Develop Bugs

[Q] Is USB Mass Storage mode supported?

Hi,
does any of you know if the device can work in USB Mass Storage mode, i.e. can it be seen as an external drive from Windows/OSX/Linux without additional software? I own a MacBook Pro and HTC support told me that they are going to release soon a piece of software that works under OSX, but it would be wonderful to have access to the device storage without additional software..

Question already asked and answered here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1543735
They dont use USB Mass Storage they use Media Transfer Protocol to deal with USB connection. This change was introduced in Honeycomb and has continued into Ice Cream Sandwich.
You can still transfer files to and from the devices its just a diffrent way of doing it.
Forum user Gogol posed these questions:
- Why Google is using MTP instead of USB file transfer on Honeycomb?”
He received the following response from a Google developer:
“MTP is a big improvement over USB mass storage — for devices with lots of internal memory, a manufacturer no longer needs to come up with some hard partition between the USB mass storage and internal storage. Instead, they are all in one partition, with MTP providing access to the directory of media files that would normally be available through USB mass storage. This means there is no longer a need for apps on SD card for such devices, because what used to be the ‘internal SD card’ is in the same partition as where applications are stored. The storage on your device can be used for either applications or media, depending on what you want to put on it. You aren’t stuck with how much space the manufacturer decided to leave for the two areas.
Oh also this means that the media storage doesn’t need to be unmounted from Android when it is being access through the PC.“
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Source: http://glasskeys.com/2011/02/28/why-google-uses-mtp-instead-of-usb-file-transfer-on-android-3/
A main reason for using MTP rather than for example the USB mass-storage device class (MSC) is that the latter operates at the granularity of a mass storage device block (usually in practice, a FAT block), rather than at the logical file level. In other words, the USB mass storage class is designed to give a host computer undifferentiated access to bulk mass storage, such as compact flash, rather than to a file system, which might be safely shared with the target device (except for specific files which the host might be modifying/accessing). In practice, therefore, when a USB host computer has mounted an MSC partition, it assumes absolute control of the storage, which then may not be safely modified by the device without risk of data corruption until the host computer has severed the connection. Furthermore, because the host computer has full control over the connected storage device, there is a risk that the host computer may corrupt the file system, reformat it to a file system not supported by the USB device, or otherwise modify it in such a way that the USB device cannot completely understand it.
MTP and PTP specifically overcome this issue by making the unit of managed storage a local file rather than an entire (possibly very large) unit of mass storage at the block level. In this way, MTP works like a transactional file system - either the entire file is written/read or nothing. The storage media is not affected by failed transfers.
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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol
No idea how this works with OSX though I'm a Windows guy

HTC-Gunge said:
No idea how this works with OSX though I'm a Windows guy
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Very nice reply, thank you very much!

I've found Android File Transfer Google utility for OSX: http://www.android.com/filetransfer/

Actually, the One X still uses mass storage mode. Plug it in and you get the same old prompt for charge only, disk drive etc. and it still shows up as a removable disk.
Yes, vanilla android handsets like the GN use MTP mode, but HTCs don't. They have a separate partition still.

Hmm that's interesting if its true, it means HTC have implemented it independently of the OS. Could even be a selling point as I know quite a few people didn't really like the change from USB Mass Storage to MTP.
Thanks for the info!

I'm one of those who hates MTP because it is not as reliable as USB Mass Storage. MTP just doesn't want to play nice with my Win7 machine on my Nexus so I'm really looking forward to the One X and getting proper USB Mass Storage on it.

As much as i prefer MSC over MTP (mainly because you can open music and video files directly from your mass storage device, but if you use MTP, they will have to copy the entire file over to your computer before it will play), my office blocks MSC devices, but strange enough, MTP devices are not blocked.
Therefore i am actually trying to find out of i can use MTP mode in my One X, since MTP is embedded into ICS, there might be a chance. This will enable me to access my One X in office..
anyone has any idea?

I have a slightly similar problem here:
How do i tell the HTC ONE phone, that i want use the mass-storage-mode in USB, and not the f******g HTC/Nero bloatware crap?
Before the update to Android 4.1.1 it was working fine as mass-storage.

CBrown0815 said:
I have a slightly similar problem here:
How do i tell the HTC ONE phone, that i want use the mass-storage-mode in USB, and not the f******g HTC/Nero bloatware crap?
Before the update to Android 4.1.1 it was working fine as mass-storage.
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HTC has changed mass-storage-mode to MTP in their latest update. I didn't find any way to use as mass storage so I installed CM10.1 (A8 supports mass storage mode).

parkentosh said:
HTC has changed mass-storage-mode to MTP in their latest update. I didn't find any way to use as mass storage so I installed CM10.1 (A8 supports mass storage mode).
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Thanks for this info. Unfortunally is this no option for me. I dont want to hack my phone, i want to use it.

