Database Info

[Q] Can the XOOM act as a USB Host?

Hi, can anyone who owns a XOOM pls let me know if you can plug in:
1) a USB flash drive to the XOOM, and view and open files on the drive?
2) an external hard drive and view and access files from your XOOM
Many thanks

masrinz said:
Hi, can anyone who owns a XOOM pls let me know if you can plug in:
1) a USB flash drive to the XOOM, and view and open files on the drive?
2) an external hard drive and view and access files from your XOOM
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the Xoom have a USB port? Pretty sure it only has MicroUSB. I guess they do have microusb flash drives not that I look.

Hi. Yup its only got micro USB, but I guess you could use the included adapter cable to plug in a flash drive.... we don't have the XOOM here yet, but the functionality of being able to connect a flash drive, move files e.g. PDF or .doc and then view them is important to me.

masrinz said:
Hi. Yup its only got micro USB, but I guess you could use the included adapter cable to plug in a flash drive.... we don't have the XOOM here yet, but the functionality of being able to connect a flash drive, move files e.g. PDF or .doc and then view them is important to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As of today what you want is not avab. The cable it comes with doesn't take input. They do have a cable online that will do this one day, but doesn't do it yet.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

The cable that Motorola "will" be selling is a micro-usb to standard usb (female) adapter. I'll look around for the sources, but I know that I saw this detailed in a few videos from Motorola techs and at least one reviewer site.
The cable is not just a straight conversion of form factor, but has the necessary pinout to instruct the Xoom to jump into usb host mode. From the reports that I saw, it would absolutely provide the ability to plug usb drives, cameras and other accessories into the xoom for direct access. In fact, the reviewer that I saw, made a comment that they had verified the functionality by plugging in a couple usb keyboards... supposedly worked like a champ.
Lame that we need a "special" adapter, but I can imagine that if it is just a pinout issue, it may be possible for the good folks here at XDA to craft a software solution that would allow us to bypass the motorola-branded cable... It would have been WAY cooler if it was a standard usb port, like some of the other tablets on the horizon.

Thanks. They mention in many reviews and I think Google mentioned it too that you can attach a mouse or keyboard by cable (I know about Bluetooth) which suggests that it should support input, so is it just a hardware interface thing or an actual firmware OS/software issue?
Edit: thanks for the great response gigglebox.... we posted simultaneously

Is this it?
http://www.clove.co.uk/motorola-xoom-camera-connection-kit

masrinz said:
Is this it?
http://www.clove.co.uk/motorola-xoom-camera-connection-kit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Visually, yeah. Looks like they took it off their site for some reason. In fact the only times that I saw this on Moto's site, was in the day or 2 leading up to the launch... when typing in xoom into the search bar on their landing page, it would spit out a drop-down menu listing the Camera Connection Kit (by name and pic).
I dont like the fact that they call it a "camera connection", but they werent pulling any punches about it serving as a host. They did note that the external storage (thumbdrives, etc) were not yet supported, but that they would be. The cameras and (according to them) keyboards were working now.

I believe it is possible but right now it is a software limitation.
More info here: https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/329075

Droid4All said:
I believe it is possible but right now it is a software limitation.
More info here: https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/329075
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, the engineer from moto definitely says the hardware should accept any usb 2.0 or higher device, but it's a software issue. Toshiba have a straight usb and a micro usb port on their device so hopefully they're working on this.
We don't have the XOOM here yet, but hopefully by the time it becomes available (approx April) we might have the option of the Toshiba as well.

I use this USB host cable and it works great. Have tested it with my 750gb Oyen and 320gb WD Passport external HDD's, several usb flash drives (8-16gb), San disk USB memory card reader, and a USB keyboard.
For those having issues getting their Xoom to recognize USB storage devices here's what I've got and did to get it to work: I flashed my XOOM (3.1) to the 2.6.36.4 Tiamat_Xoom-v1.4.4-Full_Throttle Kernel and was unable to get the USBMount to recognize drives or storage at first. I installed USB Mass Storage Watcher from the market (it's free) and it works awesome! Can mount any storage I want (NTFS, FAT16/32, HFS, HFS+, EXT2, ETX3, EXT4) with any capacity. I think this app will work with any rooted Xoom (or other devices). Under my Kernel my USB host is located under/usbOTG.
Hope this helps.

