.

I don't have any other apps that will let me specify where to save the files.  I did try to create a folder using an app called ASTRO File Manager, but I get this error message: "The ability for applications to write to the external SDCards was removed in the KitKat version of Android."  This sounds very ominous, leading me to believe that my goal of saving GAIA maps there is a pipe dream.

[Andrew Johnson]

Hey guys,

We just bought a new device to test this, which should arrive next week. We didn't have one with external storage actually.

I'll follow-up when we know more.

Regards,

Andrew

Andrew Johnson

Co-founder

www.GaiaGPS.com

415 335 7447

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[Don]

I am new to Android but it sounds like if you want to get to this extra memory you have to have su authority.  So it sounds like if we  want to manually do something we will have to root our phones to get access to it.  I have yet to find a forum to ask questions on this topic.  So far all I have found is forums aimed at developers (very complex) or dumb users who don't even understand a file structure.  Need to find one for newbie rooters.

[Andrew Johnson]

I think we have this all fixed now, in the update that just came out. You should be able to choose Storage options in Settings now, which work on all the Android versions.

Andrew Johnson

Co-founder

www.GaiaGPS.com

415 335 7447

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[Erik Turner]

Is there a way to move all the maps currently stored on the phone to an SD card? Or do I need to delete them all and download again?

thanks
Erik

[as...@gaiagps.com]

Hi Erik,

Once you have changed your root folder, the data should be moved. This function will save space on your device, however, it can not be used to backup your data or to share it between different devices, you'll need to utilize the sync function to do that.

Regards,

Ashli Baldwin

User Support

[Douglas Rosenberg]

Ashli,

You are not saying that moving the root folder to the card will interfere with syncing, are you? That is, we can still back up to GaiaCloud after the root folder is moved to the card, correct?

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[Ashli Baldwin]

Doug,

Moving your root folder will not interfere will syncing to gaiagps.com.

[wa5ngp]

Hi Ashli,

what version # is required in order to change the root folder for gaigps maps?

[as...@gaiagps.com]

Hi,

You have been able to move your root folder for many versions, but we had issues in September with Android Kitkat. If you are having trouble with a particular combination of Android OS and Gaia GPS version, let us know.

We’d also encourage you to use the latest Gaia GPS version, 5.10.4.

[Douglas Rosenberg]

Hi Ashli,

Where can I identify my android version of Gaiagps? The Settings page says version 5.10.3, but that us under the heading "User Manual."

Also, if 5.10.3 is my version, could you please contact me directly and provide a link the newest version? I acquired my android version directly from TrailBehind after switching from IOS, so I can't update through Google Play store.

Thanks,

Doug

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[as...@gaiagps.com]

Doug,

Please send us an email to sup...@gaiagps.com.