Hi All,
I have seen many posts regarding using external HDDs asking which ones work and which ones don’t. So I thought I would share my experience which I think (hope) would cover most situations and answer most questions.
This is what I used:
1. 1TB 3.5”external HDD USB 2.0 with its own power supply (like mostly all 3.5”external drives need their own power supply)
2. 500GB 2.5”Seagate Caviar Blue external USB 2.0 HDD. Runs fine on a standard PC/laptop USB port without any extra power supply
3. 128GB 2.5”Crucial SSD in an external USB 3.0 HDD enclosure. Runs fine on a standard PC/laptop USB port without any extra power supply.
4. 256 GB 1.8”Samsung S1 external HDD USB 2.0. Runs fine on a standard PC/laptop USB port without any extra power supply. A 1.8”HDD is often used in a HDD MP3 player like the classic IPod.
I have used the above using the original Samsung Note 10.1 USB Connector kit, so I can’t make comments regarding other connector kits.
I also use the Paragon NTFS&HFS+ app from the Google Play Store to be able to mount the HDD which were all formatted in NTFS. Without this app I could not mount the HDDs.
My Results:
1. The 1TB 3.5”external HDD connected directly to the USB adaptor and runs fine using its own power supply.
2. The 500GB 2.5”Seagate Caviar Blue external HDD connected directly to the USB adapter did not work. The Note 10.1 produced the error “High powered device”. However when connected via a powered USB hub (i.e. with extra external power supply), then this HDD worked fine.
3. The 128GB 2.5”Crucial SSD in an external USB 3.0 HDD enclosure connected directly to the USB adapter did not work. The Note 10.1 produced the error “High powered device”. However when connected via a powered USB hub (i.e. with extra external power supply), then this HDD worked fine.
4. 256 GB 1.8”Samsung S1 external HDD USB 2.0 connected directly to the USB adapter did work. It appears these 1.8” HDDs are considered “low power” and it did work directly connected to the USB adapter. This also makes sense as these HDDs are used in many MP3 HDD players and could have a low power requirement.
Summary:
I have used 3.5” and 2.5” HDDs/SSDs with USB 2.0 and 3.0 interfaces, and I could get them all to work either directly or with an extra powered USB hub. Using a powered USB hub is a pain but at least it works.
Hope this helps in answering peoples questions whether it is possible to connect external HDDs.
Good stuff...thanks.
You need to use a USB splitter cable and connect the portable drives to an external power source. I do it all the time with my 750GB Seagate 2.5'" drive on the go. I have a portable battery with 2 USB sockets. The external battery provides power.
Besides, this has been discussed at length here and is no secret.
I'll stick to my wireless Seagate 500gb HDD... And when I have time to mod it, I'll make it either 1 or 2 TB....
Related
i wanted to know if it was possible to connect an external hard drive to an android phone with usb on the go support using a female to female usb adapter something like this > http://www.amazon.com/SANOXY-USB-Gender-Changer-Female/dp/B000BSN4UY/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_y
connceting the phone usb cable on one end and connect the external hard drive usb cable on another???
and if not why ? and how exactly can you connect a external hard drive to an android phone?
thank you
connecting external hard drive (transcend 25M3) to android phone ( micromax a116) ( )
Good news for everyone who want use external hard drive with android phone. I connected my Micromax A116 with transcend store jet 25M3 1TB external hard drive without rooting of phone. You have to possession of OTG cable only. Transcend hard drive one benefit that its having connecting cable with two USB male point . One for specifically power supply and other for data transfer. I used my Micromax phone charger having out put - DC 5V 1A with USB connected. first I have given power supply by connecting USB end of hard drive to the Micromax phone charger then I connected data transfer USB of hard drive to OTG cable then its micro USB end to my Micromax a 116. And its successfully access all the file and folder in hard drive. Plz Keep in mind that hard drive formatted in FAT32. Your phone should be supporting USB storage devices. And biggest thing is you don't require any rooting or additional apps for connecting. I think it will be very helpful for Micromax A 116 users . I can easily play HD video from my hard drive.
otg connecting a hard drive
Dharmender Nagill said:
Good news for everyone who want use external hard drive with android phone. I connected my Micromax A116 with transcend store jet 25M3 1TB external hard drive without rooting of phone. You have to possession of OTG cable only. Transcend hard drive one benefit that its having connecting cable with two USB male point . One for specifically power supply and other for data transfer. I used my Micromax phone charger having out put - DC 5V 1A with USB connected. first I have given power supply by connecting USB end of hard drive to the Micromax phone charger then I connected data transfer USB of hard drive to OTG cable then its micro USB end to my Micromax a 116. And its successfully access all the file and folder in hard drive. Plz Keep in mind that hard drive formatted in FAT32. Your phone should be supporting USB storage devices. And biggest thing is you don't require any rooting or additional apps for connecting. I think it will be very helpful for Micromax A 116 users . I can easily play HD video from my hard drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have a noir A10 and i have connected an 80 gb hard drive via otg cable and an app installed on my phone i.e Stickmount.
