Why can't I mount my phone?

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GeorgiaMutt
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Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by GeorgiaMutt »

I've found older posts on this in this and other forums, but nobody seems to have found a reliable solution.

When I connect my phone (a Blackview BV4900 Pro) to my computer with a USB cable, I get a message saying "Unable to mount MTP device "003,011"". I have the phone set as an MTP device for file transfer, and it works okay in Windows with the same cable. So, I wonder if I'm missing some kind of driver, or interface software?

Has anyone found out what's causing this, or a reliable solution?
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Jymm
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Jymm »

Did you install " mtp-tools " to you computer?
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Olaf2020

Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Olaf2020 »

if it still doesn't work, also install the gmtp package

Code: Select all

sudo apt install gmtp
and then with connected smartphone write us the output of this

Code: Select all

lsusb
Kurt3162
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Kurt3162 »

Don't know if that helps, but I routinely get the same message (can't mount), and some time later (variable, from a couple seconds to up to 10 minutes) the phone eventually appears. It's been doing this since Mint 18 (IIRC). Did you let it connected long enough?
GeorgiaMutt
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by GeorgiaMutt »

Okay, thanks for the replies everyone. Yes, I did instal MTP-Tools and rebooted. The phone seems to connect occasionally, but not reliably. I'm going to try the GMTP and see if that helps. And yes, I'll try leaving it connected for a while longer next time.

Thanks again everybody!
Olaf2020

Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Olaf2020 »

in case it doesn't work, write us also the output of the command

Code: Select all

lsusb
with the phone connected with the USB cable.
GeorgiaMutt
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by GeorgiaMutt »

Okay, I think I'm on the track of something bigger here. I've found that when I connect a USB drive with an OTG cable, Android is deliberately restricting users' access to their own folders, supposedly in the interest of privacy/security. From my research, this appears to be a new "feature" in Android 12. Attempt to connect to a flashdrive with an OTG cable and you get this message: "Can't use this folder - To protect your privacy, choose another folder". There's also the option to "CREATE ANOTHER FOLDER". So this appears to be intentional on Google's part, not a bug. I'm looking for workarounds (that hopefully won't involve rooting the phone), and if I find something that works I'll post it.
GeorgiaMutt
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by GeorgiaMutt »

Okay, here are a couple of fixes/workarounds I've found so far. This still doesn't allow direct connection to the PC, but will facilitate use of a USB drive through an OTG cable. The restrictions seem to be built into the latest version of Google Files (on Android 12), following beta release 3.1. You can go into SETTINGS/APPS/FILES, open the 3-dot menu, and tell it to uninstall updates. This sets you back to the older version of Files, which won't restrict your access this way. If you search a little, there are also "pre-beta-3.1" Google Files APKs out there, which you can download and sideload, but I don't know if it's okay to post direct link to an executable file here.

There's also a paid app ($4.99) called MiXplorer which enables you to designate folders for user access. There's a Youtube video showing how to use it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HX2Shw2SyM

Hope this helps.
Kurt3162
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Kurt3162 »

Android restrictions might mess things further up, but I'm experiencing this issue with a really old Android, so there is also some wavering in Mint's MTP protocol handling...
Olaf2020

Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Olaf2020 »

I don't understand why you don't post the output of the command I gave you, you could find the solution, the one I use with my android 11 without problems accessing files on the phone and on the sd card.

I connect it to the pc with the cable supplied with the phone for recharging a simple usb / usbc
GeorgiaMutt
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by GeorgiaMutt »

Okay, I seem to have gotten to the bottom of the mystery, and it's stupidly simple.

Olaf2020, thanks for the suggestion, but as it turns out I'm not going to have to try it after all.

After experimenting with several other phones, I discovered that all it took to make my phone mount was to reboot the computer. Just that simple. I tried that because this phone has worked before, and seems to work *sometimes*, but not others. So I tried something I've learned to do in Linux Mint, I just shut the machine completely down, and re-started it. Plugged the phone in and it worked perfectly. So it looks like after everything, this is just another little Linux Mint glitch.

I'm going to have to put a sticky note on my monitor reminding me to try rebooting *every time* I hit a snag in Linux, before I start overthinking and posting questions.

Thanks again everyone!
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Jymm
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Jymm »

Rebooting is ALWAYS a good first trouble shooting option. Glad you got your phone connected. It is actually easier these days, used to be many phones need a USB driver added to the phone itself before they would connect to a computer.
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Jymm
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Re: Why can't I mount my phone?

Post by Jymm »

I hadn't had to mount my android phone for awhile and had trouble doing it yesterday. I had the Connected Devices> USB on Charge not on File Transfer so my laptop couldn't find and mount the phone. It took me a bit but I finally remembered. Something to keep in mind if your phone doesn't mount.
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