Windows 11 will soon add your Android phone to File Explorer
https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/26/24206712/microsoft-windows-11-file-explorer-android-phone-feature
"The integration in File Explorer means your Android device appears just
like a regular USB device on the left-hand side, with the ability to copy
or move files between a PC and Android phone, and rename or delete them.

You can enable this File Explorer feature by navigating to Settings >
Bluetooth & Devices > Mobile Devices and selecting the manage devices
section to allow your PC to connect to your Android phone."

Windows 11 now lets you access Android phones via File Explorer
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2410814/soon-it-will-be-easier-to-move-files-between-android-mobiles-and-windows-11-pcs.html
"Not only will you be able to view what's on your phone, but you'll also
be able to move, copy, delete, rename, and even open directly without first
bringing files and folders over to your PC.

The best part is that you won't even need a USB cable for this. You can
access your Android phone wirelessly, which is fantastic news for anyone
who needs to work with their phone via Windows regularly."

Wireless Android phone access from Windows File Explorer begins roll-out
https://www.androidauthority.com/android-phone-windows-file-explorer-3465230/
"While you've long been able to connect your device to a PC via USB or
access media files via Phone Link, this latest upgrade will let you see and
manipulate all of your phone folders and files from your Windows PC as if
it were a wired external drive.

The blog outlines the requirements you need to meet to try out the
feature. Your phone will need to be running on Android 11 or higher and
have the beta version of the Link to Windows app installed. You also need
to be registered for the Windows Insider Program, be running Windows 11 on
your PC, and be opted into one of the Insider Channels. The blog goes on to
explain the steps to take if you've fulfilled those criteria."

Ability to access your Android phone in File Explorer begins rolling out to
Windows Insiders
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/07/25/ability-to-access-your-android-phone-in-file-explorer-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/
"With this new experience, you will be able to wirelessly browse through
all your folders and files, including media that is on your Android phone.
You can open them, copy them to your PC, copy PC files to your phone,
rename files, move them, and delete them.
To enable this experience, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile
Devices and choose "Manage devices" and allow your PC to access your
Android phone. You'll then be able to see a toggle to show your phone in
File Explorer. If you do not see this toggle, that means the experience
hasn't yet rolled out to you yet."

Does anyone know if this will also work for iOS devices on Windows 11?

Mickey D <mickeydavis078XX@ptd.net> wrote:

> Windows 11 will soon add your Android phone to File Explorer
> https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/26/24206712/microsoft-windows-11-file-explorer-android-phone-feature
> "The integration in File Explorer means your Android device appears just
> like a regular USB device on the left-hand side, with the ability to copy
> or move files between a PC and Android phone, and rename or delete them.
> ...

Microsoft is retrofitting the feature to Windows 10, so your post is
on-topic to the Windows 10 newsgroup to which you cross-posted?

VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> wrote:

>> Windows 11 will soon add your Android phone to File Explorer
>> https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/26/24206712/microsoft-windows-11-file-explorer-android-phone-feature
>> "The integration in File Explorer means your Android device appears just
>> like a regular USB device on the left-hand side, with the ability to copy
>> or move files between a PC and Android phone, and rename or delete them.
>> ...
>
> Microsoft is retrofitting the feature to Windows 10, so your post is
> on-topic to the Windows 10 newsgroup to which you cross-posted?

Windows 10 also has the capability of making an Android appear in the
Windows 10 file explorer making its filesys appear as a regular drive.

https://i.postimg.cc/6371SxNd/mountandroidonwindows.jpg

It's just yet another way to mount Android onto Windows so that the entire
Android file system appears to look and act like a normal Windows filesys.

Mickey D, 2024-07-28 02:22:

> Windows 11 will soon add your Android phone to File Explorer
> https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/26/24206712/microsoft-windows-11-file-explorer-android-phone-feature
> "The integration in File Explorer means your Android device appears just
> like a regular USB device on the left-hand side, with the ability to copy
> or move files between a PC and Android phone, and rename or delete them.

And what is new about this? I already have this using MTP via USB and
this was already the case with Windows XP and 7.

