KDE Connect is a keeper for sending & receiving files over your Wi-Fi LAN to/from any desktop to/from any Android phone!

[Arlen Holder]

FYI...

KDE Connect freeware is a cross-platform keeper (IMHO) for _easily_ sending
& receiving files over your Wi-Fi LAN to/from any Linux/Mac/Windows desktop
to/from any Android phone!
<https://i.postimg.cc/Nf0xfCKz/kdeconnect01.jpg>

IMHO, KDEConnect freeware is a keeper because KDE Connect makes
sending/receiving files super easy between your Android phone and any of
the three common consumer desktop platforms (Linux, Windows, & Mac).
<https://i.postimg.cc/dtJJ48ty/kdeconnect04.jpg>

Where the references for installing KDE Connect freeware on *Android* are:
o <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp>
o <https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/kde-connect-sync-android-linux/><>
o <https://github.com/KDE/kdeconnect-android>

Helpful references for installing KDE Connect freeware on *Linux* are:
o <https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/01/kde-connect-indicator-ubuntu>
o <https://www.linuxbabe.com/ubuntu/install-kde-connect-ubuntu-16-04>
o <https://www.maketecheasier.com/use-kde-connect-with-mate-ubuntu-debian/>

Useful references for installing KDE Connect freeware on *Windows* are:
o <https://binary-factory.kde.org/view/Windows%2064-bit/job/kdeconnect-kde_Nightly_win64/>
o <https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect/Build_Windows>
o <https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/dnh1wq/test_release_01_kde_connect_for_windows/>

Related references for installing KDE Connect freeware on *MacOS* are:
o <https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect/Build_MacOS>
o <https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/07/kde-connect-mac-os-integrate-android>
o <https://kde.inoki.cc/2019/07/16/KDE-Connect-macOS/>
(Only on iOS have I not been able to locate KDE Connect freeware.)

Tutorial references for the various KDE Connect use models are:
o <https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect>
o <https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/kde-connect-sync-android-linux/>
o <https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/kde-connect-windows.html>

This information is summarized from a thread on a separate topic (libMTP):
o Does anyone have libmtp freeware currently working on Linux or Windows
who can show us how to COPY files to/from unrooted Android over USB
using libmtp?
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.os.linux/rN0tMFWPwHo/vT35nL6xCAAJ>

Which itself was an offshoot of this article on copying the desktop hosts
file to the protected file system of un-rooted Android using "adb":
o How to copy the hosts file from Windows/Linux to non-rooted Android
<https://www.modmy.com/how-modify-hosts-file-your-android-device>

The hope is twofold by the purposefully helpful posting of this thread:
a. Others will benefit from this summarized information, and,
b. Others will be able to add purposefully helpful adult value.
So that everyone benefits from every such technical thread on Usenet.
--
Usenet enables purposefully helpful adults around the world to share ideas!

[Arlen Holder]

UPDATE:

KDEConnect is one of the rare general purpose solutions for all
on four of the five common consumer platforms (all except iOS).

I forgot to list the F-droid link to the KDE-Connect client for Android:
o <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.kde.kdeconnect_tp/>
o <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp>

The KDE connect use model is simple as it connects over the existing LAN:
1. Install the free client on the Android phone
2. Install the free server on the desktop (Linux, Windows, Mac)

KDE Connect does other "magic" than transfer files from/to desktops.
o End-to-end TLS encryption
o Send/receive files
o Notification on desktop of SMS texts
o Notification on desktop of incoming phone calls
o Syncing of contacts between phone & desktop
o Shared clipboard, e.g., copy and paste URLs between devices.
o Turns the phone screen into a wi-fi wireless mouse
o Android notifications show up on the desktop
o Control desktop video/audio player from Android
o Controls desktop slideshow next slide/previous slide from Android
o Runs commands remotely
etc.

All without root, without cost, and using open source freeware.

Note that there is no USB or Bluetooth required.
o It works over the LAN which you normally already have working fine.

Of the score of cross-platform keepers, KDEConnect is one of them.
--
Adults working together to solve problems is what Usenet is all about.

