CleverCoder's Guide to Mounting Android’s Internal Storage As A Mass Storage USB Device
I found inspiration from this guide: http://mohammadag.xceleo.org/mounting-your-android-devices-internal-storage/
His process did not work exactly, but by changing the “lun” to “lun0” and the path to the “android_usb” device, I was able to get this to work with my rooted Samsung Note 10.1. The instructions below were verified on my Note 2.
I was motivated to find this solution after I accidentally deleted my daughters world that she worked so hard to create in Survivalcraft. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to recover her world, but I learned a lot in the process. Enjoy!
Steps:
Boot into recovery mode (Usually holding volume (and home) down while powering up). I find the Wiki on CyanogenMod to be helpful to find device-specific bootloader instructions.
Invoke a root shell using ADB: “adb shell" (Note: This assumes you have the Android SDK installed and /platform-tools are in your PATH)
Find the /data partition, determine the block device that corresponds to it:
Code:
mount | grep /data
…
/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 on /data type ext4 (rw,seclabel,relatime,user_xattr,barrier=1,data=ordered)
…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make a note of the block device name. In my case, it's "/dev/block/mmcblk0p16". Unmount the /data partition to allow mounting as a mass storage device:
Code:
umount /data
Locate the “mass storage” device LUN entry. (In my case, it was ..\lun0 rather than ..\lun):
Code:
find /sys -name lun*
…
/sys/devices/platform/s3c-usbgadget/gadget/lun0
/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun0
…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In this case, we want to make a note of the entry with "f_mass_storage" in it. This is the entry that corresponds to a USB Mass Storage device.
Map the block device to the mass storage logical device LUN “file”. Note, this will be a file called “file” within the LUN folder. For example:
"/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file":
~# echo BLOCK_DEVICE_HERE > LUN_FILE_PATH_HERE
For example:
Code:
echo /dev/block/mmcblk0p16 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun0/file
Note: the ADB shell appears to wrap at around 80 characters, making it look like the line is split.
Reconfigure the USB device in “mass storage” mode. This has to be done in one command, since it will terminate the ADB connection. Also, the path varies to the “android_usb” device. It may be:
/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/
/sys/class/android_usb/android0/
You can use "find /sys -name *android0*" to help narrow the options. I believe either entry will work. YMMV
On my Note 2 the following worked:
Code:
echo "echo 0 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable && echo \"mass_storage,adb\" > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/functions && echo 1 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable" > enable_mass.sh
sh enable_mass.sh &
This should terminate the ADB connection and cause a new USB device to appear, representing the /data volume mounted as a mass storage device.
At this time, the block device associated with the /data partition should show up as a USB mass storage device on your computer. I verified this with OSX. OSX did not support the ext3/4 filesystem, however, Unix utilities that support it will work.
Recovering Files
Once the device is mounted on your host machine, you can use PhotoRec (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec) to recover files. It performs a file signature based recovery, is very powerful, and works with any file you can think of. It’s also easy to add support for your own file types.
I hope this helps others.
Cheers!
- Sean
Have anyone tried it?
Failed while do the step with the lun0/file.
Permission denied
Quite interesting :good: and works as expected with lun/file
Thanks for this amazing post
great
command done for E300K over Wifi adb
while system running normally
working great thanks
Code:
echo /dev/block/mmcblk0p20 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun0/file
echo 0 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable
echo "mass_storage,adb" > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/functions
echo 1 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable
---------- Post added at 05:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 AM ----------
wondering how we could mount many partition at the same time
will see
Edit : seems to be related to the module that provide mass storage gadget, it's set to 1 emulation for the moment... i think i have to recompile that stuff and/or the kernel to have this feature... any way not for now ^^
Note : an alternative to check deleted files is R-Studio work well
Some Hint Please?
CleverCoder said:
CleverCoder's Guide to Mounting Android’s Internal Storage As A Mass Storage USB Device
I found inspiration from this guide: http://mohammadag.xceleo.org/mounting-your-android-devices-internal-storage/
His process did not work exactly, but by changing the “lun” to “lun0” and the path to the “android_usb” device, I was able to get this to work with my rooted Samsung Note 10.1. The instructions below were verified on my Note 2.
