It's no secret that the operating system Android widespread in the mobile world.
Such widespread use of the brainchild of Google provokes an increase in the number hacker attacks to this platform. In order to combat this unpleasant situation, the IT giant is trying to introduce new functions aimed at increased safety owners of devices with the Android system, but some of these functions may cause additional inconvenience. How to eliminate one of these inconveniences will be discussed below.
Restricting access to the memory card
On topic Memory on Android. All memory sections of Android devices we have already touched on the issue of mobile memory operating system. Many users of smartphones based on Android versions 4.4 and older are faced with a situation where programs from third-party developers do not have access to the root of the memory card. Moreover, it arises this problem and for those who purchased a new device already with Android KitKat and higher on board, and for those who upgraded to new system after the purchase.
Why can't Android programs access the root of the SD card?
The fact is that open access to the root of the drive - this is a big security hole in the entire operating system. In an attempt to protect users from intruders, Google has taken such a step as limiting access to the memory card.
Speaking in simple language, in many firmwares on Android based 4.4 and higher, third-party programs can no longer write data to the root of the memory card. The ability to write to directories located on a flash card is preserved. The situation is aggravated by the fact that this limitation affected all applications without exception, including file managers.
Not everyone is happy with this state of affairs, so below we will look at a way to return third party programs access to the root of the memory card.
It's finished! The tablet, namely the Asus MeMO Pad 7, which I replaced my honest hard worker, received an update to Android 5.0.1. Now I have a device with Lollipop, or, as they say on the Internet, with Lollipop.
The update arrived somewhat unexpectedly. To be honest, I was waiting for a new firmware for the phone (Asus ZenFone 5) in April - at least it was promised. No one said anything about the tablet, and here it’s up to you, get it and sign for it.
This, in fact, discouraged me (in a good way, of course), also because I purchased the tablet in December, and it had version 4.3. That is, this is the second significant update of the operating system (in fact, there were more updates, but the Android version number did not change). The previous manufacturer of my devices - Samsung - could not boast of such a rate of fire, although they also updated the operating system twice: from Android 3.2 to Android 4.1.2 (via 4.0.1). But we had to wait much longer for these new versions.
Well, long live surprises! Having received a notification about the release of a new firmware version, I immediately downloaded it, which is more than 700 meters, and launched the update. Since I downloaded not through , but through a mobile phone, everything took a little more time: from the start of the download to the completion of the update, about an hour passed. The update itself lasted about twenty minutes, but potentially could take longer - because after installing the operating system, the process of updating the installed programs follows. My counter counted to 205. But now, the process is over and it’s time to see what has changed.
The first thing that caught my eye was the more sophisticated graphics when unlocking the device. The second is the hand in the notification area. I endured it for a couple of days, hoping that by chance I would see something related to it somewhere. I didn't see it. Then I began to search purposefully and found an explanation for it on 4pda. It turns out that notifications are divided into important and not so important, and it is possible to specify which notifications you want to receive. If you set the option Always notify , then the hand disappears if the option Only important alerts , then the hand appears. To be honest, I removed my hand several times, but for some reason it always comes back. Why? I don't know yet.
Here, in fact, is the procedure for “removing” this hand:
The method given above is not complicated at all. But you can achieve the result even faster and easier: press one of the two volume control buttons - a window will appear on the screen that allows you to change the volume levels for various system components, and also, attention, control Alert modes . True, for some reason, these same Alert Modes are not always displayed in such a fast manner. I haven’t found a pattern yet, but, to be honest, I didn’t really look for it.
| Selecting an external memory card |
| and select the desired item from the menu |
Many happy owners of devices with 4.4.2 “on board” have probably already encountered the problem of the inability of most applications installed on the device to write data to a flash card. Made, according to Google, in order to make the Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS a more secure system.
Restrictions on writing to a flash card apply primarily to applications installed from third-party sources. And, most importantly, Android 4.4.2 KitKat prohibits modification of files that are not directly related to the applications that want to make this modification. Hence the inability to record to an SD card.
