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Tutorial: How to connect Android to Windows as a drive letter over a Wi-Fi LAN for free simple reliable bidirectional copy



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 11th 20, 03:24 PM posted to comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.freeware,alt.comp.os.windows-10,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Arlen Holder[_7_]
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Posts: 141
Default Tutorial: How to connect Android to Windows as a drive letter over a Wi-Fi LAN for free simple reliable bidirectional copy

In response to what Arlen Holder wrote :

It's that easy to slide files bidirectionally between Android & Windows
over your Wi-Fi LAN (without being root or admin on either system).
o It just works.


Just so folks are aware, we're discussing elsewhere if this seamless
solution of copying files bidirectionally between Android and all desktops
over the LAN using the native desktop file manager is possible today using
freeware SMB (servers or clients) on Android.
o Android to Windows
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/xwX8S7XW-p0/mNTudgcUAAAJ

Given how well SMB/Samba works on Windows/Linux, it would be _great_ if we
can get Android SMB freeware solutions to work as well (or better) than the
existing documented Android WebDAV freeware solutions work.
o Android 7: http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8605173dir05.jpg
o Android 9: https://i.postimg.cc/RCn2h5FM/webdav01.jpg

If anyone can get FTP freeware to work seamlessly, please post your
solution as I would _love_ to test it out with my current equipment:
o Android 9 (Pie) Moto G7
o Windows 10 Pro (1909)
--
Usenet is so much more valuable, and pleasant, when people share solutions.
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  #2  
Old April 12th 20, 09:44 PM posted to comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.freeware,alt.comp.os.windows-10,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Arlen Holder[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 141
Default Tutorial: How to connect Android to Windows as a drive letter over a Wi-Fi LAN for free simple reliable bidirectional copy

In response to what Mick Finnlay wrote :

Look into MiXplorer (mixplorer.com) and its samba plugin. MiXplorer
hands-down beats any file explorer I've ever tried on Android (and I've
tried many) and the samba plugin works seamlessly with all Windows and
Linux shares I've thrown at it.


Hi Mick Finnley,

Happy Easter!

What's fantastic about the Usenet potluck is we all politely help everyone.
o Adults helping adults learn more is essentially what Usenet is all about.

*Thanks for that suggestion of MiXplorer using free SMB/Samba/CIFs plugins*
https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg

Admittedly, it has been a couple of years since I gave up on SMB/CIFs/Samba
on Android to connect to Windows, but I agree with anyone who says SMB
'should' be the best way to seamlessly connect to Windows simply because
Windows employs SMB servers native (and Linux also does Samba quite well).

Bear in mind I tested _every_ viable suggested solution years ago:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/3QQ8bAZeXNI/hMMHk7h4BwAJ
1. *CIFS methods* (eg Folder Tag with CIFS plugin & Network Browser)
2. *SMB methods* (eg AndSMB & Astro & ES File Explorer & Total Commander)
3. *FTP methods* (eg PrimitiveFTP & FTP Server & WinSCP & FileZilla)
4. *HTTP methods* (eg Wifi Explorer & WiFi File Transfer)
5. *Sync methods* (eg MyPhoneExplorer & AirDroid)
6. *MTP methods* (e.g., libMTP)

At that time, years ago, I tested every suggested viable solution
o And I posted results via screenshots such as this one using NetDrive
http://s1.bild.me/bilder/110417/1383190dir014.jpg

As you can see, we did test (and fail) similar freeware plugin solutions to
your MiXplorer suggestion, but I'd have to dig deeper into those old test
threads to see if we had tested MiXplorer itself.

