From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now to regularly
backup files from my Smartphone via SMB to a file share on my Synology
DS220j.

Last night the sync job failed, because FolderSync Pro seems not be able
to connect via SMB any longer:

java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to diskstation/2003:ec:d746:1800:9209:d0ff:fe0d:37cf (port 445) from /2003:ec:d746:1800:1811:2f7d:2321:f330 (port 47910) after 5000ms

However with Cx File Explorer the very same connection works without any issues. It also does not matter if I use IPv6 in my local WLAN or IPv4
via mobile network and Wireguard.

Does anyone else experience this problem? I already contacted the
support of FolderSync and will see, what they say about it.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel wrote:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now

I have a licence, but don't think I've had in installed on my tablet for
maybe 8 years ...
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel, 2026-06-20 09:56:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now to regularly
backup files from my Smartphone via SMB to a file share on my Synology DS220j.

Last night the sync job failed, because FolderSync Pro seems not be able
to connect via SMB any longer:

java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to diskstation/2003:ec:d746:1800:9209:d0ff:fe0d:37cf (port 445) from /2003:ec:d746:1800:1811:2f7d:2321:f330 (port 47910) after 5000ms

The support of FolderSync already replied. Starting with Android 17 apps require an additional permission for local network access. The will be
fixed with version 4.9.4. The new permission may have to be granted
manually after updating the app.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy Burns, 2026-06-20 12:25:

Arno Welzel wrote:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now

I have a licence, but don't think I've had in installed on my tablet for maybe 8 years ...

And what is the relevance of your reply?
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Arno Welzel wrote:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now

I have a licence, but don't think I've had in installed on my tablet for
maybe 8 years ...

And what is the relevance of your reply?

Well, I went on to install it and add an SMB account to test syncing,
but it appears not to want to connect to my linux/samba server on port
445, win11 laptop connects happily.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy Burns, 2026-06-20 12:49:

Arno Welzel wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Arno Welzel wrote:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now

I have a licence, but don't think I've had in installed on my tablet for >>> maybe 8 years ...

And what is the relevance of your reply?

Well, I went on to install it and add an SMB account to test syncing,
but it appears not to want to connect to my linux/samba server on port
445, win11 laptop connects happily.

Ok, *this* is more helpful. Also see my other post, the vendor already
replied to my support request (within less than 4 hours!) and will
provide an update to version 4.9.4 which will request the neccessary
permission for local network access in Android 17.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

I went on to install it and add an SMB account to test syncing,
but it appears not to want to connect to my linux/samba server on port
445, win11 laptop connects happily.

Ok, *this* is more helpful. Also see my other post, the vendor already replied to my support request (within less than 4 hours!) and will
provide an update to version 4.9.4 which will request the neccessary permission for local network access in Android 17.

I had an issue with DNS resolution, the tablet now completes the test connection to SMB, I've tried to add a sync pair from an SMB folder to emulated SD card, but it's not copied anything ...

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy Burns wrote:

I had an issue with DNS resolution, the tablet now completes the test connection to SMB, I've tried to add a sync pair from an SMB folder to emulated SD card, but it's not copied anything ...

Never heard of FolderSync Pro...

Hence, I have a basic question about "FolderSync Pro", which is what does
it do that the presumably free versions of similar packages do not have?

Dunno what FolderSync Pro even does, so I looked it up:
a. Sync folders automatically
b. Connect to SMB shares
c. Run in the background reliably
Is that what it does?

Apparently the open-source Syncthing does most of that, but not with SMB. There's "AutoSync for SMB" but it's similar tiered free/cost pricing.
Cx File Explorer has fre SMB but not auto sync.
There's rsync over Termu via a mounted SMB share, but that's technical.
There's also Tasker-like automation possible (using Automate perhaps). MacroDroid + a dual-pane file manager can be cobbled together also.

But Round Sync is a FOSS frontend for clone and it ties well to SMB. Supposedly.

If I wanted to set this up, here's what I'd try if I invested in it.
a. RoundSync apparently runs entirely on the phone
b. We apparently input Windows PC's SMB credentials
c. We apparently then choose our local and remote folders
d. And we then set up the sync automation, apparently

Apparently RoundSync supports scheduled sync tasks and can run in the background. Because it uses the rclone engine, it handles multiple
protocols if that is a concern.. Of course, being FOSS, it's free, no ads,
and supposedly it handles SMB natively.

Personally, I use RoundSync as a file manager (I have many as I test such things, as you know), but I generally can't use SMB automation because my Windows desktops don't have passwords.

