Kitkat Issue: Can't Write to External SD Card

[monsieurms]

That area is strictly for looking at stats on my phone. There are no manipulation functions there.

I won't speak for the other poster as I don't do it that way either. I've never moved files that way and never heard of that. I admit, didn't fully understand either. I've used it to clear caches or get info, not move files.

but ...

What I'M saying is in terms of navigating the device, you clearly have internal storage. Open up MY FILES, if you have Samsung. It's built in as an app if you have any modern device.
Just use that app. When that app opens up, it automatically goes to a default listing "All files" plus images, etc
Click "ALL FILES"
That gives "device storage"

Click that--you can see what directories are there and move things to/from.

 

[Galane]

Doesn't matter to me what Google's reasoning is. My Galaxy Tab 3 is MY Galaxy Tab 3, not Google's. It's getting rooted and this restriction REMOVED.

 

[Mille Renee]

You can still use your external sd card. Once you save files onto the phone storage, hook your phone up to your computer and you can move files from your phone's storage to your external sd card there.

 

[Leo G]

What good is that if you need a computer to do something you use to be able to do internally on the phone.

Just us the My Files app that comes with the phone, it has permission to do most jobs you need. It's not sophisticated, but it works.

 

[tarnak]

For text files, Doc2go works just fine, I use it to edit text files on the card.

 

[USCTrojan4JC]

I am on Android 4.4.2 on my SGH-I747 (stock, unrooted). ES File Explorer no longer works for me, but My Files did.

 

[rsole]

It isn't just a simple matter of moving the files. I use my tablet every day for reports. I had the apps set up so that the data files were stored on the sd card. That way all the files were in one convenient location. I didn't have to wade through the android folders to find them. Each day, I had to move the files I needed to the sd card and at the end of the day I had one location to go to to access the files I needed. With this change, it will take me much longer to locate the files I need. I was also able to pull the card and move it to my desktop if I had a problem accessing the files.

That is in addition to the fact that the files can take up a lot of space and with them on the sd card, I didn't have a problem with storage space.

There has to be a way we can complain to someone about this.

 

[Bebe desierdo]

im really getting crazy with this 4.4.2 on my note 2 . after the update, my 64gb sd card is not working anymore . it says blank card or unsupported files . what can I do with this deyym

 

[monsieurms]

im really getting crazy with this 4.4.2 on my note 2 . after the update, my 64gb sd card is not working anymore . it says blank card or unsupported files . what can I do with this deyym

Try reformatting the card in the device.
Then, reload it.

 

[zaiburst]

I have to agree with those that say this is broken. I may understand why Google did this, but they have rendered primary features of my phone unworkable. I have the xperia z2. One of the biggest selling points of the phone is 4k video and I prefer 3d party camera apps. Do you know how quickly the internal memory gets used up when recording in 4k? It means I can only make short videos and then transfer data every 5 minutes. Also I used sound recording apps like 'tape-machine'. Now I can't record directly to SD, meaning im constantly transferring to SD. It sucks!

After I updated it gave me a message that I could repair.. But I now realise this means I can rollback.. Otherwise I will be looking to root.. Or factor reset. Can anyone confirm that this will solve my issue?

I am minded to complain to Sony. While it is not directly their fault, they bear some responsibility in making their product fit for purpose, and at present this limitation sucks!

 

[EdIsenberg]

Re: Kitkat Issue: Can't Write to External SD Card

Don't bother. The article starts out talking about how "Users like you and me are in an uproar" when the author simply defends what Google has done. At the very end of the article the author says, "Or you can huff and puff, and start a petition." In other words, Google and Android have done what they wanted to do and you can just live with it or complain uselessly. I wrote a point-by-point rebuttal describing the article's omissions, inaccuracies, workaround suggestions that risk permanent loss of your SD card, and downright misstatements (sometimes called, diplomatically, "obfuscations."

We once had an alternative to both Apple and Microsoft produced by those who really were excited to bring out something both new and non-dictatorial. Alas, it was all a fraud. MS never wanted to be a leader in new solutions (as its previous President Balmer admitted to when he said, Microsoft isn't interested in being first in technology but just first in making someone else's ideas profitable. Apple (especially in the Apple II and early Macintosh days) really was dedicated to creating incredibly great products. Google/Android appears to have stopped caring about its customer after only a couple of years. I don't know how they could shaft us so thoroughly and so quickly after Android's first release. Woe is us!

