Security Issues - Encryption of the SD Card - Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]

Hi, there!
Like many others, I have only recently switched from WM6.5 to Android (with my new HTC Desire).
WM 6 introduced the possibility to encrypt the SD Card, making it only readable in the PPC it was originally encrypted in. I found this a very helpful tool and had bought a respective app from Spritesoft. Unfortunately, their Android software is still in the beginning status, and therefore, I bought yesterday the app from WaveSecure.
I was surprised, however, that they do not offer an encryption for the SD card as I know it from my old TyTN II.
Is anybody here who can advice - tweak, app, or whatever?
I mean, it's nice to secure the phone - but the sensible data are being stored in files on the SD card in the end. And if you lose your device, it may well be broke, but the SD card lives and cannot be wyped in a broken device either.

I couldn't agree more. There are a few applications that either offer individual file passwords, which is not very secure, or just offer encryption of its own text files, like OI Safe. I used to use a commercial application on Windows Mobile, Sentry 2020, which allowed you to create a an encrypted volume within your storage, internal or external. This was ideal, as it allowed you to store any kind of files in this. After a timeout period, the volume was automatically closed and your files were secure. It is a shame that the last activity in Sentry's website is in 2007.

I should be receiving a desire very shortly and am very concerned by the current lack of device level encryption.
Does anyone know if there are any products in development that will soon allow device encryption?
Is the hardware and OS itself capable of supporting full device encryption?

hi, i want to reopen this issue because today i asked myself the same question.
i have tested several apps but most of them are not useable for a large number of files or folders.... what we really need is a secret partition and something like truecrypt.... i didn´t find anything in the net... so if somebody has an idea or solution for that, i would be happy...
thank you!

htclerman said:
hi, i want to reopen this issue because today i asked myself the same question.
i have tested several apps but most of them are not useable for a large number of files or folders.... what we really need is a secret partition and something like truecrypt.... i didn´t find anything in the net... so if somebody has an idea or solution for that, i would be happy...
thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you encounter anything using AES/Rijndael or at least Blowfish or Twofish algorithm? I need something to encrypt single files/folders only. TIA!

wizja said:
did you encounter anything using AES/Rijndael or at least Blowfish or Twofish algorithm? I npartitioneed something to encrypt single files/folders only. TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you speak about apps?
If yes, there is nothing out there
I know that is working fast with a big number of files. There must be an option to encrypt a whole partition,
That's the only thing that would make sense.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

http://tasker.dinglisch.net/tour.html
Claims to support encryption, kind of complicated through.

htclerman said:
Do you speak about apps?
If yes, there is nothing out there
I know that is working fast with a big number of files. There must be an option to encrypt a whole partition,
That's the only thing that would make sense.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the ability to put apps on the SDCard this is going to be an unlikely feature to work well....
Your best bet is looking for something with a good remote wipe/lock feature.

If you have a partition formatted with ext2/3/4, it's only a matter of copying over static binaries of lvm, device-mapper and cryptsetup, and creating a script called via initrc or controlled via /etc/init.d
I've posted about a similar solution for /data. Search for it.

Push for implementating it in Android:
Using dm-crypt to Encrypt the SD Card...? - xda-developers
Using dm-crypt to Encrypt the SD Card...? - CyanogenMod Forum
Issue 11211 - android - Android too insecure - Encryption of the SDcard is crucial - Project Hosting on Google Code
Issue 3748 - android - Add support for partition/block device encryption - Project Hosting on Google Code

