USB Mass Storage mode?

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d4fseeker

Senior Member
Oct 16, 2010
1,300
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TEMPORARY SOLUTION

Ok, here's what I've found so far to bypass the limitations at least for computers.
(Sorry, no can-do for car audio, it would require emulation code in the low-level android functions)


Note: I also found the AltMounter, but it requires running 2 different programs on your computer (one to mount the phone as FTP server and one to mount the FTP as a real drive) so I'll skip it. But if you're interested, here you go:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1626713


First get the free "Samba Filesharing" app in the Play Store. (Requires root)
It seems to have some issues with the S3 (keeps locking up when configuring it, but once it's running it works just fine)
Configure a username/password in the settings and click on 'Enable'.
(Hint: if you use the same username and password as on your computer it won't ask you for login credentials!)
If you use an external SD-card or OTG USB-Stick, go to Settings->'Other fileshare settings'->'Second shared folder' to use it.

The app will show you something like "\\192.168.0.123" which is it's SMB-address. On your computer go to 'My computer' and click on 'Map network drive' in the top menu.
Choose any drive name you want (I'd recomment not using the drives like A and B as they are legacy-drives and could cause issues)
Enter the "\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\sdcard" path from the app in the 'Folder' section and click on 'Finish'. (Note: the \sdcard is necessary as Windows can't use the topmost folder as drive letter for some reason)
(Repeat with '\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\share2' as path if you use the external SD)

Note: you can use Samba filesharing when not connected to a WLAN through either the Wifi Tether (first start tethering, then Samba) or using the Connectify app on your computer (Reverse tethering).
 
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M

Minoza

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
134
2
Zagreb
I really don't understand this... What is the problem with MTP for an average user? Can I simply put music from my PC to my S3? Can I put folders/files on it using MTP? Lets say I have a folder with my favorite movie on my desktop, can I put that on internal memory of my S3? If not, can I put it on an external one?
 
pdagenius

pdagenius

Senior Member
Nov 4, 2006
551
34
d4fseeker said:
TEMPORARY SOLUTION
First get the free "Samba Filesharing" app in the Play Store. (Requires root)
It seems to have some issues with the S3 (keeps locking up when configuring it, but once it's running it works just fine)
Configure a username/password in the settings and click on 'Enable'.
(Hint: if you use the same username and password as on your computer it won't ask you for login credentials!)
If you use an external SD-card or OTG USB-Stick, go to Settings->'Other fileshare settings'->'Second shared folder' to use it.

The app will show you something like "\\192.168.0.123" which is it's SMB-address. On your computer go to 'My computer' and click on 'Map network drive' in the top menu.
Choose any drive name you want (I'd recomment not using the drives like A and B as they are legacy-drives and could cause issues)
Enter the "\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\sdcard" path from the app in the 'Folder' section and click on 'Finish'. (Note: the \sdcard is necessary as Windows can't use the topmost folder as drive letter for some reason)
(Repeat with '\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\share2' as path if you use the external SD)

Note: you can use Samba filesharing when not connected to a WLAN through either the Wifi Tether (first start tethering, then Samba) or using the Connectify app on your computer (Reverse tethering).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

This actually seems a good solution - transfer files over wifi at home :)

Sweet, thank you. It works a treat.
 
Michael_P

Michael_P

Senior Member
Jun 3, 2012
696
113
Samsung better get off their arses soon and fix this because my MHL cable won't work on it, can't connect to my TVs USB host and Allshare Cast isn't released yet. I just think Samsung is seriously dropping the ball on this phone after SGS1&2 were so good from the off.
 
M

Minoza

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
134
2
Zagreb
Thomasba said:
I would say for an "Average" user then there isn't a problem with MTP, but I suspect the majority of users on here are not "average"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

That does not answer my question... I mentioned typical stuff I'll be doing when transferring files and asked what's the difference compared to MS way? I'm not sure what advanced users may want to do, I only want to know what are the limitations compared to MS but in a layman's language... How it will affect my "Oh kewl I want these mp3s and movies over on my S3" routine? Occasionally I might want to transfer some ZIP/RAR file as well etc.
 
