Dealing with INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE in Android Studio: Tips and Solutions (2024)

As of November 2024 in Android Studio, the INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE error persists as a common issue encountered when there's not enough storage space on either the physical device or the emulator. However, Android Studio has introduced additional tools and features that can assist in better managing app storage and resolving these errors.

Causes of INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE Error (Nov 2024)

1. Insufficient Storage on Device or Emulator:

   • The available storage space on the device or emulator might be too low to accommodate the installation of the APK or app bundle.

2. Large APK or App Bundle Size:

   • The app size could be too large for the available storage, especially if your app includes large resources (images, videos, etc.).

3. Leftover Data or Cache:

   • Unused or accumulated data, especially from previous app installations, could take up storage space, causing installation to fail.

4. Storage Management in Emulator:

   • The default virtual storage settings in the emulator might not be large enough to handle the installation of large applications.

Steps to Resolve INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE in Android Studio (Nov 2024)

1. Check Available Storage on Device or Emulator

For Physical Devices:

• Open Settings > Storage on the device to check the available storage.
• Clear space by deleting unnecessary files, apps, or media.

For Emulators:

• Increase the Emulator's Storage:
  1. Go to Tools > AVD Manager in Android Studio.
  2. Select your active Virtual Device and click the Edit (pencil) icon.
  3. Increase the Internal Storage size (e.g., 2GB or more) in the Advanced Settings section.
  4. Click Finish to apply the changes and try installing the app again.

ADB Command (for Devices and Emulators):

• You can also use the following ADB command to check the available storage space:

  adb shell df
  

• This will show the disk usage across partitions (e.g., /data).

2. Clear Cache or Uninstall Previous Apps (on the Device or Emulator)

• Clear Cache and Data for apps that might be consuming space:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps.
  2. Select the app causing the issue and click on Storage.
  3. Tap on Clear Cache and Clear Data.

• Uninstall Unnecessary Apps or media files (images, videos) from the device or emulator.

3. Optimize APK Size

For APKs:

• If the APK is too large, consider using Android App Bundles (AAB) instead, as they provide more efficient packaging for delivery, reducing the size per device.
  • Android App Bundle splits your APKs by device configuration and allows Android to dynamically serve only the parts required for the device.
• Use the Build > Analyze APK feature in Android Studio to check the APK’s size and reduce unnecessary resources.

Other APK Optimization Techniques:

• ProGuard/R8 Minification: Reduce the size of your app by removing unused code.

  • In build.gradle, enable code shrinking:

    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled true
            shrinkResources true
        }
    }

• Compress Images: Convert images to more efficient formats like WebP.

• Remove Unused Resources: Remove unused resources like images or layouts that aren’t part of the app.

4. Use Android App Bundles (AAB)

Android Studio now strongly encourages using Android App Bundles (AAB) for distribution over traditional APKs.

• Benefits:
  • It allows Google Play to generate optimized APKs for different device configurations (screen size, architecture, etc.), drastically reducing the app size.
  • It's now the default format for apps published on the Google Play Store.
• To build an AAB in Android Studio:
  1. Go to Build > Build Bundle / APK.
  2. Select Build Bundle.

If you haven’t migrated to AAB, this might be a good time, as it can help address storage-related issues.

5. Clear Old App Data or Artifacts

For Physical Devices:

• If you’re re-installing the app multiple times or iterating on your app, there may be old data or build artifacts causing storage issues.
• Uninstall the App and reinstall to clear old data.

For Emulators:

• Sometimes snapshots or old builds in the emulator can cause storage issues.
  • Go to AVD Manager and Wipe Data or Cold Boot the emulator to reset it.

6. Check and Use ADB Tools for Storage Debugging

Use ADB to check the partition status and storage usage:

 
adb shell dumpsys diskstats

This command provides detailed information about disk usage and can help you identify what might be taking up space.

7. Android Studio Updates and Storage Tools (Nov 2024)

Android Studio (November 2024) now provides:

• Profiler Tools: Use the Profiler tab to monitor the app’s resource consumption, which can help identify large assets or inefficient code.
• Better Emulator Management: Android Studio offers advanced tools to configure your emulator’s resources, including disk space, RAM, and CPU.

New Emulator Features (Nov 2024):

• Dynamic Storage Allocation: Android Emulator has a feature that dynamically adjusts storage allocation depending on the requirements of the app.
• Snapshot Management: Improved snapshot management allows you to save and restore emulator states without consuming unnecessary storage.

Conclusion

The INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE error in Android Studio (Nov 2024) can be resolved by freeing up space on your device/emulator, optimizing your app's size (using AAB, minimizing resources, etc.), and leveraging Android Studio's improved storage management tools for emulators. If your emulator runs into storage limits, consider increasing the emulator's storage size in the AVD Manager and managing build artifacts effectively.