Related

Beta testers wanted: NES, tool to manage data partition

Update 03/08/11
NotEnoughSpace has finally graduated to the Android Marketplace!
Beta testers can currently get it at its "thank you" price of $0.99.
I will set the regular price in a week so hurry
*** *** *** ***
Note #1: your phone needs to be ROOTED to use this application.
Note #2: so far, only tested on Droid Incredible and HTC Desire.
From the built-in help:
About this application
This application's goal is to help you understand and possibly work around a common vexation of using Android; i.e. these messages:
"not enough space"
"Low on space. Application data space is low."
What is happening?
You've checked your phone's vitals and it appears that it has plenty of space left, both internal storage and SD Card storage. So, what's happening?
Android allows your applications to store their data, primarily, in a dedicated partition whose size happens to be much smaller than even the phone's internal storage space. Generally south of 150 MBs.
This is the partition that fills up so quickly and that Android has been complaining about.
And the help goes on and on so I'll stop here.
The short version
Using this application, you can see which applications use up most of your phone's data space and decide what to do with them.
You can also move the biggest directories to the phone's SD Card.
Additionally, you can use the app to cleanup the Dalvik cache but it's not the app's primary function.
Please, help test it!
I will gladly welcome any constructive criticism; I expect most of it to be along the lines of "The tool is not quite accurate" and that's what I wish to address first.
To create a debug report (these are very important):
Simply select the "Debug" menu and follow the on-screen instructions.
The whole email business is so that you can copy/paste from a desktop client.
The .apk can be downloaded from nexus.zteo.com/projects/beta/
Update 12/04/10
The application should now display correct stats for phones/ROMs that use Busybox. If you have already tested it and it said "NaN" please try it again.
This should be interesting, maybe kinda Android GpartED?
cyansmoker said:
Using this application, you can see which applications use up most of your phone's data space and decide what to do with them.
You can also move the biggest directories to the phone's SD Card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Curious, does this mean you can move and symlink data, or are you talking about Froyo Apps2SD?
teorouge said:
This should be interesting, maybe kinda Android GpartED?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously not, he's managing what's there, he's not partitioning anything.. Did you read?
khaytsus said:
Obviously not, he's managing what's there, he's not partitioning anything.. Did you read?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Come on, what's the matter dude? I did read, and from what I read I thought whole partition handling was the only thing this app would be missing. Single files is a good start, but making that "kinda GpartED" would be killer. Though I fear you should be in bootloader/recovery to work on those, don't know how Android deals with them (i.e. in Windows you have programs you can change partitions size "on the fly" with). Now that I elaborated more, are you still angry?
This application would be genius. I'm wondering however, will the phone still be able to access that data once it is moved off of the system memory and onto the SD Card? And is it possible to actually partition the /data/data section so that it will use more than the allowed 150mb that it has, like open it up so that instead of it being partitioned to a small amount, it just roams free with the rest of the 748mb or whatever that is in the system memory.
A promising app, thanks.
Navigon, however, doesn't like its data to be moved to SD card. Even after moving it back with the app, it FCs (Android 2.1). I think I have to reinstall. So be careful if you're trying to do the same.
Edit: After reinstalling the .apk (without doing anything with the maps), Navigon works again. The packet installer didn't ask me if I wanted to replace the existing installation (as is otherwise usual in such a case).
Edit2: There seems to be a general problem. The next app I tried was mediaU. It has a large database which I moved (using NES) to the SD card. It also FCed after having moved its database, and restoring to the old location (again using NES) also didn't succeed. No error message during restore, but app still won't run.
Phone: Galaxy 3, Android 2.1 (original ROM).
mizch said:
A promising app, thanks.
Navigon, however, doesn't like its data to be moved to SD card. Even after moving it back with the app, it FCs (Android 2.1). I think I have to reinstall. So be careful if you're trying to do the same.
Edit: After reinstalling the .apk (without doing anything with the maps), Navigon works again. The packet installer didn't ask me if I wanted to replace the existing installation (as is otherwise usual in such a case).
Edit2: There seems to be a general problem. The next app I tried was mediaU. It has a large database which I moved (using NES) to the SD card. It also FCed after having moved its database, and restoring to the old location (again using NES) also didn't succeed. No error message during restore, but app still won't run.
Phone: Galaxy 3, Android 2.1 (original ROM).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tonight I'm gonna try for sure and report back, this does look promising! Did you succeed with some apps?
teorouge said:
Did you succeed with some apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K9 seemed to work. However, I had to reflash for another reason, and now K9 reports its lib as being in the standard location (reported by NES). For now, I have stopped testing NotEnoughSpace so I can not say more.
mizch said:
K9 seemed to work. However, I had to reflash for another reason, and now K9 reports its lib as being in the standard location (reported by NES). For now, I have stopped testing NotEnoughSpace so I can not say more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eh? K9 has native use of the SD card if you enable it... Why would you use this on it?
