Android - Unable to write to SD Card

[Time-Bandit]

Hi all,

Got my T3 mini android box up and running works like a charm however I have come across a problem where its not possible for me to write to the SD card.

It was working before and I could write to it so I did an OS reset which didn't change things have tried reformat on both Android OS and within windows which has not changed things, previously it was formatted in Windows before it went into the box when it was working.

The SD card comes up in the storage folder but when I try to write to the SD card it won't let me do so. I have tried using various file manager apts to try get the device to write to the card but getting errors and it won't work.

The card works fine with no issues when I format it in Windows have put data onto it before putting it in the box to test it, also tried labelling the disk as this was suggested to try and get the SD working properly.

The box is rooted so I tried to change the permission settings in the android box but it won't let me update the platform.xml

Does anyone have a way to get this working again its driving me crazy have been trying various things on this since 11pm yesterday and was up till 5am and now trying again.

Cheers,

Bandit.

 

[Time-Bandit]

Copying files to the external sd card located in the storage folder works without issue via winscp however when trying to copy paste through windows when setup as an FTP it files claiming it can't write to the sd card. Had a look in Winscp at the properties of the SD card folder and there is one place where its not showing its writeable when I change this it doesn't actually apply it to the folder as when I open properties again its no longer ticked.

 

[trents]

Is the card corrupted somehow? How large is it and how expensive is it?

Have you tried the diskpart clean command?

 

[Time-Bandit]

Class 10 Lexar 32gb card. It was working fine I was able to copy things to it before but since the recent power on its not taking the data. Would Diskpart make any difference on an SD card that has been fully reformatted? I thought perhaps doing these quick formats were no good so I did a full format of it to Fat32 then checked it for disk errors just incase but it was clean with no issues copying data from PC to it works fine and I can view and load it on the android box without any issue but when I try put data onto it through the Android OS it won't accept and throws a hissy. Only way I can seem to transfer data to that card without errors is via winscp transfer otherwise I would previously setup a network mapped link in my computer that I would double click and just drag drop my data once I have the right ports open etc.

 

[Time-Bandit]

Update - Tried with diskpart there was a tut I saw about removing the read only on it which I did put it into the Android box but still the same result.

 

[Time-Bandit]

How does a reset through the android recovery (pressing the reset button and getting the android on screen with the open chest) reset differ from the one you can do in the settings menu when in an android os?

Would the reset on the box cause all settings to go back to how they were the moment it came in the box since the remote isn't working (tested as working on old tv stick).

 

[Time-Bandit]

Update - Got the remote working again hard reset using a pin on the bottom of the box solved that problem. Still have the problem of not being able to write to my sd card.

Looks like some app on this pre rooted box messed with platform.xml I am not sure how to go about getting the correct permissions put in for android 7.1 into this doc which should fix my issue.

Does anyone know if Android devices have a backup of the platform.xml and if so where?

 

[trents]

Can you just do a clean install of the Android OS?

 

[Time-Bandit]

Would a clean install count as a reflash via sd card? I downloaded the zip file and had it reinstall but the problem is still there. If there was a problem with the card id imagine I would have come across what was causing it by now. The number of reformats I have done on the card for it to work on my Desktop with no issue then to go into the Android box and totally fail its getting quite annoying.

One thing with this box on my old android tv stick the folder named sd card was the internal storage area then it had extsd folder for the external card however this new android box is on android 7.1 and the sdcard folder is the internal storage as expected however the external card is accessed via the "storage folder" not sure if this makes any difference or not but there is no extsd folder on this new box as I have ssh into the box and had a thorough look around the folders.

There isn't anything in developers options that may have caused or could fix this is there?

