Related
So, this isn't about the Galaxy Nexus per-se, but I know many of you are scared of the change to MTP and the interaction with the computer, especially those of you coming from Gingerbread directly through to the Galaxy Nexus.
I've had a Motorola Xoom (which doesn't support USB mass storage mode) for a while. Simply put, there is _no_ native support for MTP in OS X (10.7 or lower). If you plug your Galaxy Nexus into your Mac, nothing will happen at all. OS X won't see it, DoubleTwist doesn't see it, Songbird won't and iTunes (obviously) won't see it. As far as I know, there's no way of enabling your Mac to see the device natively, and all of the software designed for other MTP devices that I've tried doesn't work.
In fact, the only way your Mac will ever see it is if you download Google's Android File Helper software. This program, once installed, runs in the background, and whenever you plug in your Honeycomb (or ICS) device, it pops up a window showing the contents of the phone's memory. From here (and only from that window), you can pull files from the phone/tablet or put them onto it.
This works acceptably, but with a few hangups. First, unlike a normal finder window, only one transfer can occur at once, and there's no queueing. So, if you drop one folder on to copy, you're not able to move anything else onto or off of the card until it's finished. Also, large transfers (~10 GB) don't work particularly reliably, and may fail partway through, so you may consider dragging files in in groups. Finally, and most frustratingly, it will often not be up to date with what files are on the device, especially if you've recently deleted them. So, folders or files may still show up that you've recently deleted. Maybe this has been changed in ICS (I hope so!), but that's my experience.
That's your primary way on or off the device. I've had limited success using DDMS for transferring files on and off of the device, and although it's clunky and requires USB debugging mode, it's the most reliable way I've found for transfers that fail in the Transfer client. In practice, I'd recommend using something like SwiFTP to copy (smaller) files to and from your device, and avoiding the hassle when you can.
In short, you definitely CAN use OS X to transfer files onto and off of your Galaxy Nexus, but it's not as easy as it was for Gingerbread Devices, and tools like DoubleTwist and Songbird can no longer access your device at all (in their current versions). You can get around this using AirSync for DoubleTwist to load music, or doing so manually, but it's kludgey. It's unlikely that Apple will choose to support MTP in future versions of OS X (it's a Microsoft protocol now used mostly by Android), but hopefully Google will improve the tool as time goes on.
Sorry if this is all well known and obvious, but if you were on the fence about the GNex because of this, don't be. The MTP switch is annoying, but nothing showstopping, even for OS X. Just FYI.
wanderfowl said:
I've had a Motorola Xoom (which doesn't support USB host mode) for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which doesn't have USB Mass Storage mode (not USB Host - this is USB OTG where you can plug in other USB peripherals into the Xoom). Sorry just a pet peeve watching people confuse the two.
Thanks for an informative post. MTP looks like it is going to cause headaches to every non-Windows device by the looks of it. Ironic for a Linux based device ; ).
Jebus99 said:
Which doesn't have USB Mass Storage mode (not USB Host - this is USB OTG where you can plug in other USB peripherals into the Xoom). Sorry just a pet peeve watching people confuse the two.
Thanks for an informative post. MTP looks like it is going to cause headaches to every non-Windows device by the looks of it. Ironic for a Linux based device ; ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops! Edited
So WiFi File Explorer outta work though if your other ftp type app did?
Thanks for the info. I remember using the app on my MacBook when I had the Xoom. I didn't mind it too much, but it was a tad annoying having to open the app rather than just pop open 'finder' and go. FWIW it DID work just fine for my couple months with the Xoom.
So WiFi File Explorer outta work though if your other ftp type app did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, FTP apps of all sorts work fine. I use Transmit on the Mac to access the phone via FTP, and that works like a charm.
martonikaj said:
Thanks for the info. I remember using the app on my MacBook when I had the Xoom. I didn't mind it too much, but it was a tad annoying having to open the app rather than just pop open 'finder' and go. FWIW it DID work just fine for my couple months with the Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works fine to the internal storage. Maybe I should've said explicitly that I had more issues using the Android File Transfer app with the SD Card in the Xoom.
