[Q] Nexus 4 as Mass Storage Device. - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello folks!
So the question is as the topic says, Is it possible?
I've searched over the internet but cannot find a specific answer.

i think some roms may have that feature, cyanogen, i never found a solution since its the internal storage not micro sd card, im not sure whats the format,i found it was better to have a server to transfer data

From what I recall it's not possible due to a hardware limitation... I could be wrong, but I haven't seen it available on any of the ROMs I've tried.
Sent from my Nexus 4

No.
The closest way you're going to get beside MTP is to use Samba share. Either share a folder over the network on your machine, then use ES File Explorer, go to Network -> LAN and scan for your machine. Or with root, use SambaDroid to share your phone's storage and access to it from your PC. The transfer is going to be slow, but its still easier to manage files compared to MTP.
If you don't mind command lines, there is adbsync: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1898358

Hi, i did a walk around.. i connect the device in PTP mode.. then I copy files from the PC to the pictures folder of my phone, then i manage files with internal file manager and i move them wherever I want.. Same thing to copy files out of the mobile..

Related

Files on SD card without restarting

Hi at all,
everytime I put files on the sd card, I have to reboot Android because without ES File Explorer won't show the new files I put on the memory card.
Even "Refresh" in ES File Explorer doesn't helo. Is there any other way?
Thanks!
Wifi sync is your friend
lamajstro said:
Hi at all,
everytime I put files on the sd card, I have to reboot Android because without ES File Explorer won't show the new files I put on the memory card.
Even "Refresh" in ES File Explorer doesn't helo. Is there any other way?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a well documented problem. I think it's to do with the way that android sees the SD card with booting from it but don't quote me on that. As far as I know, the best ways round it are:
1. Use dropbox. Free 2gb account and can be very useful.
2. FTP. This is my personal favourite. SwiFTP is a free FTP server for android and there are many free ftp clients for PC/Mac/Linux available. I use FileZilla (opensource ftp client).
3. I believe that if you unmount your SD card before copying files over, then remount however I don't find it particularly successful.
There are other ways like shared folders, email files etc but the top 2 above are the best for me. I use dropbox for small files and one-offs or if I'm copying a lot of stuff and don't want to reboot to winmo, then FTP.
It's also worth noting that if you are a windows user then winamp can sync music over wifi providing you install the winamp android client. However both winamp for windows and android are free.
Hope this helps..
enjoy
Ok, thank you. But that's bad.
The problem is not only that I want to put files through USB on it, it happens also when I use CurrentWidget for example that wants to create a log file on the sd card. Hmm...
I use MDJ Froyo HD 4.6, and there are practically no problems when using mass storage option... After unplugging the files are on the SD card... Only sometimes have to reboot, but not very often...
Why so complicated? Use "Multi Mount SD Card" (it´s free) to connect to PC and you will see new files without rebooting.
lamajstro said:
Ok, thank you. But that's bad.
The problem is not only that I want to put files through USB on it, it happens also when I use CurrentWidget for example that wants to create a log file on the sd card. Hmm...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're now saying that applications are unable to create files on the SD then there is something wrong with your card. I'd recommend copying everything off it and reformatting it (use disk management to format it, and use the largest cluster size available).
Some builds suffer from this problem and some don't.
Im using HD2ONE 0.3.6 and it's working fine. File explorer detects the new files after transferring via USB Cable
I love this build paired up with the CM6.1.1 Gingerbread Theme
kashifsiddique said:
Some builds suffer from this problem and some don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard many people complain about not being able to see files after copying them across, but I've never heard anyone say that an app could not make a file on the sd card.
I am having the same exact problem. I was transferring files from this PC to my phone and everything was going fine (it refreshes right away after disconnect) then suddenly, my SD Card got corrupted and I was forced to reformat. I used the same ROM (Darkstone's SUPERAM FROYO) and after that, it won't sync anymore. I even tried removing it and using the HD2ONE (mentioned above) ROM and it was the same. I went home, copied everything from my SD backup from the other PC and same symptoms.
I thought I was missing a sync app or something but no. I looked into each of the folders I copied and most of them are blank.
I hope someone can save us!
I find it easiest and safest to just use ES Explorer to access the network shares and copy files wirelessly. The way our data.img is mounted, giving the pc full access to the sdcard is just not a good move. There was good reason when you connected to windows' sync software it disables your phone from accessing the card.
Even though the hd2one build seems to handle it correctly I almost never do it anymore unless it's for big files. It saves the wear and tear on the usb port anyway.
I had that "problem" too, but for me it was easy to solve. Here is the whole procedure:
So, i want some files to put on my sdcard, i plug in the usb cable and select the option "use as a storage", dont check the "use allways" or "dont ask again" (or whatever this is called on your machine). Now the computer "see" the phone and i put my files on it. In this moment i cant browse the sdcard on my hd2, because its reserved for windows now, (thats why currentwidget cant write onto it, same if you have a wallpaper in some "wallpaper" folder on sd).
Now, when i am done, usually i unplug the usb cable for some seconds and then i plug it in again and choose the option "charge only" and the sdcard gets mounted in android like it should and all my new imported files are visible.
Its the same on WinMo, if you choose there the "HDD" option, you cant browse the sdcard on the mobile. Only if you choose "use active sync"(slower) you are able to browse the sdcard.
cheers
ps: the quickest way for me now is to use wifi and shared folders