 

[habbajabba]

That absolutely drives me crazy. In the first versions of droid there was an sdfix fix, which of course does nothing now. Thanks google pos.. I think it has to do with selinux being set to restrictive on device at boot. I think droid somehow flags the card's properties as the same, so that once you pull it out it no longer works in anything else. I have literally tossed 32gb cards for this reason. How I hated that S5 and will avoid anything samsung at all costs.
After experiencing some problems with the daily updating of LineageOS 15.1 rooted, which btw uses selinux restrictive at boot, I Flashed to a Skydragon OS (Pie9 2/4/19) image which has selinux set to permissive, and my phone not only runs flawlessly, but it feels and acts like I own it and not google. Sky works really well too. Unfortunately I cannot test this as my phone is 64gb on chip only.
FYI, the 32gb card I had in my acer tablet got fried while I was simply holding it in bed with a wool blanket on. If your device has a card slot on the edge with no cover I would suggest electrical tape to protect it.

 

[Time-Bandit]

What doesn't make sense is why it was working fine when I started using the box and since has now locked me out of putting data onto the card when it works perfect on my pc. Is there any way to fix this now or am I wasting my time?

Yes, the sd card just has an open slot on the right side of it.

 

[deathman20]

Hmmm is the permissions locked somehow on the device?

 

[Time-Bandit]

I imagine that they are locked but what is confusing me is the fact it was working before but now it isn't and the read/write on the sd ard on windows is fine w/o issue.

Have tried things like editing platform.xml to try solve issue which has not worked and various apps from youtube that can make the change aswell but nothing is working.

 

[Time-Bandit]

Issue resolved.

Had to do things the long way but I can write to the SD card again

 

[Niku-Sama]

what did you wind up doing in the end?

 

[Time-Bandit]

Well firstly I think what may have caused the issue to start with was hitting write to external option in developer options that must have turned it off to start with.

I tried to make contact with the seller who linked me to a rom file which the link didn't work. I pleaded with them to provide another link but alas they just ignored my requests.

I ended up having to flash xposed framework to the box then run an apk fix to give access to x application to write to the sd card then make sure that app was enabled within xposed then give it a reboot. I forget how I came across the solution I think I was searching for something unrealated that took me to an android forum where I shoved in some key words that came up with pages and pages of information then after about 2-3 hrs found the above tried it and it worked.

Super frustrating and worked out turning off USB debug will kill your remote. In my case the original remote that comes wth the box works with USB on or off so fixed that. But considering how easy it is to access dev options its pretty dangerous if you hit the wrong thing in error.

I am also not sure how the updating works on this box as the firmware was android 7.1.1 but when I put the framework for xposed in it suddenly said it was 7.1.2 and prior to this I tried to do a software update to make sure everything was up to date and is said no updates. So super confused need to work out how to make a full firmware backup of this should something go wrong.

 

[habbajabba]

I have one t/s droid device running an Allwinner chip. No root, nothing. It's the car's gps dvr system. Other than fdroid and yalp plus the updated tts engine, it's completely stock. Lineage OS 15.1 on a modern phone like my one+3t was literally updating every day. It did NOT like any messing with it (xposed etc.) though was fully rooted oob.. With this new rom, skydragon, I flashed the zip in recovery over lineage to save my data. It also does not like ANY fiddling. It uses magiskmanager.apk with a magisk.zip file flashed in recovery for root ONLY. No modules, xposed, substratum, nothing.
The thing that scares me about the niche droid devices is whether or not it can be 'hacked'. With yours, tanix provides the rom onsight with xposed even which automatically has to be rooted in order to even run. Dump it to a card or usb and then point recovery to the actual zip to flash over. Piece of cake if you don't even have to search. Important thing is with exposed you need permanent root and then you can run whatever is compatible to your config, including removing stuff you don't want. Root's what's important not so much xposed.
Protonmail on my phone still nags about play services but now works fine as does Tutanota. GSF and the TTS engine is all I kept of google for full functionality with gps. Casting as well might be a problem as it requires the play services but I don't do that enough to care and will NEVER have a goog acct again either so there's that. I run a custom optimized recovery img file of twrp and a full system backup to a folder on device took 37 seconds! You may have to use something like Titanium, who knows as it's doubtful there's a twrp for the tanix. Plus the wrong twrp can brick or bootloop device as well. Debugging has to be left on for the 'extra' functionality that rooting with xposed involves such as selinux set to permissive at boot (default in skydragon but not lineage-weird). Sky hands down blows lineage right out of the water.