Best fully free app for file transfer

[danboid]

Like many, I was deeply disappointed when Google decided to drop USB mass storage support from Android. Its prob their biggest fkup yet. So, since then I've been using Airdroid to transfer files to and from my Nexus 4.

I know Airdroid does lots of stuff but I only ever use it to transfer files and I sincerely believe similar functionality to this aspect of Airdroid should be integrated into Android by default - an SSH server would be ideal!

There are two things I don't like about Airdroid

1 - It insists on zipping multiple file transfers, which slows down the transfer greatly

2 - Its not FLOSS

What is the best free (and hopefully open source) alternative to Airdroid to enable me to quickly and easily transfer files between my phone and my 'proper' Linux boxes? Ideally it will work over both wifi and a USB tether link.

Thanks!

EDIT 2 10th August 2014

The fastest way to download files from most modern Android devices is via MTP / USB cable. This can allow file transfer speeds of 30+MB/s. Sadly, under KDE (KDE 4.13.2 / Ubuntu 14.04) you can only read but not write via MTP.

If you use a Linux desktop or file manager that doesn't support the new Android MTP properly or your DE/FM has no MTP support then you can use gmtp to quickly and easily transfer files via MTP. MTP is a good solution for KDE users who want to upload to their device via MTP.

EDIT 10th August 2014

My Nexus 4 died and got replaced by a SGS3. I used to get 10/12MB/s via SFTP from my N4 but for some reason I only get 5/6MBs via an SFTP USB tether connection on my S3. On top of that, the SFTP server app is unreliable on my S3 and it often takes multiple attempts to transfer file(s) that are over a few hundred MB in size so now I'm using Samba Server by Ice Cold Apps instead.

Using the Samba server app on my S3, I can now achieve 10+ MB/s transfer rates again. It also has the advantages of not requiring a rooted phone to use (although it does help if you use Linux or Windows) and doesn't require that you install an sftp client as all big 3 OSs can access samba shares from their file managers.

EDIT 7th May 2014

I have now tried every app I could find that claimed to work as a Android (s)ftp server. Out of a dozen or so apps, there was only two working alternatives to Airdroid - 'Rooted ssh/ftp Daemon' and 'HTTPS and FTPS server'. HTTPS and FTPS server 4.6.1 allowed me to transfer files but only at USB1-alike speeds ie at a max of about 1.2MB/s. Airdroid seems to be the fastest app for copying files from your computer to your Android device but 'Rooted ssh/sftp Daemon' allows you to download multiple files from your Android device almost 3x faster than Airdroid allows.

It should be noted that you have to enable either wifi or mobile data before the sftp daemon lets you connect via a USB tether. I shall ask the author about fixing this. I have informed the author of HTTPS and FTPS server about the slow transfer rates - it would be nice to see that working as it doesn't require that your phone be rooted to use it - and I've also written to the Airdroid devs to request they add the option to disable compression when transferring multiple files so that it may transfer as quickly as the SFTP daemon does.

Android file transfer test results

In my tests I transfered 30 MP4 movie files totaling approx 500MB to/from my Nexus 4 running stock (but rooted) Android 4.4.2 and my i7 laptop running Ubuntu 12.04.4 amd64 w/ kernel 3.11.

I used a USB connection for all transfers and where a FTP client was required I used filezilla 3.5.3 from the Ubuntu repos.

Airdroid 2.1.0

Ubuntu to Android = 52s

Android to Ubuntu = 2m 23s


(Rooted) ssh/ftp server (Daemon) v12

Ubuntu to Android = 1m 32s

Android to Ubuntu = 50s


HTTPS and FTPS server 4.6.1

Ubuntu to Android = 7m 57s

Android to Ubuntu = 5m 43s

 

[danboid]

I've just checked the play store and to my delight there are at least 2 ssh servers for Android now! Yay!

Still, maybe this isn't the best solution if all I care about is file transfer as, reading the comments for the two sshd ports, a few users complain about stability so my question remains.

 

[girolez]

Hi

I set my phone as an ftp server using ES file manager or eshare (or one of many others) and use Filezilla on my Linux boxes. You could just use a Web browser but Filezilla gives more flexibility. To transfer from phone to phone use ES on both. Works over wifi.

Roger

 

[danboid]

Hi Roger!

Oh wow! I've had ESFM installed on my Android phones for years. I knew it could access FTP sites but didn't know it had an FTP server in it too! What does it NOT do?

For anyone else who has missed this, go to Option/menu >Tools>Remote Manager to enable the FTP server.

