The Galaxy S20 is one of the few Samsung flagships with a microSD card slot, so a storage full message on it has an easy answer that newer phones lack: move media to a card. Open Settings, Battery and device care, Storage to see the breakdown, then fit a card of 128 gigabytes or more, from a known brand, in the SIM tray. In the camera settings, set the storage location to the SD card so that new photos and videos go there, and in My Files, move existing media across: select the Gallery's DCIM folder and Move to the SD card.
The checks in more detail
Some apps can also be moved, though most games cannot. Check the card's speed class, since a slow card makes videos stutter. If you do not want a card, work through the same steps as on any phone. Back up photos to Google Photos or OneDrive and use Free up space, empty the Trash in Gallery, clear the caches of the biggest apps from Settings, Apps and use Analyze storage in My Files for duplicates and large files. Chat apps store every picture, so clear their old media. Remove offline downloads from streaming and maps apps.
The S20 is an older phone on its last software, so the system takes more space than when it was new, and a phone with only a few hundred megabytes free will run slowly and fail to install updates. Keep a tenth of the internal storage free. If the SD card is not recognized, remove it and check that it is the right type, formatted with exFAT, and test it in a computer; a failing card shows up as missing photos. Back up before formatting. If you move to a new phone, copy the card's contents first.
Contact Samsung if the storage figure stays wrong after clearing and a restart. The S20 can run Samsung's DeX and keep wallpapers, themes and Always-On display images, all of which add small amounts; the ones that matter are the camera's 8K recordings, which the S20 introduced in the S series, and the Gallery's Recently deleted store. If you use a microSD card, check that Gallery is not set to save photos in two places. The S20's last update was a big One UI release, so there may be a stack of old update files in the Downloads folder or the Samsung Cloud's cache that you can clear.
Differential
Likely causes of “Samsung Galaxy S20 family storage is full or the device cannot install updates”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
Years of media on internal storage
What separates it Gallery is the biggest item
How to confirm Move media to a microSD card
- 2
A card not used for new photos
What separates it Internal storage keeps filling
How to confirm Set the camera to save to the SD card
- 3
A slow or failing card
What separates it Videos stutter or files vanish
How to confirm Use a known-brand card and test it
- 4
Low free space
What separates it The phone slows
How to confirm Keep a tenth free
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The card's brand and size
- Whether backups exist
Try in this order
0 of 5 completedFit a known-brand microSD card
ReversibleIn the SIM tray.
Set the camera to save to the card
ReversibleIn camera settings.
Move existing media
ReversibleWith My Files.
Clear big caches
ReversibleAnd downloads.
Keep a tenth free
ReversibleOn internal storage.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- microSD
- The S20 supports a memory card.
- Camera location
- Set it to the card.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !Test a doubtful card in a computer
- !If the figure stays wrong after clearing and a restart, contact Samsung
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Exact questions
Common questions
Does the S20 have a card slot?+
Yes, microSD.
How do I move photos?+
With My Files, to the SD card.
Can I move apps?+
Some, not most games.
What card size?+
128 gigabytes or more.