Any cheap phones with USB host mode support? - Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]

For a project me and two fellow students are supposed to do for college I'm looking for a cheap Android phone that supports USB Host mode.
According to the official Android developers guide here: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/usb/host.html from the software side only Android 3.1 or above is required for host mode support but from what I read so far both in this forum and on sites I found trough Google it seems that not nearly every phone running Android 3.1+ actually supports USB host mode.
I read that apparently the Galaxy S2 & S3 do support it (although I also came across a thread that said that for the S2 it doesn't work with certain newer ROM versions) but since this is for a college project (and so our college will probably pay for the phone that we're going to use for our project) we were looking for sthg much cheaper than an S2 & S3.
I guess the "optimum" price range (that I guess our college would pay no problem) would be between 100 $ - 200 $.
It would be nice if the device would support it out of the box but if a phone only supports USB host using a custom ROM it would be fine too as long as both the ROM itself & the USB host functionality are stable and as long as the official Android USB host API is supported.
One phone that would deff be in our optimal price range is the HTC Desire (non-HD) but I read mixed statements about whether it supports USB host mode or not.
If there are no phones supporting USB host in that price range another option would be to flash an Android ROM to my HTC HD2 and to use that for our project then (sine I already orderer a Lumia 920 and as soon as that arrives I won't need the HD2 as my primary phone anymore)
Unfortunately the only thing I found regarding the HTC HD2 and USB host was based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and not Android.
Another thing I couldn't find a real answer to is the maximum current one can draw from a USB host mode capable Android device. I read 100 mA on one site but that information was specific to one particular phone I guess. I'm wondering if this 100 mA limit is valid for all USB host capable Android devices or if that limit depends on the device's hardware (which would make a lot of sense I guess).
If it depends on the device what is the highest current that can be drawn from (some) phones?
I also came across this tool (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1493325 that can check if a given Android phone & ROM does support USB host but since I don't have a phone yet but rather have to decide which one to get it doesn't really help me either.
Any help on this topic would be highly appreciated by me and my two fellow students who are working with me on that project.
Thanks a lot for reading
Regards,
karlmueller

Today I bought a Sony Xperia tipo (because several websites claim that it supports USB OTG / USB Host) but after doing a test using "USB Host Diagnostics" I had to find out that apparently it doesn't support it.
When I connect an USB thumb drive directly to the phone using a USB OTG cable the LED indicator on the thumb drive doesn't even light up so the phone doesn't seem to provide any power to the drive. I then tried to put a powered USB hub in between the phone and the thumb drive but the phone still doesn't detect the thumb drive and the "USB Host Diagnostics" tool still says that only the classes are found but that no devices were detected.
Fortunately the retailer I bought the phone from assured me that I can return it if the USB OTG feature doesn't work.
Or do you have any idea how I could get this phone to support USB OTG?
thx
karlmueller

Related

[Q] USB stick plug and play

Hi,
This may be quite a retarded question but here we go anyway:
The Nokia N8 is capable of hosting a USB stick via the medium of a micro USB adapter. i.e. You can plug a USB stick using a micro USB adapter into the N8 and it will mount it as an extra drive displayed in a file explorer.
Is this possible with the Nexus S/Android platform at all?
Presumably drivers would need to be sourced somewhere, and some form of Linux based hack...
Any ideas?
Cheers,
Andy
i'd love to see that happen in the SNS
but from what we know so far, it's not yet possible
however the guys over at SGS, are already cracking in on the code, to hack it and make it work.
as soon as they get that working it should be simple to port it over to SNS, as the phones are practically the same

[Q] Galaxy Tab (with Honeycomb) & USB Host

Hugely disappointed in the absence of an iPad-like USB plug allowing cameras, drives, etc. to be accessed via the usb port, I thought for a moment and realized something. I know an alright amount when it comes to hardware vs. software questions and know that USB otg is not necessarily a hardware issue...the Motorola Xoom was released with Honeycomb and it supports USB Host. Now that very early versions of Honeycomb have been ported to the Galaxy Tab, theoretically shouldn't that mean it now supports USB Host mode (or at least in the near future)? Any thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated as I'm aware that there are many others waiting for this awesome capability for their tab!!
With past versions of android already fully supporting USB host, I don't see why they don't other than they want you to buy the version with the largest storage space... Android should in theory already have the support as it is an update to the existing android not a new os completely... I feel mostly its just a dirty marketing scheme... (Note: My Archos 101 has a full sized USB port on it with full functionality...)