In practice, this limitation literally means the following: use standard messengers, photo editors, file managers! Because if the developer of your software was unable to respond in time and add an update to your photo editor, for example, then all your edited photos will be “live” while the photo editor is running - you will no longer be able to write your edited photos to the card!
More advanced users who constantly copy data from a flash drive to a computer and back may encounter the following problem: the computer detects your “ ”, sees the files, but cannot do anything with them - access is denied! This problem can be corrected by installing an application on your device that will give access to. But this application will only work on ROOT devices.
SDFix: KitKat Writable works simply: after installing and launching the application, you click on Continue, agree to the terms and click on Continue again. If the Superuser application is already installed on your device, then you should allow SDFix access to ROOT directories in it.
SDFix KitKat Writable MicroSD during its operation will change the file /system/etc/permissions/platform.xml, in which it will write permission for writing and modifying files by applications that have the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission. You can find the original modified SDFix: KitKat Writable MicroSD file by the name platform.xml.original-pre-sdfix. Subsequently, you can always restore the original file.
For the most “handy” users who have ROOT access on their device, there is an option to make corrections to the desired file without resorting to the help of SDFix: KitKat Writable MicroSD.
To do this, launch a file manager that can edit files, find the platform.xml file at /system/etc/permissions/, and open it using the built-in editor.
After that, find the android.permission.WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE and android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE sections and add the following lines of code in these sections:
After that, save the modified file in the editor.
After rebooting the device, all unpleasant problems associated with the inability to write and modify files on the flash card will be solved.
While developing a competition application, I encountered a database storage problem. The problem was how do I identify the external memory card. In general, a search on the Internet did not give an exact answer. Therefore, combining all the results found, I assembled my class. If anyone is interested, look under the cut.
So, let's start with the theory.
Terminology
Google tells us that there are the following concepts:- Internal ( internal) memory is part of the memory card built into the phone. When used by default, the application folder is protected from access by other applications (Using the Internal Storage).
- External ( external) memory is the general "external storage", i.e. this can be either part of the built-in memory or a device that can be removed. Usually this is part of the built-in memory, the last time I saw a device being removed was on Android 2.2, where the built-in memory was about 2GB, and the connected memory became external (Using the External Storage).
- Deleted ( removable) memory - all storage that can be removed from the device without “surgical” interventions.
Prior to KitKat 4.4, the API did not provide functionality for retrieving external memory paths. Starting with this version (API 19), the public abstract File function appeared getExternalFilesDirs(String type), which returns an array of strings with paths to internal and external memory. But what about our SD Card, which is inserted into the slot? We again cannot get the path to it.
searching results
To answer the question, I turned to the all-knowing Google. But he didn’t give me a clear answer either. Many definition options were considered, from using standard functions that lead to external memory, but they have nothing to do with the storage devices being removed, to processing device mounting rules (Android runs on the Linux kernel). In the latter cases, “hardwired” paths to the folder with mounted devices were used (this directory is different in different versions). Do not forget that mounting rules change from version to version.Ultimately, I decided to combine all the knowledge I had gained and wrote my own class, which can return paths to external and deleted devices.
Code description
A class has been created MountDevice, which contains the path to the device, the device type and a hash.There are two types of devices (I did not touch the internal memory, since it can be accessed through the system API).
Public enum MountDeviceType ( EXTERNAL_SD_CARD, REMOVABLE_SD_CARD )
And the class was created StorageHelper, which searches for available memory cards.
The StorageHelper class implements two search methods - through the system environment ( Environment) and using the Linux utility mount, or rather the result of its execution.
Method one - Environment
When working with the environment, I use the standard getExternalStorageDirectory() function to obtain information about external memory. To get information about the memory being deleted, I use the environment variable " SECONDARY_STORAGE".I did not find any official Android updates (for our region) on the official websites.
I found information on the forums that Google released a firmware version for Russia in January 2015. But it is being implemented very slowly on customer devices.
This way, I can wait until my device receives a message that there is a software update. After that I can update Android.
An attempt to save new information on a micro CD will fail if it is write-protected. There may be different reasons for the access denied message to appear. You can remove protection from microSD using several methods - software and physical. Let's look at the most relevant ones.
