Ladies and gents,
first post, I apologize if this has been covered in other threads/forums but I searched around and haven't found the right answer. So here's a little background:
I have an SM-N900 which I use for work and fun. I've been on stock A 4.4.2 and liked it a lot. Both the UI and the performance. I have now acquired a 64 gB microSD, which works great with windows on USB 3.0, but unfortunately I need UMS (USB mass storage) functionality as I retired my previous device fulfilling this role. MTP is of NO use to me. And since this is a work phone I need it to be absolutely stable and reliable.
To the point of this post, I'll update this post after a discussion on how to achieve UMS functionality on the SD card on the Note 3 (at least on the SM-N900) for others in the same predicament.
Things I have tried so far:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2297888 <-- SG USM Enabler by MohammadAG with some tweeking both on Kitkat and Lollipop
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1785243 <-- These scripts. Only on Kitkat
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/themes-apps/app-sgs3-easy-ums-mount-external-t1711009 <-- And these. Kitkat only as well.
Options at this point:
- Run a custom ROM: I've never gone this router before. As mentioned I need stability and maximum compatibility. I understand there a few ROMs out there that provide USM but I'm a little green on this front and I don't want to go about trying out different ones on a wild goose chase.
- Flash Lollipop and hope for the best: Pros and cons to this one. It is my understanding that Lollipop has brought back the possibility for apps to access SD storage. If that's true, I imagine it won't be long for some of you geniusis to script a solution to the problem. However, I really dislike the new UI. So much so that I've flashed back kitkat to try and find the solution under that OS.
- Give up. Keep stock kitkat which I really like and buy some old device that runs Gingerbread or Jellybean. <-- Not what I had in mind.
Please Note: I can run and edit some scripts but I have zero knowledge of custom loaders, linux, ext4, directories that start with a "" or a "." etc. So while I encourage a technical discussion if necessary, please bear in mind that some foreigners will be reading along so write in english too.
Personally (you'll get a better answer from somewhere else), I switch to 'camera mode' an option on the pull down menu on the phone once connected, and it comes up a lot closer to USM).
It was my biggest criticism of Android when they moved over to MTP
smeddy said:
Personally (you'll get a better answer from somewhere else), I switch to 'camera mode' an option on the pull down menu on the phone once connected, and it comes up a lot closer to USM).
It was my biggest criticism of Android when they moved over to MTP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
Unfortunately, PTP is not UMS either and when connecting to non computer devices, that doesn't help either.
Another solution I've come up with is having a mass storage device, connect it to the phone with USB OTG, transfer the needed files and then plug that into said device. But that kinda defeats the purpose and implies carrying around an extra device anyway.
Anyone else? What about ROMs claiming to have UMS built into it? Has anyone had any experience with those?
Further research
CM12 apparently supports UMS. At least this article explains how to enable it on Android One devices. Could anyone confirm this?
Nightly builds of CM12 for Note 3 are posted here: http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=hlte
Could anyone please confirm if these will work on any Note 3 variant and chipset?
Also, could someone point me towards a crash course on system files/directories? See, I have reason to believe that the scripts I posted above do work but the lun file is located someplace else. So I'd like to look for it but I don't know how or where to start.
Much obliged.
New Update
Alright, so I got the SD to show up as a Mass Storage device with the following script:
script said:
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb
echo /dev/block/vold/179:33 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun0/file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And return it to MTP though I got an error with it. Hang tight, I'm gonna crack this one. =D
Note: at this stage, the SD is still mounted on the device side so data corruption is a possibility.
Oh I forgot... 20 to 25 mB/s transfer speeds =D
Subscribing to this post!
Update
Fellas, here's where we stand on code: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58655257&postcount=130
If any of you is into scripting, I'd appreciate a hand.
Final update, for now...
I've run all the scripts and in different combinations on Android 5.0 and achieved exactly the same results as on A 4.4.2.
And those are as follows.
The best way to mount the SD card as a mass storage device is using this code:
Code:
echo 0 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable
umount /mnt/extSdCard/
echo "mass_storage,adb" > /sys/class/android_usb/android0/functions
echo "/dev/block/vold/179:33" > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/f_mass_storage/lun0/file
echo 1 > /sys/devices/virtual/android_usb/android0/enable
This will unmount the card from the phone and enable mass storage mode. This will also ensure no corruption of the file table occurs.
