How to root Samsung A3 (2017) - Guide - Samsung Galaxy A3, A5, A7 (2017) Accessories

I successfully rooted my Samsung Galaxy A320FL following more or less this guide (I know, it's a video and that's annoying, but it's also very clear. And there is a text version linked in description), with some modifications though.
I will write here what differs / is not specified in that guide.
I also attach all the files I used; they can also be found on the internet with some search.
Make sure to have installed on your PC Samsung USB driver for mobile phones, available on Samsung website.
I used different versions of the files needed (that guide is for Samsung 8). With the following files, everything worked well:
twrp-3.4.0-0-a3y17lte.img.tar
no-verity-opt-encrypt-6.0.zip
RMM_Bypass_v3_corsicanu.zip (learned this from another guide on this forum)
Magisk-v20.4.zip
Once TWRP is installed, the guide instructs you to install no-verity, then reboot to recovery and immediately after that reboot to system; only later, transfer and install magisk. THIS MESSED UP everything, in my case at least.
The solution was even faster: once TWRP is installed
plug USB and transfer all needed files (listed above) at once
install no-verity and reboot to recovery;
install RMM_bypass and reboot to recovery;
install magisk and reboot to recovery
reboot to system
Now you proceed following the rest of the guide.
After rooting, you may want to fix a few problems you may encounter: see next post.

HOW TO FIX FINGERPRINT AFTER ROOT
When your Galaxy A3 is rooted, unfortunately fingerprint will not work properly to log in on your apps (but it will work to unlock your phone). To fix this:
install from Google Play a file manager (like Solid Explorer)
in the left menu select ROOT folder, then rename
/system/priv-app/SamsungPass_1.3/SamsungPass_1.3.apk
to
/system/priv-app/SamsungPass_1.3/SamsungPass_1.3.apj
remove /data/app/com.samsung.android.samsungpass-1
reboot
This will remove SamsungPass. You will not be able to use SamsungPass anymore on your rooted phone, so forget the ability of saving passwords on websites and confirm them with fingerprint (you can still save passwords in browser or use google autofill; you just can't confirm them with fingerprint).
But, with the method above, at least you will be able to use fingerprint to log in those apps which natively support fingerprint login (like banking apps).
HOW TO MAKE BANKING APPS WORK ON A ROOTED PHONE
...Banking apps, though, tend to stop working when they detect a rooted phone. You can try to fix this using Magisk Hide feature.
Open Magisk and tap on the shield icon
Tap MagiskHide
Check your bank apps and any other app that want to prevent from detecting root. (According to the guides I read, hiding too many apps can be a problem: stick to what is really needed).

HOW TO MOVE WHATSAPP MEDIA FOLDER TO SD CARD
This was the main reason why I decided to root my phone: I was running out of storage. So I bought a high-quality and fast sd card (yes, it deserves your 20 €) and did the following:
Download "Apps2SD" (the original by Vicky Bonick; it's free) and follow instructions on how to create partitions.
You can create upto 3 partitions: 1st fat32/exfat/f2fs/ext4/ext3/ext2 (it's your SD card), 2nd ext2/ext3/ext4/f2fs (it is used to link the apps), 3rd swap partition (it's optional).
IMPORTANT: With Apps2SD you can LINK apps (they will end up in 2nd partition) or use FOLDER MOUNT (the chosen folder will end up in 1st partition, the one that looks like your normal SD card).
Please note that for Whatsapp media folder you will use FOLDER MOUNT method: so it will end up in the 1st partition. Create the 1st partition large enough for your whatsapp media.
Use "folder mount (app analyzer)" feature: it's like folder mount, but it's pre-set for some common apps, including Whatsapp. With this feature, you can successfully move Whatsapp media folder to SD, in one clic.
To understand what folder mount means: see FAQ.
In my case everything worked fine. When I reboot I have to re-mount folder, but it takes one second (just open Apps2SD, tap Folder Mount, slide "whatsapp other").
By the way, with App2SD you can do much more: you can move virtually any app to your SD card using the "Link apps to SD card" feature, as explained in Vicky's video.
...Hope this will save you some time!

airali said:
I successfully rooted my Samsung Galaxy A320FL following more or less this guide (I know, it's a video and that's annoying, but it's also very clear. And there is a text version linked in description), with some modifications though.
I will write here what differs / is not specified in that guide.
I also attach all the files I used; they can also be found on the internet with some search.
(...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I successfully used your compilation for a T-Mobile branded unit, all works after some tinkering. I didn't have the fingerprint problem, possibly the Samsung security thing is not the same on the carrier-modified ROM.
I had problems first making root work because of the succession of operations - basically, everything needs to be formatted in TWRP so it can mount partitions. Once I boot up the ROM, TWRP won't mount anymore → every zip you want to install, you need to do in one go before you reboot to Android.