Unlocking microSD
Place the memory card on a flat surface or in the palm of your hand with the label facing up. On the top left side of the card body, find the small lock switch lever - the Lock button. “Locker” serves to protect information from accidental erasure. The lever can be flat and only slightly protrude from the body, and be white or silver in color. There is no such switch directly on microSD. Insert the card into the adapter and locate the Lock switch on the adapter itself. Move it all the way in the opposite direction.
After moving the Lock lever to the position of canceling the data protection status, the reappearance of the write error notification window may be caused by moving the Lock back to the protection position. This happens due to the weakening of the switch; when you insert a memory card into the card reader, it moves and turns on the memory lock. Secure it with a piece of rubber band, cardboard, or remove it completely.
To avoid automatic locking You can record to microSD by removing its contact with the Lock button on the adapter body. Find a small notch on the left side of the micro-flash drive, solder it with plastic or seal it with tape. Soldering must be done very carefully. The option with tape is simpler, but it can get stuck when inserting the card into the adapter.
Changing disk properties
If the memory card protection does not allow you to copy information to another drive, but you need to save it, then try removing the protection as follows. Connect the micro CD to your computer, find its name in the list of devices and click on it right click mice. From the menu, select the “Properties” line, then the “Access” tab. In the next window there is “Advanced settings”, open it and check the box “Open general access", confirm the settings - "Ok".
Formatting a microSD memory card
Sometimes, to remove protection from a memory card, it is recommended to format it if the “locker” is missing or did not help. Save important information to another disk, because... it will be completely deleted. Programmatically You can remove the write lock on the card using Windows.
Insert the microSD memory card into Personal Computer through a special adapter directly or through a card reader. On modern laptops such a connector is already provided; it is usually marked with a “card” icon and looks like a narrow slot. The operating system will recognize the drive and its name will appear in the list of devices on your computer.
Right-click on the CD disk icon and select “Format ...” from the expanded menu. Set the file system to the one that your device supports, usually NTFS. Click "Get Started." All information on the disk has now been deleted and the protection status has been removed.
Changing the file system
When writing a file larger than 4 GB to a memory card, an error notification window may appear due to file system limitations. If the memory card is formatted with FAT32, the file size is one of its limitations for recording data. You should change the file system to NTFS, as described in paragraph 3.
Software tools for microSD
You can reset the write protection on the disk software without deleting information. There are various scripts and utilities for this, for example reset.zip. When downloading software from the Internet, you should be careful - it may contain viruses. It is better to use proven applications to remove protection. Low-level formatting of a disk with the Hard Disk Low Level Format Tool erases all data, but will help restore even hopeless flash drives that were not formatted using Windows internal means.
Removing microSD protection via a mobile device
Modern mobile devices: players, PDAs, phones, cameras have a microSD formatting function. Try to find this option through the settings and format the flash drive directly on this device. Memory protection could be software installed in the device to ensure data confidentiality. You can also remove protection in the settings. All types of electronic devices have their own characteristics, so if you have any difficulties, read the gadget’s instructions or get an explanation from a specialist at the service center.
Physical damage to the microSD memory card
One of the failure options when trying to write data to a memory card occurs due to physical damage: the card is slightly bent, one of the contacts on the card (usually the left one) or on the adapter is dirty, and the microSD closes it. If the contacts become dirty, they must be cleaned, for example, with a cotton swab dipped in an alcohol-containing liquid or acetone. A badly bent card cannot be repaired. You can try to straighten a slightly bent one by placing it under a press.
Use only the “native” adapter with a microSD card. With another adapter, even if you were able to format the phone, you most likely won’t be able to write the information to disk.
Instructions
First take map memory and insert it into the card reader, just be careful: all protection functions on both accessories must be disabled, otherwise you will constantly see the message “Write protection is enabled, recording is not possible.”
After that, insert the card reader with the card memory inside in USB port computer. At correct connection the indicator should light up. The computer will make a characteristic sound, and the “Found New Hardware Wizard” will appear on the screen. Skip this moment by clicking “no, not now” and wait for the inscription “next”. Thus, the PC is ready to work with the card memory.
