[thoots]

Well, I'm pretty happy with my new 32-gig gray Note 10.1. Except for the really nasty little bit that you'll never comprehend until you buy it -- that it doesn't have USB Mass Storage capability.

Oh, "it's a machine for business," or so it gets claimed -- but how on earth can I conduct "business" on it when I can't even get my "business" files (Excel, Word, etc.) onto the damn thing?!??

Geez, what utter ridiculousness!!

Oh, just root the thing, void your warranty, worry about bricking the thing, and gosh knows what will stop working when you do it? I'm really really not prepared to do that.

So, here's what I've been doing with other intelligent devices for the past several years: I simply pull up the device in USB mass storage mode on my computer, and use a file synchronization program to make sure I've got the most recent version of everything on both the computer and the device. Simple, effective, "businesslike." Oh, and I'm only talking about accessing the micro SD card in the thing -- I have no intention at all of touching the actual device's memory.

So, short of tossing this damn useless thing like a frisbee through a window, what I can I do to get anything but media files over to it? Let alone "synch" them so that I don't have to manually copy file by file, trying to figure out which one is the most recent? I suppose there might be "cloud" rubbish that might work, but I have sworn that it'll be my last day on earth when I have to put my confidential information on somebody's server just to get information over to a device -- what the heck is so wrong with "wires?" But, I might consider it.

If you have any sage advice to send my way, I would appreciate it. I didn't really plan on paying $550 for a dang media player.

Thanks!

thoots

[gottria]

Dropbox is your friend. I use it and it syncs my GS3, Note 10.1, my work laptop and home iMac.

to sign up.

[glitchgod]

Yay I believe our tablet has it(drop box) built in. Also you can buy a USB reader cable and work off the USB you connect. This is what I do for school.


Sent from my Desire HD using Android Central Forums

[98kellrs]

Buy a USB adapter for like 10 bucks, fits right in the 30 pin at the bottom and works great...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[thoots]

Buy a USB adapter for like 10 bucks, fits right in the 30 pin at the bottom and works great...

Actually, that's what I did -- I bought one, and plugged a thumb drive into it, AFTER I wrote my message, above. With the thumb drive, at least there I've got USB mass storage mode, but then I still don't have the control of the computer to help me. I managed to use the "My Files" app to get some files copied over to the SD card in the tablet, but it wasn't fun or easy. I've looked at a few file managers and synchers, but nothing seemed to be too helpful so far -- most of them couldn't even see the SD card, let alone the attached thumb drive. But still, I do routinely back up to a thumb drive, so it's not too far out of my routine to then plug that into the USB adapter, and copy whatever I need to the tablet's SD card. I would sure rather do that than to give my files to "the cloud," and then hand them to whatever hackers manage to break into the servers in the next massive security breach....

[bluzman]

May also consider Polkast ( ). It's essentially a personal cloud - allows transfer of files from pc to mobile devices using your own wireless network (not an external cloud server).

[joker1973]

Airdroid is another solution

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[thoots]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone -- I'll check 'em out!

[litlprince]

Well, I'm pretty happy with my new 32-gig gray Note 10.1. Except for the really nasty little bit that you'll never comprehend until you buy it -- that it doesn't have USB Mass Storage capability.

Oh, "it's a machine for business," or so it gets claimed -- but how on earth can I conduct "business" on it when I can't even get my "business" files (Excel, Word, etc.) onto the damn thing?!??

Geez, what utter ridiculousness!!

Oh, just root the thing, void your warranty, worry about bricking the thing, and gosh knows what will stop working when you do it? I'm really really not prepared to do that.

So, here's what I've been doing with other intelligent devices for the past several years: I simply pull up the device in USB mass storage mode on my computer, and use a file synchronization program to make sure I've got the most recent version of everything on both the computer and the device. Simple, effective, "businesslike." Oh, and I'm only talking about accessing the micro SD card in the thing -- I have no intention at all of touching the actual device's memory.