Thanks for doing this testing, guys.
I will install these apps and test them myself.
teorouge: you moved the database/ directory, is that it?
mizch: so, you re-installed K9 after reflashing, right?
Everybody: what about the "free space" numbers reported by the app? Do they seem correct to you? I had to use a dedicated algo to compute them, taking block size in account, and I've had reports of fairly surprising discrepancies.
Free space doesn't seem to update after moving, though I see the difference in the Titanium Backup count: tried for a couple of apps (G Earth and well... don't remember!) and it did move everything, free up space on /data and I can still use those apps. Still afraid to move many apps, just moving one at the time and test.
I just tested it out on my Droid 1, which is running CM6.1RC5 (Not sure if thats relevant or not), and it doesnt seem to work very well on my phone. All apps came back as 4KB, at the top it showed this... Total:261.8MB Used:NaNKB Free: 259.1MB Database NaNKB Files: NaNKB Preferences:NaNKB Cache:NaNKB.
Heres the debug report: 1:/dev/block/mtdblock6 268032 224572 43460 84% /data
2:62855 /data/data
3:4096/0/265352
Sorry - never mind; found the info in FAQ.txt after downloading
cyansmoker said:
Note #1: your phone needs to be ROOTED to use this application.
Note #2: so far, only tested on Droid Incredible and HTC Desire.
From the built-in help:
About this application
This application's goal is to help you understand and possibly work around a common vexation of using Android; i.e. these messages:
"not enough space"
"Low on space. Application data space is low."
What is happening?
You've checked your phone's vitals and it appears that it has plenty of space left, both internal storage and SD Card storage. So, what's happening?
Android allows your applications to store their data, primarily, in a dedicated partition whose size happens to be much smaller than even the phone's internal storage space. Generally south of 150 MBs.
This is the partition that fills up so quickly and that Android has been complaining about.
And the help goes on and on so I'll stop here.
The short version
Using this application, you can see which applications use up most of your phone's data space and decide what to do with them.
You can also move the biggest directories to the phone's SD Card.
Additionally, you can use the app to cleanup the Dalvik cache but it's not the app's primary function.
Please, help test it!
I will gladly welcome any constructive criticism; I expect most of it to be along the lines of "The tool is not quite accurate" and that's what I wish to address first.
To create a debug report:
Simply select the "Debug" menu and follow the on-screen instructions.
The whole email business is so that you can copy/paste from a desktop client.
The .apk can be downloaded from nexus.zteo.com/projects/beta/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have more details about this program anywhere? I went to the download page but see no further info...
Help Section Typo
Under A Quick user guide in your user guide(?) that prompts when you run the apk for the first time there is a typo in the last sentence:
You can touch any application to explore its content and figure out what is taking up some much space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far I havent run into any issues with the apk...
Not to burst anyones bubble, but Choose Install Location has been doing this in a comprehensive way for weeks. http://www.appbrain.com/app/choose-install-location-free/com.beidl.chooseloc
Free Memory?
bdt1995 said:
I just tested it out on my Droid 1, which is running CM6.1RC5 (Not sure if thats relevant or not), and it doesnt seem to work very well on my phone. All apps came back as 4KB, at the top it showed this... Total:261.8MB Used:NaNKB Free: 259.1MB Database NaNKB Files: NaNKB Preferences:NaNKB Cache:NaNKB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem as bdt1995. Running CM 6.1 RC1.. the only difference is the total memory is 196.2 and the free is:194.3 MB cuz I'm using a Nexus.. CM6 might be the problem?
bdt1995 said:
I just tested it out on my Droid 1, which is running CM6.1RC5 (Not sure if thats relevant or not), and it doesnt seem to work very well on my phone. All apps came back as 4KB, at the top it showed this... Total:261.8MB Used:NaNKB Free: 259.1MB Database NaNKB Files: NaNKB Preferences:NaNKB Cache:NaNKB.
Heres the debug report: 1:/dev/block/mtdblock6 268032 224572 43460 84% /data
2:62855 /data/data
3:4096/0/265352
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here (total 196.2MB, Free 194.3MB, all apps 4KB), system details in my sig. Using apps2sdext, over 200 apps.
Debug info:
Code:
1:/dev/block/mtdblock5 200960 112144 88816 56% /data
2:96070 /data/data
3:4096/0/198951
Same problem as above with Cyanogen 6.02, However it looks promising.
I Think that moving data to standard SD can leads to security issue, because SD can be readed and written by any apps. Should be better if the app recognize /EXT partition, if exist, and move data here.
i'd like to try it and i get my lil sis to try it also she gets this problem a lot i have the droid incredible and my sis has the droid eris.
bdt1995, rnh16, britoso, mmorselli:
Thanks for the debug info. Indeed Cyanogen is a tad "exotic" for NES at this point.
Please download the latest version of NES -- I just uploaded it. It contains an extra debug line which should allow me to make it work so please paste your debug output here one more time.
JerseyFF:
Oops, thanks.
lhinsz:
Because it is a beta version, it hasn't been released yet and all the information you may need is contained in the Help screen. I tried to make it comprehensive.
BigNate:
Should work with HTC devices, yes. Could you or you sister paste her phone's debug screen here?
Zandog:
I do not think that both apps share the same goal so no lives should be lost (Seriously, not much of a bubble to burst?)

