Database Users

SD card

Anyone have problems with the SD card slot I can't copy or create folders I have tryed more than one SD card I'm running stock 3.2 with no root
Sent from my LG-P925 using XDA App

There seems to be a change in the root owner of the 3.2.1 ROM for the external sd card that keeps you from being able to write to the sd card from the Thrive.

It also did this on 3.1
Sent from my LG-P925 using XDA App

File Manager HD (Honeycomb
Had same issue until I found this nice app on Android Marketplace:
File Manager HD (Honeycomb) by Rhythm Software
It is free and I was very pleased. After installing, I was able to access my sd card, create folders, then I copied my apps and pictures that were backed up on the internal memory card and pasted into folders I created on my external sd card.
App can be found on Marketplace but I did experience trouble downloading from there. However, there was a link included in the App Description so I was able to click on the link and downloaded app directly from that link.
You can find the link just after the first note that reads:
NOTE: If you have problem for downloading this application to your device from Android market, please directly download it from our website:
Name of app is:
File Manager HD (Honeycomb)
Rhythm Software

Actually I faced the same issue on my thrive, I just got a brand new 16G SDHC class6 card yesterday, and same problem the CARD couldn't be operated. Here is my thrive 3.1.04.5.0006 in china, finally I changed another card in my hand which is 2g SD c4 into slot, everything was ok, then I mounted 16g back again, surprised I can read the content of 16G card, but still can not create or paste anything. File manager HD does not work either, I feel thats the problem of permisssion

I think its Toshiba's problem maybe I should try emailing them and reporting the problem and maybe they will work up a fix
Sent from my LG-P925 using XDA App

Toshiba is well aware of the issue. If you go to the Toshiba site, many have reported it. Actually, it is not a Toshiba problem per say. Google made a change in the permissions on the sd card along with changing the mount point. If you check, many manufacturers are having this issue since HC 3.2 came out.

this seems not only issue for 3.2, 3.1 also, but mine is resovled for now, I can read/write stuff in, however I do not why it can work right now, just guess its not so stable.

I don't know why this is, but maybe it will help someone. I've been using Android devices for some time now, with the Cyanogen Mod ROMs. I just got the Thrive this past weekend and am running the stock 3.1 ROM, rooted.
I installed an SD card that has a lot of data on it from another Android device (chiefly e-books, which are organized in a "Books" folder at the root, then in subfolders by author). I found that the directory /sdcard/ had the expected folders in it (using the Toshiba File Manager), but that none of my book readers could find any of the "author" subfolders. It looked as if only the top-level directories existed and everything under them had vanished!
After doing a lot of head scratching, and moving files around, etc. I discovered that there was a directory called /sdcard/sdcard-disk0/ which contained all of the file structure that exists in the root of the physical SD card, as viewed on any other computer (desktops or another Android device).
Somehow, the Toshiba version of Android is creating what I think is a logical device (or maybe a symlink?) to the "real" SD card. I don't know why, but when I point apps to this directory instead of just /sdcard/ things start to work again.

I can help with a dirty hack to setup the external SD as the primary storage. Only for 3.2, will update this post as soon as I am at my desk.
Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk
**EDIT This isn't a failing on toshibas part, but the nature of honeycomb itself.
however, here is how to setup your external SD card as the primary storage. I can't recommend enough to NOT take the card out while the tablet is in operation. This is a dirty method of changing up the mount points in the vold.fstab.
First it will require root on your tablet. You will need to download any file explorer that can mount the system as r/w. ES file manager, root explorer, etc etc.
Browse to /etc/ and open vold.fstab, the built in text editor in root explorer will do the trick nicely.
You need to switch the mount points of both the sd cards.
dev_mount storage /mnt/sdcard 8 /devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/mmc_host/mmc0
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard2 auto /devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.2/mmc_host/mmc1
will then look like.
dev_mount storage /mnt/sdcard2 8 /devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/mmc_host/mmc0
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.2/mmc_host/mmc1
noticing the 2 (external sd card) is being mounted as the thrives storage instead of an extra card.
Save the file, reboot the thrive, and enjoy installing as many apps as you want to your external sd card.

