USB Mass Storage gone, what are my options

[mscheaf]

So once again, google decided to fix what wasn't broken and give me "new features" and remove old working features that I used all the time. It's bad enough the new music player is absolute garbage and puts giant gaps between each song (this is the new "gapless" google play, lol). The gingerbread music player was perfect. The 4.1 player is unusable for me. OK, well I will just hook up my phone with the USB cable and play music directly off the card then instead of using the audio jack. Nope can't do that either because google, in it's infinite wisdom, has removed the mass storage USB option. I went from having a 2.3.4 phone that literally every single computer or stereo i plugged it into would recognize it. Now it is around 5% of them on a good day. I am not sure why google decided that making their device less compatible is a good thing that people want. I am not even sure how that makes them money (that HAS to be why they did it). But now that this 4.1 phone is useless as a phone and text machine and internet browser (as all android phones have always been forever) it is now useless as a music player for me too. Is there any option for me besides rooting or should I just give up and buy an iPhone?

 

[dan330]

as a music player.. for your car.. and other players.

iphone is universally supported.

if that is the most important think as requirement for a mobile device.
then you should get an iphone.

 

[Hadron]

Or just install a different music player app and play through your audio jack as before. If the built in app isn't up to scratch, there's always an alternative.

BTW, it might be the manufacturer who messed up the music app rather than Google. MTP is definitely Google's doing.

 

[tripwater]

I recently ( as of today ) updated to 4.1.1 and noticed that mass storage was gone. I run a Mac and found this Android.com to be the answer for me. I just plug in my phone and it pulls up a file manager so I can drag and drop to my phone still. Sucks in regards to not showing thumbnails on things like videos and images but it at least gets me access. Hopefully this applies to you. It does not fix your issue with media players but at least gives you access to your files again.

Hope it helps.

 

[mikedt]

So once again, google decided to fix what wasn't broken and give me "new features" and remove old working features that I used all the time. It's bad enough the new music player is absolute garbage and puts giant gaps between each song (this is the new "gapless" google play, lol). The gingerbread music player was perfect. The 4.1 player is unusable for me. OK, well I will just hook up my phone with the USB cable and play music directly off the card then instead of using the audio jack. Nope can't do that either because google, in it's infinite wisdom, has removed the mass storage USB option. I went from having a 2.3.4 phone that literally every single computer or stereo i plugged it into would recognize it. Now it is around 5% of them on a good day. I am not sure why google decided that making their device less compatible is a good thing that people want. I am not even sure how that makes them money (that HAS to be why they did it). But now that this 4.1 phone is useless as a phone and text machine and internet browser (as all android phones have always been forever) it is now useless as a music player for me too. Is there any option for me besides rooting or should I just give up and buy an iPhone?

I know one thing, the iPhone certainly does not give you free access to the music or other content stored on it when plugged into a computer, you have to install iTunes. And then it locks the iPhone to a single computer, plug it in another computer with iTunes, and iTunes will offer to erase the iPhone for you. Apple actually goes out of their way to NOT give you direct file access to their iOS devices. So if you're looking for USB mass storage with an iPhone, you could be very disappointed I think. As for gapless music playback, maybe the Google one isn't too hot. Try a different one like WinAmp or PowerAmp.

When I transfer stuff to and from my computer and Android phone, I do it via WiFi wirelessly. No need to even plug the phone in, and no special software needed apart from a browser. iTunes wouldn't be an option for me anyway because I don't use Windows.

 

[mscheaf]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I came of so snotty I am very frustrated with this phone.

I want to be able to play music over usb in UMS mode. That is what music players support. I don't know of any that support MTP. And even if there was, I am not about to replace 15+ units to work with one phone. The audio jack works, but it sucks. The audio sounds like crap and it is way to quiet. I looked into portable amps, but they also require UMS mode, lol.

I see why they did this. I am already seeing new ads for car steroes that claim to support the 4.X android and up. And there it is. Before all android phones worked on anything you plugged them into. Where is the money in that? Now they get to make exclusive deals with stereo manufacturers and market them as "Android ready" (something ALL stereos where just 2 years ago). Annoying as shit, but hey I don't have to use android right?

And yes, a music player, phone and texting device is my primary function. Every time I try to use the internet on a smart phone it just always feels like the internet is completely broken. I really have no use for any other functionality of this phone, and honestly would have been happy sticking with the dumb phones that while dumb always seemed to, you know, work.

I have rooted it and tried many different apps to enable UMS and none have worked. They always make my phone show up as a cd-rom drive in windows and not at all on other audio devices.

So it seems I have a few options, even though they all sound awful. I could get a dumb phone or an iPhone. I will probably never own an apple anything though. I could find some app or custom rom that supports ums, but that seems highly unlikely as I have been trying that for a day with no luck. My personal choice would be to flash this thing back to GB, the last android version I actually liked that actually did the things I wanted (UMS and a working decent music player built in).

