FX File Explorer

NextApp, Inc.

In-app purchases

About this app

FX File Explorer features a Material Design UI and new ways to transfer your files between devices and computers:

* SMBv2 support.
* New "FX Connect" transfers files from phone-to-phone with Wi-Fi Direct. Supports NFC to connect two phones by physically touching their backs together. (requires FX+)
* New "Web Access" enables transfer and management of files and media from your computer's web browser. You can drag-and-drop entire folders to your phone from your computer, or stream your phone's music playlists to your computer over Wi-Fi. (requires FX+)

FX is a file explorer built to make working with files and media on your phone or tablet as easy as it is on your computer:

* Productivity-oriented "Home Screen": Directly access your important folders, media, and cloud storage
* Multiple window support, with dual-view mode to see two windows at once
* "Usage View" mode shows the total size and content makeup of every folder, as you browse and manage files
* Support for most file archive formats

FX protects your privacy:

* No advertisements
* No tracking of user activity: FX does not ever "phone home"
* Built by NextApp, Inc., a US corporation founded in 2002; all proprietary code was developed in-house

The optional FX+ Add-On module enables more functionality:

* Access networked computers, including FTP, SSH FTP, WebDAV, and Windows Networking (SMB1 and SMB2)
* Connect to cloud storage including Google Drive, Dropbox, SugarSync, Box, SkyDrive, and OwnCloud
* Manage installed applications, with support for browsing applications based on their required permissions
* Create and explore inside AES-256/AES-128 encrypted zip files
* Browse audio content by artist/album/playlist; manage and organize playlists
* Directly browse photo and video folders
* Encrypted password keyring (use one password to access network and cloud locations)

FX includes a number of built-in editing/viewing applets:

* Text Editor (with undo/redo history, cut/paste, search, and pinch-to-zoom)
* Binary (Hex) Viewer
* Image Viewer
* Media Player and pop-up Audio Player
* Zip, Tar, GZip, Bzip2, 7zip archive creators and extractors
* RAR file extractor
* Shell Script Executor

Android 8 / 9 Location Permission Notice

* NOTE: Android 8.0+ unfortunately required us to add the "approximate location" permission, as it's now required for apps that support Wi-Fi direct (because Wi-Fi direct leaks this information). FX does not ever actually query your location, and this permission will only ever be asked for on Android 8.0 and later when using FX Connect. This requirement previously applied only to Android 9.0, but because FX now specifies full support for the latest Android API, Android 8.0 also requires this permission.

Ratings and reviews

There are a ton of unique things FX can do as a file manager. Read some Windows Doc and Word files. Zip files, apk inspector, read dynamic xml files. It used to do pdf.js i think but at some point i think it stopped working. Hope the maintainers manage it. But when the time comes and FX gets pulled, it will be remembered as one of the best. Hands down. Just wish i knew how to use certain features or could ask a few specific questions ill never find answers for.

My go to and only file tool for a very long time, but it seems like it may no longer be supported. It's been well over a year since the last update and that description is "better support for Android 11/12". We're on 15. I'm in the IT & security biz so not refreshing APIs/libraries and improving newer Android version support is very concerning to me. Will be a 5 star app again if it gets a refresh.

The Pro version of this app has been my go to for a while, but it has recently stopped allowing me to connect Google Drive, with a message saying that the app has been blocked by Google for trying to access sensitive info. I was previously very pleased with FX as a file explorer, but this issue breaks the functionality I needed.

What's new

FX 9.0
Major UI Updates
Improved Android 11/12 Support, e.g. "Manage All Files" permission usage
SSH Curve25519 support
SMB3 support
Dropbox API fixes
Now requires Android 5.0+.
Translucent themes have been removed temporarily, but may return at some point.
Android 13 support, removed ridiculous previously required location permission for Android 13+ Wifi Direct!