Check Phone Storage: Space, Lifetime, Errors

A free-space reading can reject a handset for the wrong reason, and a lifetime percentage can hide a file that will not open. Write used space, any lifetime estimate, and any file-error message on separate lines before you rely on either figure.

The sheet on this page is blank. It records what that handset showed. It is not a bad-block certificate, a write-speed test, or a count of remaining years.

Check phone storage health by keeping three observations apart. Copy used and available space from the storage screen. Copy a lifetime estimate only when that handset shows one, and write “not shown” when it does not. Copy a file-error message when one appears, and leave that line blank when none appears. Samsung’s US diagnostics page, retrieved October 11, 2026, says Device care Storage checks available and used storage space, and that menu names, settings, and screen layouts vary by model and software. In AOSP vold IdleMaint.cpp on the main branch, retrieved October 11, 2026, GetStorageRemainingLifetime returns -1 when the device sysfs path is missing or the required lifetime files cannot be read. A free-space number does not fill the lifetime line.

Line	What you copy	What it is not
Used and available space	Figures on the storage screen, and the menu name	A lifetime estimate or a file-error result
Lifetime estimate	The figure that handset shows, or “not shown”	Remaining years, a write speed, or a bad-block certificate
File error	The message text, or blank when no message appeared	A physical pass for the storage chip

File the finished sheet with the other per-IMEI results in the phone intake and diagnostic workflow.

What belongs on each line?

Used space, a lifetime estimate, and a file error are three observations. One of them does not stand in for the others.

Write the space line from the storage screen on that model and software. Write the lifetime line from a lifetime figure on that same handset, or write “not shown” when the menus you opened have no such figure. Write the file-error line from a message the handset displayed, or leave it blank when no message appeared. A blank lifetime cell and a blank file-error cell stay blank. Do not copy the free-space number into either one.

Takeaway: Three lines, three sources. Free space does not complete the lifetime line or the file-error line.

What does a Samsung storage screen show?

On the Samsung pages read for this guide, the storage screen is a space reading.

Samsung’s US page, retrieved October 11, 2026, says menu names, settings, and screen layouts vary by model and software version. It says Device care diagnostics are available on Galaxy devices running Android 12 or later. The same page says to open Settings, tap Device care, and tap Storage to check available and used storage space. It also says the available tests vary by model. The text we read does not call that Storage screen a lifetime estimate or a file-integrity test.

Samsung’s UK page, updated 18 September 2026 and retrieved October 11, 2026, gives this order: from the home screen, choose Apps or swipe up, choose Settings, choose Device maintenance or Device care, then choose Storage. The screen shows how much storage is left. If the handset has an SD card, remaining space on the card is shown at the bottom. The page says some devices take a minute to calculate, and the line is grey while calculating. That UK page is a space check. Card space, when the screen shows it, goes on the space line and is labeled as card space. It does not fill the lifetime line.

Other brands are not given a storage path in the pages above. If the handset is not a Galaxy phone, record the menu path displayed on that device, or enter “not shown” when no storage breakdown appears. Keep unverified fields empty rather than applying Samsung menu labels to other brands.

Takeaway: A Samsung Storage screen, on these two pages, is used space and available space. Write the menu name with the figures.

What does a lifetime figure mean when one is shown?

Copy the figure the handset shows. Do not convert the percentage into calendar years or estimate a value when the menu is absent.

The AOSP file platform/system/vold IdleMaint.cpp, main branch, retrieved October 11, 2026, reads lifetime files under health_descriptor/life_time_estimation_ with suffixes a, b, and c. getDevSysfsPath returns the first non-empty sysfs_path in fstab_default, or an empty string after the log line “Cannot find dev sysfs path”. getLifeTime returns -1 when the file cannot be read. When the read succeeds, it parses the file text as a hexadecimal integer.

GetStorageRemainingLifetime returns -1 when that path is empty. It tries estimation c first. When c is readable, the return value is 100 minus that parsed value after the value is clamped to the range 0 through 100. When c is -1, the function takes the greater of estimation a and estimation b. If that greater value is 0 or less, it returns -1. Otherwise the comment in the file says: “1 = 0-10% used, 10 = 90-100% used. Subtract 1 so that a brand new device looks 0% used.” The code then sets the used figure to (value - 1) * 10 and returns 100 minus that used figure, clamped so the subtracted amount stays inside 0 through 100. On that a/b path, a parsed 1 becomes 0% used and a remaining value of 100. A parsed 10 becomes 90% used and a remaining value of 10.

GetStorageLifeTime is a different function in the same file. When estimation c is readable it returns that parsed value unchanged. When c is not readable it uses the greater of a and b, returns -1 if that value is 0 or the reads failed, and otherwise returns the value times 10. A screen that shows one number does not tell you which of these two functions produced it.