> Windows 11 now lets you access Android phones via File Explorer
> https://www.pcworld.com/article/2410814/soon-it-will-be-easier-to-move-files-between-android-mobiles-and-windows-11-pcs.html
> "Not only will you be able to view what's on your phone, but you'll also
> be able to move, copy, delete, rename, and even open directly without first
> bringing files and folders over to your PC.
>
> The best part is that you won't even need a USB cable for this. You can
> access your Android phone wirelessly, which is fantastic news for anyone
> who needs to work with their phone via Windows regularly."

Ok - *this* is the news.

> To enable this experience, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile
> Devices and choose "Manage devices" and allow your PC to access your
> Android phone. You'll then be able to see a toggle to show your phone in
> File Explorer. If you do not see this toggle, that means the experience
> hasn't yet rolled out to you yet."
>
> Does anyone know if this will also work for iOS devices on Windows 11?

Not very likely since Apple may not want this - accessing a device
without their proprietary software.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Peter, 2024-07-28 15:29:

> VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> wrote:
>
>>> Windows 11 will soon add your Android phone to File Explorer
>>> https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/26/24206712/microsoft-windows-11-file-explorer-android-phone-feature
>>> "The integration in File Explorer means your Android device appears just
>>> like a regular USB device on the left-hand side, with the ability to copy
>>> or move files between a PC and Android phone, and rename or delete them.
>>> ...
>>
>> Microsoft is retrofitting the feature to Windows 10, so your post is
>> on-topic to the Windows 10 newsgroup to which you cross-posted?
>
> Windows 10 also has the capability of making an Android appear in the
> Windows 10 file explorer making its filesys appear as a regular drive.
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/6371SxNd/mountandroidonwindows.jpg

No - this is *not* "making Android appear in Windos 10" but "using an
app in Android to provide a network share which can be used in Windows
as well".

Using Cx File Explorer I can also share files on my Android device with
nearly *any* other computer by providing file access over the network
via FTP. But this is not the same as "Windows 11 can add Android devices
in the File Explorer".

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:

>> Windows 10 also has the capability of making an Android appear in the
>> Windows 10 file explorer making its filesys appear as a regular drive.
>>
>> https://i.postimg.cc/6371SxNd/mountandroidonwindows.jpg
>
> No - this is *not* "making Android appear in Windos 10" but "using an
> app in Android to provide a network share which can be used in Windows
> as well".
>
> Using Cx File Explorer I can also share files on my Android device with
> nearly *any* other computer by providing file access over the network
> via FTP. But this is not the same as "Windows 11 can add Android devices
> in the File Explorer".

How is the Windows 11 functionality different from existing Win10 features?

Already on Win10 the whole accessible Android file system becomes a Windows
drive letter, which means all your Windows scripts & File Explorers work.

Windows doesn't even know that the X: drive is an Android file system.
Windows thinks the X: drive is a Windows file system.

Android is just a drive letter on the Windows file system.
This works already, over Wi-Fi or over USB.

What does Windows 11 functionality add to that which exists for Windows 10?

Arno Welzel wrote on Mon, 5 Aug 2024 19:53:04 +0200 :

>> Does anyone know if this will also work for iOS devices on Windows 11?
>
> Not very likely since Apple may not want this - accessing a device
> without their proprietary software.

If you boot to Linux, the iFuse file system will mount any iOS device.
So it's only Windows that doesn't work well with iOS devices.

<https://i.postimg.cc/s2x0f9Js/files14.jpg> linux, win10 & iOS together
<https://i.postimg.cc/g269S8rT/files13.jpg> How does macOS work with iOS?
<https://i.postimg.cc/pVJf72fN/files12.jpg> iOS hacks very often will fail
<https://i.postimg.cc/cChf8mx1/files11.jpg> iOS requires hacks to copy
<https://i.postimg.cc/9MGdc2s7/files10.jpg> Android is 2-way fast over USB
<https://i.postimg.cc/mDx3xkp4/files09.jpg> iOS is only DCIM & only 1-way
<https://i.postimg.cc/3xcCBngd/files08.jpg> iOS is a dumb brick on Windows
<https://i.postimg.cc/KjK4nHwf/files07.jpg> Ubuntu is two-way, everything
<https://i.postimg.cc/Jhmy9KH7/files06.jpg> Ubuntu iFuse is just magical
<https://i.postimg.cc/qqg61Rh8/files05.jpg> Ubuntu, movies _to_ iOS on USB
<https://i.postimg.cc/QMk7tvZW/files04.jpg> Ubuntu is two way, everything
<https://i.postimg.cc/d3SGkdgr/files03.jpg> Android is two way, everything
<https://i.postimg.cc/L8b18Zmx/files02.jpg> iOS "Files" is nothing useful
<https://i.postimg.cc/NFkXsJ0X/files01.jpg> iOS/Win is 1-way & DCIM only

