Not all files are visible over MTP

Question

I have LG L5 (e610 model) device with Cyanogenmod 10. When I connect the phone to a computer with Linux (I have mtpfs installed), I can see both internal storage and the SD card. However when I navigate inside them, I can't see some of the files.

For example, if I open file manager app on the phone, I can see several files in the Internal storage/Notifications directory, however the directory on the computer only shows one of those files.

If I switch USB connection type to PTP (camera) - as OS X doesn't support MTP natively - Image Capture sees the phone as a camera, however it can only see about a third of all the images present on the phone.

I don't have a Windows machine to try, but I suspect the results would be similar.

I tried upgrading Cyanogenmod to the latest nightly, clearing and reinstalling it - same results. Any idea as to what is going on? How can I make all files appear on the host computer?

Answer 1

This is apparently a known bug in Android which is not even acknowledged by Google since Oct 2012, bug #2 — depending on the method of creating files on the Android device, these files may remain invisible when accessing the device using MTP, until the device is rebooted.

Known workarounds include:

• Use USB storage mode instead of MTP, if it is supported by the phone. This is apparently not an option for LG Optimus L5 (e610), because this phone has unified internal storage (file storage is in /data/media on the same ext4 filesystem as /data), which cannot be exported as an USB storage device.

• Clear data of the “Media Storage” app, then use the SDrescan app to rebuild the media database (discussed here).

• Share files over the network using third-party apps such as AirDroid or one of Samba server apps (in the latter case you will need to have root to make the server reachable from most clients, including Windows).

Answer 2

Go to Settings > Apps > All applications > Media storage > tap 'Clear data'

Reboot and everything will appear in Windows Explorer once again.

Answer 3

Similar to ScoobyDo's answer:

1. Disconnect the USB cable from phone.
2. Click 'Clear data' on the Media Storage application.
3. Then 'Force stop'.
4. Reconnect the USB cable to phone.
5. The Media Storage application is restarted and rebuilds the media list.
6. Missing files are now available.
7. This avoids rebooting, which was important for me.

Your mileage may vary

Answer 4

I'm running a Galaxy Note 3.

The solution to the problem I found was by using the Android file browser and moving the folder/file I had downloaded to another directory that wasn't as cluttered.

This enabled me to see the 50mb .rar file I had downloaded and pulled it onto my PC.

I don't know if this solution will help anyone, but it worked for me.

Thanks all :)

Answer 5

1. Disconnect your device from PC
2. Move file to other directory like "Playlist" via file manager
3. Now, connect again your device and do your stuff with your files :)

Answer 6

Go to Menu > System Settings > Storage

1. Unmount SD card and press "OK"
2. Mount SD card

You will see Scanning media files on SD card... in the notification bar. This means you are fine and the stuff in SD card is rescanned so you can see them now :)

Answer 7

Tried the "Media Rescanner" app @georgiecasey linked to, but it did nothing. However, simply renaming the folder that was missing using a File Explorer app on my phone from "Music" to "Music1" did the trick - it showed up immediately in Android File Transfer. Simple, quick, dirty :)

The folder can easily be renamed back when you're done transferring. Easy solution for those one-off transfers, perhaps not the best one for often recurring ones though.

Answer 8

All I had to do is restart the Android device. In my case a Lenovo tablet, model A10-70F, Android version 6.0.

Answer 9

This is how I solved this problem on my Galaxy Note 3:

• Install FTP File Server Application on your Android device
• In your computer: Map network drive -> Add network location -> Choose FTP site -> enter the IP address of the FTP server
• Connect (unanimously or by ID) to the "Server" and you'll be able to access ALL folders and files in the Android device.