Go to “My Computer” and in addition to hard drives C, D and E, which is responsible for the DVD drive, you will notice another one, for example, G or H. This will be the card memory connected to a computer. Click on it. You will see the entire list of files. If necessary, you can leave it unchanged or delete some information to free up space.
Open another “My Computer” window and go to the section of the hard drive where the music you are interested in is located. Select with your mouse required folders or individual tracks and transfer them to the window where the removable disk is open, i.e. map memory. The copying process will begin.
When the desired amount of music has been transferred, find the right side taskbar icon "Safely Remove Hardware". Click on it and select “Stop”, after which the message “The equipment can be removed” will appear, and remove the card reader with the flash drive from the computer port.
If the capabilities of your cell phone allow you to play music and video, then such a device can easily be used as a pocket media player. To do this, you need to put a lot of different melodies and videos into your mobile phone. Typically, to download such files use additional card memory, since often the device itself does not have enough space to store a large amount of information. You can burn a memory card for your phone using a few simple steps.
You will need
- - cellular telephone
- - memory card
- - card reader
- - computer
Instructions
First, record the music and videos you want to record on your phone to your computer's hard drive. Place all media files in one folder.
If your mobile phone can operate in storage mode when connected to a computer, then insert a suitable memory card into the appropriate slot of the device. Then connect your cell phone to your PC using a USB cable or Bluetooth connection.
In the information window that appears on the screen mobile phone, select Storage mode. Then on your PC, open drive C and find the folder where the required media files are located.
Once in the folder, highlight the music files and press right key mice. Select “Copy” from the list that appears.
Then click the “Start” button located in the lower left corner of the computer, and in the window that appears, select the “My Computer” section. Find a new removable drive in this category.
After necessary files will be completely placed on the memory card, disconnect the device from the PC. To do this, in the lower right corner of the screen, click on the “Safely remove devices and drives” icon.
If for some reason it is impossible to connect your phone to a computer, then connect to the PC a card reader suitable for your memory card. Then insert the card into the appropriate slot of the device and open the “My Computer” section on the PC.
Copy the prepared media files from hard drive and paste them into the appropriate folders on the drive. After this operation, perform a safe removal of the device.
Sources:
- How to choose in 2017
Today MP3 is the most common and popular music format. It is used everywhere: in computers, players. To standardize and convert all music into MP3 format, music discs are recorded, because MP3 allows you to record much more music than classic CDA.
Instructions
MP3 recording can be done both from a medium – a music disc, and onto a medium – a blank CD/DVD disc. Let's look at the first option first:
You have a music disc with several tracks, usually one album. Insert the disc into the CD-ROM and run Windows Media Player. WMP is standard player that comes with Windows. Almost immediately, after analyzing the disc, WMP will offer you to burn music to HDD.
The disc's tracklist and tabs will appear on the right, including the "Record" tab. Click on it and just below, on the very right side of the screen, you will see a small shortcut in the form of a box with a check mark. Select it with the left mouse button and in the appeared context menu select "Advanced recording options."
In the “Options” window that opens, go to the “Rip music from CD” tab. In the “CD Copy Settings” subsection, select
Modern mobile devices and cameras, in addition to small main memory, can be equipped with a memory card, the volume of which can be several times larger than the main memory. For someone unfamiliar with technology, this is a new thing, which raises a lot of questions regarding the use of a memory card. There are memory cards different sizes, but their operating technology is the same. So all the tips that will be given below are suitable for any type of device.
The first difficulty arises with how to write data to the memory card. If the work is done on a laptop, then it has a special slot where the card is inserted. But this slot is made for a large card. If the card is small, then there are adapters into which it is inserted, and the work is done as with a large one. There are adapters for computers that connect like disk drives. The system defines the memory card as a removable disk, so recording is performed as if it were a flash drive. The only difficulty may be removing the card from the device.