The problem, then, was a catch-22 on free Android SMB solutions, namely...
*Freeware Android SMB servers*:
On non-rooted Android, there seems to be a catch-22 of:
o Windows will only accept SMB TCP connections on port 445
o Android won't allow SMB servers to use ports lower than 1024
REFERENCE:
o *What's the best way to forward SMB TCP port 445 to above 1024 on Windows?*
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/3QQ8bAZeXNI/p7yqvwHrBQAJ

*Freeware Android SMB clients*:
Again, the catch-22 seems to be the mismatch with Windows, in that, the SMB
freeware clients weren't (apparently) keeping up with security.
o Last we checked (Jan 2019), SMB client freeware wasn't at SMBv2 or SMBv3.
o Windows can enable SMBv1; but we know SMBv1 is fatally compromised.
REFERENCE:
o *Do you know of a free Android SMBv2 (or SMBv3) client?*
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/tl3Q05QGyAw/yBV1yLArCAAJ

Note that this is all a matter of the public record which wasn't disputed
at the time it was last posted (to my knowledge) to this ng:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/3QQ8bAZeXNI/T-0FV7spCAAJ

Having said that, we need to overcome that catch22 in SMBV2/V3 solutions.
o So if MiXplorer freeware + SMB clients work for everyone, I'm all ears!

Let me dig up the results on MiXplorer, which, of course, will necessitate
taking another look at similar solutions such as TotalCommander,
GhostCommander, AndSMB, Astro, ESFileExplorer, & other similar solutions to
MiXplorer again, so it might take a while (where they all failed in the
past).

Always bear in mind all my tutorial solutions aim at perfection, in that...
a. They must be completely free for everyone (preferably zero ads!)
b. They must work best (i.e., in this case, better than WebDAV solutions)

Looking up the URLs for the MiXplorer freeware & plugins:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=mixplorer%20file%20manager&c=apps

I can easily find the SMB client plugin:
o MiX SMB 2.0/2.1 (MiXplorer Addon), by PishroDevs
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.smb

But MiXplorer freeware doesn't seem to be as easily found on Google Play:
https://i.postimg.cc/4xRtMF7H/mixplorer01.jpg

This is the $4.50 payware, which is out of the question since there's
_always_ a freeware solution to _all_ problems (in decades we've only
failed once or twice out of, oh, thousands of solutions overall!):
o MiXplorer Silver - File Manager, by PishroDevs
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.silver

This is the MiXplorer archive add on:
o MiX Archive (MiXplorer Addon), by PishroDevs
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.archive
Which says:
"you need to install Standard or Beta version of MiXplorer file manager"
which is all well and good, but _where_ is this "MiXplorer file manager"?
https://i.postimg.cc/3NHdFmQv/mixplorer.jpg
I looked in the Aurora Store on my phone (as I don't use Google Play since
I don't even have a Google Account set up on my phone, for privacy), and
it's not there in Aurora either, so my first question to you is:
Q: Is the MiXplorer freeware not on Google Play?

Looking on F-Droid on my phone didn't find MiXplorer freeware either.

Desktop Googling for a good MiXplorer freeware download... I find this:
o https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer
Which points to a MiXplorer freeware "download" link of:
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer#login_modal
Which requires an account that I don't have (and don't want just for this).

Googling further for the MiXplorer freeware download link, I find this:
o https://mixplorer.com/
Which has a download link at the bottom, which points to this:
o https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1523691
Which points to this specific post number 2:
o https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23109280&postcount=2
Which says "*Downloads from any other source are not recommended*".

Where I think I found the MiXplorer freeware at this link just now:
o MiXplorer_v6.44.0_B20030810.apk
https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4966993&d=1583692659
Which downloaded onto my desktop the following APK archive:
o Name: MiXplorer_v6.44.0_B20030810.apk
o Size: 2540923 bytes (2481 KiB)
o SHA256: 9940B29BEF0678000A8D9037910A2D63F13C4F7B57116EF63A 78F5F1DAD94C5F
Which I seamlessly copied over the WI-Fi LAN using WebDAV since the Android
phone is simply a drive letter on my Windows PC:
https://i.postimg.cc/SsH7KQsD/mixplorer02.jpg

And this appears to be the link to download each of the available tools:
o MiXplorer, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer
o MiX AutoTag, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.autotag
o MiX Tagger, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.tagger
o MiX PDF, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.pdf
o MiX Image, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.image
o MiX Metadata, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.metadata
o MiX Archive, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.archive
o MiX SMB 2.0/2.1, by Hootan Parsa
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.mixplorer.addon.smb
But I think all of those require a login which none of us will likely have.