I'm glad Google gave this a thought, now they should make one for linux too, but they probably won't.
wanderfowl said:
iTunes (obviously) won't see it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My post is pointless, but hell will freeze over before iTunes recognizes a Samsung device, lol. If it wasn't for laws and standard, they wouldn't allow their PC to recognize Samsung devices either.
eksasol said:
I'm glad Google gave this a thought, now they should make one for linux too, but they probably won't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the nice part about Linux. The people working on Linux have an active incentive to add this functionality, as it improves the experience. With OS X, they have an active (marketing) reason to not add it, anti-competitive behavior. Don't give up hope
wanderfowl said:
It's unlikely that Apple will choose to support MTP in future versions of OS X (it's a Microsoft protocol now used mostly by Android), but hopefully Google will improve the tool as time goes on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a protocol native to the USB standard since 2008 so if Apple want to be standards compliant they should implement it. There are lots of other devices that use it as well.
wanderfowl said:
As far as I know, there's no way of enabling your Mac to see the device natively, and all of the software designed for other MTP devices that I've tried doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those apps probably just need an update to libmtp.. for some reason that library has the device ID of every device it supports hardcoded in, rather than working out whether a device supports mtp in other ways as things like windows do.
If anyone has ported mtpfs to OSX you should be able to get that going (will probably do that myself when I get time.. Android File Transfer is OK but a bit quirky).
blunden said:
It's a protocol native to the USB standard since 2008 so if Apple want to be standards compliant they should implement it. There are lots of other devices that use it as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust me, I'm not defending it, but I can't imagine Apple in its current state implementing a change which would help in supporting a competitor's product (especially Android) just to be open and compliant. Given how willing Apple as a company is to cut off its nose to spite its face, I doubt that they'll rush to help their users here. Prove me wrong, Apple.
TonyHoyle said:
Those apps probably just need an update to libmtp.. for some reason that library has the device ID of every device it supports hardcoded in, rather than working out whether a device supports mtp in other ways as things like windows do.
If anyone has ported mtpfs to OSX you should be able to get that going (will probably do that myself when I get time.. Android File Transfer is OK but a bit quirky).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried working with the existing mtpfs ports, but wasn't able to get very far at all. I'm hoping that ICS will spur people to develop further on that, maybe pulling it into MacFUSE.
wanderfowl said:
Trust me, I'm not defending it, but I can't imagine Apple in its current state implementing a change which would help in supporting a competitor's product (especially Android) just to be open and compliant. Given how willing Apple as a company is to cut off its nose to spite its face, I doubt that they'll rush to help their users here. Prove me wrong, Apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You certainly have a point and is the primary reason I dispise Apple as a company.
My main point was that it's not to be considered a "Microsoft protocol" as it's been part of the USB standard for years now. Nothing is stopping any OS from implementing it and as a standard they really should as it brings some nice improvements like not requiring the OS on the PC to have support for the filesystem used on the device. Considering FAT32 and exFAT are basically the only filesystems that work in all major OSes, the former being old and having severe limitations and the latter requiring a license it's nice to be able to use something like ext2/3/4 or any other filesystem of choice and still maintain compability.
Apple hasn't typically been particularly resistant to implementing standards and protocols used to communicate with 3rd party devices. Also, the major force behind Apple's resistance to just about everything is gone now... We'll see if they continue the trend without him.
Just bumping this again for the new crop of ICS users
So I've just gotten my VZW Gnex, and unfortunately, Android file transfer seems to have the same problems with not refreshing the files in the folder as it did on the Xoom.
That said, if you're trying to get into a given folder and your Android File Transfer can't see the contents (or the folder itself), just reboot the phone and when it comes back up, the new folder should be there and right as rain.
wanderfowl said:
OS X won't see it, DoubleTwist doesn't see it, Songbird won't and iTunes (obviously) won't see it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If syncing with iTunes is your goal, you left out iSyncr. Our app can sync Android 3.0 and 4.0 devices with iTunes on a Mac over USB (and WiFi). If your Android device is supported by Android File Transfer, it is supported by iSyncr.
As always, you can shoot me an email if you are having an issue with this.