I tried to root mine, but it didn't show up in odin, it did show up in device manager but I can't do anything with it, no transfering files via usb, etc.
The drivers are installed, I reinstalled them a couple of times, tried a different USB port, etc...
No sucess so far, I hope someone here can help me

Tap tap tap

Related

tinynoot for glowworm

I just uploaded tiny noot, a very minimal root tool for the NST glowworm. I think it would probably also work for the simple touch, but I've lent mine out and cannot test it to confirm.
I am basically a cobbler here; many thanks to GabrialD, DeanG and the folks with the minimal touch root tools, which this is based on - and of course to mali100 and the CWR team for getting that on the Touch and Glowworm. Everything below is put together with parts from those projects using what I've learned at XDA and from Dean's nook color repartitioning scripts.
They make it possible for someone like me to knock out a package that's a little more convenient to work from than booting noogie and manually copying in files.
I am using the clockwork recovery zip installation mode for copying in the minimal set of files - I'm not trying to support the google apps or the many interesting screen refresh hacks.
I am not including a modified uRamdisk - the stock uRamdisk supports ADB, and you can get root via adb wireless simply by typing su, so I chose to leave well enough alone.
GabrialD has already released a modified uRamdisk for the glowworm (to support root by default as well as the light) but since stock works for my purposes, I'm not using the modified one.
What it does include:
su and busybox
nook color tools in /system, so that nonmarket apps can be installed
adb wireless
ADW launcher
Amazon appstore, so there's at least once source of "easy" apps
Button Savior
Nook Touch Tools
Supermanager and the Busybox updater interface
The install process is three steps. Four if you decide - and you should - to make a backup of your device before you start. (that process is: make the noogie disk. boot from noogie. connect to your computer. dump the NSTG or NST using dd or another disk imaging tool, and is described in more detail with tips for lots of different operating systems at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1142983 That backup will let you restore your entire device to a known working configuration.
Download mali100's nook touch CWR disk discussed in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1360994
the file itself is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=806433&d=1323121269
unzip the file and then write the .img file to an sdcard with your disk imaging tool of choice (dd in linux or win32 disk imager are two I use)
Once you've imaged the SD card, copy in these two zipfiles - leave them zipped:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ig75l5b9c24e7q6
http://www.mediafire.com/?2tfitzt97qqfaw7
Apply 1 of 2, then reboot, then
Apply 2 of 2
then remove your SD card and reboot. Although I have not gotten all the commands to run out of a single zipfile, Zydraka noticed, I think correctly, that you can run first the one and then the second without needing to reboot in between. I have done it that way successfully.
I tried putting all commands (copying the files, then setting permissions) into one file and the rooting process aborted in an ugly way. I ultimately needed to reimage the device to restore the oddly hosed /rom partition. After reimaging I was able to root successfully by running the two clockwork scripts back to back without a reboot.
A (very brief) guide to the CWR interface, for those who don't know it:
You will know your card is made correctly when you put it in your device and power on, and you see a clockwork gear nibbling at a nook N. Be patient while CWR loads; you will get to a screen with selectable menu choices.
Navigate up and down with the righthand buttons; navigate back with the lefthand upper button; choose an item or run a command using the raised n button.
Navigate down to "install zip file from sdcard" and hit N
Hit N again to "Choose Zip File from SDcard"
Navigate down to the first zip (labeled 1 of 2) and hit the n button
navigate to "yes - install"
hit the N button
once the first script is done, use the N button to navigate to and apply zip 2 of 2.
navigate back to the reboot menu using the lefthand side buttons. Once you are at the reboot menu item, you can pull the card, then reboot.
I used a 256 meg sdcard I had in the house for making the CWR disk. I find that to be a very convenient size for these disks - big enough to put a few files onto, not so big I wish I hadn't set it up as a CWR disk.
Thanks roustabout! It works great and it was super easy to do! I just got done installing a bunch of apps from Amazon.
Update: I just posted a tutorial with a video for noobs on my blog.
One thing to note, I didn't do the reboot that you mention in between the 1 and 2 packages and everything worked fine. I just installed 2 right after 1 and haven't had any problems.
Thanks for this, rooted last night everything is as it should be, the only issue I've run into is that I can't seem to install the Kindle app. It's not in the amazon market place, I tried backing up the APK from another device via EStrong and transferring the apk to the microSD, and I get a parsing file error. Any tips?
I have not been able to get Tasker to install yet, either.
One thing which sometimes works where other approaches fail (if you have the .apk file) is to ssh into your device (I use quicksshd) and log in as root, then cd to the directory the APK was copied to and issue the command
pm install blah-blah.apk
I have not yet tried that with Tasker, but it may also help with the Kindle app? I did need to do it for one of the apps I use, although I can't recall which one.