Im stock and havent had an issue with
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App

[Q] First impressions & SD card issue?

Hi,
Just Got the 7.7 3g - so far so good. Screen is as good as they say
The extra resolution defn. helps with web browsing.
Not finding any lag really.
7.7 is just about the limit for my two handed use but i would say the original 7" was a wee bit easier to handle but something with time should become more intuitive.
Just a few issues - external sd card is somewhat limited. Might be deliberate by Samsung but does not make sense.
Normal user apps cant access to the external sdcard. Using connect bot, i checked permissions and it seems that it is mounted by the os with system permissions, where as the internal sdcard is mounted as sd_rw.
This can't be correct? The only way to copy stuff to it is to use the samsung system file explorer as it has system permissions So copy to internal first then to external - this sounds like a bug?
I have not rooted this yet - might then chown to sd_rw get rid of this ?? There is a lot of entries in the vold.fstab to make sense of. Not a hacker so just looking around. A bit too early to start soft-bricking
But I take these don't have protected bootloaders so thats why we can root ?
Video playback is v.good but I am not able to throw on a bluray m2ts file (obviously with the sd card issue) and play smoothly. I found Dice player can handle m2ts by renaming it to a ts file. It then can use hardware decoding. Still drops frames but still watchable to a certain degree. For all other files mx player is still best. I have lossy transcoded some "native" blurays clips and seems that it handle high profile h264 1080p at high bitrates very well. Hoping, formatting sd card ext3/ext4 will improve things.
On the whole very impressive device - plus more ics goodies to come soon hopefully.

I've noticed some issues with the external SD card as well. Only the stock file manager can copy files from the internal storage to the external storage. I was able to transfer files to the ext. SD via Dooblou's Wifi Explorer, though. Although that would crap out a few times.
I'm hoping that we see some new ROMs with a different file system at any rate. The 4GB limit is so 1998.

Fix for external sd write issue
I've already posted a fix for this in our original thread?
davp said:
There is a fix for the write to external storage in this thread:
Samsung Galaxy Tab Plus->Galaxy Tab Plus General->unable to write files to external sd card
post #7
Requires root to apply fix.
There is a new permission that older file managers aren't asking for yet. The stock file manager knows to ask for it.
Fix worked for my P6810 wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thaloneus said:
I can't post a link to the original post on another forum that worked for me so I will quote it:
Simple solution for external sdcard write access on Android 3.2...if you're rooted
I've found a simple solution for gaining write access to the external sdcard (/mnt/sdcard2) on Android 3.2. The sdcard is mounted r/w, but the owning group is media_rw which is linked to the WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE permission. Unfortunately, this permission was not required for access to the external sdcard prior to 3.2 so most file management utilities do not request it when they run...meaning they only have read access to the card.
The simple solution, if you're rooted, is as follows:
1. Using a root-enabled file manager, navigate to /system/etc/permissions and make sure you have mounted the file system r/w.
2. Edit platform.xml and find the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.
3. Add an additional group definition for this permission...<group gid="media_rw" />
4. Save the changes to the file.
5. Restart your tablet.
After this change, any apps that request the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission (which includes almost anything that access either of the sdcards) will gain group membership in both sdcard_rw AND media_rw, giving them r/w access to both sdcard filesystems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Rooted and then applied this change.
Can write to ext sdcard !!!!
Cheers

Will apply as soon as i get tad, should be getting it today, cant wait
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

I think you have to format the sd card in the tab. I been able to transfer files no problem. Maybe its due to the mtp for the internal sd.
Sent from my GT-P6800 using xda premium

will6316 said:
I think you have to format the sd card in the tab. I been able to transfer files no problem. Maybe its due to the mtp for the internal sd.
Sent from my GT-P6800 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using downloaded apps or the stock File Manager app? Because I formatted the SD card in the Tab and nothing else can write to it. Now, I can drag and drop stuff from my computer via MTP, but that's not the same issue.