If Windows had iFuse, then Windows would work as well as Linux with iOS.

On Wed, 7 Aug 2024 17:21:07 +0100, Peter wrote:
>
> Already on Win10 the whole accessible Android file system becomes a Windows
> drive letter, which means all your Windows scripts & File Explorers work.
>

How on earth do you make that happen. I have Widows 10, and when I
plug in a USB cable between my phone and my desktop PC, I get the
usual "setting up device" notification on my PC, then a prompt on the
phone to allow the PC to access phone data. "Galaxy A54 5G" is in my
list of drives in File Explorer, preceding C:, but if it was assigned
a letter that letter sure isn't showing.

I even tried dir: for A:] through Z:\, but every letter except my
actual drives showed an error message to the effect that the system
could not find the file.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>> Already on Win10 the whole accessible Android file system becomes a Windows
>> drive letter, which means all your Windows scripts & File Explorers work.
>>
>
> How on earth do you make that happen. I have Widows 10, and when I
> plug in a USB cable between my phone and my desktop PC, I get the
> usual "setting up device" notification on my PC, then a prompt on the
> phone to allow the PC to access phone data. "Galaxy A54 5G" is in my
> list of drives in File Explorer, preceding C:, but if it was assigned
> a letter that letter sure isn't showing.
>
> I even tried dir: for A:] through Z:\, but every letter except my
> actual drives showed an error message to the effect that the system
> could not find the file.

Once you set it up, your Android phone is a permanent drive letter on
Windows, as long as both your Windows PC & Android are on your Wi-Fi.
https://viterbiit.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/How-to-Use-Net-Use-Command.pdf

All you do is set up a webdav server on Android such as this one.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver

If you need another card mounted, set up another webdav server separately.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zq.webdav.app_free

Others exist, but each webdav server has its own setup quirks to deal with.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=slowscript.httpfileserver
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smestorage

Then mount that share onto Windows as a drive letter.
net use I: \\192.168.0.2@8000\DavWWWRoot
If you want to add a username & password, just add that to the command.
/USER:stan mypasswd
If you want to make it permanent, then just add /persistent to the command.
https://it.cornell.edu/shared-file/map-drive-using-net-use

Where I work, everyone does this where the instant they enter the office
building and connect to the Wi-Fi, their phone is already mounted as a
drive letter onto their Windows PC waiting for them to use it on the PC.

All their Windows scripts operate on the Android phone as if it's a Windows
file system which makes Android files indistinguishable from Windows files.

They also use scrcpy/sndcpy so that the phone is operated from the PC
(even when the phone is always sitting in their pocket but on Wi-Fi).

