There is a very practical way to access the internal memory of a mobile device, such as a smartphone. It's about the command file:///sdcard/ on Android, which allows us to consult all our files and documents through the browser. In this post we are going to explain what this method consists of and how to put it into operation.
There are many basic functions of our mobile phones that most users are unaware of. This is one of them. The truth is it is possible to explore all the folders of a device through the browsers. In a simple and direct way, without the need to download applications such as the famous file explorers.
How to access Android internal memory
If what we want is to access the internal memory using the command file:///sdcard/ in Android, we will have to resort to the help of a browser. Anybody can serve to execute this operation, since this method works perfectly with Chrome, Mozilla, Opera and other popular browsers.
These are the steps we must follow:
- Firstly, we open the browser that we usually use in our Android mobile phone.
- Then, in the address bar, We write the command “file:///sdcard/” and press Enter.
- After doing this, the screen displays the index with the folders in the internal memory of the device.
That's it: we have accessed the internal memory of the device. From there, we can now navigate in the folders that appear by exploring their content, being able to open image or video files without any limitation.
Did we say "without limitation"? Well, that's not entirely accurate. Although access to the content is complete, there are some things that we are not going to find when we use the file:///sdcard/ command.
For example, it should be noted that, at a graphic level, the panel is not very attractive and is not exactly practical when navigating it. The folders and all the stored files are shown in a list format, without the presence of thumbnails or any other function that can help us to organize and locate the files more easily.
Another advantage of the file:///sdcard/ function is that can also be used on a computer, as long as it has the Android operating system. In these cases, it is necessary to use a slightly different syntax. For example, to view files on hard drive C, type file:///C:///.
Instead, to connect remotely to view the files on the device, you have to follow a different method and access an ftp server using another program.
When is it better to use a file explorer?
Undoubtedly, the method that we have just explained is the best. However, sometimes we can find that we can't access sd card via command file:///sdcard/, because it results in an error.
This sometimes happens because the name or address of the file handle changes. It usually depends on the type of memory we have in our mobile device. For example, it is not possible to list the files on the SD card or the files in the root of the device (the root), as it requires special permissions that a browser does not possess.
In those cases, file explorer becomes a good alternative to view the documents stored on the SD card. These are some of the best file managers for Android that we have at our disposal:
Google files
Undoubtedly, the best known of the file managers for Android devices. This is the official Google application, specifically designed to manage the internal storage of our mobile or tablet.
interface Files It is very different from other applications of this type, but it is very clear and easy to use:
- Inside the section "Clean up" we will find a graph that shows us the available memory. Next to it appear a series of files that we will be able to delete to free up space.
- In the section "Explore", the content is classified by categories (downloads, images, videos, etc.), although it is also possible to go directly to the folders. Depending on the Android writing permissions they have, it will be possible to modify their content or not.
Apart from this, Files takes care of sending us notifications about the presence of obsolete or dispensable content in memory, to always keep us up to date.
ASTRO File Manager
Another notable proposal when it comes to mobile device file management. STAR It offers a clean interface in which the internal storage is displayed at the top.
But apart from being very intuitive, the best thing about this app is that it's completely free. In addition, we can add cloud services such as OneDrive, Dropbox or Facebook and manage it in all aspects without having to access the list of Android settings.
Conclusion
We can say that we have two practical resources to access our mobile memory: the first, and most recommendable, is through the file:///sdcard/ command on Android. If this fails, we have the option of using the most popular and efficient file browsers.