Ok, I'm trying to add the permission and it doesn't seem to save after a reboot. I'm rooted and made sure to mount that directory as R/W. After I edit platform.xml and reboot it simply reverts. Can anyone offer a more granular description to this n00b?
Thanks.
Edit: Nevermind. I edited the file on my computer and copied it over the original and am good to go.

burhanistan said:
Ok, I'm trying to add the permission and it doesn't seem to save after a reboot. I'm rooted and made sure to mount that directory as R/W. After I edit platform.xml and reboot it simply reverts. Can anyone offer a more granular description to this n00b?
Thanks.
Edit: Nevermind. I edited the file on my computer and copied it over the original and am good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Burhanistan. I had this problem too and did what you did to get around it. Now I can read/write to the external SD with any file explorer.

Hello,
I can access the external SD with no problem, only issue is Titanium backup showing 440Mb capacity on the external SD (32Gb card).
Anyone with the same issue? Any fix?
Thanks.

No problem for me
davp said:
I've already posted a fix for this in our original thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Things must have changed as i got my P6800 recently did the upgrade from samsung and tried to copy to external sd and no problem for me. I never tried to do it pre upgrade but maybe the upgrade fixed that. Re i can copy and paste to device from my pc when its connected - to both device and sd. I can also copy using the the stock file manager from device to sd card.

No Issues here also
I recieved the tap a week ago. Now my 32GB Sandisk SD is here.
The Tap did at the first startup and using the described 12 MB Android update via internet conn.
Until now there is no issue between writing from/to SD over PC/MTP, copying between internal and external SD. Used preinstalled Filemanager and ES File Ex.
I tried it unrooted and rooted but not before the Android update.

davp said:
Simple solution for external sdcard write access on Android 3.2...if you're rooted
I've found a simple solution for gaining write access to the external sdcard (/mnt/sdcard2) on Android 3.2. The sdcard is mounted r/w, but the owning group is media_rw which is linked to the WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE permission. Unfortunately, this permission was not required for access to the external sdcard prior to 3.2 so most file management utilities do not request it when they run...meaning they only have read access to the card.
The simple solution, if you're rooted, is as follows:
1. Using a root-enabled file manager, navigate to /system/etc/permissions and make sure you have mounted the file system r/w.
2. Edit platform.xml and find the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.
3. Add an additional group definition for this permission...<group gid="media_rw" />
4. Save the changes to the file.
5. Restart your tablet.
After this change, any apps that request the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission (which includes almost anything that access either of the sdcards) will gain group membership in both sdcard_rw AND media_rw, giving them r/w access to both sdcard filesystems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people are reporting the above procedure is no more needed, however, with several apps (like Titanium backup, and a SAMBA explorer), writing to the sdcard (extstorage/.../sdcard) is still impossible (GT6800 updated to latest samsung firmware).
I have used this procedure and can state that Titanium backup works now with the SD card.
Thanks to many reading within the XDA forum, I have found this simpler procedure :
- download / install the "Root Browser Lite" app from the android market
- add write access to group and other to the following directory: /system, /system/etc, /system/etc/permissions (with root browser Lite, press on the directory name during 3 seconds to get a contextual menu allowing to change the permissions)
- add write access to group and other to the file platform.xml in /system/etc/permissions
- use the editor of "Root Browser Lite" to modify the file platform.xml as described above (you should have two <group gid= ...> lines within the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE xml block.)
- save the file. Verify that a .bak file has been created and that the date of platform.xml changed.
- remove the write access.
- Turn off the GTAB, then turn it ON.
NB: Titanium backup still reports a erronous free size on the SD card (401MB), but backups on the sdcard work.

can't save the xlm doc
davp said:
I've already posted a fix for this in our original thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I edit the file but when I try to save it I fail because it says original saved as .....xlm.bak, but I can't find that file and the one I find is unchanged, any ideas?