Last edited:
D

Dan1909

Senior Member
Oct 15, 2010
256
66
Minoza said:
That does not answer my question... I mentioned typical stuff I'll be doing when transferring files and asked what's the difference compared to MS way? I'm not sure what advanced users may want to do, I only want to know what are the limitations compared to MS but in a layman's language... How it will affect my "Oh kewl I want these mp3s and movies over on my S3" routine? Occasionally I might want to transfer some ZIP/RAR file as well etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

- The copy speeds are a lot slower. Not sure exactly what amount, but they take a long time!
- Merging folders that already have some common files in (I.e. updating your music library) takes a LOT longer as it has to copy every file again, rather than just check which are new.
- You can't assign it a drive letter in Windows, meaning that any automated syncing programs won't work. Not a problem for everyone, but I had my SGS set up to sync between my "My Music" folder on the PC, and the music folder on the phone whenever I plugged the phone in.
- You can't use the phone while files are being transferred. This one's extremely annoying. Previously I could have my phone docked on my desk, and have access to files through my PC whenever I wanted, and also use my phone still, now I can't.

I'm sure there's a few more as well, but those are the main ones that come to mind at the moment.
 
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Thomasba

Thomasba

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2006
165
33
London
Samsung Galaxy S8+
Samsung Galaxy S9
Minoza said:
That does not answer my question... I mentioned typical stuff I'll be doing when transferring files and asked what's the difference compared to MS way? I'm not sure what advanced users may want to do, I only want to know what are the limitations compared to MS but in a layman's language... How it will affect my "Oh kewl I want these mp3s and movies over on my S3" routine? Occasionally I might want to transfer some ZIP/RAR file as well etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

when you connect the S3 into your PC it will appear as a folder in your tree that you can add all the files to as normal. You will be able to see all of the system files as well so be careful not to delete anything by accident. If you have a micro SD card plugged into your device that will appear also and you will be able to transfer files to and from that at the same time.
I plugged mine in and just dragged and dropped all of my music over to the micro sd card.
your tree on the pc will show one branch which will be the phone nd in my case there will be 2 branches from that which is 1 for the internal memory and 1 for the micro sd card

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2
 
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M

Minoza

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2010
134
2
Zagreb
Thomasba said:
when you connect the S3 into your PC it will appear as a folder in your tree that you can add all the files to as normal. You will be able to see all of the system files as well so be careful not to delete anything by accident. If you have a micro SD card plugged into your device that will appear also and you will be able to transfer files to and from that at the same time.
I plugged mine in and just dragged and dropped all of my music over to the micro sd card.
your tree on the pc will show one branch which will be the phone nd in my case there will be 2 branches from that which is 1 for the internal memory and 1 for the micro sd card

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Now that's what I wanted to now. Thanked! :)
 
G

genman39

Member
Jun 10, 2012
11
0
I just got the SIII the other day and so far as a stand alone device its great.
However the MTP is doing my head in as Windows 7 on any PC I have refuses to install the Samsung MTP Usb drivers and constantly has error 10.
After owning the S and SII this is a seriously messed up way to limit connections and from browsing the web i'm not alone with this problem...has anyone got a guaranteed fix for this?
I spent 2 or 3 hours trying various suggested methods and nearly chucked the phone at a wall.......removing the SD card again and again to put files on it works but the back of the phone won't last long.
Tried Dropbox etc but far too slow and time consuming.
 
D

d4fseeker

Senior Member
Oct 16, 2010
1,300
437
I've described on last page how to transfer data via Wifi without hassle.
(Even if you have no Wifi network, all you need ist a wifi card or wifi usb stich)

After some practice you get it up and running in no time.
It's fast (enough) so it's the main method I already used my old SGS. The only time I plugged it into the computer was for CM9 updates.

If the drivers wont' download and install from windows update, there is some issue with your computer configuration.
Try downloading the standalon drivers or installing Kies *eeeek*
 
pizzaman79

pizzaman79

Senior Member
Jul 4, 2008
345
30
Leiden
d4fseeker said:
TEMPORARY SOLUTION

Ok, here's what I've found so far to bypass the limitations at least for computers.
(Sorry, no can-do for car audio, it would require emulation code in the low-level android functions)


Note: I also found the AltMounter, but it requires running 2 different programs on your computer (one to mount the phone as FTP server and one to mount the FTP as a real drive) so I'll skip it. But if you're interested, here you go:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1626713


First get the free "Samba Filesharing" app in the Play Store. (Requires root)
It seems to have some issues with the S3 (keeps locking up when configuring it, but once it's running it works just fine)
Configure a username/password in the settings and click on 'Enable'.
(Hint: if you use the same username and password as on your computer it won't ask you for login credentials!)
If you use an external SD-card or OTG USB-Stick, go to Settings->'Other fileshare settings'->'Second shared folder' to use it.