 

[Tom DA]

ES has the same trouble AND MyBackup Pro! :'(

 

[serdrakov]

if anyone is having problems with the stupid google update that makes the tablet not access properly the SD Card, I just found an app that amazingly fixed it with one click. Only for rooted users:
NextApp SDfix
Works fast and after a reboot you can use your SD card again!

 

[monsieurms]

if anyone is having problems with the stupid google update that makes the tablet not access properly the SD Card, I just found an app that amazingly fixed it with one click. Only for rooted users:
NextApp SDfix
Works fast and after a reboot you can use your SD card again!

Well, only for rooted users....and the professions of lack of support in the event of issues sound a bit scary.

 

[Anthony Chong]

I can see why they are doing it. Nobody wants phones to have 128 GB of storage that can be transported everywhere. Apple hates it - cuts into iPhone sales. Tablet makers hate it - nobody needs to buy a tablet if they have 128, 256 GBs of storage on a phone. Laptop makers hate it - and desktop makers hate it for the same reason. Most of those fancy SSDs only have 256 GBs of space anyway.

Phones are getting too powerful. People know how to use them to their advantage. The industry hates "power users" and wants to keep you "in check" using KNOX, Lumen Toolbar, and other junk they put on stock.

Yes, but they must realise that with these ridiculous resistrictions, we will just root the dang things and use a custom rom instead lol. Im still on jellybean 4.2.2, I refuse to have my sd card access restricted!

 

[rothjames]

Re: Kitkat Issue: Can't Write to External SD Card

The article "KitKat and SD cards — what's fixed, what's broken and what's misunderstood | Android Central" is not helpful. In summary, it states that Kit Kat secures the SD card and that likely breaks most apps trying to use it and there is nothing you can do about it. It does not offer a solution or workarounds. It also uses a term like huff and puff to make light of the frustrations this has caused. Every time I find a new app that could be useful, I find that some feature won't work. I tried to move the whole app to the SDcard too. For example, I installed HealthTracker today. I tried export to CSV file. It gives me a familiar error. "error writing "HealthTracker.csv, data export failed". I delete 9 out of 10 apps I try to install because they don't work fully. I am stuck with a tiny amount of internal memory and a nearly useless SD card. Is there any hack to "unsecure" the "security features" they added? I'm tired of borrowing my wife's phone to use my apps.

 

[Miaomiaou]

Re: Kitkat Issue: Can't Write to External SD Card

Sorry I am completely confused, it's flabbergasting!

I installed Kitkat on my Note 2 and only then found out about the annoying sd card restrictions. But...
-My Files (which I assume is stock) is not better than other file managers: it seems that it can delete files, create folders and copy files to the card, but after a few hours all the changes disappear (this is weird because most of the time I can open the documents for a while from the sd card)
-Even the pictures that I just shot and saved on the sd card have disappeared after a few hours (but I could admire them for a little while!)

So how is it possible that even native apps are not allowed to use the sd card? (and why do files really exist there, but for a short while only?)

Moreover, I don't seem to be able to read the card on a USB reader on my computer anymore

 

[ColinB83]

I'm having the same issue, did anyone get a fix?

 

[monsieurms]

Re: Kitkat Issue: Can't Write to External SD Card

-My Files (which I assume is stock) is not better than other file managers: it seems that it can delete files, create folders and copy files to the card, but after a few hours all the changes disappear (this is weird because most of the time I can open the documents for a while from the sd card)

Something else is going on. My Files is a native, stock Samsung App (not Google). It works perfectly for me. No changes disappear. What you're describing is how I have seen some 3rd party apps work---that is, I make a change and try to delete with some 3rd party app, seems to go through; then, when I come back, the file is still there. That's never happened with My Files.

From what you are describing you seem to have other issues with your card.

 

[Richard Tay]

ES File Explorer 3 is a chunky size file manager with running memory of 93MB and it is also unable to do any file management function on SD card installed in HTC Desire 610 running on Kit Kat 4.4.2. Nothing is possible.