OS X/microSD compatibility woes

[maizestalk]

I have an S7, a MacBook Pro (OS X 10.9.2) and a 128GB SanDisk microSD (w/ adapter) and am having some problems.

If I format the microSD on the MacBook and transfer files over, things run smoothly and the files seem to be picked up by apps when the card is inserted into the S7. However, if I take the microSD out of the S7 and try to transfer some more files over, I run into read/write errors (error -36 in particular). No files show up on the microSD in Finder, even though Get Info correctly displays that some space on the microSD is taken up.

The same thing happens if I format the microSD using the S7 and then try to transfer files after inserting it into the MacBook.

Long story short: as soon as the microSD interacts with the S7, this stops it from working properly with the MacBook.

Any advice much appreciated - sorry if there's relevant information that I've left out.

 

[chanchan05]

Well, why are you even bothering to take it out of the S7? Just plug the S7 into the computer. I'd think Macs can read MTP devices.

 

[maizestalk]

Well, why are you even bothering to take it out of the S7? Just plug the S7 into the computer. I'd think Macs can read MTP devices.

Hi, thanks for replying!

Macs don't support MTP mounting - to transfer between Android phones and a computer running OS X, Android File Transfer has to be used (which is fairly unreliable - often lots of restarting required).

So, to get the files on the microSD without putting the microSD into the Mac, I'd have to transfer the files to the S7 using AFT and then transfer them from the internal storage to the microSD storage using the phone. (This is what I'm doing now, but seems unnecessarily clunky - it also precludes getting any files saved to the microSD from the phone (photos etc.) to the Mac easily).

 

[tube517]

I'm not an Apple fan but I do have an old iMac on El Capitan. AFT works fine, no reboots.

Are there issues with Mavericks and AFT, maybe? I did a quick google search and saw some issues.

 

[lunatic59]

My guess is that the SD card is not unmounted cleanly when you remove it from your S7 and that's why your Mac won't see it when you reinsert it. Is there an option under storage to unmount or eject the SD card?

Sorry, I don't have a recent Galaxy device so I can only guess hat Samsung as in the menus.

 

[bIOforger]

Correct you can de/unmount the SD card when its in the phone, try this definitely, or failing that get a proper PC

 

[lunatic59]

... failing that get a proper PC

Yes, of course ... get one running Linux!

Honestly, all OS mocking aside, it might actually be very helpful if you tried to read the card in a Windows and/or Linux PC and see if there are any telling messages when trying to mount. Unfortunately OS X has always been very restricted in letting the user know when something goes wrong.

 

[maizestalk]

My guess is that the SD card is not unmounted cleanly when you remove it from your S7 and that's why your Mac won't see it when you reinsert it. Is there an option under storage to unmount or eject the SD card?

Sorry, I don't have a recent Galaxy device so I can only guess hat Samsung as in the menus.

Alas, I too thought it might have been the result of me removing the microSD card without properly ejecting it - but the problem occurs even when the microSD is ejected using the appropriate S7 menu before being physically removed. (Including when freshly formatting the microSD using the S7 and then properly ejecting it before putting it into the Mac).

Yes, of course ... get one running Linux!

Honestly, all OS mocking aside, it might actually be very helpful if you tried to read the card in a Windows and/or Linux PC and see if there are any telling messages when trying to mount. Unfortunately OS X has always been very restricted in letting the user know when something goes wrong.

Thanks - I'll throw it into a Windows laptop and see if reading/writing functions okay.

 

[bIOforger]

And this is another reason why i refuse to buy/use Apple products, i hope you find a solution.

 

[bcrichster]

Put the sdHC/XC switch to the regular microSD selection

 

[musiclover7]

I never bother with plugging the phone in to transfer files anymore. Far more easy to do it wirelessly with a program like x-plore or ESfile explorer. The days of needing to plug in to sync files with Android are long over, and this is one of the main things I prefer about this device over iphone.

 

[musiclover7]

I guess it might not be that easy to do this on MAC, but here are some instructions for setting up your android for FTP access via ESfile explorer.

https://seo-michael.co.uk/manage-files-on-android-device-via-pc-using-ftp-on-es-file-explorer/

good luck!

 

[maizestalk]

Put the sdHC/XC switch to the regular microSD selection

Hi, thanks - unfortunately, I don't quite think I follow. What's the sdHC/XC switch that you're referring to? Apologies for being slow.

I guess it might not be that easy to do this on MAC, but here are some instructions for setting up your android for FTP access via ESfile explorer.

https://seo-michael.co.uk/manage-files-on-android-device-via-pc-using-ftp-on-es-file-explorer/

good luck!

Thanks for this - FTP is another alternative I'm considering if I don't get this sorted. I'll bookmark this for (potential use) later!

Thanks, all, for the tips so far. A helpful bunch!