Therefore, the next question concerns how to remove the memory card. Devices that support memory cards use spring-loaded holders. On the body of the phone or camera there is a slot for a memory card, usually closed with a rubber or plastic cover. To remove it, you need to open it and lightly press the card until it clicks. After this, it will come out of the nest and can be pulled out with your fingers. The extraction procedure from the card reader is the same. If you need to insert the card back, you must press it into the slot until it clicks.
In addition, difficulties often arise related to how to clear the memory card. If you need to clear it not completely, then you need to go to it and delete unnecessary files one by one. If complete cleaning is required, then you need to format it. To do this, right-click on the device and select Format. In the window that appears, you need to select necessary settings and click the Start button, followed by confirmation of the operation. In addition, all these actions are available directly from the device to which the memory card corresponds.
Questions are often asked about how to unlock a camera memory card. If the card is in SD format, then it has a jumper on the left side, which, if the card is not carefully inserted into the slot, switches to the lock position. This jumper must be placed in the upper position and carefully inserted into the camera. Cards of other types can only be unlocked in service center, then all the information on it will be saved. If the information on the card is not particularly important, then you can safely format it.
It's finished! The tablet, namely the Asus MeMO Pad 7, which I replaced my honest hard worker, received an update to Android 5.0.1. Now I have a device with Lollipop, or, as they say on the Internet, with Lollipop.
The update arrived somewhat unexpectedly. To be honest, I waited in April new firmware to phone ( Asus ZenFone 5) - at least it was promised. No one said anything about the tablet, and here it’s up to you, get it and sign for it.
This, in fact, discouraged me (in a good way, of course), also because I purchased the tablet in December, and it had version 4.3. That is, this is the second significant update of the operating system (in fact, there were more updates, but the Android version number did not change). The previous manufacturer of my devices - Samsung - could not boast of such a rate of fire, although they also updated the operating system twice: from Android 3.2 to Android 4.1.2 (via 4.0.1). But we had to wait much longer for these new versions.
Well, long live surprises! Receiving notice of exit new version firmware, I immediately downloaded it, which is more than 700 meters, and launched the update. Since I didn’t download through home network, and through a mobile phone, it took a little more time to do everything: from the start of the download to the completion of the update, about an hour passed. The update itself lasted about twenty minutes, but potentially could take longer - because after installing the operating system, the process of updating the installed programs follows. My counter counted to 205. But now, the process is over and it’s time to see what has changed.
The first thing that caught my eye was the more sophisticated graphics when unlocking the device. The second is the hand in the notification area. I endured it for a couple of days, hoping that by chance I would see something related to it somewhere. I didn't see it. Then I began to search purposefully and found an explanation for it on 4pda. It turns out that notifications are divided into important and not so important, and it is possible to specify which notifications you want to receive. If you set the option Always notify , then the hand disappears if the option Only important alerts , then the hand appears. To be honest, I removed my hand several times, but for some reason it always comes back. Why? I don't know yet.
Here, in fact, is the procedure for “removing” this hand:
The method given above is not complicated at all. But you can achieve the result even faster and easier: press one of the two volume control buttons - a window will appear on the screen that allows you to change the volume levels for various system components, and also, attention, control Alert modes . True, for some reason, these same Alert Modes are displayed in this way quick option not always. I haven’t found a pattern yet, but, to be honest, I didn’t really look for it.
A few words about installed programs. Although before starting the update process I received a warning that some programs would be deleted because they were not included in the new firmware, nevertheless, most of the programs remained.
The only thing I'm a little sorry for is the program with the atypical name "Two Applications". Although, I must admit, I didn’t even immediately understand what it was about: I thought which two applications would be deleted, was it really impossible to indicate the names.
Yes, the program that appeared in version 4.4.2 and made it possible to share the screen between two simultaneously running applications has sunk into oblivion. To be honest, its functionality was rather weak, since it was possible to run a very limited range of applications at the same time. If memory serves, I only used it once or twice, just to see what it was like. Maybe someone will miss the opportunities provided by this program, but somehow I wasn’t particularly upset. Although, of course, I don’t really like it when they take away from me what they previously gave me.
