Both my Ubuntu and Android phone are using the same Wi-Fi. How can I transfer files between the phone and the PC? Is there any way to mount the Android file system? I don't want to use the USB cable. Bluetooth doesn't work. So WiFi is the only other option.
The Android version is Jelly Bean and Ubuntu is 12.04 LTS.
There is a free application on the Google Play store called Software Data Cable:
Once you've installed it, turn on your WiFi connection and launch the app.
Tap on the "start service" button.
It creates a FTP server on the android device that lets you connect from any computer by opening the resource:
ftp://192.168.1.xxx:8888
where 192.168.1.xxx is the IP address of your device.
You can now copy/paste files over WiFi from/to your android device.
PS - on ubuntu 18.04 get into nautilus and hit + Other Locations then at bottom enter ftp URL above into Connect to Server
SSHelper is a free, well-documented SSH server you can access using sftp. You mount the filesystem using Nautilus.
Disclaimer: SSHelper does not support Android 10+ and is no longer actively maintained.
To make it more interesting; You may indeed use AirDroid, which is an android App allows you to connect to your phone interface using a web UI.
There's a lot you can do with Airdroid (even accessing your folder directories, not sure you need root or not)
Hope that helps and clears your question!
Another alternative would be using KDEConnect. You will also need to install the KDE Connect application from the Playstore (or F-Droid). If you are not using KDE on Ubuntu, you should also install the KDE Connect indicator.
You will also get the benefit of receiving your phone notifications on the desktop. You can connect multiple android phones and linux desktops. The connection is encrypted and all involved software is open source.
You can get an idea of the available options in the screenshot below:
There is an Android application named AirDroid . You can download it from the play store. By using it you can view your android's files in ubuntu using a web browser. Here is the link : Airdroid.
Open Xender in your Android:
Go to Settings > Connect to PC:
Follow the instructions:
Add address in Firefox browser:
Go share your file wirelessly:
Another opensource alternative, supporting Linux, Android, Mac OS and Windows is nitroshare:
It is included in the Ubuntu repositories since Ubuntu 16.04:
sudo apt-get install nitroshare
For more up-to-date packages (highly recommended):
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:george-edison55/nitroshare
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nitroshare
The android app can be found in F-Droid and the playstore.
However, if compatibility with Windows or MacOS is not important, Kdeconnect is the way to go as it is more stable.
In Android Play Store search for an FTP server, the one from The Olive Tree is great... in app just hit the middle red button to start ftp server on your phone which will display a URL like ftp://192.168.1.103:2221 then over on your computer connect to that URL
On Ubuntu 18.04 in nautilus hit + Other Locations
then enter ftp address in field Connect to Server ftp://192.168.1.103:2221
this also works fine on Ubuntu 20.04
I use Amaze file manager on Android and FileZilla on Ubuntu. Using Amaze you can set up an FTP server on Android and send and receive files using FileZilla.
If you liked the KDEConnect solution mentioned in another answer, but got scared by the KDE part, there is a JavaScript port of KDE connect without any Qt dependencies. It has the same features, but as a GNOME Shell extension requires the GNOME desktop to work
On your Android phone, you will have to install the KDE Connect app from F-Droid or the playstore.
I use ES File Manager. Just install it on your Android phone and from the menu, click Network > Remote Manager > Turn on, which gives you a link (like ftp://192.168.1.54:8754). In your browser, type the link. Done.
I start a File Manager FTP server ("Access from..." option) on my phone and connect to it with FileZilla. This was by far the easiest option I found.