[APP] Undelete Beta - recover deleted files on rooted devices

Undelete
Welcome to the open beta of our newest root application - Undelete for Android, an application for root users that allows you
to recover deleted files on your SD card or internal storage.
Features:
- Fast scanning logic
- Restore any file that has not been written over
- Securely wipe/shred files
- Works with images, video, music, archives and binaries
Currently, only FAT is supported. On Tegra devices, only the external SD is supported.
We may write a special version supporting EXT4 if this app is successful.
Be warned: this is an early Beta build, provided "as is" with no support of any kind.
We take no responsibility for any issues that may arise from using the app. In some rare cases attempting to restore files may
corrupt the memory entirely (though we have not seen this problem, it is theoretically possible).
That said it has been in development for a while and well tested on the devices we have at the office - Incredible S, Nexus S,
Xoom, Transformer, Sensation, Galaxy S I/II, Galaxy Ace, Desire.
Market:
https://market.android.com/details?id=fahrbot.apps.undelete&feature=search_result
Screens:
You guys make nice apps!
Thanks. We are pretty awesome. And humble too
Really great idea! Looking forward to support for ext3 and ext4
For most people this will be enough. The only ones who will truly suffer will be those with no sd tablets like the galaxy tab family...
I myself build a variant of cm on ext4, but have no need to restore data from the internal memory.
Just took it for a spin and it found one file I deleted. It also showed an asec file. You might want to filter those out or have it for advanced users only.
I can see a need from some users to undelete from /data/app and /data/data. For example, an accidental app install. If you can tie the apk and deleted app data directory together, it would be even more convenient. I know some might have Titanium Backup but this would cover the cases where they don't or only have an older backup. Just an idea
Damn..I'm impressed. Keep up the good work.
One more question . Do you have plans to implement deeper recovery methods?
As mister morden told londo mollari - one thing at a time
Looking forward to it.
OK, you're going to hate me, but I have another suggestion . Since you opened a can of worms with file recovery some of your more paranoid users will want secure deletion (rewriting the file with junk data or 1s and 0s, etc) I think this would go pretty well in this app. So have a section for users to pick the file to be securely deleted and also give them an option to overwrite files that can be recovered.
doesn't seem to work for me,crashes every time I attempt to restore something
You'll have to be more specific. What file system are you using? What phone? Did you send logs?
Has anyone had problems? Lets get some feedback please!
No problems yet. I tried undeleting a few things and it has worked without a hitch.
ftgg99 said:
You'll have to be more specific. What file system are you using? What phone? Did you send logs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
incredible,cm7 rom with latest nightly and log was sent
I havent looked at the logs yet, have been avoiding work on my bday. However, there is no guarantee that a file can be recovered, sometimes the data is just corrupted.
If one file doesnt work, another will.
Any issues?
avgjoemomma said:
OK, you're going to hate me, but I have another suggestion . Since you opened a can of worms with file recovery some of your more paranoid users will want secure deletion (rewriting the file with junk data or 1s and 0s, etc) I think this would go pretty well in this app. So have a section for users to pick the file to be securely deleted and also give them an option to overwrite files that can be recovered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are already apps on the market that do this, look for SHRED, the typical name for this sort thing on PCs. I saw a few, although they all claim that due to journaling it will possibly not work.
Not sure what VFAT they're using, but the ones I know of don't journal So YMMV.
Indeed, deletion may not be right for this application...

