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[Q] How do I mount my sdcard as a drive via USB?

I have a TF101 running Prime 1.1, and a sdcard inserted in it.
I wanted to mount it as a drive via USB to my laptop through a usb cable (like I do on my phone), but I can't find an option for it on Honeycomb to do so. Anyone know how to do this?

Having the same issue. Running Ubuntu 10.04. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

...anyone?

poorace said:
I have a TF101 running Prime 1.1, and a sdcard inserted in it.
I wanted to mount it as a drive via USB to my laptop through a usb cable (like I do on my phone), but I can't find an option for it on Honeycomb to do so. Anyone know how to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's already mounted, on device storage there's a folder called microSD, if that doesn't work just pop the microSD card out and pop it back in while plugged in.

poorace said:
I have a TF101 running Prime 1.1, and a sdcard inserted in it.
I wanted to mount it as a drive via USB to my laptop through a usb cable (like I do on my phone), but I can't find an option for it on Honeycomb to do so. Anyone know how to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest i do not think there is any way to do that yet
Honeycomb does not offer an easy way to include removable storage (which is why the xoom doesnt support sd cards yet officially)
Asus bypassed the Honeycomb issue and mounted the SD card to a directory (Removable Storage)
Since the built in storage is seen as the sdcard by honeycomb that is what is seen by computers
When the next version of honeycomb comes out, they should address this issue
...hopefully
For now i carry one of these bad boys on me while i'm at school (along with my gazillion flash drives )
http://www.amazon.com/elago-Mobile-...FKR8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1304203233&sr=8-3

SlimDan22 said:
To be honest i do not think there is any way to do that yet
Honeycomb does not offer an easy way to include removable storage (which is why the xoom doesnt support sd cards yet officially)
Asus bypassed the Honeycomb issue and mounted the SD card to a directory (Removable Storage)
Since the built in storage is seen as the sdcard by honeycomb that is what is seen by computers
When the next version of honeycomb comes out, they should address this issue
...hopefully
For now i carry one of these bad boys on me while i'm at school (along with my gazillion flash drives )
http://www.amazon.com/elago-Mobile-...FKR8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1304203233&sr=8-3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That explains it!

SlimDan22 said:
To be honest i do not think there is any way to do that yet
Honeycomb does not offer an easy way to include removable storage (which is why the xoom doesnt support sd cards yet officially)
Asus bypassed the Honeycomb issue and mounted the SD card to a directory (Removable Storage)
Since the built in storage is seen as the sdcard by honeycomb that is what is seen by computers
When the next version of honeycomb comes out, they should address this issue
...hopefully
For now i carry one of these bad boys on me while i'm at school (along with my gazillion flash drives )
http://www.amazon.com/elago-Mobile-...FKR8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1304203233&sr=8-3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very cool item there. might pick one up myself.

Wait so are you telling me that presently there is no way to access your microSD card from your computer? (without using any extra accessories)

Oops just realized it was mounted in the storage folder**
Had to replug in my Sd card

Deusdies said:
Wait so are you telling me that presently there is no way to access your microSD card from your computer? (without using any extra accessories)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seshmaru already posted the solution to this earlier in the thread.
When your Transformer is attached to a Windows PC, the SD card is mounted as a subdirectory under device storage.
Regards,
Dave

Android switched from the USB storage class to MTP from Honeycomb. In order to access MTP storage from non-Windows machines you'll need an MTP driver.
For Mac use Android Filetransfer. For Linux use MTPFS.
Details for both can be found here:
http://droidweb.com/2011/05/moving-files-onto-android-3-0-devices/

MTP sucks, you have to use Windows' default copy and paste and it doesn't give you full acess to all the files (only ones Honeycomb wants you to see), horrible system.

frosty5689 said:
...it doesn't give you full acess to all the files ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I also dislike the inconsistency between actual files and those displayed via MTP. Fortunately most readers of this forum know how to use ADB push/pull or the file explorer to move internal files to a removable USB storage device.

