If you are a Ubuntu user and own an Android device (running Android version 4.0 or above), you will know that you can’t plug in the device to your computer and have it show up in your file manager. The reason for this is because Android 4.0 and above is using MTP protocol as the connection bridge and MTP is not fully supported in Linux. We have previously shown you how to connect your Galaxy Nexus and Kindle Fire to Ubuntu, but those methods are usually a hit or miss and pose more problems than usual. Today, I am going to show you another method to connect up your Android device and Ubuntu.
Go-mtpfs is a simple FUSE filesystem that is built upon the MTP library used for previous tutorials. Once you have compiled and installed it, you will be able to mount and unmount your Android device easily and reliably. I have tested it on my phone and it works all the time.
Installation
The developer of Go-mtpfs does not provide a PPA or deb file, so you have to grab the source and compile it manually.
Alternatively, you can use the unstable PPA by WebUpd8:
Usage
Once installed, plug in your Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus or any other phone that are using the MTP protocol, to the computer.
Create an “Android” folder in your Home directory. Ignore this if it is already created.
Unlock your Android device. (It won’t work if your Android device is locked).
In the terminal, type:
Open your file manager and you should see your Android device mounted.
From here, you will be able to access the internal SD card of your Android device and copy/move files over from your computer.
Note: It is important not to pull out the cable and disconnect the device while it is mounted. To properly unmount the device, use this command:
For Unity Users:
If you are using Unity desktop, you can install the custom Unity launcher to easily mount and unmount the device.
To install:
Open your file manager and navigate to “/usr/share/applications”. Drag and drop the “Mount Android Device” launcher to the Unity launcher.
That’s it.
via Webupd8 and atareao
Image credit: USB cable on white background by BigStockPhoto
Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
