Tutorial: How to connect Android to Windows as a drive letter over a Wi-Fi LAN for free simple reliable bidirectional copy

[Arlen Holder]

TUTORIAL:
How to connect your Android filesystem as a drive letter on Windows
over Wi-Fi (using a freeware WebDav server on non-rooted Android devices)

BENEFIT:
You can easily slide files from Android to Windows over the WiFi LAN.

As always... please test, and add value where you can...so that, as always,
everyone benefits from every thread on Usenet which adds to our tribal
knowledge.

Summary:
Step 1:
Make sure your phone is on the WiFi LAN & a WebDAV server is running.
Step 2:
Make sure your phone is showing up as a drive letter on Windows.
Step 3:
Using the native Windows file explorer, slide files bidirectionally.

It's that easy to slide files bidirectionally between Android & Windows
over your Wi-Fi LAN (without being root or admin on either system).
o It just works.

Previously tested in 2018 where the tutorial was written using:
a. $130 32GB storage, 2GB RAM, 64GB sdcard, LG Stylo 3 Plus (from 2017)
b. The Olive Tree WebDAV server, running on Android 7 (Nougat)
c. Windows 10 Pro
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8605173dir05.jpg>

Currently tested in 2020 where the tutorial was written using:
a. $100 64GB storage, 4GB RAM, 64GB sdcard, Moto g(7) (bought in 2019)
b. The BestDAV WebDAV server, running on Android 9 (Pie)
c. Windows 10 Pro
<https://i.postimg.cc/RCn2h5FM/webdav01.jpg>

Note: I used the Aurora Store because I don't have a Google Account set up
on the phone, and, quite frankly, I have trouble comprehending why
some people do - and yet they then complain about Google privacy.
(Makes no sense from a logical standpoint.)

Here are the two free WebDAV servers I tested in the past, & today:
A. Free, no ads, GSF independent WebDAV servers:
WebDAV Server - BestDAV, by ZQ Software
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zq.webdav.app_free>
B. Free, with ads, GSF dependent WebDAV servers:
WebDAV Server, by The Olive Tree
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver>
C. Payware WebDAV servers:
$1, WebDAV Server Pro, by The Olive Tree
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserverpro>
$4, WebDAV Server - BestDAV PRO, by ZQ Software
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zq.webdav.app_pro>

Windows WebDAV client documentation:
<https://www.webdavsystem.com/server/access/windows/>
"Mini-Redirector is a Microsoft WebDAV client provided as part of Windows"

Procedure:
1. On Android, test that your Android device is on the local WiFi network
TermuxOnAndroid: curl icanhazip.com
(Your IP address should be the result.)

2. On Android, download & install & run any decent WebDav server on Android
This test today was done using the BestDAV WebDAV server.
<https://i.postimg.cc/6pHMzY3j/webdav02.jpg>

3. On Android, start the WebDAV server (if it's not already running)
and note the IP address it reports:
<http://192.168.1.2:8080>
<http://192.168.0.2:8080>

4. On Android, check and/or change default WebDAV server settings, e.g.,
Change from:
BestDAV: Settings > Website Home Directory = [SDCARD]/
Change to:
BestDAV: Settings > Website Home Directory = /storage/emulated/0
Note: By definition, that home directory is your "DavWWWRoot" location.

Now you can connect your Android device to Windows over your WiFi LAN.
<https://i.postimg.cc/dVzyqySQ/webdav05.jpg>

A. On Windows, in a web browser, open a r/w network share using the URL:
<http://192.168.1.2:8080>
Or, if you prefer to log in using a password (you don't need to though):
<http://admin:ad...@192.168.1.2:8080>
That should bring up a web page showing all your files on Android.

B. Or, on Windows, right click on "ThisPC" & select "Map Network Drive"
Drive: W:
Folder: \\192.168.1.2@8080\DavWWWRoot\
[x]Reconnect at sign-in
[_]Connect using different credentials
Note: "DavWWWRoot" is a standard keyword for the root WebDAV directory.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Vk5qs1fg/webdav04.jpg>

Note: Your Android phone is now drive letter "W" on Windows.
(i.e., everything on Windows that understands drives, should just work.)