On Wed, 8/7/2024 12:28 PM, Andrew wrote:
> Arno Welzel wrote on Mon, 5 Aug 2024 19:53:04 +0200 :
>
>>> Does anyone know if this will also work for iOS devices on Windows 11?
>>
>> Not very likely since Apple may not want this - accessing a device
>> without their proprietary software.
>
> If you boot to Linux, the iFuse file system will mount any iOS device.
> So it's only Windows that doesn't work well with iOS devices.
>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/s2x0f9Js/files14.jpg> linux, win10 & iOS together
> <https://i.postimg.cc/g269S8rT/files13.jpg> How does macOS work with iOS?
> <https://i.postimg.cc/pVJf72fN/files12.jpg> iOS hacks very often will fail
> <https://i.postimg.cc/cChf8mx1/files11.jpg> iOS requires hacks to copy
> <https://i.postimg.cc/9MGdc2s7/files10.jpg> Android is 2-way fast over USB
> <https://i.postimg.cc/mDx3xkp4/files09.jpg> iOS is only DCIM & only 1-way
> <https://i.postimg.cc/3xcCBngd/files08.jpg> iOS is a dumb brick on Windows
> <https://i.postimg.cc/KjK4nHwf/files07.jpg> Ubuntu is two-way, everything
> <https://i.postimg.cc/Jhmy9KH7/files06.jpg> Ubuntu iFuse is just magical
> <https://i.postimg.cc/qqg61Rh8/files05.jpg> Ubuntu, movies _to_ iOS on USB
> <https://i.postimg.cc/QMk7tvZW/files04.jpg> Ubuntu is two way, everything
> <https://i.postimg.cc/d3SGkdgr/files03.jpg> Android is two way, everything
> <https://i.postimg.cc/L8b18Zmx/files02.jpg> iOS "Files" is nothing useful
> <https://i.postimg.cc/NFkXsJ0X/files01.jpg> iOS/Win is 1-way & DCIM only
>
> If Windows had iFuse, then Windows would work as well as Linux with iOS.
>

https://github.com/libimobiledevice/ifuse/issues/31

"hooby3dfx commented Jan 30, 2021

@josephgiting check out https://github.com/hooby3dfx/ifuse/releases/tag/win-dokany-0.1
"

There's always a dokany for stuff like this.

It's always untested, relatively speaking, and never mainstream.
I do not promote these projects by the way, because they're
a security nightmare. Still, it's fun to see people having fun.

You can see the word FUSE here, if you look hard enough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokan_Library

"This is achieved by running file system code in user space
^^^^^^^^^^
while the Dokan kernel driver translates the request for Windows Kernel."

There are more details than this. That's just enough to comment
that it's not impossible. Then of course, the Apple device still
has to grant you access to something.

Paul

On Thu, 8 Aug 2024 00:18:33 +0100, Peter wrote:
>
> Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>
> >> Already on Win10 the whole accessible Android file system becomes a Windows
> >> drive letter, which means all your Windows scripts & File Explorers work.

I did not write that; you did. Please don't delete attributions; it
makes a conversation harder to follow.

> > How on earth do you make that happen. I have Widows 10, and when I
> > plug in a USB cable between my phone and my desktop PC, I get the
> > usual "setting up device" notification on my PC, then a prompt on the
> > phone to allow the PC to access phone data. "Galaxy A54 5G" is in my
> > list of drives in File Explorer, preceding C:, but if it was assigned
> > a letter that letter sure isn't showing.
> >
> > I even tried dir: for A:\ through Z:\, but every letter except my
> > actual drives showed an error message to the effect that the system
> > could not find the file.
>
> Once you set it up, your Android phone is a permanent drive letter on
> Windows, as long as both your Windows PC & Android are on your Wi-Fi.
> https://viterbiit.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/How-to-Use-Net-Use-Command.pdf

That seems to be about assigning a drive letter to a network share.
As far as I understand it, the phone is not a network share.
Certainly I don't intend for it to be accessible to anyone on my
Wifi.

But I think I misunderstood your basic point. From what you said
(quoted above), it sure looked to me like this was an automatic
feature of Windows 10 and 11. Now you're saying I have to install and
configure a server on my phone.

I was forced to use Webdav some years ago. Not only could I not get
it to work, but my college's IT department (which mandated using
Webdav) couldn't either.

> All you do is set up a webdav server on Android such as this one.
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver
>
> If you need another card mounted, set up another webdav server separately.
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zq.webdav.app_free
>
> Others exist, but each webdav server has its own setup quirks to deal with.
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=slowscript.httpfileserver
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smestorage
>
> Then mount that share onto Windows as a drive letter.
> net use I: \\192.168.0.2@8000\DavWWWRoot
> If you want to add a username & password, just add that to the command.
> /USER:stan mypasswd
> If you want to make it permanent, then just add /persistent to the command.
> https://it.cornell.edu/shared-file/map-drive-using-net-use
>
> Where I work, everyone does this where the instant they enter the office
> building and connect to the Wi-Fi, their phone is already mounted as a
> drive letter onto their Windows PC waiting for them to use it on the PC.
>
> All their Windows scripts operate on the Android phone as if it's a Windows
> file system which makes Android files indistinguishable from Windows files.
>
> They also use scrcpy/sndcpy so that the phone is operated from the PC
> (even when the phone is always sitting in their pocket but on Wi-Fi).

