If you are an ardent Google and Android fan, you must have got either the Nexus 4, 7 or 10 or may be considering getting one for yourself. If you have already got one and if you are using Ubuntu or any other flavour of Linux you must have noticed that transferring music and other documents from Nexus devices to your Ubuntu laptop or desktop isn’t so easy. There are numerous posts on the internet which gives you detailed steps to achieve the task.
I however, wanted just plug and play functionality which would save me the trouble of always firing commands when I need to transfer files. One easy way is to use Airdroid from the Google Play store. You need to be connected to the same wifi network though. If you prefer the old school usb transfer, I have found a way to automount the Nexus devices in Ubuntu. You can easily unmount using the eject button on nautilus as well.
The steps given below is for Ubuntu 12.04. I have not tested with any other version. I am sure the steps will work for other versions of Ubuntu and its derivatives.
1. Configure FUSE
sudo chmod a+r /etc/fuse.conf
gksudo gedit /etc/fuse.conf
Now, uncomment the user_allow_other key in /etc/fuse.conf so that it looks like this
# Allow non-root users to specify the ‘allow_other’ or ‘allow_root’ mount options.
user_allow_other
2. Download go-mtpfs
You can download this binary from the following
link. Make sure to download the latest version which you can make out from the upload date given alongside. There are versions for both 32 and 64 bit. This binary has limitations, it does not support moving contents within the Nexus device.
3. After you download, copy the binary to /usr/local/sbin
sudo cp ~/Downloads/go-mtpfs.amd64.ca2e2c82 /usr/local/sbin/go-mtpfs
4. Now create mount directories for Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 and give it executable rights
For Neuxs 7
sudo mkdir /media/nexus7
sudo chmod -R 777 /media/nexus7
For Nexus 4
sudo mkdir /media/Nexus4
sudo chmod -R 777 /media/Nexus4
5. Add udev rules
gksudo gedit /etc/udev/rules.d/99-android.rules
Then add the following lines in the file. Remember to replace yourloginid with your own username.
Like this:
Like Loading...
i followed these instructions, but when i try to navigate to the nexus 4 directory, i receive this error: "/bin/sh: 1: DeviceFs(Nexus 4): not found"
Try connecting when your phone is unlocked. I read in some forum that locked phone does not mount most of the time.
I also get this even when my phone is unlocked.
/bin/sh: 1: DeviceFs(Nexus 4): not found
I have exactly the same message : "/bin/sh: DeviceFs(nexus 4): not found"