[Arlen Holder]

On Fri, 6 Mar 2020 01:23:06 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> The KDE connect use model is simple as it connects over the existing LAN:
> 1. Install the free client on the Android phone
> 2. Install the free server on the desktop (Linux, Windows, Mac)

UPDATE:

This works:
o Windows: <https://download.kde.org/unstable/kdeconnect/1.1/bin/windows/>
o Android: <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp>

Regarding KDE Connect installation on the desktop:
<https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect#What_is_KDE_Connect.3F>

I re-installed Windows 10 Pro due to crashes explained in this thread:
o *Windows 10 BSOD indicates a hardware problem - but what hardware is the problem?*
<https://alt.comp.os.windows-10.narkive.com/oL7PTNKu/windows-10-bsod-indicates-a-hardware-problem-but-what-hardware-is-the-problem>

Hence I again tested KDEConnect setup from scratch:
o Where one method worked, and yet, another method failed.

What worked on Windows was...
a. Download KDEConnect to Windows 10 Pro (my version is 1909) from:
<https://download.kde.org/unstable/kdeconnect/1.1/bin/windows/>
b. This resulted in the following file:
Name: kdeconnect-kde-1.1-x64-setup.exe
Size: 48096793 bytes (45 MiB)
SHA256: 61E6537322F05F52F52B625B8C24F653280BFA664E9F784770BD6A039AD7C15A
c. Doubleclick on that file & up pops: "KDE Connect master-937d919"
"Welcome to KDE Connect Setup"
d. It wants to install into: "C:\Program Files\KDE Connect"
e. I installed to: "C:\app\network\kdeconnect"
f. Where it automatically installed MS Visual C++ as part of the setup.
"Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) 14.0.24210"
g. It put the KDE Connect shortcut in:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\KDE Connect.lnk
TARGET: C:\app\network\kdeconnect\bin\kdeconnect-indicator.exe
START IN: C:\app\network\kdeconnect
h. This automatically started the KDEConnect server on Windows 10 Pro.

What worked on Android was...
A. I installed the Google Play version of KDE Connect client via Aurora
(because I do not even have a Google Account on my phone)
(and because it was a 50:50 crap shoot of Google Play versus F-Droid)
B. That installed KDE Connect, by KDE Community
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp>
C. Which, after multiple permission requests, showed a "Send files" button
which sent files from Android to the PC users' "Downloads" directory:
C:\Users\{username}\Downloads\file_from_android.jpg

WHAT FAILED.
This KDEConnect failed to work on that same Windows PC:
<https://binary-factory.kde.org/view/Windows%2064-bit/job/kdeconnect-kde_Nightly_win64/>

This also failed to work on that same Windows machine:
<https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/dnh1wq/test_release_01_kde_connect_for_windows/>
o Which pointed to this GitHub location for the KDE Connect desktop:
<https://github.com/taskmaster9001/kdeconnect-kde/releases/tag/v0.1.0>
o Which specifically pointed to this executable:
<https://github.com/taskmaster9001/kdeconnect-kde/releases/download/v0.1.0/KDE.Connect.for.Windows.exe>

In summary, this worked on my latest Windows 10 Pro installation:
o Windows: <https://download.kde.org/unstable/kdeconnect/1.1/bin/windows/>
o Android: <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp>
--
Every thread on Usenet should increase our overall group tribal knowledge.

[Arlen Holder]

UPDATE:

This thread today asked, among other questions, how to easily copy a file
bidirectionally to/from Windows/Android where KDEConnect works between any
common desktop (Windows, MacOS, Linux) to and from Android over WiFi.
o *Android to Windows*, by Optimist <curmu...@mailinator.com>
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/uk.telecom.mobile/Wluxln3nP1w>
"Why is it that Windows does not allow pictures to be upload from
Android to Windows using a wireless LAN? And is there a way of
uploading text messages apart from emailing each one individually?
Anyone would think we are not in the 21st century!"