But I wonder, from the others out there, why use FolderSync when RoundSync seems to do the same thing?
--
On Usenet, we can discuss various ways we've implemented to do things.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia, 2026-06-21 08:25:

Andy Burns wrote:

I had an issue with DNS resolution, the tablet now completes the test
connection to SMB, I've tried to add a sync pair from an SMB folder to
emulated SD card, but it's not copied anything ...

Never heard of FolderSync Pro...

Hence, I have a basic question about "FolderSync Pro", which is what does
it do that the presumably free versions of similar packages do not have?

- *Reliable* sync when files changed (which I use to automatically
upload pictures to my Nextcloud server after they got taken).

- Sync at defined schedules (daily, only on specific days and time etc.)
and/or when connected to specific networks.

- Use of many different targets like WebDAV (Nextcloud), SMB and many
cloud storage providers.

Apparently the open-source Syncthing does most of that, but not with SMB.

Syncthing requires a server for it. You can not use Syncthing to sync to
a destination without the Syncthing server running. Also as far I know
you can not define schedules like "sync Monday to Fridy on 5:00 but only
if connected to a specific WiFi network".

There's "AutoSync for SMB" but it's similar tiered free/cost pricing.
Cx File Explorer has fre SMB but not auto sync.
There's rsync over Termu via a mounted SMB share, but that's technical. There's also Tasker-like automation possible (using Automate perhaps). MacroDroid + a dual-pane file manager can be cobbled together also.

But Round Sync is a FOSS frontend for clone and it ties well to SMB. Supposedly.

I tried Round Sync as an alternative when Folder Sync Pro stopped
working. But even creating a remote folder fails:

<https://github.com/newhinton/Round-Sync/issues/405>

If I wanted to set this up, here's what I'd try if I invested in it.
a. RoundSync apparently runs entirely on the phone

Folder Sync Pro does so as well.

b. We apparently input Windows PC's SMB credentials
c. We apparently then choose our local and remote folders
d. And we then set up the sync automation, apparently

Exactly as in Folder Sync Pro. And since the company providing it is
based in Denmark and answered my support question within hours and also provided a fix very fast I do not regeret that I have spent money for it.

But I wonder, from the others out there, why use FolderSync when RoundSync seems to do the same thing?

Because Round Sync does not work at all for me (see Github issue above).
Maybe a problem with Android 17, I did not verify this yet in emulator,
if older Android versions work better. I don't have any other device
around to test this.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia wrote:

Never heard of FolderSync Pro...

Hence, I have a basic question about "FolderSync Pro", which is what does
it do that the presumably free versions of similar packages do not have?

Dunno what FolderSync Pro even does, so I looked it up:
a. Sync folders automatically
b. Connect to SMB shares
c. Run in the background reliably
Is that what it does?

yes, but it does it for all manner of remote (and local) folders, smb,
s3 buckets, ftp, dropbox, gdrive, webdav, onedrive, etc, etc

I was many years ago that I used it, I considered it worth paying for,
better free apps may exist now ...

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel wrote:

https://github.com/newhinton/Round-Sync/issues/405

Thanks for answering the question.

I can't test RoundSync SMB automation (because I don't use passwords) but
it's good information for others, where I'll link to this new tutorial
in case someone comes back here years later to find how to set it up. Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android,alt.os.linux,alt.comp.os.windows-10
Subject: PSA: RoundSync for automatic Rclone syncing to desktops from
Android
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 05:58:38 -0100
Organization: BWH Usenet Archive (https://usenet.blueworldhosting.com) Message-ID: <111822u$2lnk$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>


BTW, I noticed you moved your code to codeburg.
<https://codeberg.org/askaaron>

Can you give me a quick rundown of what you think of it, in terms of
whether I can move my code there too (or does it ask for too much ID)?

Note my "code" is sophomoric stuff.
Basically stringing together scripts.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> writes:

But I wonder, from the others out there, why use FolderSync when RoundSync seems to do the same thing?

I've never heard of RoundSync before.

I found FolderSync when I was looking for something to replace my rsync
based backups. I also noticed FolderSync has Tasker support and it
turned out I had even paid for Tasker maybe a decade earlier.

So while Tasker is a horrible "automation" thing, after some trial and
error I got a simple task going which triggers when my phone connects
to my home wifi. It pings my file server and if that works, then it runs FolderSync to back up my photos and a few other things, using SFTP. So
in fact it was almost zero setup in the server end, just added a
key. That's worked for a while now and I'm happy with it.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Anssi Saari wrote:

seems to do the same thing?

I've never heard of RoundSync before.

I found FolderSync when I was looking for something to replace my rsync
based backups. I also noticed FolderSync has Tasker support and it
turned out I had even paid for Tasker maybe a decade earlier.