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

> That seems to be about assigning a drive letter to a network share.
> As far as I understand it, the phone is not a network share.

The phone is mounted as a network share on Windows as a drive letter.

> Certainly I don't intend for it to be accessible to anyone on my
> Wifi.

That's why you specify the username & password at the time of connection.
Only you have those username & password credentials specific to the share.
Obviously don't use /persistent in that case.
You'll have to type the username & password each time you connect.
And then you will want to disconnect when you're done connecting.

To your concern about Wi-Fi access, I think it also works the same on USB.
But I haven't tested it as I haven't used USB cable in years and I have no
problems operating my entire Android phone as a Windows file system device.
> But I think I misunderstood your basic point. From what you said
> (quoted above), it sure looked to me like this was an automatic
> feature of Windows 10 and 11. Now you're saying I have to install and
> configure a server on my phone.

If you're rooted on Android, you can use an SMB client on Android.
Then you can connect completely natively to Windows SMB/CIFS shares.

If you're not rooted, then you can't use the 445 port which is below 1024.
Otherwise, you have to use USB but you don't get to use a drive letter.

> I was forced to use Webdav some years ago. Not only could I not get
> it to work, but my college's IT department (which mandated using
> Webdav) couldn't either.

I know what you mean and I share your frustration with setting up WebDav
servers where even today I can't get a single server to share two cards.

The WebDav servers also can be a bitch to set up especially when they ask
you to provide the full path to the server root which is in Android format.

Having said that I agree with you that setting up any old WebDav server can
be a PITA, I found the easiest WebDAV server to set up is the OliveTree.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver

I can walk you through the setup as I did it many years ago.
But it doesn't change over time so you only have to set it up once.

Basically you give the Olive Tree WebDav server access to Android files.
And then you hit the "START" button. That's all there is to setup.

Optionally, you can set up different things, but they default reasonably.
For example, you can select a network interface (eg Wi-Fi or Bluetooth).
You can change the port (which defaults to 8000).
You optionally can add a username & password (or you can leave it blank).
You can optionally set the server's home directory (that is, DAVWWWRoot).
You can optionally set the lock mode (which can freeze the Android WebDav
server every time the Android phone screenlock pops up if you want it to).

But all those are optional as they default to reasonable values.
The only thing you need to know is the IP address of your Android phone.

It helps to have a static IP address so that you don't have to change it.
Which is easier than ever to set up in Android lately, even with MAC
randomization per access point and per access point connection attempt.

I can walk you though the steps to set up a static IP on Android as it's no
longer done from the router anymore due to the MAC randomization features.

Once you know the iP address of your Android phone, all you do is run this:
net use Z: \\192.168.0.2@8000\DavWWWRoot

It really is trivial. But sometimes even trivial things can be a bitch.
But if you use the Olive Tree server, I've found it to be that simple.

For me, when I enter the building, my phone automatically shows up as a
Windows drive letter on my PC, and my phone displays on that PC, and the
audio from my phone and the microphone are all using the PC's hardware.

You operate the Android phone completely from the PC once you sit down.
The phone never leaves your pocket until you leave the building for home.

Then the phone reverts to a hand-held device again.

On Thu, 8 Aug 2024 21:34:56 +0100, Peter wrote:
>
> Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>
> > That seems to be about assigning a drive letter to a network share.
> > As far as I understand it, the phone is not a network share.
>
> The phone is mounted as a network share on Windows as a drive letter.
>
> > Certainly I don't intend for it to be accessible to anyone on my
> > Wifi.
>
> That's why you specify the username & password at the time of connection.
> Only you have those username & password credentials specific to the share.
> Obviously don't use /persistent in that case.
> You'll have to type the username & password each time you connect.
> And then you will want to disconnect when you're done connecting.
>
> To your concern about Wi-Fi access, I think it also works the same on USB.
> But I haven't tested it as I haven't used USB cable in years and I have no
> problems operating my entire Android phone as a Windows file system device.

