My wife has a problem with accessing the pictures on her sd card from various apps. I am not sure what this screen is called, or what app it is from, that doesn’t show the correct options. It happens for example in WhatsApp when trying to choose pictures, or on e-mail apps, or when choosing pictures for contacts.
I am including screenshots from my new FP4, showing the same screen on my phone, where it allows me to choose “from this device” as well as “from my apps”. On the other hand, the screenshot of my wife’s FP3 is lacking these options, only showing folders from the internal storage. One more difference I’ve noticed is how this tab is labeled, for me it’s “Sammlungen” (collections), for my wife it’s “Alben” (albums).
The SD card is for both of us formatted as portable storage, and accessible via file manager or gallery just fine. Google apps are up to date.
Any ideas on what is different for my wife’s phone, and how to allow her access to sd card from this choosing screen?
Laura
This interface is often called “Photo picker” or “File picker”.
The message “This app can only access the photos you select” (translation deepl.com) is a clue to your problem.
There ought to be a three-dot menu to the right of Photos | Album, as there is in your second screenshot from the FP4. Its absence seemingly comes from the fact that some apps aren’t implementing correctly the “new” photo picker which was introduced in Android 13.
Are you sure that the FPOS and the relevant apps (Signal, Whatsapp, …) are up to date? Could you report the OS Build number (go to Settings > About phone > Build number).
On my FP3 I don’t see the same Photo picker of your screenshots, I get simply the interface of the Files app which lets me go anywhere I want.
There may also be an obscure Permissions problem that could be investigated if necessary.
Otherwise, unfortunately it looks as though your only option would be to temporarily copy files (photos) from the SD card to internal storage (using the Files app or equivalent).
2 Likes