So while Tasker is a horrible "automation" thing, after some trial and
error I got a simple task going which triggers when my phone connects
to my home wifi. It pings my file server and if that works, then it runs FolderSync to back up my photos and a few other things, using SFTP. So
in fact it was almost zero setup in the server end, just added a
key. That's worked for a while now and I'm happy with it.

I like your humor.
And your experience.

That's what Usenet is for.
Shared knowledge.

Based on my lookups, FolderSync (and the payware version, Pro), are well respected ways to do cloud management (even if the cloud is SMB on a PC).

As for Tasker being "a horrid thing", I use the free automation tools,
Llama Automate, but I do agree with you that it's a horrible thing also.

Tasker Automate MacroDroid automation
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.llamalab.automate>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arlosoft.macrodroid>
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/ryey.easer/>

It works.
But it has a steep learning curve.

And... every new version of Android makes everything harder to do.
At this point, I've given up on "sync" and I just "copy" over Wi-Fi.

This is my dumb purpose-built copy script, for example, to copy over
today's camera photos or today's screenshots, as a quickie Wi-Fi copy.

I don't recommend others use this script, but it does the job for me
given I never connect the phone over USB but I access it using adb.

Note: The scrcpy program also has a file copy mechanism, but every
version of Android makes even that mechanism harder to do easily.

:: adbcopy.bat
:: First figure out locations:
:: /sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots: No such file or directory
:: /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/Screenshots: No such file or directory
:: Then figure out file naming conventions
:: adb shell ls "/storage/0CA4-352D/DCIM/Camera"
:: 20260521_123358.jpg
:: FORMAT=Screenshot_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_DESCRIPTION.jpg
:: adb shell ls "/sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots"
:: Screenshot_20260517_205515_Phone.jpg
:: Screenshot_20260518_130911_WhatsApp.jpg
:: Screenshot_20260523_183229_Pulse.jpg
:: Screenshot_20260611_120637_Nova Launcher.jpg
:: FORMAT=Screenshot_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_DESCRIPTION.jpg
:: adb pull does not expand wildcards
:: Wildcards must be expanded inside the shell, not by ADB
:: v2p3 20260621 added opening the destination folder when done
:: v2p2 20260621 added screenshot query
:: v2p2 20260620 Fixed quoting bug in the ls command for DCIM
:: v2p1 20260617 Added Windows to Android APK copy/install capability
:: v2p0 20260613 Added Screenshot directory
:: v1p9 20260528 trim trailing spaces from the destination directory input
:: v1p8 20260528 replace destructive path truncation with targeted \r stripping
:: v1p7 20260528 escape redirection character in the backtick loop
:: v1p6 20260528 update to explicit external SD card path and clean output
:: v1p5 20260528 fix linux null redirection error and stabilize loop extraction
:: v1p4 20260528 fix 'unexpected at this time' crash,
:: v1p3 20260528 fix crash on empty variable comparison
:: v1p2 20260528 fix multiple-devices error and nested loop quotes
:: v1p1 20260528 add debug for when it fails
:: v1p0 20260528 copy images from a given date to a given location

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

cd /d "%~dp0"
set "ADB_EXE=c:\app\editor\android\scrcpy\adb.exe"

:: --- DEVICE DETECTION ---
for /f "skip=1 tokens=1" %%g in ('"%ADB_EXE%" devices') do (
if not "%%g"=="" (
if "!ADB_TARGET!"=="" set "ADB_TARGET=%%g"
)
)

if "!ADB_TARGET!"=="" (
echo [ERROR] No connected ADB devices found.
pause
exit /b
)

echo Targeting device: %ADB_TARGET%
echo ----------------

:: --- MAIN DIRECTION MENU ---
echo Select Direction:
echo [1] Android to Windows (Pull Images/Screenshots) [Default]
echo [2] Windows to Android (Copy/Install APK)
echo.
set "CHOICE=1"
set /p "CHOICE=Enter choice [1 or 2]: "

if "%CHOICE%"=="2" goto :windows_to_android
if "%CHOICE%"=="1" goto :android_to_windows
goto :android_to_windows


:: ROUTINE: ANDROID TO WINDOWS (ORIGINAL CODE)
:android_to_windows
echo.
echo --- Running Android to Windows Pull ---

