Android file transfer

Had problem with Android File Transfer. Was working then suddenly stopped and gave the usual error messages.

To fix deleted the following plist file from the users Library folder. (Hold down alt key while clicking on Go on Finder menu).

com.google.android.mtpviewer.plist

Once this was removed from the Library preferences folder Android File Transfer started working again.

If you have installed Android File Transfer app on your Mac and you get the message “No Android device found”, follow the steps below (adapted from www.gmtdev.com) to connect to your device:

1. Make sure you have connected your Android device to your Mac with your USB cable (I found a "Samsung 2.5 feet Micro USB Data Cable for the Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300 Black" for my phone on Amazon for about $5.00 including postage.) The USB symbol should have appeared in the top left of the task bar.

2. Open the Task Manager (swipe down with your finger from top to bottom on your Android's screen). You will see the item “Connected as a media device”; tap this item to open the settings page “USB PC connection”.

3. In ”USB PC connection” you will see the “Media device (MTP)” option is ticked and a second un-ticked item “Camera (PTP)”; tick the “Camera (PTP)” option.

That’s it; the Android File Transfer should now open and you can see the contents of your Android Device memory and SD card (if you have an SD card in it too). You can now copy files to and from your phone like MP3 music to the Music folder.

Connecting my phone to my Mac automatically starts Android File Transfer. Very helpful!

Please read posts and some replies before writing.. You have no clue what you are talking about.

It is a known bug, it seems to be an issue with AFT with Mountain Lion and Android 4.0.4 we are trying to identify.

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=36970

I have spend hours explaining how my mac boots both ML and Snow Leopard and how it works flawlessly with SL but does not see the device with ML (*same* device, *same* settings, *same* computer). I have searched log files for errors and posted them to show what is happening (Android File Tranfer Agent, a hidden application, displays an error in a log file when device is inserted).

So please let's stay on topic and do no explain us the basics of how AFT works (or should work).

Anyway, I highly suggest anyone to try AirDroid to do the same things over wifi (and send SMS too), you will never go back.

Thanks for the list of files... It's pretty frustrating that there are no compatibility docs anywhere stating which of all these tools is expected to work with which, and under which combos of Android OS & OS X.

I tried Airdroid yesterday.

It's overkill for what I'd really (simply mounting the phone's drives as external drives in the Finder over USB, or browsing them in Bluetooth File Exchange) and doesn't do true drag & drop, but it works!

I expect it's much slower than USB, but I can live with that, and not least it's browser-based, so it needs nothing installed on the Mac side --> less chance of conflicts with the other pieces of the sync / data transfer puzzle.

I'll use it a bit more, but unless some other issue turns up, I'll un-install Kies soon, and then re-install it only if I need to do a firmware update for the phone.

key2007, you are awesome!

Do you have any idea how many people have been wrestling with this problem ever since the Samsung Galaxy 3 came out? It's not just Mountain Lion users, it's the entire population of Mac users who have Galaxy S3's. Searches all over XDAdevelopers, AndroidCentral, at least 20 other sites over the past 2 months. Even asking this question directly at Google+ to the Android lead engineer (they stayed clear of the question).

I don't believe I saw anyone suggesting to UNINSTALL Kies as a potential solution to getting Android File Transfer to work. ... But ****, it worked for me as simple as that. I've since posted this solution at Google+ and hopefully your answer here will propogate out to all the sites that have not ever given this answer. It's a huge population of people. You just helped a ton of them.

Well done!

The head of UX design for Android gave multiple interviews about his philosophy of why they've moved away from USB cable connetions and standard support for microSD cards. The answers are pretty pathetic, having to do with users gettung confused with file-pickers and having to figure out such prompts as "where do you want to store your pictures?". Comments in reply basically said: thanks a lot! Now we have an iphone-liked walled garden; everything Android claimed to be against...

Here's one interview, just for kicks: (Android head of UX)

Here's another: (Android head Engineer)

I was using the Android File Transfer just fine (MTP mode) until I installed Samsung Kies, it caused my Andriod file transfer to stop detecting my phone (Note2). I deleted the app from the Application folder and still it didn't work. I found out I had to uninstall Samsung Kies. My Android File Transfer works perfectly now. This is my experience with it, hope it helps some of you guys out.

WAs having the "Android device not found" issue, solved it by updating the "USB Drivers" on my imac with Mountain Lion via the Motorola website https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/88481

After Almost giving up. I downloaded Samsung Kies or however it's spelled. Without a device plugged in I went to tools, install latest driver and then when it was done I connected my S4 and magically AFT opened and started working. Maybe this is just a fix for Samsung users but it worked for me. http://www.samsung.com/us/kies/

First of all sorry for my bad english.

