Are photos viewable with S4 plugged into a PC via a USB connection ????

[Davyo]

One thing I have always HATED with my Note 2 and GS3 was the inability to view photo's when plugged into a PC via a USB connection,,, just seeing numbered folder icons in place of the actual pictures taken with the GS3 or Note 2 totally sucks !!!

The iphone lets you see and pick which pictures you want to download onto your PC,,, and every camera on the planet also works that way,,,, I will never understand why Samsung choose not to offer such a common easy feature that is standard on every other phone and digital camera.

So, does the S4 let you actually see the photos in the phones DCMI folder when you open the folder on your PC ???

Thanks in advance,,, (I plan on getting the GS4 on day one of availability with T-Mobile)

Cheers
Davyo

 

[BOSSY TEXAS CHICK]

I will never understand why Samsung choose not to offer such a common easy feature that is standard on every other phone and digital camera.

So, does the S4 let you actually see the photos in the phones DCMI folder when you open the folder on your PC ???

Cheers
Davyo

Hi Davyo!

I'm sooooo with you and was stunned when Samsug moved to MTP/PTO Protocol ONLY and removed the ability to have the phone connected as usb device as another drive on computer... i couldn't believe there wasn't more of an outcry about it, the FIRST time i saw it had changed i was like, "ohhhhh h*lllllll nooooooooooo", we are NOT gonna stand for THIS...lol

Sadly, that has not changed on the S4 but the way around it (even tho it is an EXTRA step) is to have a folder on your desktop that you use soley to house your camera photos and if you constantly drag and drop the contents to that folder, it will overwrite the ones that are already there AND will allow you to see what's what instead of only the stock con s a thumbnail.

I agree its a pain but ONCE i googled and found that solution, i will admit it frustrated me wayyyyy less than just plumb not being able to see the thumbnails.

One benefit is you can drag back and fourth between computer (either photos TO phone or FROM phone and you do NOT have to wait for media storage to "reload" and you can INSTANTLY see what you have transferred without disabling any usb setting, and without waiting for the media to scan....while phone is STILL hooked up you just pull up your gallery and immediately they are there (or gone if you chose to move them)

BTC

 

[Davyo]

Hi Davyo!

I'm sooooo with you and was stunned when Samsug moved to MTP/PTO Protocol ONLY and removed the ability to have the phone connected as usb device as another drive on computer... i couldn't believe there wasn't more of an outcry about it, the FIRST time i saw it had changed i was like, "ohhhhh h*lllllll nooooooooooo", we are NOT gonna stand for THIS...lol

Sadly, that has not changed on the S4 but the way around it (even tho it is an EXTRA step) is to have a folder on your desktop that you use soley to house your camera photos and if you constantly drag and drop the contents to that folder, it will overwrite the ones that are already there AND will allow you to see what's what instead of only the stock con s a thumbnail.

I agree its a pain but ONCE i googled and found that solution, i will admit it frustrated me wayyyyy less than just plumb not being able to see the thumbnails.

One benefit is you can drag back and fourth between computer (either photos TO phone or FROM phone and you do NOT have to wait for media storage to "reload" and you can INSTANTLY see what you have transferred without disabling any usb setting, and without waiting for the media to scan....while phone is STILL hooked up you just pull up your gallery and immediately they are there (or gone if you chose to move them)

BTC

Thanks B T C

Yea,,, I am also amazed that more people didn't flip out on Samsung over such stupid choice,,,, every camera on the planet and every other phone on the planet (except Samsung) will let you see thumbnails of actual pictures and video taken with your device.

And as far as I know there is no app that can fix it either.

My way around it is I have just used DropBox,,, but even that's a pain.

What the hell is Samsung thinkin,,,, I would be interested to find out why they made such a dumb pick on this one issue.

Cheers
Davyo

 

[ddot196]

Perhaps someone with the know might have a fix for it using root. Haven't used a Samsung in a while ago I haven't checked but might be worth a shot I'm the apps out development forums.

 

[janessdawn]

YES, they are. All you have to do is enable Developer Mode. All you need to know is in this video; I only watched up to 1:10. Once you've done that (I did it with my phone already plugged in), just go to the DCIM folder, then the Camera subfolder. Voila.

Samsung Galaxy S4: Transfer Photos from Samsung S4 to PC and Import Photos from PC to Galaxy S4 - YouTube

 

[Rick Bray]

it has nothing to do with Samsung...

this is Google, who disabled the USB connection protocol for jelly bean and up i think... and it is related to the inability to move apps2sd

only way to make this workout without any issues would be rooting,....



EDIT: you will be able to view thumbnails, just need to change the view on your computer, what is blocked by google is the ability to use the phone with USB connection istead of MTP or PTO

 

[The Royaloak]

I'm viewing them just fine. In dcim folder, icon preview etc. I had developer mode enabled.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Android Central Forums

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

A bit of misguided info on this thread...

1. The ability to mount the devices partitions was removed for several reasons, namely the fact that internal memory isn't partitioned in the same was it was previously, and I assume they [Google] want to ensure that the system files can't be manipulated this way. There is also the issue that when mounted as removable storage via USB, the SD card can't be used by the phone itself, which can cause issues when the phone is trying to access media and or data off of it. Yes, it sucks, because some functionality is certainly lost...none of less, these are some of the reasons why they decided to do it this way.

