I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now to regularly
backup files from my Smartphone via SMB to a file share on my Synology
DS220j.

Last night the sync job failed, because FolderSync Pro seems not be able
to connect via SMB any longer:

java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to diskstation/2003:ec:d746:1800:9209:d0ff:fe0d:37cf (port 445) from /2003:ec:d746:1800:1811:2f7d:2321:f330 (port 47910) after 5000ms

However with Cx File Explorer the very same connection works without any issues. It also does not matter if I use IPv6 in my local WLAN or IPv4
via mobile network and Wireguard.

Does anyone else experience this problem? I already contacted the
support of FolderSync and will see, what they say about it.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Arno Welzel, 2026-06-20 09:56:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now to regularly
backup files from my Smartphone via SMB to a file share on my Synology DS220j.

Last night the sync job failed, because FolderSync Pro seems not be able
to connect via SMB any longer:

java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to diskstation/2003:ec:d746:1800:9209:d0ff:fe0d:37cf (port 445) from /2003:ec:d746:1800:1811:2f7d:2321:f330 (port 47910) after 5000ms

The support of FolderSync already replied. Starting with Android 17 apps require an additional permission for local network access. The will be
fixed with version 4.9.4. The new permission may have to be granted
manually after updating the app.


--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Andy Burns, 2026-06-20 12:25:

Arno Welzel wrote:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now

I have a licence, but don't think I've had in installed on my tablet for maybe 8 years ...

And what is the relevance of your reply?


--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Andy Burns, 2026-06-20 12:49:

Arno Welzel wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Arno Welzel wrote:

I've been using FolderSync Pro for more than a year now

I have a licence, but don't think I've had in installed on my tablet for >>> maybe 8 years ...

And what is the relevance of your reply?

Well, I went on to install it and add an SMB account to test syncing,
but it appears not to want to connect to my linux/samba server on port
445, win11 laptop connects happily.

Ok, *this* is more helpful. Also see my other post, the vendor already
replied to my support request (within less than 4 hours!) and will
provide an update to version 4.9.4 which will request the neccessary
permission for local network access in Android 17.


--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Maria Sophia, 2026-06-21 08:25:

Andy Burns wrote:

I had an issue with DNS resolution, the tablet now completes the test
connection to SMB, I've tried to add a sync pair from an SMB folder to
emulated SD card, but it's not copied anything ...

Never heard of FolderSync Pro...

Hence, I have a basic question about "FolderSync Pro", which is what does
it do that the presumably free versions of similar packages do not have?

- *Reliable* sync when files changed (which I use to automatically
upload pictures to my Nextcloud server after they got taken).

- Sync at defined schedules (daily, only on specific days and time etc.)
and/or when connected to specific networks.

- Use of many different targets like WebDAV (Nextcloud), SMB and many
cloud storage providers.

Apparently the open-source Syncthing does most of that, but not with SMB.

Syncthing requires a server for it. You can not use Syncthing to sync to
a destination without the Syncthing server running. Also as far I know
you can not define schedules like "sync Monday to Fridy on 5:00 but only
if connected to a specific WiFi network".

There's "AutoSync for SMB" but it's similar tiered free/cost pricing.
Cx File Explorer has fre SMB but not auto sync.
There's rsync over Termu via a mounted SMB share, but that's technical. There's also Tasker-like automation possible (using Automate perhaps). MacroDroid + a dual-pane file manager can be cobbled together also.

But Round Sync is a FOSS frontend for clone and it ties well to SMB. Supposedly.

I tried Round Sync as an alternative when Folder Sync Pro stopped
working. But even creating a remote folder fails:

<https://github.com/newhinton/Round-Sync/issues/405>

If I wanted to set this up, here's what I'd try if I invested in it.
a. RoundSync apparently runs entirely on the phone

Folder Sync Pro does so as well.

b. We apparently input Windows PC's SMB credentials
c. We apparently then choose our local and remote folders
d. And we then set up the sync automation, apparently

Exactly as in Folder Sync Pro. And since the company providing it is
based in Denmark and answered my support question within hours and also provided a fix very fast I do not regeret that I have spent money for it.

But I wonder, from the others out there, why use FolderSync when RoundSync seems to do the same thing?

Because Round Sync does not work at all for me (see Github issue above).
Maybe a problem with Android 17, I did not verify this yet in emulator,
if older Android versions work better. I don't have any other device
around to test this.


--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> writes:

But I wonder, from the others out there, why use FolderSync when RoundSync seems to do the same thing?

I've never heard of RoundSync before.

I found FolderSync when I was looking for something to replace my rsync
based backups. I also noticed FolderSync has Tasker support and it
turned out I had even paid for Tasker maybe a decade earlier.

So while Tasker is a horrible "automation" thing, after some trial and
error I got a simple task going which triggers when my phone connects
to my home wifi. It pings my file server and if that works, then it runs FolderSync to back up my photos and a few other things, using SFTP. So
in fact it was almost zero setup in the server end, just added a
key. That's worked for a while now and I'm happy with it.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Maria Sophia, 2026-06-21 19:03:

[...]> BTW, I noticed you moved your code to codeburg.

<https://codeberg.org/askaaron>

I did not only move there but I am also an association member and live
in the same city where the association is based (Berlin, Germany) ;-).

Can you give me a quick rundown of what you think of it, in terms of
whether I can move my code there too (or does it ask for too much ID)?

You only need a working e-mail address and choose a username which is
not already in use by someone else. There is no need for any personal ID
at all, if you don't want to become a member of the association but only
use it for your code:

<https://codeberg.org/user/sign_up>

Without a association membership, usage is limited to 750 MB for Git repositories and also action runners may be limited as well. Also see here:

<https://blog.codeberg.org/new-storage-limits-on-codeberg-what-you-need-to-know.html>

Feel free to sign up and use it.

Note my "code" is sophomoric stuff.
Basically stringing together scripts.

That should not be any problem at all.


--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Maria Sophia, 2026-06-22 18:44:

[...]> And... every new version of Android makes everything harder to do.

At this point, I've given up on "sync" and I just "copy" over Wi-Fi.

So far, FolderSync still works fine for me, even with Android 17:

- Upload new camera pictures to my Nextcloud server via WebDAV.

- Sync backup of a number of apps daily from the local backup folder to
a NAS in my home network via SMB and Wireguard.

- Manually sync music from my NAS when needed.



--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.17
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)