Watch out
I've got 3 USB 2.5" HDs. All are NTFS formatted and SATA internally with external eSATA connectors so to me similar cases. All work fine on my PCs. On the TF 2 work and these 2 have a similar case but the 3rd is not picked.
Just something to be aware of that your case can be an issue

Mount Xoom as USB Drive

I am running the Team EOS ICS ROM. Is there anyway to mount my Xoom's internal memory or SD card as a logical drive to my Windows 7 PC?

sure,
download the motorola usb drivers from motorola and plug your xoom into your pc via USB. Both the internal and SD card will show in Windows Explorer.

Its showing in Windows Explorer, but unlike other Android devices it is not being assigned a logical drive letter when Windows knows about it.

I think your problem is because of the way they have the rom setup. If you look in the settings for storage than select the "action" menu" (top right). There are only two options which is media device and camera device. On other roms, an option is presented to connect as "mass storage" which is what you are looking for.
So, the short answer is that in the current iteration of the rom, what you are looking for does not exist.

Mounting as mass storage is a depricated technology never to return. In fact, Android devices with external storage are being depricated. It has to do with the problems associated with having unmounted storage while android attempts to use that storage.

bigrushdog said:
Mounting as mass storage is a depricated technology never to return. In fact, Android devices with external storage are being depricated. It has to do with the problems associated with having unmounted storage while android attempts to use that storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to run a file syncing app to copy the files from both the internal storage and SD card thats automated when I leave the xoom in its dock overnight. Is there a way of getting windows to see it as a drive with a letter?

integramodder said:
I'd like to run a file syncing app to copy the files from both the internal storage and SD card thats automated when I leave the xoom in its dock overnight. Is there a way of getting windows to see it as a drive with a letter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
depends on what ROM you are using and if they have added the mass storage feature, which as noted right above your post has been deprecated by Android/Google...so unless you are running maybe an ICS rom or there is some app in the Play Store that will give you that functionality, then i would say no

[GUIDE] MTP and PTP (Media Transfer Protocol) vs UMC (Mass Storage Class)