-Justin
I seem to be having a new issue. All of a sudden, I can't sync anything to my XOOM. I had to unlock, and re-unroot it to install ICS on it. I don't know why, but everytime I begin a transfer to my XOOM Android File Transfer instantly says that my my device is locked and I need unlock the screen and/or it can't access the media storage device. It's really frustrating. I can't push the SU.zip bc it gets lost in between the "Ext SD Card" and the "Internal SD Card." Long story short... my Xoom boots into ICS and runs perfectly fine, but I can't finish the root process. Any help?!
Android File Transfer supports files up to 4gb in size. This may be why you are having trouble transferring files that are 10 gb. At least this is the case in OS X Lion
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I have been very excited about the GN since it was announced. I love the big screen and the fact that it is a pure Android phone.
There has been a lot of talk about the lack of Mass Storage on the GN, but I am not sure I care. I don't really understand what happens with MTP. So I have some questions that perhaps those familiar can fill me in on.
When you plug the phone into a Windows PC, what happens?
-Can I still drag music over to the phone or do I have to use some kind of a wizard?
-I will ONLY be able to copy over music, videos and pictures correct? I can't copy other data over, for example a ROM via USB right?
- I can still copy things like ROMs over using a file manager and WiFi correct?
Thanks!
TheTinRam said:
I have been very excited about the GN since it was announced. I love the big screen and the fact that it is a pure Android phone.
There has been a lot of talk about the lack of Mass Storage on the GN, but I am not sure I care. I don't really understand what happens with MTP. So I have some questions that perhaps those familiar can fill me in on.
When you plug the phone into a Windows PC, what happens?
-Can I still drag music over to the phone or do I have to use some kind of a wizard?
-I will ONLY be able to copy over music, videos and pictures correct? I can't copy other data over, for example a ROM via USB right?
- I can still copy things like ROMs over using a file manager and WiFi correct?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Provided that the Windows PC is Windows XP + WMP10 or above, it'll function very similarily to a normal drive, except you will just see it as "Galaxy Nexus" instead of being represented with a drive letter.
You can copy anything you desire, only PTP has a restriction of accessing the camera/picture folders.
It is said that transferring larger files or a bigger queue of files may lead to freezing or cancelled transfers, but i've personally not experienced that yet(On my Eee Pad Transformer)
FISKER_Q said:
Provided that the Windows PC is Windows XP + WMP10 or above, it'll function very similarily to a normal drive, except you will just see it as "Galaxy Nexus" instead of being represented with a drive letter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! So if that is the case, why all the talk that people are disappointed that Mass Storage support is not there? If it still appears and you can still copy files over, what is the problem? Do people really want a drive letter that badly? For what? Scripting of some soft?
How does this affect mounting the phone under Linux?
With my current phone, I plug it in and since it is a mass storage device Fedora simply assigns it as a hard drive /dev/sdb for example. I can then just mount the SD card inside the phone.
Is this going to cause a major headache for me? I'm switching to a Linux phone to get away from all this Windows crap!
HooloovooUK said:
I'm switching to a Linux phone to get away from all this Windows crap!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are going to have to deal with all the Linux crap, including the additional software you will need to make MTP work for you.
TheTinRam said:
Thanks! So if that is the case, why all the talk that people are disappointed that Mass Storage support is not there? If it still appears and you can still copy files over, what is the problem? Do people really want a drive letter that badly? For what? Scripting of some soft?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually MTP is not without it's drawbacks, due to the "lack of a drive letter", or rather it being considered a physical drive, it also means that interoperability will be harder to achieve.
This would especially be true for devices like car radios with USB support, traditionally you would be able to simply connect your phone and let it serve as a USB thumb drive, the car radio could then play music from the phone, but that won't be possible due to MTP, further more since the phone is not a drive, a program that for example does not use the windows explorer as a way to copy those files would have no concept of the drive, for example, a command prompt wouldn't be able to access the drive as it has no drive mapping.
There are other pros and cons, but i think this is the one people are the most concerned about.
HooloovooUK said:
How does this affect mounting the phone under Linux?
With my current phone, I plug it in and since it is a mass storage device Fedora simply assigns it as a hard drive /dev/sdb for example. I can then just mount the SD card inside the phone.
