Desktop support
KDE uses the MTP KIO Slave with a similar level of integration as GVfs. This requires the kio-extras package to be installed. When a phone is connected and set to transfer files with MTP, KDE will open the Device Notifier and show an entry for it. From here, you can take actions such as opening it as a folder in Dolphin, or viewing the photos on your device through Gwenview.
Others
A desktop-agnostic tool that allows you to simply mount and manage files on MTP-connected devices is gMTP, which can be obtained by installing the gmtp package.
libmtp
libmtp provides support for MTP devices. Its device support changes with each version of its code, thus you may need a particular version of libmtp (or greater) to support your particular device: e.g., the MotoG phone is not supported directly before libmtp version == 1.1.8 per its maintainers.
Commandline
- mtp-tools
- install package name=mtp-tools
- TODO: document usage, but see below.
- jmtpfs
- Uses FUSE to mount your device’s MTP structure into a POSIX filesystem, and fusermount to unmount the device.
- install package name=jmtpfs
- create as your mount point: $ mkdir -p
- make sure you have write access to : $ sudo chown $USER:$USER
- to mount your device: $ jmtpfs
- On some MTP devices: your screen must be unlocked in order to mount. However, you might get a (spurious) input/output error even if the screen is unlocked.
- to unmount your device: $ fusermount -u
- mtpfs
- mtpfs has been orphaned since Squeeze, anyway mtpfs is very similar to jmtpfs, except for the executable name, package name, and package status
- install package name=mtpfs
- to mount your device: $ mtpfs
- to unmount your device: $ fusermount -u
testing and debugging device connection
- Your Debian host's desktop should open a file browser (e.g., a nautilus window) showing the browsable contents of a location. If the location is mounted in your filespace, you should not need to read further from this article. Alternatively, the location will be shown with a URI beginning with mtp://, which will not be mounted, but can be manipulated via the usual means provided by your file browser (including copying and deleting files). If you wish to actually mount that location (i.e., your target device), read on.
- The target device may also show some GUI, such as choosing the connection mode. If so, choose mode=MTP.
- Check your connection, e.g., the USB cable. If fixing that does not make your target device browseable as described above, then .
- Check which version of libmtp and associated packages you have installed on your Debian host: see following section=device statuses. Install them if not already done. You will minimally need to have the executable mtp-detect in your path.
- Run mtp-detect from your host with your target device attached.
$ sudo mtp-detect Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled. libmtp version: 1.1.8 Listing raw device(s) No raw devices found.
. stop and seek help elsewhere. If you see results like
$ sudo mtp-detect Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled. libmtp version: 1.1.8 Listing raw device(s) Device 0 (VID= and PID=) is UNKNOWN. Please report this VID/PID and the device model to the libmtp development team Found 1 device(s):
. your target device is not currently supported. As noted in the result, you should report it to the libmtp maintainers by making a feature request like this one.
$ mtp-detect Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled. libmtp version: 1.1.8 Listing raw device(s) Device 0 OK.
then you should be able to mount the target device onto your host's filespace as discussed in the following example.
Example: laptop, MotoG, USB, libmtp, jmtpfs
device statuses
I have a (working) 1st-generation Motorola MotoG running Android version=4.4.4 that I wish to mount on a Debian laptop. Latter has
$ cat /etc/debian_version jessie/sid $ uname -rv 3.11-2-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.11.8-1 (2013-11-13) $ gcc --version | head -n 1 gcc (Debian 4.8.2-1) 4.8.2
Note that libmtp version >= 1.1.8 supports the MotoG per its maintainers. After fiddling with APT and my repositories, I have
$ aptitude versions --disable-columns mtp | grep -e '^Package\|^i' | grep -vie 'dovecot\|mtpaint\|smtp' Package gmtp: Package gmtp:i386: Package jmtpfs: i 0.5-2 100 Package kio-mtp: Package kio-mtp-dbg: Package kio-mtp-dbg:i386: Package kio-mtp:i386: Package libmtp-common: i 1.1.8-1 100 Package libmtp-dbg: Package libmtp-dbg:i386: Package libmtp-dev: Package libmtp-dev:i386: Package libmtp-doc: i 1.1.8-1 100 Package libmtp-runtime: i 1.1.8-1+b1 100 Package libmtp-runtime:i386: Package libmtp9: i 1.1.8-1+b1 100 Package libmtp9:i386: i 1.01-3 testing 500 Package mtp-tools: i 1.1.6-20-g1b9f164-1 testing 500 Package mtp-tools:i386: Package python-pymtp: Package uucp-lmtp:
setup/check Debian host
# make mount point . $ mkdir -p ~/Android_transfer/ # . and unmount it $ fusermount -u /home/me/Android_transfer $ ls -al ~/Android_transfer/ total 8 drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 4096 Apr 5 20:08 . drwxr-xr-x 50 me me 4096 Apr 5 21:09 ..