Here I will post the advantages and disadvantages of the two.
Advantages of UMC
UMC works at block level. It means that you access the partition from the operating system like if were local, and you have complete control of it.
For the previous reason, UMC keeps timestamps for files and folders. This is specially important for pictures, photos or videos that don't have EXIF, where you rely on file creation or modification time to arrange them and to know when were taken. MTP sets for all transferred files current system time, thus overwritting the real creation or modification time and ruining your gallery.
UMC allows the use of recovery software (Recuva) or partition software (Easeus Partition Master) and even format with a different filesystem. Without UMC you have to use android side software that usually is less powerful, needs a rooted phone, etc.
As you have total access to the partition, you can access all files there, even hidden, system, etc. With MTP you only have access to the files that the controlling operating system (android) wants. For example, with MTP, files starting with dot (.file) are not accessible. Some file formats are not allowed.
UMC is compatible with any operating system that allows connecting a FAT32 / exFAT pendrive, while MTP requires specific support. Linux and OS X may have built-in support or not.
With UMC you directly access the files, so modification is instant, and viewing. On the other side, with MTP you download it, modify it and re-upload the edited version, but you never do it directly. Even to play files you need to completely download it first. Imagine downloading a 5 GB MKV.
UMC is always the same, while for MTP there are several implementations: MTP, MTPZ (Microsoft Zune), Sony SonicStage, Apple DMAP.
UMC is faster than MTP because requires less time to initialize transfer, but isn't that big difference for an average user. The higher the number of files to be transferred and the lower the size of each file, the higher the ratio MTP/UMC.
Advantages of MTP or PTP
In MTP mode, the android device controls the input/output to the filesystem, so there is no risk of data loss because of cold disconnecting the device from USB. You work on a layer over the filesystem. With UMC you must be careful.
MTP allows you to use the sdcard from both the android phone and the computer at the same time, even to any desired number of them. On the other side, with UMC you only can do it from a device at a time, meaning that you have to unmount the sdcard from the android to view it on the computer, stopping apps, etc. Of course there are software that can force viewing UMC from both sides, but is a highway to corruption.
MTP does not show the native filesystem to the computer (it uses a hierarchery simulated by the MTP driver), so it will always be compatible. For example, on devices with the same partition for data and sdcard (like Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S3) you are writing from the computer to an ext4 partition and you don't need windows to support it. The same if the device partition were in any imaginable filesystem, the MTP will show you it in a standard hierarchy. On the other side, with UMC your local operating system (windows, linux, mac) must support natively the filesystem of the partition or download some software that allows you to do it.
With MTP you use all capabilities and disadvantages of the device filesystem. If the filesystem is in ext4 you can copy files over 4GB to the device, that you couldn't in UMC mode because usually it will come formatted in FAT32, that is the most compatible fs for all operating systems.
MTP enables Windows Media DRM, UMC doesn't.
MTP allows the use of password for accessing the files (on compatible devices). On the other side, with UMC, of course you could use powerful tools like TrueCrypt, but you need the corresponding software on android that reads it.
How to preserve timestamps
- Use File Timestamp app. Root is required, and works recursively too.
- Use Mass Storage Mode when possible.
- zip or tar the files when sending them to the phone or receiving from.
- If the device has external sd, you can use it as a man in the middle.
- samba (smb protocol) allows preservation of timestamps, however applications for android don't support it.
- FTP allows preservation of timestamps, however applications for android don't support it.
- NFS allows preservation of timestamps, however couldn't get any application for android working properly (Servers Ultimate Pro).
- Rsync allows preservation of timestamps, however couldn't get any application for android working properly (Servers Ultimate Pro).
- adb push and pull does not preserve timestamps. Furthermore doesn't work recursively with folders.
- MTP does not preserve timestamps.
- Cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. usually never preserve timestamps.
Questions and answers
Is possible to implement MTP on "put here your device"?​Possibly yes, if has USB. MTP works on software side, so updating your rom or installing a new one will do the job
Is possible to implement UMC on "put here your device"?​That depends on hardware mainly. If the internal sdcard and the data folders belong to the same partition, you can't. The reason is that you can't enable access to a part of a partition at block level, the whole or nothing. This is the case for Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3, in order to take advantage of all space, and discard the case where you have filled a partition and the other plenty of space.
Dan Morill said:
It isn't physically possible to support UMS on devices that don't have a dedicated partition for storage (like a removable SD card, or a separate partition like Nexus S.) This is because UMS is a block-level protocol that gives the host PC direct access to the physical blocks on the storage, so that Android cannot have it mounted at the same time.
With the unified storage model we introduced in Honeycomb, we share your full 32GB (or 16GB or whatever) between app data and media data. That is, no more staring sadly at your 5GB free on Nexus S when your internal app data partition has filled up -- it's all one big happy volume.
However the cost is that Android can no longer ever yield up the storage for the host PC to molest directly over USB. Instead we use MTP. On Windows (which the majority of users use), it has built-in MTP support in Explorer that makes it look exactly like a disk. On Linux and Mac it's sadly not as easy, but I have confidence that we'll see some work to make this better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sources:
Easy UMS, USB Mass Storage and Media Transfer Protocol – XDA Developer TV
DifferenceBetween: Difference Between MTP and MSC
Directions on Microsoft: What is MTP?
CrackBerry: On startup - Media Transfer Protocol
Ice Cream Sandwich supports USB mass storage after all, Galaxy Nexus does not
Issues and questions:
[Q] Hidden folders through Android MTP
Nexus 4 not showing files via MTP
[Q][MTP] Certain files/directories hidden to windows file manager?
Connecting to PC files are different!
MTP and hidden files
[Q] Hidden files and MTP/Windows
[Q] Do the S3 still using 2gb partition for data and 12 as virtual sd?
Just got meself a Nexus 7... But!
Upload to dropbox: file timestamps should be preserved
Android File Transfer - For Mac users only

Thanks for this guide !

If I understand this correctly, then devices like the Asus Transformer Eee Pad (TF300T) which has a 16GB or 32GB internal storage, PLUS a microSD card (and standard SD card slot when docked) could use UMC, if the manufacturer made it so (which they haven't), right?

invertedskull said:
If I understand this correctly, then devices like the Asus Transformer Eee Pad (TF300T) which has a 16GB or 32GB internal storage, PLUS a microSD card (and standard SD card slot when docked) could use UMC, if the manufacturer made it so (which they haven't), right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The UMC should appear then for the microsd, which you can physically remove from the phone, plus the dock if existent.
For the 16/32 GB internal storage it depends if there is a dedicated partition for internal sdcard. Check it for the Eee Pad.