As far as performance goes, it is as follows:
Read speed: 20 to 25 mB/s for sequential reading (large files). Smaller (pic sized) files will be carried over at about 17 to 20 mB/s
Write speed: 7 to 9 mB/s and 5 to 7 respectively.
The phone will NOT be recognized by non computer devices however. At this point, I think I've tried almost all I could think of and am really disappointed (actually I think the word is frustrated =P) as this was what I needed the most.
I think this has to do with the fact that you still need a "samsung mass storage driver" or something. Tried it on a couple of routers (different OSs), a smartTV and my car's stereo. NO LUCK.
So the best incentive at this point is transfer performance. If you, like me have a 64 gB SD card and regularly put boatloads of stuff on it, this will get you to your beer before it's warm.
To disable UMS, simply reboot the phone. Haven't been able to make the "return to mtp" script completely reliable.
Oh and the CyanogenMod is only intended for LTE devices so those of us with the Exynos chipset are outta luck.
Finally, if any of you guys thinks of something else or has a suggestion regarding the code, hit me up. I'de love to hear it!
You are forgetting about kernels. Try this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2480353
Graffiti Exploit said:
You are forgetting about kernels. Try this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2480353
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think those are all Snapdragon based. Not sure about the 900T but the 9005 has a Krait 400 with a Snapdragon chipset.
Thanks for the hint though!!
Oh sorry, forgot you had exynos.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Probably you can try this as I used this on an MTP based mp3 player where I need to connect to my pc as a mass storage device, have not tried it though for the note.
Connect the note to the computer then once detected as an mtp device go to device manager amd locate the note 3 it may show up as an mtp device/portable device. Once you find it right click and update drivers then change the driver to mass storage device or usb device. If shows successful check and see if its now recognized as a mass storage device. Though it will only work on the computer where you change the driver sp if going to a different computer you will need to do the same thing.
I do apologize as I cannot try this as my computer is busted but if it does not work then you can just uninstall then reinstall the driver for the mtp device.
cryostasis25 said:
Probably you can try this as I used this on an MTP based mp3 player where I need to connect to my pc as a mass storage device, have not tried it though for the note.
Connect the note to the computer then once detected as an mtp device go to device manager amd locate the note 3 it may show up as an mtp device/portable device. Once you find it right click and update drivers then change the driver to mass storage device or usb device. If shows successful check and see if its now recognized as a mass storage device. Though it will only work on the computer where you change the driver sp if going to a different computer you will need to do the same thing.
I do apologize as I cannot try this as my computer is busted but if it does not work then you can just uninstall then reinstall the driver for the mtp device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion. But I really need it to work on non computer devices. That's why I was going for device side UMS.
Related
Hello folks. First of all, I have to say that I do not own an Android phone, but
I might be getting a cheap one in the future for some tinkering. And I am simply curious.
So, I need to know some details about the mass-storage mode handling
and it would be cool if you guys could help me out.
Assuming I have rooted my device and created a file with dd or something
and I also set up a loop-device to correspond to this file (basically
a losetup /dev/loop0 /tmp/bla).
Can I expose it into mass-storage mode, like the normal partition where your files lay in? I mean I know from other
smartphone operating systems that this is possible with some shellscripts
which they prepared for this stuff. Those shellscripts basically use the g_file_storage kernel module
for that.
Now I searched the web and found some hints that this could also be the case for android. However,
a friend of mine checked his modules and nope, it seams that it does not exist on his device. I think
it should not not differ from device to device, am I right?.
How is android taking your file partition and enabling it for the usb mass storage mode?
Are there scripts for that? Is it somehow done internally within binaries which use syscalls and stuff like that?
Or: What exactly happens when I plug in the usb cable to the phone and then choose the "enable" button?
hey lawl0r,
i have come to the very same question since i want to try this on the galaxy nexus.
did you get any further with this?
I did a search and couldn't find anything regarding this, but is there a working method to get USB Mass Storage for our device instead of MTP mode? I found an app for the International Version that requires Busy Box, but I didn't want to mess anything up on my phone if it doesn't work for Verizon devices.
