Apps cannot access files on Chromecast HD

by taketheknot99

I recently bought a Chromecast with Google TV HD to replace an aging 2nd gen Chromecast. I was excited to use emulators on it as a bonus but have had no luck thus far. Whenever the emulators (Lemuroid, Redream, M64 FZ, Drastic) ask me to point them towards roms I get a "you don't have an app that can do this" error. I have had various file managers such as X-plore and FX installed but yet still get this error. I have made sure all the apps have permission to access files and media. I keep the roms on portable USB storage which I can see the file managers can access. VLC also has no problem accessing these files. What do you think the problem is?

EDIT: Added Screenshots. Some apps won't let me select allow access to files all the time. Others that do still get the same error. Apps with their own file browsers work fine, such as Drastic, but any app that needs to use a separate file manager gets the same error. FX is installed and set up in all these screenshots.

https://preview.redd.it/gy7ocvpgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=51f5ccd338dfa1f94d020cc733b347cac38db273

https://preview.redd.it/q7lqjzpgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9ca9d42a854d2d932af0df88309904d6c4d38197

https://preview.redd.it/am6x81qgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=306bbea587e6eca71e48c6ce52051bb218d57cc2

https://preview.redd.it/557wuypgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=fd84143d670a2a03e531c72bc3fadefc5a555233

https://preview.redd.it/26g5i1qgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=43774d82ecedb33042214720f3042c43295508f0

https://preview.redd.it/92fsqypgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=4de0c08439c540b7b648936098993a9c409c128a

https://preview.redd.it/03ytoypgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=3acbef73302eb22ad424d654c54df9d4d5afae6a

https://preview.redd.it/nl3vavpgy9t91.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=fed1aee5122f441086fc12da4853f1b202a5effb

wewewi

Just tried Drastic on ADT-3 running 12 and Shield 2015 running 9, and it would seem the barebones built-in file browser doesnt allow to navigate to external resources at all. Not even on Android 9; there is just no option to change drives. So here's that.

latinriky78

That seems to be the same problem on Android 11 with permissions, you'll need to select to have access to the files all the time and not the other option of when only using the app, some have the former others only the latter.

anotherone65

oh! yes. Had google chromecast for 2 YEARS working perfectly. Now, on 12, ALL MY EMULATORS ARE BROKEN. I load them, try to browse files and am told, like your screenshot above, you don't have an app that can do this. All my permissions are allowed. Even happens on newly downloaded apps. Doesn't tell me which app I need, all permissions are locked down, cannot even access files because I can't access any of the internal storage.

no file managers will let me access my saves either, I cannot export anything. So my saves are locked down with no way to save them or navigate to their location. No way to downgrade either. what. the fuck.

Seahawk80

Same issue with lemuroid. It's driving me nuts. I wish their file system allowed access to external storage.

ffuugoo

Figured a way to push ROMs to the Lemuroid's default ROM folder on Chromecast with Android 12. Plugging it here for people to see.

Guys, I've figured a working solution for /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.swordfish.lemuroid/files/roms access.

  • Enable developer mode on the Chromecast
  • Open developer mode options and enable "USB debugging"
  • Install ADB (Android Debug Bridge) on your PC (it's available for Windows, macOS and Linux)
    • I think the package that contains ADB is called "Android SDK Platform Tools"
    • If you don't know how to install them, I think, your best bet would be googling "how to install Android Platform Tools on <your OS>"
  • Make sure your PC and your Chromecast are connected to the same Wi-Fi network
  • Find your Chromecast IP address
    • Open Wi-Fi settings on the Chromecast, select active Wi-Fi network and a list will appear on the right, one of the items on the list should be "IP address"
    • The address itself looks something like 192.168.0.32
  • Open the terminal on your PC, type adb connect <your Chromecast IP address> , e.g., adb connect 192.168.0.32
    • Explaining how to work in "terminal" is a bit out of scope for this simple guide, so you'll have to google and figure it out yourself
    • ADB will tell you that connection failed...
    • ...but a pop-up menu should appear on your Chromecast saying something like "The PC something-something is trying to connect to ADB, allow the connection?"
    • Obviously, select "yes" on the Chromecast
  • And finally, now you should be able to "push" files from you PC to the /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.swordfish.lemuroid/files/roms folder on the Chromecast, to do so type adb push <path to file on your PC> /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.swordfish.lemuroid/files/roms
    • e.g., adb push "C:\Users\ChromecastHacker\Downloads\A Link to The Past.sfc" /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.swordfish.lemuroid/files/roms
    • Note, that if any path contains spaces, you'll have to enclose it with " symbols.