[Completed] SDcard encryption as a portable container with cross-compatibility

Question: Is there a way (e.g. an app) that allows for PORTABLE encryption of the COMPLETE sdcard and/or specific directories on the sdcard while providing CROSS-COMPATABILITY with Truecrypt/Veracrypt on a Computer? The solution should best be proven to work (no implementational bugs).
--------------------------------------------
Background: In Android M (and I think N) you have the option to either us your sdcard as portable storage or as extended internal. While the first option provides no security what so ever, the latter does render the sdcard useless in case you loose your smartphone (e.g. stolen) or simply want to work with it on a computer from time to time.
For me, neither having a useless sdcard without my smartphone or not being able to save the encryption-container headers myself (like with truecrypt) is an option. Cause if desaster strikes all your data is gone, even if being safeguarded.
As I am sure that there a many security aware users I cannot be the only one looking for this? I've found several apps that offer encryption like sse, crypto ghost etc.... but they do not offer cross-compatibility with a computer.
Thanks.
TheAKAlias said:
Question: Is there a way (e.g. an app) that allows for PORTABLE encryption of the COMPLETE sdcard and/or specific directories on the sdcard while providing CROSS-COMPATABILITY with Truecrypt/Veracrypt on a Computer? The solution should best be proven to work (no implementational bugs).
--------------------------------------------
Background: In Android M (and I think N) you have the option to either us your sdcard as portable storage or as extended internal. While the first option provides no security what so ever, the latter does render the sdcard useless in case you loose your smartphone (e.g. stolen) or simply want to work with it on a computer from time to time.
For me, neither having a useless sdcard without my smartphone or not being able to save the encryption-container headers myself (like with truecrypt) is an option. Cause if desaster strikes all your data is gone, even if being safeguarded.
As I am sure that there a many security aware users I cannot be the only one looking for this? I've found several apps that offer encryption like sse, crypto ghost etc.... but they do not offer cross-compatibility with a computer.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Try posting your query in:
> General discussion > Security Discussion
Experts there may be able to help you.
Good luck