C. Or, on Windows, open a command window to connect to Android manually:
Start > Run > cmd{Control+Shift+Enter} <== opens an "admin" window:
or
Start > Run > cmd{Enter} <== opens a "user" window

In that command window, simply type this command:
c:\> net use X: \\192.168.1.2@8080\DavWWWRoot\

Any of those commands will connect the Android file system
as a drive letter on Windows, over WiFI so that you can run
Windows commands on that Android file system over WiFi.

For example, here's how I copied over the screenshots taken for the above:
<https://i.postimg.cc/d0kj6Fg3/webdav03.jpg>
simply by sliding the files from Android to Windows over the WiFi LAN.
--
Every Usenet thread should add on-topic technical tribal knowledge value.

[Arlen Holder]

In response to what Arlen Holder <arlen...@anyexample.com> wrote :

> It's that easy to slide files bidirectionally between Android & Windows
> over your Wi-Fi LAN (without being root or admin on either system).
> o It just works.

Just so folks are aware, we're discussing elsewhere if this seamless
solution of copying files bidirectionally between Android and all desktops
over the LAN using the native desktop file manager is possible today using
freeware SMB (servers or clients) on Android.
o Android to Windows
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/xwX8S7XW-p0/mNTudgcUAAAJ>

Given how well SMB/Samba works on Windows/Linux, it would be _great_ if we
can get Android SMB freeware solutions to work as well (or better) than the
existing documented Android WebDAV freeware solutions work.
o Android 7: <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8605173dir05.jpg>
o Android 9: <https://i.postimg.cc/RCn2h5FM/webdav01.jpg>

If anyone can get FTP freeware to work seamlessly, please post your
solution as I would _love_ to test it out with my current equipment:
o Android 9 (Pie) Moto G7
o Windows 10 Pro (1909)
--
Usenet is so much more valuable, and pleasant, when people share solutions.

[Mick Finnlay]

Arlen Holder <arlen...@anyexample.com> wrote:

> Given how well SMB/Samba works on Windows/Linux, it would be _great_ if we
> can get Android SMB freeware solutions to work as well (or better) than the
> existing documented Android WebDAV freeware solutions work.

Look into MiXplorer (mixplorer.com) and its samba plugin. MiXplorer
hands-down beats any file explorer I've ever tried on Android (and I've
tried many) and the samba plugin works seamlessly with all Windows and
Linux shares I've thrown at it.

--
Mick

[Arlen Holder]

In response to what Mick Finnlay <Mick.F...@yopmail.com> wrote :

> Look into MiXplorer (mixplorer.com) and its samba plugin. MiXplorer
> hands-down beats any file explorer I've ever tried on Android (and I've
> tried many) and the samba plugin works seamlessly with all Windows and
> Linux shares I've thrown at it.

Hi Mick Finnley,

Happy Easter!

What's fantastic about the Usenet potluck is we all politely help everyone.
o Adults helping adults learn more is essentially what Usenet is all about.

*Thanks for that suggestion of MiXplorer using free SMB/Samba/CIFs plugins*
<https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg>

Admittedly, it has been a couple of years since I gave up on SMB/CIFs/Samba
on Android to connect to Windows, but I agree with anyone who says SMB
'should' be the best way to seamlessly connect to Windows simply because
Windows employs SMB servers native (and Linux also does Samba quite well).

Bear in mind I tested _every_ viable suggested solution years ago:
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/3QQ8bAZeXNI/hMMHk7h4BwAJ>
1. *CIFS methods* (eg Folder Tag with CIFS plugin & Network Browser)
2. *SMB methods* (eg AndSMB & Astro & ES File Explorer & Total Commander)
3. *FTP methods* (eg PrimitiveFTP & FTP Server & WinSCP & FileZilla)
4. *HTTP methods* (eg Wifi Explorer & WiFi File Transfer)
5. *Sync methods* (eg MyPhoneExplorer & AirDroid)
6. *MTP methods* (e.g., libMTP)

At that time, years ago, I tested every suggested viable solution
o And I posted results via screenshots such as this one using NetDrive
<http://s1.bild.me/bilder/110417/1383190dir014.jpg>

As you can see, we did test (and fail) similar freeware plugin solutions to
your MiXplorer suggestion, but I'd have to dig deeper into those old test
threads to see if we had tested MiXplorer itself.

