Kitkat Issue: Can't Write to External SD Card

[Leo G]

I was able to delete a bunch of stuff from the SD card using ES. I was surprised that it worked, and glad. The My Files app wouldn't let me delete a huge selection of files that I had searched out.

 

[monsieurms]

The My Files app wouldn't let me delete a huge selection of files that I had searched out.

I don't understand what that could possibly mean, honestly. I delete and rename files on the card with My Files all the time. (S4, 4.4.2)

 

[Leo G]

I don't understand what that could possibly mean, honestly. I delete and rename files on the card with My Files all the time. (S4, 4.4.2)

I had copied a bunch of files over from the DCIM to the SD card. But I made a bunch of duplicate files and it had added the (1) prefix into the name of the file. I had about 100 of them. So I did a search with my files and used "(1)" as the search parameter. So I got about 100 files that came up in the search. So now I wanted to delete all of them. But I could find no option to do that. I could delete them one at a time, but I wasn't happy about that. I went into ES and did the same search and then was able to do a select all and then delete. Simple. Something I couldn't do with the My Files app.

 

[monsieurms]

I thought you were saying that you couldn't delete them at all.

But if you're saying you just can't multi-select files all at once in my files, yes that's a problem from SEARCH results (it used to drive me crazy in Astro, too). You can multi-select all at once if you're browsing in directories, but it won't let you do it from search results.

 

[Leo G]

Well, I could do that, but it might take 20 minutes to find all of them and check them off. ES finds them for me and then lets me select them. Just what I want. Fast, accurate, easy and what I should be able to do. What use is a search if you cannot select multiple files to work on?

 

[monsieurms]

What use is a search if you cannot select multiple files to work on?

That's exactly what I said to Astro Explorer in a feedback comment. After which, I downloaded Andro Explorer. All was well. But it now doesn't delete files at all with KitKat.

I was planning to DL ES in any event, but since KitKat came out, I haven't encountered the type of situation you have described, so I've been procrastinating. You're quite right though--the ability to search and multi-select is an important time saver when you need it.

 

[Leo G]

I was shocked it worked. It's not suppose to be able to manipulate the card. But I've found that ES has a few tricks up its sleeve and can do a few things the others can't. I've been very pleased with it. Disappointed in Google for not giving the option to opt out of their draconian provision of no access to the SD card. They want you to purchase space in the cloud. Which is very doubtful I ever will as it is an insecure place.

 

[monsieurms]

Disappointed in Google for not giving the option to opt out of their draconian provision of no access to the SD card.

You and everyone else. As I've been saying (and I'm not alone), there are better ways to handle this. You could have a pop-up window--like Microsoft does when new programs install. Etc. But the truth seems to me that Google would like to keep pushing until SD cards don't exist any more. They don't want to make it better. They just want to make it difficult.

N.b.: The first time I tried ES based on a recommendation here, when KitKat came out and everyone was pulling their hair out, it just didn't work for me as advertised with KitKat. That was also part of my procrastination. But I did DL it again yesterday out of curiosity based on this thread and it worked great. Yay. It is ahead of the pack.

Astro file explorer, a venerable and vaunted old name, doesn't handle KitKat well, either. The only thing it does now that ES really doesn't is backup apps. Since I bought it long ago, I may as well keep it, but it is of little use at this point. I uninstalled Andro which is of no use at all.

 

[t_wysocki]

Based upon monsieurms report above, I d/l ES only to find out it could not write files to my Galaxy S5 sdcard either. I called Verizon tech support and their initial solution was to pull the card from the phone, put it in my pc, and write to it there. And this is why I didn't buy an iPhone!?!?
After a long hold with them, They said "try Astro file manager". I did, and Astro popped up a window saying "SDcard is readonly due to Google and Android design". Hah! so they're aware of it too. Verizon rep said "sorry about that, next OS update might fix it!". End of story.

 

[monsieurms]

To be clear, I was only testing deletion...not renaming/write.

 

[Jay Sacks]

ES File Explorer was always my favorite file manager. But, since my Note2 was upgraded to 4.4.2 it is read only. My Files is the only internal file manager that works.

