What is MTP Device - description and installation

Recently, synchronization of mobile gadgets based on Android OS with standard computer systems has undergone quite a lot of changes. The basis of the new technology was 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 MTP Device?

In general, the technology MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) first saw the light in 2008 on mobile gadgets with Honeycomb in the Android OS Ice Cream Sandwich. At that time it was considered an integral part of the Windows Media package, but then it was standardized as one of the main types of USB devices.

That is why the fixed operating systems now connect the mobile gadget and define it as MTP Device. In fact, the development of something new was not, because it very much resembles the protocols PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol), 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 operation of such a system, it is probably clear that without the driver installation it is basically impossible. However, compared to the usual data exchange via USB MTP Device, the driver works somewhat differently.

The most important difference, it is the 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), one of which always depends on the other. There is a situation where a smartphone or tablet to one of the partitions does not have access, and the computer perceives both. That's why there is a situation when the applications installed on the SD-card, not that they do not work, but do not even start.

In the case of using MTP Device, there are no such restrictions. In addition, there is no need even to use the FAT file system. And if previously the redistribution of free space occurred due to the influence of one section on another, in this case there is nothing like this. Simply put, earlier the hobby of the free space of one section led to a decrease in the size of the other. Now both sections remain unchanged.

Standard driver installation in Windows

Now let's see how the standard driver installation is done when the device is synchronized with Windows. Let's say we have a smartphone or a tablet Samsung.

Typically, usually when the device is first connected to a computer terminal, the system displays a message in the system tray that a new device has been found (in our case, the Samsung MTP Device). The system itself sets the driver necessary for the synchronization without any problems, after which the data transfer can be done in the same way as using a standard USB connection, when both the internal drive and the external SD card are detected. Of course, there may be errors (like "Samsung Mobile MTP Device driver is not installed"), but we will stop on them later.

General guidelines for installing drivers for most Android devices

In principle, almost always the automatic installation of the necessary drivers by the operating system Windows itself is triggered. However, you can use alternative methods associated with the installation of related utilities for a smartphone or tablet.

For example, the same Samsung MTP Device driver is automatically installed if the latest version of the Kies application is available. Note that Samsung does not release drivers for each specific model of the mobile gadget, so it does not make any sense to look for them, say, for S6 or for Galaxy Note 2.

For HTC smartphones, you need to use specialized software called HTC Sync Manager (sometimes you may need to install the 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". If you use 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 installing one another, you must first delete it.

Use in Mac OS

The use of devices classified as MTP Device, when synchronized with stationary "poppies" or "apple" laptops, differs little from it in Windows.

Is that for complete certainty, you can additionally install the Android File Transfer application, and that's all. The rest should not be a problem.

Installation in Linux (Ubuntu)

On Linux systems, because of their specificity, the installation of MTP Device drivers looks somewhat more complicated. As an example, consider this process for the Ubuntu version when installing the driver for Nexus.

So, we use the command window, in which we first write sudo nano -w /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules (installing UDEV rules). Then enter the command SUBSYSTEM == "usb", ATTR {idVendor} == "04e8", ATTR {idProduct} == "6860", MODE = "0600", OWNER = "", then execute the lines 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. All, now, using Nutilus, you can do the moving of any files and folders. Yes, most importantly. When all operations are completed, do not forget to use the final command sudo umount mtpfs.

Possible errors and methods for their elimination

Unfortunately, the appearance of errors is also not excluded. In most cases, this only applies to Windows operating systems. Let's try to consider the most frequently occurring malfunctions and the simplest methods of their elimination.

First of all, it's worth checking if the associated utilities match 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 to reinstall it manually. To do this, go to the "Device Manager". In theory, if the driver is not installed or if the device itself does not work correctly, it will be marked with a yellow icon. Everything is simple. It is necessary in the properties to find the driver update button, and then select only compatible devices from the list. If this does not work, you will have to uninstall it, and then perform the installation again in automatic mode. If this does not work, you need to tell the system where the installation distribution containing the required information is stored.

Sometimes, however, it does not help either. There can be as many reasons as possible. In some cases, installation of the latest version of Windows Media Player can help. Probably, you just have to check the system partition of the hard drive for errors, but there is little that can be. It happens that the type of errors or failures can be given out by the "native" media player (this option, unfortunately, is not excluded). In this situation, if you use Windows versions in the form of "Seven" and above, you can try to just disconnect the multimedia components in the "Control Panel" section of the programs.

As it is already clear, the reasons for such failures simply can not be counted. Therefore, we will have to move from the simplest methods of solving the problem to more complex or even cardinal, taking into account the specifics of the cause in each specific case and for each particular device.

However, as practice shows, one of the universal solutions can be the use of the system registry. Here you need to find the UpperFilters key and delete it in the main HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section through the sequential navigation (System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Class). On the operability of the "operating system" this will not affect, 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 brief and all that concerns the main issues related to the use of connection technology MTP. As you can see, you do not have to strain especially to install the driver, except in Linux. The main errors are eliminated quite easily, but for each case it is desirable to find out the root cause before undertaking any cardinal actions such as removing registry keys. But in most cases there should not be any disruptions, especially if you install the latest versions of additional software for your gadget.

In any case, you can simply refer to the official Internet resources of mobile equipment manufacturers. Surely there is a help section with a description of problems of this type. Perhaps the problem is not even in Windows, but, say, in the firmware of the device or disabled functions and settings.