FYI ... I've checked it and stock ROM Xoom without root is able to operate standard PC keyboard/mouse using basic one-to-one usb->microusb adapter (without any electronics onboard).
Probably with proper dual socket usb adapter (also without electronics onboard) it would be possible to connect both keyboard and mouse at once.

irekd said:
FYI ... I've checked it and stock ROM Xoom without root is able to operate standard PC keyboard/mouse using basic one-to-one usb->microusb adapter (without any electronics onboard).
Probably with proper dual socket usb adapter (also without electronics onboard) it would be possible to connect both keyboard and mouse at once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have a Logitech keyboard and mouse that connect by the unifying receiver,or mostly any keyboard+mouse combo that connects by one receiver, then only a standard OTG cable should work.

Uses for those USB Ports?

I was just wondering, other than a USB Stick, external keyboard and mouse, what other uses are there for the USB ports on the Transformer's dock? I'm just not aware of what drivers Honeycomb has for external devices.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Hooking up controllers for your various emulators and playing games the way god meant for them to be played- with physical controls and buttons.

You could charge your mobile phone for example (no kidding!). I also successfully mounted an external NTFS-formatted (self-powered) HDD and an old MP3 player. Soon they will add camera detection and maybe there will be a way to print too (but that's just me talking).

Can you add an external USB wireless card on those USB ports?

Plug in a 3 MiFi dongle, have wifi anywhere as well as four other devices.

Hi checkbox111,
I don't think I understand your reply properly. Are you saying that you plugged a 3mifi wifi dongle and it worked?
Did you also try plugging a normal external USB wirelless adapter and connect to the internet with it instead of using the internal wifi on the tablet?
Thanks

Senheiser said:
Are you saying that you plugged a 3mifi wifi dongle and it worked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plugging in a mifi dongle just gives it power to transmit, you can then just pick up the wifi/mifi signal just like any wifi signal.
Senheiser said:
Did you also try plugging a normal external USB wirelless adapter and connect to the internet with it instead of using the internal wifi on the tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No! two reasons
1 why would i try when a mifi dongle works OK, i don't need both
2 I don't think these work with android anyway

Has anyone tried a USB headset? I would, sometimes, like to make Skype calls and I don't think the onboard mic is good enough and would therefore prefer a headset? Would a USB headset work? Or any way of connecting a headset with 2x 3.5mm jacks?
Thanks
G
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

could be interesting if someone can try a USB->ethernet dongle.

chrispazz said:
could be interesting if someone can try a USB->ethernet dongle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean USB-wireless dongle, right?
I am also curious for it.

no, i mean usb to ethernet cable....

funnycreature said:
You could charge your mobile phone for example (no kidding!). I also successfully mounted an external NTFS-formatted (self-powered) HDD and an old MP3 player. Soon they will add camera detection and maybe there will be a way to print too (but that's just me talking).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Olay... I dug out my simpletech 160GB hdd, checked it formatted NTFS, plugged it in (It has msuic on it)...
How do I find it? I tried google music, but couldn't find anything.
Thanks!

Adam said:
Olay... I dug out my simpletech 160GB hdd, checked it formatted NTFS, plugged it in (It has msuic on it)...
How do I find it? I tried google music, but couldn't find anything.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you connect a device it will appear in the menu bar at the bottom. Click on it and then on the folder icon. This opens the File Manager. you can also open the File Manager directly and navigate to /Removable/ and you'll find your SD cards and external HDD there. Just make sure it gets enough power!
Sent from my TF101

funnycreature said:
When you connect a device it will appear in the menu bar at the bottom. Click on it and then on the folder icon. This opens the File Manager. you can also open the File Manager directly and navigate to /Removable/ and you'll find your SD cards and external HDD there. Just make sure it gets enough power!
Sent from my TF101
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what i thought...must be something with the usb port as sd card works, dock works. i'll try another usb device (maybe mouse) to see if that works to narrow it down.
I can always reformat dirve too as last resort.
thanks.

