5 ms·

Ability to Access Your Android Phone in File Explorer for Windows Insiders

gchamonlive 2y ago
> You can open them, copy them to your PC, copy PC files to your phone, rename files, move them, and delete them Don't even use windows, but no thanks. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33047150 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33047150 https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/warning-latest-windows-10-update-as-of-4-11-2023/91f494a2-c326-4486-ade2-f26031a48b36 https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/warnin...
- Saris 2y ago
  Sounds like a case of people not having working backups in place. I don't care what OS you use, hardware fails, bugs happen, files get corrupted or accidentally deleted. Have backups.
  - gchamonlive 2y ago
    Lack of responsibility from OS manufacturers isn't exactly a scenario you cover when doing backups. You need to trust the OS first.
    - Saris 2y ago
      Why not? Normal backups for hardware failure and stuff would cover that.
      - gchamonlive 2y ago
        because if you don't trust your OS how can you trust its output? Or that it won't delete something important that will cascade into your backups without you knowing, poisoning the backups? There is always the problem of trusting trust https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rdriley/487/papers/Thompson_1984_ReflectionsonTrustingTrust.pdf https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rdriley/487/papers/Thompson_1984_Ref...
        Saris 2y ago
        You can't trust any OS fully for that IMO. There have been file corruption bugs on Linux filesystems too. And there's always the possibility of an app you install having a bug and corrupting things as well. One example is Nextcloud had a bug that reset the date/time on my files to 0/0/0 0:0 which required a full restore from backups. That's why having backups is important, if you have staggered versioning that goes back at least a year or more, and you notice something is wrong eventually, you can recover from just about anything.
- hobs 2y ago
  Do you think that any file system is immune from you moving files to weird places? I hate on windows on the time but this is a truly silly take.
  - gchamonlive 2y ago
    It's not about a file system, but an integration. No amount of care can account for automations deleting your data. Maybe backups, but you need to trust your OS before trusting your backups.
Elfener 2y ago
Their image shows the actual /sdcard/ directory open, but doesn't android (google) want people to not give apps access to that folder directly? (giving permission for that folder is not allowed in the new api I think, for "security" and "privacy" purposes, definitely not just to dumb their phone down...).
Saris 2y ago
Neat, just an easier to use SMB share I guess.
daniel_reetz 2y ago
I am so excited to see this. I normally use Samsung Dex to access my phone, which is a decent way to type and file manage on a Windows PC. But it's crashy. My phone is my primary camera, and getting files on and off still sucks unless you want to use spyware like Dropbox - which I don't. First class filesystem access would be fantastic.
- dTal 2y ago
  Have you considered Syncthing? It's like p2p Dropbox. Open source and works great. Every photo I take with my phone magically appears on my laptop.
  - daniel_reetz 2y ago
    Yes. I haven't been able to get it to work reliably on any of my systems. Problem might be me.
juujian 2y ago
Have enjoyed this possibility with KDEconnect for a while. Surprising how cutting edge open source can be.
- Zambyte 2y ago
  You can even access files on Android in Emacs over USB. https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/tramp/Android-shell-setup.html https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/tramp/An...
stronglikedan 2y ago
But I still can't drag a file to the task bar and drop it on a program to open it, or hover over an icon to shift focus to the icon's app and drop it onto that app (e.g., to copy it). For shame. Microsoft, for shame.
martijnvds 2y ago
Isn't this already supported using PTP since basically forever? I've been copying files to/from my phone for years. In recent Android versions you need to explicitly set the "USB mode" for security reasons, but if you do it works. Sure it's wired but how is that the problem?
- rty32 2y ago
  Second paragraph: With this new experience, you will be able to wirelessly browse through all your folders and files Maybe read the article first?
  - gabrielsroka 2y ago
    > Please don't comment on whether someone read an article. "Did you even read the article? It mentions that" can be shortened to "The article mentions that" https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - martijnvds 2y ago
    I read it, but I don't get why it's needed, because everyone has USB cables to charge the device anyway, that can be used to attach it to a computer.
    - kevincox 2y ago
      Because if I'm sitting at my computer working and realize that I want a file from my phone it is much easier to just open Windows Explorer than 1. Find my phone 2. Maybe need to find a cable 3. Plug in phone and cable.
    - rty32 2y ago
      Your original question: > Isn't this already supported using PTP since basically forever? I can't see how you fail to see why this (i.e. reading files wirelessly) is actually not "already supported" if you read the article.

