26.10.09 14:26
🔧 Troubleshooting Guide
Current troubleshooting guide for FastMediaSorter v2. Use the canonical flavor matrix in FLAVOR_MATRIX.md when the issue depends on the selected build path (Standard, Lite, Photos, Legacy, or XR / noLegal).
Connection Issues
❌ “Cannot connect to SMB server”
Possible causes:
- Wrong network - Phone must be on same Wi-Fi as NAS
- Wrong address format - Try both formats:
\\192.168.1.100\sharesmb://192.168.1.100/share
- Firewall blocking - Check NAS firewall settings
- SMB version mismatch - Some NAS still require SMB v2/v3 compatibility; update the server if it only exposes legacy SMB settings
Solution:
- Test connection from PC first
- Check NAS logs for connection attempts
- Try IP address instead of hostname
- Verify username/password
❌ “SFTP connection timeout”
Possible causes:
- Wrong port (default: 22)
- SSH server not running
- Firewall blocking
Solution:
1. Test with SSH client on PC first:
ssh username@192.168.1.100
2. Check if SSH service is running
3. Verify port in Settings
❌ “Google Drive sign-in failed”
Solution:
- Clear app data: Settings → Apps → FastMediaSorter → Clear Data
- Reinstall the app
- Check Google account settings → Security → Third-party apps
❌ “OneDrive sign-in failed”
Solution:
- Check Microsoft account status
- Clear app data: Settings → Apps → FastMediaSorter → Clear Data
- Check Microsoft account settings → Privacy → Apps and services
❌ “Dropbox sign-in failed”
Solution:
- Check Dropbox account status
- Clear app data: Settings → Apps → FastMediaSorter → Clear Data
- Check Dropbox account settings → Security → Connected apps
Performance Issues
❌ “App is slow / laggy”
For large folders (5000+ files):
- Edit folder (per-resource) → Enable “Disable thumbnails”
- Use filters to reduce visible files
- Close other apps to free RAM
For network folders:
- Check Wi-Fi signal strength
- Reduce thumbnail cache size
- Enable “Scan subdirectories” = OFF if not needed
❌ “Thumbnails not loading”
Local files:
- Check storage permissions
- Clear thumbnail cache
- Restart app
Network files:
- Scroll slower (thumbnails load on-demand)
- Check network speed
- Increase cache size in Settings
File Operation Errors
❌ “Copy failed: Permission denied”
Local files:
- Grant storage permissions: Settings → Apps → Permissions
- Check if folder is read-only
- Try moving to different location
Network files:
- Check username has write permissions
- Verify share settings on NAS
❌ “Cannot delete file”
Possible causes:
- File is open in another app
- No write permission
- File is system-protected
Solution:
- Close other apps
- Check folder permissions
- For network: verify user has delete rights
❌ “Move operation failed”
Cross-protocol moves (e.g., Local → SMB):
- These are actually copy + delete
- Requires free space on target
- May take longer for large files
Solution:
- Check available space
- Use Copy instead of Move for safety
- Wait for full operation to complete
App Crashes
❌ “App crashes when opening player”
Common causes:
- Corrupted video file
- Unsupported codec
- File too large (>4GB)
Solution:
- Try playing file in different app to verify
- Check file format (supported: MP4, MKV, MOV)
- Clear app cache
❌ “Media file not playing or no sound”
Problem: Video loads but shows black screen, or plays without sound.
Solution:
- Tap the ⓘ (Info) button in top toolbar
- Tap “Open in External Player”
- Select a specialized player
This uses the Secondary Player feature to hand off unsupported codecs to other apps.
❌ “App crashes on startup”
Solution:
- Clear app cache: Settings → Apps → FastMediaSorter → Clear Cache
- If persists: Clear app data (⚠️ loses settings)
- Reinstall app as last resort
UI / Display Issues
❌ “Touch Zones not working”
Check if enabled: Settings → Player → “Show touch zones hint on first run” = ON
Make visible: Settings → Player → “Always show touch zones overlay” = ON
❌ “Command panel buttons too small”
Solution: Settings → Player → “Compact player buttons” = OFF
This doubles the size of all buttons and spacing.