 

[bluzman]

I'm running the latest version (1.17.0.47) of File Manager from Cheetah Mobile (https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...etails?id=com.rhmsoft.fm&hl=en&token=Qerhqsyt) on my S4.
It allows me to copy/move files as follows:
1) internal memory <=> external SD card
2) external SD card <=> cloud storage (Dropbox)

It allows me to copy/move folders as follows:
1) internal memory => external SD card but not the reverse
2) cloud storage (Dropbox) => external SD card but not the reverse

Also, it will:
1) allow me to delete files on external SD card
2) NOT allow me to rename files on external SD card
3) allow me to create a new folder directly on external SD card
4) NOT allow me to rename or delete folders on external SD card

Oddly, the tablet version of this app, File Manager HD (https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ils?id=com.rhmsoft.fm.hd&hl=en&token=7h5UL_ZY), does NOT allow these functions on my Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 which is also running KitKat 4.4.2. On that device, I have to use My Files. Go figure.

 

[monsieurms]

The whole thing is kinda ridiculous.

Thank you, Google. I feel so secure now.

 

[CKR83]

The whole thing is kinda ridiculous.

Thank you, Google. I feel so secure now.

"Secure" isn't the word I'd use. Furious comes close though. I only moved to the Android because my tablet worked so well. Since my AT&T S5 will almost certainly NEVER be updated I'll have to root it if I want it to work, and THAT I do not want to do.

 

[awriternot]

This concept confuses me. So when I select to move the app to the SD card, it doesn't really move? Should I select to move them back?

I haven't had any trouble moving media or photos. I'm just unclear about the app moving thing. Do y'all not even bother?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[monsieurms]

This concept confuses me. So when I select to move the app to the SD card, it doesn't really move? Should I select to move them back?

I haven't had any trouble moving media or photos. I'm just unclear about the app moving thing. Do y'all not even bother?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

App moving is a different issue, often depending on whether the apps support the function. For awhile, app moving was blocked by Android updates. But then (via Samsung as I recall?), it came back, but it relies on the app mfg to support it. Sometimes, even when they do, they leave such big footprints behind in internal memory to a point where you wonder "why bother.....?"

 

[P Schmied]

Even though my expeience is with a different device, I thought it important enough to share here.

I had thought I understood the KitKt\extsd issue, and being unwillling st this time to root my new Asus Memopad7, had resigned myself to assiduously managing what remained of the 11GB internal sd, and experiemnting with manually editing configuration filesand moving data folder.

But 2 things happened during the past week that completely changed my plans..

First, the largest space consumer on my tablet Sygic Nav & Maps published a simple way to move their app to extsd. No root needed, just a simple folder copy . There's practically nothing left of the app on internal sd.

Second, I got a noticed from the tablet that an update to the OS firmware was available. After checking its validity, doing some housekeeping, and rebooting, I let the tablet download and apply the update.

There were a a dozen Asus apps at the Play Store that neeeded updating, and a few Asus tools related to Miracast and wifi that claimed that they needed updating , some of which had never been visible to me before,(some still aren't)

As I was going through Settings/Apps, I noticed a new column "Moveable". In this view, move to extsd works!!! Every app except Sygic (already moved) let me move it!! Now their "Move to SD" buttons say "Move to Device Storage"!!! I freed up more than 2gb from internal sd, just by clicking buttons., and the tablet still isn't rooted.

This tells me that the worst part of the extsd problem wasn't Googles' KitKat, but due to developers of apps and skins not being up to speed with the changes. Look for a lot of excuses disappearing as word of this ges arround to the other OEMs..
.

 

[fcgleason]

This issue will be solved when Google becomes aware of very expensive and lengthy class action lawsuits headed in their direction because they have restricted access to the SD Card with their operating system. They have affected the use of the SD card for millions of users, and it is :no longer fit for the intended purpose" and unrestricted storage on the SD Card is one of the the reasons we bought the S4 android phone and sd card in the first place!

Google has gotten too high handed lately. They have become the EVIL they said they would not be. They have also completely disabled Google Maps "My Maps" with a poorly thought out upgrade that has thrown millions of users for a loop (whether intended or not, the head programmer and entire team should be fired now, because it is totally incompetent) -- They want to migrate users to a $5/month pro model and cripple the free version so it is totally unusable with no way to export/import kml, etc.

This company is headed for troubles now. Power corrupts. Consumers plot your revenge. I am headed for Linux, and hopefully my next phone will be linux or windows. Android has lost its way.

 

[Papa Smurf1]

I use successfully file commander app

 

[raze5115]

I blame google for excuse my language but ******* up the access to external sdcards. When I was on jelly bean with gs4 I had no problem accessing my music from my external 32gb sdcard. But now with my note 3 on kitkat I can't access my music on my 64gb sdcard. It says it's unable to recognize the file format when they are in mp3 format. I heard about the battery drainage problems but I didn't know about the sdcard problem until it was too late and I had already upgraded to kitkat.