Accessing a Windows shared folder from Android using SMB (from It's a fact iOS devices can't even graph Wi-Fi signal strength)

[NY]

For me, the one that I find frustrating (this is for Android) is the fact
that there isn't (AFAIK) an SMB client which can access a shared Windows
folder \\server\sharename\folder and the files within it as if it were an
additional memory card in the phone, able to read, write and create files
in
that shared folder - in the same way that in Windows you could associate
\\server\sharename" or the Windows Explorer equivalent of this. OK, there
are file *transfer* SMB clients, which can copy a file from the share to
a
local memory card, but file transfer isn't as convenient as file access -
you have to copy the file to your local storage, modify it and then write
it
back to the share again.

<Loading Image...>
This is off topic, but I "mount" all the Android phones on the local LAN
over Wi-Fi onto Windows, either as their own drive letter or more often as
a "network location" such that I can easily copy anything to or from any
Android phone on the local LAN to or from Windows using nothing on Windows
other than the standard native file explorer.

Harry, this sounds interesting. How do you make Android share its storage so
it can be read over the network by Windows? You use the notation
\\192.168.1.10\mnt\sdcard (for the appropriate IP address of the Android),
but that doesn't work on its own so I assume something else needs to be done
at the Android end to share the card - in other words, to create shares mnt
and mnt\sdcard on the Android device.

My phone has Android 7.0, and it's a Samsung Galaxy S7.


However, what I was envisaging was the reverse: the Android phone acting as
the "client", accessing shared folders on the Windows "server", rather than
a Windows client accessing an Android server as you are illustrating. For
example to have Word docs or MPEG videos on the Windows PC and being able to
edit the doc in Word on Android or play the video in VLC on Android, in the
same way that I could on a second Windows PC accessing the same shared files
on the "server" PC.

I've found an Android app called AndSMB (v3,5) which can see shared files
and folders on Windows, but you have to copy a file onto the phone's local
storage to be able to edit/play it from there, rather than accessing it
on-the-fly or having Android mount it as a virtual storage area and then
point the relevant app at that storage area.

From the researches I've done, I've found various threads that say that I'm
asking for the impossible: that Android (unless rooted) doesn't permit a
\\server\sharename\folder to be mounted as virtual storage (the Android
equivalent of a Windows drive letter) so you can point the app at that
virtual storage device as if it were a physical device like the phone's
internal storage or its plugged-in SD card.

It's not the end of the world if it can't be done, but it would be nice to
have true file access of a Windows 7 "server" from various apps on Android
client. I'm assuming that I've set the Windows permissions to allow full
read/write access on the files and folders.

[Tim]

Post by NY

For me, the one that I find frustrating (this is for Android) is the
fact that there isn't (AFAIK) an SMB client which can access a
shared Windows folder \\server\sharename\folder and the files within
it as if it were an additional memory card in the phone, able to
read, write and create files in
that shared folder - in the same way that in Windows you could
associate drive S with a shared folder using a command such as "net
use s: \\server\sharename" or the Windows Explorer equivalent of
this. OK, there are file *transfer* SMB clients, which can copy a
file from the share to a
local memory card, but file transfer isn't as convenient as file
access - you have to copy the file to your local storage, modify it
and then write it
back to the share again.

Maybe I can help advise you (look at this screenshot I made just for
you): <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/10/filesystem.jpg>
This is off topic, but I "mount" all the Android phones on the local
LAN over Wi-Fi onto Windows, either as their own drive letter or more
often as a "network location" such that I can easily copy anything to
or from any Android phone on the local LAN to or from Windows using
nothing on Windows other than the standard native file explorer.