❌ “Dark theme not working”
The app follows system theme:
- Android Settings → Display → Dark theme = ON
Data Issues
❌ “Favorites disappeared”
Favorites are stored locally:
- Cleared app data? → Favorites lost
- New device? → Need to re-mark
Prevention:
- Use Settings → General → Backups, restore and settings export
- Favorites are local to the device; if you move to a new phone, re-mark them or use the app backup/restore flow available in your build
❌ “Trash folder keeps growing”
Deleted files go to .trash/ folder and stay there until manually emptied.
Solution:
- Settings → Management → File deletion and trash
- Or manually delete
.trash/folders
Still Having Issues?
Check Logs
- Settings → Management → “Show detailed errors” = ON
- Reproduce the issue
- Check logcat output
Report a Bug
Include this information:
- Android version
- Device model
- Steps to reproduce
- Error message (screenshot)
Submit: GitHub Issues
Translation & EPUB Issues
❌ “Translation not working or stuck”
Possible causes:
- Missing models: The app failed to download OCR models.
- No Internet: First run requires internet to download models.
- Storage full: No space for models (~50 MB).
Solution:
- Check internet connection.
- Go to Settings → Media → Other
- Toggle “Enable Translation” OFF and ON again.
- Try switching Source Language to “Auto”.
❌ “EPUB book not opening”
Possible causes:
- DRM Protection: The app only supports DRM-free EPUBs.
- Corrupted file: The file might be incomplete.
- Very large file: >100MB files on slow network might timeout.
Solution:
- Verify the file opens in other readers.
- If on network/cloud, try downloading it manually first.
- Ensure file extension is exactly
.epub.
Internet Streams Issues
Stream does not start / plays for a second then stops
Possible causes:
- The URL is dead or redirecting to a different protocol.
- The server requires authentication (not supported).
- Cleartext http:// blocked by a VPN or corporate network.
Solution:
- Tap Retry in the stream-unavailable dialog to try again.
- Verify the URL in a browser.
- Disable VPN temporarily to test.
- If the stream redirects and still fails, tap Remove and re-add the corrected URL.
Catalog import spinner does not stop / hangs
The app applies a fast timeout for catalog downloads. If the spinner hangs beyond ~15 seconds, the host is likely unreachable. Check your internet connection and try again. The dialog will dismiss automatically on timeout - it will not hang indefinitely.
HLS / DASH / RTSP shows ‘unsupported’ message
In Standard, Legacy, and XR / noLegal all three protocols are supported, so this message points at the stream or its codec, not at the build. Lite and Photos have no Streams screen at all, so no stream can be added there in the first place.
Streams option is not visible in the menu or settings
- In Standard / Legacy / XR / noLegal: go to Settings > Media > Streams and ensure Enable Streams is toggled on. The dropdown item appears only when Streams is enabled.
- In Photos: the Streams feature is not built into this flavor.
- In Lite: the Streams feature is not built into this flavor either - there is no toggle to switch on and no screen to open.
ICY now-playing metadata not showing
ICY metadata requires an Icecast/Shoutcast stream that sends the Icy-MetaData: 1 header. Plain http mp3 streams without ICY headers show no station/track info in the bottom mini-control. This is a server-side limitation.
Content Issues
❌ “Cannot see Text or PDF files”
Solution:
- Check Settings → Media → Documents
- Ensure “Support Text Files” and “Support PDF Files” are enabled.
- Check Filters on main screen (funnel icon) to ensure they are selected.
- Rescan the folder (pull-to-refresh).
Known Limitations
- ⚠️ No RAW photo support (CR2, NEF, ARW)
- ⚠️ Network undo unavailable (files are hard-deleted)
- ⚠️ Cloud storage is built into every flavor except Lite; which providers a given build offers can still depend on the device platform, and FLAVOR_MATRIX.md is the per-flavor grid
- ⚠️ No multi-device sync (favorites are local)
Last updated: 2026-06-05
Version: Current public docs set