[Completed] [Q] Chuwi V10HD Questions re OTG While Charging

I have a new Chuwi V10HD 3G dual OS Windows 8.1 and Android KitKat 4.4. This only has a micro USB 2.0 port - no other I/O ports.
I want to be able to use the capability of the USB OTG 2.O spec - if I understand it correctly - to be able to attach and utilize an external USB 2.0 device (for example, hard drive, flash drive, keyboard, mouse, USB to Ethernet adapter, external display, etc.) while simultaneously charging the Chuwi tablet.
Chuwi says the port is a USB OTG 2.0 spec.
Hours of internet searching gives mixed impressions of whether this can be done.
More hours reading posts here on xda-developers also yields conflicting views and experiences. Some members describe how they've had success by using various Y adaptors or multi-port devices - or even hard wiring their own cables. Others say they've tried that approach with no love. Still others say the OTG spec doesn't allow for that and that it's physically impossible to do both at once.
Then there's the Pluggable Pro 8 docking station which, for a hefty price, says it will charge while connecting external devices.
What is the current state of the offerings now? Does any product really offer a solution now? Is it even possible?
To a layman like me, it doesn't seem like this should be so hard and shrouded in such mystery. <sigh>
Hi there,
You'd be best served asking for help from the experts who own your device, here:
Chuwi vi10 10.6" z3736F dual boot windows 8.1 + android 4.4
Good luck

Makeshift USB/HDMI "Dock"...?