The problem, then, was a catch-22 on free Android SMB solutions, namely...
*Freeware Android SMB servers*:
On non-rooted Android, there seems to be a catch-22 of:
o Windows will only accept SMB TCP connections on port 445
o Android won't allow SMB servers to use ports lower than 1024
REFERENCE:
o *What's the best way to forward SMB TCP port 445 to above 1024 on Windows?*
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/3QQ8bAZeXNI/p7yqvwHrBQAJ>

*Freeware Android SMB clients*:
Again, the catch-22 seems to be the mismatch with Windows, in that, the SMB
freeware clients weren't (apparently) keeping up with security.
o Last we checked (Jan 2019), SMB client freeware wasn't at SMBv2 or SMBv3.
o Windows can enable SMBv1; but we know SMBv1 is fatally compromised.
REFERENCE:
o *Do you know of a free Android SMBv2 (or SMBv3) client?*
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/tl3Q05QGyAw/yBV1yLArCAAJ>

Note that this is all a matter of the public record which wasn't disputed
at the time it was last posted (to my knowledge) to this ng:
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/3QQ8bAZeXNI/T-0FV7spCAAJ>

Having said that, we need to overcome that catch22 in SMBV2/V3 solutions.
o So if MiXplorer freeware + SMB clients work for everyone, I'm all ears!

Let me dig up the results on MiXplorer, which, of course, will necessitate
taking another look at similar solutions such as TotalCommander,
GhostCommander, AndSMB, Astro, ESFileExplorer, & other similar solutions to
MiXplorer again, so it might take a while (where they all failed in the
past).

Always bear in mind all my tutorial solutions aim at perfection, in that...
a. They must be completely free for everyone (preferably zero ads!)
b. They must work best (i.e., in this case, better than WebDAV solutions)

Looking up the URLs for the MiXplorer freeware & plugins:
<https://play.google.com/store/search?q=mixplorer%20file%20manager&c=apps>

I can easily find the SMB client plugin:
o MiX SMB 2.0/2.1 (MiXplorer Addon), by PishroDevs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.smb>

But MiXplorer freeware doesn't seem to be as easily found on Google Play:
<https://i.postimg.cc/4xRtMF7H/mixplorer01.jpg>

This is the $4.50 payware, which is out of the question since there's
_always_ a freeware solution to _all_ problems (in decades we've only
failed once or twice out of, oh, thousands of solutions overall!):
o MiXplorer Silver - File Manager, by PishroDevs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.silver>

This is the MiXplorer archive add on:
o MiX Archive (MiXplorer Addon), by PishroDevs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.archive>
Which says:
"you need to install Standard or Beta version of MiXplorer file manager"
which is all well and good, but _where_ is this "MiXplorer file manager"?
<https://i.postimg.cc/3NHdFmQv/mixplorer.jpg>
I looked in the Aurora Store on my phone (as I don't use Google Play since
I don't even have a Google Account set up on my phone, for privacy), and
it's not there in Aurora either, so my first question to you is:
Q: Is the MiXplorer freeware not on Google Play?

Looking on F-Droid on my phone didn't find MiXplorer freeware either.

Desktop Googling for a good MiXplorer freeware download... I find this:
o <https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer>
Which points to a MiXplorer freeware "download" link of:
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer#login_modal>
Which requires an account that I don't have (and don't want just for this).

Googling further for the MiXplorer freeware download link, I find this:
o <https://mixplorer.com/>
Which has a download link at the bottom, which points to this:
o <https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1523691>
Which points to this specific post number 2:
o <https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23109280&postcount=2>
Which says "*Downloads from any other source are not recommended*".