Edit: the 3.1 kindle app Zydraka points out works for me as well.
By default, the Kindle app is pretty unusable, very slow page turns. But by using the gesture-enabled screen refresh hack, it's very useable. (I found that using the no gesture version led to lots of apps just ignoring the hack's presence. I think Renate has a way around that, but I haven't read up on it.)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=22800284#post22800284
I got Tasker to install, but needed first to copy in the Maps jar and xml (to framework and permissions respectively) reboot and install via ssh - it might have worked just to reboot.
Since others may want Tasker available, putting the maps.jar and maps.xml files into the tinynooter is trivial, and I'll probably get to it soon.
I found that the older version of the Kindle app works, version 3.1.0.30. There's a donwload for it at Android Freeware. http://www.freewarelovers.com/android/app/kindle
So, after this, will the glowlight work in all apps? I need to make sure that, moon+ reader and EZpdf will glow in the dark, before I purchase the new nook.
thanks.
The glowlight seems to work in all apps. I'm not clear on how exactly it's turned on and off; it might be possible to have an app that uses a long press on the N button for something else, and that might interfere, but so far it works fine in the launcher, in the Kindle reader, in fbreader, in Newsrob (that I know I've tested.) even if you had an app that was doing something funny with that long press, you ought to be able to turn it on from the settings menu that comes up on a short press.
Once the glowlight is on, it seems to stay on until your screen goes to sleep, regardless of what applications you may also be using.
This is part of why I didn't get into the boot environment at all in this approach - I knew from manual rooting that I didn't have to change out uRamdisk so I decided to leave it all alone.
Thanks for tinynoot! It's working well for me, and glowlight behaves normally.
roustabout said:
I just uploaded tiny noot, a very minimal root tool for the NST glowworm. I think it would probably also work for the simple touch, but I've lent mine out and cannot test it to confirm.
I am basically a cobbler here; many thanks to GabrialD, DeanG and the folks with the minimal touch root tools, which this is based on - and of course to mali100 and the CWR team for getting that on the Touch and Glowworm. Everything below is put together with parts from those projects using what I've learned at XDA and from Dean's nook color repartitioning scripts.
They make it possible for someone like me to knock out a package that's a little more convenient to work from than booting noogie and manually copying in files.
I am using the clockwork recovery zip installation mode for copying in the minimal set of files - I'm not trying to support the google apps or the many interesting screen refresh hacks.
I am not including a modified uRamdisk - the stock uRamdisk supports ADB, and you can get root via adb wireless simply by typing su, so I chose to leave well enough alone.
GabrialD has already released a modified uRamdisk for the glowworm (to support root by default as well as the light) but since stock works for my purposes, I'm not using the modified one.
What it does include:
su and busybox
nook color tools in /system, so that nonmarket apps can be installed
adb wireless
ADW launcher
Amazon appstore, so there's at least once source of "easy" apps
Button Savior
Nook Touch Tools
Supermanager and the Busybox updater interface
The install process is three steps. Four if you decide - and you should - to make a backup of your device before you start. (that process is: make the noogie disk. boot from noogie. connect to your computer. dump the NSTG or NST using dd or another disk imaging tool, and is described in more detail with tips for lots of different operating systems at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1142983 That backup will let you restore your entire device to a known working configuration.
Download mali100's nook touch CWR disk discussed in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1360994
the file itself is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=806433&d=1323121269
unzip the file and then write the .img file to an sdcard with your disk imaging tool of choice (dd in linux or win32 disk imager are two I use)
Once you've imaged the SD card, copy in these two zipfiles - leave them zipped:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ig75l5b9c24e7q6
http://www.mediafire.com/?2tfitzt97qqfaw7
Apply 1 of 2, then reboot, then
Apply 2 of 2
then remove your SD card and reboot. Although I have not gotten all the commands to run out of a single zipfile, Zydraka noticed, I think correctly, that you can run first the one and then the second without needing to reboot in between. I have done it that way successfully.
I tried putting all commands (copying the files, then setting permissions) into one file and the rooting process aborted in an ugly way. I ultimately needed to reimage the device to restore the oddly hosed /rom partition. After reimaging I was able to root successfully by running the two clockwork scripts back to back without a reboot.
A (very brief) guide to the CWR interface, for those who don't know it:
You will know your card is made correctly when you put it in your device and power on, and you see a clockwork gear nibbling at a nook N. Be patient while CWR loads; you will get to a screen with selectable menu choices.
Navigate up and down with the righthand buttons; navigate back with the lefthand upper button; choose an item or run a command using the raised n button.
Navigate down to "install zip file from sdcard" and hit N
Hit N again to "Choose Zip File from SDcard"
