MTP USB Device Drivers will not install correctly for Samsung Galaxy S3- Windows will not sync Galaxy S3 to computer

Two small addenda to the instructions of Bret B and ChrisBolo above.

Following the instructions of Bret B or above, make sure you click on the ....\Class subkey before you search.  If you don't click on it, when you search in the next step, you will likely search the entire registry starting with the very first set of keys and find other registry keys with "Portable Devices" string values in them.  Some of those do not have an Upper Filters string.  That is one reason you may not see an Upper Filters string when you did the search.  Make sure your search step is looking in the ...\Class subkey noted and not all registry keys.  The key search results displayed shows the key it is looking at in the left folder tree as an open folder, a very subtle icon difference which maybe hard to notice.

Also, if you don't have admin privileges, you may not be able to delete the string value.  It appears various error messages appear in that case depending on your Windows version machine user privileges.  I was able to fix the issue on my home computer but not my office machine due to that issue.  My IT Corps had to do it to make it work.

Windows 7 with SP1 appears to have less difficulty dealing with this issue as many users seem report the problem goes away with upgrading to Win 7 SP1 or when they connected their SIII phone to a new machine / device with Wn 2 SP1 or later according to the various forums I searched trying to solve this issue.  WinXP users, Vista and early Win7 users have the most difficulty it appears.

This worked for me until step 5, so i went back to step 4 and instead of searching for Portable Devices I searched Upperfilters, it was found, deleted and then i plugged my phone back in and it installed perfectly. All working again now.  Still cannot understand though how Samsung can make things so so so bad when you should just be able to plug your phone in and connect to it straight away.

Hi,

I am dealing with this problem. When I am going to fix, 1,2,3,4 all good, but don't see "upper filters". Any help please. Thank you.

HERE's THE SOLUTION:

1. Go to the Registry Editor (Start --> Run --> "regedit" --> [ENTER])
2. Search the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\
3. If you click one of the few subkeys in class (e.g. {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}) you'll find the string value (Standard) on the right side with a value (e.g. DVD/CD-ROM-Drives)
4. You have to find the value "Portable Devices" on the string value (Standard) (In my case {EEC5AD98-8080-425f-922A-DABF3DE3F69A}, but I don't know if they are called always the same.
5. Once found, you see a string value called UpperFilters --> DELETE IT!
6. Finished!  Now your Samsung Mobile MTP Device should be recognized and even installed correctly right away. (The name of the device changed to GT-I9100 (Devicemanager) in my case...)

Here an explanation about UpperFilters and LowerFilters if you want to know more: http://djlizard.net/2007/04/30/230/

Maybe this short tutorial can save you some time... =)

Many of us actually are capable enough to understand how to play doctor in the registry and have found these values, and correctly identified which ones actually have an "upper filters" parameter. A couple things to point out

One is that some of these value will not delete in some cases because there are other embedded objects within the registry that prevent it. Thus the dreaded message "Cannot be deleted" that undermines this so called solution

By the way, this is inherently a Galaxy S3 issue in my case. I can connect my Note 3 and it connects within seconds. But the S3 will connect initially for software install. This configures the phone as a CD Drive for the installaation of Verizon software and USB drivers. There is a time limit for accessing this information and then it times out. The CD Drive disappears, and then the PTP & MTP drivers are supposed to load and give us access to the phone like an external Drive. But strangely, the phone loads the MTP out of the blue at times. Maybe 20-30 minutes later I hear the chime that indicates successful connection and voila!! I now have MTP and the phone driver is loaded. If I remove all the drivers and install them again, there is MTP access upon initial installation. But if I disconnect the USB and reconnect, MTP fails or might inadvertantly load whenever it wants. I have tried several USB cord, all Samsung. I know about that issue. Why Samsung phones are picky with which USB cables we use is beyond me. Some are made even bettedr than Samsung and they work fine on my Note 3 but the S3 is a problematic phone in more ways than just this MTP driver issue

But you know what P.ss.es me off?  Even if the MTP driver fails to load, there are Wifi apps from the Android store that will allow me to access the phone as an external drive, which gives us access to the files in the same way MTP is supposed to. If an app can do this even when MTP is NOT loaded, then why the hel.l can't Samsung's get it to work on the Galaxy S3? This is Bull!!