Phone Encryption on Android 8 (oreo) on Huawei Mate 10 Lite

Hello,
I have a rather interesting question, if someone (expert only please) can help, it would be very much appreciated
I have bought a new phone (Huawei Mate 10 Lite) which already has the preinstalled Android 7 OS.
After I turned it on, I've upgraded it to Android 8 (and EMUI 8) via the Software Updater.
So now, I am running Android 8 on Huawei Mate 10 Lite.
Until here, everything works like charm
The problem starts here: I'm used to having my ENTIRE user data partition (phone/device, call it as you wish) ENCRYPTED.
I am using my phone very much in different environments and if I accidentally loose it or it gets stolen, I want to ensure that nobody can access my private data by any possible means.
So, when I go to the classical place for encrypting phones: Settings -> Security & Privacy, I noticed that the "Encrypt Phone" option is MISSING.
I have only "Encrypt SD Card", but I do not have an SD Card, nor do I use one. I use only the internal flashdisk memory.
I even turned on the Developer mode and searched for that specific setting, but I cannot find it.
I googled about this problem and what I found even deepens the mystery, as there are some contradicting information and it doesn't paint a clear picture on how the hell encryption works on Android 7/8...
- In one place, it says that starting with Android 6 phones, the option of encrypting the entire phone is no longer available, as all phones with Android 6+ preinstalled are already encrypted !
Bump ! Really ?
- Somewhere else, someone says that the Full Disk Encryption (FDE) has been replaced with File Encryption and Google is slowly marking full disk encryption as obsolete...
I found the File Encryption on my phone and I have the possibility to create a file encryption "folder" or "vault" or what is that, but I do NOT want that, as I want the entire partition to be encrypted !
I am using VPNs, SSH keys, Pictures, E-mail accounts, Web browsers with stored passwords, basically the entire user partition contains secrets ! I cannot move everything to a secure container... maybe I forget something, and that something remains unencrypted ?
I cannot move everything to a secure SD Card or to put it in that encrypted "folder", because some secrets are files, some secrets are particular app settings or credentials.
Yes, I read about the fact that in Full Disk Encryption mode, a PIN is required for startup (as I had with my previous phone, which was great for me, by the way), and that PIN can prevent the booting of some basic functions of the device or the functioning alarms or something like that.
To tell you honestly, I don't care about those functions. I only want ENTIRE device encryption with one single PIN code.
I have already changed my SIM PIN (which is another thing, it doesn't relate to this), and I generated a phone PIN & Fingerprint on my phone, and set my phone to Lock after 15 seconds.
For everyday usage, the PIN/Fingerprint is enough to keep others from accessing my content, but what about plain disk access (using some other tools that read the flash disk) if I loose my phone or if my phone gets stolen ?
I liked the previous encryption method.
So, basically, I want to encrypt ENTIRE partition (FDE encryption) with one PIN, not SD Card encryption, not other file encryption solutions, not special vaults, not other stuff... I want my classic encryption back !
Please explain me:
1. Are all the new phones starting from Android 6 already encrypted ?
1.1. If so, why is there a file encryption tool to further encrypt particular files if the user partition is already encrypted ?
1.2. If so, what is the encryption key ? or what kind of encryption is that which does not require a PIN or something ? that means that the key is stored in plain text ? (if I don't offer it a PIN, it means that it must read the key from other places in order to decrypt the data (key that can be read by a thief, too?))
2. If Android 6+ phones are not encrypted, how can I implement full device encryption, and why the hell does Google abandon this kind of full, quick and not-giving-extra-security-thoughts encryption ?
I would kindly ask only experts to reply me.
If you are an expert or you know these things for sure, please reply.
I need a correct, documented (if possible), answer, because the security of my phone depends on it !
Thank you !
Well... anyone ??? Is this really such a hard question ???
I was getting so excited when I read your question, because I am looking for the exact same answer. But then I saw there aren't any answers.
Please can someone who knows about this answer this for us?
Mar0615 said:
I was getting so excited when I read your question, because I am looking for the exact same answer. But then I saw there aren't any answers.
Please can someone who knows about this answer this for us?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not an "expert" but I can tell you your data is safe & encrypted by default, that is why you can't find an encryption setting.
As I understand it
1. Yes (Google makes manufacturers sign agreement)
1.1 The data is encrypted on phone but you may choose not to lock it. Also you may allow some other people access to your phone even if you set screen lock or it's possible somebody may get your phone before it automatically locks, that is why here is a separate encryption system that some people may want ho use to encrypt certain files. (I'm assuming this is what you are referring to as I have never used Huawei)
1.2 Yes the system can generate it's own key from it's internal information automatically (note also, if you put in a simple passcode it is just one element the phone will use to generate a long key, so hackers can't crack a simple passkey to get into your phone as it also uses it's internal data to generate the key)
2, All your data is encrypted, ok maybe not all eg if you consider an alarm time your data, as some apps may be able to access limited data eg alarm times.
A quick search produced these two articles that are not overly technical & also show the numerous security improvements that all go to make your phone more secure. I hope it puts your mind at rest (though of course nothing can be guaranteed 100% secure if a well resourced group has physical access to your phone eg a government)
https://m.androidcentral.com/how-android-n-addresses-security
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3220446/android/android-8-oreo-security.html

Is Android11 w/One UI 3.0-no To Blame For My Micro SD card's recent behavioral changes?

