Database Info

Surface Pro - More USB ports

Hey guys, I just got my Surface Pro yesterday to replace my old HP Pavilion laptop which was really slow and has its fair share of problems. The one gripe I have with the Surface Pro is its lack of ports.
I want to be able to plug in a mouse and at least on USB drive but a singular USB 3.0 port just isn't going to cut it. So my question is, does anyone have an idea or know of anything that will allow me to plug in both a mouse and a usb stick? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
p.s I am aware of the docking station but its price point is a bit ridiculous. I just want a cheap alternative that won't detract from the design too much as there is a case but it's added size is very unreasonable.

The device you are looking for is incredibly common and so common that you can walk into walmart and have a whole selection of them available. USB Hub. Surprised you havent come across one before.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Depending on the number of ports and whether it is mains or bus powered they can be pretty cheap.

SixSixSevenSeven said:
The device you are looking for is incredibly common and so common that you can walk into walmart and have a whole selection of them available. USB Hub. Surprised you havent come across one before.
Depending on the number of ports and whether it is mains or bus powered they can be pretty cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks heaps for the reply. I was actually thinking of these but I wasn't sure if they would work correctly. I'm not very familiar with USB 3.0 and what it can and can't do. I just need a USB hub that has a USB 3.0 upstream and at least 2 USB 2.0 downstreams so I can still plug in my mouse and hardrive and all those other things that have a USB 2.0 upstream. I was looking at these in particular and was wondering if they were 4 USB 3.0 ports or if it was a 3.0 male connector and 4 USB 2.0 female connectors.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-Port-U...Laptop_Accessories&hash=item4ac5d3e8e3&_uhb=1
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/m-Speed-...Laptop_Accessories&hash=item51b73b7190&_uhb=1
Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you are able to link me to a cheap one then that would be awesome

Both of the devices you linked claim to be USB3.0 downstream, so would indeed convert 1 USB3.0 slot on the surface to 4 USB3.0 slots, in theory anyway.
Of course in reality, you are sharing 1 ports bandwidth among 4, but for a mouse and a memory stick this is not a problem at all. I've run mouse, keyboard, xbox 360 controller and an external hard drive from a USB2.0 hub without issue, you get the massively faster USB3.0

SixSixSevenSeven said:
Both of the devices you linked claim to be USB3.0 downstream, so would indeed convert 1 USB3.0 slot on the surface to 4 USB3.0 slots, in theory anyway.
Of course in reality, you are sharing 1 ports bandwidth among 4, but for a mouse and a memory stick this is not a problem at all. I've run mouse, keyboard, xbox 360 controller and an external hard drive from a USB2.0 hub without issue, you get the massively faster USB3.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks heaps for that. I just realised that I can plug in a USB 2.0 into the 3.0 port. Sorry for sounding like an idiot but it's just my first device with a 3.0 port.
So now I guess my only question would be whether or not having a switch on each port would make a difference vs no switch?

boss. said:
So now I guess my only question would be whether or not having a switch on each port would make a difference vs no switch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not particularly, if it is a hub with switched ports you could save some battery but alot of hubs are autoswitching anyway and the difference isnt significant.

I use a bluetooth mouse with my surface pro. It connects directly to the bluetooth in the Surface, without anything plugged into the usb port. I find this very convenient and it leaves the usb port open for whatever else. I use the Microsoft bluetooth mouse 5000.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

I have a USB3 hub, a inateck round hub, makes for easy plugging in various items and is powered, so not using battery up. Jim

Thanks heaps for the responses guys.
I was thinking of using one of the powered ones or the ones with switches so extra battery consumption is kept to a minimum. I have a bluetooth gaming mouse that i'm going to use but will end up getting a USB hub just so I can still have a memory stick plugged in if I need it.

