Ultra slow speed while transfer files between PC and Samsung S5 I just got my new Samsung Galaxy S5, original ROM with version 4.4.2. It uses a new Toshiba 64GB speed U3 micro SD card.

When I transfer my WhatsApp folder from PC to GS5, it took me more than 24 hours!!!

The WhatsApp folder has about 3GB in size, and thousands of received/sent images.

At the first time, I transfer them from PC to the (fast) SD card in the phone. It really took me more than 24 hours. At the second time, I tried transfer them from PC to the phone internal memory. It seems to be a little bit faster. I did not wait it to complete. But I assume it will take 20+ hours also.

When I use the file manager in GS5 to copy the entire 3GB folder from SD card to phone internal, it takes only 5 minutes or less. (It's a U3 card afterall)

I did a small test. I transfer only the database files from PC to the SD card (in the phone). There are 7 files, in total 1 GB in size. It takes only 1 minute.

So my guess is, the transfer speed will be ultra slow when it contains many small files.


The same issue happens in different fast computers.
I used the original USB cable, and tried on other short and average quality cables.
I prefer not to pull my SD card out every time. Even if i do, transfer from PC to phone also have the ultra slow speed issue.
I know there are threads suggesting to transfer file by other methods. But my concern is: Why is it so unreasonable slow? And I prefer using the USB method.


Is my phone a defect?
Wikipedia is our friend, again. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol#Drawbacks

Quote:

MTP allows no parallelism, unlike USB mass storage or NAS. MTP has been built to only allow a single operation at a time (for example, read, write or delete operation), while no other operation can be executed until the previous operation is complete.

By design, MTP devices (like PTP devices) are not treated as a traditional removable drive. The actual file system is implemented by the device, and not by the computer's operating system. This also means that file system recovery tools on the computer will be of no use. In addition, most other programs on the computer will not recognise the MTP device, limiting the user to software from the device manufacturer or other MTP specific programs.

When opening a file, the user must wait until the file is copied to the host computer/device before it can be viewed; the file remains on the host computer's storage after viewing and after removal of the device.

Devices that are limited to MTP transfers do not allow or support instant access or multitasking.

The MTP and PTP standards do not support direct modification of objects. Modified objects must be copied out of the device and reuploaded in their entirety, which can take a long time for large objects. Google's MTP implementation in Android includes extensions to deal with this limitation; however, these extensions must be supported by the host operating system, and are not available by default. This blocks the direct creation of files on the device from the host computer; files must be first created on the host computer and then copied over.

...

Most MTP-compatible devices are not assigned drive letters; instead, they appear as "devices" in applications such as Windows Explorer.