I want to take advantage of the S5 MHL capability. Perhaps eventually using the phone as my everyday computer.
So I would need to have usb keyboard and mouse while connected to a monitor.
I have ordered the device pictured below, it reportedly supports the S5 in some kind of half-assed way, meaning that you may have to fiddle with inserting cables in a certain order to get it to work.
This is what I read anyway.
I want to know if any of you have used the Galaxy S5 in such a way. Will my device work? Know of a better solution?
I had some dreams of making my own Diy S5 dock, but I would have to know what kind of electronic/hardware configuration works (if any), as the S5 is different in that it does not support dock mode (Why samsung... why?).
Well I can report that it works. HDMI out works with sound, and it charges while doing so, but the USB port and the card reader does not work apparently.
Obviously the form of the device is a poor match for the Galaxy S5. I had to remove the plastic housing to make it fit, because of the watertight hatch in front of the USB port. Later I will use a USB extender cable.
Hopefully there is a possibility to make OTG (or host mode, or whatever it's called) work.
It appears this device supports the S5
http://andromiumos.freeforums.net/thread/4/officially-supported-android-phones?page=1&scrollTo=4
http://www.andromiumos.com/
There is two question marks here.
1) Does S5 support simultaneously operation with OTG active and HDMI output active.
2) Does this gadget also support such a functionality?
I don't know. I've read people claiming that you can use both hdmi & otg at the same time including post's on xda. But i've also read people saying you can't. I certainly havn't seen any video demonstrations.
By the way i currently have my S5 displayed on my monitor using mhl->hdmi adapter and have my pc mouse and keyboard working on the S5 wirelessly with Samsung SideSync. I opened the xda app with the pc mouse and have typed this reply with the pc keyboard. I've done some navigation on the phone, opened and used a range of apps. All is well till i opened firefox and the mouse disappeared from the monitor. It's still displayed and functional on the S5 screen though. Closed firefox and the mouse is displayed on the monitor again.
Sent from my SM-G900I using XDA-Developers mobile app
mbdroidsony said:
All is well till i opened Firefox and the mouse disappeared from the monitor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Therefore your new question this is : Does Firefox (Android) this supports four input devices connected at the same time?
Android Keyboard = 1
External keyboard = 2
Android touch pad = 3
external mouse = 4
And all that active by also active HDMI
I would be surprised if Android OS has such potentials.
I was using Andromium OS app which gives you option to turn off android keyboard and dim S5 screen. Both those functions worked. Andromium OS has 3 menus from start menu. Andromium Apps(browser, file manager), Supported Apps (gmail, youtube), Unsupported apps (all other apps installed on device). PC mouse and keyboard worked fine with Andromium Apps & Supported App. PC mouse and keyboard also worked fine with most unsupported apps i tested except firefox browser and adblock browser. If i get my hands on a bluetooth mouse/keyboard i'll test again to see if it works with firefox browser and adblock browser from monitor.
Personally I am going to use my HP iPAQ FA287 Bluetooth keyboard at S5 ( or at least I will try).
Also ordered one OTG cable (CY U2-166) that hopefully this will offer power to the phone and External HDD, due micro USB (female input for charger cable) and this will become also my mouse input too.
Therefore I am interested for your inquiry / investigation, possibly as much you do, because I do also favor Firefox.
I favour android firefox browser and adblock browser because they are consistent in providing desktop view. I'll provide an update here when i get my hands on a bluetooth mouse & keyboard.
Kiriakos-GR said:
Personally I am going to use my HP iPAQ FA287 Bluetooth keyboard at S5 ( or at least I will try).
Also ordered one OTG cable (CY U2-166) that hopefully this will offer power to the phone and External HDD, due micro USB (female input for charger cable) and this will become also my mouse input too.
Therefore I am interested for your inquiry / investigation, possibly as much you do, because I do also favor Firefox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, did this cable charge your S5 while using OTG/USB Host?
Sent from my SM-G900I using XDA-Developers mobile app
mbdroidsony said:
Hi, did this cable charge your S5 while using OTG/USB Host?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My cable did not arrive yet from China.
But even so, in the past days I did some research about finding more details by discovering the factory that makes those cables.
According to real Specifications: (after me correcting errors due bad translation)