Is this going to cause a major headache for me? I'm switching to a Linux phone to get away from all this Windows crap!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google has official support for MTP on Mac, as for Linux the community already has support for it as well, i don't use either system so i can't go into more detail, i just know that the support is there
TheTinRam said:
You are going to have to deal with all the Linux crap, including the additional software you will need to make MTP work for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. Well I'm sure there will be a mod somewhere that enables mass storage.
HooloovooUK said:
Great. Well I'm sure there will be a mod somewhere that enables mass storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're referring to a mod that enables USB Mass Storage mode on the Galaxy Nexus, there likely won't be since the storage on the Galaxy Nexus is partitioned in a completely different manner to how has been done previously on Android phones.
oscillik said:
If you're referring to a mod that enables USB Mass Storage mode on the Galaxy Nexus, there likely won't be since the storage on the Galaxy Nexus is partitioned in a completely different manner to how has been done previously on Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I guess I'll just plug it in and see what it makes of the device.
oscillik said:
If you're referring to a mod that enables USB Mass Storage mode on the Galaxy Nexus, there likely won't be since the storage on the Galaxy Nexus is partitioned in a completely different manner to how has been done previously on Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm wondering what would happen if one put an extra partition on the phone...
not going to be the first (or even 10th) to try it though!
Clancy_s said:
I'm wondering what would happen if one put an extra partition on the phone...
not going to be the first (or even 10th) to try it though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering how Dan Morrill explains why the Galaxy Nexus has no USB Mass Storage support I certainly wouldn't want to try it
edit: to clarify, it probably is possible to do it on a modded ROM, I'm just saying that I wouldn't want to monkey around with that personally.
Clancy_s said:
I'm wondering what would happen if one put an extra partition on the phone...
not going to be the first (or even 10th) to try it though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using your own bootloader/recovery there's nothing preventing you from repartitioning the Galaxy Nexus the same way how Android systems used to be partitioned before Honeycomb, i.e. with a separate FAT32 internal partition for media storage. You just have to be aware of the tradeoffs: with a separate media partition, you have USB mass storage but you'll have to manage two separate partitions for apps and media with two separate space constraints. With a unified partition you just have one constraint, but you lose the USB mass storage capability.
oscillik said:
Considering how Dan Morrill explains why the Galaxy Nexus has no USB Mass Storage support I certainly wouldn't want to try it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that link.
On Mac or Linux, MTP devices appear just as any another UMS device.
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Click to collapse
Sounds ok then.
seems time waits for no man..... done here :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1359579
birdster said:
seems time waits for no man..... done here :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1359579
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed..
*this* is why I got a Nexus Something not right.. wait a couple of hours and there'll be a fix on XDA..
Sorry, but the Nexus is a pile if I can't use it as a DAP source for my car audio. Is there any possible way to enable USB mass storage? This device will have far too many compromises to be even usable if mass storage isn't present.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
Which built-in or OEM car infotainment systems support MTP?
Supposedly Ford cars with SYNC 1.0/2.0 support MTP. Windows Embedded Automotive 7 supports MTP, which is used in the MY2012+ MyFord/MyLincoln Touch systems, Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500, and some Kia models (may go under the "Uvo" system name). Alpine may use WEA7 at some point, maybe in a built-in or OEM nav system that might have a USB port that would work with the Galaxy Nexus, but I haven't found any model numbers yet. There have also been rumors that some upcoming cars (Tesla Model S, maybe?) will use Android for their infotainment systems, but nothing specific, and that doesn't guarantee MTP support.
One article mentioned using Bluetooth instead, but I'm not sure how that would work with the car's built-in Bluetooth. Possibly means pairing with a portable Garmin/TomTom nav device that supports Bluetooth A2DP, though higher end portable nav devices have flash storage for music files and can play music directly.
There are also several aftermarket head units that support MTP. Alpine, Sony, and Kenwood have some, I believe, and there may be others.
EDIT: As far as built-in goes, I think BMW has supported MTP devices on their stock audio systems for at least 3-4 years. I haven't looked at Audi or some of the better Japanese/Korean makes/models, but wouldn't surprise me if some of them did as well.
This is not the same.
This is USB host functionality, where GN can access external usb disk attached to it.
