USB Media Explorer
$4.46About USB Media Explorer
USB Media Explorer (UME), formerly known as Nexus Media Importer, allows you to stream and transfer music, video, photos and documents from a USB flash drive or card reader connected to your Nexus device (5, 5X, 6, 6P, 7G1, 7G2, 9, 10) or other Android 4.0+ devices with USB Host support.
Requires the following hardware:
1. An Android 4.0+ device. Please try the free "USB Photo Viewer" first if you do not have a Nexus device. Due to hardware limitations, the Nexus 4 is not supported.
2. An USB OTG (On-The-Go) cable. Costs range from $1-10 USD, see screenshots for examples.
3. An USB Flash Drive or USB Card Reader with a flash memory card inserted, see screenshots for examples. Please see the FAQ on our website if you are trying to connect an external hard drive or other device.
IMPORTANT: To use UME offline, you will have to activate the license by opening it online after installing.
To use:
-If you are using an card reader, put the flash memory card in the reader first.
-Attach your USB device to the OTG cable.
-Attach the OTG cable to the Nexus or other device.
-The application should launch automatically.
-The File Manager tab can be used to manage and transfer files.
-Use the Connect screen to determine the viewed device and the destination device for the Copy/Move operations.
-The navigation menu to change between Photos, Videos, Document and the File Manager can be accessed by the three lines in the upper left hand corner.
Support:
-If you have an issue, you can tap "Homesoft" from the About screen for e-mail support.
-Currently, most USB Mass Storage devices are supported. Due to the mind boggling number of USB devices available it is not 100% If you contact us, we may be able to support your device in a future release. If you have doubts, try the free "Nexus Photo Viewer" first.
Technical Notes:
-1. A few people have reported issues with UME opening on startup. You can set "Launch Automatically" to "Never" in UME Settings.
-DOES NOT REQUIRE ROOT! Rooting may void your device's warranty.
-Hard Drives. It is strongly recommended that you use external power when connecting a hard drive to a tablet. Please see the troubleshooting guide on my web site for more information. Do not connect an unpowered hard drive to a phone!
-This is a media streamer. Media types not natively supported by Android will require third party software. There are many excellent free and paid apps. in the Play market. For example: "BS Player", "MX Player" and "Dice Player"
-The internal music player only plays formats natively supported by Android. WMA files are not supported, but can be copied locally for use with another player.
-Nexus 10 users it appears the internal Android video player is broken in Android 5.x (Lollipop) please use one of the external players listed above.
How-to Videos:
-Connecting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etrIpNHhWi0
-Photo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MSjqZWUIqI
-Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es7QyhkWjcI
-General: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCgvmvzqWAQ
See the FAQ on the Developer's Website link for an overview of the permissions.
Requires the following hardware:
1. An Android 4.0+ device. Please try the free "USB Photo Viewer" first if you do not have a Nexus device. Due to hardware limitations, the Nexus 4 is not supported.
2. An USB OTG (On-The-Go) cable. Costs range from $1-10 USD, see screenshots for examples.
3. An USB Flash Drive or USB Card Reader with a flash memory card inserted, see screenshots for examples. Please see the FAQ on our website if you are trying to connect an external hard drive or other device.
IMPORTANT: To use UME offline, you will have to activate the license by opening it online after installing.
To use:
-If you are using an card reader, put the flash memory card in the reader first.
-Attach your USB device to the OTG cable.
-Attach the OTG cable to the Nexus or other device.
-The application should launch automatically.
-The File Manager tab can be used to manage and transfer files.
-Use the Connect screen to determine the viewed device and the destination device for the Copy/Move operations.
-The navigation menu to change between Photos, Videos, Document and the File Manager can be accessed by the three lines in the upper left hand corner.
Support:
-If you have an issue, you can tap "Homesoft" from the About screen for e-mail support.
-Currently, most USB Mass Storage devices are supported. Due to the mind boggling number of USB devices available it is not 100% If you contact us, we may be able to support your device in a future release. If you have doubts, try the free "Nexus Photo Viewer" first.