High quality Original USB 2.0 Micro-B HOST OTG CABLE
Interface:
Micro USB male: = Output To be connected with OTG complying device ( Your phone or tablet).
Micro USB female: = DC input To charge = Supply of Power due micro USB female connector ( This is only to supply DC voltage to USB A plug this powering hard drives etc etc).
USB female: To connect with USB A device.
Therefore or in conclusion, this cable is not in position to supply power for the phone and the external hard drive.
Later on, that I did the electrical math, I can now explain and the why ? (this cable cannot do both).
By assuming that mobile phone or tablet this requiring 450mA at charging (due PC USB plug), and removable hard-drives (some of them requiring another stable supply of 500mA) the sum this is almost 1A of power.
Manufacturing of OTG cables this requiring from the manufacturer, him to make a product according to OTG cable international standards (compatibility - safety - functionality).
Only if Samsung makes a OTG cable specifically for S5, this will be able for active Host and charging.
All cables available at the moment, them have generic compatibility and non of them will work as we expect or wish.
Kiriakos-GR said:
My cable did not arrive yet from China.
But even so, in the past days I did some research about finding more details by discovering the factory that makes those cables.
According to real Specifications: (after me correcting errors due bad translation)
High quality Original USB 2.0 Micro-B HOST OTG CABLE
Interface:
Micro USB male: = Output To be connected with OTG complying device ( Your phone or tablet).
Micro USB female: = DC input To charge = Supply of Power due micro USB female connector ( This is only to supply DC voltage to USB A plug this powering hard drives etc etc).
USB female: To connect with USB A device.
Therefore or in conclusion, this cable is not in position to supply power for the phone and the external hard drive.
Later on, that I did the electrical math, I can now explain and the why ? (this cable cannot do both).
By assuming that mobile phone or tablet this requiring 450mA at charging (due PC USB plug), and removable hard-drives (some of them requiring another stable supply of 500mA) the sum this is almost 1A of power.
Manufacturing of OTG cables this requiring from the manufacturer, him to make a product according to OTG cable international standards (compatibility - safety - functionality).
Only if Samsung makes a OTG cable specifically for S5, this will be able for active Host and charging.
All cables available at the moment, them have generic compatibility and non of them will work as we expect or wish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung hasn't made it easy for us S5 users. Might have to resort to wireless charging at this rate.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Qi Wireless Charging Kit EP-WG900IBEGWW
Just going to throw this out there...
Why not use a bluetooth mouse/keyboard (or even one of those combined ones) with the phone mirroring it's screen to a ChromeCast plugged into your monitor? There's minimal (and I mean you're looking at 10ms) lag - or that's my experience, but I have a really really really fast router etc - and if you're planning on using it essentially as a PC, this setup will work wonders. Plus you can plug the phone in. I've considered using my old S3 in this way.
yetep said:
Just going to throw this out there...
Why not use a bluetooth mouse/keyboard (or even one of those combined ones) with the phone mirroring it's screen to a ChromeCast plugged into your monitor? There's minimal (and I mean you're looking at 10ms) lag - or that's my experience, but I have a really really really fast router etc - and if you're planning on using it essentially as a PC, this setup will work wonders. Plus you can plug the phone in. I've considered using my old S3 in this way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Charging the S5 through 2A cable would be faster than wireless charging. MHL to HDMI adapter charges the phone as well as mirror your phones screen. I've never used bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Would the S5 support pairing and using both mouse and keyboard at the same time?
By the way there are products for the S3,S4 that support mhl, otg & charging at the same time like the UNITEK Y-2165.
http://www.amazon.com/UNITEK-Multim...5&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00OFKY4XA#Ask
mbdroidsony said:
By the way there are products for the S3,S4 that support mhl, otg & charging at the same time like the UNITEK Y-2165.
http://www.amazon.com/UNITEK-Multim...5&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00OFKY4XA#Ask
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaking of compatibility, S5 this is a brother model to Note III.
I do such an assumption due the identical charging system specifications.