EDIT: Looks like i was searching in the wrong forum.... I should have looked in Development instead of Q&A... who would have thought, lol. Anyway, if anyone else is curious, the method to enable USB Mass Storage is at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1785243&highlight=usb+mass+storage. However it is a lengthy process. Hopefully some devs can cook this feature into some ROMs in the future.
The initial setup takes a little time but once it's setup it's pretty simple. Just remember you have to run the script after every reboot.
Hi Guys ....
The third problem which i have with this Note 10.1 : i cannot connect the device as mass storage , i tried everything , also search google , but no way ,
Does anyone of you make it ?
Thanks
onlyman1980 said:
Hi Guys ....
The third problem which i have with this Note 10.1 : i cannot connect the device as mass storage , i tried everything , also search google , but no way ,
Does anyone of you make it ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm confused because every time I plug the cord from my Note 10.1 to my PC I can easily open my computer and see both my Note's directory as well as the micro SD Card that is housed in my Note. I can move files back and forth so I guess I don't see the issue here?
onlyman1980 said:
Hi Guys ....
The third problem which i have with this Note 10.1 : i cannot connect the device as mass storage , i tried everything , also search google , but no way ,
Does anyone of you make it ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, dude, what's up with the huge bold font? We aren't blind you know.
Could be due to the fact that ICS organizes its file structure differently. You can locate your SDCard in the /mnt/ folder.
I find the font and size quite nice and easy to read.
donec said:
I find the font and size quite nice and easy to read.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Erm...In case you haven't noticed, you can pinch to zoom generally if you find fonts to small .
could be having the same issue I am having. I have to re-install the drivers all the time because I keep getting unidentified device message when I plug in the tablet. I have installed Kies, tried installing the drivers not connected to the internet so the windows update will not take and the issue always comes back. It happens on this tablet and my GS3 phone. I read it was a windows update issue but I have updates set to let me decide and installed the drivers off line so I am not sure why this issues continues to arise.
It doesn't support mass storage, none of Samsung's ICS and above devices do. They use MTP. So does the GN and N7. Love it or hate it that's the way Google wants it. There's some work-arounds. Search the SGS3 forum(s); whatever they've done will work on the Note too.
BarryH_GEG said:
It doesn't support mass storage, none of Samsung's ICS and above devices do. They use MTP. So does the GN and N7. Love it or hate it that's the way Google wants it. There's some work-arounds. Search the SGS3 forum(s); whatever they've done will work on the Note too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MTP is the issue I am having. Computer fails to recognize the hardware, thus nothing shows up in my computer.
Download KIES, install it, don't run KIES, connect and that's it. With KIES You get the correct drivers .for MTP .............
There is absolutely no need for mass storage function ..........
My computer does not pick it up most of the time either.
Ive found that if I plug it into a usb, then restart the tablet, the computer picks it up then.
Have to do same thing with my Note phone.
With the latest (and unfortunate) update from HTC, I have come to the conclusion that MTP is not the best protocol to transfer files between 2 devices. Why? It's much slower plus less secure. Maybe I just wanted to charge my device when hooking it up to the PC. With normal USB file transfer, by default, the phone does not mount and show its files to the PC. With MTP it does; and there's no way to stop it. MTP is also less stable. I had freeze ups many times when transferring large files where my computer no longer recognized the device. I had to unplug and restart.
Is anyone else having issues? Or is it just me being on Windows 8? Anyone know of a way to disable MTP and use the traditional way of mounting to sync? Thanks.
Just got an option I'm going to try. I worked on other devices I'll try ours:
"Use system tuner app. Go to startup button. Check for mtp. Click on it and find the exclude button. Click on it. Restart your tab. Connect to your charger and see if it works. For me it does, but you probably have to repeat the step because mtp might appear in your startup again (i don`t know how to kill it once for all)."
Source:
http://www.askmefast.com/How_to_disable_MTP_mode_on_samsung_galaxy-qna1310615.html#q750233
Will report back. For all you's who don't mind MTP, disregard this thread
Em can you explain the 'less secure' bit? But ya it sucks lol.