There is an automated installer for the fix here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21670802
Is for the plus but worked fine for me
Sent from my SCH-I815 using Tapatalk

damm, must forget something, just followed exacty all the steps
still no writing on sd card
the automatic installer failed also

IS there a way to go into the (forgive the incorrect term) "registry" or similar, and have Android re-interpret/understand that instead of looking in "/sdcard"... it should instead look/point programs to "/mnt/sdcard/extstorages/sdcard"...
i heard that it might be called something like a "simlink" or "symbolic link"... maybe this could resolve the application installation issue to the sdcard as well as backups, transfers, etc... right now, not only do i run out of space too fast, can't install apps to the sd card, but as well, if i should run a hard reset... all my data erases! (yes, the internal "SD card" is erased in a hard reset)...
so, for all practical senses, when it says it will erase data, unless you KNOW you have copied ALL you user data to your "Real" SD Card, you will kill your data without even knowing it when you do a hard reset, even if you "thought" you were protected because "I saved my info to the SD card!"
(and yes, this was my experience today, so it's a fact.)
backup programs won't point to the sd card, (app manager, titanium, app list backup, etc)...
so unless you actively move files individually to the card (and know where to look)...
Bottom line... is there a hack/workaround on this that's not just "open up for file transfers" or is someone working on a ROM that might kill the partitioning and allow the /sdcard to actually point to a real external card?

Edited: Nevermind...

acess-rights-hell
hi forum
i would like to use the EzyKernel v1 - 23/02/2012 as in post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1513413&highlight=ezykernel
one of the prerequisites is a stock ZSKL firmware.
on the tab is/was XXKL4 AUT/CH
i successfully flashed the ZSKL2 - but that's where the nightmare started: i could not write to sdcard, busybox/superuser don't work properly, as i can't get root via su - which means to me, that there are messed up accessrights also in other places, not just the SD. the funny thing is, that i finally got the overclocking EzyKernel working, but not busybox + superuser.
does that sound familiar to anyone ?
i would really appreciate any ideas about this.
thank you
with best regards from switzerland
roland

could you please explain what "make sure you have mounted the file system r/w" means. And sorry for my noob question, but does this fix allow to install apps on the external sd card or I'm missing something.

Bind/Link to external sd card from folder within internal sd card

First of all, I just created a thread about this but apparently it never posted so if there are multiple threads by me I apologize.
Anyway, I am trying to create a folder in /sdCard that will link to /storage/extSdCard for apps that start in internal sd card but won't let me go up one folder so that I can navigate to external sd card. I did accomplish this on my s2 using directory bind but it doesn't seem to work on my note 3. I'm sorry if this is confusing. I will try to elaborate if needed.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Can anyone help me, please?
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Directory bind is old and no longer supported.
Check out the app "folder mount" in the play store. Worked a charm on my s4 so I'm sure it will be fine on the Note 3 as well.
Sent from my SM-N9005

Has anyone got folder mount to work with the Note 3 yet? I'm running stock MJ7 rooted with Chanfire easy root method, double and triple checked everything. Managed to get the app to move the original data from internal SD to my 64GB Sandisk Class 10 external SD but the link pin will not turn green.
It's driving me mad and I'm on the verge of selling the Note 3 and going back to my S2 (along with the very easy vold.fstab SD card swap mod)!!

