How to Add Storage to a Kindle Fire

Since their release, Amazon’s line of tablets has created a lot of buzz, but one of the consistent gripes around them has been a lack of storage space. The first Kindle Fire wasn’t only hamstrung by small internal storage but it didn’t even have very good expansion options either.

The models released since then do have some expansion slots and more than ample storage but it still doesn’t cover the needs of a lot of users. In this article, you’ll read about some of the best ways to expand the storage of your fire tablet.

An Important Distinction

With its latest model, Amazon dropped the Kindle brand from its line of tablets; now they’re just called Amazon Fire tablets. The distinction is important because if you have one of these newer models, some more storage options open up for you.

If you’re the proud owner of an older — but no less useful — Kindle Fire, your device probably doesn’t have a Micro SD slot. This is one of the ways in which storage on mobile devices can be expanded. That doesn’t mean you’re out of options, though, it’s only one option that’s excluded. And with that, let’s take a look at that very option.

Micro SD Card Expansion

A Micro Secure Digital Card is a small device that simply provides physical storage, much like a USB drive. The difference is that an SD card is far smaller and fits into your device via a special slot.

Micro SD cards come in a variety of sizes, and you can purchase them directly from Amazon. The Fire tablet supports SD cards up to 128 gigabytes in size. That’s a substantial memory expansion for most users and you’re likely to need much less.

Amazon recommends using UHS or Class 10 Micro SD cards in the tablet. Those are speed ratings and it’s not critical that you understand why they’re better suited to the Fire. Look for those ratings when you buy a card, but if you can’t find them it’s not the end of the world, any Micro SD card will get the job done.

To install the card, simply insert it into the SD card slot that you’ll find at the top right of your Fire when you’re looking at it head-on. It’s at about the camera-level.

Managing SD Card Storage

Once the SD card is installed, you’ll need to decide what gets stored on it and what continues to land on the internal storage of your Fire tablet. You can do that through the “Settings” app.

Access your Settings app and tap on storage. If the SD card is installed correctly, you should see an option that reads “SD Card”. Tap on that option and you’ll be shown a menu where you can select the kinds of data to store on the card itself.

Go through the list and toggle on the options you’d like to use the card for. If possible, it’s a good idea to put Apps on your Fire’s storage. Books, movies, photos and other kinds of static data are better off on the SD card.

None of this will affect the data that’s already on your device, only subsequent instances of that data being recorded. Which means that all your apps, pictures, etc. that are already installed will remain on their current storage.

If you ever want to take the SD card out, don’t just pull it out haphazardly. In your “Storage” options, near the bottom, you’ll find an option called “Safely Remove SD Card”. Tap on that when you’re ready to remove it without losing any of stored data.

Expand Memory with Wi-Drive

If you’re the proud owner of a Kindle Fire (remember, that’s the older version without an SD card slot), there are some options for you too. One of the best is a Wi-Fi hard drive. These drives act as a wireless storage unit which you can connect through via the Wi-Fi adapter on your device.

Most big storage brands have their own models of this kind of device and you’ll have to find the one that best suits your needs. You’ll find that these are little pricier than an SD card but they have more storage capacity by several orders of magnitude.

Kingston Technologies offers a great option with its Wi-Drive. They’ve developed an Android app that allows users to manage the data on the drive easily through any Android device, such as your Kindle Fire. It was designed to be used specifically to expand the memory of devices such as the Kindle Fire which don’t have expansion slots.

Fire Up Your Storage

If you’re running out of space on your Fire tablet, you’re not alone — it’s not known for having the largest internal storage. Luckily, they newer tablets have an SD card expansion that accepts SD cards of up to 128 GB. It’s a simple matter of getting a card and installing it on your tablet.

If your Fire doesn’t have an expansion slot, you can use a wireless storage device. Kingston’s Wi-Drive is a great solution, as it has a proprietary Android app that allows for easy management of the storage through your tablet. If even that isn’t enough, you might consider some Cloud storage options.

What do you use up most of your Kindle Fire’s memory on? Share your biggest storage hogs in the comments section below.