Closed Source Project said:
With the latest (and unfortunate) update from HTC, I have come to the conclusion that MTP is not the best protocol to transfer files between 2 devices. Why? It's much slower plus less secure. Maybe I just wanted to charge my device when hooking it up to the PC. With normal USB file transfer, by default, the phone does not mount and show its files to the PC. With MTP it does; and there's no way to stop it. MTP is also less stable. I had freeze ups many times when transferring large files where my computer no longer recognized the device. I had to unplug and restart.
Is anyone else having issues? Or is it just me being on Windows 8? Anyone know of a way to disable MTP and use the traditional way of mounting to sync? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in windows 8 it sucks like hell, im with you, but in windows 7 is working fine and super fast, i pass large files from my pc to my phone, and when i say large, they are really large. i use my phone for movies, and i download movies from 5 to 6 GB, and it take a couple of seconds to get from my pc to my phone. you need updated drivers for it to make it work right.
blackwing182 said:
in windows 8 it sucks like hell, im with you, but in windows 7 is working fine and super fast, i pass large files from my pc to my phone, and when i say large, they are really large. i use my phone for movies, and i download movies from 5 to 6 GB, and it take a couple of seconds to get from my pc to my phone. you need updated drivers for it to make it work right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Em what that just bs for a start the filesystem don't even support more the 4gb and then you got the fact there is no way it would copy over so fast that it puts my SSD drive to shame.
I always reboot to TWRP and use mount as old USB Mass Storage.
TheEndHK said:
I always reboot to TWRP and use mount as old USB Mass Storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya I do this too since the only thing that get put on there is roms which I'm about to flash.
blackwing182 said:
... but in windows 7 is working fine and super fast
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bull****.
MTP cant get over 2MB/sec even when using a high-end PC with SSD HDDs and USB3(yes i know the S doesnt support usb3, thats not the point), while USBMS easily do 10-15MB/sec, and ADB 5-6MB/sec.
MTP is worse than useless. Good thing I coded Quick ADB :silly:
MTP & the suck
I can agree on the initial frustration I had, trying to understand why my other android device allowed the copying of any file ext. onto the SD card. I bought a new phone with the same ICS os(phone did not come with a file manager), when I learned of MTP then what I learned now was that mass storage no longer exists . It is a more secure way the computer reads the device, so to avoid the blockade you'll need another device anything that has m-sd card capability so you can dump any one or more files onto it first off. Then goto googleplay and dl a good file manager program to use while accessing file in the phone. It should be simple from then in on to install any backed up .apk files or view any media(phone did not come with a versatile media player)files.
Closed Source Project said:
With the latest (and unfortunate) update from HTC, I have come to the conclusion that MTP is not the best protocol to transfer files between 2 devices. Why? It's much slower plus less secure. Maybe I just wanted to charge my device when hooking it up to the PC. With normal USB file transfer, by default, the phone does not mount and show its files to the PC. With MTP it does; and there's no way to stop it. MTP is also less stable. I had freeze ups many times when transferring large files where my computer no longer recognized the device. I had to unplug and restart.
Is anyone else having issues? Or is it just me being on Windows 8? Anyone know of a way to disable MTP and use the traditional way of mounting to sync? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did not work for me, mtp still loaded!
i hate mtp, every time i copy a image file or video from my phone, it is corrupted, windows 7 or xp.
sometimes my wallpapers get corrupted just using es file explorer or just what seems randomly.
this is on my verizon note 2, running stock JB 4.1.2
anyone find a real solution yet?
if i have to root to get this solved, so be it, but i am about to do so any way since i miss having more control over my device.
turns out after testing, my sd card is a faked 64gb class 10, transfer rate suggests class 4 and 4gb of data was verified, good news is i can still get my money back and my friend who sold it to me may not have known it was a faked card.
MTP is completely retarded. UMS is a tried-and-tested protocol, this is the biggest sh*t sandwich Google has handed Android users so far.
MTP crashes every single time I try to use it. Try opening a folder that contains a large number of files. Explorer will freeze. Furthermore, MTP requres a device-specific driver, whereas UMS uses a standard driver. Oh this sucks so much!
