LG V40 - loading FLAC's onto SD card - how to do with USB cable?

I've loaded over 3000 FLAC files onto my SD card in the past, using LG AirDrive and LGBridge utility program, via wi-fi.

As of April 1, 2020, LG is killing the AirDrive (and LGBridge, by extension), and their email said "files can still be transferred into the phone via USB cable" - which is true, but with one issue. - With USB cable, when using Windows "My Computer" directory, it sees the phone via USB connection, but doesn't see the SD card.

So, I can load the files, but onto phone's storage, not on SD card, as is my preference. I want to have all my music files portable with the SD card, having them on my phone is undesirable.

Does anyone know of a way to make my computer "see" the SD card? Perhaps some other little program that does it via USB, and not wi-fi? OS is Windows 10.

Thanks.

 

SD card into a USB card reader I would imagine and not trying to load them onto the card while it’s actually in the phone.

 

Agree.

Also may want to look into how to tag FLACs properly. Hey. If you had an iPhone, music wouldn't be so easy.

 

Oh, now we're getting somewhere - so I need a "USB card reader" - another piece of hardware? The AirDrive "saw" the SD card inside my phone by wi-fi, and I was able to load the SD card without taking it out of the phone.

Card reader, I guess, is doable, if not so convenient.

Thanks.

 

What do you mean by "flag"? I haven't needed to flag anything up to now - just loaded files onto the card, and the phone's stock "music" app uses the card as my music library. There isn't a single music file on my phone outside of the SD card.

What do I need the "flag" thing for, and how do I accomplish it if I do?

 

You need a USB card adapter. Take the card out of the phone, put it into the adapter, and plug the adapter into your computer. It'll work the same as any USB drive.

Most of these adapters will hold either an SD card or a microSD card. Since this is a phone, I'm pretty sure you have a microSD card.

Here's the model I have:

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portab...585637694&sprefix=micro+sd+usb,aps,168&sr=8-4

 

After connecting your phone to the computer go to your phone's notification dropdown menu, there should be an option to change the USB settings to file transfer

 

This seems to work, thanks!

 

FYI - I use both approaches for my V40 Thinq. My Win10 pc has no trouble identifying and directly accessing the sd card loaded on the phone. Maybe you don't have the media connection set correctly to allow the USB connection to 'Share Files.'? This usually is reflected in the dragged down view of the notifications. There should be a notification about the USB connection when connected to the computer. Media Sharing or some such is a choice. Hope this helps.

 

Most all laptops and computers should come with a multi-function card reader that can read SD cards.

Congrats on the phone - When I bought the Samsung S7 I was considering the LG V30 because of the superior sound quality of good on board DAC. I went with the S7 more because of the camera lens protection (crystal glass) and because it was end of model cycle so the price was a lot cheaper. But had I known that the S7 would be such a terrible sounding phone (uggh so so bad) I would have went for the LG. Plus the whole "Edge" thing I have never used - LOL. Live and learn. The reviews were all wondrous - uggh.

 

When I had my S7, I paired it with the FiiO e18 OTG DAC/AMP. It was wonderful. The ThinQ is the nicest phone I have ever owned while it was still new and current. When I changed providers, they were selling it for half price if I paid for it outright. Apparently it didn't sell well enough and they were ready to unload! Lucky me.

 

Depending on what you use to play, software, tagging means you can see information like album art and extended album info, displayed. Not necessary, but my car uses and displays that stuff, so I go out of my way to make corrections.

 

You don't need any special software. I have an LGV40 and drag and drop via Windows Explorer while the MicroSD is mounted in the phone and connected via the USB charging cable to the computer. Odds are you don't have the card formatted correctly or are doing something else wrong. It should be extremely simple.

 

One other thing that can trip you up and make it so your pc won't see the card. You need the proper USB cable. Some cables - even ones you spend good money on - are not designed for data transfer, just charging. I think it's the difference between a 4- and 5-pin construction or something of the sort. I actually have never seen it on packaging and have yet to acquire a third party USB-C cord that works like my out-of-box cord with the LG.

These sub-par cords also don't allow for fast charging, so if it seems to take awhile to charge your phone, that is why. This is also referenced in you pull-down notifications under 'Charging' when you are plugged in.

