I often first try MTP and when it is acting up again, I'm using adb pull / adb push to do it. Once set up, adb turns on automatically and all you need to do is to invoke the commands on the computer. If USB is unavailable, adb works via the network as well, provided the phone's IP is reachable. However, you need to know the ip address. The only problem really is figuring out the paths, but at least it works and overall I'm wasting less time than with MTP usage.