So, short of tossing this damn useless thing like a frisbee through a window, what I can I do to get anything but media files over to it? Let alone "synch" them so that I don't have to manually copy file by file, trying to figure out which one is the most recent? I suppose there might be "cloud" rubbish that might work, but I have sworn that it'll be my last day on earth when I have to put my confidential information on somebody's server just to get information over to a device -- what the heck is so wrong with "wires?" But, I might consider it.

If you have any sage advice to send my way, I would appreciate it. I didn't really plan on paying $550 for a dang media player.

Thanks!

thoots

All i can say is WHAT????

I don't know what to tell you man.. But mine works just fine.

seeing is believing....

[litlprince]

So, short of tossing this damn useless thing like a frisbee through a window, what I can I do to get anything but media files over to it? Let alone "synch" them so that I don't have to manually copy file by file, trying to figure out which one is the most recent? I suppose there might be "cloud" rubbish that might work, but I have sworn that it'll be my last day on earth when I have to put my confidential information on somebody's server just to get information over to a device -- what the heck is so wrong with "wires?" But, I might consider it.


thoots

one final think i have to say though is that yes it kinda sucks and is weird that the mass storage option has been removed. You know... the actual option when you plug in your device. however even though that is gone if you plug it in (phone or tablet) wait a while... phone (s3) good minute, tablet (note 10.1) 20 seconds... it will eventually be able to be opened up as such by windows....

as for the cloud..... get with the times.. its the natural progression of things and its not slowing down.. I wont lie and say data stored on these networks are ultra secure but dont simply confuse this with some open network... Your feelings are understandable but if you live long enough to see what things may come from the small steps being taken today... then im sure your opinions will change... .

also you said your trying this on your computer... do you have a mac....??

[ScandaLeX]

What if you're not connected to WiFi or don't have a 3G enabled tablet? That throws the cloud option right out the window.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

[thoots]

All i can say is WHAT????
I don't know what to tell you man.. But mine works just fine.

That's not USB Mass Storage mode -- I presume that's MTP mode -- Media Transfer Protocol. It's perfectly fine if you just want to copy "media" files to the tablet, but it doesn't give you the kind of access you need in order to synchronize files that don't happen to be "media" files. I want to run a program on my computer that will compare the (non-"media") files in a folder on my computer with a folder on the SD card in my tablet, and then synchronize those folders according to my instructions. That's not a problem with USB Mass Storage mode, but it's just not possible with Media Transfer Protocol.

[thoots]

one final think i have to say though is that yes it kinda sucks and is weird that the mass storage option has been removed. You know... the actual option when you plug in your device. however even though that is gone if you plug it in (phone or tablet) wait a while... phone (s3) good minute, tablet (note 10.1) 20 seconds... it will eventually be able to be opened up as such by windows.... also you said your trying this on your computer... do you have a mac....??

Well, again, when you "plug it it" you're really talking about MTP -- Media Transfer Protocol -- which doesn't allow the kind of control I want. And frankly, "so goes the cloud" -- it might give "access to files," but it still doesn't provide for the kind of synchronization I want to do. There is no way to "initiate and control a synchronization session on my computer," (a PC, not a Mac), and to date I haven't been very impressed with the synching apps I've been able to find for the tablet. I absolutely, positively DO NOT want the same exact, uncontrollable synchronization each time -- I have to be in full control of what files go where, and I just haven't found any app that I've been comfortable in that regard yet.

Frankly, using a USB thumb drive through one of the USB Host adapters works essentially as well as any "cloud" could, and I don't have to save my files on some company's servers just to copy files from one computer to another that are sitting right next to each other on my table.

In the end, if a company dares to call a portable device "ready for business," it just doesn't fit the bill if they won't include USB Mass Storage capability in the thing.

[berryjunkie]

Well, again, when you "plug it it" you're really talking about MTP -- Media Transfer Protocol -- which doesn't allow the kind of control I want.