From the other hand with all those variants of G900, there is no chance to offer an 100% reliable prediction if you do not test any such OTG product with your own phone.
The link above this is about a Currently unavailable product.
Even so it is interesting that this worked for someone with Note III.
mbdroidsony said:
Charging the S5 through 2A cable would be faster than wireless charging. MHL to HDMI adapter charges the phone as well as mirror your phones screen. I've never used bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Would the S5 support pairing and using both mouse and keyboard at the same time?
By the way there are products for the S3,S4 that support mhl, otg & charging at the same time like the UNITEK Y-2165.
http://www.amazon.com/UNITEK-Multim...5&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00OFKY4XA#Ask
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S5 (or certainly my model, G900T) DOES support everything I mentioned however my bluetooth mouse/keyboard is a 2 in 1 setup with the mouse being a trackpad below the keyboard, similar to a laptop. It mirrors directly to my monitor and I've forced Landscape orientation throughout the OS so it works wonderfully. I've not tried yet with the S3, but I'd assume it'd work the same way. Just need to force the screen to stay always on, pop the screen brightness right down and hide it away in a cupboard and boom, full android computer.
On the original question, a cable must exist but unfortuantely I don't know where.
yetep said:
Just need to force the screen to stay always on, pop the screen brightness right down and hide it away in a cupboard and boom, full android computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definable this is a bad idea the screen to stay always on.
Does phone screen brightness this have any effect at HDMI output (brightness) ?
Nope, but turning it off does. I don't mind it burning out as it's an old device I don't use.
yetep said:
Nope, but turning it off does. I don't mind it burning out as it's an old device I don't use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bet 20 Euros that every one reading this topic he/her, will wonder of why you/he, does not simply turn the brightness down.
Either way, Android it is crippled operating system with out offering much of productivity as it does one regular Windows PC.
Neither a smartphone this is capable for long term gaming, the poor thing does not even have active cooling, and CPU will start slowdown so to protect it self from overheat.
My 0,2 cents, you are in a wrong path.
Kiriakos-GR said:
Speaking of compatibility, S5 this is a brother model to Note III.
I do such an assumption due the identical charging system specifications.
From the other hand with all those variants of G900, there is no chance to offer an 100% reliable prediction if you do not test any such OTG product with your own phone.
The link above this is about a Currently unavailable product.
Even so it is interesting that this worked for someone with Note III.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The link i gave has a few reviews that can give you an idea of what phones are compatible and which ones arn't. Youtube has video demos of the UNITEK Y-2165, unfortunately none for the S5. It appears the desktop dock feature is on the Note III where as samsung removed the dock feature from the S5.
---------- Post added at 12:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 AM ----------
yetep said:
The S5 (or certainly my model, G900T) DOES support everything I mentioned however my bluetooth mouse/keyboard is a 2 in 1 setup with the mouse being a trackpad below the keyboard, similar to a laptop. It mirrors directly to my monitor and I've forced Landscape orientation throughout the OS so it works wonderfully. I've not tried yet with the S3, but I'd assume it'd work the same way. Just need to force the screen to stay always on, pop the screen brightness right down and hide it away in a cupboard and boom, full android computer.
On the original question, a cable must exist but unfortuantely I don't know where.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh ok, so only 1 device paired.
There's a great app for having screen brightness right down called Screen Standby.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nkahoang.screenstandby&hl=en
The adronium os app forces landscape.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andromium.os&hl=en
I tell you what, i really like the concept of carring you desktop in your pocket. Can you imagine that, doing your desktop stuff, unplug the phone and head out with everything you did at home on the desktop in your pocket. I know microsoft have a desktop adapter for their Lumia 950 XL phones which changes the layout to desktop mode on the monitor/tv to give you that PC-like experience.
Microsoft Display Dock
https://www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/accessory/hd-500/
It's a real shame samsung removed dock support from the S5.