Thanks for your detailed and thoughtful response, Peter (which I've
snipped). I think I understand almost all of it. I'll give it a try
when I have a couple of hours with no interruptions.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

> Thanks for your detailed and thoughtful response, Peter (which I've
> snipped). I think I understand almost all of it. I'll give it a try
> when I have a couple of hours with no interruptions.

Good luck. If you have issues, ask questions. The best WebDav server
(easiest) is the Olive Tree, but if you want to also share your external
sdcard, you'll need another WebDAV server for which I suggest the BestDAV
server. My suggestion is to take all the defaults as much as you can.

At least while you're just getting used to it. Note that the keyword for
the top-level home directory of the server is universal at DavWWWRoot.

They don't explain that to you anywhere that I know of.
So you just have to know it, I guess. Sometimes you have to be omnipotent.

Since you may be writing Windows batch scripts, you'll often want to set up
your Android phone with a static IP address instead of the next available
IP address from your router. In the olden days, we did that with address
reservation on routers using the MAC address of the Android device.

But nowadays, Android devices, by default, randomize the MAC address per
access point (and if you set it up in developer options, per connection).

So it's best to set the static IP address on the Android phone instead.
Also, a lot of people manage their phone over their wi-fi or USB using the
Windows monitor, keyboard, mouse & clipboard. For that, use scrcpy.
https://scrcpy.org/ & https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy

To use the PC's sound card for the Android audio, scrcpy now comes native
with sndcpy so there's nothing extra to set up to cast both audio & video.

When you set up Android on Windows this way, the file systems are
indistinguishable from each other as Android is just a drive letter.

Peter, 2024-08-07 18:21:

> Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
>
>>> Windows 10 also has the capability of making an Android appear in the
>>> Windows 10 file explorer making its filesys appear as a regular drive.
>>>
>>> https://i.postimg.cc/6371SxNd/mountandroidonwindows.jpg
>>
>> No - this is *not* "making Android appear in Windos 10" but "using an
>> app in Android to provide a network share which can be used in Windows
>> as well".
>>
>> Using Cx File Explorer I can also share files on my Android device with
>> nearly *any* other computer by providing file access over the network
>> via FTP. But this is not the same as "Windows 11 can add Android devices
>> in the File Explorer".
>
> How is the Windows 11 functionality different from existing Win10 features?

The *future* functionality will allow to access Android devices via WiFi
*without* any additional apps on the device or any additional software
in Windows.

Using USB you can already do that - back to Windows XP where you could
add support for MTP as an optional feature.

> Already on Win10 the whole accessible Android file system becomes a Windows
> drive letter, which means all your Windows scripts & File Explorers work.

Yes - but only using USB, not via WiFi.

> What does Windows 11 functionality add to that which exists for Windows 10?

It will be possible using WiFi as well.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Stan Brown, 2024-08-07 23:54:

> On Wed, 7 Aug 2024 17:21:07 +0100, Peter wrote:
>>
>> Already on Win10 the whole accessible Android file system becomes a Windows
>> drive letter, which means all your Windows scripts & File Explorers work.
>>
>
> How on earth do you make that happen. I have Widows 10, and when I
> plug in a USB cable between my phone and my desktop PC, I get the
> usual "setting up device" notification on my PC, then a prompt on the
> phone to allow the PC to access phone data. "Galaxy A54 5G" is in my
> list of drives in File Explorer, preceding C:, but if it was assigned
> a letter that letter sure isn't showing.

It is not a drive letter but an Explorer "namespace" which shows the
files using MTP (Media Transfer Protocol).

