[sj10689]

About two weeks ago (around March 5th or so), I received my BlackBerry DTEK60 in the mail; my BlackBerry Passport was slowing down, and seemed to be on the verge of practical obsolescence for me. Of course, I was excited when the DTEK60 arrived.

Unfortunately however, that's when my excitement for the DTEK60 had peaked.

I had the very intelligent foresight to back up (in this case, move) ALL the files I had stored on the BlackBerry Passport (both SD and Flash, plus device backup) to my PC computer - in particular, I was interested in preserving the timestamps of those files. (The timestamps detail is key to this discussion, as I will mention and elaborate on it below.) I know of the high probability of something going wrong, when immediately transferring those files over for use on a device running a different OS. (Even if they're already stored on an SD Card.) I don't have much confidence in Android, but considering that the DTEK60 is backed by BlackBerry, I decided to give it a try. Before using my new device, after confirming all files were transferred, I formatted my SD Card, so it could then be used on the DTEK60.

For the issue I really need help with, skip right over to #3 . But #1 and #2 are worth a read, particularly if you're considering switching to an Android by BlackBerry device.
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1. Predictably, I ran into problems upon using the DTEK60. After transferring my Contacts, Calendar, Texts, Notes, Tasks, and Accounts from the Passport to the DTEK60 using the Content Transfer app, my transferred Contacts info was badly corrupted. Names and phone numbers were manipulated and switched around - I was going to call a family member, and nearly called an old friend (whose phone number was listed under said family member) I had not spoken to for a long time, instead. That could've been incredibly awkward - fortunately, I spotted the discrepancy in the nick of time. This issue can be fixed... but now, I must cross-reference Contacts info stored on the Passport with the info currently on the DTEK60.
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2. True story - I was already logged in to my Google account, out of necessity for the transition process. I started to use Google Maps on the device to search for some specific location, on someone else's behalf. This is a location where I have never had an established residence, no established paper/digital trail of any kind, and a location I had not visited in 3 years. And I kid you not - an hour later, I get an email from CVS Pharmacy, regarding some offers tailored specifically to that location! I NEVER had any entity email me before, about that specific location. (I did an email search about that, just to be sure.) So now I know, beyond any doubt whatsoever, that Google Maps (and Google Chrome, which is a separate, but similar story) is sharing very specific information about me with third-parties. While this issue may be outside the purview of BlackBerry's ability to protect one's personal info (as the info is firmly in Google's possession after being transmitted), I feel nonetheless that my personal info is at risk of being compromised - not by hackers, or rooters, but by corporations and developers who freely share personal info for profit, under a cozy umbrella of legality. These concerns are why I use and diligently tailor the settings on the DTEK by BlackBerry app. But, as can be seen, your personal info can still be compromised. I subsequently disabled the Google Maps and Google Chrome apps (of course, they cannot be uninstalled), and logged out of all instances of Google on the device. Clearly, Google's influence and fingerprints are very visible in too many aspects of the usage of this device, to the point of being invasive.
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3. Now this issue I'm about to mention - this one really bugs me, because from what I have gathered on other internet forums, there doesn't appear to be any solution. The file management on the DTEK60 (but really, Android devices in general) is absolutely horrendous, to the point of being practically non-existent. Having all taken pictures (i.e. camera, screenshots, Office Lens pics, etc...) being stored on a messy, non-intuitive Google Photos app was bad enough. I had trouble moving pics around, into different folders. I downloaded both FX and Asus file managers (I'm trying both of them out), because I wanted to move all the pics to one unified folder on my SD Card, in much the same way pics are stored on BlackBerry 10 devices. Actually moving the pics themselves was bad enough, because keeping track of which pics were moved (with the applied tags) is nearly impossible. But the deal-breaker here is that apparently, even if you "move" (not "copy") a file from one place to another, the timestamp of the file's original creation ("Date Created" or "Date Modified") is completely lost, being replaced with the timestamp of the transfer. From research I have done, Android utilizes MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) - according to Wikipedia, "a disadvantage of MTP devices on Android as compared to USB mass storage is that although file timestamps are preserved when copying files from the Android device to one's computer, when copying in the other direction, the file modification timestamps are replaced with the time the copy was done." In other words, it's impossible to preserve the timestamp. This happens even if I transfer files from the device memory to the SD Card already inserted into the device. As I take lots of pics/photos, this is highly problematic, because I sometimes refer to them in order to reminisce or find out when certain events happened (for whatever reason). If, for example, I wanted to put together a scrapbook or album sorted in chronological order, this would be a very precarious process. And it also already renders my wish of also safely putting all photos into one folder on the SD Card impossible. I'd really like to know if anyone has somehow found a solution or workaround to this timestamp issue.
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   Other issues (less important):
   
4. No BlackBerry Blend counterpart for Android by BlackBerry
5. Battery drains quickly whenever the screen is on (but very little when the screen is off)
6. Pics/videos taken consume way too much memory, even when set to the most conservative settings (e.g. 720p/24fps video consumes about 1.8 MB, per second of video)
7. I cannot share calendar events with contacts
8. Widgets oftentimes do not load
9. Push notifications aren't exactly the easiest to customize (this one is largely app-specific, but still...)
10. Any issues I forgot to mention here are either very minor, or I have not experienced them yet

