My folders show up empty when connecting to PC

[dbarna200]

I need help.

I have a Samsung A70, and I'm trying to connect to my Windows 10 PC via a cable. I am using a Type C to regular USB cable to connect, which should be capable of data transfer up to 480 Mbps. I'm trying to save the original size photos from my holiday onto my PC. 

My folders show up after unlocking my phone, and my "Phone" folder shows around 80GB of data on my phone, which sounds about right. When I try to open a folder however, they all say "This folder is empty". 

What I've tried already (none of these helped): 

1. Unlocked my phone 

2. Different USB ports and a different PC to connect to 

3. Android OS up-to-date 

4. Updated Samsung driver on my computer 

5. Type of connection set to MTP (File transfer). Tried PTP too, didn't help. 

Could anyone give me useful advice on what else I could do? I want to establish a wired connection like I was able to on my previous Huawei device. Don't want to use file-sharing software or upload any of my photos anywhere. 

Any answer is highly appreciated. 

[SomaE]

Hey there,

Where did you download the Samsung USB driver from? I'd suspect it might not be the latest. You may download Smart Switch that will update / install the driver for sure (do not need to use it afterwards, but you can use it for transferring photos as well). And where did You set the USB connection type? Developer menu sometimes works better than the pop-up.

Also it may worth a try to delete cache of "Media Storage" and "External storage" apps. Find these in Settings / Apps / ... / Show System Apps.

Regards,
Soma

[dbarna200]

Hi Soma, 

Thanks for the reply. 

To answer your questions: 

1. Where did you download the Samsung USB driver from? - Initially just looked online, but then I did update drivers using SmartSwitch too. 

And where did You set the USB connection type? - Homescreen of phone/ pull down from the top for notifications etc. / Android System / USB for file transfer (Transferring files / Android Auto). 

Also it may worth a try to delete cache of "Media Storage" and "External storage" apps. - Thanks, just tried this as you said but it didn't help unfortunately. 

An update since yesterday: 

- I have just set up my work phone (Samsung A40) that arrived in the mail. Tried my USB cable and it worked with that phone. When I connected to the computer I could transfer files like normal. 

- I tried to toggle USB debugging in Dev mode on my personal phone (Samsung A70) but didn't help.   

- I discovered that I'm not always seeing the same folders show up when I plug in my phone (Samsung A70). I have screenshots but I cannot seem to attach them here. 

So the problem is with my phone, I'm thinking about a factory reset or taking it to a repair shop, but I need to save all my data including photos and videos in original size onto my PC before this. 

Do you have any further ideas to try or help on how I can back up all data before a factory reset? 

Kind regards, 

David 

[SomaE]

Hey David,

For backup, Smart Switch would be handy on PC - or now that You have another phone at hand, You can also connect the two phones to each other either via WiFi or cable. Another shot is to use an OTG adapter and a thumb drive if you have those.
There is a slight chance that the USB C connector is faulty, or dirty / corroded on the A70. You can inspect the latter with a magnifier and a decent flashlight. Because of this I'd try the wireless Smart Switch solution to make sure Your pics and stuff are safe, then pull the plug and do a factory reset. If the problem stays, look up the closest authorized service.

Also I can understand if cloud is not Your up of tea - but I find the Google backup the easiest way to secure and transfer my data across phones.

Regards,
Soma 

[dbarna200]

Hi Soma, 

Thanks again for a reply. 

My issue with Google is that I want to keep the original size of the photos, and their free storage is not enough for that. They tend to compress stuff to a lower quality which is fine as a last resort back up, but since I used to be able to just save my photos and videos to my PC for free, it's a bad trade to pay for more storage etc. I haven't rooted the phone or made any extensive changes in settings and I took good care of it (no water or fall damage). I believe this to be some sort of software issue, but I do not know enough of smartphones to be able to tell. 

I'm not very happy overall with Samsung to be entirely honest, had more issues than positive experiences in the 9 months of owning my A70. Nevertheless, I will try and save my original size data and factory reset. If it doesn't work I will probably just wipe and sell my device. 

Thank you for your assistance. 

David 

[RrtlTv2]

Ja