Syncthing Blender-ized 3 Android devices

Support Android
1

Started slowly a week ago 3 android devices:

S25 Ultra phone, S10fe 5g cellular tablet, S11 Ultra 1TB+1TBexternal tablet. All latest updates. History: setup Syncthing s25U as master, simple network 1 test folder then 14 large folders with S10fe and S11U on 1tb external drive. TO worked perfectly, so I set phone to restricted wifi only my 2 office nets [kept folder sync ON all devices], and left the office w my phone. Phone began displaying “sleeping” status, assumed was okay. Return and cannot unsleep, both tablets in “can’t connect" status.

Re-started using phone as primary/sole data set, work continues using “different" [non-sync’d] folders.

After days, manual backing up phone USBC direct connect to Dell 7770 workstation. Errors “cannot access ….Architecture folder" using windows-10 filemanager copy.

Discovered that several (>6) of the sync’d folders contained extra 200+ folders/files [copied from a subfolder of another folder node] . Reason not known. Each of these extra copied nodes failed copy same Architecture folder. Discovered the Architecture folder name actually contained extra in name: “Architecture “, which caused the phone to workstation to fail each time.

I see two fractures but no causes:

1. Something caused the extra folder node to be propagated into at least 6 other folders [I am assuming during Syncthing syncing, but dont know].

2. When I attempted phone backup, removed the empty Architecture folder, then compared phone (master) versus workstation ) destination, found 500 file difference ‐‐ in EACH copied folder. Eyeball inspection showed the “.syncthing” files were mostly missing [dont believe any true original project files were missing].

So today, I need instruction how to (1) disable syncthing on all 3 devices, (2) setup small folder test again, (3) sure-fire options including to prevent “Im outa the office sync" rupture when phone leaves work network.

Is there a conflict if I have certain, selected folders on phone sync-ing with only certain folders on destination device?

Final question: I what if I have Android QuickSync working between 3 androids and Windows-10 workstation [usually turned off] occasionally - does this conflict with the magic of Syncthing? Would OneDrive tool and backup operations conflict? Would it be possible to use syncthing with workstation as 4th node?

Sorry for messy setup and messy questions. Please let me know if more clarity is needed or just a hammer :hammer:

-Stever

2

**Title:** :warning: URGENT: Syncthing caused unexpected folder duplication and device sync rupture across 3 Android devices

**Category:** Support / Bug Report

-–

### Summary

After setting up Syncthing across 3 Android devices and a Windows 10 workstation, I experienced severe data corruption:

1. **Unexpected folder duplication** - Extra copies of subfolders appeared in 6+ sync folders

2. **Sync network rupture** - Phone stuck in “sleeping” status; tablets unable to reconnect

3. **File system corruption** - 500+ file differences; mostly missing `.syncthing` metadata files

4. **Storage bloat** - Phone storage consumed from normal operation to **484.2GB/512GB** (only 27.8GB free)

-–

### Environment & Versions

- **Syncthing-Fork Wrapper:** v2.0.11.1

- **Syncthing Version:** (empty/not shown)

- **Syncthing Database Size:** 52M

- **Devices:**

  • S25 Ultra (primary) - 512GB storage, now critically low (27.8GB free)

  • S10fe 5G tablet - External 1TB drive

  • S11 Ultra tablet - External 1TB drive

  • Dell 7770 workstation (Windows 10)

- **All running latest updates**

-–

### Setup Details

- **Configuration:** All 3 devices = Send & Receive mode; same folder IDs on all devices

- **Folders:** 1 test folder + 14 large folders synced across all devices

- **Test duration:** ~1 day of active syncing before catastrophic failure

-–

### What Happened - Timeline

**Day 1 - Initial Setup (Success):**

- Configured S25U as primary/master device

- Added S10fe and S11U tablets with same folder IDs

- Syncing worked perfectly for ~1 day

- Phone restricted to WiFi-only (2 office networks only)

- Phone left office building

**Day 1 Evening - Network Rupture:**

- Phone showed “disconnected” then transitioned to permanent “sleeping” status

- Both tablets showed “can’t connect” status

- Tablets unable to reconnect (status stuck indefinitely)

**Days 2-7 - Data Corruption Discovery:**

- Attempted manual backup: Phone → Dell workstation via USB-C

- **Critical Error Found:** Windows 10 copy failures with message:

```

/Architecture "

```

(Note: Folder name had trailing space and was in quotes)

- **Scale of Duplication:** 6+ sync folders contained unexpected duplicate copies of subfolders

- **Duplicates were:** Exact copies; appeared during sync (discovery only upon backup attempt)

- **Missing Metadata:** Comparison between phone and workstation revealed:

  • **500+ file differences**

  • **Mostly missing `.syncthing` temporary files**

  • Actual project files appear intact

- **Storage Impact:** Phone storage bloated from normal to critically low (484.2GB/512GB)

- **Phone Force-Restart:** Restarted Syncthing on phone only (tablets remain untouched)

- **Recovery:** Had to manually delete unrelated files to restore phone functionality

-–

### Current State

- **Phone:** Stuck at 27.8GB free / 512GB total; has NOT crashed

- **Tablets & Workstation:** NOT syncing since day 1 (stuck in “can’t connect”)

- **Duplicated folders:** Still present on devices

- **Status:** All devices appear to be in corrupted/stuck state; afraid to reconnect phone

-–

### Critical Questions - Root Cause Analysis Needed

1. **Folder Duplication Bug?**

  • How did exact copies of subfolders propagate into 6+ unrelated sync folders?

  • Is this a known bug in Syncthing-Fork v2.0.11.1?

  • Did this happen during sync, or due to misconfiguration?

2. **Offline Handling Failure:**

  • Why does phone get permanently stuck in “sleeping” status after leaving office network?

  • Why can’t tablets reconnect after network rupture?

  • Is this a timeout/retry issue?

3. **Missing `.syncthing` Files:**

  • Why are temporary metadata files missing on backed-up files?

  • Did force-restart on phone cause this, or did it happen during initial sync?

  • Can these be recovered?

4. **Configuration Safety:**

  • Is there a conflict with having **overlapping folders** (same folder synced to all 3 devices in Send & Receive mode)?

  • Should I be using different folder types (Send-Only, Receive-Only)?

5. **Coexistence with Other Services:**

  • Does Syncthing conflict with Windows QuickSync (currently used between workstation and tablets)?

  • Would adding workstation as 4th sync node help or cause more issues?

-–

### Safe Recovery Procedure Needed

**I need a step-by-step guide to:**

1. Safely disable Syncthing on all 3 devices without losing remaining data

2. Clean reset/rebuild sync folders from backup

3. Re-enable with proper configuration to prevent this in the future

4. Verify data integrity before re-syncing

-–

### Logs Provided

- Syncthing Android wrapper logs (UI/Android system logs from 11:52-11:55)

- Note: Logs from time of incident (Day 1 evening) are no longer available

-–

**URGENT:** Phone storage is critically low and cannot afford another sync failure. Please help diagnose root cause and provide safe recovery steps. Thank you.