Maybe I'm missing something here but....can't you just copy n paste whatever you want to the Notes SD card? MTP, USB mass storage.....who cares what it's called.
I'm new to droid (blackberry convert) and I'm about to pull the trigger on a 32gig Note 10.1 but all this has me a little spooked. I had a 64gig PlayBook and simply just did a copy n paste with excel doc's, word doc's, pdf's, music.....so someone tell me.....is this not possible with the Note 10.1????

edit: even if Kies is needed. Kies Air?

UPDATE: I'm not sure what the hub bub is, but this thing will absolutely operate in mass storage mode. Call it what you want, but one can drag n drop pretty much what ever you want.

[thoots]

Maybe I'm missing something here but....can't you just copy n paste whatever you want to the Notes SD card? MTP, USB mass storage.....who cares what it's called.
I'm new to droid (blackberry convert) and I'm about to pull the trigger on a 32gig Note 10.1 but all this has me a little spooked. I had a 64gig PlayBook and simply just did a copy n paste with excel doc's, word doc's, pdf's, music.....so someone tell me.....is this not possible with the Note 10.1????

edit: even if Kies is needed. Kies Air?

UPDATE: I'm not sure what the hub bub is, but this thing will absolutely operate in mass storage mode. Call it what you want, but one can drag n drop pretty much what ever you want.

Well, the main thing to understand here is that "there is more to computing than Microsoft Windows Explorer." Yes, you can drag and drop in Windows Explorer -- and generally ONLY Windows Explorer -- and if that's all you need, then there's no big deal. Again, you're talking about Media Transfer Protocol, where the Note 10.1 shows as a DEVICE, not a DRIVE.

But if you want to use any other file program other than Microsoft Windows Explorer, you will find they just don't support MTP. They don't "see devices" -- they need to see "drives." With USB Mass Storage, the tablet would show as a "drive," and you could use any file program you wanted.

I'm also coming to Android from a 64-gig PlayBook, and I always connected it to my computer with the USB cable and USB Mass Storage mode, and then I ran a synchronization program, which read my computer's drive and the PlayBook's drive, found which files were different, and gave me several different options for synchronizing the files and folders. But, that program simply will not "see an MTP device" -- it needs to see a "drive," which it would if only the Note 10.1 had USB Mass Storage support. But it doesn't.

Dragging and dropping will work for some needs, but when you start getting five files changed on the computer, and seven changed on the tablet, and then perhaps get to the point where you might have a dozen different file versions on each device, then simple dragging and dropping can be tedious at best, and easy to make a mistake and wipe out a ton of work you just did by overwriting a new file with an older one. That's why people have written wonderful programs to synchronize files quickly and easily -- but none of these programs "see MTP devices."

Media Transfer Protocol is a gift from Microsoft, and it is associated with Windows Media Player. Thus, Microsoft Windows Explorer supports it, but the rest of the file tools on the planet just don't support it at all. So, the tools and the processes I've been using for the past several years just ground to a stop with the Note 10.1, just because Samsung decided not to include it in the tablet's software. I also have Samsung's Galaxy Note (the original) phone, and it DOES include USB Mass Storage mode. Why on earth would they choose to leave it out of the Note tablet?? Though as far as I understand, they've phased it out of all their new phones, so I guess I'll avoid OS updates like the plague on my phone!

At any rate, that's what I'm getting at. Perhaps I'll root the dang thing and then install a third-party program that'll give me USB Mass Storage.