What we are talking here is GN attached to something an recognized as usb disk.
birdster said:
seems time waits for no man..... done here :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1359579
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, doesn't clockworkmod recovery already allow you to repartition your storage the way you want?
And since the OS does actually support usb mass storage, it should be fairly easy to create a FAT32 partition for sd card usage. (Similar to Nexus S, which has no sd card slot but comes with 2 partitions: 1 GB internal storage apps, 15 GB for usb storage)
I am so sick of MTP instead of Mass Storage Mode. I run Linux Mint and it's simply painful to try to get MTP working properly like Mass Storage Mode did in GB. Please, ROM devs, answer my prayers.
when you can add a sd card to the phone, you will have your mass storage.
I realize people don't like change, and want to stick with UMS, but you would have to pretty much crush the awesome single partition storage of the GN to get UMS...
Just dont understand why most people are aways want SOME MORE STOREGE, how many stuff you gonna put in your device? A thousand songs or pics?
GoZhU said:
Just dont understand why most people are aways want SOME MORE STOREGE, how many stuff you gonna put in your device? A thousand songs or pics?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With UMS enabled, they'd theoretically have lower storage than sticking with MTP. There would have to be at least 2 partitions that would mean files couldn't span across them.
I use wifi file explorer pro. Real easy and just as effective as having mass storage. Was bummed as far as me not being able to connect and drag/drop but when i found this app its just as good.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium App
I can't for the life of me understand this complaint. I have no issues using MTP either in Linux or Win7. Do partition the space up would only bring about all the issues with inadequate space the Nexus One encountered.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I don't know if it's a MTP thing, but I'm having a hell of a time copying .mkv files to the phone. I can FTP to my Thinkpad Slate at 3MB/s via wifi, the GNex capps out at 400KB/s. I've tried to connect the phone via USB to my desktop and just drag and drop and the progress bar doesn't even move. This is driving me insane.
I'm using the latest GummyNex 0.6.6.
If I recall correctly, when I was using Android Revolution 2.1.2, it was copying at 2MB/s via wifi FTP. I guess I need to look into this.
mallinj said:
I am so sick of MTP instead of Mass Storage Mode. I run Linux Mint and it's simply painful to try to get MTP working properly like Mass Storage Mode did in GB. Please, ROM devs, answer my prayers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried adbfs?
Looks like it solves your needs without introducing the troubles of mass storage mode.
I am using SAMBA...
airdroid also works well (ubuntu 10.04 and 11.10 on different machines, also better than mtp on vista for me)
it's been 8 hours and my music is still copying to my phone. MTP is completely unacceptable. it's already told me i had to skip like 30 songs before i hit "skip this message" 2 hours ago. i'm copying ~25 GB of music over and half of that is .ogg which is not natively recognized by MTP. I could have copied the 25GB onto my thunderbolt 10 times over already. I dont care what the reasoning, requirement, or intent was to remove mass storage, but it was not work it. watching my files copy at like 400 k/s to a phone plugged in with a USB 2.0 cable makes me want to return the phone.
somnambulator said:
it's been 8 hours and my music is still copying to my phone. MTP is completely unacceptable. it's already told me i had to skip like 30 songs before i hit "skip this message" 2 hours ago. i'm copying ~25 GB of music over and half of that is .ogg which is not natively recognized by MTP. I could have copied the 25GB onto my thunderbolt 10 times over already. I dont care what the reasoning, requirement, or intent was to remove mass storage, but it was not work it. watching my files copy at like 400 k/s to a phone plugged in with a USB 2.0 cable makes me want to return the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I use windows media player to sync my music and it flies. Way faster than my nexus one did. It takes about 1-3 seconds per track.
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium
Drag and drop the files onto the folder icon. Don't open the folder itself and then copy into it.
My problem with MTP is compatibility. Hardly anything recognizes MTP and knows what to do with it besides my PC. Things I used to connect to via USB to transfer files or backup while on the go just don't work with the nexus. So instead of having an all around portable storage device in my phone I now have to carry other devices to perform those tasks, might not sound like a big deal but its just nicer being able to have that ability in one device. MTP may be great for some but not for everyone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium App
dev/null/ said:
MTP may be great for some but not for everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed - my primary OS is linux, I can make mtp work kinda but it's poor and slow.
