Connect Android to Mint via WiFi: EVERYTHING is janky as fuck
I can't consistently connect my android phone to my Linux Mint box consistently with any of the apps I've tried, because frankly, they are all janky as fuck. Sometimes they work instantly, then they disconnect and then they refuse to work. I feel like a lab rat in a random reinforcement maze because I think I've memorized the precise magical steps to get these services working, but it is just random.
Things I know about: How to turn off the firewall, how to turn on the firewall, how to open ports, how to close ports, how to keep a wifi network connected on android even if it has no internet connection, how to connect to the same wifi network, how to see if a device is visible on the network, how to find ip addresses, etc.
So here are the ones I've tried: KDEConnect (most reliable but I've spent 30 minutes on it today) LocalSend (tried it today, can see each other but "no route to host" when I try to send) Warpinator
I'm thinking of ditching WiFi and exploring Bluetooth at this point, even if it would take all night to transfer files, if it were reliable, it would be worth it.
Background: I run internet only through my phone, including downloads. To transfer files onto my computer, I need to connect my phone to my computer unless I want to burn through my hotspot data and download it directly to my computer. My USB-C port is unfortunately broken, so I have to do this.
21 replies
kde connect was finicky until i also grabbed the android app from f-droid and set it to battery optimisation no
BUT i ended up just using rclone to proton drive/hetzner storagebox to sync files to my phone (using the proton drive or material files app on android) and it was much easier for files.
Yeah, I'm trying to avoid internet solutions both for privacy and bandwidth. Everything I suck down from the cloud counts against my monthly hotspot.
For file transfers, maybe use wifi tools like Syncthing, Resilio Sync, Folder Sync?
Just ensure they're configured only for wifi (pretty sure the phone apps default to wifi only).
I've found using network this way is more reliable, as these apps tolerate disconnects and just pickup where they left off.
I'm assuming I understand what you're trying to do.
I think I played with Syncthing and it was the same situation--works sometimes according to the way the ether was blowing.
Just tried to get it up and running. Computer says connected to phone, but phone not connected to computer. Folder is created, shared, up-to-date, and yet nothing is transferred and the subfolder hasn´t even been created on the computer. I'm about to pour gasoline into the computer vent and light this shit on fire. I'm taking a break today.
Uggh, sorry to hear that.
I've used it and Resilio for 10 years, and only once or twice ran into issues (and I sync a LOT - tens of gigs per device per day).
With Syncthing, I do recall some newer versions of Android have an issue with TLS versioning - I think I had to drop it to TLS 1 (though my memory ain't great, and frankly surprised I didn't document it) . I'll see if I can find something on it.
That said, try Resilio - it's more memory and battery intensive, but it's more stable in my experience. Downside is it's a little less intuitive.
I asked IT because I know I have docs, but I'm on my phone at the moment - this all rings true for me, and there are links at the end:
Modern Syncthing versions changed the device-to-device sync TLS requirement: newer versions require TLS 1.3 for sync connections by default. Older Syncthing instances that only support TLS 1.2 may fail to connect unless the compatibility option is enabled. The option is named:
insecureAllowOldTLSVersionsIt allows TLS 1.2 for sync connections (despite the name, it does not disable encryption). (Syncthing Documentation)
On Android:
Open the Syncthing app.
Open the Web GUI (usually from the left navigation drawer → Web GUI).
Go to Actions → Settings → Advanced.
Find:
Enable it.
Restart Syncthing on both devices.
The Android UI itself often does not expose this prominently; the Web GUI is the same configuration interface used on desktop systems. (Syncthing Community Forum)
A couple of other things that commonly cause the "paired but won't sync" symptom between Android phones:
If both phones are running current Syncthing versions, though, the TLS setting is less likely to be the issue unless one of them is actually running an older Syncthing engine. The quickest way to confirm is to open the Web GUI on each phone and check Actions → About for the exact Syncthing version.
I've never had conflicts between numeric versions, or even between Syncthing or Syncthing-Fork (which I highly recommend for Android).
If you use Windows, try SyncTrayzor - it helps manage ST and ensures it runs on boot. On iOS there Möbius sync, it costs $5.
Cool! Thanks for all that info. Syncthing will probably be what I settle on once I figure out how to get Android from disconnecting from a Wifi without internet. Graphene has an option to turn off the internet check, but I still get disconnected. I think my best bet is to figure out how to configure the router to keep Android happy, but I haven' t the slightest idea about how to go about it.
Oh, that wifi disconnect problem is a bitch. I ran into it years ago, not sure I ever solved it.
Maybe try an automation tool like Automate or Macrodroid.
You may still get disconnects, but it could at least force a reconnect when it drops. Just set a trigger for lost wifi, then an action to reconnect.
Though Lineage let's you choose your connectivity check endpoint, even disable it. Maybe that's an option on Graphene.
It's a recent update b/c I never had a problem before.
Graphene has two options: one for what server to check for internet connectivity (google, graphene, or NONE), and has a seperate setting to disconnect from idle wifi after a certain amount of time (set to zero). So the settings are there, they just don't seem to be working.
The way the world is going, I think my next phone might actually be Linux, not least of which because it would encourage me to get off my phone.
Bluetooth works consistently for me between Mint and Android.
I haven't tried any apps yet because "share, bluetooth, computer" works to share a file.
I tried it. Connects fine, I approve it, but then file just sits at 0%. Maybe itś really slow? I have to move 15 gigs at a time.
Maybe I'm just cursed.
It's just slow. You can compress the file/folder and split it up into manageable chunks.
They're video files so they're already as compressed as they're going to get. And I think I have to approve every separate file? I approved one of a set I sent and the first one succeeded and the remainder insta-failed.
Afaik you have to send BT files separately, but I use it rarely.
Is it a finite amount of files, because you can use public WiFi to upload from Android and download to your computer.
I have a WiFi router that works great to create a local network, it just doesn't have internet. I actually had to figure out how to get my cell phone to stop disconnecting from it.
ohhh i see. Is TeamViewer still free? I used to use that all the time back in the day. i use rustdesk now, but don't know if it has an Android client.
Looks like Rust wants to use a server as a go-between? That would mean I´d be using all my hotspot data.