As for the move from PlayBook to Note 10.1, I'm otherwise quite happy with the big Note tablet. I definitely learned that I wanted the bigger screen, and the PlayBook always kind of coughed up blood whenever I clicked on an Internet link. And then there was the lack of apps, and the lack of basic software development, like not providing any means of organizing web bookmarks. Then, in the end, the abysmally slow bootup was just maddening -- the PlayBook tablet takes longer to boot up than my computer does. And with a tablet, you really need a "grab it and go" swiftness to it. If there's a disappointment to the Note 10.1, it's that the PlayBook has MUCH better speakers -- the PlayBook is worth listening to all on its own, and the Note 10.1 really isn't. So, lack of USB Mass Storage mode and speakers that don't make it to the PlayBook's level are the only nits to pick, from my perspective.

thoots

[berryjunkie]

Well, the main thing to understand here is that "there is more to computing than Microsoft Windows Explorer." Yes, you can drag and drop in Windows Explorer -- and generally ONLY Windows Explorer -- and if that's all you need, then there's no big deal. Again, you're talking about Media Transfer Protocol, where the Note 10.1 shows as a DEVICE, not a DRIVE.

But if you want to use any other file program other than Microsoft Windows Explorer, you will find they just don't support MTP. They don't "see devices" -- they need to see "drives." With USB Mass Storage, the tablet would show as a "drive," and you could use any file program you wanted.

I'm also coming to Android from a 64-gig PlayBook, and I always connected it to my computer with the USB cable and USB Mass Storage mode, and then I ran a synchronization program, which read my computer's drive and the PlayBook's drive, found which files were different, and gave me several different options for synchronizing the files and folders. But, that program simply will not "see an MTP device" -- it needs to see a "drive," which it would if only the Note 10.1 had USB Mass Storage support. But it doesn't.

Dragging and dropping will work for some needs, but when you start getting five files changed on the computer, and seven changed on the tablet, and then perhaps get to the point where you might have a dozen different file versions on each device, then simple dragging and dropping can be tedious at best, and easy to make a mistake and wipe out a ton of work you just did by overwriting a new file with an older one. That's why people have written wonderful programs to synchronize files quickly and easily -- but none of these programs "see MTP devices."

Media Transfer Protocol is a gift from Microsoft, and it is associated with Windows Media Player. Thus, Microsoft Windows Explorer supports it, but the rest of the file tools on the planet just don't support it at all. So, the tools and the processes I've been using for the past several years just ground to a stop with the Note 10.1, just because Samsung decided not to include it in the tablet's software. I also have Samsung's Galaxy Note (the original) phone, and it DOES include USB Mass Storage mode. Why on earth would they choose to leave it out of the Note tablet?? Though as far as I understand, they've phased it out of all their new phones, so I guess I'll avoid OS updates like the plague on my phone!

At any rate, that's what I'm getting at. Perhaps I'll root the dang thing and then install a third-party program that'll give me USB Mass Storage.

As for the move from PlayBook to Note 10.1, I'm otherwise quite happy with the big Note tablet. I definitely learned that I wanted the bigger screen, and the PlayBook always kind of coughed up blood whenever I clicked on an Internet link. And then there was the lack of apps, and the lack of basic software development, like not providing any means of organizing web bookmarks. Then, in the end, the abysmally slow bootup was just maddening -- the PlayBook tablet takes longer to boot up than my computer does. And with a tablet, you really need a "grab it and go" swiftness to it. If there's a disappointment to the Note 10.1, it's that the PlayBook has MUCH better speakers -- the PlayBook is worth listening to all on its own, and the Note 10.1 really isn't. So, lack of USB Mass Storage mode and speakers that don't make it to the PlayBook's level are the only nits to pick, from my perspective.

thoots

Wheu...... I'm out of breath.
I get it. Automatic sync. I didn't understand but I definitely do now.

sent from my GSIII from AC Forums

[RobFreundlich]

I have the same complaint - MTP doesn't support the same kind of syncing that Mass Storage Mode supports. I've been looking for solutions since I got my Galaxy Note 2, and I think I've finally found one. It's called Cheetah Sync, and it's from the same folks who do iSyncr. You can find it here:

The free version only lets you define one sync job (i.e. one computer folder/subfolders to sync to one device folder/subfolders - you can run the sync as many times as you want). When I tried it out last night it seemed to work, so I shelled out for the paid version (I think it was $4 US), which lets you define unlimited jobs. The only possible downside I can see is that it's WiFi, not USB, so it might be slow for really large transfers.