I was motivated to find this solution after I accidentally deleted my daughters world that she worked so hard to create in Survivalcraft. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to recover her world, but I learned a lot in the process. Enjoy!
Steps:
Boot into recovery mode (Usually holding volume (and home) down while powering up). I find the Wiki on CyanogenMod to be helpful to find device-specific bootloader instructions.
Invoke a root shell using ADB: “adb shell" (Note: This assumes you have the Android SDK installed and /platform-tools are in your PATH)
Find the /data partition, determine the block device that corresponds to it:
Code:
mount | grep /data
Make a note of the block device name. In my case, it's "/dev/block/mmcblk0p16". Unmount the /data partition to allow mounting as a mass storage device:
Code:
umount /data
Locate the “mass storage” device LUN entry. (In my case, it was ..\lun0 rather than ..\lun):
Code:
find /sys -name lun*
In this case, we want to make a note of the entry with "f_mass_storage" in it. This is the entry that corresponds to a USB Mass Storage device.
Map the block device to the mass storage logical device LUN “file”. Note, this will be a file called “file” within the LUN folder. For example:
"/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file":
~# echo BLOCK_DEVICE_HERE > LUN_FILE_PATH_HERE
For example:
Code:
echo /dev/block/mmcblk0p16 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun0/file
Note: the ADB shell appears to wrap at around 80 characters, making it look like the line is split.
Reconfigure the USB device in “mass storage” mode. This has to be done in one command, since it will terminate the ADB connection. Also, the path varies to the “android_usb” device. It may be:
/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/
/sys/class/android_usb/android0/
You can use "find /sys -name *android0*" to help narrow the options. I believe either entry will work. YMMV
On my Note 2 the following worked:
Code:
echo "echo 0 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable && echo \"mass_storage,adb\" > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/functions && echo 1 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable" > enable_mass.sh
sh enable_mass.sh &
This should terminate the ADB connection and cause a new USB device to appear, representing the /data volume mounted as a mass storage device.
At this time, the block device associated with the /data partition should show up as a USB mass storage device on your computer. I verified this with OSX. OSX did not support the ext3/4 filesystem, however, Unix utilities that support it will work.
Recovering Files
Once the device is mounted on your host machine, you can use PhotoRec (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec) to recover files. It performs a file signature based recovery, is very powerful, and works with any file you can think of. It’s also easy to add support for your own file types.
I hope this helps others.
Cheers!
- Sean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello sir, I want to ask you.
What recovery version do you use? Philz Touch? TWRP or another? can you please help me.? I am using Galaxy Note II device (GT-N7100)
When I am using TWRP recovery I can do all steps you provide but no luck. Then I am try using Philz Touch, adb shell is error, Device Not Found.
What can I do? Can you please help me? :good:
I need to recover some photos that I accidentally deleted.
Hi Sean,
This is a great idea!!! I've been struggling for the past two weeks to recover data from my HTC One M7 ever since I accidentally hit the factory reset button!:crying:
I got a few questions...
Does this method work on my M7 which has only the internal memory and no SD card?
IIf I'm trying this directly on a terminal window on he phone, how would the last command change?
Also, once done, how do we mount /data back?
Sorry for the noob questions!
Thanks a lot!
No response from HTC One M7
Hello Experts,
I tried the above mentioned method on my HTC One M7. It was lun0 in my case. I have unmounted /data. However, I still found that mmcblkp037 that was mounted on /data was still linked to /sdcard for some reason. I proceeded to unmount /sdcard too. (There is no SD card in my device btw).
After unmounting both /data and /sdcard, I proceeded to edit the lun0/file and then the long command all in one go. Unfortunately nothing happens, the adb shell remains active and I do not see a USB device appearing on My Computer. I've added the snapshots from the terminal window.
Can someone please help?:crying:
Thanks!!!
So i am trying to run this so that i can do a photo recovery on the internal storage. At first i wasn't getting the list of mmcblk0p and what they were assigned to. I found a different command that I think returns the correct information ( mmcblk0p26) when i make it to the end, it mounts it on my pc as the cd rom drive, but i cant do anything with it and it doesnt show up in my recovery program. I ran the command again and i got ( mmcblk0p26-orig) but again at the end, i still only have the cd rom that it mounts. im not sure if im not pointing to the correct mmcblk or what im missing. Any help is appreciated.
anyone?