Technical Notes:
-1. A few people have reported issues with UME opening on startup. You can set "Launch Automatically" to "Never" in UME Settings.
-DOES NOT REQUIRE ROOT! Rooting may void your device's warranty.
-Hard Drives. It is strongly recommended that you use external power when connecting a hard drive to a tablet. Please see the troubleshooting guide on my web site for more information. Do not connect an unpowered hard drive to a phone!
-This is a media streamer. Media types not natively supported by Android will require third party software. There are many excellent free and paid apps. in the Play market. For example: "BS Player", "MX Player" and "Dice Player"
-The internal music player only plays formats natively supported by Android. WMA files are not supported, but can be copied locally for use with another player.
-Nexus 10 users it appears the internal Android video player is broken in Android 5.x (Lollipop) please use one of the external players listed above.
How-to Videos:
-Connecting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etrIpNHhWi0
-Photo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MSjqZWUIqI
-Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es7QyhkWjcI
-General: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCgvmvzqWAQ
See the FAQ on the Developer's Website link for an overview of the permissions.
All Application Badges
Good rating
Paid
app
app
Android
4.0+
4.0+
Bug
buster
buster
Android app
App History & Updates
What's Changed
8.5.3
-Smart Connect
--Determines the best way to connect to a device
--Learns from your choices
-Android N Support
-Share (Save) to UME
-Icon update
-Copy dir fix
-8.3.1
-Write for internal microSD (req. 5.0+)
-Headset double/triple click next/previous track (req. 5.0+)
8.0
-Write support for NTFS (Hard drives and some large flash drives)
8.5.3
-Smart Connect
--Determines the best way to connect to a device
--Learns from your choices
-Android N Support
-Share (Save) to UME
-Icon update
-Copy dir fix
-8.3.1
-Write for internal microSD (req. 5.0+)
-Headset double/triple click next/previous track (req. 5.0+)
8.0
-Write support for NTFS (Hard drives and some large flash drives)
Name changed Name changed! Nexus Media Importer now is known as USB Media Explorer.
Version update USB Media Explorer was updated to version 8.5.4
Price update Price changed from $3.99 to $4.46.
Version update USB Media Explorer was updated to version 8.4.3
What are users saying about USB Media Explorer
N
by N####:
by N####:
The only app that works properly on my Samsung tablet. All other ones were unable to have my SanDisk combo device recognised.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Horrible app will not allow you to chose media player for video. Uses default player that won't play half the videos and supports no audio formats. Worst app ever.
X
by X####:
by X####:
This appeared to be just what I wanted to view and save photos from my camera SD card to a Nexus 7. Works just as advertised.
N
by N####:
by N####:
So far as I just lost my chord!
N
by N####:
by N####:
Overcomes the memory limitations of my Google Nexus 10. I can now use a 128Gb drive with it.
P
by P####:
by P####:
When i copy a file it doesn't show me the status bar anymore. What happened?
O
by O####:
by O####:
All good had it for years now.. Keep up the good work
Z
by Z####:
by Z####:
Perfect for finding my external hard drive on tablet
N
by N####:
by N####:
A very practical piece of software that is needed in android phones with out SD card vicilities.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Work great no matter the file system of the external storage. Thanks!
N
by N####:
by N####:
Worth the price and immediate response from customer support.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Functions great, and very well supported.
E
by E####:
by E####:
Prefect
N
by N####:
by N####:
Does what it's supposed to do, very well. Links my Nexus 7 to my USB drive. And does same for Galaxy J5. Just need a cable with micro on one end and USB on t'other.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Really pleased with this. Fabulous.
W
by W####:
by W####:
My Samsung Galaxy S7 stopped reading SD cards. This app lets me access my SD card with a small reader.
O
by O####:
by O####:
it's the best app i ever use
N
by N####:
by N####:
Took my tablet to Iceland instead of my laptop. Used a powered hub to backup my photos to an external hard drive. Flawless. Also used this to extract jpg from my raw files to post to Facebook.