Still, its not 100% ideal as it seems to only work with wifi and not USB tether - right?

 

[chanchan05]

Uh, I still drag and drop files into my device without usb mass transfer. Just plug it in and it will be treated as a media device if you are in mtp mode. I just treat it like another flash drive. I open it up, choose either phone or card storage, and paste my stuff in.

 

[fdbryant3]

Personally for file transfers I use Snappea (which is like Airdroid but better in my opinion, don't know if it works with Linux though) or Bitorrent Sync. Neither are FLOSS though.

 

[danboid]

chanchan05:

I did get MTP sort-of working under Linux but it was SLOOOOOW as hell, unreliable and you don't get full access to your filesystem. Pretty useless to me.

fdbryant:

Thanks for the suggestion! Does snappea work via USB tether?

If anyone else has any suggestions, please mention if you've tried your method via USB and with Linux or not - thanks! If it works with Linux I expect it will work with OSX and Windows too and USB improves speed and security (and doesn't require a wifi connection).

 

[girolez]

Uh, I still drag and drop files into my device without usb mass transfer. Just plug it in and it will be treated as a media device if you are in mtp mode. I just treat it like another flash drive. I open it up, choose either phone or card storage, and paste my stuff in.

Yes, but I never could get this to work with Linux on PCs.....dont think the drivers exist.

Roger

 

[fdbryant3]

Yes, it works over USB or Wifi.

 

[danboid]

I have updated the OP with the results of my testing. Long story short is that I have not found a faster way of transferring files than Airdoid via a USB tether.

fdbryant:

I was unable to get SnapPea to work via USB. Can you explain how you got that to work? What version are you running?

 

[chanchan05]

Yes, but I never could get this to work with Linux on PCs.....dont think the drivers exist.

Roger

Oh yeah, forgot about the Linux part. Makes sense though. MTP is a Windows protocol.

 

[Crashdamage]

Yes, but I never could get this to work with Linux on PCs.....dont think the drivers exist.

The MTP Linux drivers do exist and it will work, but it is a bit of a hassle.

 

[davoid]

The MTP Linux drivers do exist and it will work, but it is a bit of a hassle.

When I was using Linux Mint I just plugged in my GS3 and it worked without any hassle whatsoever.

 

[danboid]

I've updated the OP again with my latest test results as I'd neglected to test the Rooted ssh/ftp server Daemon before and it turns out this is the fastest method of pulling files from your Android device by a long shot, so long as its rooted! Airdroid seems to be the fastest app for copying files from your computer to your Android device but I suspect I'll just be using the sftp daemon for all my file transfer needs now.

 

[danboid]

I'm now using Samba server instead. I added this explanation to the OP:

My Nexus 4 died and got replaced by a SGS3. I used to get 10/12MB/s via SFTP from my N4 but for some reason I only get 5/6MBs via an SFTP USB tether connection on my S3. On top of that, the SFTP server app is unreliable on my S3 and it often takes multiple attempts to transfer file(s) that are over a few hundred MB in size so now I'm using Samba Server by Ice Cold Apps instead.

Using the Samba server app on my S3, I can now achieve 10+ MB/s transfer rates again. It also has the advantages of not requiring a rooted phone to use (although it does help if you use Linux or Windows) and doesn't require that you install an sftp client as all big 3 OSs can access samba shares from their file managers.

 

[hiredgun]

Uh, I still drag and drop files into my device without usb mass transfer. Just plug it in and it will be treated as a media device if you are in mtp mode. I just treat it like another flash drive. I open it up, choose either phone or card storage, and paste my stuff in.

Same here, it's the fastest and easiest way to go for sure!

 

[danboid]

Hi Hiredgun!

Your posting was good as it made me realise that I hadn't tested MTP since I updated to Ubuntu 14.04 so I was just presuming it wouldn't work at all. I was half-right but pleasantly surprised by the download speeds, which are 3x faster than what I was getting with samba via a USB tether link ie 30+MB/s.

Here's what I've just added to the OP:

The fastest way to download files from most modern Android devices is via MTP / USB cable. This can allow file transfer speeds of 30+MB/s. Sadly, under KDE (KDE 4.13.2 / Ubuntu 14.04) you can only read but not write via MTP.

If you use a Linux desktop or file manager that doesn't support the new Android MTP properly or your DE/FM has no MTP support then you can use gmtp to quickly and easily transfer files via MTP. MTP is a good solution for KDE users who want to upload to their device via MTP too.