The app will show you something like "\\192.168.0.123" which is it's SMB-address. On your computer go to 'My computer' and click on 'Map network drive' in the top menu.
Choose any drive name you want (I'd recomment not using the drives like A and B as they are legacy-drives and could cause issues)
Enter the "\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\sdcard" path from the app in the 'Folder' section and click on 'Finish'. (Note: the \sdcard is necessary as Windows can't use the topmost folder as drive letter for some reason)
(Repeat with '\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\share2' as path if you use the external SD)

Note: you can use Samba filesharing when not connected to a WLAN through either the Wifi Tether (first start tethering, then Samba) or using the Connectify app on your computer (Reverse tethering).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Good idea. For my pusposes I can use FTP in stead of Samba. For FTP you dont even need root. I used FTPServer by liebig and it worked fine.

Still hoping Samsung will release an update with mass storage mode soon though.
 
N

norpan111

Senior Member
Mar 28, 2010
3,312
529
Halmstad
Minoza said:
That does not answer my question... I mentioned typical stuff I'll be doing when transferring files and asked what's the difference compared to MS way? I'm not sure what advanced users may want to do, I only want to know what are the limitations compared to MS but in a layman's language... How it will affect my "Oh kewl I want these mp3s and movies over on my S3" routine? Occasionally I might want to transfer some ZIP/RAR file as well etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

My 360 won't play videos from the phone when connected, or show pictures..that's the only reason for me

Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
 
G

genman39

Member
Jun 10, 2012
11
0
d4fseeker said:
I've described on last page how to transfer data via Wifi without hassle.
(Even if you have no Wifi network, all you need ist a wifi card or wifi usb stich)

After some practice you get it up and running in no time.
It's fast (enough) so it's the main method I already used my old SGS. The only time I plugged it into the computer was for CM9 updates.

If the drivers wont' download and install from windows update, there is some issue with your computer configuration.
Try downloading the standalon drivers or installing Kies *eeeek*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

WIFI is all well and good but I'm not prepared to ROOT a brand new phone.

As for the PC config...i doubt if now 7 PC's could all be wrong and some of them are almost brand new yet the same error comes up on all of them.
Linux PC's don't even acknowledge that the phones been connected.

So has anyone a solution that doesn't require modding the phone in any way.
 
D

d4fseeker

Senior Member
Oct 16, 2010
1,300
437
You can use an FTP server on your android phone, e.g. pizzaman79's suggested Liebig FTPServer. This does not require root to operate.

Then, on your computer, you can use a nifty little tool called Netdrive ( instructions here ) to mount the FTP-server with a drive letter.
However FTP has several restrictions regarding performance and capabilities, so it will be somewhat slower than the optimized SMB protocol.

I believe the only reason for the app requiring root is that SMB runs on the privileged port 451 which only a system administrator can manage.
Unlike FTP it does not really allow you to use a different port in the non-privileged (1000+) Port-Range.

My Ubuntu and all Windows 7 installations detected it without a hassle.
However as described you might want to try manually downloading the drivers (does it even find some on Windows update for your device when it's connected the first time?)
You should also try replacing the cable, I've had similar issues with peripheral hardware when the cable was defective.
 
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genman39

Member
Jun 10, 2012
11
0
totally gave up with USB...tried every driver going and Windows just insists that it can't start the driver.

So used ALLshare and just added the folders & files I wanted to share into its Share list......works first time via DLNA and its pretty quick....actually enjoying the lack of cables.

thanks anyway.
 
D

d4fseeker

Senior Member
Oct 16, 2010
1,300
437
After some time of usage and experimentation, I've come to the conclusion that the filesystem takes too much damage from being mounted in 2 different locations which might cause data loss, corruption and other issues on concurrent or cached writes (especially on the filesystem index).
So I recommend unmounting the filesystem for the phone before using it externally.
This brings the commands to:

One-Time preparation
Code: 
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb

To revert to MTP mode
Code: 
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mtp,adb

Mount SDcard (Unmounting might fail when SDcard is in use, so don't just assume it works!) [works for international i9300 only]
Code: 
umount /mnt/extSdCard
echo /dev/block/vold/179:17 > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file
-or for all other versions, including the US-variant-
Code: 
umount /mnt/extSdCard
mount | grep /mnt/extSdCard | cut -f 1 -d " " > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file

Unmount from computer (Warning: as usual 'eject' on computer first)
Code: 
echo "" > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file
vold


This will make it no longer possible to use the contents on the external SD card when it is mounted on the computer, the rest of the phone (including 99% of your apps) will still work.


