CentOS - May 2013 - Frustrated. Java on Centos 6 doesn't give an error message when downloading from a Samsung Galaxy S3

SUMMARY:
Maybe this all boils down to "how do we debug when Java fails on Centos 6?

DETAILS: 
If you don't have the Samsung Galaxy S3, then you might not realize how 
frustratingly difficult it is to transfer multiple files from the 
smartphone to Centos 6.

It should be as simple as hooking up a USB cable and dragging and 
dropping (which it is, on most other smartphones, including the Samsung 
Galaxy S2, which has USBMS mode still intact).
 
Note: I don't have a microUSB card, so that isn't an option and I have
no
desire to transfer the personal photos to the cloud just to get them from 
the phone to Centos, nor to install Wine and/or a virtuoal OS just to do 
something as simple as transfer files.

On the Samsung Galaxy S3, you can go all day to Settings->More Settings-> 
but there is nothing for "USB" anywhere anymore.

Unfortunately, [url=http://androidforums.com/computers/499522-looking-
linux-file-transfer-tool-android-4-0-devices.html]Google has apparently 
disabled USB transfer in the Android OS 4.0[/url] and above and replaced 
it with MTP file transfer.

So Windows recognizes any ICS device plugged in, and Mac does too (via 
Android File Transfer);  but Centos does not.

Anyway, [url=https://www.centos.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?
topic_id=39977&forum=57&post_id=182904#forumpost182904]the workaround[/
url], is to use Kies Air to transfer the files over the air via WiFi from 
the phone to the Centos PC. This works - but that brings up the problem 
of [b]multiple[/b] files.

The Kies Air gui for transferring multiple files at once is trivial (you 
just check "all files"); but it doesn't work.
There is no error message. There are no warnings. There are no 
indications whatsoever; it just doesn't transfer anything.
If you use the exact same procedure to transfer a single file, it works 
just fine. 

Googling for "Kies air won't download multiple files", I find a
bazillion
others have this problem - but most answers simply say to "install
Java"
on the host PC.  
 
For example:
 http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/usefulsoftware/KIESAIR/JSP
 Q: I cannot send multiple files at once
 A: Need to install Java ? downloadable from the Java homepage 
(www.java.com ) in order to transfer multiple files at once or to upload 
a file over 100MB.

So maybe this whole frustrating task of downloading multiple files from 
the smartphone to Centos hinges on debugging Java.
Here's where I'm lost though. I know nothing about Java.
What does "install Java" mean for Centos 6? Is that icedtea?  
[b]Q: How can I get an error message if icedtea isn't working when I try 
to transfer multiple files via Kies Air?[/b]

[img]http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13140568/640/13140568.png[/img]

On 2013-05-24, Rock <Rocksockdoc at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> Unfortunately, [url=http://androidforums.com/computers/499522-looking-
> linux-file-transfer-tool-android-4-0-devices.html]Google has apparently 
> disabled USB transfer in the Android OS 4.0[/url] and above and replaced 
> it with MTP file transfer.
>
> So Windows recognizes any ICS device plugged in, and Mac does too (via 
> Android File Transfer);  but Centos does not.
That's a bug in Android (or perhaps just your device, since on that
thread other users report ICS does support USB mass storage), not
CentOS.  I understand that's not helpful to you, but it's good to be
clear.

I'd install an scp or sftp client on your Android and use that for file
transfer to your CentOS box, as suggested by many folks on that thread.
There are probably a bunch of clients in the Play store.

--keith

-- 
kkeller at wombat.san-francisco.ca.us

On Fri, 24 May 2013 02:24:12 +0000 (UTC)
Rock <Rocksockdoc at gmail.com> wrote:
> If you don't have the Samsung Galaxy S3, then you might not realize
> how frustratingly difficult it is to transfer multiple files from
> the smartphone to Centos 6.
I had the same problem until I stumbled upon the solution:

Airdroid

Search for airdroid on Google Play. I use it regularly to transfer
files


-- 
Thanks
http://www.911networks.com
When the network has to work

On Thu, 30 May 2013 14:04:33 -0700, sms wrote:
> I thought that the Galaxy S3 has PTP mode.
> If so, put the phone in PTP mode.
> https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=671906
The bug report doesn't show *how* to put the Samsung Galaxy S3
in "PTP" mode (which I know nothing about).

Googling "How to put samsung galaxy s3 in ptp mode", I find:
 http://www.samsunggalaxys3forum.com/forum/samsung-galaxy-s3-help/1619-can-someone-tell-me-how-put-my-phone-ptp-mode.html

Which says:
1. Connect the phone (in that case, to the Mac)
2. Pull down the notification bar (in that case, on the Samsung phone)
3. Tap on the connection (in that case, the same USB connection)
4. Select PTP mode (to transfer photos)

When I tried that on Linux:
1. Connect the phone by USB to Centos 6 (this pops up first):
   http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/13198631/img/13198631.png
2. Pull down the notification bar (Connected as a media device):
   http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/13199411/img/13199411.png
3. Tap on the Ongoing connection:
   http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/13199412/640/13199412.png
4. Select PTP mode:
   http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/13199481/img/13199481.png
5. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is now in "Connected as a camera":
   http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/13199514/img/13199514.png

Hmmm... this pops up again, on the Desktop:
 http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/13198631/img/13198631.png

But, wait! This then shows up in the menus in a few seconds:
 http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13199313/img/13199313.png

And, for the first time, the folders are no longer zero size:
 http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/13199358/img/13199358.png

Pensively, I click on the DCIM folder, hoilding my breath:
 http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/13199374/img/13199374.png

Voila! Success at last!
It's so simple, once you already know the answer!

PS: I'm not sure if there is a graceful way to disconnect;
and, I'm not sure if I should leave the phone in PTP mode; 
but, the good news is that single and multiple photo transfer 
by USB wire now works, in PTP mode, on the Samsung Galaxy S3!

I didn't keep the email from Ljubomir, so for those of you threading the
list on mutt, this will mess up the headers--please accept my apologies.

I don't know why I never looked for mtpfs to compile on CentOS--after the
link Ljubomir gave, I just downloaded it and compilation was trivial.   I
think I was always looking for simple-mtpfs, but honestly, I don't
remember.  Maybe I just never thought of it.

At any rate, even with older CentOS libmtp packages, installing mtpfs to
/usr/local allows me to mount my S-III.  I tried both with and without the
udev rules suggested in the link, and it doesn't seem to make a difference.
The thing that is essential for me is to run mtp-detect after plugging in
the phone.  Otherwise, mtpfs will mount the phone, but nothing will show in
the directories.  If I first run mtp-detect, (though I may have to run it
a couple of times before it takes--no apparent link to USB port, and I did
make sure phone was unlocked when plugged in) and then mount it with mtpfs,
it's fine and works as it does in most other systems.  (My way of using is
command line, I mount it, usually on /mnt, then with root privilege add or
remove files). 

This was with the phone set to mtp, NOT set to camera. 

So, many thanks to all who have kept this thread alive as I've been taking
the easy way out and just using a more modern system.

-- 
Scott Robbins
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