However enabling UMS would require repartitioning the GN and afaik no one's done it or said they plan on doing it.
Most people find wireless transfer much more satisfactory for this phone - I've only used airdroid but others have set up their own wireless ftp server. There are probably other apps that do it...
josteink said:
Tried adbfs?
Looks like it solves your needs without introducing the troubles of mass storage mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it an app on the phone or computer (windows/linux)?
thanks
The usb storage. MTS or whatever you call it . Very slow, terrible for navigating/editing multiple directories/windows at once. Frustrating. Can only find size of files by going in the directory and selecting all files. Anyone know of a good quick solution to this? I've played with the common game editor but don't really see it as encompassing the solution to all the problems of not having the classical USB mount
You think thats bad? Try having Mac. I can't even get it to recognize me phone lol. I'm forced to used my windows machine.
And I believe its a JB thing, not necessarily Samsung.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
g2tegg said:
You think thats bad? Try having Mac. I can't even get it to recognize me phone lol. I'm forced to used my windows machine.
And I believe its a JB thing, not necessarily Samsung.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this problem too with my macbook pro then I found a solution tonight. Try this:
1. Install Kies if you haven't already, if you have make sure it's updated.
2. Connect your phone.
3. In Kies, click Tools, then Install Drivers (this will reinstall drivers
4. Download Android File Transfer.
Should work after this. Also make sure you have USB Debugging on and use PTP not MTP.
johnnyutah22 said:
I had this problem too with my macbook pro then I found a solution tonight. Try this:
1. Install Kies if you haven't already, if you have make sure it's updated.
2. Connect your phone.
3. In Kies, click Tools, then Install Drivers (this will reinstall drivers
4. Download Android File Transfer.
Should work after this. Also make sure you have USB Debugging on and use PTP not MTP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will be sure to give this a shot tomorrow and send along an update. I rarely use Kies, updated it yesterday but never tried the drivers thing. Android file transfer never used to work but maybe the "install drivers" step is all that's needed.
And thats why I love it here on XDA. Thanks for the help brother!
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
I agree... coming from a s2 skyrocket, I really miss UMS. Why bother having expandable storage when it takes hours to transfer to a class 10 32gb sd card? That is if I can get it to transfer at all.
I'm now resorting to unmounting sd card and putting it in the computer to transfer files...big PITA
SGS3 Easy UMS doesnt work either.
Edit: Actually, I'm using kies now... still miss drag and drop
Agreed. Always had driver problems with this phone. Sometimes it wouldn't connect because drivers failed to install or "bad hardware ID" pops up in the corner. Only way to get it to work was to restart comp. And it would only work until I disconnected it, then gotta restart again. -.-
I'm gonna switch back to linux once I get some free time. I recommend you do the same.
g2tegg said:
And I believe its a JB thing, not necessarily Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a problem in ICS as well. I think the reason for that they went with MTP is that users would create a "messy" file structure when they randomly dragged and dropped files anywhere on both the internal and external card. Samsung can keep things organized when they encourage you to use Samsung Kies to add files to the device.
The mandate for MTP is also to reduce piracy of protected media files by ensuring the DRM is properly done. In the past, I could connect my phone directly to my Samsung SMART TV and play 720/1080p movies via UMS. This is now blocked with MTP.
Anonymously_Unknown said:
It was a problem in ICS as well. I think the reason for that they went with MTP is that users would create a "messy" file structure when they randomly dragged and dropped files anywhere on both the internal and external card. Samsung can keep things organized when they encourage you to use Samsung Kies to add files to the device.
The mandate for MTP is also to reduce piracy of protected media files by ensuring the DRM is properly done. In the past, I could connect my phone directly to my Samsung SMART TV and play 720/1080p movies via UMS. This is now blocked with MTP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I also noticed the slow data transfer speed when I upgraded my SII to S3. Thought it was something I was doing wrong. I've changed the default transfer to PTP and will check it out tonight.
seamus24 said:
I've changed the default transfer to PTP and will check it out tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't bother with PTP. PTP is just a camera. It's not like UMS so you might as well leave it on MTP
g2tegg said:
You think thats bad? Try having Mac. I can't even get it to recognize me phone lol. I'm forced to used my windows machine.