Has anyone tried to tether to a phone using the usb port? If it works, it would be good for people with WM6.5 phones.

funnycreature said:
You could charge your mobile phone for example (no kidding!). I also successfully mounted an external NTFS-formatted (self-powered) HDD and an old MP3 player. Soon they will add camera detection and maybe there will be a way to print too (but that's just me talking).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought TF doesn't recognize NTFS file system?

mikewong27 said:
I thought TF doesn't recognize NTFS file system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure where you read this but I could see my HDD and play videos off it. I have the Prime V1.3 kernel installed so maybe that was part of it. But I am pretty sure that when ASUS offered the dock with TWO full-size USB ports they prepared the software for NTFS drives...

Has anyone tested any USB game pads? Do any work?

Has anyone tested any USB-key 3G modem? Do any work?

Well, thanks for all the ideas. I do hope that some of these controllers and other devices will be supported.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[Q] USB Hosting

I bought a small micro - usb female adapter. When I plug it in, no matter what device i use it seems as those the xoom is not sending any power through it.
Ive tried
Camera
Charge Phone
usb mouse
usb wireless mouse
nothing is getting power.
Is there something i need to enable or do? Or has anyone esle has this issue? I am on 3.1....

You can not use a simple micro usb adapter cable, it has to be an OTG USB Host cable like the official Motorola camera connection kit that is now available. This is a bit expensive but readily available at your local Best Buy.
Take a look at some of the many posts on OTG cables and you can find info on cheaper cables that have been verified to work or on how to make your own.

you need a USB Host cable. Not just a regular sync cable. You can google for one or search the threads here where others have linked to confirmed working cables.

dang, thanks guys

I ordered one from ebay! hope it works

I have a question that applies here, I am on stock 3.1 Xoom WiFi/3G and just got my OTG cable, plug it in usb drive blinks like its working but where is it located on the Xoom? I've been looking around for it with Astro and File Explorer and I'm unable to find it... could someone tell me the path?

Techsniffer said:
I have a question that applies here, I am on stock 3.1 Xoom WiFi/3G and just got my OTG cable, plug it in usb drive blinks like its working but where is it located on the Xoom? I've been looking around for it with Astro and File Explorer and I'm unable to find it... could someone tell me the path?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i believe stock 3.1 only supports MTP, hence no USB mass storage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol

I've heard many conflicting stories, I would like some sort of confirmation rather then speculation about what will/will not work with the Moto Xoom (Stock 3.1) Wifi/3g and an OTG cable because I've seen posts saying yes and no to USB, portable HD's etc etc. Can anyone even provide me with some informative links? Everything I've searched for has been less than informative.

So, stock 3.1 Xoom is an MTP device, that is true.
However, with latest series of Tiamat custom kernels by Bigrushdog (see Android Development section) the usbOTG has been enabled. If you have already rooted and installed the proper bootloader/Tiamat kernel, then in File Expert you will find the usbOTG folder on the root directory, same level as internal sdcard and data folders. If you go up a step in sdcard, you should see your external sdcard. Is this clear?

I have rooted, using the Tiamat 1.6, I have access to the sdcard now but I am still unable to access my usb drive (thumb drive). I have an OTG usb cable and when I go into the /OTGusb its empty. The drive blinks as if its initializing but then nothing.

On a side note, I have looked through both OTGusb folders, restarted the Xoom with the OTG and usb plugged in as suggested in another post and nothing I've tried has worked in locating the usb drive.