Well, then I assume(?) Asus were lazy or just didn't think to give us the choice, cos I only have MTP or PTP mode. I miss UMC.

invertedskull said:
Well, then I assume(?) Asus were lazy or just didn't think to give us the choice, cos I only have MTP or PTP mode. I miss UMC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, assuming that you have your device rooted and with busybox, can you post the output of these three commands
Code:
ls -lR /dev/block
Code:
mount
Code:
su
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print

scandiun said:
Well, assuming that you have your device rooted and with busybox, can you post the output of these three commands...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I don't have it rooted. I have been asking around if rooting / unlocking the TF300T would give me the option for UMC, but pretty much everyone told me chances are zip.

invertedskull said:
Sorry, I don't have it rooted. I have been asking around if rooting / unlocking the TF300T would give me the option for UMC, but pretty much everyone told me chances are zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting can't change that because it's hardware implemented. You can't do anything about it. Probably the Eee pad transformer doesn't have a dedicated partition for sdcard.
A quick way to check it is see if the free space for the sdcard and the userdata is exactly the same, and is always like that no matter on which of the two partitions you write.
About the issue anyway, modern phones like Galaxy S3, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note and probably newer like Nexus 2 and Note 2 won't have it anymore, it's just the way to go because takes all the advantage of the free space on the device. It will be the standard from now on.
EDITED:
If you want UMS on devices that don't have it, you can use DriveDroid from market (there's both free and paid). With it, create a blank file that will be used as "partition". Then you can connect your phone to your computer and put there the songs you want. Then do the same in the car. For example, in my Nexus 7 I've created a 2 GB file which serve for that purpose (takes a while when is big).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=39203658&postcount=21

I have 20.71GB free internal, and 1.89GB free on the mSD card. :/

invertedskull said:
I have 20.71GB free internal, and 1.89GB free on the mSD card. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because the mSD is another sdcard, different than the internal, in case it has it.
Would be great if you could get the partition scheme as I requested before, or ask for it, to definitely rule it out.

scandiun said:
Because the mSD is another sdcard, different than the internal, in case it has it.
Would be great if you could get the partition scheme as I requested before, or ask for it, to definitely rule it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this what you need?

when i connect my device with computer(MTP conection), i saw 1drive appear, then i go inside, i saw 2drive(iternal&external with how many free space left), go inside again always empty... how to use it?

I get that also. Just go into either one (internal or external) that you want to copy your files to and do your stuff.

invertedskull said:
Is this what you need?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More or less. The internal sdcard and the external (microsd) are different, one has 27.15 GB and the other 29.80 GB.
Click in the More... and see if you have UMC for the external microsd

scandiun said:
More or less. The internal sdcard and the external (microsd) are different, one has 27.15 GB and the other 29.80 GB.
Click in the More... and see if you have UMC for the external microsd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, I only have MTP or PTP. This makes me sad.

Of UMC, MPT, and PTP, which is the most benigh?
I don't know if this is the best place to ask my question, but at least you all seem to understand this all pretty well.
I plug my phone into my PC to just use ADB. Under Gingerbread, I would select "Charge only" as my USB connection type.
With ICS, there is no longer the "Charge Only" option for an USB connection to a PC. I have to pick UMC, MTP, or PTP.
Given I really don't want to use any of those, just ADB, which of the three is the most benign one?

WaltA said:
I don't know if this is the best place to ask my question, but at least you all seem to understand this all pretty well.
I plug my phone into my PC to just use ADB. Under Gingerbread, I would select "Charge only" as my USB connection type.
With ICS, there is no longer the "Charge Only" option for an USB connection to a PC. I have to pick UMC, MTP, or PTP.
Given I really don't want to use any of those, just ADB, which of the three is the most benign one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either the MTP or PTP are the safer ones. There is no possibility to select "none" like was possible in previous version as you say. The UMC has the disadvantage that if you activate the Mass Storage usually the /sdcard won't be available from ADB commands.
Anyway, the ADB is separate from those options. The ADB option is usually found under Developer options. You can use adb with any of the options you say.