Issues with step 4 umount
Hi together,
I have issues by proceeding step 4. "umount /data" it all the times says: "umount: bad /etc/fstab: No such file or directory"
I tried so many things to solve it.
Could you please help me?
I am unable to switch to mass_storage on my Moto G 2013.
I tried with DriveDriod Android App and it successfully enabled mass_storage but I am unable toreplicate the same manually.
This is what I tried:
[email protected]:/sdcard # find /sys -name lun*
/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun
/sys/devices/platform/msm_hsusb/gadget/lun0
[email protected]:/sdcard #
[email protected]:/sdcard # mount | grep /data
/dev/block/mmcblk0p36 on /data type f2fs (rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,background_gc=on,user_xattr,inline_xattr,acl,inline_data,nobarrier,active_logs=6)
[email protected]:/sdcard #
[email protected]:/sdcard # echo "/dev/block/mmcblk0p36" > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file
[email protected]:/sdcard #
[email protected]:/sdcard # setprop sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No luck in mounting the partition as UMS.
Please Help.
Thanks.
@CleverCoder im trying this on a OneplusX but it ends up showing as unallocated space in gparted. Any clue?
All worked fine with a bq aquaris a4.5.
~#: umount /data
umount: can't umount /data: Invalid argument
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why can't I unmount the /data partition?
Any hints please?
Useful guide. Thanks. :good:
Additionally, you may look into kernel source of your device or simply into these USB related initramfs files for further details what you need to edit on your device:
/init.qcom.usb.rc
/init.usb.rc
/init.recovery.usb.rc (on TWRP)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find in these files the USB vendor id and product id values provided by your device manufacturer or Google. These values should be fed to corresponding files so that PC may properly identify your phone as a USB mass storage device. In given example, 2717 is USB Vendor ID of Xiaomi; manufacturer of Redmi Note 4.
Sample init.qcom.usb.rc (RN4/mido):
Code:
# Following are the parameters required for usb functionality. They provide configurable options like
# product_id/vendor id and allows specifying required functions:
#
# Required parameters:
#
# /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable: Enables/disables usb composition
# Value: 0 (disable), 1 (enable)
[...]
# /sys/class/android_usb/android0/functions: Stores name of the function drivers used in usb composition.
# Value: Passed one per function driver. e.g. diag[,adb]
[...]
on property:sys.usb.config=mass_storage,adb && property:sys.usb.configfs=0
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable 0
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/iSerial ${ro.serialno}
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/idVendor 2717
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/idProduct FF28
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/functions adb,mass_storage
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable 1
start adbd
setprop sys.usb.state ${sys.usb.config}
#Mass-storage only composition
on property:sys.usb.config=mass_storage && property:sys.usb.configfs=0
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable 0
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/iSerial ${ro.serialno}
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/idVendor 2717
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/idProduct FF20
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/functions mass_storage
write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable 1
setprop sys.usb.state ${sys.usb.config}
A good source is https://android.googlesource.com/kernel/common/+/bcmdhd-3.10/Documentation/usb/mass-storage.txt
Code:
[B]mido:/ #[/B] (find / -maxdepth 1 -type f) | while read fyle; do grep -iE "/sys.{,}lun" "$fyle" && printf ">>> $fyle\n\n"; done
/sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file
/sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file
>>> /init.usb.rc
[...]
[B]mido:/ #[/B] find /sys -iname lun*
/sys/devices/soc/7000000.ssusb/7000000.dwc3/gadget/lun0
/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun
[...]
[B]mido:/ #[/B] file /sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun
/sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun: symbolic link to ../../../../soc/7000000.ssusb/7000000.dwc3/gadget/lun0
[B]mido:/ #[/B] file /sys/class/android_usb/f_mass_storage/lun
/sys/class/android_usb/f_mass_storage/lun: symbolic link to ../../../../soc/7000000.ssusb/7000000.dwc3/gadget/lun0
[B]mido:/ #[/B] file /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun
/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun: symbolic link to ../../../../soc/7000000.ssusb/7000000.dwc3/gadget/lun0
[B]mido:/ #[/B] file /sys/class/android_usb/android0
/sys/class/android_usb/android0: symbolic link to ../../devices/virtual/android_usb/android0
So, the original files to modify are:
/sys/devices/soc/7000000.ssusb/7000000.dwc3/gadget/lun0
and
/sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All others are symlinks. Check your devices accordingly.