Techsniffer said:
I have rooted, using the Tiamat 1.6, I have access to the sdcard now but I am still unable to access my usb drive (thumb drive). I have an OTG usb cable and when I go into the /OTGusb its empty. The drive blinks as if its initializing but then nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found that there are two factors which may be in play here...
1. When I connect a flash drive it takes a bit of time for the directory structure to parse... It does show up in the OTGusb directory.
2. I've found that anything larger than 8GB (I've seen it stated in the forums as well) does not work (of if it does it takes forever and a day to become available)
Hope it helps...

I have same problem here. whenever I try to connect the USB with Motorola connector, it doesn't appear anything in otgusb

I'm not sure I am going to get what I want at this time with the OTG cable. My goal is to be able to use the OTG cable to connect a USB thumb drive to so I can carry additional movies, documents, etc without completely consuming the main Xoom storage.
Can the OTGusb cable support this? Do I need to wait for yet another update?
TIA

USB OTG

Hi I made this thread to find out how I can get USB OTG to work. I have cm 11 s3 mini and want to control my phone by a remote and plug ? flash drives in but have no idea how this works. Also if you could provide a link for a USB OTG cable it would be greatly appreciated. thank you

AndroidGangster said:
Hi I made this thread to find out how I can get USB OTG to work. I have cm 11 s3 mini and want to control my phone by a remote and plug ? flash drives in but have no idea how this works. Also if you could provide a link for a USB OTG cable it would be greatly appreciated. thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Its just plug and play. You plug in the USB OTG cable to the phone's micro USB port and on the other end its a female USB port (the same like in your laptop or pc). So you just put in a pen drive and it will get detected on its own. You can open a file manager app and access it, or you can access it directly from any of your other apps (for example if you use MX player for seeing videos then the pen drive videos will automatically load up in the app as well).
To control your phone remotely I am guessing you mean keyboard/mouse?
If you plug in a mouse, a cursor shows up the next second and you have a working mouse. Same with a keyboard, works on its own. If you want to use both together, you need a wireless keyboard and mouse so that you can plug in the dongle to the otg cable, and then both the keyboard and mouse will instantly start working.
If you have a PS3 controller you can even connect that to your phone and use it to play many games - but this does not work via plug and play, you need to follow instructions to set this up and you can search on xda or google for that.
If you search USB OTG on amazon or ebay you will find loads of places to buy it from in your country.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...0.TRC0.H0.Xusb+otg.TRS0&_nkw=usb+otg&_sacat=0

[Q] Connecting an external hard drive via the usb port

Hi guys. Is there an app out there that makes it possible to connect an external USB flash drive or 2.5" drive to the shield tab via its USB port?

I'm pretty sure you just do, and you'll be good. Strangely I've never had any problems using an OTG USB drive with the Shield. That's what you'd be looking for, by the way... Am OTG cable.

One quick thing to note is, be prepared to need to power the hard drive. The tablet may not have enough juice to power a full hard drive. So if you plug it in and it isn't recognized, try a powered USB hub.
Secondly, make sure you have ES file explorer.

I use a WD ultra passport portable 1tb drive and a otg cable.
I just plug in, open ES file explorer an get what I need an unmount an disconnect.
You'll lose a few percent of battery potential as expected.
WR

Thanks guys. I'm honestly shocked this actually works. I tried it with my WD passport laptop drive and low and behold it works flawlessly. With the research I did in the past with my HTC EVDO 3D, and reading all the comments on various messageboards, I really thought connecting USB HDDs to any Android device would not work. Does it work in this instance mainly because the device is a Shield Tablet? Or is it only because I'm rooted, and as a result any rooted Android device will allow USB HDDs to be used?

OTG and enough power
It just works if your (android) device has an On the Go (OTG) USB connector AND if it gives enough power to your (hard) drive. If there isn't enough power, you need a Y OTG cable and external power source. Many smartphones do not provide the 500mA at 5V they should provide, but tablets usually give enough from my experience.