Luckily these addons are already on the Aurora Store, which, as you know,
has an anonymous login account to Google Play, so that's how I got SMBv2:
https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg

In summary, to save others the effort it just took me to obtain it:
1. Use your web browser to obtain the MiXplorer APK sans any login needed:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4966993&d=1583692659
2. Use the Aurora Store to anonymously obtain the SMBv2 client plugin:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.smb

Note, I only realized belatedly that you "may" also add the plugins
(anonymously?) through a hard-coded link to a browser URL inside the
MiXplorer app itself:
https://i.postimg.cc/jjL7JVB9/mixplorer04.jpg
But by the time I found that out, I already figured another way to get both
the MiXplorer & the SMBv2 plugin without having to create a login to
anything (which is where much of the beauty & finesse of privacy lies).

Now I have to _test_ this MiXplorer freeware with the SMBv2 client addon.
o Where I ask you Mick Finnlay to help advise me

The cost of freeware is in finding the best and then testing it out, where
if you can help me Mick, to test it out, that would save me much time
(and any others who are following in our well-documented footsteps).

What would you suggest as a quick test in using this MiXplorer+SMBv2 to
copy a file bidirectionally on Windows over my Wi-Fi LAN?
--
Every thread on Usenet should increase our overall group tribal knowledge.
  #3  
Old April 13th 20, 12:17 AM posted to comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.freeware,alt.comp.os.windows-10,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Arlen Holder[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 141
Default Tutorial: How to connect Android to Windows as a drive letter over a Wi-Fi LAN for free simple reliable bidirectional copy


What would you suggest as a quick test in using this MiXplorer+SMBv2 to
copy a file bidirectionally on Windows over my Wi-Fi LAN?


Those of you who know Windows networking best, please help us out here.
o What we want to do with SMB is simply what we already do with WebDav.

How?

*All we want is to map the entire Android phone to a drive letter on Windows*
*using SMB over Wi-Fi (instead of WebDAV which we already know works fine)*.
o How?

It has been many years since I worked with SMB shares on Windows
o Because mounting Android over Wi-Fi as a drive letter already worked

But SMB shares would be more graceful than WebDAV mounts perhaps (maybe?)
o And at least far more graceful than FTP "connections" (for sure!)

I don't know how to start the test, but here's a first pass:
1. Make sure both Android & Windows are on the Wi-Fi LAN.
2. On Windows, create a folder to sha
mkdir c:\tmp\shareme
3. On Windows, right click on that folder to set the properties to sharing:
Properties Sharing [Share]
(Choose your username when asked.)
The message will be:
Your folder is shared: \\pcname\shareme
3. On Android start MiXplorer freeware to connect to that share over Wi-Fi.

On MiXplorer...
A. Press the hamburger icon at top left (to the left of "Internal storage"
B. Then press the smaller hamburger icon at top right of "Bookmarks"
C. Press the "Add storage" button that then shows up at the top of the list
D. Press the "LAN (Samba)" button that then shows up at the top of the list

Enter the following values to access "pcname/shareme":
Uri address = smb://192.168.1.3 == this is the IP address of your PC
Username = user1 == this is the user name on your PC
Password = abc == this is the passsword of that user on that PC

Immediately you'll see the following (confusing looking) shares:
o ADMIN$
o C$
o IPC$
o shareme === this is the share you just created for testing
o Z$ == this could be any android device mounted as a drive letter

Hmmmm.... now what?

What's a good bidirectional test of copying files between Android & Windows
over the Wi-Fi LAN given we've established this connection using SMBv2?

TEST 1:
*On Windows, copy a file to the share so Android can pick it up*:
o Start Run cmd{control+shift+enter} == an admin command window
C:\ copy c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts c:\tmp\shareme\hosts_win.txt
On Android, copy that file to your temporary storage directory:
o MiXplorer pcname/shareme select the file hosts_win.txt
o Copy to...
o Path = Internal storage
o /storage/emulated/0/tmp
o OK
You should see the message "1 file copied".