So what am I doing wrong???
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 and I wish to connect it to a USB hard drive. The one I'm using at the moment is an old 40gb drive but, if I can get bit to work, I intend to get a bigger one.
Sooo...
I've got a USB OTG lead.
I've connected the drive using a 'Y' lead to ensure that there is enough power for the hard drive.
I'm using ES3 File explorer.
I've connected USB sticks and cards also used USB hubs and Card readers with perfect results.
ES3 recognises the drive and asks for permission to access it but when I give permission it says "Sorry the operation failed". Trying again gives a different message "Failed to open the file".
I've tried reformatting the drive as NTFS, exFAT and even FAT32 but it makes no difference.
The drive works perfectly when connected to a number of other devices.
Any ideas?
Hey frndz i am also trying to connect my desire 820 dual sim with wd my element 1 tb but whenever i connet it the ext hdd, the hdd stopping and starting again and again and my mobile also shows a msg Usb storage removed , usb attached and detached again and again. Can u please help
Monu Gujjar said:
Hey frndz i am also trying to connect my desire 820 dual sim with wd my element 1 tb but whenever i connet it the ext hdd, the hdd stopping and starting again and again and my mobile also shows a msg Usb storage removed , usb attached and detached again and again. Can u please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U need to Format/fat32
hi guys,
does anyone knows how to access a usb external hdd with galaxy tab2 10.1?
ı've bought OTG cable. I tired several things with OTG and Y-usb cable. but i couldnt manage to do it.
the error on tablet is "high power usb device connected"
does anyone connected a usb external hdd to galaxy tab2? what is the method? do i have to root?
thanks in advance.
I use an external hard drive to move files to my AT&T Tab 2. It is not rooted. The error you are getting is most likely the tab cannot power the external hard drive. If your hard drive does not have a separate power connection try connecting it through a powered hub. My drive has the y cable. One is for power and the other is for data connection. It works just fine. At home or work I connect the power to my pc or Tab charger and in my car I have powered USB.
Also the OTG does not support NTFS so you will have to use a 32GB or under drive or find some way to format it Fat32
Agoattamer said:
I use an external hard drive to move files to my AT&T Tab 2. It is not rooted. The error you are getting is most likely the tab cannot power the external hard drive. If your hard drive does not have a separate power connection try connecting it through a powered hub. My drive has the y cable. One is for power and the other is for data connection. It works just fine. At home or work I connect the power to my pc or Tab charger and in my car I have powered USB.
Also the OTG does not support NTFS so you will have to use a 32GB or under drive or find some way to format it Fat32
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the answer.
i understand that OTG + Ycable + tab charger is the solution for me.
if i use fat32 500gb usb external hdd, is it ok?
I would assume yes since my drive is a HP 500GB pocket media drive.
As stated in the title, i'd like to connect my 320 gig external drive to my phone (2,5" laptop hdd in external enclosure - galaxy note 2)
Since it'll be a long flight i'd like to power both devices.
I found a configuration online including a power/data usb y-cable (mini usb - 2x male usb) + usb otg
Now the idea is to connect one male usb to the powersource (5V-2A output, should be enough for both phone and hdd power),
then the other male usb to the phone (via the usb otg) and the mini usb to the external harddisk. (see photo for the idea)
By design of the cable this will probably work:
- be able to exchange data between the hdd and phone
- power the hdd?
But I wonder:
- will the phone charge (or at least get some power to extend battery life)
And (most importantly)
- will it work, or do I risk ending up with 2 fried bricks
halp!
-> attached photo showing setup (only car charger is a regular samsung 5V-2A wall charger in my setup)
On a side note, I did search the forum/google, but now one seems to want their phone charged or mentions it happening.
And I know about the issues connecting a hdd to a phone (galaxy note 2 in my case), but thats not the point of this post.
I bought the cables and found out that:
- i can access the hdd, it has enough power
- the phone wont charge
- no bricks :good:
So,. cr*p.
Oh and I found this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1371681
Soldering iron, here I come.
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.
Theoretical question:
While in console mode, is it possible to have the following accessories attached at once?
1. Mini hdmi out
2. Usb hub
3. Ethernet
4. External hard drive
5. External power (obviously running through usb hub) or charger
6. Bluetooth controller
Thanks in advance
I have not tried it myself, but it should work, as long as the hard drive works with it at all.
I got:
HDMI
USB mouse
USB keyboard
USB pendrive
via OTG attached at once. Haven't tried USB power and Ethernet cable yet.