Where I think I found the MiXplorer freeware at this link just now:
o MiXplorer_v6.44.0_B20030810.apk
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4966993&d=1583692659>
Which downloaded onto my desktop the following APK archive:
o Name: MiXplorer_v6.44.0_B20030810.apk
o Size: 2540923 bytes (2481 KiB)
o SHA256: 9940B29BEF0678000A8D9037910A2D63F13C4F7B57116EF63A78F5F1DAD94C5F
Which I seamlessly copied over the WI-Fi LAN using WebDAV since the Android
phone is simply a drive letter on my Windows PC:
<https://i.postimg.cc/SsH7KQsD/mixplorer02.jpg>

And this appears to be the link to download each of the available tools:
o MiXplorer, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer>
o MiX AutoTag, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.autotag>
o MiX Tagger, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.tagger>
o MiX PDF, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.pdf>
o MiX Image, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.image>
o MiX Metadata, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.metadata>
o MiX Archive, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.archive>
o MiX SMB 2.0/2.1, by Hootan Parsa
<https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.smb>
But I think all of those require a login which none of us will likely have.

Luckily these addons are already on the Aurora Store, which, as you know,
has an anonymous login account to Google Play, so that's how I got SMBv2:
<https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg>

In summary, to save others the effort it just took me to obtain it:
1. Use your web browser to obtain the MiXplorer APK sans any login needed:
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4966993&d=1583692659>
2. Use the Aurora Store to anonymously obtain the SMBv2 client plugin:
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.smb>

Note, I only realized belatedly that you "may" also add the plugins
(anonymously?) through a hard-coded link to a browser URL inside the
MiXplorer app itself:
<https://i.postimg.cc/jjL7JVB9/mixplorer04.jpg>
But by the time I found that out, I already figured another way to get both
the MiXplorer & the SMBv2 plugin without having to create a login to
anything (which is where much of the beauty & finesse of privacy lies).

Now I have to _test_ this MiXplorer freeware with the SMBv2 client addon.
o Where I ask you Mick Finnlay to help advise me

The cost of freeware is in finding the best and then testing it out, where
if you can help me Mick, to test it out, that would save me much time
(and any others who are following in our well-documented footsteps).

What would you suggest as a quick test in using this MiXplorer+SMBv2 to
copy a file bidirectionally on Windows over my Wi-Fi LAN?
--
Every thread on Usenet should increase our overall group tribal knowledge.

[Arlen Holder]

> What would you suggest as a quick test in using this MiXplorer+SMBv2 to
> copy a file bidirectionally on Windows over my Wi-Fi LAN?

Those of you who know Windows networking best, please help us out here.
o What we want to do with SMB is simply what we already do with WebDav.

How?

*All we want is to map the entire Android phone to a drive letter on Windows*
*using SMB over Wi-Fi (instead of WebDAV which we already know works fine)*.
o How?

It has been many years since I worked with SMB shares on Windows
o Because mounting Android over Wi-Fi as a drive letter already worked

But SMB shares would be more graceful than WebDAV mounts perhaps (maybe?)
o And at least far more graceful than FTP "connections" (for sure!)

I don't know how to start the test, but here's a first pass:
1. Make sure both Android & Windows are on the Wi-Fi LAN.
2. On Windows, create a folder to share:
mkdir c:\tmp\shareme
3. On Windows, right click on that folder to set the properties to sharing:
Properties > Sharing > [Share]
(Choose your username when asked.)
The message will be:
Your folder is shared: \\pcname\shareme
3. On Android start MiXplorer freeware to connect to that share over Wi-Fi.

On MiXplorer...
A. Press the hamburger icon at top left (to the left of "Internal storage"
B. Then press the smaller hamburger icon at top right of "Bookmarks"
C. Press the "Add storage" button that then shows up at the top of the list
D. Press the "LAN (Samba)" button that then shows up at the top of the list

Enter the following values to access "pcname/shareme":
Uri address = smb://192.168.1.3 <== this is the IP address of your PC
Username = user1 <== this is the user name on your PC
Password = abc <== this is the passsword of that user on that PC

Immediately you'll see the following (confusing looking) shares:
o ADMIN$
o C$
o IPC$
o shareme <=== this is the share you just created for testing
o Z$ <== this could be any android device mounted as a drive letter

Hmmmm.... now what?