> You can open them, copy them to your PC, copy PC files to your phone, rename files, move them, and delete them Don't even use windows, but no thanks. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33047150 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33047150 https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/warning-latest-windows-10-update-as-of-4-11-2023/91f494a2-c326-4486-ade2-f26031a48b36 https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/warnin...

Saris 2y ago
Sounds like a case of people not having working backups in place. I don't care what OS you use, hardware fails, bugs happen, files get corrupted or accidentally deleted. Have backups.
- gchamonlive 2y ago
  Lack of responsibility from OS manufacturers isn't exactly a scenario you cover when doing backups. You need to trust the OS first.
  - Saris 2y ago
    Why not? Normal backups for hardware failure and stuff would cover that.
    - gchamonlive 2y ago
      because if you don't trust your OS how can you trust its output? Or that it won't delete something important that will cascade into your backups without you knowing, poisoning the backups? There is always the problem of trusting trust https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rdriley/487/papers/Thompson_1984_ReflectionsonTrustingTrust.pdf https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rdriley/487/papers/Thompson_1984_Ref...
      - Saris 2y ago
        You can't trust any OS fully for that IMO. There have been file corruption bugs on Linux filesystems too. And there's always the possibility of an app you install having a bug and corrupting things as well. One example is Nextcloud had a bug that reset the date/time on my files to 0/0/0 0:0 which required a full restore from backups. That's why having backups is important, if you have staggered versioning that goes back at least a year or more, and you notice something is wrong eventually, you can recover from just about anything.
hobs 2y ago
Do you think that any file system is immune from you moving files to weird places? I hate on windows on the time but this is a truly silly take.
- gchamonlive 2y ago
  It's not about a file system, but an integration. No amount of care can account for automations deleting your data. Maybe backups, but you need to trust your OS before trusting your backups.

Elfener 2y ago

Their image shows the actual /sdcard/ directory open, but doesn't android (google) want people to not give apps access to that folder directly? (giving permission for that folder is not allowed in the new api I think, for "security" and "privacy" purposes, definitely not just to dumb their phone down...).

Saris 2y ago

Neat, just an easier to use SMB share I guess.

daniel_reetz 2y ago

I am so excited to see this. I normally use Samsung Dex to access my phone, which is a decent way to type and file manage on a Windows PC. But it's crashy. My phone is my primary camera, and getting files on and off still sucks unless you want to use spyware like Dropbox - which I don't. First class filesystem access would be fantastic.

dTal 2y ago
Have you considered Syncthing? It's like p2p Dropbox. Open source and works great. Every photo I take with my phone magically appears on my laptop.
- daniel_reetz 2y ago
  Yes. I haven't been able to get it to work reliably on any of my systems. Problem might be me.

juujian 2y ago

Have enjoyed this possibility with KDEconnect for a while. Surprising how cutting edge open source can be.

Zambyte 2y ago
You can even access files on Android in Emacs over USB. https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/tramp/Android-shell-setup.html https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/tramp/An...

stronglikedan 2y ago

But I still can't drag a file to the task bar and drop it on a program to open it, or hover over an icon to shift focus to the icon's app and drop it onto that app (e.g., to copy it). For shame. Microsoft, for shame.

martijnvds 2y ago

Isn't this already supported using PTP since basically forever? I've been copying files to/from my phone for years. In recent Android versions you need to explicitly set the "USB mode" for security reasons, but if you do it works. Sure it's wired but how is that the problem?

rty32 2y ago
Second paragraph: With this new experience, you will be able to wirelessly browse through all your folders and files Maybe read the article first?
- gabrielsroka 2y ago
  > Please don't comment on whether someone read an article. "Did you even read the article? It mentions that" can be shortened to "The article mentions that" https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- martijnvds 2y ago
  I read it, but I don't get why it's needed, because everyone has USB cables to charge the device anyway, that can be used to attach it to a computer.
  - kevincox 2y ago
    Because if I'm sitting at my computer working and realize that I want a file from my phone it is much easier to just open Windows Explorer than 1. Find my phone 2. Maybe need to find a cable 3. Plug in phone and cable.
  - rty32 2y ago
    Your original question: > Isn't this already supported using PTP since basically forever? I can't see how you fail to see why this (i.e. reading files wirelessly) is actually not "already supported" if you read the article.