As for instructing people to delete the "upper filters" value. Those who keep saying to do this are the ones who were obviously successful at fixing THEIR issue. However, windows 7 and 8 users are not seeing it the value "UPPER FILTERS" and then there's the message here. Most cannot find the correct values with Upper Filters but some, including me, who are more adept, have found what ytou are talking about. I have to scrutinize this whole idea for people following this advice because there is nothing said about the risks involved. Messing with the registry can lead to undesired results, and very bad results in some cases. And THAT should be mentioned by those of you who push this method as if you are so sure it will work

So, my reason for replying to this message in the first place is because I found UPPER FILTERS. Even deleted it. Now any USB portI try to connect to my Galaxy S3 is  utterly useless with a code 31. I tried system restore, re-installing drivers, and a number of other things to put things back how they were, but now, the problem is worst. I should have left well enough alone when I tried to delete the UPPER FILTERS and got the message some of us get, which is "this object cannot be deleted". This is usually due to other registry objects, containers, or values etc... that are linked to this value and let me see someone tell me how to figure out which ones they are. Because nobody is going to decipher THAT and post it since it requires alot effort more than just saying "

HERE'S THE SOLUTION:  DELETE UPPER FILTERS

And then logoff your computer like you just handed some one the keys to the city when just effectively, with confidence, convinced alot of people that you know what you are talking about, and then led them to the slaughter like the leader of a cult.

(sorry for that vivid over-exaggerated analogy, but it **** me that I actually am one of those idiots who believed it was THE SOLUTION!)

If these things are the answer to solving this problem, then why hasn't Samsung and /or Microsoft stood behind it as such? I would guess it's because it can lead to pretty serious problems in some cases and should be considered a desperate attempt at solving a problem that still has no clear cut solution

We have to accept that the solutions some have found are random and maybe, just maybe, by sheer luck you found what solves YOUR problem. But it does NOT pertain to all of us

Well the MTP is supposed to load and would give us the ability to access the files on the S3 without the use of any wifi apps. That is how it is SUPPOSED to be. I had the ability to settle for the WIFI app as a means to an end, but now, since I followed this so called advice, I have to do ALOT more to get back to that point.

Ultimately this issue is a result of Microsoft pushing us to Samsung, and Samsung having only a limited amount of solutions that once are ruled out, they just refer you back to Microsoft support or, the manufacturer of your hardware. Someone gave up and doesn't want to put forth any extra effort to fix this issue once and for all. Now alot of people, mostly Galaxy S3 users, are stuck with a POS phone that cannot work the way is should when connected to a computer.

So we who have this issue, most of us, have done it all and come up with nothing. Congrats to all those who got theirs working. I find a totally clean windows install is always a good way to resolve a serious issue but this is not something that should warrant that. However, in my case, it might be my only means to an end.

So please, anyone who can get it working by successfully deleting upper filters parameters in the registry, please don't assume this is everyone elses holy grail for resolving this issue. It's not. I can tell you I know all of the registry objects that pertain to USB and which have upperfilters. If deleting this fixed the problems, then your issue was the same as the others who had the same success. But I've been there, done that, and it's not what will fix everyone's problem. And BTW, if registry parameters do not give permission to users to delete even when signed in as administrator, it must be for a reason and not a good idea

People fooling with registry, deleting parameters, uninstall, reinstall, upgrade windows, delete windows, format and start over...etc etc etc..NONE of which are the specific solution but in some cases the problem corrects due to our incessant need to keep searching for the answer but usually end up with a bunch of hybrid methods based on guesswork, experimentation, hypothetical scenarios and prec-conceived notions. All of which CAN'T be counted on as a clear-cut solution, even if some were lucky enough to fix their issue

Bottom line: Those at Samsung with the participation of Microsoft: Do your jobs & Fix this because. I am so tired of other people trying to do your work and you people getting paid for it. So the bad results we have are a result of negligence because we've been forced to resort to our own vices and when we are successful, most times, the following applies:

Some people who have fixed something like this have no idea what they did, specifically, since it involves doing a combination of several things and maybe after a reboot, they cannot tell which actually corrected the problem. And then we have the "Know it Alls" who fixed it and THINK they know how they did it