[MOD]Write to extsd (root required)

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evilbeef54

Senior Member
Jul 14, 2008
313
91
OK so as you have noticed kit kat does NOT allow third party apps to write to the SD card, this is stupid, but lucky for us we have a fix IF you are rooted


we have 2 solutions

1) using root explorer or something similar go to

Quote:
/system/etc/permissions/platform.xml
and enter the permission that i have circled in red below (see attached) then it will work. Enter it so it looks EXACTALLY like it does below


2) the other option that MAY work is to go to the play store and download SDFix, that does the same thing (however myself and a few others are reporting that it isnt working as it is written)

big thanks to Mr Sam Epic for showing the fix, which came from Unknown Force in a SGS4 forum


****edit 4/19

had a few reports of SDFix not working, it didnt for me, i thought it was just a random error, what i did to fix it was to go into platform.xml and manually edit the permission so it looks exactally like the image below, i put in the extra return after the permission, there is not a logical reason why this fixed it, but it did

original thread here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=51861458
 

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davidstre

Senior Member
Feb 25, 2009
336
134
NYNY
I gave this a try in Root Explorer. I have gone over it many times and I did everything correctly but now Titanium won't launch, Weatherbug won't load, and GAPPS fails everytime. I am using Odin to go back to stock now-- will try the other method.
 

tehgyb

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2011
750
171
Easton, PA
Here's a weird one... I edited the file exactly the way it should be, worked fine... played with a few things, edited build prop screwing around having fun. Boot looped because oops. No problem, Odin to stock. Fresh stock build.

Rooted, Edited the platform.xml again exactly the way required, reboot. Even system apps won't write to SD. Couldn't even install XDA app lol

Odin again, root, edit the xml exactly the depicted way again. Still nothing can write to SD. Wtf.

Anyone have a stock or working platform.xml I can peek at? Something is screwy here lol

I have all the source on my Linux box but I'm nowhere near it, unfortunately.
 

budies3

Senior Member
Sep 22, 2009
120
44
Seattle
After write to extsd is enabled, I would strongly suggest the Xposed Framework module Downloads2SD. It allows you to change default directories to the extsd. It seems to work for Chrome downloads as well.

I agree, I had issues with my S4 after moving to KK also with my new S5. And now with those of us on Verizon, we are lucky enough to have root:) Thanks to exposed you can start moving files around like before. Its just amazing how controlling companies feel they need to be.... Oh well, thanks for the Root Geohot, and Xposed rovo89 & Tungstwenty!
 

bodhisattvah

Senior Member
May 19, 2014
151
24
micahmedia.com
Excellent! This worked on my N900V with 4.4.2 and root! (fix #1)

I thought my old file browser just wasn't reading root correctly, but with this, it's back to normal/pre OTA function. Thanks again!
 

psm321

Member
Nov 9, 2009
24
2
Could you please add to the instructions, for option 1 at least, to double-check the permissions on the file? (They should be 644 and root/root). Was helping my brother and just went through lots of problems (everything crashing) and turns out the editor changed the permissions (found the answer on another site where someone described the same symptoms). I'm also wondering whether the permissions also have something to do with why it seems to sometimes not work for people...
 
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bluremi

Member
Mar 27, 2010
28
2
Just wanted to chime in and say that SDFix worked flawlessly the first time on my rooted SM-G900V.

All I did was root and then run this utility, installed nothing else at any point, not even SuperSU.
 
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Reactions: radpp16

Hiro14

Member
Oct 2, 2010
48
8
Orem, Utah
Confirmed working. Thanks for the mod advice. Just make sure to make the edits exactly as shown in the image.

I tried the SDfix apk and it worked only on the root of the SD card. Any file structure past the root did not have rw access.

Now that I can write to my sd, I am noticing very poor speeds. We are talking like less that 1MB/s. I tested it with both large iso files and a bunch of small 30-300 kb files. Both tests are very slow. Any ideas on where to look to fix that?

Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Premium HD app
 

Ryezen

Senior Member
Jun 20, 2011
205
40
OK so as you have noticed kit kat does NOT allow third party apps to write to the SD card, this is stupid, but lucky for us we have a fix IF you are rooted


we have 2 solutions

1) using root explorer or something similar go to

Quote:
/system/etc/permissions/platform.xml
and enter the permission that i have circled in red below (see attached) then it will work. Enter it so it looks EXACTALLY like it does below


2) the other option that MAY work is to go to the play store and download SDFix, that does the same thing (however myself and a few others are reporting that it isnt working as it is written)

big thanks to Mr Sam Epic for showing the fix, which came from Unknown Force in a SGS4 forum


****edit 4/19

had a few reports of SDFix not working, it didnt for me, i thought it was just a random error, what i did to fix it was to go into platform.xml and manually edit the permission so it looks exactally like the image below, i put in the extra return after the permission, there is not a logical reason why this fixed it, but it did

original thread here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=51861458

So I tried this and my ability to use the TextSecure app broke. I reverted back to the auto-created backup (thank you Root Explorer) of my platform.xml file, and it restored TextSecure functionality after a reboot. However, I have been unable to turn Bluetooth on since doing this. The only other change was updating to the latest release of Busybox this morning, which apparently was just released. Could this platform.xml file triggered some other actions upon rebooting that would cause Bluetooth problems?
 

DopeShow

Senior Member
Feb 12, 2013
112
11
OK so as you have noticed kit kat does NOT allow third party apps to write to the SD card, this is stupid, but lucky for us we have a fix IF you are rooted


we have 2 solutions

1) using root explorer or something similar go to

Quote:
/system/etc/permissions/platform.xml
and enter the permission that i have circled in red below (see attached) then it will work. Enter it so it looks EXACTALLY like it does below


2) the other option that MAY work is to go to the play store and download SDFix, that does the same thing (however myself and a few others are reporting that it isnt working as it is written)

big thanks to Mr Sam Epic for showing the fix, which came from Unknown Force in a SGS4 forum


****edit 4/19

had a few reports of SDFix not working, it didnt for me, i thought it was just a random error, what i did to fix it was to go into platform.xml and manually edit the permission so it looks exactally like the image below, i put in the extra return after the permission, there is not a logical reason why this fixed it, but it did

original thread here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=51861458

You can also just use Folder Mount.apk and in the beginning while setting it up iT patches the external microsd and then anything and everything can read and write to the external micro sd. HIT THANKS IF YOU DIDNT ALREADY KNOW THIS..
 
Feb 19, 2016
37
7
Thank you very much, evilbeef54! Lol, funny username, by the way. The first solution (editing platform.xml) did the trick for my Xperia C4 (E5303) running Android Version 5.1, Build number 27.2.A.0.155. I edited the file using Root Browser then RB Text Editor, and after a reboot Titanium Backup finally allowed me to save my backups to my external SD Card.
 

ldeveraux

Senior Member
Nov 20, 2008
2,616
939
Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet
Nexus Q
Thank you very much, evilbeef54! Lol, funny username, by the way. The first solution (editing platform.xml) did the trick for my Xperia C4 (E5303) running Android Version 5.1, Build number 27.2.A.0.155. I edited the file using Root Browser then RB Text Editor, and after a reboot Titanium Backup finally allowed me to save my backups to my external SD Card.
way to necro a thread.
 

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  • 26
    OK so as you have noticed kit kat does NOT allow third party apps to write to the SD card, this is stupid, but lucky for us we have a fix IF you are rooted


    we have 2 solutions

    1) using root explorer or something similar go to

    Quote:
    /system/etc/permissions/platform.xml
    and enter the permission that i have circled in red below (see attached) then it will work. Enter it so it looks EXACTALLY like it does below


    2) the other option that MAY work is to go to the play store and download SDFix, that does the same thing (however myself and a few others are reporting that it isnt working as it is written)

    big thanks to Mr Sam Epic for showing the fix, which came from Unknown Force in a SGS4 forum


    ****edit 4/19

    had a few reports of SDFix not working, it didnt for me, i thought it was just a random error, what i did to fix it was to go into platform.xml and manually edit the permission so it looks exactally like the image below, i put in the extra return after the permission, there is not a logical reason why this fixed it, but it did

    original thread here:

    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=51861458
    2
    After write to extsd is enabled, I would strongly suggest the Xposed Framework module Downloads2SD. It allows you to change default directories to the extsd. It seems to work for Chrome downloads as well.
    1
    Could you please add to the instructions, for option 1 at least, to double-check the permissions on the file? (They should be 644 and root/root). Was helping my brother and just went through lots of problems (everything crashing) and turns out the editor changed the permissions (found the answer on another site where someone described the same symptoms). I'm also wondering whether the permissions also have something to do with why it seems to sometimes not work for people...
    1
    Just wanted to chime in and say that SDFix worked flawlessly the first time on my rooted SM-G900V.

    All I did was root and then run this utility, installed nothing else at any point, not even SuperSU.