Harry, this sounds interesting. How do you make Android share its
storage so it can be read over the network by Windows? You use the
notation \\192.168.1.10\mnt\sdcard (for the appropriate IP address of
the Android), but that doesn't work on its own so I assume something
else needs to be done at the Android end to share the card - in other
words, to create shares mnt and mnt\sdcard on the Android device.
My phone has Android 7.0, and it's a Samsung Galaxy S7.
However, what I was envisaging was the reverse: the Android phone
acting as the "client", accessing shared folders on the Windows
"server", rather than a Windows client accessing an Android server as
you are illustrating. For example to have Word docs or MPEG videos on
the Windows PC and being able to edit the doc in Word on Android or
play the video in VLC on Android, in the same way that I could on a
second Windows PC accessing the same shared files on the "server" PC.
I've found an Android app called AndSMB (v3,5) which can see shared
files and folders on Windows, but you have to copy a file onto the
phone's local storage to be able to edit/play it from there, rather
than accessing it on-the-fly or having Android mount it as a virtual
storage area and then point the relevant app at that storage area.
From the researches I've done, I've found various threads that say
that I'm asking for the impossible: that Android (unless rooted)
doesn't permit a \\server\sharename\folder to be mounted as virtual
storage (the Android equivalent of a Windows drive letter) so you can
point the app at that virtual storage device as if it were a physical
device like the phone's internal storage or its plugged-in SD card.
It's not the end of the world if it can't be done, but it would be
nice to have true file access of a Windows 7 "server" from various
apps on Android client. I'm assuming that I've set the Windows
permissions to allow full read/write access on the files and folders.

I use an Android program called 'WiFi PC File Explorer. I tell it the
network address and my logon info, and it is the same as if I was using
File Explorer on my PC. I routinely read ebooks using Moon Reader+, and
watch videos using VLC straight from the PC, without having to download
them to my Nexus 7. I can also manipulate the files just like on Windows,
and download and upload between my PC and my Nexus.

I used to use a different program, but it stopped working about the time
Microsoft tightened up its SMB processing.

I can also go the other way with a program called WiFi Explorer (as far
as i know, no connection to the above). It comes up on my Nexus 7 as a
server, and tells me the port to use to access it from my browser. From
my browser I have full read/write/delete access to any files on the Nexus
7. Since I am using Firefox, I don't believe I could actually edit or
play a file on the Nexus without uploading it first.

I like both programs and haven't been able to find anything to beat them,
especially since I stopped looking once I found them.

[harry newton]

Post by Tim
I use an Android program called 'WiFi PC File Explorer.

Does its installed icon on the desktop look like one of these?
<http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/10/andsmb.jpg>

[Tim]

Post by harry newton
<http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/10/andsmb.jpg>

Couldn't find that image, but here is the one I am using taken from Google
Play.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=x.WifiPCFileExplorerFree

[Java Jive]

Post by NY
Harry, this sounds interesting. How do you make Android share its storage so
it can be read over the network by Windows? You use the notation
\\192.168.1.10\mnt\sdcard (for the appropriate IP address of the Android),
but that doesn't work on its own so I assume something else needs to be done
at the Android end to share the card - in other words, to create shares mnt
and mnt\sdcard on the Android device.

You need to install an App such as Samba Filesharing (android), which,
IIRC, requires root access.

[harry newton]

Post by Java Jive
You need to install an App such as Samba Filesharing (android), which,
IIRC, requires root access.

We have a thread somewhere in the Windows newsgroups on the AndSMB file
sharing where I suggest NY ask (depending on his version of Windows).

It's sometimes hard to ascertain which are the canonical windows groups, so
I list the three main windows newsgroups (as always) for NY and others to
benefit from each post:
alt.comp.os.windows-10
alt.windows7.general
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general

I long ago tried that AndSMB method which failed for me but which worked
for others. Since mounting the entire Android phone as a Windows drive was
already working, I didn't bother further debugging the AndSMB method than
just testing it out a few times.