Thanks a lot very very helpfull!

oops, delete post. wrong window lol

scandiun said:
Rooting can't change that because it's hardware implemented. You can't do anything about it.
...
About the issue anyway, modern phones like Galaxy S3, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note and probably newer like Nexus 2 and Note 2 won't have it anymore, it's just the way to go because takes all the advantage of the free space on the device. It will be the standard from now on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I would let you (and anyone else reading this thread) know that your post here is wrong. It's not "hardware implemented" in the sense that these two protocols are software implementations of data transfer. In fact, in many cases, even where there is NOT a microSD card that is mounted as a separate partition from system/data, the UMS/MSC (USB Mass Storage Transfer/Mass Storage Class) can still be implemented by this procedure:
1. Root (and optionally flash a custom ROM, that can be easily modded)
2. boot into alt OS, such as Recovery or OS from alt. source (USB OTG?)
3. Partition such that you have the required "separate partition"
4. add kernel modules/libraries you want and will need for UMS/MSC
5. Boot up and enjoy UMS/MSC as well as MTP (if you don't mind crappy speed)
Done.
Also, regarding MTP/PTP (Media Transfer Protocol, which is actually different from Picture Transfer Protocol), being a future replacement for all "modern phones", I am not so sure. It is designed for that indeed, but the Android community is different from most others. I will personally be going out of my way in the future, to ensure all phones I buy have removable uSDcard slots, as long as I can still find them, because it makes recovery in a bind, much easier (like, if there's a problem establishing communications with a computer, and numerous other possibilities). There's nothing like popping in a 32 or 64 Gig card of movies, training videos, eBooks, etc., within 10 to 20 seconds, vice the hours it will typically take to transfer even 5 Gigs of videos over the MTP protocol. Again, I don't like programs handling all my media for me. I prefer to see the files where they live (a higher fidelity simulation, is afterall, a hallmark property of how sharper minds represent reality, and abstractions from it are always mere shortcuts we use in a hurry). You got an easier method to rapidly check file hashes on your phone, from your laptop? Think of it this way, saying that MTP will "replace" UMS, is like saying Apple will replace Linux.
Regards,
Paul
:good:

Mounting as Mass Storage

I am unable to connect my TF700 as mass storage on Ubuntu 12.04. I tried with USB debugging enabled and disabled. PTP works but is extremely restrictive. There's an adress about the filetransfer page on android's web page, but it just provides Mac dmgs.
I wasn't expecting that since my Galaxy Note running ICS mounts as mass storage without hassle. There's even a "USB utilities" under Settings.
The apps claiming to mount Android devices seem to require root. I am using gMTP as a workaround for now. But I'd much rather have mass storage. Any tips?

sapienssapiens said:
The apps claiming to mount Android devices seem to require root. I am using gMTP as a workaround for now. But I'd much rather have mass storage. Any tips?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ICS removed support for mass storage (e.g. see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1351097), it is usually available for samsung devices because they hack it into their touchwiz UI.
i also hate MTP because it is slow as hell, mtpfs or gMTP don't work properly for me, it takes about 20-30 seconds until the device is found (same for my galaxy nexus, tried many different libmtp versions..) and then it also takes ages to go into a folder or copy files. if i want to copy pictures to the PC i boot my virtualbox windows....
enough ranting i just found "jmtpfs" this week (which still relies on libmtp) which works a little bit better than mtpfs or gMTP, see: http://research.jacquette.com/jmtpfs-exchanging-files-between-android-devices-and-linux/

I used the app "stick mount" on my samsung galaxy note with aosp ics. But I think the device has to be rooted.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

masiegel said:
I used the app "stick mount" on my samsung galaxy note with aosp ics. But I think the device has to be rooted.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's an app for mounting USB sticks n your device -- the Tf700 supports that natively, so you would not need an app like that. The OP's question is if the memory of the TF700 itself can be mounted as a native USB Mass Storage Device, if I understand correctly. The only correct answer to that is already in post #2: no, it cannot (natively), because MSD were dunked in ICS (to my dismay; thanks a bunch, Google, it stopped my SGS2 from working as a USB pen drive at work). A custom ROM could fix this, as several did for my phone (SGS2).

