How to use "Total Commander for Android" as a "Wifi File Explorer"?

[ghisler(Author)]

When you connect your phone to the PC, you need to unlock the phone, otherwise Android only connects for charging.
On some phones, you also need to open the notifications and click on the USB notification. If it is set to "Charge only", change it to MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) or to "Transfer files" or similar.

[javr]

tnx.
By the way, I checked "Someone replies to a topic to which you are subscribed" in both, notifications and email, and I get notification only.

[javr]

oh, now it works, received "Feb 2, 2025, 10:19 AM"

[javr]

Dazu Benutze ich das Program:
Cx File Explorer ( Cx Datei Explorer )

tnx, I installed the official Google Play version, I'm testing the ftp:// for a few minutes now, so far so good.

[petermad]

Total Commander in Windows 10: phone does not appear as a drive, it does not appear at all.

Well, here it does.

Does it appear in your Windows Explorer?

[javr]

phone connected with USB-cable to the computer:
- it appears in Total Commander in "explorer"-view;
- it shows both, internal and external memory; everything works, even folder Android -> data, which is usually locked;
- then I click the "binoculars"-icon to search for *.mp4, for example, but there are no phone drives in the search-view of the Total Commander; no internal memory, no external memory, no Redmi phone.

[ghisler(Author)]

It appears as a virtual folder, which is very slow and can't be searched.
You can use one of the plugins "Windows Media Audio 2" or "Android ADB" to get better access.

[javr]

(December 2025)

I only have 1,7GB (of 128GB) left, I have no idea what took so much memory. I suspect that files, stored in the SD-card, are added to the phone memory somehow. It shows that the biggest app on the phone (internal shared storage) is Gallery with 66,53GB, but all my photos and videos are on the SD-card.

well, it took me 10 months, but I finally found what's taking over storage:
Internal shared storage -> Android -> data -> Installed apps -> com.miui.gallery -> files -> ThumbnailFile -> (long tap and choose Properties: Size 58.20G , 140076 files)

I don't want to just delete it because I don't know how that will affect the telephone. So now I'm looking for a way to download those files to an external memory, HDD,...

You mentioned "You can use one of the plugins "Windows Media Audio 2" or "Android ADB" to get better access." . Not exactly a computer expert on this side: are these two designed for Total Commander for Android, or Total Commander for Windows?

[petermad]

"Windows Media Audio 2"... Not exactly a computer expert on this side: are these two designed for Total Commander for Android, or Total Commander for Windows?

For Total Commander for Windows

[javr]

can't find "Android ADB" in https://www.ghisler.com/plugins.htm

[petermad]

can't find "Android ADB"

Maybe here: viewtopic.php?p=252125#p252125

[javr]

there's a folder with more than 37.000 files in my Android phone, which I want to download to Windows laptop -> external HDD.
The problem: every file manager so far crushes at Copy->Paste or Cut->Paste, even when I try to move 10 or 5 or 1 file at once . I'm not looking to move all 37.000 files at once, but 400 at a time would be nice. Because I noticed that no matter how many files in a folder - when you try to move more than 400 files from Android to Windows at once, every file manager crushes. Any suggestions?

[ghisler(Author)]

I would go via Android adb plugin, the default Android MTP (media transfer protocol) is not very stable.
Or if you have enough space, pack the files to ZIP with Total Commander for Android and transfer the ZIP file as a whole.