Use solid explorer if you want to go up a folder to navigate to external sd. Also note 3 does app2sd so why the need for all this?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

uf21 said:
Use solid explorer if you want to go up a folder to navigate to external sd. Also note 3 does app2sd so why the need for all this?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
App2sd moves the installed app files, not the SD data that many games download in order to play. Some are in excess of 1-2GB and if you have a few installed then your internal SD space soon runs out

Same issue
I created a thread idential to this earlier n however ot realising this one already existed my bad.
Ive had the exact same problem, the closest ive came is with File mount i was able to get Modern combat 4 to work succesfully, but nothing else and i tryed most of the top end games with massive data files.
No ideas why mc4 worked, and real racing 3 worked. All of the other games show up as binding correctly and when i run a check the directorys show as being mounted in the same way as MC4 and real racing 3 however when i run the apk the games cant find the data files and start re downloading.
Hopefully someone works away round this or creates a new programme cause its so restrictive, install the top 10 android games and all your internal memorys completely used up
i used to use apps2sd before directory bind was available but the reality is that its pretty useless now for most modern games,

[Q] How do I backup to extsdcard in MyBackupPro 4.0.5 on KitKat 4.4.2 on my i9505?

I've recently updated my firmware to Kitkat 4.4.2 and I am unable to save to my extsdcard using Mybackup Pro 4.0.5. Every time I've tried to backup to the extsdcard, I get "The path that you entered is not valid, your change was not saved".

okizen said:
I've recently updated my firmware to Kitkat 4.4.2 and I am unable to save to my extsdcard using Mybackup Pro 4.0.5. Every time I've tried to backup to the extsdcard, I get "The path that you entered is not valid, your change was not saved".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem. I can't my backup to extsdcard using my GO Backup and Titanium Backup. I used folder mount but still no success.

Afaik kitkat does not allow 3rd party apps to write on the external sdcard
Gesendet von meinem GT-I9505 mit Tapatalk

benni2903 said:
Afaik kitkat does not allow 3rd party apps to write on the external sdcard
Gesendet von meinem GT-I9505 mit Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually installed FolderMount from the store and it noted the issue and corrected on reboot, now TB and other apps work fine with SD card.

nrps1 said:
I actually installed FolderMount from the store and it noted the issue and corrected on reboot, now TB and other apps work fine with SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the last few days Samsung has been pushing out Android 4.4.2 to flagship devices like the Galaxy
Note III and Galaxy S4. Unfortunately, Google implemented an SD card write restriction in the latest
Android version which can be quite annoying for users with an SD card in their phone.
The new “feature” basically restricts apps from writing to external SD cards. This can be quite
annoying, because many users want to store apps on a secondary SD card instead of the main storage
unit.
Luckily, how to fixing this problem can be easily done if you have root access. Here’s how you can do it
(Please be aware that you’re performing these changes on your own risk!):
Make sure that you have root access
1. Perform a NANDROID backup to be completely safe
2. Use a root-enabled file manager and navigate to /system/etc/permissions
3. Edit platform.xml and find “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“
4. Add an additional group definition for this permission: <group gid=”media_rw” />
5. Save the changes and restart your device
6. You are now able to write on your external SD card again
I hope that I was able to help you.

The newest version of My Backup Pro 4.0.9 supports now 4.4.2 but I still can't setup the backup directory for external SD card? Tryed
/sdcard/sd
/mnt/sdcard-ext
/sdcard/external_sd
/sdcard/
mnt/extSdCard
and still nothing, My Backup Pro still doing backup into internal memory. What is the point of having app on ur phone. I'm not rooted and don't want to do it.

Luk45z said:
The newest version of My Backup Pro 4.0.9 supports now 4.4.2 but I still can't setup the backup directory for external SD card? Tryed
/sdcard/sd
/mnt/sdcard-ext
/sdcard/external_sd
/sdcard/
mnt/extSdCard
and still nothing, My Backup Pro still doing backup into internal memory. What is the point of having app on ur phone. I'm not rooted and don't want to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1.
Even though I'm rooted, I agree 100% with you.

Try to move the app to your sd card. There should then be an app folder on the sd card and the app should be able to write there.
Sent from my GT-I9505

Thank for this tip, but didn't work for me... Stupid Google :/ still doing backup to internal memory.