[Q] Please Educate about USB Storage Limits

OK, to get to this message, I had to read a warning about getting banned if not a developer thread.
Well, this is. Sort of.
I posted a question in the general forum and commented on the same subject in the Q&A forum. I think I know my answer but I would like to know why this problem exists.
I just got my tablet Friday evening. I figured it all out and was able to use external storage on drives and USB sticks. When I try to connect my phone as a disk drive, no files.
I am assuming that access to these files is for lack of root access, which I am not going to get because I immediately let it update to 3.2.
So, could someone tell me if lack of root is the answer and why? The phone does instantly show up as a disk drive on XP and Windows 7.
Thanks, and moderators, please don't kick me out.
Did you try mounting your phone, if you can? And yes root it would be easier with the usb mount app, or just use an app like es file explorer that can go into the root section without root then go to mnt and in one of those files should be your phone files, because i have an env touch and i use usb mass storage and it shows up on my iconia
Thanks. Yes, I did see the folder MNT but it did not show up. Using my usual file explorers, I can see the internal storage and the SD card. The next entry is the USB STORAGE where I find no files when the phone is connected.
If I connect an external drive or usb memory device, I can access all the files. When I connect the phone as a drive I see that nothing is there.
When I connect these same devices to my home pc running Win 7 and laptop with XP, they all connect the same way.
There is something in the OS that is not letting my tablet file system see my phone file system.
Thanks for the reply, I'll keep my eye on this thread.
I'm having the same problem, i can import photos or videos from the phone when the phone is on mtp mode (media transfer protocol) but when in file transfer mode (msc) nothing shows up in the mnt folder or in drive mount app. i'm running taboonay 2.2 with villain kernel. It works fine with external hdd ntfs or fat. When connecting the phone to my computer i had to install a driver from windows update and it shows as an xperia arc, do i also need a driver in my tablet? Has anyone already connected and android phone to an android tablet in mass storage mode?
Sent from my A501 using XDA App
Not sure Root has anything to do with it. I'm rooted on both phone and tab , and have no access to the files on my phone. When in "disk drive" mode, all it does is "charge".