With no MTP devices connected to the laptop, I see (from the laptop)
$ date ; jmtpfs -l Sun Apr 5 20:08:46 EDT 2015 Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled. Available devices (busLocation, devNum, productId, vendorId, product, vendor):
successful jmtpfs mount
I then unlocked the MotoG's screen and connected it to the laptop with a USB cable.
Immediately upon connecting, a nautilus window opened on the laptop showing the browsable contents of location=mtp://[usb:001,040]/ with device name=XT1028. I can also see (from the laptop)
$ date ; jmtpfs -l Sun Apr 5 20:09:06 EDT 2015 Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled. Device 0 (VID=22b8 and PID=2e82) is a Motorola Moto G (ID2). Available devices (busLocation, devNum, productId, vendorId, product, vendor): 1, 41, 0x2e82, 0x22b8, Moto G (ID2), Motorola
I can then mount the MotoG's storage with
$ jmtpfs ~/Android_transfer/ Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled. Device 0 (VID=22b8 and PID=2e82) is a Motorola Moto G (ID2). Android device detected, assigning default bug flags $ ls -al ~/Android_transfer/ total 4 drwxr-xr-x 3 me me 0 Dec 31 1969 . drwxr-xr-x 50 me me 4096 Apr 5 21:09 .. drwxr-xr-x 12 me me 0 Oct 2 4448648 Internal storage $ ls -al ~/Android_transfer/Internal\ storage/ total 0 drwxr-xr-x 12 me me 0 Oct 2 4448648 . drwxr-xr-x 3 me me 0 Dec 31 1969 .. drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Alarms drwxr-xr-x 3 me me 0 Aug 26 2014 Android drwxr-xr-x 3 me me 0 Feb 13 19:50 DCIM drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Download drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Movies drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Music drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Notifications drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Pictures drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Podcasts drwxr-xr-x 2 me me 0 Aug 31 2024 Ringtones
. and unmount the MotoG's storage with
$ fusermount -u /home/me/Android_transfer $ ls -al ~/Android_transfer/Internal\ storage/ ls: cannot access /home/me/Android_transfer/Internal storage/: No such file or directory
failed jmtpfs mount
I initially tried to mount the MotoG using sudo. Don't do that! You'll get results like
$ sudo jmtpfs ~/Android_transfer/ Unable to open ~/.mtpz-data for reading, MTPZ disabled. Device 0 (VID=22b8 and PID=2e82) is a Motorola Moto G (ID2). ignoring libusb_claim_interface() = -6PTP_ERROR_IO: failed to open session, trying again after resetting USB interface LIBMTP libusb: Attempt to reset device Android device detected, assigning default bug flags $ ls -al ~/Android_transfer/ ls: cannot access /home/me/Android_transfer/: Permission denied $ sudo ls -al ~/Android_transfer/ ls: cannot access /home/me/Android_transfer/: Permission denied $ sudo fusermount -u /home/me/Android_transfer
Remember: MTP filesystems are implemented as FUSE, which means Filesystem in your Userspace.
copy files off your smarphone with mtp-getfile
First install the mtp-tools package:
$ sudo apt-get install mtp-tools
Then get the list of available files:
file_list.txt will now contain entries like this:
File ID: 81 Filename: WP_20161029_16_26_49_Pro.jpg File size 936160 (0x00000000000E48E0) bytes Parent ID: 12 Storage ID: 0x00010001 Filetype: JPEG file
where "Parent ID" is something like the folder where the file resides on the smartphone. So you'll want to do something like this to get that particular file:
mkdir "12" mtp-getfile "81" "12/WP_20161029_16_26_49_Pro.jpg"
Yes, the mkdir "12" and the 12 from the Parent ID in the local file is important.
How do I mount my Android phone?
I'm puzzled because my phone used to just appear when I plugged it in. It doesn't anymore and The development options are definitely set to allow USB debugging. The phone is charging via USB but doesn't appear in lsusb
[0 amanda@luna android-sdk-linux_86]$ lsusb Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 001 Device 004: ID 17ef:4807 Lenovo UVC Camera Bus 003 Device 012: ID 413c:1003 Dell Computer Corp. Keyboard Hub Bus 003 Device 003: ID 08ff:2810 AuthenTec, Inc. AES2810 Bus 003 Device 013: ID 413c:2010 Dell Computer Corp. Keyboard Bus 003 Device 014: ID 046d:c001 Logitech, Inc. N48/M-BB48 [FirstMouse Plus] adb devices -l shows nothing. In my Wireless and Network settings I changed the USB connection settings to "Mass storage" -- they were set to "Ask on connection" though I definitely wasn't getting asked. I don't get any Click here to connect via USB alert either. I'm not even sure whether the issue is my phone or my computer. It seems odd that it isn't even appearing in lsusb Not for nothing, the thumb drive on my keyring also does not appear in lsusb -- I've tried both in a bunch of different ports. I kind of assume the thumb drive is just borked, but it could be my OS.