And I believe its a JB thing, not necessarily Samsung.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was annoyed by this as well. Now when I want to add something to my sd card I just take it out of the phone and put the sd card in my Mac and add files that way. It's a little annoying but its not that big of a deal.
I think the closest you'll get to a true UMS experience is using Samba Filesharing Server (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.funkyfresh.samba). You can then treat it like a network shared drive.
Of course you'll be limited by your WiFi speed. I think a possibility would be a USB host adapter and a USB ethernet adapter. I'm not sure if Android has support for a USB ethernet adapter but if that works then you should be able to connect to a gigabit switch/adapter and just be limited by USB2 speed.
It's not just this phone in general. They're all going that way as of ICS (Honeycomb as well) and up. If you use Windows it's not terrible but it is still slower. And yeah trying to use it with my Mac or even my Linux box is just frustrating. The primary reasoning was to merge the data and application volumes to give more space for applications. This is a better explanation of it. I do miss USB storage mode though.
Yep, totally frustrating for me also.
I remove my microSD card when I need to do lots of file management. But it's a clumsy workaround.
Sorry for a kinda double post, as ive posted this in the noob thread, but I think its being overlooked.
When connecting to a PC, how can I get a normal file transfer mode?? the media mode is just too limiting, one file at a time, transfer with no ETA, cannot browse picture folders with image viewers.. "this file cannot be played are you sure you want to copy it" blah blah blah...
I'm sure on my old HTC sensation as well as media mode you had file mode.. but I cannot find it and I don't have usb 3.1 on my laptop only 3.0 so hopefully that's not the answer..
please help.. mostly after getting at my SD card without removing it from the phone as I can never find the "proddy thing".. not fussed if I need to install a third party app or other... but currently on stock EU rom non-rooted.
stupink said:
Sorry for a kinda double post, as ive posted this in the noob thread, but I think its being overlooked.
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... im not sure if i can help you really. What is the operating system you are using there? MTP works for me in Linux aswell as with Win 10.
stupink said:
When connecting to a PC, how can I get a normal file transfer mode??
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When connecting to a PC it should pop up a question about how you want to use the connection. So select Filetransfer and trust it with "Yes". And that s it basically. You can also find this in the notification bar... eh about what to use USB for.
Also be sure to have suiting drivers. IIRC they should be installed with HTC Sync Manager. Maybe installing HTC Sync Manager would fix your issues already?
stupink said:
I'm sure on my old HTC sensation as well as media mode you had file mode.. but I cannot find it
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How old? I think this special mode you refer to was removed some Android releases ago already. Nowadays theres MTP. By all this speed of that USB ports nowadays intention seems to be initially that you do not have to unmount it in order to get all that stuffs you knew from past. I remember when my ONE-S got a update suddenly in past where exactly this step to MTP happened. Since the USB2 hardware in this old phone was a bit older and worse it became slower than before. Many ppl had been looking for a fix for this, since you could not enable it like it was before. IIRC one solution was to use a custom ROM. I can not recommend using a custom ROM personally.
stupink said:
and I don't have usb 3.1 on my laptop only 3.0 so hopefully that's not the answer..
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No it is not. I m also having a 3.0. Still at least with marshmellow you would have to enable the fast file transfer with 3.1 explicitly in the case you really have such port on your Computer. And still theres some influences and things to consider to get optimum bandwidth.
But a 3.0 connection is usually not as crappy as you describe it now. So i would sugguest you:
- I assume a driver bad.
- Or Faulty cable.
- Maybe some setting in your file browser on the computer?
- Is the preview disabled maybe?
- Latest drivers for the phone? (HTC Sync Manager)
At very first i would try to get latest HTC Sync Manager for HTC10 from HTC website. Or if you are in linux, check your packages, udev rules and that MTP gets rolling.
Hope this helps a bit.
PS.: Try connect your Phone to another computer with maybe Windows 10 and latest HTC Sync Manager. Just to exclude that your computer or its software might cause this issue.
Thanks for the reply, my "old" htc was probably 6+years ago.. I think it was my first android phone, Recently I have been using LG G3 running cyanogenmod, so have always had a proper "file mode".. it was just like plugging in an external hard drive. I did not realise this was not a feature anymore in standard android.