What's a good bidirectional test of copying files between Android & Windows
over the Wi-Fi LAN given we've established this connection using SMBv2?

TEST 1:
*On Windows, copy a file to the share so Android can pick it up*:
o Start > Run > cmd{control+shift+enter} <== an admin command window
C:\> copy c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts c:\tmp\shareme\hosts_win.txt
On Android, copy that file to your temporary storage directory:
o MiXplorer > pcname/shareme > select the file hosts_win.txt
o > Copy to...
o > Path = Internal storage
o > /storage/emulated/0/tmp
o > OK
You should see the message "1 file copied".

Just for fun, let's try to copy that to the Android /etc/hosts even though
this Android device is not rooted (where MiXplorer can "see" the entire
root file system apparently).
o MiXplorer > select pcname/shareme/hosts_win.txt
o > Copy to...
o > Internal storage
o > Root /
o > etc
o > OK

Drat. Predictably, it says "No items copied" even though I can 'see' every
file in the root file system using this MiXplorer freeware file browser.

Anyway, now it's time to populate that share from the Android side.

TEST 2:
o MiXplorer > select "Internal storage" > DCIM > Camera >
o Select an image file by long pressing on that image file
o > Copy to...
o > Path > pcname (smb://192.168.1.3) > shareme
(which turns into: smb://192.168.1.3/shareme)
o > OK
You should see the message "copying one file".
o Back on Windows, take a look at C:\tmp\shareme
Lo and behold, that file is sitting there on Windows.

TEST 3:
Map the entire Android phone as a simple drive letter on Windows?
o How?

This only maps the Windows share as a drive letter on Windows:
c:\> net use F: \\pcname\shareme
But what we want is what we already have with WebDAV which is to mount the
entire Android phone as a share and/or drive letter on Windows using SMB.

How?

Reading up, we find some interesting SMB-related Windows information here:
<https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/mapping-a-network-share-to-a-drive-letter-in/fd684f42-8374-496c-8aa2-c00d00d11866>
<https://www.howtogeek.com/118452/how-to-map-network-drives-from-the-command-prompt-in-windows/>
<https://www.troliver.com/?p=245>
<https://serverfault.com/questions/105633/mount-remote-cifs-smb-share-as-a-folder-not-a-drive-letter>
etc.

Can someone help me (and us) out here who knows how to map SMB shares to a
drive letter?

*All we want is to map the entire Android phone to a drive letter on Windows*
*using SMB over Wi-Fi (instead of WebDAV which we already know works fine)*.
o How?

[Arlen Holder]

In response to what Arlen Holder <arlen...@anyexample.com> wrote :

> *All we want is to map the entire Android phone to a drive letter on Windows*
> *using SMB over Wi-Fi (instead of WebDAV which we already know works fine)*.
> o How?

Unless we can solve this problem, SMB, IMHO, sucks (compared to WebDAV or
even FTP) for the use model of mounting Android on Windows as a drive.

*A key question is how to map the entire Android phone as a drive letter*
*on Windows for seamless Wi-Fi bidirectional copy over *SMB* protocols*.

To solve this technical problem... is going to take one who uses SMB.
o Which isn't me, unfortunately.

I need the help & advice of people who understand SMB better than I do.
o We already solved this problem in the past; but not yet for SMB.

*USB*
a. For years, for free, we've been mounting the entire Android file
system as a drive letter on Windows over USB over a variety of methods.
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.comp.freeware/9Ovk-O3j5l8/I1nCwHo6BwAJ>
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.comp.freeware/TaIlIMK2Nuw/ksN_ERsaBwAJ>
Where these are some old screenshots of my USB tests from years ago:
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9648761dir.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=6181360dir01.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1853998dir02.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8315262dir03.jpg>
b. Specifically, using NetDrive Windows freeware with Android FTP servers:
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1383190dir014.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=3994244dir020.jpg>
c. Or, using DirectNetDrive Windows freeware with Android FTP servers:
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=6340420dir012.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4731516dir011.jpg>
c. Where FTPUse worked for others; but not for me at that time.
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=5451129dir022.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4121239dir021.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8726712dir023.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9234464dir024.jjpg.jpg>

But the goal of _this_ thread is to mount Android over the Wi-Fi LAN,
where...