DarkCase said:
In the last few days Samsung has been pushing out Android 4.4.2 to flagship devices like the Galaxy
Note III and Galaxy S4. Unfortunately, Google implemented an SD card write restriction in the latest
Android version which can be quite annoying for users with an SD card in their phone.
The new “feature” basically restricts apps from writing to external SD cards. This can be quite
annoying, because many users want to store apps on a secondary SD card instead of the main storage
unit.
Luckily, how to fixing this problem can be easily done if you have root access. Here’s how you can do it
(Please be aware that you’re performing these changes on your own risk!):
Make sure that you have root access
1. Perform a NANDROID backup to be completely safe
2. Use a root-enabled file manager and navigate to /system/etc/permissions
3. Edit platform.xml and find “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“
4. Add an additional group definition for this permission: <group gid=”media_rw” />
5. Save the changes and restart your device
6. You are now able to write on your external SD card again
I hope that I was able to help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi DarkCase
I've got Root Explorer 3.16 but I can't seem to edit the platform.xml file.

okizen said:
Hi DarkCase
I've got Root Explorer 3.16 but I can't seem to edit the platform.xml file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you press this first?

Thanks....
DarkCase said:
In the last few days Samsung has been pushing out Android 4.4.2 to flagship devices like the Galaxy
Note III and Galaxy S4. Unfortunately, Google implemented an SD card write restriction in the latest
Android version which can be quite annoying for users with an SD card in their phone.
The new “feature” basically restricts apps from writing to external SD cards. This can be quite
annoying, because many users want to store apps on a secondary SD card instead of the main storage
unit.
Luckily, how to fixing this problem can be easily done if you have root access. Here’s how you can do it
(Please be aware that you’re performing these changes on your own risk!):
Make sure that you have root access
1. Perform a NANDROID backup to be completely safe
2. Use a root-enabled file manager and navigate to /system/etc/permissions
3. Edit platform.xml and find “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“
4. Add an additional group definition for this permission: <group gid=”media_rw” />
5. Save the changes and restart your device
6. You are now able to write on your external SD card again
I hope that I was able to help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks , it worked for me

I'm having the same problem too. I've e-mailed the developers of MyBackup Pro to see if they've got any ideas.
It says MyBackup Pro 4.0.9 fixes KitKat issues, it doesn't fix this one!
I will if I have to but I don't want to or see why I should have to, effectively break (root) my Galaxy S4 just to backup to SD card when it worked fine with Jellybean 4.3. I don't need Root access otherwise
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
None of this is mentioned in Google's KitKat Release Notes or on-screen when the Samsung Update Notification appeared. So far KitKat has broken for me:
1. SMS Backup+ prior to KitKat could restore SMS messages back to the phone, it can still back them up but not restore
2. LG G Pad's QPair It still works but used to be blue when connected, white when not connected. Now that everything is white mad, it's grey when not connected and white when connected. No where near as clear.
3. MyBackup Pro can no longer backup to SD card
Being able to backup to SD card is obviously crucial!
I've seen zero benefits from going from Jellybean 4.3 to Kitkat.

DarkCase said:
In the last few days Samsung has been pushing out Android 4.4.2 to flagship devices like the Galaxy
Note III and Galaxy S4. Unfortunately, Google implemented an SD card write restriction in the latest
Android version which can be quite annoying for users with an SD card in their phone.
The new “feature” basically restricts apps from writing to external SD cards. This can be quite
annoying, because many users want to store apps on a secondary SD card instead of the main storage
unit.
Luckily, how to fixing this problem can be easily done if you have root access. Here’s how you can do it
(Please be aware that you’re performing these changes on your own risk!):
Make sure that you have root access
1. Perform a NANDROID backup to be completely safe
2. Use a root-enabled file manager and navigate to /system/etc/permissions
3. Edit platform.xml and find “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“
4. Add an additional group definition for this permission: <group gid=”media_rw” />
5. Save the changes and restart your device
6. You are now able to write on your external SD card again
I hope that I was able to help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
++++++++1111111

okizen said:
Hi DarkCase
I've got Root Explorer 3.16 but I can't seem to edit the platform.xml file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already written this (media_rw) in xml file, but still go backup is unable to write to external sd card. With esfexplorer I can make folder or files on external sd card, so permission is rw?
any idea

