Help with KODI permissions to allow it to write on the external SD card

[minix4ever]

Sorry for the newbie-ish question,

I've mounted a MicroSD card that I whish to use to store movie downloads. So far the only path working with Kodi is /[drive_name] /Android/data/org.xmbc.kodi/
But wish to put them somewhere else...

I went on playing with editing packages.xml and punched this line in the Kodi section
<item name="android.permission.WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE" granted="true" flags="0" />

I must have done something wrong since I bricked the box. Thanks to TWRP, I recovered full functionnality by restoring a recent backup.

All suggestions are welcomed

 

[CybeRider]

The easiest way to add sources in Kodi is to open the kodi settings (the crank icon in the middle of the 3 upper icons on the left in the Estuary theme of version 17.6) from there choose the File Manager, and then "Add source" "search" all the available sources in the Minix box and in the network are shown there.

Once the source is visible, you should be able to select it in the video addon of your choice (as long as the addon has that option) as a path to place the downloads there.

Maybe you also wish to have a look at the official Kodi site:
https://kodi.wiki/view/Adding_video_sources

 

[minix4ever]

Thanks, I know exactly what is adding video source. I just didn't expect it to add write privilege to the directory.

I will give it a try.

 

[minix4ever]

Didn't work. Adding the location as a source did not change the write permissions.

 

[pusb87]

Sorry for the newbie-ish question,

I've mounted a MicroSD card that I whish to use to store movie downloads. So far the only path working with Kodi is /[drive_name] /Android/data/org.xmbc.kodi/
But wish to put them somewhere else...

I went on playing with editing packages.xml and punched this line in the Kodi section
<item name="android.permission.WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE" granted="true" flags="0" />

I must have done something wrong since I bricked the box. Thanks to TWRP, I recovered full functionnality by restoring a recent backup.

All suggestions are welcomed

I dont use an SD card as storage and dont download films via Minix / Kodi ( presumably you use a 3rd party addon) so have no direct experience.

You dont say whether you have mounted the card as internal or external memory...would that make any difference ?

 

[CybeRider]

Didn't work. Adding the location as a source did not change the write permissions.

That's odd. I just tried it with a small SD card that I got out of a smart phone (I always use either usb drives or computer HDs in the network, the SD cards are not my preference) and it worked just as expected. As I fit it in the Minix it was immediately recognized, and in Kodi I added it as a source as it didn't show automatically. Then I went to the movie addon and changed the download path, as I tried to download some content (I had long forgotten the howtos...) it worked as expected. However I had to get out of Kodi to the file explorer to follow the process and also to delete the downloaded file, as those movie addons seem to be really awkward about all the procedure.

It might be that you have to reformat the SD card as probably that is a card problem and not box or Kodi related. Try with an SD card formated in Fat32 initially and if that works, as it should, prepare to move to ExFat or NTFS formats, yet I heard these can be hard to match between the computer that formats the card and an Android device (I don't know of any Android app to do this job).

 

[ArcticWolf]

Thanks, I know exactly what is adding video source. I just didn't expect it to add write privilege to the directory.

I will give it a try.

Like @pusb87 I've never bothered downloading with Kodi either. Although am fairly certain that it won't work & it's a known limitation of Android. Adding external video sources doesn't automatically give them write permission for downloading from 3rd party add-ons, etc. . (Hopefully someone else can explain the technical aspect of it all if you require it or you can look it up .)

Other than adopting the external storage you'd already correctly selected the only option for downloading to your MicroSD card --> /your_extSDcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/

I save my backups from the Backup addon to that path for example.

Otherwise, rooting may circumvent the problem if you're prepared to go that route??? Or manually move the downloads once completed.

 

[CybeRider]

Like @pusb87 I've never bothered downloading with Kodi either. Although am fairly certain that it won't work & it's a known limitation of Android.

It actually works, as long as the addon allows you to and you get its settings properly adjusted. I did it in the past with Minix Xbmc, and repeated it today with kodi 17.6. (to keep Bohemian R. as a camcorded was not my thing anyway)

...Adding external video sources doesn't automatically give them write permission ...

The need to add it as source is not a question of permissions (why the write permissions for the SD card would be any different from the permissions for a USB pen drive really beats me, anyway they are not). We need to add it as a source in Kodi because that is the only way we get to see it as an option to select as the downloading path in the addon settings.

 

[ArcticWolf]

It actually works, as long as the addon allows you to and you get its settings properly adjusted. I did it in the past, and repeated it today with kodi 17.6. (to keep Bohemian R. as a camcorded was not my thing anyway)



The need to add it as source is not a question of permissions (why the write permissions for the SD card would be any different from the permissions for a USB pen drive really beats me, anyway they are not). We need to add it as a source because that is the only way we get to see it as an option to select as the downloading path in the addon settings.

Look at the post times!! We were simultaneously typing/posting originally pmsl .

I'm not saying it doesn't work, we know it works . As said above, it has to be downloaded to the internal storage or the specific path on the MicroSD only. Limitations of Android unfortunately!!

Otherwise, noted . I've just stuck a card in & had a mess around for the proverbial shits & giggles too lol .

Don't need to add the external card as a source to configure it as the download path if it's in the MicroSD slot. It was there by default, although that could well be subjective, (it's formatted in NTFS). I just set a certain addon to the specified path above once the card was in!! It partially downloaded a couple of .mp4s then just spat its dummy both times lol. I need the card in my tab so I'm not going to mess about anymore.

Ideally, if one wants to download using add-ons in Kodi "in earnest", much easier to use an OS other than Android. Simply download directly to other external sources without this grief . Android very restrictive as expected. There are certainly easier ways than downloading via Kodi period!! Handy if you need to grab the occasional item though .