A couple more comments about the programs. After I moved to new tablet, I spent some time installing programs on it that I used on my previous device. Some of them happened, but we are not talking about them now. We are talking about those programs whose behavior has changed something. Of course, I haven’t tried everything yet, but here’s what I’ve discovered so far.
TuniIn Radio Pro, which I bought, by the way, absolutely did not work on KitKat. Everything went smoothly - until the turn came directly to listening to a radio station. That is, the program was launched, I selected a group of radio stations, for example, Local Radio Stations, selected a specific station (for example, RockFM, Radio Jazz, or any station in general), after which the program crashed with an error. Sometimes there was even sound, but the program still crashed. Time passed, TuneIn Radio updates were released, but nothing changed. However, after updating to A, the problems magically disappeared, and now everything works without the slightest complaints.
Another positive change is the office suite SoftMaker Office HD, also honestly purchased. The programs included in it worked normally on the Samsung tablet. When I installed these programs on a new tablet, they did not start at all. After some time, an update for this office was released and the situation improved somewhat: programs began to launch, although during operation, in the menu area (top line program window), some strange graphic artifacts accumulated. When switching to the desktop (or another application) and back, the artifacts disappeared, but not for long. After Android updates All programs included in the package work like clockwork.
Well, a small negative point. I use, very actively, a program called DVR. I also paid money for it too. The program worked fine on the new tablet, no complaints, plus, functions that were not available on the previous tablet worked, for example, video stabilization. After updating the OS, the program began to crash steadily when starting recording. At first, I thought that there were some problems with recording to the memory card - I was configured to write to the program directory on an external MicroSD card. But, after I was able to create a subdirectory in the recording directory in the program itself, it became clear that using an external card had nothing to do with it. Then I decided to disable one program function at a time, and the first thing my finger touched was the checkbox with the stabilization checkbox. After turning off the option, the program began to record video, but its quality dropped. No, the resolution and flow rate - everything remained the same, but the picture on the recording floated in waves. There is a setting in the program that tries to smooth out this effect, and, in principle, turning it on helps somewhat, but for some reason, when you re-enter the program, the mark that the option is enabled remains, but the picture floats, as if the option is disabled . If you click on an already enabled option, everything will immediately return to normal. Most likely, this is a bug in the program, I'm going to report it to the developer and, perhaps, the author will fix this glitch. But the fact that video stabilization does not work is a little annoying. First of all, because the standard camera program has a stabilization option in the settings and, when it is turned on, recording is carried out without errors.
From special cases related to programs, I will move on to more general properties of the system. Well, first of all, the number of free memory. As I already wrote, all my software remained in place. At the same time, I must say that I strain the tablet quite a lot. Not in terms of the fact that I constantly play games, but in terms of the fact that I have a lot of services hanging on, some of which I may not use, but I keep just in case. We are talking, first of all, about all kinds of mailers - Outlook, Yandex Mail, GMail, more precisely, now Inbox. Next, various cloud storage- Yandex Disk, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Asus WebStorage. Couple social networks- Odnoklassniki and Google+. All sorts of other messengers - Viber, ICQ, Skype, Hangouts. All these programs, one way or another, eat up the device’s memory, even when you don’t use them. But, in principle, I understand what I’m getting into.
Users of Asus devices know that there is an application in the Android curtain that allows you to clear memory, at least temporarily. In the top five it is called Cleaning, but in KitKat it was called more fancifully - Strengthening. When you open the curtain, the icon of this application shows the amount of free space. this moment memory. So, when it was installed on the tablet Android version 4.4.2, this figure fluctuated in the range of 200-300 MB and the icon, most often, was yellow. Now the amount of free memory varies from 400 to 600 MB and the icon is green almost all the time. This change is probably due to the change virtual machine, used in Lollipop, but perhaps something has changed in the firmware itself, for example, Asus has removed something. In general, we need to figure it out.
