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[Mr Swordfish]

The issue is with the device sync functionality for Windows -> Android.  It works perfectly when going from Windows to Windows, but I've never gotten it to work going from Windows to Android.   At the suggestion of others here on the forum, I have a folder on the Windows system and sync to that, then use a 3rd party tool (Resilio Sync) to sync from that folder to to Android.

This works reasonably well, but with two issues: 1) I wind up having to burn about 500G of storage space on the Windows machine to duplicate the library and 2) Resilio Sync is counter-intuitive and difficult to use, plus they no longer support their "home" version.

It would be a HUGE improvement to make the sync to Android functionality work as simply and reliably as the Windows -> Windows functionality.


I'm assuming the issue has something to do with incompatabilities between the Windows file system and the Android file system, but my naive take is that this should be surmountable.

PS -  I've purchased the MC34 license, but haven't upgraded yet.  I have a new Windows 11 desktop PC that will replace my current Windows 10 PC, and will install the new version when I move to the new PC.

[JimH]

Android prevents file transfer unless you allow it in Android settings for USB.  This changed a few years ago.

[BryanC]

I'd recommend syncthing, then you can forgo wires completely.

[Mr Swordfish]

Android prevents file transfer unless you allow it in Android settings for USB.  This changed a few years ago.

So, does this feature work reliably now?  I haven't tried it in a while, but my recollection was that the failure mode was more erratic than just "unable to transfer files".  Hence the sync-to-windows folder & use 3rd party app to sync to android.

[Mr Swordfish]

I'd recommend syncthing, then you can forgo wires completely.

But I'd still be eating up a couple hundred gigs of storage space to copy all the files to a second folder on Windows, right?

[Mr Swordfish]

I'd recommend syncthing, then you can forgo wires completely.

I looked into that today. It appears that syncthing is not longer available for android.  See https://forum.syncthing.net/t/discontinuing-syncthing-android/23002

I started a thread about this about 18 months ago.  Everyone who participated seemed to agree that syncing directly from MC to android didn't work reliably.   I'm hoping that can be addressed.  Resilio sync is really hard to  use and the local folder hack eats up a lot of unnecessary disc space.

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=136675.0

[BryanC]

I looked into that today. It appears that syncthing is not longer available for android.  See https://forum.syncthing.net/t/discontinuing-syncthing-android/23002

I started a thread about this about 18 months ago.  Everyone who participated seemed to agree that syncing directly from MC to android didn't work reliably.   I'm hoping that can be addressed.  Resilio sync is really hard to  use and the local folder hack eats up a lot of unnecessary disc space.

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=136675.0

syncthing-fork on Android is flawless and third-party wrappers are intended to replace the official app so they can focus on the core development.

[Mr Swordfish]

I will give syncthing-fork a try, once I get the Windows sync working again. (see other thread).

[markf2748]

Still another old thread on syncing to Android:

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,138003.msg966295.html#msg966295

If you are willing to use a USB wired connection, then the file compare utility Beyond Compare 5 (Scooter Software) can effectively synchronize folders between Windows and an Android phone.  It works directly with the phone's memory, as well as with a phone's micro SD card.  The default is based on comparing file dates, which BC5 tries to preserve when copying to Android (it does so on my Samsung Galaxy, unlike Windows itself).  You can also do binary compares when needed, which will be much slower of course.

If you are willing to put a ftp server on the phone, then BC5 should be able to use that protocol wirelessly (I have not tried it).

[Purecut]

Movie Chapter support

[Mr Swordfish]

If you are willing to use a USB wired connection, then the file compare utility Beyond Compare 5 (Scooter Software) can effectively synchronize folders between Windows and an Android phone.  It works directly with the phone's memory, as well as with a phone's micro SD card.  The default is based on comparing file dates, which BC5 tries to preserve when copying to Android (it does so on my Samsung Galaxy, unlike Windows itself).  You can also do binary compares when needed, which will be much slower of course.

I will take a look at Beyond Compare 5.  I'd prefer a wired connection, which should be faster, at least in theory.  Comparing file dates should be sufficient - the changes are basically just changes to playlists and adding new audio files.

I spent a week fighting with Syncthing but could never get it to work.  It's freeware, so their support is not very strong. 

After giving up on Syncthing, I've spent the last week trying  to get Resilio Sync to work, but while I had it working on Windows 10 with Resilio Sync v2, moving to Windows 11 and v3 broke the process - it works fine to sync Windows to Windows, but fails silently when pointed at the android.

I understand that this is not a JRiver issue, but if anyone has any ideas I'd be happy to hear them.

[Mr Swordfish]

It took about 5 minutes to download and install Beyond Compare 5, and also do a quick test.  Seems to work very well.

Right now it's churning through all ~350G of the sync folder which it is saying will take about 6 hours. (It compares timestamps, so it's copying a bunch of things that probably don't need to be

Very nice informative intuitive UI, seems to work.  If it is as good as it seems to be the $35 will be well worth it.

Don't know why Syncthing & Resilio were so problematic - likely the same issue, but if this works as well is it seems to be I'm moving on.

[markf2748]

It took about 5 minutes to download and install Beyond Compare 5, and also do a quick test.  Seems to work very well.

Right now it's churning through all ~350G of the sync folder which it is saying will take about 6 hours. (It compares timestamps, so it's copying a bunch of things that probably don't need to be

Very nice informative intuitive UI, seems to work.  If it is as good as it seems to be the $35 will be well worth it.

Don't know why Syncthing & Resilio were so problematic - likely the same issue, but if this works as well is it seems to be I'm moving on.

I've been a nearly daily user of BC since its early days, at least 20 years.  There are many useful features that may be less than obvious.  I don't mean to be an evangelist, but here are a few examples:

First confirm the BC5 copy is preserving file dates onto your phone.  I presume you have already done this.

If you are confident that some files are identical except for their date stamps, then you can use BC5's "Touch" feature to instantly match their dates (you choose the direction).  In that case they will not be flagged for copying.

To check candidates for "Touch", select a few representative files and do a binary compare.  If binary identical, then I consider it safe to do the Touch on related files.

Occasionally the timestamps will differ by exactly 1 hour due to daylight savings time, or other time zone differences.  BC5 has an option to ignore daylight savings time, or time zone differences.  It can also set tolerances on the date compare.

BC5 has a special mode for comparing flac files which allows you to examine the plain text tags separately from the binary audio section.  This can be useful for troubleshooting file differences.

I use it to keep my primary music storage SSD (as well as Windows document folders and my MC customized app folders), in sync with other PCs and backup drives, both attached and networked.

It has sophisticated comparison modes for spreadsheets.

A model user interface.  Good support and active user forum.

The list goes on and on.

Another note:  Since you are copying a huge amount of data, you may consider placing the phone's SD card into a USB card reader to do the bulk of the work.  Not sure, but it may be faster with the phone out of the loop.  When finished, put the card in your phone and access it there for future maintenance and updates (if you are comfortable with the physical handling).

Enjoy!