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Help No files/ drive visible over usb

br4sso

Lurker
Jun 5, 2016
9
7
New moto g 3rd, android 6.0, no sd. The phone itself appears in windows, but with no drive to explore. If I put an sd in (portable or internal) it can read it ok (although this sometimes doesn't work)

I've set it to MTP on the main menu (from charge only). I've also tried enabling dev settings, and setting it to MTP there as well. I've tried going into apps - system and cleared data and cache for both external and media storage (with restart). I've also tried clearing out the /cache through the funky system startup as another site suggested. No dice.

If factory reset is the best option - that is an option as it's new. Gone back to first phone for now.

Thanks in advance!
 
Sound like the phone did not install itself properly. You could plug your phone into the PC, set to file transfer on the phone and then go into the control panel under devices, USB and see it the phone shows up correctly ie green tick.

Another option is to use a different USB port and see if the drivers get installed correctly that way.
 
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I have this same problem on my desktop and I believe its because I have so many USB drivers installed for the many Android devices I own and test with.

I'm unwilling to de-install them all just to get one of them to work ( :p ), so I usually transfer and navigate to the device's "SD card" using an adb shell session.

Based on this, I'd guess that you do indeed have a USB driver issue or conflict...barring that, @Jfalls63's suggestion of Airdroid is probably a good option for you.
 
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Right then, what I would do here is go back to basics.

I would uninstall the phone drivers from the PC, reboot the PC and check the drivers all clear,

Then I would plug the phone back into the PC and let windows install the default drivers without touching your device. Wait until windows has finished and then check to see if your phone shows in windows Explorer, if it does but a double click on the icon does nothing then check your phone is in transfer mode. If not a quick change should do the trick.
 
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Thanks again for the responses. I've installed Airdroid, but when I go into my phone and try: file transfer -> airdroid desktop -> internal storage, it shows 'nothing here'!

I've also installed file manager+, and when I try to open 'main storage' I get 'Loading Error!'.

I reckon this device's storage is fubared. As I say, I can reproduce the usb problem on a couple of PCs, one old, one new, so I'm inclined towards it being the device.

However, I'm happy to try your suggestion next Jay, to rule it out if nothing else.

Thanks again.
 
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So I've just plugged in my old motog (which shows up as xtc1032 in file explorer), and it too had no internal. I uninstalled the motorola ui/ drivers and plugged it back in again, and it installed ok, and internal became visible again.

But when I plugged in the motog3, still no internal :(

I wonder if it's something to do with this model?
 
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So did you uninstall the Motog3 drivers first? Try removing all phone drivers incase there is a conflict going on and then try just the motog3.

Here are a few other thoughts:
  • You might like to try your phone in safe mode and see if the PC picks it up, (not sure if this work in safe mode tho)
  • Check the connector on the phone for damage,
  • Try a different USB cable,
  • Wiggle/hold the USB cable at different angles were it enters the phone and listen for a disconnect sound - maybe have Explorer open and watch to see if the phone appears or disappears whilst moving the cable?
 
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Ok, so I found out how to show 'hidden' drivers in device manager, and deleted anything greyed out - got a bit carried away with deleting usb drivers and found my keyboard and mouse no longer worked XD

But even after a reboot, I'm afraid none of the suggestions above have worked. Since it can see sd's (portable or internal) I don't think it's the cable or usb slot at either end, but I did try changing cable, and a bit of a wiggle, but no luck I'm afraid.

Might just send it back I think. I'm a windows dev, rather than android, but are there any apps for debugging the usb/ internal storage? File manager+ just said 'error'.

Maybe reformat the whole device? Would factory reset do this?

Thanks for your time btw
 
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That's a shame. As your phone is new it may well be worth a try doing a factory reset, internal space will be formatted, SD card with linked data won't be formatted but some data will probably be removed.

Have you tried Motorola support on Twitter? I find some support through Twitter good, some horrific!! :p
 
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Thanks again for the responses. I've installed Airdroid, but when I go into my phone and try: file transfer -> airdroid desktop -> internal storage, it shows 'nothing here'!

Start the Airdroid app on your phone, tap the 'Start' button. Take note there's two web addresses towards the top, the bold, larger type one is for when you use an AirDroid online account (which isn't a requirement, it's just an option). Skip that and pay attention to the lighter faced, smaller type web address under it, that's the one you can always use to just transfer files between your phone and your computer over your home's WiFi. Now go to your computer, start up whatever web browser you use and type in that address, it's just an IP and port number (i.e. mine is typically something like http://10.0.0.5:8888). When you hit the Enter key on your computer's keyboard you'll then get prompted by the Airdroid app on your phone to approve or deny the connection. Once you allow it your browser window will fill with a window simulating different things you can do remotely on your computer to your phone. So basically you'll be doing your file transfers through your computer's web browser, the Android app is just how you establish the connection.

AirDroid is a nice option where you don't need to have a USB cable with you and you don't need to install any drivers or mess with any settings on your target computer. I like it because I can just use any web browser (make's no difference if it's Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge, Safari, etc.) on any computer (Linux, Mac, Windows) to transfer files without having to screw around things like user level permissions.
 
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