Here are screenshots I made just now to show the Android & Windows GUIs:

o *Windows* <https://download.kde.org/unstable/kdeconnect/1.1/bin/windows/>
<https://i.postimg.cc/65fLFGVm/kde02.jpg>

o *Android* <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp>
<https://i.postimg.cc/X7fQ3PWx/kde01.jpg>

Bear in mind this post which shows plenty of _other_ ways to easily
transfer files, bidirectionally, between Android & Windows, over either
o USB, or,
o Wi-Fi, or,
o via an ad-hoc encrypted network.
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/uk.telecom.mobile/Wluxln3nP1w/lNDTlsHkBAAJ>

Where that post shows how to seamlessly mount the entire Android file
system as a drive letter on Windows, e.g., using a WebDAV server which
allows utterly seamless file transfer between Windows & Android.

Notice that once you have Android mounted as a drive letter on Windows,
EVERY Windows command from DOS "copy" to the file explorer to programs on
Windows (e.g., duplicate managers, for example), can access the entire
Android file system as if it's a Windows file system (AFAICT).

Even so, in that thread, some people suggested using the cloud
(e.g., Google Drive), where I find that solution nearly preposterous for
simply copying personal files between your own systems on your local
network.

Personally, IMHO, it seems, the less people know, the more they fall prey
to marketing persuading them to use the cloud to put your personal data,
just to copy a file between one room and another in your own house!
o *Do people of reasonable technical ability store their private data on*
*the Internet (if so, for what gain?)*
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/mBIZ-8jGdmk/aLDJkSJQAAAJ>

There are so many ways to connect Android to Windows seamlessly that, to
use the cloud, seems like overkill to me (which also unnecessarily exposes
your private data to the Internet for no gain in file-copy functionality).
--
Every Usenet thread should add on-topic technical tribal knowledge value.

[Arlen Holder]

UPDATE

I wrote this tutorial just now for cross platform transfer of
files and folders between any desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux)
and Android, over your Wi-Fi network.

o Tutorial NitroShare FOSS cross-platform file & folder transfer over Wi-Fi between any desktop & Android
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/mbOyLNcrCK4>

As always, please improve so all benefit from every action.
--

[Arlen Holder]

On Fri, 27 Nov 2020 04:51:06 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> o Tutorial NitroShare FOSS cross-platform file & folder transfer over Wi-Fi between any desktop & Android
> <https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/mbOyLNcrCK4>
>
> As always, please improve so all benefit from every action.

Details matter...

I emailed this to a friend, who asked, quite appropriately:
a. Bbbuuuttt why not just use bluetooth?
b. Or... why not just use ad hoc wi-fi direct from android to desktop?

Hence, I should clarify, even as most of you know my setup, but some might
not, and, in the future, those coming here for solutions definitely won't
know that my desktop doesn't have bluetooth or Wi-Fi (at least not directly
so).

The tested desktop is Windows 10 which has no inherent bluetooth nor Wi-Fi
capability, so any solution using bluetooth or a direct Wi-Fi connection
would be problematic, to say the least. :)

If your desktop is bluetooth enabled (mine is not); you would have other
solutions to compare this against (particularly in speed I would think).

Likewise, if your desktop has a Wi-Fi NIC you might also have other
solutions to compare this NitroShare (and KDEConnect) solution with.

While my desktop does not have a Wi-Fi NIC, it is connected via Wi-Fi to
the LAN (which is far, far, away); but via a short Ethernet connection to a
Mikrotik RB411 router running RouterOS 6.28 with an attached Mikrotik Wi-Fi
daughterboard R52-n-M and a 20dBi antenna which then connects to the SOHO
router on the LAN via its 2.4GHz or 5GHz access point (the R52-n-M can do
either but the adjustable wire-mesh dish antenna is currently "tuned" for
2.4GHz.

That may sound a bit complicated (and it is when it comes to NetBIOS
broadcasts being transmitted through that Mikrotik router, which I've never
understood well enough to resolve, so only static shares seem to work).

While my setup is merely to extend the range of my desktop so that it can
connect to a LAN which could be hundreds of feet away, for our purposes of
this test, we can simply consider the desktop as being connected by
Ethernet to the main SOHO router. (AFAICT)

In summary though, what would be nice is for others to test this NitroShare
solution out so that others may benefit from every action you take.
--
See also:
o Curious how far your Wi-Fi access point is from your desktop computer
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/PkD0jfa9GqM>