:: --- DATE DETECTION ---
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%i in ('wmic os get localdatetime /value') do set "dt=%%i"
set "DETECTED_DATE=%dt:~0,8%"

echo Detected Date: %DETECTED_DATE%
set /p "USER_DATE=Press Enter to confirm, or type a different date (YYYYMMDD): "
if "%USER_DATE%"=="" (
set "TARGET_DATE=%DETECTED_DATE%"
) else (
set "TARGET_DATE=%USER_DATE%"
)

echo.
set "DEST_DIR=H:\004_upload\home\pool\assay\%TARGET_DATE%"
set /p "USER_DIR=Enter destination directory [Default: %DEST_DIR%]: "
if not "%USER_DIR%"=="" set "DEST_DIR=%USER_DIR%"

:: Remove quotes
set "DEST_DIR=%DEST_DIR:"=%"

:: Trim trailing spaces
:trim
if "!DEST_DIR:~-1!"==" " (
set "DEST_DIR=!DEST_DIR:~0,-1!"
goto trim
)

if not exist "%DEST_DIR%" (
echo Creating directory: %DEST_DIR%
mkdir "%DEST_DIR%"
)

echo.
echo What do you want to pull?
echo [1] Camera photos (DCIM/Camera)
echo [2] Screenshots
set "PULL_CHOICE=1"
set /p "PULL_CHOICE=Enter choice [1 or 2]: "

if "%PULL_CHOICE%"=="1" goto :pull_camera
if "%PULL_CHOICE%"=="2" goto :pull_screenshots
goto :pull_camera

:: PULL CAMERA (DCIM)
:pull_camera
echo.
echo Pulling CAMERA images matching *%TARGET_DATE%*.jpg ...
echo Sending files to: "%DEST_DIR%"
echo ----------------

for /f "usebackq delims=" %%i in (`
%ADB_EXE% -s !ADB_TARGET! shell ls /storage/0CA4-352D/DCIM/Camera/*%TARGET_DATE%*.jpg
`) do (
set "FILE_PATH=%%i"
for /f "delims=" %%r in ("!FILE_PATH!") do set "FILE_PATH=%%r"
if not "!FILE_PATH!"=="" (
echo Pulling: !FILE_PATH!
"%ADB_EXE%" -s !ADB_TARGET! pull "!FILE_PATH!" "%DEST_DIR%"
)
)

:: OPEN DESTINATION FOLDER
start "" "%DEST_DIR%"

goto :complete

:: PULL SCREENSHOTS
:pull_screenshots
echo.
echo Pulling SCREENSHOTS matching *%TARGET_DATE%*.jpg ...
echo Sending files to: "%DEST_DIR%"
echo ----------------

for /f "usebackq delims=" %%i in (`
%ADB_EXE% -s !ADB_TARGET! shell ls /sdcard/DCIM/Screenshots/*%TARGET_DATE%*.jpg
`) do (
set "FILE_PATH=%%i"
for /f "delims=" %%r in ("!FILE_PATH!") do set "FILE_PATH=%%r"
if not "!FILE_PATH!"=="" (
echo Pulling screenshot: !FILE_PATH!
"%ADB_EXE%" -s !ADB_TARGET! pull "!FILE_PATH!" "%DEST_DIR%"
)
)

:: OPEN DESTINATION FOLDER
start "" "%DEST_DIR%"

goto :complete

:: FINALIZE
:complete
echo Process complete
pause

REM end of adbcopy.bat

Note that if this quick-and-dirty script were meant to be general use,
I'd make it figure out the paths and file names all by itself.
--
Usenet is where kind-hearted well-educated people gather to exchange ideas.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia, 2026-06-21 19:03:

[...]> BTW, I noticed you moved your code to codeburg.

<https://codeberg.org/askaaron>

I did not only move there but I am also an association member and live
in the same city where the association is based (Berlin, Germany) ;-).

Can you give me a quick rundown of what you think of it, in terms of
whether I can move my code there too (or does it ask for too much ID)?

You only need a working e-mail address and choose a username which is
not already in use by someone else. There is no need for any personal ID
at all, if you don't want to become a member of the association but only
use it for your code:

<https://codeberg.org/user/sign_up>

Without a association membership, usage is limited to 750 MB for Git repositories and also action runners may be limited as well. Also see here:

<https://blog.codeberg.org/new-storage-limits-on-codeberg-what-you-need-to-know.html>

Feel free to sign up and use it.

Note my "code" is sophomoric stuff.
Basically stringing together scripts.

That should not be any problem at all.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia, 2026-06-22 18:44:

[...]> And... every new version of Android makes everything harder to do.

At this point, I've given up on "sync" and I just "copy" over Wi-Fi.

So far, FolderSync still works fine for me, even with Android 17:

- Upload new camera pictures to my Nextcloud server via WebDAV.

- Sync backup of a number of apps daily from the local backup folder to
a NAS in my home network via SMB and Wireguard.

- Manually sync music from my NAS when needed.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2