Hower some manufacturers may have implemented mass storage for the USB
connection as well - in this case the internal "SD card" storage will be
unmounted for apps on the device as long as the phone is connected and
be made available as block storage device in Windows.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Peter, 2024-08-08 01:18:

> Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>
>>> Already on Win10 the whole accessible Android file system becomes a Windows
>>> drive letter, which means all your Windows scripts & File Explorers work.
>>>
>>
>> How on earth do you make that happen. I have Widows 10, and when I
>> plug in a USB cable between my phone and my desktop PC, I get the
>> usual "setting up device" notification on my PC, then a prompt on the
>> phone to allow the PC to access phone data. "Galaxy A54 5G" is in my
>> list of drives in File Explorer, preceding C:, but if it was assigned
>> a letter that letter sure isn't showing.
>>
>> I even tried dir: for A:] through Z:\, but every letter except my
>> actual drives showed an error message to the effect that the system
>> could not find the file.
>
> Once you set it up, your Android phone is a permanent drive letter on
> Windows, as long as both your Windows PC & Android are on your Wi-Fi.
> https://viterbiit.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/How-to-Use-Net-Use-Command.pdf
>
> All you do is set up a webdav server on Android such as this one.
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver

This is not needed for MTP which is supported by most Android devices
out of the box.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Andrew, 2024-08-07 18:28:

> Arno Welzel wrote on Mon, 5 Aug 2024 19:53:04 +0200 :
>
>>> Does anyone know if this will also work for iOS devices on Windows 11?
>>
>> Not very likely since Apple may not want this - accessing a device
>> without their proprietary software.
>
> If you boot to Linux, the iFuse file system will mount any iOS device.
> So it's only Windows that doesn't work well with iOS devices.

Yes, because Linux may not have to care about any license issues while
Microsoft can not just implement protocols developed by Apple and
release that as official feature in their commercial product.

> If Windows had iFuse, then Windows would work as well as Linux with iOS.

Windows also has file system drivers - technically this would not be a
problem. However I think, the protocol used by iOS is not free to use
for commercial software.

However you may just enable WSL2 and use Linux inside Windows and access
the iOS filesystem using the "network" path \\wsl$ which links to the
Linux filesystem (including mountpoints provide by iFuse) in WSL2.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

Arno Welzel wrote on Sat, 10 Aug 2024 09:32:03 +0200 :

> However you may just enable WSL2 and use Linux inside Windows and access
> the iOS filesystem using the "network" path \\wsl$ which links to the
> Linux filesystem (including mountpoints provide by iFuse) in WSL2.

This is interesting.
Thanks for that suggestion, which I had not thought of.

It's no longer shocking how difficult Apple makes the simplest things, and
how easy Android is to work with Windows by way of direct 1:1 comparison.

If I can find a step by step tutorial for mounting iOS onto Windows, that
would be useful because lately I have more iOS devices than Android ones.

*I just bought two 10th generation inexpensive iPads for $300 each*
<https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=16562&group=misc.phone.mobile.iphone#16562>
I have been experimenting with them, e.g., I've set one up WITHOUT an
AppleID, which I didn't realize was even possible to do (like Windows 11).
<https://i.postimg.cc/nhhXpdTv/20240804-01.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/3JRhwP5J/20240804-02.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/GttfcnBW/20240804-03.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/tJ6M1t5k/20240804-04.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/tgfkhn7M/20240804-05.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/dtB95xLd/20240804-06.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/W3LrNGdT/20240804-07.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/T2QyFMJR/20240804-08.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/vHJGS3kY/20240804-09.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/gr914BJ1/20240804-10.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/x1gnTnqC/20240804-11.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/26ZsvDjn/20240804-12.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/85SHKQBR/20240804-13.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/VLpXZPzJ/20240804-14.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/Kzp1Ktz1/20240804-15.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/wjY7sq6Q/20240804-16.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/261Z70gQ/20240804-17.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/9FhDDXXt/20240804-18.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/0y5rCtwz/20240804-19.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/4NfJCYNM/20240804-20.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/bwdpJ4n9/20240804-21.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/MT08Nwkq/20240804-22.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/Dwtkz0n7/20240804-23.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/pr03MXsb/20240804-24.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/GmDgqQn1/20240804-25.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/85ZZjXML/20240804-26.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/NFVbxyNM/20240804-27.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/d0BBxNWg/20240804-28.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/fbw7mjwC/20240804-29.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/bJ51771V/20240804-30.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/bdckJ1CQ/20240804-31.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/B6RMTL7v/20240804-32.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/DwCQQ48K/20240804-33.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/prtKVD1K/20240804-34.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/65tCDfZX/20240804-35.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/FHqdsyY1/20240804-36.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/BQnXTYDX/20240804-37.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/YC40Vvd7/20240804-38.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/rsFF9sDv/20240804-39.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/g26csf0k/20240804-40.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/j5Rss24L/20240804-41.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/zDc1Q06L/20240804-42.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/hPQqRVR2/20240805-43.jpg>