Simply use these files:
Code:
echo '0' > /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable
echo '/dev/block/mmcblk0p**' > /sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file; # replace ** with partition number
echo 'mass_storage,adb' > /sys/class/android_usb/android0/functions
If your /data partition is encrypted and TWRP can decrypt it, you should use:
Code:
echo '/dev/block/dm-0' > /sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file
Additional settings:
Code:
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb
setprop sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb; # disabling mtp will probably cause adb unauthorized
If you want to mount /data read-only, being on safe side or to avoid overwrite if want to recover deleted stuff:
Code:
echo '1' > /sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/ro
And finally:
Code:
echo '1' > /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable
Don't try this in running ROM, it's only for recovery mode.
Don't forget to unmount /data from your computer before disconnecting. Otherwise eMMC may get corrupted.
You can mount other partitions having a filesystem (like /system or /cache) in similar way, but that's rarely needed.
Can you tell me how to disable mass_storage again? revert everything back?
osrl said:
Can you tell me how to disable mass_storage again? revert everything back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"sysfs" is a volatile filesystem. Everything is reset on reboot. Or you may revert changes manually:
Code:
echo 0 >/sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable
echo "" >/sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file
setprop persist.sys.usb.config adb
setprop sys.usb.config adb
echo 1 >/sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable
honor 9 error lun
Hello, On my Honor 9 I'm trying to do the same but I'm stuck on
find /sys -name lun*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because this command gives no lines found, it seems that I don't have any directory with "lun" written in it, so I'm unable to continue the tutorial, what am I doing wrong?
eyewee said:
honor 9 error lun
Hello, On my Honor 9 I'm trying to do the same but I'm stuck on
because this command gives no lines found, it seems that I don't have any directory with "lun" written in it, so I'm unable to continue the tutorial, what am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i met this same problem. My phone is OPPO R15x PBCM.
i have ever installed an apk named UMS interface which can be downloaded from coolapk and found its code in github . this apk can allow root user create an image in their sdcard and mount it as a usb device or mount an external sd card as a usb device. the latter is like ums enabler .
it work normally, until i reinstalled OS of my phone. then it always return Mass storage Unit is not ready. i take a glance at the code of the apk, and found this warning exist only when /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun doesn't exist. exactly, /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/ doesn't exist. when i ls /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0, it only return f_audio_source f_midi power state subsystem uevent, not
Code:
f_mass_storage
. no matter i reinstalled OS for many times, nothing become normal.
Code:
grep f_mass_storage /init.usb.rc
will return
Code:
chown system system /sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file
chmod 0660 /sys/class/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun/file
, but i don't know its meaning. i don't have enough knowledge about android.
thanks anyone for help!
Hi !
So...that's my questition. My phone is SGS and i want to check in what file system the /data partition is formatted. Is there any way to do it ?
Thanks in advance, guys !
Open a shell (either install a terminal app or connect via USB and run "adb shell" on your computer) and run the command "mount". This will give you a list of all mounted filesystems. Look for the one mounted to /data.
For example, for my I9505, it reads:
Code:
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata /data ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,journal_checksum,journal_async_commit,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0
This means my /data is an Ext4 partition.
Open the terminal and run the command
Code:
mount
you will see how and where all partitions are mounted.
For data partition, in my phone, it shows up
Code:
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 /data ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordered 0 0
that means /data is mounted as ext4
here is what i did in my sony xperia L and now i anything that can help kindly let me know
I rooted my device and then i officially unlocked my bootloader but after unlocking bootloader the phone was stuck in bootlooop so i installed stock recovery in the phone using flashtool and phone was just fine then. I did all this in order to change the partition of my phone.