Changing the virtual machine should have affected two more parameters - performance and power consumption. What can I say about performance? Nothing, probably. I don’t play with toys, I don’t really like competing with parrots (Antutu, etc.). The tablet itself is quite powerful, so I didn’t notice any slowdowns either on KitKat or now in Lollipop. Everything is smooth and without complaints. When I'm driving, the DVR, Strelka, Maps (either Yandex or Google) work, I also listen to music using Kodi, and, after all this, it still responds to switching to the desktop, launching some other programs, in general, are a beast.
And about energy consumption... Basically, the latest update on KitKat deprived me of the opportunity to complain about the inefficiency of the device. If after the initial installation of KitKat the tablet lost 20-30 percent of its energy reserves per night, then after updating to the 31st firmware version, the losses became quite acceptable - from two to five percent per night. Updating to Lollipop did not worsen anything in this sense, and thank you very much for that. As for consumption under load, here again I can cite operating experience in a car: all the same initial ones - DVR, Strelka, Yandex Navigator, Kodi, screen brightness is about 75-80 percent - a bright, sunny day, plus all wireless interfaces are turned on , so, during the trip - about two hours - the battery was discharged to 57 percent. In my opinion, quite worthy. By the way, under KitKat it was about the same.
Well, the last thing - listed in order, but not in order of importance - is what I would like to note. We will talk about working with an external memory card. I, as I was getting out of the situation caused by KitKat's restrictions on recording to an external memory card. Apparently, the wave of negativity was so strong that Google had to listen and change something. Or maybe they just changed something without listening to anyone. But let’s leave this important question aside (did we listen/didn’t listen), and let’s move on to the changes themselves.
Google has allowed third-party programs to write to the memory card. In principle, it didn’t prohibit it before, it’s just that the permissions were set in such a way that, under normal conditions, only the native file manager had access to write to the entire external card. Well, maybe some manufacturers allowed access to their other programs, but I only encountered the file manager. Now any program can write, but for this several conditions must be met.
First, the program must use the new features of the Storage Access Framework, namely, use the OPEN_DOCUMENT_TREE intent and several new, or updated, SDK functions.
Secondly, the user must decide for himself which branch (or branches) of the file system he will give access to this or that application. That is, you can give access to the entire card if, in response to an access request, you specify its root, or you can give access only to a specific folder and its children. In general, you will have to take responsibility on yourself, and, if something happens, you will also only have yourself to blame.
Third is luck. On my tablet everything worked as it should, on my friend’s HTC One M8 - did not work, although online is there a video, how everything works great on this smartphone model. There is an assumption, however, that it didn’t work because the card in his phone was formatted somehow wrong, maybe without indicating the volume name, or maybe in the wrong file system.
In fact, this is both joyful and sad news at the same time. Joyful - because now you don’t have to receive root access to the device and you can not be limited only to the application directory. Sad - because until the developers deign to use the new API and release new versions of their programs, nothing will work. From my experience: file manager ES Explorer has already acquired support for the new API, and I was able to give it write rights to the entire external SD card, but the Total Commander file manager did not and still cannot write to the MicroSD card - anywhere except its own directory. Like this.
In fact, there are quite a lot of nuances in this whole story with recording to an external memory card. For example, you gave some programs access, but forgot others. Where to look? As I understand it, currently - nowhere. That is, in principle, you can watch it, but not on the tablet itself, but on the computer, if you connect the tablet to it and use adb program. Here's the command you need:
Adb shell dumpsys activity providers
But I haven’t found how to get the same thing on a tablet.
Next question. You gave some application access to write to some folder, and then you changed your mind and want to take it away. Is there such a possibility? Fortunately yes. But with losses. The first, very radical way is to remove the program and reinstall it. The second method is not so radical, but also not ideal - you need to clear application data in the device Settings. Naturally, along with access rights, other program data will be deleted, so a logical question arises about practical applicability this method. It was not possible to discover other methods, perhaps yet. You can use both methods if you first back up the program data, and after putting one of the methods into effect, restore it. But here the question arises about the capabilities of backups - will only data be backed up, or data along with permissions? If with permissions, then after recovery, well, you understand... All this greatly depends on the specific applications used, so you should be very careful. And this is another good reason to think before you see ancient Moscow, without the sanction of the relevant authorities, grant rights to any application to access the file system of an external card.