Just for fun, let's try to copy that to the Android /etc/hosts even though
this Android device is not rooted (where MiXplorer can "see" the entire
root file system apparently).
o MiXplorer select pcname/shareme/hosts_win.txt
o Copy to...
o Internal storage
o Root /
o etc
o OK

Drat. Predictably, it says "No items copied" even though I can 'see' every
file in the root file system using this MiXplorer freeware file browser.

Anyway, now it's time to populate that share from the Android side.

TEST 2:
o MiXplorer select "Internal storage" DCIM Camera
o Select an image file by long pressing on that image file
o Copy to...
o Path pcname (smb://192.168.1.3) shareme
(which turns into: smb://192.168.1.3/shareme)
o OK
You should see the message "copying one file".
o Back on Windows, take a look at C:\tmp\shareme
Lo and behold, that file is sitting there on Windows.

TEST 3:
Map the entire Android phone as a simple drive letter on Windows?
o How?

This only maps the Windows share as a drive letter on Windows:
c:\ net use F: \\pcname\shareme
But what we want is what we already have with WebDAV which is to mount the
entire Android phone as a share and/or drive letter on Windows using SMB.

How?

Reading up, we find some interesting SMB-related Windows information he
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/mapping-a-network-share-to-a-drive-letter-in/fd684f42-8374-496c-8aa2-c00d00d11866
https://www.howtogeek.com/118452/how-to-map-network-drives-from-the-command-prompt-in-windows/
https://www.troliver.com/?p=245
https://serverfault.com/questions/105633/mount-remote-cifs-smb-share-as-a-folder-not-a-drive-letter
etc.

Can someone help me (and us) out here who knows how to map SMB shares to a
drive letter?

*All we want is to map the entire Android phone to a drive letter on Windows*
*using SMB over Wi-Fi (instead of WebDAV which we already know works fine)*.
o How?
--
Usenet is so much more valuable, and pleasant, when people share solutions.
  #4  
Old April 13th 20, 08:17 PM posted to comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.freeware,alt.comp.os.windows-10,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Arlen Holder[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 141
Default Tutorial: How to connect Android to Windows as a drive letter over a Wi-Fi LAN for free simple reliable bidirectional copy

In response to what Arlen Holder wrote :

*All we want is to map the entire Android phone to a drive letter on Windows*
*using SMB over Wi-Fi (instead of WebDAV which we already know works fine)*.
o How?


Unless we can solve this problem, SMB, IMHO, sucks (compared to WebDAV or
even FTP) for the use model of mounting Android on Windows as a drive.

*A key question is how to map the entire Android phone as a drive letter*
*on Windows for seamless Wi-Fi bidirectional copy over *SMB* protocols*.

To solve this technical problem... is going to take one who uses SMB.
o Which isn't me, unfortunately.

I need the help & advice of people who understand SMB better than I do.
o We already solved this problem in the past; but not yet for SMB.

*USB*
a. For years, for free, we've been mounting the entire Android file
system as a drive letter on Windows over USB over a variety of methods.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.comp.freeware/9Ovk-O3j5l8/I1nCwHo6BwAJ
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.comp.freeware/TaIlIMK2Nuw/ksN_ERsaBwAJ
Where these are some old screenshots of my USB tests from years ago:
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9648761dir.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=6181360dir01.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1853998dir02.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8315262dir03.jpg
b. Specifically, using NetDrive Windows freeware with Android FTP servers:
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1383190dir014.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=3994244dir020.jpg
c. Or, using DirectNetDrive Windows freeware with Android FTP servers:
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=6340420dir012.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4731516dir011.jpg
c. Where FTPUse worked for others; but not for me at that time.
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=5451129dir022.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4121239dir021.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8726712dir023.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9234464dir024.jjpg.jpg

But the goal of _this_ thread is to mount Android over the Wi-Fi LAN,
where...