Guys, I don't understand you really... In every ROM I've flashed lately being it AOSP or Sense based, there's an option to switch from MTP to the "old" UMS mode. In AOSP based ROMs it is usually located in Settings - Storage and you should open the menu there and you have USB Computer Connection where you can choose whatever you like. It is an option like any other options, you can use it or not
And yes I agree with you...it sucks
Rapier said:
Guys, I don't understand you really... In every ROM I've flashed lately being it AOSP or Sense based, there's an option to switch from MTP to the "old" UMS mode. In AOSP based ROMs it is usually located in Settings - Storage and you should open the menu there and you have USB Computer Connection where you can choose whatever you like. It is an option like any other options, you can use it or not
And yes I agree with you...it sucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on a rooted S4 MINI using the original stock ROM. Other than this small niggle, after removing all the crapware I am pretty happy with what I have, although if there is a compatible ROM that would bring UMS to the table I'd be happy to try it. I just find it very annoying that earlier Samsung phones used to have the UMS option but recently they decided to get rid of it. That's as stupid as it can possibly get: a tried and tested, working feature that was already in place... WTF not just leave it there??
Scooxdroid said:
I am on a rooted S4 MINI using the original stock ROM. Other than this small niggle, after removing all the crapware I am pretty happy with what I have, although if there is a compatible ROM that would bring UMS to the table I'd be happy to try it. I just find it very annoying that earlier Samsung phones used to have the UMS option but recently they decided to get rid of it. That's as stupid as it can possibly get: a tried and tested, working feature that was already in place... WTF not just leave it there??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know CM11 has the option included and I'm sure you have either an official or a CM11 port available for S4 mini
Rapier said:
I know CM11 has the option included and I'm sure you have either an official or a CM11 port available for S4 mini
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll definitely look at it, thanks!
Scooxdroid said:
I'll definitely look at it, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx
For the last few weeks I haven't been able to get any PCs to see my phone (tried my personal, work, and one friend's, all running Windows 7). Previously it would mount as an external drive just fine (MTP) but now I really cannot get it to connect to any computers so I'm having to do all file transfers through Dropbox and stuff.
Tried a few apps like the SGS3 Easy UMS but nothing works. Does anyone have an idea what might be wrong? Thanks in advance for any advice.
I've been updating to the "last stable build" of CyanogenMod 10.1 and now 10.2 from the ApexQ team about once a week. Not that I really know what it means.
Did you try different cables?
Try downloading all drivers for our phone and using last 10.1 nightly. That's what I'm on currently on and just used 2 days ago and had no issues. Most importantly use cable that came with phone!
Sent from my SGH-T699 using xda premium
Thanks for all the suggestions. Downgrading to the last stable 10.1 nightly seems to have done it. Same cables used throughout.
Xenobio said:
Thanks for all the suggestions. Downgrading to the last stable 10.1 nightly seems to have done it. Same cables used throughout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
having issues with that too from time to time. reboot sometimes helps, shutdown, pull battery and wait a few secs then put it all back together always did.
may be related to the otg-driver they are fiddeling with atm. seems like the chip gets stuck in some mode which makes the device invisible (doesn't even show up in kernel logs as if it wasn't connected at all)
kilr00y said:
having issues with that too from time to time. reboot sometimes helps, shutdown, pull battery and wait a few secs then put it all back together always did.
may be related to the otg-driver they are fiddeling with atm. seems like the chip gets stuck in some mode which makes the device invisible (doesn't even show up in kernel logs as if it wasn't connected at all)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we're just adjusting for a few differences in the 3.4 kernel (plus all the nutty caf patches d2 loves) and adding new features at the same time look for otg in a build near you soon. At this point it's not "does otg work" but "how can we best implement this in our shared kernel" and "can we also do usb aca" (otg + charging at the same time)
my phone's rooted, but i decided not to put CM on it.
anyway, MTP is pissing me off.
everything i try to put music on it from my computer, it doesn't recognize it and puts it in the LOST.DIR. What's worse is that I can't delete anything I put on the SD card. It says it's protected.
I've tried putting music on my sd card using another phone with usb mass storage and exchanging sd cards, but it gives me the same result.
anyone have a solution to this?
i've tried usb mass storage enabler, airdroid, and kies. none work.
any help is appreciated! thanks!
Sounds like your sd card. Try a different one.