The method I use to mount Android/iOS file systems on Windows is...
0. There's no need to install anything on Windows to mount Android to it:
<http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/10/filesystem.jpg>
Rooting isn't needed; but if you're rooted, you can see everything:
<Loading Image...>
1. Install & set up and run *any* desired FTP server on Android/iOS:
I used "FTP Server (Free)" (be.ppareit.sw3iftp_free) version 2.14.1.
The FTP server will provide your login/password, URI, & port
NOTE: The login/password can be anything you want to set it to, e.g.,
login=ftp password=abc or login=anonymous password=anonymous or whatever
URI-and-port=ftp://192.168.1.10:3721
<Loading Image...>
3. On Windows 10, right click on "This PC" so we start at a common point.
Then right click in the white space of the "Network locations" area.
Select "Add a network location" as shown below to the given URI & port:
<ftp://192.168.1.10:3721>
<Loading Image...>
Leave anonymous checked or specify the desired login/passwd from above.
4. Simply walk through the six-step Network Locations wizard.
<Loading Image...>
5. Optionally, click the Map Network Drive button to assign a drive letter.
<Loading Image...>

Voila.

If someone can state the steps to use the AndSMB method, that would be
great leverage of our combined tribal knowledge.
<Loading Image...>

[harry newton]

Basically the solution is to re-enable the guest access to remote shared
<https://superuser.com/questions/946999/windows-10-smb-shares>
1 Run Registry Editor (REGEDIT).
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters
Right click on the Parameters key name, and select New -> DWORD (32-bit)
Value
Name the new value as AllowInsecureGuestAuth and set its value data to 1
3 That should enable CIFS / SMB / Samba network shares without a login

See also this solution to re-enable SMB guest sharing in Windows 10:
c:\windows\system32> set-smbserverconfiguration -enablesmb2protocol $false

Here's a screenshot of the changes effected just now on my system:
<http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/19/guest.jpg>

[harry newton]

Post by Java Jive
You need to install an App such as Samba Filesharing (android), which,
IIRC, requires root access.

In Windows 10, you also need to re-enable guest sharing...
<Loading Image...>

[harry newton]

Post by NY
Harry, this sounds interesting.

It *is* interesting.

We have to be careful when we're talking functionality because the actual
factual words we use matter - otherwise we'll mislead each other by mistake
(or out of ignorance).

For example, in the iOS thread you're responding to, nobody yet except you
and Wilf actually *understood* the facts presented. (Not Lewis. Not Snit.
Not nospam. Not even Slootweg. All of them are speaking out of sheer
ignorance, clearly showing they don't understand the facts presented in the
original post in the least. Which itself proves my point that they're all
working off of ignorance foisted upon them by pretty marketing pictures.)

So let's concentrate on just two facts here in this offshoot thread:
1. What I already do (ftp)
2. What you want to to (smb)

What I do and what you want may not be the same (yet); but we can work
together on obtaining what you want. First let's explain what I do.

Please do note that I've also spent time on SMB but this post won't discuss
my SMB progress so that we can concentrate on the easy stuff first.

Post by NY
How do you make Android share its storage so
it can be read over the network by Windows?

It's so simple it's not funny.
1. Start any FTP server on Android
2. Mount your Android phone on Windows

That's all there is to it.
Windows' native file explorer understands "ftp" addresses.

For example, if you had an ftp URI of the form:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/some/path/to/some/repository
Then you could "mount" that "repository" on Windows (with or without
assigning it a "drive letter".

That's all I'm doing here.

I run on Android the most reliable FTP Server freeware I can find (see
numerous threads on figuring out *which* is the most reliable setup!) but
*any* FTP server freeware would functionally do the job.

That's it. That's all you have to do by way of software.

In my case, my Android phone is rooted so the entire file system is visible
to Windows; but rooting isn't a requirement for just mounting the Android
file system that you can see onto Windows.

If you want to copy files from Windows to Android, then you will need a
"login" on Android (mine is set up in the FTP Server software); otherwise,
if you're only going one way, "anonymous" ftp works just fine.

Post by NY
You use the notation
\\192.168.1.10\mnt\sdcard (for the appropriate IP address of the Android),
but that doesn't work on its own so I assume something else needs to be done
at the Android end to share the card - in other words, to create shares mnt
and mnt\sdcard on the Android device.

