USB formatted as internal storage keeps disappearing

[kinggo01]

So, apart from not being able to write on disk which is not formated as internal, even the one that is formatted as such is unusable becuse it keeps disappering from the system.

And the only way to get it back is restart.

It happend a few times already and it seems that it is related to standby time.

EDIT: So, this happens only in REC port on my 50W75C. Solution is to use any other port.

[pajo100]

I use the USB 3 slot for recording TV and satellite progs none of my recordings were showing in the title list panel but if I go to the discover button on the remote all my recordings are there !!  and on playing them they pop back in to the title list.

Another android glitch!!

Hopefully when marshmallow is available again they will have sorted it out if not to many sets were bricked!!

[kinggo01]

....and it disappered in non REC port also. After a longer period, but it did.

USB is totally broken on this FW.

[k.przebinda]

Nougat (7.0) has the same problem - hddrec, internal or media storage disappearing .....

and don't off in the night

Sony shame!

[teqnet]

I have the same problem. The USB device gets automatically ejected. So *****ty since I bought the USB device for this purpose.

Shame on you Sony

[SnAkEs1210]

Good evening, I have owned two KD-55XD8005BU TVs (2016 model)  which had this same problem, so I sent them back, I now own a KD-55XE8596 (2017 model) which continues to have the same problems. Basically, like you guys, I cannot write to an external drive so I am forced to mount my hard drive as internal storage. I then have to migrate all data from the TV to the external drive in order for it to appear. Weirdly the external drive seems to be merged with the internal storage of the TV. 

This would be fine if it worked, however the TV randomly ejects the drive, usually overnight. Doesn't seem to matter what usb I connect the drive to, I always seem to get the same results.

I have also noticed something else. When I have an external drive mounted as internal memory. Trying to install asphalt 8 airborne from the play store causes the internal memory of my TV to become read only. At this point I cannot install any apps from the play store, nor can I uninstall any. Basically I install the game from the play store and launch it, the game requires an additional file (about 1200mbs) to be downloaded. I click okay and the file starts to download, however, it will never download the whole file and instead will get stuck. At this point the internal memory of my TV has become read only. Using a file manager I tried to create a folder but I get a message saying "operation failed" trying to install anything from the play store results in an error message. I have to unplug the hard drive and soft reset the TV in order to get the write permission back. This has happened to all three TVs.

So to recap, I can't write to an external drive. Mounting an external drive as internal storage cures the first problem but either keeps disappearing or becoming read only (really bad news for internal storage)

I have been in contact with Sony for months now and they haven't been able to help me at all. I explain the problem over and over again to different people only to have them tell me that they will get back to me. Very frustrating!!

So currently I am left to trying to fix the problem on my own. I have been tinkering for a while now and I have come up with a half solution to some of these problems. 

I have been able to grant write permission to an external drive. Basically I downloaded an app called

"JS USB OTG" this app allows you to mount an external drive as OTG. After doing this, I am able to open a file manager and write files to the external drive and delete them without the need to mount the drive as internal storage. Hopefully in the future I can come up with some sort of config file that will redirect some of my larger apps to write their data to this external drive. The other plus side to this is that I can still use the hard drive on a pc.

Hopefully this will help some of you on this thread. Let's face it, it looks like we will have to fix the problem as sony don't seem to care.

[kinggo01]

apps can write on the external drive even without that. One thing that I noticed the first time I plugged the disk in laptop is that TV now creates Android folder on any external drive and that was not the case in lollipop. If you delete that folder on a computer it will be created again next time you plug the disk to the TV. So, apps can use external disk even if it is not formatted as part of the internal storage. The thing is that most of them don't. Or at least I don't have that many installed so none of them does even if they do create a "data" folder inside "Android" one. By default, playstore, youtube, sony video and music player and maybe some other create folders there. Also KODI does that and you can use that folder for PVR or KODI backups. 

But the thing is that USER, the OWNER of the TV, the one that PAID FOR IT, can't write to the disk. Can't do something that is essential for something called "smart" platform, and can't do something that what possible before the UPGRADE.

I didn't try your "solution" yet but my guess is that while maybe you can write to disk than with some file manager that still doesn't give you the option to tell that app to use any other path apart from the one inside its own folder.  For that, app also must ask for permission (which KODI does not) but even if the app asks you have no way to give it.  I have a SMB shares on my network and I use that to transfer files or save subtitles and then later manage that when I have a disk plugged to my laptop.

[SnAkEs1210]

Good morning, apps like kodi can be instructed to write all of their data where ever you wish with a simple config file. Basically you need to use an application like "note" to write a text file telling kodi where you would like the data to be written to. Then you copy this text file to the root of your internal memory. When you fire up kodi, this text file will be read by kodi and it will automatically switch to the new storage device. Being able to write to an external drive should mean that kodi will be able to write there without restriction. I will test this later but if you want to try yourself, here is some info

http://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Change_data_location_for_Android

This is a very simple task and should only take a couple of minutes to do. 

[SnAkEs1210]

This is also a way to run or test multiple builds on kodi without losing the current build you have. Simply remove the config file from the root of your internal memory and kodi will revert to its original build. 

[kinggo01]

that won't work. The whole idea behind that is to change location of .kodi folder if you don't have enough space or for whatever reason. But since MM introduced new way of handeling storage, app need to ask for permission to write outside of its own folder. And kodi doesn't do that. And the problem isn't kodi as such but the fact that I can't download and store subtitle next to the file. OK, that wouldn't work even if writing would be possible since kodi doesn't ask for permission to write. But at least I wold be able to transfer them with X-plore (which does ask but nothing happens) or some other file manager. Now I'm saving them on a network share and then moving them when the disk is plugged to my laptop. And file management is impossible on the TV itself. Something that is possible on every other android platform and that was possible before the downgrade to a higher version of OS.

and this is off topic here, the right thread for this is https://community.sony.hr/t5/android-tv/writing-on-usb-disks-impossible-on-marshmallow/td-p/2297578

But, on topic, dissapearing drives are still an issue.

[SnAkEs1210]

Hi, I can write to my external hard drive now. I can create the .Kodi file on the drive an instruct kodi to write there using the config file.