1. We can't use SMB _servers_ over Wi-Fi for technical reasons.
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=2299279smb_win10_default01.jpg>
2. And, years ago, all we had available were insecure SMBv1 Android clients
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=5615405smb_win10_default03.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=3580897smb_win10_default02.png>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9491157smb_win10_default04.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4819399smb_win10_default05.jpg>
3. But nowadays, we finally have freeware SMBv2 clients on Android.

So, maybe .. finally? ... perhaps we can use SMB _clients_ over Wi-Fi to
mount the entire Android file system as a drive letter on Windows?

Bearing in mind we have already accomplished this over WiFi,
where...

A. For years, for free, we've been able to easily connect the entire
Android file system to a share on Windows for seamless native Windows
file manager Wi-Fi LAN bidirectional copy using *FTP* protocols.
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4785408ftpshare01.jpg>
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8734999ftpshare02.jpg>

B. For years, for free, we've been able to easily map the entire Android
file system to a drive letter on Windows for seamless native Windows
file manager Wi-Fi LAN bidirectional copy using *WebDAV* protocols.
<https://i.postimg.cc/vmSszLd2/webdav06.jpg>

C. For years, for free, we've been able to easily map the entire Android
file system to a drive letter on Windows for seamless native Windows
file manager Wi-Fi LAN bidirectional copy using *proprietary* tools.
NetDrive: <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1383190dir014.jpg>
DirectNetDrive: <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4731516dir011.jpg>

D. *The question is how to map the entire Android phone as a drive letter*
*on Windows for seamless Wi-Fi bidirectional copy over *SMB* protocols*.
<https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg>
--
Solving dificult problems takes a few people to pitch in on the solution.

[Arlen Holder]

In response to what Robert Baer <rober...@localnet.com> wrote :

> Used USB cable from Samsung Galaxy J2 to PC USB (direct USB charger
> cable connect). Android OS ver 8.1.0 (Oreo).
> Generic PC, running XP SP3.
>
> The J2 comes up as a non-lettered drive named SM-S260DL and a bunch
> of folders (see attachment).

Hi Robert Baer,

IMHO, the best way to connect (either using USB or WiFi) Android to Windows
is via a Windows drive letter, which is always the goal since you then get
to bidirectionally copy the entire Android visible file system as you would
any other folder on Windows.

To get drive letters over USB isn't hard in my experience, but you have to
know which freeware works and which doesn't work, where, after many hours
of effort, I summarized it here for you and others to take advantage of.
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/9Lu2_dPsu6o/g-8reOTBAAAJ>

> Be advised that i added a 32GB SD card, and when i went to take some
> pictures, the system automatically decided to use that card.

Like you and most others, I have an expansion card on my phone also, where
I also store my photos by default on that SDcard.

In the olden days of Android, I used to use the automatic sweepers which
would sweep the photos from the internal storage to the external card, but
nowadays I strive to find intelligent apps which allow you to set where you
want your data to go.

My key recommendation is to create a single folder on both the expansion
card and internal storage, which is unique in name, and which _only_
contains the data you want on it.

You can call that folder anything, where I call mine "0data" and "1data"
for the internal and external storage respectively, which doesn't clash
with the Android-created pollution that inevitably occurs on both storage
devices.

The sheer elegant beauty of this solution is that when it comes time to
back up my Android phone to Windows, I simply slide those two folders over
from Android to Windows over USB or Wi-Fi, and my data is backed up for the
most part.

There are still some dumb programs that do not allow you to choose where
they store their data, which is where those sweepers came in handy.

> Previously, i was totally unable to use the SD card in any way.
> I took 12 pictures and all of those are on the SD card and i cannot
> move them, send them, or copy them.

You probably want a good "file manager" app, of which there are plenty of
good free ones and even more bad free ones.

