Issue

When attempting to connect to Android devices on MacOS via OpenMTP or MacDroid, I was receiving errors and the devices could not connect.

Cause

It turns out that the PTP Webcam service binds the camera access upon connecting devices, preventing access by OpenMTP and MacDroid.

Solutions

Disabling the service didn't work, as newer versions of MacOS prevent system service changes (Permanently Disable ptpcamerad).

Workaround

Use Activity Monitor to manually stop ptpcamerad and quickly refresh the connection on OpenMTP.

There's also running a service that periodically stops the ptpcamerad service quickly enough to run OpenMTP or other ways to access Android devices on MacOS. I may update this with an example in the future.

Resources

https://github.com/ganeshrvel/openmtp/releases
https://www.macdroid.app/