Phantom Files On Phone

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Rickles

2933 posts

Uber Geek

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#316025 9-Sep-2024 11:56

Odd situation with my phone.

Under Files, both Download and Documents show a number of PDF files that I can't remove.

Cannot Move, Rename, Delete or anything to get rid of them .... run File cleaners ect etc. Cannot even read them.

The location is shown as: /storage/emulated/0/download/

Help most welcome.

nzgeek

618 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3282882 17-Sep-2024 07:17

Have you tried using a different file management app to see if that makes a difference? The default Files app is fairly limited and may run into issues.

I personally use FX File Explorer but there are many other apps out there. If you try FX, you should hopefully have a Download folder at the top of the screen. If not, go into Main Storage and then scroll down to find the Download folder. The PDF files you're trying to remove should be in there.

Rickles

2933 posts

Uber Geek

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#3283123 17-Sep-2024 12:23

@nzgeek ... thanks for suggestion but several File Management apps did not help ... all indications are that there are no files.

Essentially it appears that I've just got residual file names.

Research shows that the location /storage/emulated/0/download/ is either an SSD memory card (never used one on this phone), or a virtual space on the phone.

Rickles

2933 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3283738 18-Sep-2024 22:25

UPDATE: Internet research indicates that this is a 'common problem', especially with PDF downloads that were subsequently deleted, or where download was aborted halfway through.

Best answer I got, and it worked, was to connect phone to PC, then go to Downloads Folder. Check if there is anything you want to keep and transfer them to PC. Then delete the Folder.

Reboot phone and check Files Downloads/Documents Folder for any traces.

Connect to PC again and re-create a Downloads Folder. Transfer back any files you want kept on phone.