 

Yep, you also have to pull down the notification and change the setting to "MTP" to allow dragging and dropping of files to the internal memory and SD card. If the SD card is mounted correctly and formatted correctly, it should be a simple drag and drop of music file folders to get music on the SD card. I've been doing it this way for years with SD cards on LG phones.

 

Files copy quickly, too. I use Poweramp (though I might use JRiver MC someday) and it scans the new music very quickly. I regularly transfer between a 128GB miniSD and a 256GB and it's a breeze.

 

Yes, thanks, it was explained by another poster to me, as well. Now it works, problem solved.

 

I found the LG phones by doing a Google search for "audiophile phone", before that I just didn't know much about any phones. All I knew - I wanted to be rid of the Apple yoke, and for good. I got a V30 first, now gave it to my Mom, and bought a V40.

One thing to remember, if you ever go with the LG V-series: if you want the good sound their quad DAC is capable of - you need high-impedance headphones - 50 Ohm minimum. Anything below that, and the sound is so-so, not much different from all the other crappy phones out there. I have a thread here to that effect. To cut it short, I bought a pair of Fostex TH-7 (closed back), at 63 Ohm. Before that, Senn's HD-598 SE's worked great, at 50 Ohm, but they were open-back, no good for the gym/beach/public place scenario.

As to computers having to read cards - mine is 12 years old, on its 4th Windows version. I'm loath to replace it, because A) it still does everything I need; B) - it has a CD-RW and DVD-R drives, they don't build them like that any more.

 

Please point to the thread you mention. I find that my sound with low impedance headphones using the quad dac sounds very different than without the dac engaged. Much improved. I can understand that higher impedance 'phones may perform even better. But your qualification of the sound being 'not much different' than other crappy phones is subjective and certainly not my experience.

 

Well, I'm describing my own experience. In case of V30 and 40, the quad DAC is engaged any time you plug in headphones, provided the default "Music" app is used. The phone senses the impedance of the cans, and, depending on that, engages either "normal" (low gain), or "high-impedance" (high gain) mode. At "normal" gain, it sounds no better than my previous iPhones, therefore I categorized is as "crappy" and "not much different", which is my personal experience. And "high gain" is only engaged with high-impedance cans, which in my case at the time were all open-back.

There is a trick someone on this forum taught me in another of my phone-related threads, to engage the "medium gain" setting, which works if you cans are around 32-40 Ohm impedance (not too low). It's called "external device" mode, and to trick the DAC into it, you must plug the headphone cord into the phone first, and only then plug the other end into the headphones. Needless to say, it only works with headphones that have a removable cord, Besides, any time you need to disconnect the headphones from the phone, like if you have to make a phone call, the "external" mode is lost, and you have to do the whole thing over, which was annoying. That's why I made a point of finding a pair of closed-back high-impedance cans that would always engage the "high mode" of the DAC, and be done with it. It took a surprisingly long time to find one, as today's fashion clearly indicates that manufacturers prefer to make closed-back cans mostly low-impedance, and high-impedance cans are mostly open-back.

And here is that thread you asked for:
Need budget closed-back over-ear headphones with at least 50 Ohm impedance

 

I'm back to square one. Since starting this thread, I never got around to actually transferring any files onto the SD card in the phone.

Today I decided to finally do that, having downloaded a few albums I purchased a while ago.

And - nothing works. I hit a brick wall at toggling between USB modes of "charging" and "file transfer". I just don't have the drop-down menu to do that. The bar just shows me a charging icon and nothing else. Nothing I can choose.

Went to google the answers - it gives me steps I don't even seem to have on this phone. Almost want to take a hammer to it.

Everything worked great through wi-fi when the LGBridge was working, but they had to discontinue that - and why?

 

That's where I'm stock. Nothing I can pull down and toggle.

 

I just use one of these

 

I'm using Resilio Sync, a free wifi sync tool, available for android. You need to install it to both your phone and PC, from there it will sync a folder on your SD card with a folder on your PC, wirelessly. On Win10 and S8+ works well, you just need to pay attention to the initial setup, you have tutorials for that.

 

Strange. My Windows 10 detects my SD card on my LG G8 so I just drag folders to it.