I'm aware, that only a few of my comrades in
XDA'a
R
M
Y may be aware of this issue, and change since the migration to android 11. To help illustrate to you I recently, thru google takeout, downloaded my 45+gb gp music library, all to which it's destiny was sd card storage (as chosen thru my Chrome Browser settings). After all files were unzipped and transferred , the available storage space on my sd card hadn't charged! So yes, my sd card is OK too, as affirmation to one of the replies I received earlier stating since gaining Android 11 rhey hadn't seen any changes. And by ok, you nust mean the sd card doesn't unmount itself at will, or randomly throw-up an error msg like, "sd file corruption detected," just for giggles!
As stated earlier, only a handful of folks I know over on discord's SamCentral are aware of this change, so there's been little discussion of file allocation tables & tweaks, i.e., formatting FAT 32(or that's the current default)idk...this isn't my field but imo, I think they're saying currently everything is being shifted to external stg. '0' which is the common ground for all or most of Android O/S's, thus "arming" their decision with the "no purchase necessary" routine. Fact is, most folks don't require more than half-a-gig or more of on-board mobile device storage. "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."(RIP Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy). So,, if this smells like a patch of sorts to you, why haven't we heard anything, and when can some of us expect to get our money's worth for our sd card purchase(mine, 256gb = $100, in Spring of '19). Some of the "fake-news" spreaders over there(lol) are saying the most recent samsung shifts to Microsoft based apps/services & cross-syncing is the root of the cause, and they're probably getting closer to plotting a solution now that the big hill has been championed(ref. to And. 11 + One UI 3.0-no project completion)! I miss the functionality of not being able to use an interface I paid for!
(If any of this I've shared here fact-cks.out to be valid, and I become a hero of sorts, does this mean I may gain some of that XDA "street-cred" and snag a couple of likes)?!
tarHeel71 said:
This actually was a thought of mine shortly after being sworn-in as a beta-tester for Samsung's One UI 3.0h-no, last fall.
Is there a different format process for my sd card now with Android 11(and if so, why was I not consulted)?
Any guidance or insight on my query would be great. Carry on!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated to 11 and UI 3.0 about a week ago and not having any issues with my sdcard. Only problem I have is that my battery usage as more than doubled even after a FDR.
tarHeel71 said:
This actually was a thought of mine shortly after being sworn-in as a beta-tester for Samsung's One UI 3.0h-no, last fall.
Is there a different format process for my sd card now with Android 11(and if so, why was I not consulted)?
Any guidance or insight on my query would be great. Carry on!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly is the issue here? Not formatted? Can't see specific data? I went through the whole beta and now on release and my SD card is "exactly" the same as before with the exception that some apps can't see other apps' directories which is a "feature" from Google.
Compusmurf said:
What exactly is the issue here? Not formatted? Can't see specific data? I went through the whole beta and now on release and my SD card is "exactly" the same as before with the exception that some apps can't see other apps' directories which is a "feature" from Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The real obvious missing link to me was, for instance, when I'm signed in and surfin on my browser(Chrome, Samsung Internet, etc) and I save/download a file, it doesn't actually get saved on the physical sd card like it did before, rather, the o/s leaves the file in a limbo state of sorts, with whatever browser app!? I got my n20u1_5G back in 9/20, so while on Q if I saved, d/led a file i.e., using Chrome, I would go thru my Files then sd, then Android, then data, then find chrome(com.google.shrome), and there she is!
But, since beta school, whilst on 11, I do my Lil routine(as b-4), and when I goto Android then data, there's nothing, no app files(google or Samsung, as there were b-4)!? I hope I'm explaining the deal well enough here, as I couldn't be alone with this issue! Anyone using a stg card knows what I'm saying that isn't to be seen anymore! I'm using the same 250gb (high-end) Samsung card as b4, when I purchased my handset thru b-buy.com last fall(see jpg).
(Sorry 4 delay in my reply)☠
"Android, then data, then find chrome(com.google.shrome), and there she is!"
BINGO. Yeah, that's NOT happening any more. Those folders are now SECURED from any other apps viewing them. Only the owning app can view. The files are probably there, nice and safe.
Right now I know of 3 ways to view them. Total commander file manager in the app store filed the appropriate request to google for "total access" and you can view them if you hook your phone up to a computer. The 3rd way is quite a bit uglier requiring you to make an activity to a legacy file manager that google accidentally left in android 11 but hid. I'd have to dig around a lot to find those instructions again.
It's called "SCOPED STORAGE"... Go read about it and cry.... I know I did.
So, NO, you aren't going nutz based on this. However, that doesn't preclude other ways to go nutz!!!!
Compusmurf said:
"Android, then data, then find chrome(com.google.shrome), and there she is!"
BINGO. Yeah, that's NOT happening any more. Those folders are now SECURED from any other apps viewing them. Only the owning app can view. The files are probably there, nice and safe.
Right now I know of 3 ways to view them. Total commander file manager in the app store filed the appropriate request to google for "total access" and you can view them if you hook your phone up to a computer. The 3rd way is quite a bit uglier requiring you to make an activity to a legacy file manager that google accidentally left in android 11 but hid. I'd have to dig around a lot to find those instructions again.
It's called "SCOPED STORAGE"... Go read about it and cry.... I know I did.
So, NO, you aren't going nutz based on this. However, that doesn't preclude other ways to go nutz!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply...I've heard bits/pieces in talks with geek friends, and I appreciate your expertise here on this topic! But, why aren't the bytes getting gobbled -up(like when viewing sd card stg. available from the pull--down menu or from device care app)? I downloaded nearly 45 gb of audio files to my sd card, with absolutely no change there, but you see the stg reduction to internal storage. For what benefit, to them , google? Or just more of the ongoing sparing the two of 'em are constantly a part of! lol/smh

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