Comparing folders/files on mobile phone

[peterr]

I'm using the MTP protocol on Kubuntu for transferring files between a Samsung Galaxy S2 mobile phone.

Just wondering when this will be available in Linux - http://www.scootersoftware.com/support.php?zz=kb_phone

[Aaron]

Hello,

MTP:// syntax support is currently limited to Windows. To access your phone on Linux, you will need to mount and access it via the local file system, which you can browse to using the Browse dropdown -> Browse using file system dialog. Alternate methods include installing an FTP app on your phone and then accessing it via FTP. Depending on your version of Android, there are usually multiple mount options available which may help.

[peterr]

Thanks for your reply Aaron. Is there any indication when MTP:// support will be available on Linux please. I can browse the phone now by just connecting the USB cable under Dolphin (a file manager). It would be much easier if I could view it in Beyond Compare, as there are sometimes quite a few files to manage. Also, as Beyond Compare can 'force' the timestamp, that would be great, as a normal copy under Dolphin always defaults to the current timestamp on the destination (mobile phone), not the correct timestamp.

I may try to actually mount it though, as that may give greater control.

[Zoë]

We don't currently have Linux support for MTP:// scheduled, and I don't expect that to change short term. I looked into it when I was adding the Windows implementation, but, since most MTP devices are only tested with Windows Explorer, and we'd have to use libmtp directly, rather than relying on Gnome/KDE's wrappers, it would have been a lot of effort for what would have likely been a buggy, maintenance prone feature.

As for timestamps being set to the current date, that is a limitation in Android's MTP implementation that Beyond Compare on Windows shares. Unfortunately, using an FTP or SMB server like Aaron recommended really is the best approach if you need more complete control over the files.

[peterr]

Thanks for your reply. Looks like it is either FTP or SMB server.

[peterr]

Just a fyi

There is a feature on my mobile phone called 'Turn on USB storage'. With that enabled, the phone is shown as all other USB devices are. So, I can use a Beyond Compare window because it is mounted under /media/....../

Can see everything using this method, all hidden files/folders. Much better view than just attaching with the USB cable and using MTP.

[Aaron]

Great news. That option is not always available, given the device or version of Android. I'm glad you were able to dig that one up and activate it.

[card13]

I know this is an old thread, but it's exactly what I'm looking for. It has now been 4rs and lots of dev on all sides. Is this still an impossible feature to request or is it possible to implement MTP protocol functionality into the Linux ver of Beyond Compare 4?

[Aaron]

Hello,

Many of the same limitations are still in place. If you are familiar with any software solution which can expose the phone as a mounted location or over the network, this can handle that part of the chain, and BC4 (and any other utility) can then interact with it. Or, like above, if the phone has a USB Storage Option (many do) this would also help it work with your OS and any software running on it.

[peterr]

What I have experienced is what Aaron has stated. The trick is to have the phone mounted. These days I use

go-mtpfs

I looked in Synaptic and it appears to be part of the provided packages, although there is a reference to https://github.com/hanwen/go-mtpfs

When you connect the usb cable, it won't work if the usual Dolphin (or whatever file manager you use) prompts are responded to. Just IGNORE those prompts, and keep taking the ALLOW option on the phone. It only took two attempts today before it was mounted

$ go-mtpfs /home/********/myphone
2021/01/26 07:54:30 selectStorages failed: EOF
$ go-mtpfs /home/********/myphone
2021/01/26 07:54:42 FUSE mounted

Once it is mounted, I can just open BC4 and all the files on the phone are accessible. The mobile phone is:

Samsung Galaxy S5
Model SM-G900I
Andrioid version 6.0.1

To unmount the phne

[FONT=monospace][COLOR=#000000]fusermount -u /home/********/myphone[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Aaron]

Thanks, Peterr!

[a-bentofreire]

I had so many problems with MTP protocol while trying to sync with android phones.
In some phones work, and in others, it limits the write access to files on the phone.
I solved the problem by installing the SSHelper app on the android phone, and on the linux side, I connect via sshfs, and then I use BC for manual sync process.

[peterr]

We don't currently have Linux support for MTP:// scheduled, and I don't expect that to change short term. I looked into it when I was adding the Windows implementation, but, since most MTP devices are only tested with Windows Explorer, and we'd have to use libmtp directly, rather than relying on Gnome/KDE's wrappers, it would have been a lot of effort for what would have likely been a buggy, maintenance prone feature.

Do you have any date for when this will be available in Linux please ?

[Aaron]

Hello,

No, we don't have a date for this feature as an internal feature within BC; because BC4 runs on a variety of Linux versions and a wide variety of devices, we don't have as good of a solution as dedicated apps specifically designed to create a bound location. Your solution is the one I've been recommending for users that need 'mtp', while I still recommend other protocols (like a-bentofreire encountered) for reliability.

[peterr]

Thanks Aaron. I've found the solution I recommended works fine for one particular Samsung phone, and may of course works for other models. But that method does not work for a Samsung Tab A 10 at all. I may look at the SSHelper app or other secure server tools. I get it that BC can't address all the different connection protocols on many different devices, plus many different OS's. Thanks