Navigate down to the first zip (labeled 1 of 2) and hit the n button
navigate to "yes - install"
hit the N button
once the first script is done, use the N button to navigate to and apply zip 2 of 2.
navigate back to the reboot menu using the lefthand side buttons. Once you are at the reboot menu item, you can pull the card, then reboot.
I used a 256 meg sdcard I had in the house for making the CWR disk. I find that to be a very convenient size for these disks - big enough to put a few files onto, not so big I wish I hadn't set it up as a CWR disk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know, it should be nice if before using the packages other people create, for your own project, you asked them for permission to use them, if not, at least create your own scripts.....
Yes I'm refering to me.... thats not cool.
Anyway, the two step process is not necessary here, thats just for preventing some Gapps database corruption, you edited that code away allready and there are no Gapps installed, so add the code to correct the permissions on the first zip, and everything should work fine, no need to rm dalvik either if you arent modifying framework.jar, etc, it should also speed the first boot time.
I apologize - this was intended to be a quick hack and largely for my own use (as I was testing stuff on both my and my girlfriend's glowworms) but I realized there were a lot of folks trying to root their gw's manually. I thought it worked well enough to share.
I didn't intend to present it as original and if I appeared to I apologize.
Say the word and I will yank the thread outright, and I would have no objection to your asking the mods to do so, either.
roustabout said:
I apologize - this was intended to be a quick hack and largely for my own use (as I was testing stuff on both my and my girlfriend's glowworms) but I realized there were a lot of folks trying to root their gw's manually. I thought it worked well enough to share.
I didn't intend to present it as original and if I appeared to I apologize.
Say the word and I will yank the thread outright, and I would have no objection to your asking the mods to do so, either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, just stating that before creating a thread with others people work, you should ask them.
Everything is fine, It didn't even pass my mind the idea of reporting it, we are a small niche community, active members must be praised, so dont worry, and I encorage you to keep deving ^^, just that before using other peoples work and starting a thread with it, ask them for permission, no one is gonna deny it and it's the kind way of doing things .
I'm planning to get my hands on a Glow tonight, so over the weekend I should be able to get together a full Nooter for it.
tiny noot - also works for older NST
Just so folks know, I've confirmed that the tinynoot rooter also works on the NST running 1.1.2 firmware.
It will probably work on earlier firmware also, since it is not replacing uRamdisk or framework files.
Are Supermanager and the Busybox Updater supposed to work? Supermanager crashes back to home, and Busybox won't install.
Did you apply both files, and is there an sd card in your device? I just tested the busybox updater and was able to get it to update the installed busybox. It requires that you have an sdcard inserted to work - I remember being puzzled by that the first time I tried using it on a device.
supermanager is crashing. I hadn't tried running it on the device before, and hadn't noticed that.
Looking at logcat, yes, supermanager's crashing in the background quite a bit. It seems to be looking for things which are not available, for instance, a dialer, and erroring out when it can't find them.
roustabout said:
[...] supermanager is crashing. I hadn't tried running it on the device before, and hadn't noticed that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Supermanager has always been a problem, at least for me, using TouchNooter. I believe it's intended to provide file manager capability, particularly for installing APKs on uSD. Once I get Market (Play Store) access, reinstalling supermanager fixes the problem. At that point, I don't need it anymore.
I've always had to work around this when rooting my Touch devices. I'd suggest a basic file manager be provided instead for Day 1.
I'm rooted with tinynoot. Recently I've been experiencing excessive battery drain. I'm eliminating apps I'd installed to if that helps. Wondering if anyone has experience with apps that are problematic in that regard? Dropbox? Amazon Appstore? Facebook? 1Mobile Market? I assume nothing that was provided by default with tinynoot. Thanks.
Hi Glowco,
I'd suggest installing task management apps to get a view of what is actually running (not all processes relate to an installed app icon that you can uninstall). I use Advanced Task Manager to view running apps, and Autorun Manager to control what processes start up at boot time.
Ian
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. In the meantime, as an experiment I uninstalled several apps including Amazon Appstore, 1Mobile Market, FB, and Wireless ADB. Good result - my battery charge hasn't decreased in an hour and a half. If I decide I miss them I can try adding them back and use your method.
That's good news!
I'd suggest that Wireless ADB is not to blame, since it does not stay resident once it's closed and in any case does nothing until you click the big red button
Of the others, I have Amazon Marketplace installed and I don't experience any battery issues (I'm Glownooted not Tinynooted but don't think that's relevant in this discussion), but I can't speak for the other two apps. If I were paranoid (and I am! ) I would point at Facebook, since it's purpose is marketing and wants to follow your every move
Ian

