Connecting an LG G4 to a Linux system

[jeffer...@gmail.com]

OS: Xubuntu 15.10
Phone: LG G4

Has anyone managed to get their LG G4 to successfully attach to a current
Ubuntu or Linux system? I have done this successfully in the past with
Samsung phones by making the appropriate entries in:

/lib/udev/rules/69-libmtp.rules and /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules:

# LG Electronics Inc. G4 (VS986)
ATTR{idVendor}=="1004", ATTR{idProduct}=="6298", SYMLINK+="libmtp-%k", \
MODE="660

and

ATTR{idVendor}=="1004", ATTR{idProduct}=="6298", MODE="0666"

When I attach the LG G4, the phone immediately connects in "Installer"
mode and a filesystem is mounted which can be momentarily accessed. This
lasts for maybe 20 seconds and then the phone automatically disconnects and
reconnects in media sync mode (MTP). Again, a mount entry shows up in the
file explorer (nano, nautilus, etc.) but any attempt to access it results
in an error:

Could not display "mtp://[usb:007,005]/"
Error: Location is already mounted

subsequent attempts to access the phone produce a different message:

Unable to mount LGE android phone
Unable to open MTP device "[usb:007,005]"

I believe that these problems are all related to the G4 first mounting
itself as an "Installer". Any ideas how to resolve this? Thanks.

Regards,
Jeff Small

[David]

Not what you want to hear, but this is one reason why 2016 is unlikely to
be "The Year of the Linux Desktop".

I assume you have access to a Windows system to confirm that your LG G4
will connect successfully? Just to eliminate an obscure fault with the
device?

I would think that if it is already mounted in the wrong mode, then the
"mount" command would show it, and if you then unmount it you might be
able to then mount it in the correct mode.



--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

[Jeffery Small]

On Sunday, January 24, 2016 at 4:21:55 AM UTC-8, David wrote:

> I would think that if it is already mounted in the wrong mode, then the
> "mount" command would show it, and if you then unmount it you might be
> able to then mount it in the correct mode.

Yes, you would think that. However, mount does NOT show anything mounted even though an unmounted "entry" shows up in the file browser -- and clicking on that is what generates the error message above.

I have searched the filesystem high and low but have never found any actual mount point for the phone. So the mtp system is seeing the device created at:

/dev/bus/usb/007/005

but it is prevented from actually being mounted for some unknown reason. I believe the "already mounted" message is due to some internal confusion regarding the previous "installer" mount which does create a device and does get temporarily mounted and then automatically unmounted:

/dev/sr1 on /media/jeff/Verizon Mobile type iso9660

Once the installer unmounts, there is nothing at the /media/jeff/ mount point. It's driving me nuts because my previous phone (and most other phones) mount without problem. But the previous phone didn't have this Verizon installer crap.

And yes, the phone will mount on a Windows system. I was just hoping that someone on this group had the same phone and had figured this out. But I do appreciate the feedback.

[Alice J.]

On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 05:58:13 -0800, Jeffery Small wrote in message
a50b5df8-20ce-4e05...@googlegroups.com:

Why not just use itunes?

[Frank Slootweg]

jeffer...@gmail.com wrote:
> OS: Xubuntu 15.10
> Phone: LG G4
>
> Has anyone managed to get their LG G4 to successfully attach to a current
> Ubuntu or Linux system? I have done this successfully in the past with
> Samsung phones by making the appropriate entries in:

[deleted]

As an alternative, and probably 'better'/easier, solution, you may
want to have a look at 'ES File Explorer File Manager' [1] on the
Android device.

With ES File Explorer, you can create a FTP *server* on the Android
device, which can then be accessed via WiFi from any decent FTP client
on your Linux box.

You can of course also do this from a Windows system, so if it doesn't
work on Linux, you can try it from Windows to check if the Android
side is set up correctly. (On Windows, you just enter the FTP URL, which
ES File Explorer displays, into the address bar of your web browser.)

FWIW, I also had problems with my Android phone not being in the right
mode (Installer/MTP/etc.) at the right time, and I now just use FTP over
WiFi, instead of fiddling with USB-cables and modes.