Lonny Eachus:

You are correct. USB 2.0 witch is used in most recent Android devices has a theoretical transfer rate of 480Mbps that gives you 60MB per second of real data transfer, But it does not mean that you will sustain a traight line of transfer rate. In fact It only means that you can not reach more than that.

After getting this clear, we have to agree that most of recent smartphones both IOS and Android comes with an IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible wireless networking. And the 802.11n (since 2009) operates at a maximum net data rate of 600Mbps or 75MB per second (Just a little more than the USB 2.0 speed). We are talking about a difference of 15MB in real data transfer. It is not that much and far away as you have mentioned. Remembering that all of this is theoretical and data tranfer does not sustain a straight line of maximum operational rate.

See? you will get almost the same time to transfer your data trough USB or WLAN.

I know you have summarized some solutions and the thread it self, and it is good for new readers to resume all of this topic. But same as you, neither worked for me. First my device is not Samsung or HTC (those had a "fix" to work). Second I do not want to activate super user (root the device) because it breakes the manufacturer warranty, and if done wrong it can "brick" your device.

WHY FTP?

well, when facing this thread I remembered that my Android device is based in linux. And it supports many things like VPN, AP, FTP, etc... Basicaly my solution is to use my home network to transfer my data from Android to my Macbook trough my wireless router. This operation is called WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network).

I choose this app "SERVIDOR FTP" (in english FTP SERVER) because it does all the work for me, and does not require root acess. It turns the folders that I choose (in my device) to shared folders. Thus I can explore my Android's shared folders in my Macbook. Simple as that. No wires, no user and password (because it allows anonymous connection - for Mac network this is called GUEST.

The Mac recognizes this "ftp server" as an shared folder. Thisway you can even have an alias in you desk to quick acess your device.

FTP AND SAFARI??

YES.

All the browsers have ftp client function. you dont have to download and install ftp clients, even from terminal you can have ftp acess...

So why safari? Because I am not managing a hosted content that needs ftp commands, I just want to explore (including read/write) a shared folder.

And for convenicence, when you input the shared folder ip/port in safari's url field, it actualy and literaly change from safari to finder and mount a shared folder alias in your desk.

We are talking about macintosh, if you try it in windows, you will get a raw file explorer inside the browser, and if you are in windows, you dont need any of this, just plug your device via USB and de OS will mount the internal/external drives.

=)

Please, If I'm wrong let me know, I'm here to learn too! We are all together trying to fix this issue.

What's funny to me is that with all this reasoning sounding so good, it was an update to Android that fixed the problem, not a change to Mavericks.

I left AFT installed on my mac and, lo and behold, when I updated my device (note, that's Android DEVICE, not Mavericks that was updated), a Google Nexus 7 tablet, suddenly Android File Transfer popped up and offered to let me transfer files. And it's able to view my Android file system.

I have a brand-new iMac, a USB keyboard, several USB cables, and just one Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S3).

What I discovered is that the connection depends consistently on which USB socket I'm using.

On the CPU unit, there's one socket that never connects beyond making the phone beep, and there's one socket that seems to work well. Via the keyboard USB sockets, I get connections that last just long enough to register, before closing and then re-forming over and over and over again.

It'd be interesting to hear if switching sockets helps other people.

I have an old Macbook Pro as well and File Transfer runs with no problem on that at all, in all of its sockets.

Wyvern-eater YOU ARE BRILLIANT! My new Moto G was not recognized by Mavericks. I installed Android File Transfer and connected the phone via USB port #4 (farthest from headphone jack). No response, no desktop icon, just a message from AFT saying it could not connect to the phone. Switching to port #3 got the "on-and-off" connection you referred to. Ports #2 and #1 (closest to headphone jack) resulted in a steady, reliable connection that allows file transfers from my iMac to the Moto G. Could the ports be different versions of USB? I don't recall seeing that when I got my iMac a couple years back. Anyway, now I can keep the phone!

If you've tried all the options in this thread and are still stuck, here's the solution I tend to use last:

- If you have not got it, Download an install Android Studio from https://developer.android.com/

- Set developer options usb debug on your android device to on. This is part of the setting -> developer options on the device. If it is not visible, there are a set of taps to follow, by tapping 7 times on Settings > About phone > Build number.

- Plug in the phone to the mac

- Launch Android Studio, either open a project or create one using all the defaults

- In Android Studio's toolbar select the "Android Device Monitor" button, that launches the android device monitor, which can be used to push files onto the device, and pull files from the device to the mac.

Extremely long winded, but as a last resort it has not failed me so far.

Clarification -- thanks to Daniel for mentioning that the uninstall may need to be run more than once. My Galaxy SIII was finally seen by AFT after the 3rd uninstall.

You can use Android File Transfer, but first you have to UNINSTALL Samsung Kies from your Mac.

http://www.android.com/filetransfer/