Removing T-Mobile CRAPPS from Huawei U8730

Hello fellow XDAers,
My wife replaced her Samsung Gravity Smart with the T-Mobile MyTouch Q, AKA the Huawei U8730 (not the older LG C800 model w/ the same name). She gave me the task of cleaning the junk APKs off of it to de-clutter it.
Rooting the phone was the first task. This method worked perfectly for me without any fuss (the app will return error 64, but after installing Superuser and rebooting, I had root access). I was able to use Titanium to remove much of the crap ware, but the most annoying bits gave the error "cannot find APK." Weird.
After digging around, I took an inventory of the apps in /data and /system.
The T-Mobile junk wasn't there.
I threw busybox on the phone and used the 'find' command, and I found where the apps were hiding: /cust/t-mobile/us/apps, which is a loopback-mounted ext3 partition. I tried to remount it read/write, but got 'permission denied' error. I figured something had the filesystem locked, so I ended all the apps that were running and tried again, but no luck.
However, I was able to remount the volume that held the ext3 image file read/write. It mounts to the /.cust_backup directory.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For those who will be following these steps themselves, at this point you will want to make sure to go into the Applications manager and uninstall any updates downloaded for the crapware you are going to remove. I will explain why below. It's not absolutely critical, but it will save you some head-scratching.
I remounted the partition read/write, grabbed the image file (located in /.cust_backup/image/cust.img), and uploaded the image file to a linux server.
On the linux server, I mounted the image, nuked the unwanted APKs, and unmounted the filesystem.
I created a backup of the original cust.img file, then overwrote the one in /.cust_backup/image
Last step was to reboot the phone, and most of the junkware was gone.
Here's where the head-scratching came in. A couple of the apps were still there, and I didn't know why. I double-checked the phone, and the APKs were in fact deleted. Then I realized: the app had received an update and I was seeing the update. When I uninstalled the update, the uninstall "failed" but the icon still disappeared. However, I had to reboot the phone again to fully remove it.
So, here's the process in a nutshell:
1. Uninstall all app updates for the crapware you plan to remove
2. Root the phone using This method .
3. copy down /.cust_backup/images/cust.img
4. Using a linux system, mount cust.img as a loopback device, then delete the unwanted APKs (they will be in t-mobile/us/apps)
5. Unmount the image (this writes your changes back into the cust.img you mounted in step #3)
6. On the phone, remount /.cust_backup r/w
7. overwrite /.cust_backup/images/cust.img with the modified version
8. Reboot the phone
That's it! Enjoy your uncluttered phone!
I know it's been a while since the original post, but I was wondering if OP has had any problems with the phone since then, or if anyone else has tried this with the Huawei u8730 and had success. My wife also wants all this crap removed from her phone, but she would probably murder me if I bricked it in the process.
Thanks!
Just on a side note here as I'm still using this device. How did you get around the non-working tethering on this device? Both the USB and Wifi hotspot won't work unless you've subscribed to the T-Mobile Smartphone Mobile HotSpot app option on your account? Mine is unlocked and being used with another carrier, but only recently wanted to tether to it so I can't figure out how to correct this one. Also still looking around for any working custom ROM for this. Thx.

Why cannot I browse the root folder, yet could with stock android?

I have the following setup:
[ROM][7.1.2][OFFICIAL] LineageOS for N7105 by PoisonNinja
open_gapps-arm-7.1-pico-20170803
addonsu-14.1-arm-signed
And have followed the instructions to the letter, including wiping the internal storage and external SD card. I have also enabled root access in the developers menu. I have installed two different pieces of FTP server software. One called com.theolivetree.ftpserver and the other lutey.FTPServer, unfortunately I am not able to access the SD card at all through either pieces of software, furthermore which I think may be the root cause (haha) of the problem, I am not even able to browse the root folder after sucessfully connecting. This was not the case when I was running stock 4.4 android without root - granted I could not do anything with it, but could browse the root folder and all sub-folders. Flashing LineageOS seems to have made it now impossible to even view the root folder - is this some option?

Folder Mount

Rooted now my G5 on Stock Rom, also get Root Access but get 2 issues which wasn´t planned :silly:
1. getting all couple of seconds a information that LED notifier are allowed to get root access (yes, it is set on don´t ask again, allow without timelimit...)
2. Reason why I´m rooted the phone was: Want a Couple of apps save on SD Card, now foldermount mention that supersu isn´t installed so can´t work properly
Any Ideas or maybe an alternative app to install apps on sd?
some apps only work with a certain superuser
superSU does work with the G5 but I don't think it works with stock rom - although I haven't tried (you have to root first then switch superuser although like I said haven't tried with stock rom but I have got supersu working on lineageos but I would stick to the inbuilt root)
If you want to root the G5 with stock I would use magisk - you need version 11.6 to flash in twrp then you can update to the latest version in magisk manager - only root works with magisk - dont use magisk hide or modules as they are currently not supported
If you are on lineageos just flash the suaddon zip (see the first post instructions on lineageos dev page)
An alternative app would be link2sd - please note you can natively move apps to sd but any apps that use a widget or require anything to do with internal storage will no longer work
For these apps its best to symlink them - this requires you to create a 2nd ext partition on your sd card then you link these apps to your sd card - They will then be on your sd card but act as though they are on internal because they are symlinked
Be warned that the more apps you link in this way you may find your phone become more laggy

[Q] SDCard write issue with 3rd party apps (0 byte files)

