Simple automated file upload/sync from Android phone to Windows 10 laptop

[T-Commander]

Hello all,

I have Total Commander on my Android and also the Total Commander installed on Windows 10 Laptop.
I would simply like to upload files from Android phone automatically or via button-click to my Windows 10 Laptop.

I saw that there are different addons for Total Commander on Windows and Android and I used already the Android WLAN-Transfer/WiFi Transfer but I think this is too complex to connect it everytime manually and I am also not very skilled.

Is there a way I can automate the upload or synchronize from Android when a new file on phone is recognized?
Do I need any additional tool, plugin, or server to be running on my Windows 10 Laptop?

Thank you

[ghisler(Author)]

Total Commander is a purely interactive tool. I'm using the following tool for automatic backups via SMB:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sentaroh.android.SMBSync2

I'm using it to backup all new photos to a raspberry pi, but it should work with a Windows PC too.

[T-Commander]

a purely interactive tool

I understand.

I would like to implement it the same way with SMBsync2 as it sounds what I need. Can you recommend any good instruction how to configure the solution if available?

Thank you

[Phred]

I'm about to declare SMBSync2 an absolutely fabulous tool in just the same way that all its reviewers in the Android app store are, except for one thing:
- it appears to be half a product.

For the life of me, I can't understand why a program would 'sync' - make two sets of data the same - and that's it.
Backup a primary set of data to a second location, and nothing else.

It's like writing a Backup program - without Restore.
I must be missing something that is glaringly obvious to the rest of the world.

Could someone please explain my dilemma?

[ghisler(Author)]

It is a backup program. When you lose or accidentally destroy your phone, you will only lose the photos/files of one day.
You don't need restore because all files are just copied and you can manually copy them back in case of a disaster.

[Phred]

Ah, I was afraid of that. Thank you Ghisler Author.
I was hoping I'd found a cloning tool that could write the backup to a new device (while assuming that the new device would protect its system files as an act self-preservation), an essentially reborn device emerging after the copy to new.

I don't fully understand what can be copied to Android phones. Some files may be prevented from overwrite (as above) but whether data and configuration files can materialise in a device and be incorporated into its system, I don't know.
Select-and-copy, either via TC or File Explorer, to an HDD then copying back to a new device has had equivocal results so far.
Phone to phone copy on a Win10-PC via TC (USB 3.0) fails completely, even after approving the confirmation dialogue.
XYPlorer, BTW, doesn't even seem to be able to detect two Android phones simultaneously, whereas TC can.
USB-C/USB-C phone to phone, transfers only power, apparently.

If there is an efficient (non-cloud*) cloning tool known, or a TC technique, I expect this community would find it invaluable.
*Google-space says in some places that phone backup doesn't register as our account cloud space count but elsewhere it says it does. Multi-hundreds of gigabytes matters.

T-Commander, if you're still around, I'm sure we could help you with SMBSync2.

Happy New Year.

[ghisler(Author)]

Normally when you use a Google account, your app settings are stored there, and you will be asked whether you want to restore apps from another device when you first install a new phone.

[solid]

2Phred
For syncing Android phone and computer I'm using Syncthing (Synctrayzor on Win, Syncthing fork on Android).

It is a little complicated on the first setup, but afterwards works flawlessly, completely unattended.
It is like dropbox, but without the cloud.

It can sync when devices are on the same LAN or through Internet, as you set. It can be set not only to sync photos, like most of the cloud backup programs, but any folder on the android that can be accessed. I'm using it for transferring files from android/win devices both ways, also keeping copy on computer of prefs and backups of android apps. Because it is not using cloud, the only requirement is that both devices must be online at the same time for sync to happen.

It is freeware and I think open source and exists for many OS-es.

[Phred]

Normally when you use a Google account, your app settings are stored there, and you will be asked whether you want to restore apps from another device when you first install a new phone.

Yes, thanks Ghisler Author, I believe that to be the case too: 'syncing old-to-new' via a Google account. With my experimentation, however, in forcing backed-up HDD files from the old phone onto the new, I might have confused its mind, the new's. I haven't bricked it since it's still active and showing signs of my identity, but all the apps from the old haven't appeared on the new. Perhaps relatedly, only the old phone has a SIM at this stage.
I copied over a number of the Android folders read via SMBSync2 in a mass-overwrite exercise using TC, and that probably wasn't wise.
(BTW, TC doesn't have near the alacrity of dealing with Android folders as it does with Windows ones, although I expect that's not news to you.)

I shall try to reset the new phone and proceed to solid's suggestion and report here again.

[Phred]

2Phred
For syncing Android phone and computer I'm using Syncthing (Synctrayzor on Win, Syncthing fork on Android).

It is a little complicated on the first setup, but afterwards works flawlessly, completely unattended.
It is like dropbox, but without the cloud.
...

Many thanks, solid, I shall work up your suggestion for my two-phone cloning exercise and report here soon.

[MossMan]

After a frustrating couple of years having to manually back up my wife's phone each month (she has a habit of continually collecting thousands and thousands of pictures and work files, distributed across hundreds of folders), today I had hoped to find a solution with the MediaAudio2 plugin mentioned here (and in other threads).

I installed it, but... it seems to make no difference. I still only see the phone as a device, not a drive letter - and I still get the message that I can only synchronise between directories or zip archives.

I confirm that the plugin is installed and checked that Windows Media Player 12 is present on my WIndows 10 PC. I also restarted Total Commander, although I didn't reboot the PC before I left (I am now at work). Is there anything else I should try?

I saw the comments about Android ADB but don't want to change things on her phone - so preferably a solution with TC (or similar) on the PC instead.

Otherwise I'll be wasting another couple of hours scanning tens of thousands of files next month (and the next month, and the next month, and...)

[Hacker]

MossMan,
The plugin is to be found in the Network Neighborhood.

HTH
Roman

[MossMan]

Ahhhh... great, thanks. I'll check that out tonight.

[solid]

2MossMan
For that purpose I use Syncthing (syncthing.net).
It syncs folders between devices so you can easily backup, delete or organize phone files from computer.