Writing on USB disks impossible on Marshmallow

[kinggo01]

So, after spending fair amount of time with 625 different file managers I found out that this just does not work. Even the apps that ask for permission can't get one because we are never presented with this or something like this

but file commander and other show this as a helper

but it leads to nowhere because the chooser from above never opens. There's no way to grant permission, it always end with some error. And the only meaningful one is from x-plorer that tells me this :

"no activity found to handle intent {act=android.intent.action.open_document_tree (has extras)}"

[chfaula]

hi KM,

Does it then still work to attached an USB HD (e.g. 4TB) to record Sat programs on the HD ?

I guess this won't format correctly, and have issues with long recordings (unless split?)

Incredible...

cr

[kinggo01]

---

@Kuschelmonschter wrote:

Guess what? Oreo can't write NTFS and exFAT at all anymore. Only FAT32.. *****?

---

Not even in their own folder???????

[Kuschelmonschter]

I only tried Kodi and `Disk Speed Test` so far. Those could not. So far I have been using an NTFS formatted USB pen driver as timeshift buffer for the Kodi PVR. That's doesn't work anymore as it can't write to its own folder anymore. FAT32 is no solution due to its file size limitation.

I will try some file explorers today..

[Jecht_Sin]

This is quite weird.. It doesn't work for me with X-plore either, but it DOES work via "adb shell":

BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ pwd
/storage/B7C8-0905
BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ touch pppp
BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ ls -l pppp
-rwxrwx--x 1 root sdcard_rw 0 2019-02-04 10:15 pppp
BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ rm pppp
BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ ls -l pppp
ls: pppp: No such file or directory

Also the device is mounted as Read/Write:

BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ mount | grep B7C8-0905
/dev/block/vold/public:8,1 on /mnt/media_rw/B7C8-0905 type vfat (rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,nodiratime,uid=1023,gid=1023,fmask=0007,dmask=0007,allow_utime=0020,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro)
/mnt/media_rw/B7C8-0905 on /mnt/runtime/default/B7C8-0905 type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=1015,mask=6)
/mnt/media_rw/B7C8-0905 on /storage/B7C8-0905 type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=1015,mask=6)
/mnt/media_rw/B7C8-0905 on /mnt/runtime/read/B7C8-0905 type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=9997,mask=18)
/mnt/media_rw/B7C8-0905 on /mnt/runtime/write/B7C8-0905 type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=9997,mask=18)

Not sure why the stupid Linux needs half a dozen of mount points, but let's not disgress..

Still when I try to copy a file I get a "toast" notification for a couple of seconds complaining about a java permission or else missing.

Ah no, sure.. The file system is owned by UID root and it's writeable by group "sdcard_rw" (GID 1015) and the shell via adb belongs to that group:

BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ ls -ald .
drwxrwx--x 17 root sdcard_rw 32768 2019-02-04 10:16 .
BRAVIA_ATV2:/storage/B7C8-0905 $ id
uid=2000(shell) gid=2000(shell) groups=2000(shell),1004(input),1007(log),1011(adb),1015(sdcard_rw),1028(sdcard_r),3001(net_bt_admin),3002(net_bt),3003(inet),3006(net_bw_stats),3009(readproc) context=u:r:shell:s0

As usual, for an app, to get writeable permission, there is the need to invoke the "hidden" file manager, absent in Android TV.

I am not sure anymore, but hasn't it been like this since ever??

[Kuschelmonschter]

I am not sure anymore, but hasn't it been like this since ever??

---

No. An app could at least write to its private folder on an NTFS formated external drive (under Android/data/%APP%). I used that for PVR timeshifting in Kodi. Doesn't work any longer. FAT32 still works which is not usable for that though due to its file size limitation.

[Jecht_Sin]

---

@Kuschelmonschter wrote:

I am not sure anymore, but hasn't it been like this since ever??

---

No. An app could at least write to its private folder on an NTFS formated external drive (under Android/data/%APP%). I used that for PVR timeshifting in Kodi. Doesn't work any longer. FAT32 still works which is not usable for that though due to its file size limitation.

---

Ahh, all right. Ok, I understand now (sorry, I have got the flu. My neurons are floating in aspirin! ). So it works with FAT32 but not with other filesystems. Which doesn't make sense at all, since I can write in the SD card via ADB. The type of filesystem shouldn't matter all once the partition is mounted (my partition is exFAT). 

Actually, I tried deleting the Android folder (from my Mac), killed all apps from Recent History and started X-plore again. The directory Android/Data/com.loneleycatgames.Xplore with subddirs cache and files have been correctly created. So the Android system does write. But an Android Java module is denying permission or else at this point.

I dunno. No idea. Just the stupid dumbdroid doing things in its wrong, bugged, own way.. Not that I expected the first Oreo release to fix the old bugs or not introducing new ones...

[shungabubus]

Hey,

This application is a non virtual ripoff https://virtualhere.com/purchase with "5 seconds" trial (not sure why but by the time I unfreeze my TV the client said no more. I couldn't even try the data transfer. Extremely annoying, uninstalled on the spot.

Cheers:
Tamas

[Baldassar]

Every time you connect a device,Android creates an “Android” folder with several subfolders inside it.Using X-Plore app,you have write privileges for the storage/hdd/Android/data/com.lonelycatgames.XPlore folder . You could transfer your files and folders to this directory.