The main problem I dislike is not being able to view pictures... If I open one picture from my phone or SDcard, then my picture browswer says viewing picture 1/1 even if the folder has 200 pictures in it, I cannot space/tab through the pictures, I have to close that one, then open the next.... I do find it frustrating only being able to copy one file at a time, and constantly having to tell it that I do want to copy the file despite not being able to play it, but those things I can live with.
I already have tried installing extra software and on windows 7, (I am running W10) but no luck
It just sounds like they want you to remove the SD card.. shame they make it so impossible to do.. I'll continue to hunt for a solution without custom rom.. and post any findings.
stupink said:
cyanogenmod, so have always had a proper "file mode".. it was just like plugging in an external hard drive. I did not realise this was not a feature anymore in standard android.
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Yes! I think this i why they kept (keep) it alive.
stupink said:
The main problem I dislike is not being able to view pictures... If I open one picture from my phone or SDcard, then my picture browswer says viewing picture 1/1 even if the folder has 200 pictures in it, I cannot space/tab through the pictures, I have to close that one, then open the next.... I do find it frustrating only being able to copy one file at a time, and constantly having to tell it that I do want to copy the file despite not being able to play it, but those things I can live with.
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How is it. How do you think about an alternative way to transfer data like e.g. from playstore Air Droid using WLAN.
Did you try another data cable, by all ports and operating systems?
And just in case. Do both of your computers feature the same USB drivers and hub? Maybe a driver issue.
I noticed one thing recently. When i connect with MTP and copy lets say: "400 MB pictures" taken with my old phone, spread on 97 files to the SD card it does not take long. But what takes long like 20 seconds after copying is done is that it shows previews. I have to really wait until it is done transferring.
So could it be maybe the case your phone does not finish somehow?
And yes the Windows Photo thingie does not see it as folder to slide through.
Meaning: i can not deny your issues fully.
Honestly what i totally love is an Plasma Desktop for linux is an software which called KDE Connect. You get WLAN connection to your phone and can even control the mouse. Do simple file transfers. And what i totally love about it is, is that it almost seemingless integrates into the Desktop. On the other End i think WIN10 does not feature such service (stock). Air Droid is one of those tools in this way which you can expand the computer expirience with. The preview and copying over WLAN is blazing fast. Plus you do not have to connect the cable.
But it requires a client/server and permissions on both ends. And thats what i dislike about the Windows side. It is not so seemless. And it is in the way of one of those extra services, running.
Also the speed of the SD card does in fact matter. Is it maybe one of the older generations you inserted?
The new SD's from this year are much faster and bigger.
E.g. read about SD card speed classes SDXC class U1, U2 and U3
Even if you can push 1 GiB /s through a cable.... if the SD only takes 96 mib/s...... lol
Maybe interesting to have a look at what about capacity / price is happening in 6 years.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10315/market-views-hdd-shipments-down-q1-2016/3
So lets say you was using a 6 years old SD.
Your phone is worth (lets say 600 $) but the SD is not worth any cent. In case the SD was so old.
This is how Android now is.
What you're looking for is USB Mass Storage mode. They removed that because it was a wide security hole where someone could just plug your phone into a computer and copy all your storage and mess things up at will. Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) is all Android has now. Your phone memory doesn't just have your photos and music on it; it also has your apps, logins, systems files, etc.
The "file cannot be played" prompt that bothers you can be disabled in Windows. Just do a Google search on that. As for transfer speed, I'll bet you that it's a bad cable and nothing more. MTP isn't slower than UMS.
Good luck.
Thanks also.
I didn't mean to imply it's slow transfer. By limiting I mean it's holding me back. I like to transferr a 20GB video, and while it's doing it, go to my pics and view+sort them etc. But now I cannot. One at a time. Zzzzz..
It sounds like I will either need to investigate lineage again. (I'm unsure at this stage what I loose if I do, camera apps, mirror cast etc). Or perhaps buy a hand full of "proddy things" so I can more easily remove the SD card. I can never find it when I need it.
Thanks for helping me get my head around this alien tech/systems. I feel I understand now what's happening and why.