Issue:
When using Open Camera, ES File Explorer or Amaze file explorer files are created with zero bytes. i.e. Copying a file will create a 0 byte file or if file storage location set to the SDCard, the Open Camera app will fail to record video or take pictures.
Initially write operations on the SDCard did seem to work for a while (recorded one video before fail using Open Camera and copied files across without errors).
All operations are fine on internal memory.
There is no issue using the built-in file manager and camera apps. Will update as I check though other apps affected by this.
Setup:
The phone was on MIUI 9, then updated to the MIUI 10 OTA update (from beginning of Oct2018):
GLOBAL Version 10.0.1.0 (OEDMIFH)
Android 8.1.0 OPMI.171019.019
Kernel 4.4.78-pref-ge3e6edb
I then performed a factory reset from the boot recovery before installing everything from my previous phone. I didn't try MIUI 9 with an SDCard.
System Apps and Apps up to date.
I then started with the SDCard (128GB Class 10) cleanly formatted on PC, FAT32, and then when inserted into the phone formatted again. Looked for option to mount as Internal Storage, but noted that this isn’t available on this device (probably for the best), and no obvious option for encryption???
Troubleshooting:
Initially I thought, OK failed SDCard (this was before I found built-in apps worked OK). So I removed the card formatted it and checked using a test program to write/verify the whole card and it checked out OK. Still same issues back in the phone.
Next I pulled SDCard from another phone and tried that, and I get the very same issues. Thinking less likely it is a failed SDCard now, perhaps it is a hardware issue with the phone. Although it did write some files before.
After reading a few places, mention of an issue on MIUI 9 but this was fixed in later update. The steps don't match with anything in MIUI 10.
There is also mention of a bug with Android Orio which is similar, where apps need Storage permissions. Checked and I'd given the apps this permission and I had.
Following this, I tried the standard apps (Camera and File Manager) and discovered that these wrote files without errors (using the very same files which fail before/after on the other apps). Right so looking less like a hardware issue (hopefully!).
For ES Explorer, first time you write to the SDCard you have to select the SDCard root (“Please choose the root directory (XXXX-XXXX) of ext-SDCard…”). In this step, the SDCARD is referred to as BOOT and ES Explorer mounts it with the ID of SDCARD. The internal memory is mounted as /storage/emulated/0 and the SDCard as /storage/XXXX-XXXX/.
Additional testing with the apps, has shown that the data is actually written by ES Explorer since the 0 byte file shown in ES Explorer after a copy, is the correct size and opens from the standard file manager. This is further confirmed when performing a reboot or remount of the SDCard, ES Explorer then reads the file as it should… Any file copied/moved by the standard file manager is shown and works correctly, even from ES Explorer.
I get just the same behaviour with alternative file explorers such as Amaze. Also I think many of the other apps suffer from the same issue since they can't open the 0byte photo or video until there is a remount/reboot.
With regards to Open Camera, this has the option to Use Storage Access Framework, which I think I had to enable for it to select the SDCard for storage (otherwise I think it returned a “serious error” when a few seconds into recording). I suspect something similar is happening on this app, but perhaps not consistently. As mentioned before, the first time I noticed a problem was after it had recorded a video (which was fine) and the next one I recorded was 0 bytes. The fact that it recorded without complaining, in retrospect, suggests to me that it was only reporting 0 bytes for the file (and if I’d remounted the card I would have the video OK) – since it’d have to been writing the data somewhere.
So it may be that the issue isn't writing to the SDCard, but correctly reading the data afterwards without remounting the SDCard (or reboot).
I've noticed there is a new version of MIUI 10 released yesterday, so may pick that up to see if it magically solves things (nothing mentioned on change log).
Questions:
Anyone else experienced anything similar? Ans: Apparently yes, it is a "feature", aren't we lucky.
Am I missing some special setting? Ans: No.
Any thoughts on what the issue could be or if there is a fix? Ans: It can be fixed using root magisk.
Are your mount points similar/different? Ans: Guessing not and isn't related to the problem.
Did you do a factory reset after update (one possibility is that whatever made it work in MIUI 9 remained for most people if they didn't factory reset)? Ans: Not the cause of the problem.
Thanks
meltwater.
i thought i was the only one with zero bytes files. and when you transfer them back- all good
The only way I could find an alternative solution was to install "ExSDCard Access Enabler" module in magisk.
Then point the direction to /mnt/media-rw/XXXX-XXXX/* and you can carry on as usual.
But this only works for apps that allow you to enter or select a path where you can enter the directory path by typing or open a gui to browse to this directory.
Or a file manager such as Root explorer, just go back back back to / directory and go to /mnt and you'll find the folder from there.
Apps such as OpenCamera when selecting the save path you can manually either enter this path or choose to use the Android framework to go to this folder.
But if the app only has an option to "save to external sd card" it assumes the sdcard is mounted to /storage/XXXX-XXXX/* with write permissions.
A bit of a shame..but I don't use any apps that asks for this permission so I can live with it.
I like to mention that this behavior is the same on Treble roms too, Pie or Oreo.
dvijetrecine said:
i thought i was the only one with zero bytes files. and when you transfer them back- all good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, helps to know it isn't something terminal. Will update if I manage to get to the bottom of it.
SUPERUSER said:
The only way I could find an alternative solution was to install "ExSDCard Access Enabler" module in magisk.
Then point the direction to /mnt/media-rw/XXXX-XXXX/* and you can carry on as usual.
But this only works for apps that allow you to enter or select a path where you can enter the directory path by typing or open a gui to browse to this directory.
Or a file manager such as Root explorer, just go back back back to / directory and go to /mnt and you'll find the folder from there.
Apps such as OpenCamera when selecting the save path you can manually either enter this path or choose to use the Android framework to go to this folder.
But if the app only has an option to "save to external sd card" it assumes the sdcard is mounted to /storage/XXXX-XXXX/* with write permissions.
A bit of a shame..but I don't use any apps that asks for this permission so I can live with it.
I like to mention that this behavior is the same on Treble roms too, Pie or Oreo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, not come across it before, very odd behavior. Very glad I don't have to throw the card or return the phone.
I've seen magisk mentioned elsewhere, shall look into it. Does that require root? How easy is the Mi Max 3 to root? That sounds like that should be enough to make it work.
Also thanks for pointing out it is on other roms too, saves chasing down a fix through that. I assume then it does it on MIUI 9 too.
Thanks!
meltwater said:
Awesome, helps to know it isn't something terminal. Will update if I manage to get to the bottom of it.
Interesting, not come across it before, very odd behavior. Very glad I don't have to throw the card or return the phone.
I've seen magisk mentioned elsewhere, shall look into it. Does that require root? How easy is the Mi Max 3 to root? That sounds like that should be enough to make it work.
Also thanks for pointing out it is on other roms too, saves chasing down a fix through that. I assume then it does it on MIUI 9 too.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Magisk is the new "supersu" standard when it comes to root.
So it is the root per say. Yes you need root. But you root your phone by installing Magisk, its kind of a multi-tool.
You need to unlock your bootloader, if not already unlocked if you bought it that way like I did from Tradingshenzhen.
It will say Unlocked on the bootloader mi splash screen when you turn the phone on if the bootloader is unlocked.
And then you need to properly flash TWRP. Other than that you can stay on stock rom and use Magisk
Magisk thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
ExSDCard Write Access Enabler module thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/module-exsdcard-write-access-enabler-t3670428
I see something I did not see before.
In the thread OP mentions:
Since the v3.3 ZIP version, a feature has been added especially for Oreo (Android 8) users, on this Android version, several special permissions can be used by any app.
For exemple, theses specials permissions are used to get access to reading logs, managing the power of the device.
If you want to use this special feature, you just have to follow theses easy steps:
- creating a simple file named "ExSDCard_Oreo_apps" in the module path, so: /sbin/.core/img/ExSDCard/ExSDCard_Oreo_apps (remove any extension).
- Write all the apps package names that require a special permissions, one by line, for exemple:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So with this you can apparently create custom rules for apps that don't support selecting the external SD card path.
Maybe you should look in to that and experiment
This bug happened across android 8.0 in various brand.
Since I familiars with ES File Explorer, I solved by root the phone, convert ES File Explorer into System app via Titanium Backup, then everything work perfectly fine. No more 0 bytes copy file.
ES File Explorer still work even I un-root my phone by uninstall Magisk.
If you're really not want to root your phone or any other reason. Just copy file that you want then restart your phone. Copied file will now become usable file.
My bootloader isn't unlocked and for now I'd rather avoid rooting my phone (may well do so later).
Good to know there are work-arounds, and that my device hardware is ok.
Will have an experiment and see if I can live with it until I have a go at rooting. Even if I do the temp fix of ES explorer.
Thanks for the info and tips.
Same **** for me. 1 year to solve this stupid bug and they dont have fix this **** yet
Say thanks to xiaomi[emoji108][emoji867]
Enviado desde mi MI MAX 3 mediante Tapatalk
Hmm i'm getting an SD card tomm for my Mix Max 3, i use the Asus File Manager. I wonder if that problem happnes with other file manager apps. Tried the Samsung Evo and another one and that 0byte bug there. No bueno.
Wmateria said:
Hmm i'm getting an SD card tomm for my Mix Max 3, i use the Asus File Manager. I wonder if that problem happnes with other file manager apps. Tried the Samsung Evo and another one and that 0byte bug there. No bueno.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, looks like it is a solid bug. For now, I'm living with it and use the space I have on internal memory to transfer data to before using a System file manager to transfer to SDcard.
Been trying some app development and now found the "Install via USB" bug.
Again can work around it, but it does spoil debugging with Android Studio.
There are certainly some odd bugs on this phone, I suspect down to Xiaomi going "off plan".
meltwater said:
Issue:
When using Open Camera, ES File Explorer or Amaze file explorer files are created with zero bytes. i.e. Copying a file will create a 0 byte file or if file storage location set to the SDCard, the Open Camera app will fail to record video or take pictures.
Initially write operations on the SDCard did seem to work for a while (recorded one video before fail using Open Camera and copied files across without errors).