[williamvivian]

I understand the frustration. I went through all this. I have the same question, why remove USB mass storage mode as an option? I understand MTP mode is better, because it allows you to use the phone/tablet, while accessing its data, but hey let the user choose which mode he wants?

Anyway I used use SyncToy 2.1. Awesome free program that is robust. But yeah, it doesn't "see" the MTP device. I searched the net. Someone suggested using PureSync, but the first time i ran it, it threw up a lot of errors. So here is my work around for now:

Pull out the "External SD Card"
Put it into one of those USB adapters (which look like a pen drive, but have slot for inserting micro sd cards).
Connect the adapter to your laptop, it shows your External SD card as a USB drive.
Then run sync toy.
Disconnect and pull out the SD card from the adapter and insert back into your tablet.

Cumbersome, but does the job...

[zopfan]

Its ridiculous that they stopped Mass Storage option.

• MTP takes too long. We can't start copying hundreds files together and move away from PC, because it stops in between while giving warnings about formats of the files.
• We cannot use Tera Copy.
• We cannot play any file directly from phone's memory card (it'll first have to copy to PC Ram, only then it can be played).
• And it is very impractical to remove the memory card physically, every time we wish to copy video movies into the card (it will not survive very long and will get faulty). Because these are not meant for too much handling.
• No drivers are needed. Connect to any new or old pc and you can extract its contents like a pen drive. What a relief! And how useful!!
• And it worked even when the phone was off. HOW GOOD THIS WAS!!
• I could hook it up to any MP3 player (like in my car), and all the audio video material will be playing on the bigger screen. No problem and no fuss. But with MTP, it dies.
• I don't know how HTC is still offering this option in Honey comb devices? I wish they're listening.
  
  PLS PLS PLS google. GIVE US THE MASS STORAGE OPTION BACK.

[roguetrader]

I agree with litlprince - you have to get with the times. Dropbox is fabulous - it's secure, successful (about to be listed) flexible, you can store almost anything there & access from any device. Google Drive is also great to use. As far as USB goes I have an adapter that fits into the charger socket which allows SD cards, flash drives & external hard drive (with xtra power) shame your disappointed.

Sent from my GT-N8000 using Android Central Forums

[tucse]

Great post, I learned a lot and totally feel your pain. Neither my Droid4 or my Acer IconiaTab a110 will recognize a thumb drive via their USB ports. I've bought multiple adapter cables and apps to no avail. What good is a phone or tablet that can't share a simple word or excel file with a guy standing right next to you. Finding a place to set up a laptop or driving to a WiFi hot spot just to share a file drives me crazy just to think about. Windows devices my be in the near future for this longtime android fan. Until then I'll have to keep lugging my laptop around just to support USBbbbb....

[HygradeB]

Let me get this rite you have tried every option that can be done and you cant copg file to a usb.
Have you got one of the otg cables or tried the usb adaptor that can link external drive to your note?
I ask this cause I seen many post about how people are linked their note to external drives and usb both wifi and via the 30pin connection.
Before you got your wifi note did you think about the 3g version so you can have on the go connection?
Yoy say you dont wish to use the cloud as a way of saving data due to hackinv which is a good point but did you know you can encrypt your files that are stored to give extra protection.
I have worked with windows for many years and notice once a compnay is using sumting that make there product work great and windows are not making money from it it will try and stop that company using it.
Maybe thats why yoh cant do the things you dix in the past.
You may need to search this forum and others I.e xda to fine a solution to your problem and when you do fine this post it so others can benefit.
I have no problem moving 4gig files from my pc to note both via usb, wifi or putting my micro sd in a reader, just memba wen moving the micro sd to unmount it in the right way.
I hopd you fine a fix soon as it seems to be stressing you and stopping you enjoy the note as you shoukd.