What do you think? I am really leaning toward GB or just throwing this thing away and going back to dumb phones for as long as I can.

Edit: OK I use it for weather and sports scores too, but really, I went most of my life without constant access to that, I can go more easily.

 

[dan330]

you sound like you are on top of the issue.
i only see 3 options:

1. flash back to the ROM that meets your needs best.

2. get new better android phone

3. get apple device


in that order is my preference.

 

[mscheaf]

you sound like you are on top of the issue.
i only see 3 options:

1. flash back to the ROM that meets your needs best.

2. get new better android phone

3. get apple device


in that order is my preference.

Well I am not sure how 2 would work, considering anything 4.X and above is my problem (no UMS). Unless you mean get one of the ones that the UMS apps are confirmed to work on.

I don't know how to flash this phone to GB but I am going to try. If I brick it or don't like the results I will go to the Virgin store and buy the cheapest dumb phone they have with UMS and be done with android

 

[mscheaf]

I have decided to give up for now, unless someone knows of a UMS app that works on this phone. I have to many other projects going on. For now I will annoy myself with carrying around my phone with 16 GB of music to listen to on headphones and a flash drive with 16 GB of the exact same music to listen to on the entire rest of the world's devices that are not my phone.

 

[Slug]

[...]anything 4.X and above is my problem (no UMS)

It's manufacturer-dependent. All current Sony Xperia devices, for example, support USB Mass Storage in addition to MTP.

 

[davoid]

It's manufacturer-dependent. All current Sony Xperia devices, for example, support USB Mass Storage in addition to MTP.

I didn't know that Slug. Thanks.

Although saying it is manufacturer-dependent is technically true, manufacturers that override Google's developments are sadly in the minority.

Samsung thankfully also choose to override some of Google's decisions - with their apps2sd functionality and their almost unilateral support for external sd. Sony are also good in this department, I know.

I am pleased to be of the impression however that HTC is reintroducing the microsd (they have done so on their dual sim variant of the One and that leaked video of the M8 had sdcard slot I believe).

So hopefully we can depend more and more on manufacturers to retain useful features that google strive to steer us away from.

 

[mscheaf]

I didn't know that Slug. Thanks.

Although saying it is manufacturer-dependent is technically true, manufacturers that override Google's developments are sadly in the minority.

Samsung thankfully also choose to override some of Google's decisions - with their apps2sd functionality and their almost unilateral support for external sd. Sony are also good in this department, I know.

I am pleased to be of the impression however that HTC is reintroducing the microsd (they have done so on their dual sim variant of the One and that leaked video of the M8 had sdcard slot I believe).

So hopefully we can depend more and more on manufacturers to retain useful features that google strive to steer us away from.

Wait huh? I have a Samsung phone here, are you saying I should have UMS?

 

[chanchan05]

Samsung doesn't have UMS. But they did override Google's no external storage motif.

Sony retains UMS because well, they want their phones to work with their other stuff (stereos etc)

 

[mikedt]

Samsung doesn't have UMS. But they did override Google's no external storage motif.

Sony retains UMS because well, they want their phones to work with their other stuff (stereos etc)

When I look at Sony's other stuff like docking speakers, they seem to be designed for iPhones, and not their own mobile products. It's been like this for a long time.

A while back I had a Sony Walkman media player that could be docked into something, however all the Sony docking speakers and stereos had Apple iPod/iPhone docks, that were incompatible with their own Walkman players.

 

[Slug]

When I look at Sony's other stuff like docking speakers, they seem to be designed for iPhones, and not their own mobile products. It's been like this for a long time.

Speaker docks are old hat these days. These days, most Sony products designed for use with their own mobile products are wireless. Sony UK offers twenty different wireless speaker solutions alone, all with Bluetooth and several also with wifi connectivity.

 

[fdbryant3]

I have another option for you, particularly for the limited uses you really want the phone for. It looks like Windows Phone 8 supports UMS and I understand some the Nokia ones can be had for relatively cheap yet be pretty powerful.

Anyway just an alternative to Apple.

 

[davoid]

Is there any option for me besides rooting or should I just give up and buy an iPhone?

I would root rather than buy an iPhone.

Why is that not an option?

 

[mscheaf]

I actually did root it now. Still can't get it to work. All of the USB mass storage apps won't work. Apparently it is something Samsung or VM put into their kernel.

This guy explains it:

[APP][ROOT] SG USB Mass Storage Enabler - Page 19 - xda-developers

So basically my phone will never do this I guess. I assume a new ROM comes with a new kernel, but I am not willing to put a whole new rom on this phone.

 

[davoid]

If you're rooted, look for a new kernel to flash that enables UMS. You can keep your current ROM.

 

[mscheaf]

Yes, they are separate from the OS, Linux and stuff, duh.