1. We can't use SMB _servers_ over Wi-Fi for technical reasons.
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=2299279smb_win10_default01.jpg
2. And, years ago, all we had available were insecure SMBv1 Android clients
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=5615405smb_win10_default03.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=3580897smb_win10_default02.png
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9491157smb_win10_default04.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4819399smb_win10_default05.jpg
3. But nowadays, we finally have freeware SMBv2 clients on Android.

So, maybe .. finally? ... perhaps we can use SMB _clients_ over Wi-Fi to
mount the entire Android file system as a drive letter on Windows?

Bearing in mind we have already accomplished this over WiFi,
where...

A. For years, for free, we've been able to easily connect the entire
Android file system to a share on Windows for seamless native Windows
file manager Wi-Fi LAN bidirectional copy using *FTP* protocols.
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4785408ftpshare01.jpg
http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=8734999ftpshare02.jpg

B. For years, for free, we've been able to easily map the entire Android
file system to a drive letter on Windows for seamless native Windows
file manager Wi-Fi LAN bidirectional copy using *WebDAV* protocols.
https://i.postimg.cc/vmSszLd2/webdav06.jpg

C. For years, for free, we've been able to easily map the entire Android
file system to a drive letter on Windows for seamless native Windows
file manager Wi-Fi LAN bidirectional copy using *proprietary* tools.
NetDrive: http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1383190dir014.jpg
DirectNetDrive: http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=4731516dir011.jpg

D. *The question is how to map the entire Android phone as a drive letter*
*on Windows for seamless Wi-Fi bidirectional copy over *SMB* protocols*.
https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg
--
Solving dificult problems takes a few people to pitch in on the solution.
  #5  
Old April 30th 20, 11:19 AM posted to comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.freeware,alt.comp.os.windows-10,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Arlen Holder[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 141
Default Tutorial: How to connect Android to Windows as a drive letter over a Wi-Fi LAN for free simple reliable bidirectional copy

In response to what Arlen Holder wrote :

D. *The question is how to map the entire Android phone as a drive letter*
*on Windows for seamless Wi-Fi bidirectional copy over *SMB* protocols*.
https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg


UPDATE:

We found out after discussing details with kelown, that you can't map the
entire Android file system as a drive letter over the Wi-Fi LAN using SMB
clients on Android...

But...

SMB is still rather useful in a _different_ use model, for seamless
bidirectional Wi-Fi transfer between Android & Windows ...

As long as...
o You're willing to do the Wi-Fi file transfers from the Android GUI.

Here's a quick set of illustrative snapshots of the steps:
1. Use your web browser to obtain the MiXplorer APK sans any login needed:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4966993&d=1583692659
2. Use the Aurora Store to anonymously obtain the SMBv2 client plugin:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.addon.smb
https://i.postimg.cc/nLzvY993/mixplorer03.jpg
(Or obtain the SMB client from within the MiXplorer application.)
https://i.postimg.cc/jjL7JVB9/mixplorer04.jpg
3. Open MiXplorer & navigate to a folder to copy files to Windows
https://i.postimg.cc/X7mLQSZr/mixplorer05.jpg
4. Select the files to copy to Windows & hit the "copy to" button.
Choose the shared folder on Windows to copy the files into.
https://i.postimg.cc/xTZkm9X4/mixplorer06.jpg
5. If necessary, it will ask for the Windows password.
If necessary, duplicates will pop up a "replace with" dialog.
https://i.postimg.cc/rsXjM74h/mixplorer07.jpg

To copy from Windows to Android is just as easy.
A. Slide the files into the shared folder on Windows.
B. Access that folder from MiXplorer.
C. Slide the files over to Android over the Wi-Fi LAN.

In summary, the _advantage_ of the SMB method is that it is quite stable
compared to any other method of mounting Android to Windows I've tested.

The disadvantage is that the file copy has to be initiated on the Android
side using the Android SMB client GUI.
--
This SMB solution has its merits, particularly because it's rather stable.
 




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