How to Stop Android from Using the SD Card for Apps
Android 14 to 16 on Pixel; Samsung One UI differences noted · Last checked · Suggest an edit
https://instructions.wiki/android/stop-android-from-installing-apps-on-the-sd-card
Apps keep landing on the SD card, and some of them break or vanish whenever the card comes out. That happens because the card was formatted as internal storage, a setup Android calls adoptable storage, which merges the card into the phone's own space. Reformatting it as portable makes the card hold media only and keeps every app on the phone.
Check how the card is formatted
Open Settings, Storage. If the card is counted inside the internal storage total, or is labeled as internal or adopted when you tap it, it has been adopted. A portable card shows up as a separate entry, usually with an eject icon.
Move each app back to the phone
Open Settings, Apps, tap the app, then Storage (labeled Storage used on some phones). If the app lives on the card you will see a Change button. Tap it, choose Internal storage, then Move. Repeat for every app that shows the button. Apps without it are already on the phone.
Migrate the remaining data off the card
Open Settings, Storage, tap the card, then the three-dot menu, then Migrate data. Android copies the rest of the app data and media from the card into internal storage. Make sure the phone has enough free space first, and wait for the copy to finish.
Reformat the card as portable
On the same card screen, tap the three-dot menu, then Format as portable. The card is wiped and comes back as removable storage. From then on new apps install to the phone, and the card only takes photos, downloads, and other files you put there.
Skip the app moves on a recent Samsung
Recent One UI versions do not allow apps on the SD card at all and do not offer adoptable storage, so if apps are on your card the phone is older or running a different Android build. On a current Samsung phone the card is already media only, and the only choice left is under Settings, Storage, the card, where you can point the camera and downloads at it.
If you pull the card before migrating. An adopted card is part of the system, so removing it without migrating first leaves the apps on it unusable and can lose their data. Put the card back, run Migrate data, and only then reformat or remove it.