In summary, if there's an easy way to mount the iOS filesystem onto Windows
using WSL iFuse capabilities, then that's something worth exploring.

I just have to find a tutorial showing me how to do it, that's all.

On Sat, 10 Aug 2024 16:42:32 -0000 (UTC), Andrew wrote:

> Arno Welzel wrote on Sat, 10 Aug 2024 09:32:03 +0200 :
>
>> However you may just enable WSL2 and use Linux inside Windows and
>> access the iOS filesystem using the "network" path \\wsl$ which links
>> to the Linux filesystem (including mountpoints provide by iFuse) in
>> WSL2.
>
> This is interesting.
> Thanks for that suggestion, which I had not thought of.
>
> It's no longer shocking how difficult Apple makes the simplest things,
> and how easy Android is to work with Windows by way of direct 1:1
> comparison.
>
> If I can find a step by step tutorial for mounting iOS onto Windows,
> that would be useful because lately I have more iOS devices than Android
> ones.
>
> *I just bought two 10th generation inexpensive iPads for $300 each*
> <https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?
id=16562&group=misc.phone.mobile.iphone#16562>
>
> I have been experimenting with them, e.g., I've set one up WITHOUT an
> AppleID, which I didn't realize was even possible to do (like Windows
> 11).
> <https://i.postimg.cc/nhhXpdTv/20240804-01.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/3JRhwP5J/20240804-02.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/GttfcnBW/20240804-03.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/tJ6M1t5k/20240804-04.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/tgfkhn7M/20240804-05.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/dtB95xLd/20240804-06.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/W3LrNGdT/20240804-07.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/T2QyFMJR/20240804-08.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/vHJGS3kY/20240804-09.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/gr914BJ1/20240804-10.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/x1gnTnqC/20240804-11.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/26ZsvDjn/20240804-12.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/85SHKQBR/20240804-13.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/VLpXZPzJ/20240804-14.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/Kzp1Ktz1/20240804-15.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/wjY7sq6Q/20240804-16.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/261Z70gQ/20240804-17.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/9FhDDXXt/20240804-18.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/0y5rCtwz/20240804-19.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/4NfJCYNM/20240804-20.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/bwdpJ4n9/20240804-21.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/MT08Nwkq/20240804-22.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/Dwtkz0n7/20240804-23.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/pr03MXsb/20240804-24.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/GmDgqQn1/20240804-25.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/85ZZjXML/20240804-26.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/NFVbxyNM/20240804-27.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/d0BBxNWg/20240804-28.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/fbw7mjwC/20240804-29.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/bJ51771V/20240804-30.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/bdckJ1CQ/20240804-31.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/B6RMTL7v/20240804-32.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/DwCQQ48K/20240804-33.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/prtKVD1K/20240804-34.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/65tCDfZX/20240804-35.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/FHqdsyY1/20240804-36.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/BQnXTYDX/20240804-37.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/YC40Vvd7/20240804-38.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/rsFF9sDv/20240804-39.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/g26csf0k/20240804-40.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/j5Rss24L/20240804-41.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/zDc1Q06L/20240804-42.jpg>
> <https://i.postimg.cc/hPQqRVR2/20240805-43.jpg>
>
> In summary, if there's an easy way to mount the iOS filesystem onto
> Windows using WSL iFuse capabilities, then that's something worth
> exploring.
>
> I just have to find a tutorial showing me how to do it, that's all.

isn't easier to email any file to your windows then keep fighting the way
you describe, i believe you do not need ios operating system files on
windows