Samsung's RAM Plus can set aside 8GB of a Galaxy phone's storage as backup memory. On phones with plenty of memory, turning it off may free that space.
Many Galaxy phones ship with a feature called RAM Plus turned on, and it can quietly claim part of your storage. A writer at How-To Geek checked a Galaxy S26 Ultra and found it holding 8GB, on top of 12GB of real memory. The writer's verdict is that on phones with plenty of memory, the feature offers little and costs space better used for photos and apps.
RAM is the short-term memory a phone uses to keep apps running. RAM Plus borrows some of your storage, the space where photos and files live, and uses it as extra memory. Other brands call this virtual RAM or extended RAM. Some Chinese brands use it to advertise cheap phones as having 12GB or 16GB of RAM, with up to 12GB of that coming from storage.
Storage is slower than real memory, even on fast phones. The writer describes RAM Plus as an overflow parking space for inactive data, not a true upgrade. Samsung's own support page admits virtual memory is slower than physical RAM. It also says more virtual memory does not necessarily improve performance or guarantee more apps stay open in the background.
Android also already has a tool called zRAM, which compresses data inside real memory to stretch it further. That makes RAM Plus feel like overkill on a phone with 12GB, the writer says.
Phones with only 3GB or 4GB of memory are a different case. Modern apps can strain them, and RAM Plus may help keep more apps ready when switching between them. The writer would think twice before disabling it there. The writer also suggests keeping the default setting rather than maxing it out.
Open Settings, scroll down and tap Device care, then Memory. Scroll down and tap RAM Plus. Flip the toggle next to the On text to off. The phone will ask for a restart. Afterward, use the phone as usual and see whether anything feels different.
Samsung added the option to turn RAM Plus off completely with One UI 5.0. On an older version, you might only be able to cut the allocation to 2GB.
If your Galaxy has 8GB or more of memory, check RAM Plus under Device care and consider turning it off to get your storage back.
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