MartyHulskemper said:
That's an app for mounting USB sticks n your device -- the Tf700 supports that natively, so you would not need an app like that. The OP's question is if the memory of the TF700 itself can be mounted as a native USB Mass Storage Device, if I understand correctly. The only correct answer to that is already in post #2: no, it cannot (natively), because MSD were dunked in ICS (to my dismay; thanks a bunch, Google, it stopped my SGS2 from working as a USB pen drive at work). A custom ROM could fix this, as several did for my phone (SGS2).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CyanogenMod adds this feature back doesn't it? I know on my phone, CM9 has it available (and strangely, no MTP support). I know my stock ICS Blur lets me use MTP or mass storage.
But I wonder if there's an app that will let me mount as a mass storage? Or do we have to wait for some devs to do it in a ROM? I will install the custom ROM just for that, because MTP is just PAINFUL.

MartyHulskemper said:
The only correct answer to that is already in post #2: no, it cannot (natively), because MSD were dunked in ICS (to my dismay; thanks a bunch, Google
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did they provide any reason for ditching MSD? Are they too lazy to bother with partitioning issues? It's a grotesquely **** move by Google...

Depends on the device. For example, my phone supports it through cm but my Touchpad did not.
They probably switched to it so apps with SD card files in use wouldnt abruptly lose file access and panic
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app

KilerG said:
CyanogenMod adds this feature back doesn't it? I know on my phone, CM9 has it available (and strangely, no MTP support). I know my stock ICS Blur lets me use MTP or mass storage.
But I wonder if there's an app that will let me mount as a mass storage? Or do we have to wait for some devs to do it in a ROM? I will install the custom ROM just for that, because MTP is just PAINFUL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed it's a CM-specific feature, although some other ROMs have built-in tricks that they ripped off of CM. I hate MTP as well, because it won't go where I work (hospital, no admin access, no installs allowed).
EDIT: might this do the trick: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.abraxas.mountusb.donate ?? I don't know, but give it quick whirl and see. <?>
sapienssapiens said:
Did they provide any reason for ditching MSD? Are they too lazy to bother with partitioning issues? It's a grotesquely **** move by Google...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the jump to MTP was primarily because of the past: small on-board memories. Earlier versions of Android kept reserved space for system partitions, data partitions and so on to prevent the system running out of RAM because of the amount of installed apps and the volume of their data storage. Nowadays, memory is so large that that precaution is no longer needed, as any recent phone should have ample memory. And, indeed, you are right: the secondary advantage of MTP is the filesystem being accessible to the system itself while also being 'seen' by the host (Windows, for example), thus preventing running apps from being 'orphaned' from their data storages.

[Q] USB Mass Storage not working?

Hi, when I had my SGS3 I was able to plug it into my TV via USB and explore the phones files (helpful to play movies ect without having to transfer it to laptop via USB then to a portable USB pen drive).
However when I plug my Nexus in, it doesn't see it at all so can't go through the files with the file browser.
I noticed when I open 'my computer' this appears - (see screenshot)
My old SGS3 just came up directly with internal storage rather than showing the phone model first, is this related to the issue?
Cheers!

declan8888 said:
Hi, when I had my SGS3 I was able to plug it into my TV via USB and explore the phones files (helpful to play movies ect without having to transfer it to laptop via USB then to a portable USB pen drive).
However when I plug my Nexus in, it doesn't see it at all so can't go through the files with the file browser.
I noticed when I open 'my computer' this appears - (see screenshot)
My old SGS3 just came up directly with internal storage rather than showing the phone model first, is this related to the issue?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Nexus 5 does not mount USB storage by default.
You must either:
1) Buy Nexus 5 media importer (non-root)
2) Use USB OTG Helper or Stickmount from play (Free but requires root)
3) Use a custom kernel (such as Chaos) to enable Automount of OTG

Excellent answer, thanks
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

No probs.

