Various File Manager apps do not find SD card

[nelhop]

Recently purchased Nexus 7. I have an OTG cable. I have used it to connect SD cards and USB flash drives. Nexus Media Importer finds the SD card and shows its contents. With NMI I can view the images on the card. It shows text files and PDF files on the flash drive but cannot open them. Unfortunately, NMI is the *only* app that finds and opens SD cards and USB flash drives. I have tried QuickPic, Astro file manager, EZ File Explorer, Android File Manager. I cannot find any way to get them to access the external storage. They just don't seem to see the storage. Is this a limitation of the Nexus 7 or a limitation of my newbie skills?

 

[MJKearney]

That's the limitation of an unrooted Nexus 7. If you're rooted, I believe that you can use StickMount to explore and utilize your flash drive more.

 

[Minkey1]

But an unrooted N7, with an OTG cable, a card or flash drive, and a suitable file manager app, can display jpegs and movies, right? It's just for other types of files it needs rooting. Or have I misunderstood? I'm not about to mess with a brand new tablet still under warranty, so if rooting is required for adding storage and viewing the contents, I won't bother with an OTG cable etc.

 

[mr_nobody]

The faq for nmi says it should work with txt files but not pdfs:

[edit]: Sorry it says pdf does not _stream_, you should be able to copy the files.

What File Types Does Nexus Media Importer Support?

Pictures: NMI currently can copy and stream jpg images. It can copy Canon and Nikon raw images (cr2 & nef).
Videos: NMI can stream videos in the following formats: mp4, mkv, avi, wmv, mov, ts, m2ts, m2t, mts, m4v, ogv, asf and srt. (f4v, flv and rmvb coming soon). It currently cannot see mpg videos. NMI can stream all of these formats, but you need to install a player that can handle them. There a many free ones available on the Play Store.
Music: NMI can stream: .mp3, m4a, wma, wav, oga, ogg and flac.
Docs: NMI can stream text files through the browser of your choice.

Nexus Media Importer can see and copy many other file types from the usb device of your choice to the tablet. The following file types do not support streaming: pdf, doc, xls, epub, mobi, docx, xlsx, cbr and cbz.

**The above file types were tested with Dice Media Player, VLC, Quickpic, OfficeSuite, Adobe Reader, Cool Reader and FB Reader. There are as many choices as apps available but they are confirmed to work using the above apps.

Nexus Media Importer: FAQ

 

[MJKearney]

But an unrooted N7, with an OTG cable, a card or flash drive, and a suitable file manager app, can display jpegs and movies, right? It's just for other types of files it needs rooting. Or have I misunderstood? I'm not about to mess with a brand new tablet still under warranty, so if rooting is required for adding storage and viewing the contents, I won't bother with an OTG cable etc.

No, you need NMI to view, stream or copy the supported media and document files without rooting. A standard file browser won't work. You access the files via the NMI interface.

To be able to read and write other file types, as well as media and documents, you need to be rooted and have an app like StickMount. You then use other apps, like ES File Explorer or your media player, to view and manipulate the files on the flash drive.

Here is a little bit of an explanation from the developer, from the same FAQ referenced by mr_nobody:
"I see a lot of comparisons between NMI and things like StickMount. These kind of applications use code already embedded in the Android kernel to read and write to the external device. My application is completely different. I have written code similar to what is in the kernel into an application. This is how I can get around the "root" restriction. StickMount, etc. require root which could void your warranty and may prevent your from playing protected content."

 

[nelhop]

Thanks to all who replied with helpful information. Without rooting it does seem *only* NMI sees the files on my SD card and flash drives using an OTG cable.As others have mentioned, NMI will arrange for Firefox beta or Chrome to open TXT files. My preference is for Firefox. For PDF and DOC files, NMI will create a temporary location in internal storage and offer to open the file with an appropriate app of your choice.

I am very new to using a tablet and find one of my biggest problems is with the very sensitive screen and accidentally touching a spot on the screen and activating some app or procedure that I didn't intend to and then figuring out how to undo it. I'm so used to banging away on a desktop keyboard :-D.

 

[MJKearney]

I am very new to using a tablet and find one of my biggest problems is with the very sensitive screen and accidentally touching a spot on the screen and activating some app or procedure that I didn't intend to and then figuring out how to undo it. I'm so used to banging away on a desktop keyboard :-D.

Undoing is very simple on Android - hit the trusty back button a time or two. After a week or so, you'll be an old pro. Good luck!

 

[BigBooyaw]

This in not just your phone, and not because it is not rooted. I have an LG Optimus V and just here in the past 2 months, the update for the apps are not finding the SD Card. I work with people who have an IPhone and the Galaxy (a total of 8 people) and they have been experiencing the same issue. Apps that post to the internal system have more access to your information. I have sent messages to several app makers, and they all say in order for all the features of the app to work, it must post to the internal system. This issue with gathering personal information has gone out of control. But, you either have to find an app that will allow posting to the SD Card, or root the phone. I have been trying to locate a person that was on this forum over a year ago that would root people's phones for free and it only took a few minutes with your phone connected to your laptop and the person used Team Viewer to do the rooting on peoples computers. I want to root my phone, but, I do not want to brick it....lol!!