Can you buy more storage for an Android phone?

Last reviewed: September 27, 2026 · Markdown version

Not for the phone's own storage — that is fixed when you choose the model. What you can buy is a microSD card, if your phone has a slot for one, or more Google account storage, which lives in the cloud and does not make the phone's own memory any bigger. Which of the two helps depends on what is filling the phone.

Internal storage is picked at the shop

Internal storage is something you choose between models, not something you add. Samsung's page on the Galaxy S24 series shows the pattern: "each variant offers built-in internal storage options ranging from 128GB to 1TB" (Galaxy S24 Storage and Memory Options, Samsung Gulf, read 27 September 2026). None of the Samsung or Google pages we read for this answer describes a way to add internal storage to a phone after you have bought it — that S24 page, Samsung's microSD guide and Google's SD card troubleshooting page below all offer a card or the cloud instead.

A microSD card, if there is a slot

Check the phone first. Samsung: "Not all phone or tablet models support microSD cards. On these models, there will only be a slot for the SIM card." Where there is a slot, the largest class of card it names is microSDXC, with capacity "from over 32GB and up to 2TB" (MicroSD cards and your Galaxy phone or tablet, read 27 September 2026). The S24 page above is explicit that that series "does not support expandable storage via microSD cards".

A card adds a second place to keep files; it does not enlarge the first. Google says so about the one mode that looks like an exception, formatting the card as internal storage: "The SD card replaces internal storage. A 32 GB SD card replaces 32 GB internal storage. The SD card storage isn’t added to the internal storage" (Troubleshoot: SD card undetected issue, read 27 September 2026). On a Galaxy the question does not arise — "Samsung Android devices do not support the Adoptable storage feature" (Samsung microSD guide above). Apps are the other catch: "Many apps are not eligible to be moved to the microSD card", in Samsung's words, so a card helps most with photos, videos and documents. Whether to format one as internal storage at all and how to move files onto it.

Google One is storage for your account, not your phone

What Google sells is account storage. "Your Google Account comes with up to 15 GB of cloud storage at no charge", shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, and you can get more with "Google One, which starts with 100 GB of storage". Two conditions on the same page: "If you have a work or school account, you can't buy more storage for yourself", and "Buying Google storage is only available in some countries" (Buy more Google storage, Android, read 27 September 2026).

That space frees room on the phone only once the phone's copies are gone. Google's storage help puts it in that order: "If you back up with Google Photos, you can delete the copies on your phone or tablet" (Free up storage on your Android device, read 27 September 2026). Buying a bigger plan while the phone still holds every original changes nothing on the phone.

Before you buy anything

Our view: measure first. A phone that is full of old downloads and duplicate files needs a clear-out, not a card, and a phone full of irreplaceable photos needs a backup whether or not it needs space. Finding out what is actually using the space takes a few minutes and tells you which of the two purchases, if either, would help.