CBrown0815 said:
Thanks for this info. Unfortunally is this no option for me. I dont want to hack my phone, i want to use it.
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Agreed - I have the same problem with my OneX on 4.1.1. 4.0.4 was great, 4.1.1 is a backward step in several ways. My Galaxy Nexus (bought to play with Ubuntu Touch!) did the same [email protected] until it updated itself to 4.2.2, and now works correctly - to my mind - as a mass storage device. I think Google realised the error and quietly fixed it. I can't find a document that details all the changes in 4.2.2 so not sure.

[Q]File recovery software?

Does anyone know of any good file recovery software for our Gnex im wanting to recover images etc?

Most (if not all) file recovery software that you'd be able to use would require that your phone be mounted as USB Mass Storage to your PC to try and recover. Since the Galaxy Nexus can't do UMS -- only MTP -- you're pretty much SoL.

martonikaj said:
Most (if not all) file recovery software that you'd be able to use would require that your phone be mounted as USB Mass Storage to your PC to try and recover. Since the Galaxy Nexus can't do UMS -- only MTP -- you're pretty much SoL.
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I thought that need a good app now

USB Mass storage option ... gone?

I cant seem to find an option to use the Galaxy S4 as USB mass storage, only media device (MTP) or Camera (PTP) is available. Cannot find any USB options in the settings either.
How am I able to copy files from and to my SD card and/or phone HD?
I appreciate any helpful posts. Thank you!

crco said:
I cant seem to find an option to use the Galaxy S4 as USB mass storage, only media device (MTP) or Camera (PTP) is available. Cannot find any USB options in the settings either.
How am I able to copy files from and to my SD card and/or phone HD?
I appreciate any helpful posts. Thank you!
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You us MTP fyi usb mass storage has been gone for a while i know for a fact the gs3 & note2 used MTP

deeznutz1977 said:
You us MTP fyi usb mass storage has been gone for a while i know for a fact the gs3 & note2 used MTP
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with MTP my device doesnt show up in Mac, as well as my Sony TV or LG receiver. what to do?

Is there anyway to disable MTP and go back to mass storage? Also, is the SDCARD MTP as well?

Mass Storage is gone for good... and while it sounds bad, there's a good reason..
Using Mass Storage forces the storage partition (or external sdcard) to be unmounted by Android, so any data/apps/widgets on there are no longer available until you disconnect your device from your PC. Using MTP allows the data partition to remain mounted and available concurrently on both your device, and on your PC via USB.

1) No, you cannot get UMS back.
2) This belongs in Q&A.
3) For Macs, you will need this.

Questions go in Q&A
Thread moved
FNM

The auto-unmount is ok...
pakraider said:
Mass Storage is gone for good... and while it sounds bad, there's a good reason..
Using Mass Storage forces the storage partition (or external sdcard) to be unmounted by Android, so any data/apps/widgets on there are no longer available until you disconnect your device from your PC. Using MTP allows the data partition to remain mounted and available concurrently on both your device, and on your PC via USB.
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"there's a good reason" is somewhat subjective. To me the great benefit to the more general usb mass storage option is so you can connect the phone to any device as if it were a usb flash drive. No driver issues, no worries about camera or MTP mode, no Mac issues, no linux issues, no Windows issues ... it's just a usd flash drive and can be treated as such. I am ok with the side affect of auto-unmounting the sdcard from Android when I connect the phone to another device to use as noted USB drive.
Is there in fact any way this will ever come back?

I can't get my phone to show up on my computer for nothing.have the correct drivers installed and everything.running Windows
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

umlguy said:
"there's a good reason" is somewhat subjective. To me the great benefit to the more general usb mass storage option is so you can connect the phone to any device as if it were a usb flash drive. No driver issues, no worries about camera or MTP mode, no Mac issues, no linux issues, no Windows issues ... it's just a usd flash drive and can be treated as such. I am ok with the side affect of auto-unmounting the sdcard from Android when I connect the phone to another device to use as noted USB drive.
Is there in fact any way this will ever come back?
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There was an app someone made for the GS3 that did some filesystem trickery to expose the storage as UMS (needed root). I'm sure something like that will come around that works on the GS4 too.

I had the same issue until I installed Kies, no issues after that
TheAtheistOtaku said:
I can't get my phone to show up on my computer for nothing.have the correct drivers installed and everything.running Windows
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
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Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

umlguy said:
"there's a good reason" is somewhat subjective. To me the great benefit to the more general usb mass storage option is so you can connect the phone to any device as if it were a usb flash drive. No driver issues, no worries about camera or MTP mode, no Mac issues, no linux issues, no Windows issues ... it's just a usd flash drive and can be treated as such. I am ok with the side affect of auto-unmounting the sdcard from Android when I connect the phone to another device to use as noted USB drive.
Is there in fact any way this will ever come back?
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How could anyone possibly know if it will come back, especially "in fact?" My guess is you would have to ask Samsung that question to get anything other than a guess or an opinion (which would be NO) but it's not "in fact" just "in an opinion."