2. Instead of allowing you to mount the device as removable storage, they only allow using MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) -- this is the exact same protocol that digital cameras and other portable media devices utilize. (I'm actually not sure what iPhone uses, I was under the impression that you couldn't even browse the contents of the iPhone using explorer, rather you have to use iTunes?). The primary advantage to using MTP is that the storage connects as a "device" (rather than mounted as a drive) and can still be utilized by the phone while connected.

3. It's not just Samsung. As mentioned above, ALL Android phones past 4.0 use MTP.

4. I honestly don't know why the thumbnail generation doesn't work by default when viewing in Explorer, but that's not a limitation of MTP. Obviously, based on comments above, enabling USB debugging solves that problem.

Here's some more info on MTP: Media Transfer Protocol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Again, just trying to clear up some misconceptions I've noticed in this thread...the first step the solving a problem, is understanding why it exists in the first place.

Oh, and for the record, I'm not trying to say MTP is *better*. Frankly, I'd much prefer USB mass storage mode, or if that's really not possible (see #1 above), some other alternative. MTP lacks compatibility with Mac and Linux and also is part of MS's DRM scheme, so there are plenty of things not to like about it. I was just simply trying to explain why Android decided to go this route.

 

[Wilbur]

This app works too.

SG USB Mass Storage Enabler
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mohammadag.samsungusbmassstorageenabler

 

[smooth4lyfe]

One thing I have always HATED with my Note 2 and GS3 was the inability to view photo's when plugged into a PC via a USB connection,,, just seeing numbered folder icons in place of the actual pictures taken with the GS3 or Note 2 totally sucks !!!

The iphone lets you see and pick which pictures you want to download onto your PC,,, and every camera on the planet also works that way,,,, I will never understand why Samsung choose not to offer such a common easy feature that is standard on every other phone and digital camera.

So, does the S4 let you actually see the photos in the phones DCMI folder when you open the folder on your PC ???

Thanks in advance,,, (I plan on getting the GS4 on day one of availability with T-Mobile)

Cheers
Davyo

This was possible on the GS3, I used to do it all the time
I am even testing it on my GS4 now and I can see the picture

Also if you want to do it wirelessly, get this app called "Air Droid"....you can thank my later

 

[methree]

This sucks. I'm at work where you can't download software on the computers. I just took a picture with my phone with intent to transfer it to the computer, just as I did with my Android 4.0 Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, but no dice. I could have sworn I've done this before successfully with my S4, but it sure isn't working that way for me now.

 

[methree]

So my complaint was trying to see the files on the computer at work which is running Windows XP Professional. The phone has Android 4.2.2. I went home and plugged it in my computer (Windows XP home edition) and I could access any folder I wanted to. What's allowing it to work at home and not at work? I have Kies installed at home, but it seemed I was using a normal Explorer window.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

This sucks. I'm at work where you can't download software on the computers. I just took a picture with my phone with intent to transfer it to the computer, just as I did with my Android 4.0 Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, but no dice. I could have sworn I've done this before successfully with my S4, but it sure isn't working that way for me now.

So my complaint was trying to see the files on the computer at work which is running Windows XP Professional. The phone has Android 4.2.2. I went home and plugged it in my computer (Windows XP home edition) and I could access any folder I wanted to. What's allowing it to work at home and not at work? I have Kies installed at home, but it seemed I was using a normal Explorer window.

The issue is an Windows version issue (pro vs. home), but we would need more information...you say you "can't" download pictures from work, but don't really say what isn't working...

Does the computer recognize your phone as a device when plugged in?
Does it display the phone as a usable device in Windows explorer?
Are you able to browse the directories of your phone to view the files (including pictures) contained within?
At any point in the process does an error message appear?

We'd have to know what's actually going on before even attempting to suggest a fix.

It could be a lot of things...a permissions issue (often folks don't have rights to install hardware on work computers)...a driver issue (MTP should be plug and play, but the computer's drivers could be hosed)...a hardware issue (bad USB port?)....???

 

[Danielle Haworth]

HELP!!!! I cannot access my most recent photos

When I plug my Galaxy S4 into my computer whatever photos are the most recently taken on my camera will not show up.
It will show the photos from a few days before but in the last two days any of the photos I have taken will not show up.
Can anyone help?

 

[STSVA]

Re: HELP!!!! I cannot access my most recent photos

When I plug my Galaxy S4 into my computer whatever photos are the most recently taken on my camera will not show up.
It will show the photos from a few days before but in the last two days any of the photos I have taken will not show up.
Can anyone help?

How are you viewing the files? Using Windows Explorer, or something else, like Kies? Where is your phone camera set up to save image files, internal or external storage, and where are you looking at the files on your phone's storage - in other words, is where you're looking the same place the camera is saving the image files or possibly a copied location?

 

[Pawel Szczygiel]

Hey

Go My Computer/ PHONE DEVICE/ Phone/DCIM/CAmera


Good luck