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Basalt on Android

Install Basalt on an Android phone or tablet, the first time and after.

Before you start

  • An Android phone or tablet with Android 8.0 or later, on a 64-bit device (almost every phone from the last several years)
  • Basalt Host running on a computer on the same Wi-Fi network

Install it

Basalt for Android is not on Google Play yet, so it is installed from this website. Android asks for your permission the first time, because the app does not come from a store.

  1. On the phone, open the download page and choose Download under Basalt for Android.
  2. Open the downloaded file, from the browser’s downloads or a notification.
  3. Android says that, for your security, your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps from this source. Choose Settings, turn on Allow from this source, and go back.
  4. Choose Install.

The permission is only for installing, and only for the app you downloaded it with. You can turn it off again in Android’s settings, under Apps, Special app access, Install unknown apps.

The exact words differ a little between phone makers. If Google Play Protect asks about the app, choose to install anyway: it shows this for apps it has not seen from a store.

Pair with your host

  1. Open Basalt. The first time, it shows how it works and looks for hosts on your Wi-Fi.
  2. Choose your host from the list.
  3. Type the six digits Basalt Host shows. For a host with no screen, marked new, type its setup code instead.

Basalt opens the drive, and connects by itself from now on. If the host isn’t listed, see Pairing a device.

Find your way around

  • Tabs along the bottom on a phone, and a rail down the side on a tablet: your files, the library sections, and More.
  • Tap to open, long-press to choose several.
  • More has the drive’s details, Manage host when this device manages the host, this device’s settings, and what is new in each version.

The Files and player pages cover the rest.

Updates

Basalt keeps itself up to date. When a new version is out, it shows what is new under More. Choose to install it, and Basalt downloads it, checks it against its published checksum, and hands it to Android’s own installer. The first time, Android asks you to allow Basalt to install it, as above.

When Basalt is on Google Play, Google Play will update it instead.

Uninstall

Long-press Basalt on the home screen and choose Uninstall. Nothing on the drive is touched. The app’s pairing is not part of phone backups, so a reinstalled app or a new phone pairs again with a new PIN.

Something unclear, or not covered here? Ask in Help and setup, where the community and Refora Technologies answer, or write to us, and we will improve this page.