I generally pick the best free file managers, but I haven't found one yet
that does everything I need, so you can see that I have a few in my "files"
folder on my single desktop screen on all my phones:
<https://i.postimg.cc/HkCJBrkj/files01.jpg>

> Note that all of the SM0S260DL folders are completely empty except
> the Camera folder which has photos taken before this exercise, and the
> Music folder which has Over_the_Horizon.mp3 .
> Note that there is absolutely no way to see/access the SD card.

I too have noticed some USB solutions have artificially limited access:
<http://s1.bild.me/bilder/110417/1853998dir02.jpg>

While other USB solutions have full access to Android over Windows:
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=3994244dir020.jpg>

It's important to pick the best USB solutions, which also work with Linux:
<http://s1.bild.me/bilder/110417/6181360dir01.jpg>

This summary points to all the information you'd need for full USB access:
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/9Lu2_dPsu6o/g-8reOTBAAAJ>

>
> Pray tell, where can one get this WebDAV server for the PC? The baby
> bird (Goo Gull) was un-helpful.

We covered the links to the best freeware WebDAV servers in the URL above:
<https://i.postimg.cc/vmSszLd2/webdav06.jpg>

Given SMB is native on Windows, you'd "think" it would work best for
accessing the entire Android device on Windows over Wi-Fi, but I just don't
have the networking skills to get SMB to work better than WebDAV does.
<http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9648761dir.jpg>

I'd prefer SMB (or FTP) for full access to Android on Windows over WiFI:
<http://s1.bild.me/bilder/110417/1383190dir014.jpg>

But WebDAV just seems to work better than does SMB on Windows for seamless
mounting of the Android file system as a drive letter over WiFi
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/9Lu2_dPsu6o/g-8reOTBAAAJ>

I've successfully used two free WebDAV servers on Android as shown here:
<https://i.postimg.cc/dtWQpnv7/network01.jpg>
Where the opening post of this thread gave all the links you need to
install them and set them up to seamlessly connect the entire Android file
system to Windows over Wi-Fi (or USB).
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/9Lu2_dPsu6o/lD5QOkBcAQAJ>

[Arlen Holder]

In response to what Arlen Holder <arlen...@anyexample.com> wrote :

> D. *The question is how to map the entire Android phone as a drive letter*
> *on Windows for seamless Wi-Fi bidirectional copy over *SMB* protocols*.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg>

UPDATE:

We found out after discussing details with kelown, that you can't map the
entire Android file system as a drive letter over the Wi-Fi LAN using SMB
clients on Android...

But...

SMB is still rather useful in a _different_ use model, for seamless
bidirectional Wi-Fi transfer between Android & Windows ...

As long as...
o You're willing to do the Wi-Fi file transfers from the Android GUI.

Here's a quick set of illustrative snapshots of the steps:

1. Use your web browser to obtain the MiXplorer APK sans any login needed:
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4966993&d=1583692659>
2. Use the Aurora Store to anonymously obtain the SMBv2 client plugin:
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.smb>

<https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg>
(Or obtain the SMB client from within the MiXplorer application.)
<https://i.postimg.cc/jjL7JVB9/mixplorer04.jpg>
3. Open MiXplorer & navigate to a folder to copy files to Windows
<https://i.postimg.cc/X7mLQSZr/mixplorer05.jpg>
4. Select the files to copy to Windows & hit the "copy to" button.
Choose the shared folder on Windows to copy the files into.
<https://i.postimg.cc/xTZkm9X4/mixplorer06.jpg>
5. If necessary, it will ask for the Windows password.
If necessary, duplicates will pop up a "replace with" dialog.
<https://i.postimg.cc/rsXjM74h/mixplorer07.jpg>

To copy from Windows to Android is just as easy.
A. Slide the files into the shared folder on Windows.
B. Access that folder from MiXplorer.
C. Slide the files over to Android over the Wi-Fi LAN.

In summary, the _advantage_ of the SMB method is that it is quite stable
compared to any other method of mounting Android to Windows I've tested.

The disadvantage is that the file copy has to be initiated on the Android
side using the Android SMB client GUI.
--
This SMB solution has its merits, particularly because it's rather stable.

