New Moto E4, Android.

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Hi all. I got a 64GB mem card for my new Moto E4, but I'm not sure how to move files, such as music, to it from my Win 10 box. Hooking the phone up via USB doesn't seem to give me a lot of options, like "Music." Also, I would like to find a way to make subdirectories. In the phone settings it just shows 80GB storage, 16GB internal - 64GB mem card.

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, this is my first Android phone, and I'm a dumb guy.

Yep, I know I don't have an iPhone X, but I like my Moto E4 a lot. It really suits my needs at about 95%. So there.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Wyo.



PS: 7.1.1 Nougat
 
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Take the card out of the phone, format it on the computer as FAT32 - if you have intentions of putting files on it that are larger than 4GB in size (video files, etc) then you'll need to format it as exFAT which allows for larger file sizes. You may have to do that aspect of formatting from a Command Prompt using diskpart (the command) and it can be tricky doing that. It sounds like your Moto E4 isn't giving you an option to format it as "external" storage perhaps, I don't know for sure but if you're attaching the phone to a computer (running whatever OS) it should show up as the E4 itself, then it should have two "drives" listed under that, the internal (16GB) and then the external (the 64GB card).

If that's not happening, you may need to install the Motorola USB drivers to get it functioning properly in MTP mode (what Windows uses for reading/writing files to such devices). Some devices don't require any drivers to be installed for this to work - my LG Stylo 2 Plus doesn't - but every manufacturer works a bit differently even though it's kinda stupid for them to not just accept the MTP standard and bake that support into their stock ROMs, it's beyond me why the make things more difficult on end users for no good reasons.

Once you get the card formatted properly (so it's not being counted as part of the internal storage) you should be able to then copy anything you want to it then place it back in the phone and you should be good to go.

Google used to allow any apps to write to the microSD cards in devices, but it became a security hazard or risk at some point a few years back and so they now restrict the ability for apps to use "external" storage media like microSD cards. It's possible to get around that of course, some apps will make you select the root directory of the microSD card and then enable Write Access to it so you can make use of it, but again it's just a nuisance more often than not.

My suggestion to anyone is if you have a lot of files, media or whatever, that you wish to place on a microSD card for use in a smartphone or tablet or whatever, format the card in an actual computer, then copy the files over while the microSD card is attached/connected/inserted into the computer itself and then pull the card and put it in the device, it'll typically go faster that way regardless of the type of connectivity the phone uses (USB 2.0, 3.0, or USB-C, Lightning, etc).
 
Tiberian, thanks for the info. Much appreciated.
 
Win 10 says it's formatted in exFAT, and doesn't give me an option in Properties to format it. PITA.
 
The phone should give your the option to format it in the storage settings once your put it in your phone. That will format it properly without needing a computer. At least that's what my wife's Moto Z Play does with her memory card. I'm pretty sure it will format it to the exFAT file system this way, which is preferable anyways.

Then once you connect your phone to a PC with a USB cable, there should be a notification asking if you want to change the connection mode from charging only to file transfer or a couple other things.
 
It just isn't working like that. Plugging in my Moto E4 brings up a file window that shows the content, "This folder is empty."

I can't move any files to there, just fails. Says Cannot Copy Item - The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected.

In phone settings I now see 8.23GB out of 16GB Internal shared, and 4.50 GB used of 59.48GB on Portable Storage - It used to treat the 16GB plus 64GB as one.


But nothing I seem to be able to do will allow me to, using the supplied USB cable, transfer pics/music/anything from computer to phone, and vice versa.

Please help!

Wyo
 
Wyodiver said:
It just isn't working like that. Plugging in my Moto E4 brings up a file window that shows the content, "This folder is empty."

I can't move any files to there, just fails. Says Cannot Copy Item - The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected.

In phone settings I now see 8.23GB out of 16GB Internal shared, and 4.50 GB used of 59.48GB on Portable Storage - It used to treat the 16GB plus 64GB as one.


But nothing I seem to be able to do will allow me to, using the supplied USB cable, transfer pics/music/anything from computer to phone, and vice versa.

Please help!

Wyo
Click to expand...

After you plug in the USB cable, your phone should default to "charge only". Are you pulling down the notification tab and changing it from charging to something that allows you to move files onto the phone?
 
Good morning!

Ok, I just plugged the phone into my USB cable. I didn't touch the phone screen at all. I heard the usual jingle that you get, and then a file explorer window pops up as "This PC > Moto E (4)" and shows "This folder is empty."

Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
Wyodiver said:
Good morning!

Ok, I just plugged the phone into my USB cable. I didn't touch the phone screen at all. I heard the usual jingle that you get, and then a file explorer window pops up as "This PC > Moto E (4)" and shows "This folder is empty."

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Move files by USB
  1. Unlock your Android device.
  2. With a USB cable, connect your device to your computer.
  3. On your device, tap the "USB for..." notification.
  4. Select Transfer files.
  5. A file transfer window will open on your computer. Use it to drag files.
  6. When you're done, eject your device from Windows.
  7. Unplug the USB cable.
 
Probably can't unlock the phone. I got it for a fraction of the unlocked version, but I'm locked into Verizon for one year. When I plug the USB cable in, the phone display doesn't change in any way to acknowledge that the cord has been plugged in.

I've thought about just using Google Drive to indirectly move files back and forth between the phone and computer, but that's too clunky.
 
Wrong kind of unlock. It means unlock the screen (password, fingerprint, etc...)
 
Oh, sorry. Need more coffee. Yeah, screen is unlocked when I do all that. Never changes after plugging the phone in.
 
I had to format the mem card again, and start from scratch. Works fine now. Although I love computers and tech, this is my first smartphone. I know, why? Because for years I just wanted a cell phone that worked, and I vowed to never be a "phone bot."

Thanks for your help!!

Happy New Year!
 
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