How To Fix KitKat SD Card Write Restriction

In the last days Samsung has been pushing out Android 4.4.2 to flagship devices like the Galaxy Note III and Galaxy S4. Unfortunately, Google implemented an SD card write restriction in the latest Android version which can be quite annoying for users with an SD card in their phone.

The new “feature” basically restricts apps from writing to external SD cards. This can be quite annoying, because many users want to store apps on a secondary SD card instead of the main storage unit.

Luckily, fixing this problem can be easily done if you have root access. Here’s how you can do it (Please be aware that you’re performing these changes on your own risk!):

1. Make sure that you have root access
2. Perform a NANDROID backup to be completely safe
3. Use a root-enabled file manager and navigate to /system/etc/permissions
4. Edit platform.xml and find “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“
5. Add an additional group definition for this permission: 
6. Save the changes and restart your device
7. You are now able to write on your external SD card again

I hope that I was able to help you. Please ask your questions in the comment section below!

Interested in more Android guides? Check out our knowledge database.