Android Question Device Encrypted SD Cards

[SJQ]

Hi Everyone,

On certain newer Android devices 5.x the operating system has the ability to encrypt both the device and the SD card.

So I have encrypted a device and the applications created with B4A work fine. Obviously encryption is transparent to applications installed to the device as I expected (it’s the same with windows file encryption)

But if I encrypt the external SD card the applications created with B4A cannot read from the External SD Card, no error is thrown, images just don’t display, music just does not play.

Am I missing a permission here? Or is SD Card encryption not compatible?

I was always under the impression that content encrypted by the device and being accessed by apps that are installed to the device would be able to read the files.

Just to be clear I am not encrypting the files myself or attempting to decrypt then. The files are being encrypted by the operating system and this process is managed by the operating system.

Existing files are encrypted and new files written to the SD card are also encrypted. Apps on the device should still be able to read them...

Can anyone help with this?

Thanks.

 

[Erel]

Try to read from the app folder as returned by this code: https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/how-to-ext-sd-card-write-on-android-4-4.42177/#post-255351

 

[SJQ]

Hi Erel.

All of our apps do use the app Folder for specific data storage without issue, Device encrypted or unencrypted.

All of the patients Journal files are SQLCipher Databases.

Unfortunately that's not an option for the library files, we supply devices to health authorities for reminiscence therapy of people with dementia, we have a huge library over 25GB of images, Video Clips, Old Time Radio Shows, Relaxation Music and old Video clips, Exercise Videos, this content is shared content for a number of themed applications written in B4A not just one app.

Streaming is not allowed as the devices are not allowed on the network...

Our suppliers of the media are a little concerned that this content must be placed on removable SD Cards that cannot be encrypted (the internal SD card has to be used for patients Journal files and personal images etc, not that the devices have enough internal capacity for the library anyhow)

We cannot encrypt the files individually as this slows the process down to a point that it causes frustration and anxiety in the patients.

I was hoping the Device's SD Card Encryption method was similar in nature to windows inbuilt file encryption.

Without encryption it all works fine on all our Android 4.2 to 5.0 Currently we have to cover the SD Card slot with security 'void if removed' tape...

SD Card Encryption is quite a useless Android feature really...

Thanks anyhow...