This was one of the annoying things I've found with the Nexus 5. Not sure if the rest of the Nexus line is the same but I can't see why the Nexus 5 doesn't have full USB OTG support like a lot of other phones out there. My S3 and Toshiba Excite 10 but support full OTG but why not the flagship Google device?
That said, my Toshiba supports micro HDMI whereas both the S3 and Nexus use MHL and Slimport respectively. I know this is probably due to space constraints to fit two ports on a phone but its still annoying that you need yet another cable to hook up your phone to a TV without any lag like miracast.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Indeed it's annoying..
I actually tried the first two options of rootSU's answer however it didn't mount (which is strange as I am on stock ROM)
I will try the kernel tomorrow

Damnit double post!

declan8888 said:
Indeed it's annoying..
I actually tried the first two options of rootSU's answer however it didn't mount (which is strange as I am on stock ROM)
I will try the kernel tomorrow
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Click to collapse
1) what is the usb stick formatted to? Anything other than fat32 will fail
2) whats the error? With stickmount, it just mounts it to a folder on /sdcard. Nothing happens visually
Kernel is best option though
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I think you are missing what the op is wanting to do.
What you are describing is allowing the phone to access an external device.
The op wants his external device (TV) to access his phones storage.
Unfortunately this is not possible unless your TV supports the mtp protocol which it looks like it doesn't.
Starting in android 4.0 Google moved away from a physical fat32 sdcard partition and went with a scalable fused ext4 sdcard Mount.
This required a new interface because the new style cannot be mounted as a USB mass storage device.
Thus came mtp. (Media transfer protocol)
Using the fused system is much more beneficial in android (I won't go into the reasons now) but it means you cannot use the device with anything that doesn't support mtp access
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Alex240188 said:
I think you are missing what the op is wanting to do.
What you are describing is allowing the phone to access an external device.
The op wants his external device (TV) to access his phones storage.
Unfortunately this is not possible unless your TV supports the mtp protocol which it looks like it doesn't.
Starting in android 4.0 Google moved away from a physical fat32 sdcard partition and went with a scalable fused ext4 sdcard Mount.
This required a new interface because the new style cannot be mounted as a USB mass storage device.
Thus came mtp. (Media transfer protocol)
Using the fused system is much more beneficial in android (I won't go into the reasons now) but it means you cannot use the device with anything that doesn't support mtp access
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Oh yes I am missing that.
FYI, sgs3 is an mtp only device
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Yes you get it. Didn't the s3 ship with jelly bean though?
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declan8888 said:
Yes you get it. Didn't the s3 ship with jelly bean though?
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No. It shipped with ICS 4.0.x but it always had FUSE and MTP. S2 is a different story though.
S3 could mount external sd as mass storage if rooted but not internal (more info here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2448070 )
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question about usb mass storage
Not really a computer guy myself but i take it that a lot of people have said the same thing: the n5 and n4 both did not allow the phones to be used as mass storage devices. This was very annoying to me as I just bought my n5 and wanted to transfer my music onto the phone. I don't see the point in this change nor do I see it as a 'step forward'.
What is interesting is that my friend in Canada who also owns a nexus 5 has no problems using her n5 as a mass storage device. I did not believe her so she sent me a screenshot of her storage options which indeed allows her to use the phone as a mass storage device. Is her n5 manufactured completely differently from mine??

gulrezm said:
Not really a computer guy myself but i take it that a lot of people have said the same thing: the n5 and n4 both did not allow the phones to be used as mass storage devices. This was very annoying to me as I just bought my n5 and wanted to transfer my music onto the phone. I don't see the point in this change nor do I see it as a 'step forward'.
What is interesting is that my friend in Canada who also owns a nexus 5 has no problems using her n5 as a mass storage device. I did not believe her so she sent me a screenshot of her storage options which indeed allows her to use the phone as a mass storage device. Is her n5 manufactured completely differently from mine??
Click to expand...
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you just need to enable MTP on the notification bar and will be able to transfer files like music.
make sure that Nexus 5 shows under "Computer" directory. If it doesn't, need to reinstall the driver

gulrezm said:
I did not believe her so she sent me a screenshot of her storage options which indeed allows her to use the phone as a mass storage device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That menu allows you to switch between Media MTP & Camera PTP and not Mass storage.
In MTP you should see the N5 as a media device and drag and drop to it in explorer.

As already mentioned, that's not USB mass storage. I think your friend perhaps doesn't know what mass storage is but here is a thread I wrote explaining it all
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2534010
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