Android Authority, on April 18, 2024, reported an Android 15 storage-lifetime API that returns remaining lifetime as an integer percentage. The article’s example is that a return of 90 means 90% of the storage device’s useful lifetime remains. It reported that unsupported devices return -1, that some devices report at 1% steps and others at 10% steps, and that Google did not require every device to support the API. That article does not establish which retail models show a lifetime figure in October 2026. If the handset in front of you has no lifetime screen, write “not shown”. Do not enter -1 as a health score unless that is the text on the screen, and then copy it as “unsupported / -1” with the menu name.

Takeaway: A lifetime percentage is the figure that handset exposed, or the line says “not shown”. It is not a year count.

Where does a file error go?

A file error is the message the handset showed. It has its own line.

If a photo, a document, or another file already stored on the handset fails to open, or a copy of such a file on the same handset shows an error message, copy that message onto the file-error line. Include the file name you used. If no message appeared, leave the line blank. A blank line means you did not see a message. It does not mean the chip passed a physical test.

Do not fill the drive, do not run a write-speed test, and do not type a speed or an error rate. None of the sources read for this page publish a pass mark, a write speed, or an error rate for this check.

A file-error message does not fill the lifetime line. A lifetime percentage does not fill the file-error line.

Takeaway: Copy the message, or leave the line blank. Do not add a rate the handset did not show.

When is the storage note finished?

The note is finished when each line is an observation, including an explicit “not shown” or an explicit blank. It is not finished when a space figure has been copied into the other lines.

What the sheet shows	What you can say	Next step
Used and available space are written. Lifetime says “not shown”. File error is blank.	You have a space reading and no lifetime figure and no file-error message.	File the sheet. Do not write that storage is healthy.
A lifetime figure is on the screen, with the menu name, model, and OS.	The handset exposed that estimate.	Copy the number. Do not convert it into years.
No lifetime screen, or the screen text is an unsupported result such as -1.	No usable lifetime estimate was exposed, unless you are copying the unsupported text itself.	Write “not shown”, or copy the unsupported text with the menu name. Leave a made-up percentage out.
A stored file shows an error message.	You observed that message.	Copy the message and the file name. Leave the lifetime line unchanged.
No file-error message appeared for the file you opened.	That observation showed no message.	Leave the file-error line blank. A blank is not a physical pass.
Free space is low, and the lifetime line says “not shown”.	You have a space observation.	Record the space figures. Low space is not, by itself, a worn chip or a healthy chip.
The space screen was not opened, and both other lines are blank.	This storage note is unfinished.	Hold the note until the space line is filled or marked “not shown”.

A battery health percentage is a different record. Use the battery cycle count and health percentage guide for that pair. Do not copy it onto these three lines.

Takeaway: Finish the note when all three lines are observations. Do not mark the chip healthy from this sheet.

What goes on the blank storage record?

Copy one record per handset. Leave unknown cells blank.

Field	What to enter
Device identifier	IMEI or serial from that handset
Model and OS	Text shown on the device
Space menu name	The name on the screen, or “not shown”
Used space	Figure and unit from that screen, or blank
Available space	Figure and unit from that screen, or blank
Card space	Figure from the card row, or blank if no card row was shown
Calculation wait	Still calculating, or finished, when the screen says so
Lifetime menu name	The name on the screen, or “not shown”
Lifetime figure	The figure shown, “unsupported” plus the on-screen text, or blank
File opened	File name, or blank if you did not open one
File-error message	Exact message, or blank
Decision row	The matching row from the table above
Disposition	Note complete, or hold
Written terms	Your receiving rule, or none written

Takeaway: A finished record names the menu, the three lines, and one disposition. Unknown cells stay blank.

When this does not apply

This page is the intake note for space, a lifetime estimate, and a file-error message.

• Root shells, sysfs reads, and a program that fills the disk are outside this note. Do not add them in order to force a lifetime value.
• A computer drive’s SMART report is a different check. This sheet does not collect one.
• Remaining years, write speeds, and error rates are not in the sources named below. Leave those cells blank.
• The April 18, 2024 Android Authority report describes an API in an Android 15 beta context. It is not a list of which phones show a lifetime screen now.
• Record battery cycle count and battery health percentage separately using the dedicated battery intake checklist linked above.

Method and sources

This guide synthesizes Samsung’s US page “Check your Samsung Galaxy device status and run diagnostics,” Samsung’s UK page “How to check Samsung Phone storage space & settings” (updated 18 September 2026), and the AOSP file IdleMaint.cpp on refs/heads/main of platform/system/vold for GetStorageLifeTime, GetStorageRemainingLifetime, and the helpers those functions call. Android Authority’s April 18, 2024 report is cited for the Android 15 storage lifetime API behavior.

The editorial policy explains how guides separate source facts from suggestions, the fact-checking policy covers corrections, and the AI-use policy describes assistance disclosures.

Last substantive update: October 14, 2026.