So in sum, the inability to preserve timestamps on moved files within the device/SD Card (due to Android's MTP system) is the key issue here, and one I will find very difficult to tolerate. I don't feel like going back to the Passport, as this has reached the point of no return. Assistance in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

To end this post on a positive note, the best features about the DTEK60, compared to the Passport, are the expanded array of available apps, better hardware, better processor, Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, and especially, a much, much better camera (this one I cannot overstate enough)

[Mirko935]

About your number 3... I never noticed that, but afaik MTP only concerns copying to/from a PC, nothing to do with internal Android file management.
You do have the original timestamp in the file name so maybe you could sort by that somehow. Also, you have the EXIF info in every image taken with the camera and, of course, the original timestamp is preserved there as well. Try finding software which works with EXIF, there are many reasons for a phone or PC to change dates modified and created, and EXIF data always remains correct.

[sj10689]

I'll definitely look into the stored EXIF data; there are some threads out there about how to change the timestamp to match the EXIF data, which would be extremely helpful.

The timestamp was actually changed even while moving/copying from the device memory to the SD Card, which I'm guessing probably shouldn't happen. FWIW, I did format the SD Card while it was in the device itself, so maybe that could be a possible or potential cause. Also, I formatted it so that the SD Card can be ejected, and its contents made viewable when inserted into other devices/readers.

[sj10689]

P.S. As for #2 , there is an additional solution, besides disabling Google Maps/location permissions - you can delete all your Google location history. (I don't know if this also permanently erases the location info stored within their servers, but at the very least, you won't be able to see prior location-based search results linked to your Google account. It's better than nothing.)

[Mirko935]

I'll definitely look into the stored EXIF data; there are some threads out there about how to change the timestamp to match the EXIF data, which would be extremely helpful.

The timestamp was actually changed even while moving/copying from the device memory to the SD Card, which I'm guessing probably shouldn't happen. FWIW, I did format the SD Card while it was in the device itself, so maybe that could be a possible or potential cause. Also, I formatted it so that the SD Card can be ejected, and its contents made viewable when inserted into other devices/readers.

My message didn't quite come out of the brain properly. The "I never noticed that" didn't mean that it doesn't happen, just that I never noticed it happen. I did try it copying on the phone both with FX and internal Android's file manager (in Settings > Storage & USB) after you said it and the timestamps of the copied files reference the moment of copying, you're right about it completely. Obviously just the way Android file management works, If you move a file on the internal storage the timestamp remains, but copying (and even moving onthe SD) changes it.

Can't help you much more unfortunately.

[sj10689]

I found an editor, which manipulates EXIF data in several ways; unfortunately, however, it requires a rooting of the device itself (which is a no-go). I'll find another way to pull this off, somehow

I appreciate the info you have provided, regarding EXIF at the very least - at least there's hope

[crackberry_geek]

In addition to the OP's issues... I have more basic ones that drive me crazy with Android file management.

When receiving a picture (via BBM for example) and you wish to save it... there is no option to choose the path where I wish to save it.

And latterly I can't even move pics on or to SD card. I get the error shown... even though all permissions have already been granted.

[sj10689]

When receiving a picture (via BBM for example) and you wish to save it... there is no option to choose the path where I wish to save it.

This is precisely the reason why my issue with file management happened in the first place - this led to my attempts to move all pic files into one folder, and the rest happened. I think at this point, I'm resigned to using the ASUS file manager, which keeps track of all photo/video files on both the device memory and the SD card. An even more pressing issue, though, is that my device has about 11 GB left of free space - it would be great if I could automatically save all files to the SD card by default, which has 53 GB left of free space (almost 5 times the amount).

And latterly I can't even move pics on or to SD card. I get the error shown... even though all permissions have already been granted.

I had this same exact issue with the ASUS file manager app. When moving files from internal storage to the SD Card using the app, I get this message:

Permission to operate SanDisk SD card

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You must perform the certain steps to grant SanDisk SD card access rights.

In conjunction with your issues with SD Card permissions, this definitely appears to be an issue inherent to the phone's software, and not any particular app. If I do find a solution to this issue, I'll post it here if/when that happens.

UPDATE: I did manage to resolve the SD Card error on my end (at least for now), but I'm not exactly sure how I did it. It had something to do with clicking on "SELECT" or "SELECT SD CARD" within the app

[crackberry_geek]

With no solutions jumping out on the permissions issue... I'm left to conclude android file management really does pale in comparison to BB10.

Really amazing how pathetic it is...

[conite]

With no solutions jumping out on the permissions issue... I'm left to conclude android file management really does pale in comparison to BB10.

Really amazing how pathetic it is...

On multiple BlackBerry Android devices, when I accessed the SD card for the first time with Solid Explorer, I granted the permission, and I've never had an issue since.

Maybe there is a problem with your SD card?