Until quite recently, transferring files from my Samsung Galaxy A14 5G was very simple:
plug in usb connection. Phone appears under Files, but without access.
wait for phone pop-up “allow files access?”, punch allow option
access established and transfers either way was extremely easy.
Within the past month or less, something has changed and that pop-up has changed and I find no way to hard wire connect to the Ubuntu computer.
Turning on tethering on the phone under ¨connections" did not help- that just caused the phone to disappear from Files.
One recent youtube vid (youtube.com/watch?v=GJYvKzAdzHk) claimed you had to be in developer mode to tether. Tried that and it did not work.
But afterwards, the phone no longer even appears under Files when connected. Turning off developer mode does not help.
Sorry, I know this is more a Samsung than a Ubuntu issue, but I have not been able to find any reliable help via Samsung help sources.
This youtube describes how it used to work for me: youtube.com/watch?v=of0eRXPvft8
If that were to happen with me, the first thing that I’d do would be to power down both the computer and the phone, wait at least 60 seconds, power on both devices, and try again once they have both fully booted.
If that didn’t help, I would check the physical connections: Try a different data cord, and check the USB ports for damage or dirt.
You can also load an FTP app onto your Samsung and connect to your computer via your WiFi, although that’s less convenient.
You may have already tried this but in case you haven’t I’ll go ahead and post this:
Go back into Developer options and scroll down about half way or so until you see Default USB configuration and tap it and make sure File Transfer is ticked.
This looks like an MTP regression on the Samsung/Android side rather than Ubuntu itself. Recent Samsung updates changed the default USB behavior.
Make sure Developer options → Default USB configuration → File Transfer (MTP) is set, then unplug and reconnect the cable. Also note that USB tethering disables MTP, so it must be off.
On Ubuntu, restarting the MTP service can help:
killall gvfs-mtp-volume-monitor
If MTP keeps being unreliable, tools like KDE Connect or Warpinator are often much more stable than USB with Samsung phones.
I use SFTP (Using AndFTP) to transfer over wireless. If you are able to SSH to your Ubuntu system then you can connect using SFTP and transfer files as needed
I ran into the same issue. Now when I connect my Samsung phone to my desktop, a note pops up that it is charging only. Tap for other USB options. When the message is tapped, the USB settings window opens up. Merely select “Use USB for transferring files” and you will be able to transfer your files to your Ubuntu system.
Done multiple reboots of both. Have no secondary data cord to test with - would need to buy.
No sign of damage to cables or dirt. Yes over WIFI is a possibility. I was able to transfer a single photo via email over wifi, but that is very slow and complicated and it has a size limit that most videos exceed
Sorry, I don’t understand “SSH”. Yes, there are wireless possibilities but, at least judging by the one file I was able to get over via email, very slow and error-prone. Hard wired transfers were almost instantaneous for smaller files and just a few seconds for larger ones.
Yes. I got that message dozens of times in trying and nearly broke my finger tapping on it, swiping on it, etc. Nothing ever popped up nor did anything change on the Ubuntu side.
So, there’s quite a few options when it comes to this. The best I’ve found is LocalSend which is very similar to AirDrop on Apple devices.
On KDE Plasma, file transfer via KDE Connect is an option, as is GSConnect on Gnome (with KDE Connect on the phone). However, LocalSend is braindead simple.
My phone is also a Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, and I found cable, plugged it in, on phone I was asked to “allow” or *deny" permission, then a dialog opened here on my Ubuntu window asking what I want to do, I selected the option to view files in file-manager (I forget the wording sorry) and a file-manager window opens offering me a view of SD CARD or internal storage [of phone].
It appears normal for me here, but my release is newer than 24.04 LTS, and my phone is behind an applying an update (which I wonder is why you’re having the issue & I’m not; it always asks my permission to apply it when I want/need to use the phone so its denied).
I can’t see my phone being in developer mode, I’m using it only if I have to.
Bingo!
used killall, rebooted, went back into developer mode, found the default to still be on Tether, changed it back to file transfer and everything works.
Thanks everybody - really great and fast replies from all of you!
I’m glad that you managed to solve it. Just to note, when I say over WiFi, I’m talking about using FTP, not email, which has to go to the server and then back again, so it’s via the cloud, not directly via WiFi. FTP would use only the local LAN, not the wider internet. It’s something to consider for future.
Personally, I install openssh-server as a package. This will allow you to remote into the system via SSH (Secure Shell) and run commands as if you were sat at the system. Apps like ConnectBot on Android will allow you to type commands into a terminal and so on, super useful. It also gives file access. You can even mount SFTP in MacOS with no extra packages or navigate the remote file system from Windows using WinSCP or FileZilla.
You can also use AndFTP on Android to connect to the remote system and transfer files both ways over your wireless LAN so no need to move to the system to send files…just chill on the sofa