---- HERE ARE THE GSCRIPT SCRIPTS ----
Make sure the 'Needs root' checkbox is ticked!
Start-Script:
Code: 
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb
umount /mnt/extSdCard
mount | grep /mnt/extSdCard | cut -f 1 -d " " > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file

Stop-Script
Code: 
echo "" > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file
vold
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mtp,adb

To use, please install 'GScript Lite' from the market.
Open the app, press hardware Menu-button and select 'Add script'.
Name the script 'Mass Storage' and type the contents of the above 'Start-Script'.
Press Save and repeat with second Script above but name it 'MTP Mode'.
Go back to your launcher and add a Shortcut. Choose 'GScript Lite' and select the 'Mass Storage' script.
Repeat with the 'MTP Mode' script.

Connect your phone to the computer and press the 'Mass Storage' shortcut on your home screen. Enjoy =)
When finished, eject the Disk from the computer (important!), then press the 'MTP Mode'.

-----BELOW IS ONLY KEPT FOR INTEGRITY's SAKE----

Working real solution
Through some heavy googling and trial&error I've found out how to mount the external SDcard as a _REAL_ mass storage.
Warning: requires root and might cause some issues. Stock kernel works

Here's what you'll have to run on the shell:
Code: 
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb
echo /dev/block/vold/179:17 > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file

Within a few seconds the external(!) SD-card should now pop up on your computer as a mass-storage device. I've found no issues so far and doesn't require the SD-card to be unmounted in the phone since it's a LUN target.
As usual this is not reboot-persistant so if you need it a lot use GScript lite to automate it.
 
Last edited:
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jakir01

jakir01

Senior Member
Mar 28, 2012
136
9
d4fseeker said:
TEMPORARY SOLUTION

Ok, here's what I've found so far to bypass the limitations at least for computers.
(Sorry, no can-do for car audio, it would require emulation code in the low-level android functions)


Note: I also found the AltMounter, but it requires running 2 different programs on your computer (one to mount the phone as FTP server and one to mount the FTP as a real drive) so I'll skip it. But if you're interested, here you go:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1626713


First get the free "Samba Filesharing" app in the Play Store. (Requires root)
It seems to have some issues with the S3 (keeps locking up when configuring it, but once it's running it works just fine)
Configure a username/password in the settings and click on 'Enable'.
(Hint: if you use the same username and password as on your computer it won't ask you for login credentials!)
If you use an external SD-card or OTG USB-Stick, go to Settings->'Other fileshare settings'->'Second shared folder' to use it.

The app will show you something like "\\192.168.0.123" which is it's SMB-address. On your computer go to 'My computer' and click on 'Map network drive' in the top menu.
Choose any drive name you want (I'd recomment not using the drives like A and B as they are legacy-drives and could cause issues)
Enter the "\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\sdcard" path from the app in the 'Folder' section and click on 'Finish'. (Note: the \sdcard is necessary as Windows can't use the topmost folder as drive letter for some reason)
(Repeat with '\\YOUR.DEVICE.IP.ADDRESS\share2' as path if you use the external SD)

Note: you can use Samba filesharing when not connected to a WLAN through either the Wifi Tether (first start tethering, then Samba) or using the Connectify app on your computer (Reverse tethering).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse



Thanks a lot. this actually good & nice solution.
 
G

genman39

Member
Jun 10, 2012
11
0
something i noticed on the phone was the firmware etc

Android Version
4.0.4

Baseband
I9300NELE4

Kernel Version
3.0.15-554452-user
se.infra@SEP-74#1
SMP PREEMPT ..date etc

Build number
IMM76D.I9300XXALE8

no idea what most of that means but it looked odd the 'PREEMPT' is worded at all.....anyone understand this or know what it all means.
 
