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I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 a while ago. One annoying difference compared to my previous Android device that I've noticed on S4 is that I cannot access the internal storage and SD card directly by plugging the phone into the USB port of my computer (I use a Macbook Pro with OS X 10.6). It seems that I need a Mac app called Kies developed by Samsung to access the storage and SD card on my Galaxy, which is very inconvenient.

May I know if there is any way that I can access the storage and SD card on my Galaxy S4 directly, as if from a USB flash drive? I was able to do this with my previous Android device. Thank you!

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I found this potential solution. It says to download SG USB Mass Storage Enabler to enable this mode.

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  • Thank you. It is worth noting that this solution requires the device be unrooted. – tvk Aug 8 '13 at 21:36
  • You mean the question - and this recommendation requires the device to be ROOTED. – Dagelf Oct 14 '15 at 13:58
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What you are asking for is called UMS or USB Mass Storage. On newer devices, this often got replaced by MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) for several good reasons. Both protocols have their pros and cons. Unfortunately, in most cases the user is not given the choice which one to use (some devices offer this).

However, an article at device-recovery.com explains How to connect Android devices to PC with USB Mass Storage Mode for different Android versions and devices, including your S4. I will list a basic exceprt here with no warranties: I have no S4, so I cannot verify this.

  1. Go to Settings→About Phone/Tablet.
  2. Go to “Build Number” at the end of the Scroll list.
  3. Tap on “Build Number” repeatedly (7 times). On your third tap you should see message indicating that you only have 4 more taps to go to ‘become a developer’. Keep tapping until you are a developer. (a toast message will tell you so)
  4. Now Developer Option will be included in setting list of yours now. Go to “Develop Options” to check USB debugging > OK. Done.

According to the article, that should have done the trick. I do not see how the two are connected, and doubt it a little. As an alternative, the very same article mentions a USB Mass Storage APK you could try as well.

For devices running Android 4.0/4.1, the steps are a little different, and sound convincing to me:

  1. Go to Settings→More
  2. Search then Tap on “USB utilities”
  3. Check the option: “Connect Storage to PC”

Unfortunately, my Optimus 4X running 4.0.3 doesn't show that option -- so again, I cannot guarantee this will work on any device.

A different approach is presented at this website -- again, explicitly for the S4:

  1. Attach your Samsung Galaxy S4 to your computer (PC or Mac) using the USB cable. If this is the first time you’ve connected your device to your computer, it will install the necessary drivers on your computer.
  2. On your Samsung device, touch Applications > Settings > Wireless and network > USB utilities.
  3. Remove the USB cable from you Samsung S4.
  4. On your Galaxy S4 touch “Connect storage to PC.” You will see a warning: “USB utilities / Connect USB cable to use mass storage.” Insert the USB cable into your Samsung device while the message is still on the screen. Do not touch “Cancel.”
  5. The screen will change to “USB mass storage” with a picture of a green Android and a message that says “USB connected.” Touch “Connect USB storage” at the bottom.
  6. Your Samsung Galaxy S4 is now connected to your computer. The device’s internal storage will appear on your computer as an external drive. If you also have a microSD card installed, this will show up as a second external drive.

Plenty other web ressources I've found on my search simply state: that's not possible without rooting. But it cannot hurt trying above methods: they might fail, but should not break anything.

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  • As you suspected, turning on USB debugging doesn't enable USB mass storage on any device. I think the web page you linked to is misleading. – Dan Hulme May 26 '13 at 9:35
  • I suspected that, as it sounds too weird (you rather often read that USB Debugging interferes with USB data connections) -- but I wanted at least to give that option. What about the second procedure? – Izzy♦ May 26 '13 at 12:40
  • I don't have an S4 to test on, but I can tell you there's no such menu item on the S3. – Dan Hulme May 26 '13 at 13:45
  • That might be normal, as the article is explicitly for the S4. OK, let's wait for Han to respond. I'd say he has a S4, or at least knows somebody who has -- otherwise he had not asked :) – Izzy♦ May 26 '13 at 13:54
  • @Izzy I do not see the menu item "Applications > Settings > Wireless and network > USB utilities" on my S4. But thank you all the same! – tvk May 27 '13 at 22:31
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The closest solution I have found for Mac OS X is to install Android File Transfer (http://www.android.com/filetransfer/) on the computer. With this, I am able to access files on the internal storage and the SD card directly within an Android File Transfer window, and perform basic file management operations like copying and deleting. This app also supports some keyboard shortcuts as well as drag-and-drop to and from Finder. It isn't as convenient as Finder itself but it is the closest available substitute I have found for this device.

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  • I have used the filetransfer approach. I had to have usb debbuging enabled to make it work. It actually works quite well but you cant view images etc without having to move them off the device or copying them to your pc. Its great for storage but not a true USB type of storage as you cant quite utilize it the same way. – user37708 Jul 17 '13 at 14:29
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I've been trying to figure this out for a while now and I stumbled on to your question. I tried turning off the debugging option and it didn't work, but when I plugged my phone back in I noticed it flashed that it was connected as a camera. So I pulled down the status bar from the top of the screen (sorry, can't remember what it's called) and saw that it said I was connected and to press for other usb options. I pressed it and was able to switch modes so now I'm in the mass storage mode. Hope that helps, I feel kind of dumb having it be such an easy fix that I have missed for the last 2 weeks.

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It is pretty easy from Kies. I recommend doing so through Kies itself.

Just connect the s4. On the first window, click the round shape with the folder image on it. Then, drag any file you want to transfer to it.

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