All operations are fine on internal memory.
There is no issue using the built-in file manager and camera apps. Will update as I check though other apps affected by this.
Setup:
The phone was on MIUI 9, then updated to the MIUI 10 OTA update (from beginning of Oct2018):
GLOBAL Version 10.0.1.0 (OEDMIFH)
Android 8.1.0 OPMI.171019.019
Kernel 4.4.78-pref-ge3e6edb
I then performed a factory reset from the boot recovery before installing everything from my previous phone. I didn't try MIUI 9 with an SDCard.
System Apps and Apps up to date.
I then started with the SDCard (128GB Class 10) cleanly formatted on PC, FAT32, and then when inserted into the phone formatted again. Looked for option to mount as Internal Storage, but noted that this isn’t available on this device (probably for the best), and no obvious option for encryption???
Troubleshooting:
Initially I thought, OK failed SDCard (this was before I found built-in apps worked OK). So I removed the card formatted it and checked using a test program to write/verify the whole card and it checked out OK. Still same issues back in the phone.
Next I pulled SDCard from another phone and tried that, and I get the very same issues. Thinking less likely it is a failed SDCard now, perhaps it is a hardware issue with the phone. Although it did write some files before.
After reading a few places, mention of an issue on MIUI 9 but this was fixed in later update. The steps don't match with anything in MIUI 10.
There is also mention of a bug with Android Orio which is similar, where apps need Storage permissions. Checked and I'd given the apps this permission and I had.
Following this, I tried the standard apps (Camera and File Manager) and discovered that these wrote files without errors (using the very same files which fail before/after on the other apps). Right so looking less like a hardware issue (hopefully!).
For ES Explorer, first time you write to the SDCard you have to select the SDCard root (“Please choose the root directory (XXXX-XXXX) of ext-SDCard…”). In this step, the SDCARD is referred to as BOOT and ES Explorer mounts it with the ID of SDCARD. The internal memory is mounted as /storage/emulated/0 and the SDCard as /storage/XXXX-XXXX/.
Additional testing with the apps, has shown that the data is actually written by ES Explorer since the 0 byte file shown in ES Explorer after a copy, is the correct size and opens from the standard file manager. This is further confirmed when performing a reboot or remount of the SDCard, ES Explorer then reads the file as it should… Any file copied/moved by the standard file manager is shown and works correctly, even from ES Explorer.
I get just the same behaviour with alternative file explorers such as Amaze. Also I think many of the other apps suffer from the same issue since they can't open the 0byte photo or video until there is a remount/reboot.
With regards to Open Camera, this has the option to Use Storage Access Framework, which I think I had to enable for it to select the SDCard for storage (otherwise I think it returned a “serious error” when a few seconds into recording). I suspect something similar is happening on this app, but perhaps not consistently. As mentioned before, the first time I noticed a problem was after it had recorded a video (which was fine) and the next one I recorded was 0 bytes. The fact that it recorded without complaining, in retrospect, suggests to me that it was only reporting 0 bytes for the file (and if I’d remounted the card I would have the video OK) – since it’d have to been writing the data somewhere.
So it may be that the issue isn't writing to the SDCard, but correctly reading the data afterwards without remounting the SDCard (or reboot).
I've noticed there is a new version of MIUI 10 released yesterday, so may pick that up to see if it magically solves things (nothing mentioned on change log).
Questions:
Anyone else experienced anything similar?
Am I missing some special setting?
Any thoughts on what the issue could be or if there is a fix?
Are your mount points simlar/different?
Did you do a factory reset after update (one possibility is that whatever made it work in MIUI 9 remained for most people if they didn't factory reset)?
Thanks
meltwater.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no need for this post. erased.
I want know why xiaomi dont fix this ****?
Think that mi max 3 will die with this bug. Never buy a xiaomi phone more
jorgeepelos said:
I want know why xiaomi dont fix this ****?
Think that mi max 3 will die with this bug. Never buy a xiaomi phone more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get a Mi Mix 2S
Wmateria said:
Get a Mi Mix 2S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone with 3 month since release and they dont solve bugs and i have to buy more expensive phones?
All xiaomi phones its ****, policies, comunity,software and bugs that the dont solve
And People like you its the problem=sh it comunity guys that likes get fuked the ass by xiaomi[emoji108][emoji6]
Enviado desde mi MI MAX 3 mediante Tapatalk
jorgeepelos said:
Phone with 3 month since release and they dont solve bugs and i have to buy more expensive phones?
All xiaomi phones its ****, policies, comunity,software and bugs that the dont solve
And People like you its the problem=sh it comunity guys that likes get fuked the ass by xiaomi[emoji108][emoji6]
Enviado desde mi MI MAX 3 mediante Tapatalk[/QUOTE.
It's people like you who make the community bad when you out your hatred in the forums or is not knowledgeable enough because main post talks about THIRD PARTY FILE MANAGER APPS not 1ST PARTY Xiaomi File Manger APP and thinks it's the end of the world on here and the Xiaomi forums. And trust me there is plenty of you people around pushing Devs and OP here by complaining when other people already stated the fact many times on a thread, and trust me, I hardly take offense. "Read", it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Categories

Resources