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    D
    d4fseeker
    After some time of usage and experimentation, I've come to the conclusion that the filesystem takes too much damage from being mounted in 2 different locations which might cause data loss, corruption and other issues on concurrent or cached writes (especially on the filesystem index).
    So I recommend unmounting the filesystem for the phone before using it externally.
    This brings the commands to:

    One-Time preparation
    Code: 
    setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb

    To revert to MTP mode
    Code: 
    setprop persist.sys.usb.config mtp,adb

    Mount SDcard (Unmounting might fail when SDcard is in use, so don't just assume it works!) [works for international i9300 only]
    Code: 
    umount /mnt/extSdCard
echo /dev/block/vold/179:17 > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file
    -or for all other versions, including the US-variant-
    Code: 
    umount /mnt/extSdCard
mount | grep /mnt/extSdCard | cut -f 1 -d " " > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file

    Unmount from computer (Warning: as usual 'eject' on computer first)
    Code: 
    echo "" > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file
vold


    This will make it no longer possible to use the contents on the external SD card when it is mounted on the computer, the rest of the phone (including 99% of your apps) will still work.


    ---- HERE ARE THE GSCRIPT SCRIPTS ----
    Make sure the 'Needs root' checkbox is ticked!
    Start-Script:
    Code: 
    setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb
umount /mnt/extSdCard
mount | grep /mnt/extSdCard | cut -f 1 -d " " > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file

    Stop-Script
    Code: 
    echo "" > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file
vold
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mtp,adb

    To use, please install 'GScript Lite' from the market.
    Open the app, press hardware Menu-button and select 'Add script'.
    Name the script 'Mass Storage' and type the contents of the above 'Start-Script'.
    Press Save and repeat with second Script above but name it 'MTP Mode'.
    Go back to your launcher and add a Shortcut. Choose 'GScript Lite' and select the 'Mass Storage' script.
    Repeat with the 'MTP Mode' script.

    Connect your phone to the computer and press the 'Mass Storage' shortcut on your home screen. Enjoy =)
    When finished, eject the Disk from the computer (important!), then press the 'MTP Mode'.

    -----BELOW IS ONLY KEPT FOR INTEGRITY's SAKE----

    Working real solution
    Through some heavy googling and trial&error I've found out how to mount the external SDcard as a _REAL_ mass storage.
    Warning: requires root and might cause some issues. Stock kernel works

    Here's what you'll have to run on the shell:
    Code: 
    setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb
echo /dev/block/vold/179:17 > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file

    Within a few seconds the external(!) SD-card should now pop up on your computer as a mass-storage device. I've found no issues so far and doesn't require the SD-card to be unmounted in the phone since it's a LUN target.
    As usual this is not reboot-persistant so if you need it a lot use GScript lite to automate it.
    View
    5
    D
    d4fseeker
    You can still access and move all your files when connected to a Pc.
    In MTP your S3 tells the computer "look, I'm a phone with 2 storage devices", allowing you to tether via USB and acces your data.

    In Mass-Storage mode it tells your computer "look, I'm 2 Usb Sticks" which quito frankly is stupid.
    However mass storage is faster and works out-of-the-box with programs and hardware (like car radios) that are not designed for this usage scenario.
    (Note: on your computer you can easily create a virtual drive mapping to your phone's storage afaik, so no worries there)

    The whole reason for not allowing mass storage is actually 2 issues:

    - in MS the phone cannot use the sdcards while they're mounted on the computer, causing all sorts of issues with apps.

    - MS requires the compute to recognize the filesystem. Pretty much the only filesystem all major Os can access is the 15-ish year old vfat which tends to corrupt easily, is slow and has several other major drawbacks.
    In MTP the phone's system converts the filesystem to a standarized open protocol, allowing it to e.g. use the brand-new highly sophisticated ext4 linux filesystem instead of some legacy stuff Microsoft invented years ago.
    View
    2
    P
    plaut
    KevlarTheGreat said:
    I know this thread is for the international version, but I tried it on my T-Mobile version just to see if it would work.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    We should probably take this to a different forum (e.g., http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1731514) but the short answer is that the external card (at least for the AT&T version - probably T-Mobile as well) is at /dev/block/vold/179:97 instead of 179:17 and there doesn't seem to be an equivalent to the s3c-usbgadget folder (which is processor-specific).
    View
    2
    S
    Sakaschi
    here the script.

    Move back to MTP Mode

    setprop persist.sys.usb.config mtp,adb
    echo /dev/block/vold/179:17 > /sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0/file
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    View
    2
    D
    d4fseeker
    That's an app in the Play Store.

    If you have ADB on the computer you may use it too, but I figure since you already ask about Terminal Emulator, that it's not the case.
    For your conveniance I've attached adb anyway as a zip file. Extract the contents to C:\Windows
    Open a Dos Promt (cmd) and type 'adb shell'
    View

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