USB debugging not connecting to mac

I have usb debugging checked, i even downloaded that android file transfer utility for mac, i selected the media file transfer option under the android u.i ..and still nothing has worked, i even tried mounting the storage through twrp but nothing seems to be working. Please help i'm trying to flash roms but i won't be able to if i don't have usb debugging working to put the files on the internal storage. Anyone know how to solve this issue? :crying:
yoh65 said:
I have usb debugging checked, i even downloaded that android file transfer utility for mac, i selected the media file transfer option under the android u.i ..and still nothing has worked, i even tried mounting the storage through twrp but nothing seems to be working. Please help i'm trying to flash roms but i won't be able to if i don't have usb debugging working to put the files on the internal storage. Anyone know how to solve this issue? :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android File Transfer has never worked for me on Mac going back to several of my android devices as far back as the OG Epic/Epic 4G/S3. The only Android phones it ever worked with for me were oddly Nexus devices, Nexus S 4G and Galaxy Nexus (could have something to do with those phones not having external SD and the way the internal NAND is set up).
Anyway, i'd suggest you just use your memory card to move things back and forth or do what i do which is use FTP wireless between phone and Mac. I use Transmit on the Mac and ES File Explorer (file manager) and SwiFTP (FTP server) on the phone. Never have to plug and unplug USB or take out memory card. My Mac's I.P address is mapped to ES File Explorer and i just browse it and copy back and forth whatever i want OR i run SwiFTP on the phone and browse it from the Mac.
Of-course there are tons of other FTP apps out there you can look into that work just fine as well.
I do find it odd that even mounting via TWRP does not work for you. At least that works fine for me but who wants to turn off their phone anytime they want to transfer a file..
LordLugard said:
Android File Transfer has never worked for me on Mac going back to several of my android devices as far back as the OG Epic/Epic 4G/S3. The only Android phones it ever worked with for me were oddly Nexus devices, Nexus S 4G and Galaxy Nexus (could have something to do with those phones not having external SD and the way the internal NAND is set up).
Anyway, i'd suggest you just use your memory card to move things back and forth or do what i do which is use FTP wireless between phone and Mac. I use Transmit on the Mac and ES File Explorer (file manager) and SwiFTP (FTP server) on the phone. Never have to plug and unplug USB or take out memory card. My Mac's I.P address is mapped to ES File Explorer and i just browse it and copy back and forth whatever i want OR i run SwiFTP on the phone and browse it from the Mac.
Of-course there are tons of other FTP apps out there you can look into that work just fine as well.
I do find it odd that even mounting via TWRP does not work for you. At least that works fine for me but who wants to turn off their phone anytime they want to transfer a file..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you saved my life !!! <3 using all my thanks on you!

MM & Formatting an SD card as internal storage

Hi!,
I have a 16gb Moto X Style with a decently fast 64GBs sd card and have it formatted as internal memory (mostly so I can put all my spotify music on it without having to deal with workarounds on the ****ty app). Everything works great and I'm quite happy and all that but I've been having issues with transferring stuff back and forth between my computer and my phone from day one and want to know if it's common or if I'm doing something wrong.
My issues are this:
If I connect the phone to my computer via USB Windows recognizes it but I can't browse it's content. It's empty.
If I use an app like ES File Explorer to transfer files through wifi I can save stuff and browse it on the phone but if I transfer a rom and then boot to TWRP it's not accessible.
TWRP can't make nandroid backups at all.
Are all those side effects of the sd card being encrypted? Am I doing something wrong?.
Change USB mode to mtp
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
I'm having the exact same problem. I too formatted my 64gig sdcard and can not make back ups. I get error code 5 in twrp, unable to create back up folder. I also can't browse some folders, I use fx file explorer and when I open some folders they say access denied. I have given the app permissions as well. If anyone can help it'd be much appreciated!
Haven't figured it out yet. Also can not install busybox using any of the install locations

usb to pc connection protocol

when i connect my phone to pc, i get several options on the protocol, but none seem to get me my SD card as an actual drive... if i do media or photo, i get the axon as a "device" but not a drive letter. is there any way to set this? i'd like to be able to edit my entire sd card music library directly via foobar, but i can't add the folder if it's a device, only if it has a standard drive path... (for some reason i can navigate to it via foobar for single files, but not folders)
methcat said:
when i connect my phone to pc, i get several options on the protocol, but none seem to get me my SD card as an actual drive... if i do media or photo, i get the axon as a "device" but not a drive letter. is there any way to set this? i'd like to be able to edit my entire sd card music library directly via foobar, but i can't add the folder if it's a device, only if it has a standard drive path... (for some reason i can navigate to it via foobar for single files, but not folders)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Mass Storage mode is disable prety much by default on all recent LP and MM builds. There are ways to enable it but it's kerenl dependent.
Here is an enabler for Android One devices , you can start from there to see if this will work on other devices but i would not try this unless you are unlocked BL and backed with known good restore for boot.img. It probably needs proper kernal support for the device itself
http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro.../tweak-enable-mass-storage-usb-mode-t3128839/
methcat said:
when i connect my phone to pc, i get several options on the protocol, but none seem to get me my SD card as an actual drive... if i do media or photo, i get the axon as a "device" but not a drive letter. is there any way to set this? i'd like to be able to edit my entire sd card music library directly via foobar, but i can't add the folder if it's a device, only if it has a standard drive path... (for some reason i can navigate to it via foobar for single files, but not folders)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned by @peramikic , Mass Storage is no longer available since LP release, but other option is when you plug your device select MTP, that will allow you the use of your sdcard as mass storage but yeah i know not the same.
Thanks guys. Guess I'm Sol.

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