Further more. What happens if you change the card inserted into the slot of your tablet? The answer is that you will have to separately grant access to each card you insert into the device. In principle, this is probably logical. That is, you gave the file manager access to the root of the card, then took it out and inserted another one. The file manager will not write to the new card; you will have to give access again. But when you return the first card to the tablet, the file manager will write to it without problems.
One more question. So you gave the application access to some folder, not the root one. Time passed and you needed to allow write access to the same program in another folder on the same card. Can this be done? In principle, this is a consequence of the previous case, so the answer is: yes, it is possible. That is, the system for each application will remember the list of directories to which you have given write access.
Now there is a nuance associated with the applications installed on the tablet for each user whose profile was created on the device. Here, too, everything is logical - for each user of the device, their own access rights for applications are stored, that is, everyone is the architect of their own happiness, or, if you like, their own evil Pinocchio.
And of course, a lot depends on the qualifications of the developers. It may happen that you give rights to some program to access the external card for writing, and after rebooting the tablet you find that there is no access. In such a situation, only the program developer is to blame - he did not take care to maintain the permission received. Perhaps you should think about it and look for an alternative to this program, because you never know what such a programmer did not provide for.
Oh, yes, this is what the process of issuing recording rights to a microSD card for ES Provodnka looks like:
| We need an external card |
| Let's try to create something right at the root of the map |
| We need to display the SD card |
| Here it is, our external memory card |
Well, that's it for now.
P.S. It so happened that quite a lot of time has passed since I wrote this material. I could have published it many times already, but I kept putting it off, and it’s unclear why. More precisely, I know why - I was still deciding how best to present a series of screenshots describing a particular process: as just a sequence of inserted images, or as a slide show. Ultimately, the decision was made to use (at least for now) a sequence of images. How all this happened is a topic for a separate post. For now, everything remains as it is, the only pity is that a lot of time was wasted. The only consolation is that it was not in vain. In addition, a pleasant event happened. I wrote in this post that access to an external memory card will only be available when program authors start using the new API. As an example of a program in which the new API is not used, I gave Total Commander. So, while I was procrastinating on publishing, Total Commander was updated, and now it can also work with an external memory card in the style Android Lollipop. Below I provide a series of screenshots describing the process of creating a new directory in the root of an external memory card using Total Commander:
| Selecting an external memory card |
| and select the desired item from the menu |
Let's talk about how to remove write protection from an SD memory card on Android. Many people face this problem when they try to copy or move files to an SD card. In this article you will find several ways to remove Android write protection.
How to remove write protection from Android SD card
If you get an error like the image above when you try to copy files or format your SD card, then know that this is not your problem. Moreover, the memory card is not damaged or infected with a virus, it is simply write-protected. Without further ado, we will look at several methods on how to remove Android write protection.
How to remove Android write protection from SD card using Regedit
Most problems and errors can be easily resolved using the registry. We can also use it to remove Android write protection.
This method works in most cases, but if for some reason you are unable to use it, then try the following methods.
How to remove Android write protection from SD card using Diskpart
- Insert the SD memory card into your computer and launch Command Prompt. You can do this by pressing the WIN+R key and typing “CMD,” or simply typing “Command Prompt” into the Start menu.
- In the window command line you must enter the following commands in order.
- diskpart
- list disk
- select disk x (where X is your SD card number)
- attributes disk clear readonly
- clean
- create partition primary
- format fs=fat32
If this method did not help to remove Android write protection, do not despair, we have a couple more solutions to this problem.
Change resolution
- Insert the SD memory card into the computer. Right-click on the memory card and select Properties. Then in the Security tab you will find your account name.
- Change the SD card resolution to Read/Write, Read/Execute, or Full Control.
This method will remove Android write protection.
Alternatively, you can look closely at your SD card to find the lock button. If it is, just switch it. The lock button is used to protect data from being deleted or completely formatted on the memory card.
We hope you were able to remove Android write protection. If you have any questions, please write in the comments below.
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