I'm not sure what you're asking since simply running the FTP server on
Android provides you with the top-level mount point of Android. If your
Android device is rooted, then you can set that top level that is available
to Windows to be root (/). If your Android isn't rooted, then the top level
will be something lower down the hierarchy (probably /sdcard or /sdcard0 on
Samsung, which uses that notation for things that aren't actually SD
cards).

Post by NY
My phone has Android 7.0, and it's a Samsung Galaxy S7.

My phone is Android 4.3 and it's a Samsung Galaxy S3.
And the USB port is broken so I copy everything over the LAN on WiFi. :)

Post by NY
However, what I was envisaging was the reverse: the Android phone acting as
the "client", accessing shared folders on the Windows "server", rather than
a Windows client accessing an Android server as you are illustrating.

Yes. We already have long detailed threads on the Android client side
accessing the Windows side via the SMB server (or other server) on Windows.

Let me search for that in http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-android and the
Windows newsgroups. OK. Here's one which discusses SMB as I recall:
"What do you use to copy text files from Windows XP to Android over WiFi?"
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/OkDfuDN9fZU/mFAMnIPGFQAJ>

Where the static/dynamic-related router details were ironed out earlier in:
"How does setting a static IP on a mobile device prevent linux router from
assigning that IP address?"
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/rvAUJFOEtDA/WQOdl5mUBwAJ>

Post by NY
For
example to have Word docs or MPEG videos on the Windows PC and being able to
edit the doc in Word on Android or play the video in VLC on Android, in the
same way that I could on a second Windows PC accessing the same shared files
on the "server" PC.

Yes. I know what you want, I think. I want the same for editing "calendar"
files, which I brought up recently on the Windows ng where the *same* exact
file is editing either on Android or on Windows or Linux or iOS.

"Offline calendar reminder program for Windows 10 & Android over the LAN"
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/haaknP4RxsM/ZGom2TPxBQAJ>

Post by NY
I've found an Android app called AndSMB (v3,5) which can see shared files
and folders on Windows, but you have to copy a file onto the phone's local
storage to be able to edit/play it from there, rather than accessing it
on-the-fly or having Android mount it as a virtual storage area and then
point the relevant app at that storage area.

We covered AndSMB as I recall, in those threads above (and others).

Here's a screenshot of the current clients/servers I have on Android, where
you'll note that AndSMB and a few others were all used at one point.
<Loading Image...>

Post by NY
From the researches I've done, I've found various threads that say that I'm
asking for the impossible: that Android (unless rooted) doesn't permit a
\\server\sharename\folder to be mounted as virtual storage (the Android
equivalent of a Windows drive letter) so you can point the app at that
virtual storage device as if it were a physical device like the phone's
internal storage or its plugged-in SD card.

It has been a while since I tried what you want, which is what everyone
wants, which is to truly share the *same* file (not a copy) in real time.

I tried that and gave up in favor of the method I showed you; but if you
read the threads I listed above, you'll get an idea of where we were on
using AndSMB.

As I recall, it was working for others - but I was seeing bugs - which are
likely because all my systems are highly customized (e.g., I don't use
Program Files or the Windows temp directories, etc.).

Post by NY
It's not the end of the world if it can't be done, but it would be nice to
have true file access of a Windows 7 "server" from various apps on Android
client. I'm assuming that I've set the Windows permissions to allow full
read/write access on the files and folders.

I attacked this in the past, and got progress on the AndSMB stuff, so I'd
have to re-read those threads to get back up to speed on where we left it.

It's a noble quest - but bear in mind that just by using FTP URIs in
Windows file explorer, you get to "copy" anything on Android or Windows to
each other.

Sure, SMB would be "better"; but we'd have to look at the effort where I
gave up only because I was running into bugs (as explained in the threads);
but we could tackle it again if we have the time and inclination.