For questions relating to Android's media scanner process, which maintains a list of media files (music, videos, pictures, etc) on an Android device.
Android's media scanner process is a service which maintains a list of available media files on an Android device. This could include music, video, or pictures on the device's physical storage.
Files must be indexed by the media scanner in order to be accessible to media apps (like music players). If you have added files to your device but they are not available in your apps, then it could be due to an issue with the media scanner service, or the service may need a chance to run and notice the new files.
Not to be confused with document-scanner, which is related to scanning paper documents into digital formats.
Some selected core questions (with answers):
- Can I trigger a media scan via the the command line?
- How do I refresh/rescan the SD memory in Android 4.4 KitKat / How to Refresh Gallery instantly? (should apply to LP and up as well)
- Multiple copies of files on SD card (how to rebuild a messed-up media scanner database)
