samba is the solution to ios woes

Submitted by twovests in just_post

samba server on local network good as fuck for transfering files between ipad/iphone and linux (or windows, mac, android, etc.)

this very much solves the "using an ipad on local network and not using dropbox" use case

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emma wrote

this got me excited, then i tried it and it wouldn't connect to my windows 3.11 for workgroups machine, and now I'm less excited

but cool that it works for you

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flabberghaster wrote

I usually just use python3 -mhttp.server to move files computer to phone. Don't really have a solution for the other direction tho

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twovests OP wrote

This is exactly what I did to get files from my computer to my phone! Samba is what got me both directions. 'Samba' is a popular server that follows the SMB network protocol.

Samba really is where it's at. I'll make a small guide. This is for Ubuntu. I am using a Raspberry Pi with an SD card. Nothing too special, since this is just a transitory space for transfering files.

Here's what I do on Ubuntu. You might want to make a new user just for the Samba share, since the SMB username is taking from users on the machine.

# install samba
sudo apt install samba

# allow samba through firewall
sudo ufw allow samba

# make a file for the samba share
mkdir /home/USERNAME/samba

# edit the conf to add the lines
sudo vim /etc/samba/smb.conf

# add these lines to smb.conf
[sambashare]
    comment = Samba on PiHole
    path = /home/USERNAME/samba
    read only = no
    browsable = yes

# set a password for the samba share
sudo smbpasswd -a USERNAME

# start the samba server
sudo service smbd restart

Then, on the iPad or iOS device, add a network location (Files > three dots). You'll need the local IP of your Samba server. The details will be like:

  1. Address: `smb://192.168.1.123`
  2. Username: USERNAME used to set start Samba on Ubuntu
  3. Password: Password set with `sudo smbpasswd -a USERNAME`

There's a bug on iPadOS and iOS where the share will be read-only until you disconnect and reconnect to the server. You may need to do that a few times, or restart your device.

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flabberghaster wrote

That seems a lot easier than NFS, tbh. I wonder if android supports that :thinking:

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twovests OP wrote

Funny enough, not on the default Files app, but at least on an officially-supported client (plus most "good" file managers I'm aware of.)

Something I dislike with Apple products is that so much basic functionality is locked behind expensive apps. I need to pay $10 to get a calculator on my iPad or $20 to control audio volume per-app on MacOS. So it's very refreshing to me that Samba support is built in to Files.

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