Moto G3 folder empty when connected to PC: how to fix?

[paininthenuts]

The database is out of sync... MPT doesn't directly access the file system, it looks at the External Storage and Media Storage databases, they need to be rebuilt.

Disconnect USB then Go to Settings - Apps and tap the overflow menu and enable System Apps, find External Storage and Media Storage and clear data and cache on each one and reboot your device. Once it is fully booted, wait 10 minutes for the databases to be rebuilt and connect USB, then pull down the notification shade and change USB to MPT, should clear it up.

Apps and tap the overflow menu and enable System Apps, ???????????

 

[acejavelin]

Apps and tap the overflow menu and enable System Apps, ???????????

 

[Luigi Oneto]

Thank you very much,
I would point out that whenever I physically connect the phone to the pc I can see on the screen a notification for the usb connection, and then, tapping on the notification, I can select an option for the connection mode: charge only (the default), MTP (file transfer), PTP (photo transfer) and MIDI.
My phone is Moto G3 and android version is 6.0.

 

[sofexindia]

Your information followed and was very helpful. But onething, why the 'contact' folder of the internal memory is empty? Can you suggest?

 

[acejavelin]

Your information followed and was very helpful. But onething, why the 'contact' folder of the internal memory is empty? Can you suggest?

Contacts folder? I do have one on either Moto I own... Probably a remnant of some app you tried, contacts are not stored in a folder on internal storage. Your contacts are on the phone though, right?

 

[Pscion]

There is also the issue of it not being recognized after connected after an upgrade... it is quite common and has been mentioned multiple times.

First, disconnect the USB cable, then go to Settings->Apps and click the little overflow menu (3 dots in upper right) and select Show System, then find External Storage and Media Storage and Clear Data on both of those apps. Then reboot and wait 5 minutes after full boot for the media databases to rebuild. Not connect the USB cable and grab the pull-down and select USB and change it to MPT, should be good to go from now on.

made this account just to say: THANK ALL THE GODS FOR YOU!!! i'm tech savvy, and tried everything advanced i could think of... but not something simple like clearing the cache on those app modules, derp!

i was trying to manually backup pics and custom made ringtones, done it several times before with same charger cord, phone, PC, but it wasn't showing anything second lvl down in the directories when opening my phone storage in windows explorer. was able to verify the data existed on the phone by checking the details on some items with explorer (android), and checked my google/verizon/moto backups which i then updated in case. i suspected this was being caused by security/permission settings, so i checked over everything, was already telling the system to use MTP, and cleared my phone cache... idk why the solution didn't occur to me. this is on a droid turbo 1 (xt1254) in android 6.0.1. i did this, and had absolutely no problem afterward.

edit: i spent the better part of my entire day searching on this, and didn't see this solution ANYWHERE ELSE, not even moto/lenovo. so if you're having this problem, just do this; it'll save you some time.