I jumped from an S2 to the S4 and was also annoyed that USB mass storage wouldn't work either. Since I use Linux as my desktop, MTP is not an option "out-of-the-box". I therefor turned to an awesome app (that I heard about on this site!), Airdroid. Now I was able to quickly get an album/picture/book datastore onto a shiny new 32GB microSD! And yes, I know I could have put the microSD into a slot on my laptop, etc., but I shouldn't have to, just because I choose to use Linux!
I mean, its rather ironic not to be able to use Linux to connect to Linux (android), don't you think? If I'm completely wrong about this, please someone point me to the right path.
Thanks

There is a "hack" to allow the external to be read as UMS. Also, the internal sdcard is no longer yaffs2 its ext4 and only linux knows ext4. So if you were to use UMS, only a linux computer would "see" the sd card and nothing else.

elesbb said:
There is a "hack" to allow the external to be read as UMS. Also, the internal sdcard is no longer yaffs2 its ext4 and only linux knows ext4. So if you were to use UMS, only a linux computer would "see" the sd card and nothing else.
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elesbb,
That's awesome news! Thanks for the tip. I use opensuse (currently 12.3) with kde, will definitely make the necessary tweaks to get this going in dolphin.
Thanks again!

Ignore. Posted in wrong thread.

If you are rooted and busybox installed yes there are lot of apps on play store that can convert your externel SD Card to Mass storage.

[Q] Update Problem? Please Help.

Since I have installed this update I can no longer access the storage on my one via usb to pc? Before the update I would just plug the usb in and windows would ask if I wanted to open this mass storage device and I would just click yes and then I was in. Now there is nothing. I tried explorer but cant gain access that way either. Is there something I need to install or change in the phones settings now? Also what the hell is MTP mode? Running stock 4.3 now and was stock 4.2.2 before this update. Do I need to update a driver on my pc now to accommodate 4.3? I am drawing a blank now as to what the deal is??? Can someone please point me in the right direction? And yes I have tried different usb cables

MTP mode is what google uses since 4.2. basically instead of the phone dividing up the available memory for apps / storage it now puts all available storage together for you to use what you need it for. before you would get phones with 8gb storage and 1gb would be dedicated to apps, 7gb for storage. when you installed too many apps you would run out of room on the 1gb and start trying to figure out how you could move apps to sd-card to get more storage, etc... now with MTP you don't have that issue. there is no preset to how much storage can be used for what.
you should not need any additional drivers other than what windows will automatically install when a new device is plugged in. also, my phone shows as a device now in explorer and not as a drive letter.
is it possible when you plugged your phone in via usb cable that you accidentally cancelled the new device install? perhaps you can go to your device manager with the phone plugged in and see if there are any devices with an yellow ! point and then try to reinstall drivers for that device.

I don't understand. MTP mode is the only way that the HTC One ever interacted with a PC. To my knowledge, Google removed USB Mass Storage as of JB 4.1

[Q] Is it possible to force normal USB Mass storage?

Hello there!
When I had my LG L9, the phone always connected to computers (through USB) using MTP. At some point, a user made a script that forced Mass Storage mode at boot instead of using MTP. How hard would that be for the zen phone? I have 64GB on board storage and 64GB external.
Copying data to or from the phone seems a tad more difficult over MTP than mass storage. For example, every time I copy a video file to the phone, a windows dialogue box comes up asking "Are you sure you want to copy this file?" Sure, I could hit "yes for all", but I would rather the old simple method. IT also seems MTP takes awhile to load a directory, where mass storage happens instantaneously.

Good question and yes, It seems MTP is slower than mass storage I believe. Would be great to see mass storage on the zenfone 2

Kamatari+ said:
Hello there!
When I had my LG L9, the phone always connected to computers (through USB) using MTP. At some point, a user made a script that forced Mass Storage mode at boot instead of using MTP. How hard would that be for the zen phone? I have 64GB on board storage and 64GB external.
Copying data to or from the phone seems a tad more difficult over MTP than mass storage. For example, every time I copy a video file to the phone, a windows dialogue box comes up asking "Are you sure you want to copy this file?" Sure, I could hit "yes for all", but I would rather the old simple method. IT also seems MTP takes awhile to load a directory, where mass storage happens instantaneously.
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legolgel said:
Good question and yes, It seems MTP is slower than mass storage I believe. Would be great to see mass storage on the zenfone 2
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Please see this thread... The app works fine..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone2/general/enable-usb-mass-storage-zp2-ze550ml-t3124349