6.0.1 OTG USB ethernet issues

Hello,
before I begin explaining my issue, I would like to apologie for my bad english.
I sometimes like to use my phone like notebook: connect mouse and keyboard to it. Z3 have OTG capability, so it(s fine. But one thing is not: ethernet adapters after updating to 6.0.1 using this doesn't seems to work.
First of all: i've thought, that you either have OTG or not. Not just for some devices. That it works like regular USB. It seems not. I have USB 3.0 powered hub conected to OTG cable and to the hub I've connected keyboard and mouse and tried to cennect already 5 different USB 3.0 gigabit ethernet adapters. They didn't work. On Android 5.1.1 worked my (all in one) USB OTG ethernet hub (3 USB 2.0, ethernet connector, micro USB wit OTG), but it was not powered, so I decided to upgrade.
Why? Simple. Power. I do this because for few day in near future I will be without my notebook (dedicated GPU is broken, i will have new one). I've been like this already for 3 days. And if i've been using my phone with keyboard and mouse (only use, which is comfortable for long time), I've noticed that is not possible to run this on battery. So my idea was to take as much as i can from the phone: controls and internet connection, and power that externally. And in addition buy the docking station and use the dock charging port. I've did all of this. And it works like magic: phone is powered from charger. All the time you might ask, why the hell I just don't use built in WiFi. Energy. That is the reason. WiFi just eat too much: if I pull up brightness of display and actually DO something on that phone, even wit plugged in docking charger, it just drain power faster, than charger charging (measured). For some reason the dock charging give about 0,45 A, not full 1,5 or something like that. Keyboard and mouse eats about 0,3 A, with some ethernet adapter it would be about 0,5 A. SO…a lot of power.
Android is based on Linux, so I have question (and I pretty much know the answer): is there ANY way how to install drivers for ethernet adapter on Z3? I obviously have root, I know about some terminal apps. But if I google this, it gives me only how to install drivers for phone on PC. That is not very helpful. I thing that this is most likelly impossible.
So I've searched something like list of supported devices. No suprise there: no relevant results. Sony Z3 AND Android 6.0.1 AND OTG device list, is probably too specific question.
Another idea what I had is try to use USB 2.0 adapters. You see, I wanted USB 3.0 (even though Z3 have only 2.0 (I still don't get it. Why the hell?)), because they have 1 Gb networks and I could use this adapter sometimes later for different device, like super thin notebook (if I ever would need some light device for travels). Another thing is the fact that 100 Mb is slow for large file transfer (movies and so on, so I have some entertainment, when I will not have my ntb). USB 2.0 can handle up to 480 Mb (in real life more like 300 Mb tops), which is still more than that network. But at this point I just gived up on this, and I will be happy if any ethernet adapter will work.
SO…do you know about any custom ROM, which would handle that? OTG USB ethernet support. Because not even that thing, which worked under 5.1.1 doesn't work under 6.0.1.
Sorry for long post, I needed to give you lot of informations, and why's.
Update
Update 0: OTG USB ethernet adapters doesn't work only on 6.0.1 or on this based ROM's. USB 3.0 doesn't work at all, but USB 2.0 works just fine on 5.1.1.
So…5.1.1 is most likelly the version, which I will be using. 6.0.1 has certain advantages, sure, but to me it seems like completely stupid to remove support for OTG USB ethernet adapters. More devices should be supported in nwer version, not less. And the inablity to remove bloatware even with root… No, this is just wrong. SO I buy my phone, but I have to have some apps, which I don't want and don't use? Ehm…no?
Update 1: I've decided doing it little bit differently. I've installed this ROM. I like how debloated it is, and many other things. USB ethernet adapter doesn't work (obviously), OS doesn't even know that something like ethernet exist. So I decided to try build my own drivers (by compiling source code) or app, or something. Any help is welcome.
Update 2: I currently have this thing. It's just USB 2.0 and 100 Mb/s, but…whatever. Tested on 5.1.1, transfers was 3× faster than on Wi-Fi and batery-enery-usage free (this is why I do this). Now, as stated before, I am on 6.0.1. That ethernet adapter has source code drivers available here. But here is the thing: they keep saing that
the support of this function must be included by the manufacturer directly in the particular Android device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(source) and the source code page saying that it is supported up to Android 5. So…what has changed in Android 6? Why the support is gone? And what will happend if I will try do something in Android studio?
Hello do you have z3 or z3+? I used to Havre z3 and with Lollipop ethernet became broke after 5.1.x I think so I had to reroll kitkat..I gave it away and now I am thinking to buy one z3+ but was fearing Ethernet won't work because it comes delivered with lollipop but now your post gives hope that it is still available. Other phones also have Ethernet capabilities but I found Sony best ... only the loudspeakers are not clear enough for me ... here you find a list with models that support Ethernet
http://plugable.com/products/usb2-otge100/
mrkapqa said:
Hello do you have z3 or z3+? I used to Havre z3 and with Lollipop ethernet became broke after 5.1.x I think so I had to reroll kitkat..I gave it away and now I am thinking to buy one z3+ but was fearing Ethernet won't work because it comes delivered with lollipop but now your post gives hope that it is still available. Other phones also have Ethernet capabilities but I found Sony best ... only the loudspeakers are not clear enough for me ... here you find a list with models that support Ethernet
http://plugable.com/products/usb2-otge100/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, I have also tested ethernet adapter and it does not work with 6.01 on xperia z1, huawei p9 lite, lenovo yoga 3 tablet.
In xperia z1 with 5.1.1 it works correctly. Something has happened with 6.01 but anyway not all phones or tablets with 5.1.1 work because lenovo yoga 3 with 5.1.1 does not recognize the ethenet adapter.
I think the manufacturer is responsible for not working when it does not integrate the necessary drivers and does not support ethernet. It is the conclusion I came to verify that not all 5.1.1 recognize ethernet adapter and in 6.01 I read that some if you comment that the adapter works (especially in nexus and motorola).
What would be interesting is what comrade BiPentHexium says to be able to include in our room the ethernet support being root.
---------- Post added at 01:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:01 PM ----------
On the list of models that support the ethernet adapter, it only refers to the Plugable brand adapter and is based on the reports of its customers. But in that list does not appear the xperia z1 and I can confirm that it works correctly with ethernet adapter (I do not have the plugable)

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