Thanks Carlos for explaining that there are ways to get around the AirDroid
request for an account in the three of three options it gives you.
Skimming that article, it seems that you can turn your Android into a WiFi
hotspot, and then you can use AirDroid without having to log in.
But, as we mentioned, we're not only looking to find the *best* WiFi to
Windows connection, but just the mere fact that there are artificial
requirements means that the AirDroid solution will never even be close to
the best.
Just like with the FileZilla suggestion, any app that imposes artificial
restrictions on your use of your own data from your phone to your computer,
is just anathema to the goal of the best wifi solution.
Using either FileZilla or AirDroid, even if you get around the
restrictions, is like picking up a hitchhiker who immediately asks you for
money or pot.
The best time to ditch that hitchhiker is not to pick him up in the first
place, but if you picked him up (as I did with FileZilla and AirDroid, the
next-best time to ditch them is immediately).
And then warn everyone else not to pick up those two hitchhikers, FileZilla
or AirDroid.
> Anyway, I
> mentioned airdroid but said there are other tools that work similarly.
> Reading from my notes, MyPhoneExplorer works using USB cable or WiFi.
There is this MyPhone Explorer client solution here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fjsoft.myphoneexplorer.client
First impression is that it sure asks for a lot of permissions but it
installs extremely quickly (like a couple of seconds).
Opening it up, it says "WiFi connected to" my SOHO router SSID, and it
gives the IP address of the Android device at 192.168.1.5 and says, in
utterly miniscule red text which required my reading glasses
"Please set up a WiFi PIN so that the connection via WiFI is protected from
untrusted access" and then an "OK" button.
Up pops a "WiFi-PIN" form saying "this is not your regular WiFi password",
so I give it a PIN of 0000 (which I have to remember now as I wasn't
expecting to have to have a pin just to access my own network).
Now it says it's connected and the red warning went away but it lists the
pin of 0000 in the clear on the Android phone (so why did I do that?).
Hmmm. Now what? The only buttons on the bottom are "Exit", "Help" and
"Settings". That's it. Nothing to "connect" or do anything. Hmmm.
Pressing "Help" takes me to a web page with incredibly small text:
http://www.fjsoft.at/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11454
Which brings us to a forum thread of the name:
How to use MyPhoneExplorer with an Android Device
Which says the solution requires the following Windows software:
http://www.fjsoft.at/download.php?id=1
Which, when installed, takes up almost 50MB so now I know why the client
was so small! :)
Once installed, I rebooted the WinXP machine.
A. I started the MyPhoneExplorer client on Android
B. I started MyPhone Exploer server on Windows.
C. I went to File -> Settings > Connection > Phone Type
D. I selected Phone Type = Google Android-OS
E. I selected Connect via = Autodetect & pressed OK
F. I then selected File > Connect
G. Up popped a form asking "Verbindung wird aufgebaut..."
H. But there's nothing you can type in the server GUI and the application
hangs forever no matter what you do.
I had to control-alt-delete to kill it.
I went to Google Translate which equates that German-language form:
Verbindung wird aufgebaut = Connection is established
So I tried again, and clicked various things, where nothing happened until
about ten clicks into clicking about, a form popped up asking for the PIN
and then a sync form (which only had the option of ok or cancel so I hit
cancel).
Clicking about, I could access the phone logs from Windows, so this seems
to be like a Motorola or Samsung app where you "control" the phone from the
Windows computer, which is all well and good but that's not what I'm here
for.
Here is what the Windows user interface looks like:
https://s3.postimg.org/j3ajqn9gz/myphoneexplorerserver.jpg
Overall it looks like a decent app, but since it seems to be a proprietary
server on Windows, it doesn't meet the requirements of the "best", but if
someone wants to control their phone, their contacts, their calls, their
files, it does seem to at least work for that so it's a nice app, but a bit
of overkill for what I'm seeking.