Now i installed cwm recovery and after that phone i did the following commands
Open a command window: CMD, then get into shell:
adb shell
Once in shell, type:
umount /storage
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print
This prints out the partition information of your phone's memory chip
You will see the partition numbers in the first column, partition names in the last one,
in between you have the start/end memory index and the partition size
------start---end---size
...
31---1795---3506---1711---userdata
32---3506---7818---4312---sdcard
In the above output, consider the values indicated in italic as not to be changed !
Now calculate (open a spreadsheed if you like) the new value for the end of the userdata partition,
and use the same value for the start of the sdcard partition
On your sheet it should look something like this if you added 2048 to the userdata size
------start---end---size
31---1795---5554---3759---userdata
32---5554---7818---2264---sdcard
Remove userdata and sdcard partitions:
rm 31
rm 32
Create the new userdata and sdcard partitions:
mkpartfs logical ext2 1795 5554
name 31 userdata
mkpartfs logical fat32 5554 7818
name 32 sdcard
Exit parted to go to the adb shell again:
quit
userdata partition (31) needs to have ext4 file system
The following will do the ext2->ext4 conversion:
cd /storage/sdcard1/fs-utils
tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p31
tune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/block/mmcblk0p31
e2fsck -fpDC0 /dev/block/mmcblk0p31
Now when i restart my phone or even open the phone in cwm recovery it says cannot mount storage.
I tried installing the Rom again using flashtool it does not work and device gets disconnected probably coz now i am not able to mount my storage.
I tried to start adb shell and revert the changes i made in the above command in order to bring phone back to normal but now adb says no device is found.
I went to the customer service centre of sony they said they will change the motherboard.
Now my question is there any way i can fix my phone kindly tell me. I will really appreciate it Since i am not a software developer so i do not know any commands. Is there any way i can change my storage settings so they can be mounted again kindly let me know.
py.puneet said:
here is what i did in my sony xperia L and now i anything that can help kindly let me know
I rooted my device and then i officially unlocked my bootloader but after unlocking bootloader the phone was stuck in bootlooop so i installed stock recovery in the phone using flashtool and phone was just fine then. I did all this in order to change the partition of my phone.
Now i installed cwm recovery and after that phone i did the following commands
Open a command window: CMD, then get into shell:
adb shell
Once in shell, type:
umount /storage
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print
This prints out the partition information of your phone's memory chip
You will see the partition numbers in the first column, partition names in the last one,
in between you have the start/end memory index and the partition size
------start---end---size
...
31---1795---3506---1711---userdata
32---3506---7818---4312---sdcard
In the above output, consider the values indicated in italic as not to be changed !
Now calculate (open a spreadsheed if you like) the new value for the end of the userdata partition,
and use the same value for the start of the sdcard partition
On your sheet it should look something like this if you added 2048 to the userdata size
------start---end---size
31---1795---5554---3759---userdata
32---5554---7818---2264---sdcard
Remove userdata and sdcard partitions:
rm 31
rm 32
Create the new userdata and sdcard partitions:
mkpartfs logical ext2 1795 5554
name 31 userdata
mkpartfs logical fat32 5554 7818
name 32 sdcard
Exit parted to go to the adb shell again:
quit
userdata partition (31) needs to have ext4 file system
The following will do the ext2->ext4 conversion:
cd /storage/sdcard1/fs-utils
tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p31
tune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/block/mmcblk0p31
e2fsck -fpDC0 /dev/block/mmcblk0p31
Now when i restart my phone or even open the phone in cwm recovery it says cannot mount storage.
I tried installing the Rom again using flashtool it does not work and device gets disconnected probably coz now i am not able to mount my storage.
I tried to start adb shell and revert the changes i made in the above command in order to bring phone back to normal but now adb says no device is found.
I went to the customer service centre of sony they said they will change the motherboard.
Now my question is there any way i can fix my phone kindly tell me. I will really appreciate it Since i am not a software developer so i do not know any commands. Is there any way i can change my storage settings so they can be mounted again kindly let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a question here, why did you want to change the partition of your phone?_? And no there isnt a way to revert thats a hard brick
Changing the motherboard will be the quickest method for Sony, which will not cause any trouble for them. You could ask the price for doing a low level format and restoring the partitions etc. Though I don't if they can do this in this case.