N
by N####:
by N####:
One of my essential and most used apps. Thanks developers!
N
by N####:
by N####:
Nothing better without root.
J
by J####:
by J####:
This app works great I bought a buckstruck outdoors trail camera card reader to look at trail cam pics. ( This is an otg cable that you plug a memory card in)All you do is swap your memory card put it in the otg cable turn your phone on plug into USB the app detects the USB and turns on from here you can view pics, zoom,delete,share edit it's awesome no longer have to carry tablet into the woods. I org had Nexus free app (only shows pics)get this first ,if it works delete the free app and get this app.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Bought, downloaded, and installed it to transfer one stinkin' file and it won't recognize my thumb drive with USB C adapter. Does other drives but not the 3.0. Don't know if it's me, my drives, or the application but it's frustrating. Life is like that. I'll keep it and will find a use for it, sooner or later.
N
by N####:
by N####:
To hard to use. I only wanted something that would allow usb to connect so I can take pics off, before nougat update debbuging worked
N
by N####:
by N####:
Pixel xl only supports fat32 which only supports files smaller than 4gb. With this app I can use any of my flash drives no matter how they are formatted. It works great. Watched 2 movies so far with no stuttering or freezing.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Works as expected. Only issue I have now is that after getting the nougat update, I'm unable to mount or write anything to and from my external SD card on the phone. Hope this gets updated soon.
R
by R####:
by R####:
Needed software to access videos, which was a pain to do using HTC connect. This app is fast and easy to use. My problem with it is no playlist functionality. VLC won't make a playlist from media on a flash drive so I was hoping this software would remedy that. Unfortunately, not the case. It works with music, but not videos. I'd like to see it added, considering it's not free software
F
by F####:
by F####:
This WAS my primary go to app for YEARS, but since it updated and the name was changed from Nexus Media Importer, I can't use it in a practical manner. It always wants to verify my purchase. Sometimes I don't have any type of network access. Glad alternatives are common now.
N
by N####:
by N####:
On Google Nexus 9 tablet, this is the only media importer/exporter I found that works as advertised. Screen looks like an old File Transfer Protocol tool I used years ago. Allows me to move any files between my tablet and an SD card either direction.
M
by M####:
by M####:
This is a great, useful app with a fantastic GUI. The developers contacted me promptly after I experienced intermittent SD card write-permissions issues upon installation of a larger SD card to my tablet - the app worked wonderfully prior to the new SD card installation. Apparently the permissions dialog never appeared when I installed the new SD. Un-installing and re-installing the app triggered the appropriate permissions dialog - the app now works perfectly again. I chose this app over my go-to file manager app Total Commander / Paragon due to its added functionality. They're both great - but UME is just a smidge more sophisticated.
N
by N####:
by N####:
My phone told me I needed this with another device....PAYED FOR IT!!..Still doesn't do what I need it to and still tells me I need it!!
N
by N####:
by N####:
its great at reading files but my music doesnt autoplay. i have to unlock my phone everytime a song ends.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Hoped this would open a USB drive and allow to view the media on it as a slide show. This needs the ‘Importer’ setting, which was not evident to me. Documentation is in a difficult state, but the developer is very helpful via e-mail.
Y
by Y####:
by Y####:
It does work both way if you can't transfer it both way try redownloading it again I redownload it again about 4-6 time and it finally work
K
by K####:
by K####:
Doesn't work, USB not found!
N
by N####:
by N####:
We are waiting material design :)
N
by N####:
by N####:
Time consuming and dysfunctional.
O
by O####:
by O####:
Works awesomely. Even better with the exFat plugin.
I
by I####:
by I####:
Fantastic! Exactly what I was looking for. Needed to copy videos from my Nexus 5X onto a flash drive and this does the trick
D
by D####:
by D####:
Nexus 6p FTW! Supports NTFS for larger files.
by N####:
After a few bugs and my finally learning how to use it I've masterd the transferring of files . Great app. Highly recommended. Great quick customer service too!!