[Arlen Holder]

UPDATE:
I was able to get 3 free Android SMBv2 clients to work with Windows.

I have reliability issues due to an apparent hiccup in NETBIOS (since the
desktop is connected to the router via the Ethernet to a Mikrotik Wi-Fi
transceiver which apparently blocks NETBIOS broadcasts by default).

Once I reboot the router, it works perfectly for a few days, where most
people won't have that problem, so we now have at least three freeware
SMBv2 clients on Android that I've tested in the past few weeks in daily
use (synching files across the WiFi LAN) that work well with Windows.

As always, to help others with every thread that is posted to Usenet,
o This is how I set up SMBv2 connections between Android & Windows.

Windows:
1. Settings > Network & Internet > Change connection properties >
Network: Network profile (o) Private
2. Settings > Network & Internet > change your network settings >
Sharing options > Change sharing options for different network profiles
Private (current profile) Network discovery >
When network discovery is on, this computer can see other network
computers and devices and is visible to other network computers.
(o) Turn on network discovery
[x]Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices.
3. Settings > Network & Internet > change your network settings >
Sharing options > Change sharing options for different network profiles
All Networks: Public folder sharing >
When Public folder sharing is on, people on the network, including
homegroup members, can access files in the Public folders.
(o)Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write
files in the Public folders
4. Settings > Network & Internet > change your network settings >
Sharing options > Change sharing options for different network profiles
All Networks: Password protected sharing >
When password protected sharing is on, only people who have a user
account and password on this computer can access shared files,
printers attached to this computer, and the Public folders.
To give other people access, you must turn off password
protected sharing.
(o)Turn on password protected sharing
5. [Save changes]
6. In Windows file explorer, right click on the public folder to be shared:
Properties > Sharing > [Share] > (username) > [Share] > [Done] > [Close]
7. Make a note of the PC IP address (if NETBIOS is flaky).
Settings > Network & Internet > Change connection properties >
IP settings > IPv4 address: 192.168.1.xxx

Android:
A. You can obtain the free *MiXplorer* APK here (it's not on Google Play):
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4966993&d=1583692659>
B. Obtain the MiXplorer SMBv2 client plugin via Google Play:
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.smb>
C. Launch MiXplorer > top-left (big) hamburger >
top-right (small) hamburger > Add storage > LAN (Samba) > Search local
(it should find your pc in the resulting NETBIOS list)
If that does not find your PC due to NETBIOS issues, then:
C. Launch MiXplorer > top-left (big) hamburger >
top-right (small) hamburger > Add storage > LAN (Samba) >
smb://192.168.1.xxx
Username = <put the Windows username used in sharing>
Password = <put the password for that Windows username>
Display name = SMB
[Save]

You can obtain *CX-Explorer* on Android with its freeware SMBv2 client:
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cxinventor.file.explorer>
A. CX-Explorer: Network > (press + sign) > REMOTE > Local Network >
(it should find your pc in the resulting NETBIOS list)
Domain = <blank>
Host = 192.168.1.xxx
Port = 445
A. CX-Explorer: Network > (press + sign) > REMOTE > SMB >
(use this method if it doesn't find your PC in the NETBIOS list)
Domain = <blank>
Host = 192.168.1.xxx
Port = 445

You can obtain *X-Plore* on Android with its freeware SMBv2 client:
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lonelycatgames.Xplore>
A. X-Plore: Show > LAN
B. LAN > Add server > Add server > Scan
(it should find your pc in the resulting NETBIOS list)
Label = <blank>
Server = 192.168.1.xxx
Username = <put the Windows username used in sharing>
Password = <put the password for that Windows username>
[Test]
B. LAN > Add server > Add server > Add server
(use this method if it doesn't find your PC in the NETBIOS list)
Label = <blank>
Server = 192.168.1.xxx
Username = <put the Windows username used in sharing>
Password = <put the password for that Windows username>
[Test]

Note: 192.168.1.xxx is the actual IP address of your Windows PC.
--
Usenet works best when adults post with purposefully helpful intentions.