Recently, the synchronization of mobile gadgets based on Android OS with standard computer systems has undergone quite strong changes. The new technology was based on the use of the so-called MTP Device driver when directly connecting the device to a computer or laptop via a universal USB port.
What is an MTP Device?
In general, the technology MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) first appeared in 2008 on mobile gadgets with Honeycomb in Android OS Ice Cream Sandwich. At that time, it was considered an integral part of the Windows Media suite, but was then standardized as one of the main types of USB devices.
That is why now stationary operating systems when connecting a mobile gadget and define it as an MTP Device. In fact, the development itself was not something new, since it very much resembles the PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) protocols, more precisely, is one of its varieties in the form of additional extensions.
MTP Device Driver as an Alternative to USB Mass Storage
As for the functioning of such a system, it is probably clear that without installing the driver it is basically impossible. However, compared to the usual exchange of data via USB MTP Device, the driver works in a slightly different way.
The most important difference, it is an advantage of the new technology, is as follows. The fact is that when using a standard connection using USB Mass Storage, two partitions are created (for media files and for applications separately), and one of them always depends on the other. There is a situation when a smartphone or tablet does not have access to one of the sections, and the computer perceives both. That is why the situation arises when the applications installed on the SD card, not only do not work, but even do not start.
In the case of using the MTP Device, there are no such restrictions. In addition, there is no need to use the FAT file system. And if before the redistribution of free space was due to the influence of one section on another, in this case there is nothing like that. Simply put, before the enthusiasm for the free space of one partition led to a decrease in the size of the other. Now both sections remain unchanged.
Standard driver installation on Windows
Now let's see how the standard driver installation is performed when synchronizing the device with Windows. Let's say we have a Samsung smartphone or tablet.
As a rule, usually when you first connect a device to a computer terminal, the system displays a message in the system tray that a new device has been found (in our case, Samsung MTP Device). The system itself installs the driver necessary for synchronization without any problems, after which the data transfer can be carried out similarly to using a conventional USB connection, when both the internal drive and the external SD card are detected. Errors can, of course, appear (like "Samsung Mobile MTP Device driver is not installed"), but we will dwell on them a bit later.
General driver installation guidelines for most Android devices
In principle, the automatic installation of the necessary drivers by the Windows operating system itself almost always works. However, you can use alternative methods related to the installation of related utilities for a smartphone or tablet.
So, for example, the same Samsung MTP Device driver is automatically installed when the latest version of the Kies application is available. Note that Samsung does not release drivers for each specific model of a mobile gadget, so it makes absolutely no sense to look for them, say, for S6 or Galaxy Note 2.
For HTC smartphones, you need to use specialized software called HTC Sync Manager (sometimes it may be necessary to install firmware via FastBoot mode). For LG, you can find the driver on the official website of the manufacturer specifically for a specific model. For Nexus, you need to use the ADB RUN utility and install the driver from the standard “Device Manager”. When using Sony gadgets, there are two options: installing Sony PC Suite or using FlashTool drivers. In principle, there is no difference, but you need to remember that these are two mutually exclusive programs - when you install one, the other must first be deleted.
Use on Mac OS
The use of devices classified as MTP Device when synchronizing with stationary "poppies" or "apple" laptops is not much different from that of Windows.
Unless for complete confidence, you can additionally install the Android File Transfer application, that's all. Otherwise, there should be no problems.
Installation on Linux (Ubuntu)
On Linux systems, due to their specificity, installing the MTP Device drivers looks a bit more complicated. As an example, consider this process for a version of Ubuntu when installing a driver for Nexus.
So, we use the command window, in which we first write sudo nano -w /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules (setting UDEV rules). Then we enter the command SUBSYSTEM == "usb", ATTR {idVendor} == "04e8", ATTR {idProduct} == "6860", MODE = "0600", OWNER = "<Username>", and then execute the lines sequentially sudo apt-get install mtpfs, sudo mkdir / media / GNexus and sudo chmod 775 / media / GNexus.
Next, connect the gadget to the computer and enter sudo mtpfs -o allow_other / media / GNexus. Everything, now, using Nutilus, you can deal with the movement of any files and folders. Yes, the most important thing. When all operations are complete, be sure to use the final sudo umount mtpfs command.
Possible errors and solutions
Unfortunately, the appearance of errors is also not excluded. In most cases, this applies only to Windows operating systems. Let's try to consider the most common failures and the simplest methods to eliminate them.
First of all, it is worth checking whether the related utilities correspond to the latest versions. When using them, it is advisable to download the latest distribution from the manufacturer's website.
If the driver for MTP Device still does not work, you can try reinstalling it manually. To do this, go to the "Device Manager". In theory, if the driver is not installed or the device itself does not work correctly, it will be marked with a yellow icon. Everything is simple here. You need to find the driver update button in the properties, and then select only compatible devices from the list. If this does not help, you will have to remove it, and then perform the installation again in the automatic mode. If this does not work, you will have to indicate to the system where the installation distribution kit containing the necessary information is stored.
Sometimes, however, this does not help. The reasons can be any number. In some cases, installing the latest version of Windows Media Player on your system may help. You probably just have to check the system partition of the hard drive for errors, but you never know what could be. It also happens that this type of error or malfunction can be produced by the "native" media player itself (this option, unfortunately, is not excluded). In this situation, if you use versions of Windows in the form of "seven" and above, you can try to simply disable the multimedia components in the program section of the Control Panel.
As already clear, the reasons for such failures simply can not be counted. Therefore, you will have to move from the simplest methods to solve the problem to more complex or even cardinal, given the specifics of the cause in each case and for each specific device.
However, as practice shows, one of the universal solutions may be to use the system registry. Here you need to find the UpperFilters key in the main HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section through sequential movement through the tree (System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Class) and delete it. This will not affect the performance of the OS, but the connection will work as expected. Just note that in most cases, this method can be used for gadgets from Samsung.
Conclusion
Here, in principle, in a nutshell, and all that relates to the main issues associated with the use of connections using MTP technology. As you can see, you don’t have to work hard to install the driver, except on Linux. The main errors are eliminated quite easily, however, for each case, it is advisable to find out the root cause before taking any cardinal actions such as deleting registry keys. But in most cases there should not be any failures, especially if you install the latest versions of additional software for your gadget.
In any case, you can simply turn to the official online resources of mobile equipment manufacturers. Surely there is a help section describing this type of problem. Perhaps the problem is not even in Windows, but, for example, in the firmware of the device or disabled functions and settings.