Apps on sd card not updating

[LANMAN]

The apps I have moved to the sd card will not update. Anyone know why this is happening? My Phone is new and up to date. OS Android 8

[DLS]

Sony support is aware of this problem and has been for several months.  I exchanged several emails with Sony support several months ago explaining that if you go into settings, then apps, then Google play store and uninstall play store updates you can then update apps stored on SD card. (Google play store then automatically updates shortly thereafter).  It seems to me that Sony has not done a correct update for the new Google play store app.  That said, Sony support just kept responding to me with the same old crap to check FAQ's.  I couldn't get them to take the problem to the code writers for a response.  They eventually stopped responding to me.  THEIR CUSTOMER SUPPORT HAS BEEN TERRIBLE.  YOU WOULD THINK WITH ALL THE COMPLAINTS HERE AND ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB THAT SOMEONE AT SONY WOULD WAKE UP AND DO SOMETHING.  KEEP COMPLAINING FOLKS.

[pajo100]

Well eventually solved the problem somewhat I moved the apps form the sd card to the internal memory then they updated ok but when internal memory gets full you have to transfer back to sd card.

A bit messy but it works.

[ColinS]

It's astonishing how Sony Support has just ignored all of these entries concerning this matter, i.e., unable to update apps stored on the SD Card, especially since as far as I'm aware (1) this impacts upon the entire Sony Xperia range of mobile phones; (2) we can all pretty much pinpoint when this problem first manifested itself (late February/early March 2019) and (3) Sony Xperia range of mobile phones is the only product in the marketplace to be 'crippled' in this way.

It makes one wonder if Sony have deliberately placed this limitation upon its product to prevent another more serious bug from occurring or if it's just a simple accidental error, but then if it were the latter then one would have expected Sony Support to have addressed it by now....right?

If this isn't fixed by the first anniversary of the introduction of this problem, i.e., late February/early March 2020, then I for one will be binning my Xperia XA for another manufacturers offering, Samsung maybe. I would encourage you dear reader to think likewise.

I once had product loyalty for Sony mobiles but this incident has soured it completely for me. Everyone inadvertently introduces bugs at one time or another, it is sadly a 'quality' of the Human that we occasionally make mistakes, but the acid-test of any Support organisation is how they react when users report these problems. Sony Support have chosen to 'fob us off' and then ignore us; it's a bad show!

[DLS]

Well, it's taken months and many emails and chat sessions, but Sony finally responsed with something that possibly ??? makes sense. I haven't been able to confirm this through Google.  See below:

Thank you for contacting Xperia™ support by Sony.

We received your inquiry regarding why is not possible to update application stored in the SD card with your Xperia F5321 and appreciate the opportunity to help you.

Please consider that Google stopped providing the possibility to move apps to an SD card to secure the security and the privacy in Android™ 6. This feature was removed from Android, but Sony Mobile continued to support it for users' convenience for some time. However, we decided not to keep our solution to move apps to an SD card for users' security and privacy.

We recommend users to move photo, video and music data to an SD card to save storage space in the internal memory. To move photo, video and music files, find and tap Settings > Storage > Transfer data to SD card (where available). In phones that don't have this option, you can move files manually using the pre-installed Files app or a file manager app of your choice downloadable from Google Play Store.

Should you need further assistance, our team will always be glad to be of service via email or chat through this link:

https://support.sonymobile.com/global-en/

We are available from Monday to Friday from 10:00 am – 09:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am – 07:00 pm EST.

You can also visit our page www.sonymobile.com for latest information about Sony products and services.

Regards,

Danny

Sony Email Response Team

[DLS]

Lanman,  This has been going on for over a year.  I communicated with Sony numerous times on phone, chat sessions and via email and kept getting same old story to rebute phone, clear app data, reinstall apps on SD card, do backup and factory reset, etc.

Finally, after insisting on talking to a senior executive at Sony, I received a response from Sony that Google had changed Android to not allow update of apps stored on SD cards.  Sony claimed Google did it for security reasons.  I have not been able to verify this through Google.

Bottom line, you can store things like photos, videos, documents on SD card and even some apps, but the apps will not update.

There is a kind of work-around where you can uninstall Google Play updates in your settings then immediately update the app on the SD card.  Google Play then automatically updates itself afterwards.  It's a pain but does allow you to keep and update apps on SD card if you are tight on space.