HTH.

[1]
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop>

[Edmund]

On Sat, 23 Jan 2016 04:02:58 -0800, jefferysmall wrote:

There SHOULD be no need to do command line stuff.
Just connect it and if LG is switching to MTP mode, see if you can turn
that off or manually select "connect as media device" ( in your LG )

Oh yes, linux is still kind of buggy with some phones but it "works".
In cases the phone isn't seen by Linux, reconnecting might help and
yes! a linux reboot helps too. :-)

If you use a large ( like 64Gig ) SD card, that can cause problems too,
in that case don't try to select individual photo's or movies because it
will take forever and most likely, it freezes.
Just select the parent directory (often named DCIM) and copy that.
Hope that helps.

Edmund




I

[Jeffery Small]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Regarding a WiFi connection, I have two different apps installed and both have problems seeing the external SD card. I had a 128GB card, and even after reformatting it from vFAT to FAT32 format, there are still problems. I haven't tried ES File Explorer, so I will give it a look.

[The Real Bev]

Make sure that your device can actually handle a 128GB card. The most
any of our tablets can handle is 64GB, and most are limited to 32GB.

--
Cheers, Bev
***************************************************************
When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a thumb.

[tlvp]

On Mon, 25 Jan 2016 13:01:33 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> Make sure that your device can actually handle a 128GB card. The most
> any of our tablets can handle is 64GB, and most are limited to 32GB.

Consistent with my experience, as well. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Jeffery Small]

The 128GB card has caused no problem with the LG G4 proper. I currently have 64GB of data on it. The original vFAT formatting was a problem for a number of 3rd party apps such as file managers and photo viewers, so I reformatted it to FAT. This made those apps happy.

A variety of other apps do seem to have problems. The ES program mentioned above will connect over WiFi using FTP, but it is locked onto the internal card and will not allow navigation to a higher level in order to access the external card. Another program called WiFi File Transfer Pro connects using HTTP and navigates and reads everything properly and can write/download to the internal card, but cannot write to the external card. As you would expect, the quality control and testing of these apps is generally poor and support is nonexistent in most cases. :-(

[Chris]

Jeffery Small <jeffer...@gmail.com> Wrote in message:

> The 128GB card has caused no problem with the LG G4 proper. I currently have 64GB of data on it. The original vFAT formatting was a problem for a number of 3rd party apps such as file managers and photo viewers, so I reformatted it to FAT. This made those apps happy.

How it can be both 'no problem' and problematic? It's reads to me
that the card does cause problems.

Before you do anything else, I would confirm that it isn't the
root cause of the other issues. E.g. get a smaller card and test
that.


--


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

[Jeffery Small]

I have done that with a 32GB card and it's not the cause of most of these problems. I don't think I tested the WiFi transfer with the smaller card, but it doesn't matter, since the smaller card cannot hold the info I want on my phone.

[Chris]

Jeffery Small <jeffer...@gmail.com> Wrote in message:

> I have done that with a 32GB card and it's not the cause of most of these problems. I don't think I tested the WiFi transfer with the smaller card, but it doesn't matter, since the smaller card cannot hold the info I want on my phone.
>

I wouldn't be so sure. FS errors can manifest themselves in many
different ways.

My preferred app is WiFi FTP server, works easily. Just point an
appropriate Linux ftp client at ftp://<configurable ip>/<port>
and you can do what you want.

[fpvf...@gmail.com]

My phone, when connected to a computer running ubuntu 14.04, asked if I wanted to install drivers on the phone. I answered yes and it seems to be working fine, copying files to the card etc.

[Jeffery Small]

On Saturday, July 23, 2016 at 8:01:19 AM UTC-7, fpvf...@gmail.com wrote:

> My phone, when connected to a computer running ubuntu 14.04, asked if I wanted to install drivers on the phone. I answered yes and it seems to be working fine, copying files to the card etc.

Interesting. I've never see anything like that. It just automatically mounts as an installer. Then unmounts/remounts automatically as MTP, but never successfully. There have never been any prompts on my system as you are describing.