5 Ways to Increase Storage Space on Your Smartphone or Tablet

Are you always getting error messages about your phone being nearly out of storage space? Follow these 5 ways to increase storage space on your smartphone or tablet so you never have to worry about it again!

This post with 5 ways to increase storage space on your smartphone or tablet is part of a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Verizon Wireless as part of the #VZWBuzz team. #MoreVA 

As you all probably know by now, I'm a huge lover of tech and gadgets. I love that I can adjust the thermostat from anywhere with my phone and I'm constantly taking pictures of our cats. However, a problem arises with all those super cool apps and hundreds of pictures and videos: lack of storage space on my smartphone. For the longest time I thought I cleaned up a good chunk of my phone but the error messages of not having enough space to install that app or only being able to take 4 more pictures would come up. So, today I'm sharing these 5 ways to increase storage space on your smartphone so I - and you - never have to see that error message again!

1. Add a SD Card if You Can - What's the easiest way to get more storage on your phone or tablet? Add more! Many modern smartphones now have the option to add an SD or MicroSD cards which can potentially double or triple the storage space of your gadget. Most phones and tablets have the capability of automatically storing photos and video and moving over apps to the SD card. Be aware of what kind of card your gadget can use, along with any maximum storage limits it can use. Also, don't forget to remove the card if you sell, trade, or donate your phone or tablet.

2. Regularly Backup and then Delete Your Extra Files - We all know we should regularly back up our tech goodies like our computers and phones, but it can be easy to forget about...not that I would know anything about that. As such, I have added it to my list of things to do at the beginning of each month like making sure my books are up to date. I always backup things like documents, photos and videos to my computer, which will then automatically be added to my cloud backup. Once my extra files are backed up, I can delete them from my phone and save a lot of space.

3. Delete Unused Apps - I'll admit I try out a lot of gaming and various apps and fall in and out of love over them overtime. Last year Angry Birds Star Wars may have been my go to game, but this year I haven't touched it in months. Any apps I haven't used in a while and don't foresee myself using in the near feature, I'll go in and delete. Apps can take up more storage space than you realize over time, plus you can always download them again. Many apps even use cloud storage these days to keep your progress or data.

Did you know that most operating systems break down what your storage is being used for so you can easily see what you may need to transfer or delete? You can usually access this by opening up the settings menu and finding the storage section.

4. Utilize Cloud Services - I've mentioned cloud storage a couple times in this post and it's a pretty awesome thing if you aren't familiar with it. Basically it means you can store and access your files online from multiple devices without the files actually being physically on your device and thus not taking space on your device. You can store all sorts of files like pictures, videos, contacts and documents. Some you may have heard of before are Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive. Many cloud services offer a decent amount of free storage.

5. Regularly Clear Old Data - Did you know that emails, contacts, texts and the like all take up storage space on your phone? I'm guilty of having thousands, yes thousands, of unread emails across my many email addresses, which can add up quickly. Overtime you're also likely to have duplicate contacts stored on your phone, plus services like Facebook and Google usually keep copies as well. If it's been a while since you've gone through items like this, you may be able to get a good chunk of storage freed up. When it comes to email, you can set most apps to only store emails back to a certain time frame to help save space.

Essential Apps #VZWBuzz Chat 6/5/2015

There are SO many apps out there that it can be tough to figure out the right ones to use. Join the #VZWBuzz team this Friday (6/5/2015) at 3p ET (12 noon PT) to discuss those must-have apps along with the chance to win a Google Chromecast and Sony Xperia Z3v smartphone! Get more info and RSVP by following this link.

Are You a nTelos Customer?

As I've mentioned over the past several months, nTelos is leaving the Hampton Roads area here in Virginia, which means some of you may be looking for a new wireless provider. I've been using Verizon Wireless since January of this year and can't recommend making the switch to Verizon enough! Plus, as a nTelos customer you can save big, like $400 big. You can get a $200 Verizon Wireless gift card when you trade in your phone and get a $200 bill credit when you activate a new smart phone. Get more details here: http://more.vzw.com/switchtosave/.

What are some ways to increase storage on your smartphone or tablet that you use?

Now that you've increased the storage on your phone or tablet, check out these 5 apps to help increase productivity and motivation.