What is google thinking. Why would I save to internal memory and not be able to have a backup everywhere I go in multiple locations?
As for the fix you shouldnt have to root your device just to have it write to a card. this makes no sense

DarkCase said:
In the last few days Samsung has been pushing out Android 4.4.2 to flagship devices like the Galaxy
Note III and Galaxy S4. Unfortunately, Google implemented an SD card write restriction in the latest
Android version which can be quite annoying for users with an SD card in their phone.
The new “feature” basically restricts apps from writing to external SD cards. This can be quite
annoying, because many users want to store apps on a secondary SD card instead of the main storage
unit.
Luckily, how to fixing this problem can be easily done if you have root access. Here’s how you can do it
(Please be aware that you’re performing these changes on your own risk!):
Make sure that you have root access
1. Perform a NANDROID backup to be completely safe
2. Use a root-enabled file manager and navigate to /system/etc/permissions
3. Edit platform.xml and find “WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE“
4. Add an additional group definition for this permission: <group gid=”media_rw” />
5. Save the changes and restart your device
6. You are now able to write on your external SD card again
I hope that I was able to help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I did what you have suggested except the first step (i.e. NANDROID backup). Upon restart I got all messages like (Google stoped fuctioning, Bluetooth sharing stopped functioning, etc)....
I put the original copy of the file back in place (so essentially, I put the original platform.xml back.....still the problem would not go....
My Note 2 (N7100) is useless now.... can any fellow help?

Help with sd card as portable media

Ok so ive finally upgraded my s4 to a s5 unlocked bootloader, rooted and resurrection rom. I understand the whole adaptable media and encryption. I want my sd card as portable so i can use it in my pc and other phones if needed. Also to use titanium backup to restore apps if i wipe and install a fresh rom.
My problem is es file explorer, root explorer, and any archiving apps are all jacked up and wont write as they used to. I am able to write to the sd card but i want to have full control like i used to on older roms on my s4.
Any help?

maniac2k said:
Ok so ive finally upgraded my s4 to a s5 unlocked bootloader, rooted and resurrection rom. I understand the whole adaptable media and encryption. I want my sd card as portable so i can use it in my pc and other phones if needed. Also to use titanium backup to restore apps if i wipe and install a fresh rom.
My problem is es file explorer, root explorer, and any archiving apps are all jacked up and wont write as they used to. I am able to write to the sd card but i want to have full control like i used to on older roms on my s4.
Any help?
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I'm using Ressurection too. Marshmallow can be a pain with the sdcard. Apps have to ask for write permission when it first needs it and you have make sure to grant it.
Titanium Backup works with the external sdcard but you have to go to "Preferences", then to "Backup Folder Location", click where it says "Storage provider:", select " Document provider storage", go to the external sdcard (not a directory in it) and press "select", and then go to the TB backup directory and select "Use the current folder".
If you're using a multi partitioned sdcard, Link2SD doesn't work but Apps2SD appears to work fine. Either way, you'll probably get a notification about a corrupted sdcard for each extra partition. You can safely ignore them. Long press on the notification and select the crossed bell icon to prevent it from popping up again.
Some apps have trouble if they are opened from another app. Rar wouldn't work for me in ES File Explorer until I opened it from the app drawer. Then the correct permission dialog popped up and it was fine ever since.
I would also strongly suggest setting selinux mode to permissive. I suggest using SELinuxModeChanger.

Thanks. I changed the selinux mode but es is still wonky when working with zips. I also tried zarchiver opened directly and it has problems too. Oh well.
I did get tibu working previously as you stated.
I hate when enhancements are downgrades!!
Thank you for the information.