I find that *in most cases* the load on the tablet battery is fairly low and doesnt warrant the extra fuss of a powered USB hub versus a bus powered hub. However, if you do decide to go with a self powered one, find that uses a usb style connector instead of a proprietary power connector. Then you can just use a regular usb cable to power the hub off of the surface's usb charging port on the power cord "brick". That eliminates the need to carry two power supplies with you.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

The main advantage of a powered (vs. host-powered) hub isn't the battery life impact, but rather the limit on how much energy the host port can provide. Things like keyboards take almost nothing. Things like mice take a bit, but not too much. Things like external HDDs take a lot. Things like charging a phone or other device may take all the power the port can provide. Using a powered hub lets you connect several such devices (for example, your phone and your hard disk, in addition to your mouse and keyboard) without worrying that there won't be enough power for them.

Agreed. Its a question of amperage. Anything I connect to my Surface Pro has minimal power draw, such as a card reader or usb drive. If Im going to charge my phone (which draqs 2amps) I just connect it to handy chargung port on the AC adapter. All my other accessories (mouse and gps antenna) are bluetooth so they are not part of the equation. Im not debating anything above, but just offering the OP that you should consider your power needs and then you can decide if you need a powered hub or not.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Officially you can draw 1.2A from a usb3 socket, reality is that you probably won't from my the surface. Mouse, keyboard and thumbdrive combined should be under 0.1A, 0.2 at the most. Not a massive impact on battery so I wouldn't be concerned.

Inateck USB 3 Hub with USB OTG

Hi all,
Im trying to get into tech blogging and reviewing stuff, so I thought I'd kick it off with a review of a USB hub, something people take for granted and no one ever seems to review! so here goes, im going to share with you mt thoughts on my new toy! Any feedback on my review would be greatly appreciated.
Just as a note, I dont work for Inatech, I work for a Pharmaceutical company and just enjoy technology
As an Update I've just spotted on their website there is an off on at the moment for back to school or something so there are voucher codes for some products including the USB hub
http://www.inateck.com/back-to-school/
Testing out a new toy, USB3 four port hub with USB OTG for mobile.
I'll be testing it on my PC which has 2 USB3 ports (Asus P8P67 Deluxe motherboard) and on my trusty Samsung Galaxy S4.
Unboxing and device overview
The hub arrived from Amazon, well packaged, no instructions, just the hub and a Returns and Exchanges piece of paper listing the companies policies.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Taking the hub out I was actually surprised with how well made and solid it felt, i've previously only had cheap USB hub so this is my first proper one. The housing feels like a thick plastic and around the top 3 USB ports there is what feels like brushed aluminium adding to the premium feel. There is a forth USB port on the other end of the hub making this a 4 port USB3 hub.
The cable that comes with it is 12 inches long, as the company says on their website, this is intended for phones and ultrabooks not for down the back of a PC, but feel free to use a USB 3 extension lead to use it with a PC. At the end of the USB3 lead is a little USB OTG adaptor which is attached to the main usb lead with a length of thin plastic which is formed from the outer housing of the USB OTG connector. Not sure how long this will last and keep the OTG adapter attached, felt like if you gave it a bit of abuse eventually it would wear out.
Overall if feels quite premium and solid. Let get onto the testing!
Testing
Ok everyone case most about android devices here so i'll do that first and the PC testing as an after thought!
Testing on the Samsung Galaxy S4 (i9505), plugging it in, it detected it as a "USB Connector" no problem. Ok lets plug some stuff in and see how far I can push the poor phone!
First up a Transcend USB3 stick, connected no problem . To test the speed I used A1 SD Benchmark from the play store. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.a1dev.sdbench&hl=en
On my PC the device (Tested with USBdeview) gets write speed of about 90mb/s and read or 18mb/s. On the phone it gets read 26mb/s and write 18mb/s, so a bit slower than plugged into PC but the Galaxy S4 doesnt support USB OTG ad USB3 speeds so its as expected. Just to check that the Inateck hub isnt slowing things down lets test it with my normal USB OTG adaptor, the results - exactly the same speed. So the hub isnt slowing things down.
Lets try 2 USB sticks Since im poor I can only afford 1 USB3 pendrive so the others are usb2. I have an OCZ Rally 2 4GB and a Texet 2GB, lets plug them all in and see if the phone can handle storage overload! 3 USB sticks plugged in and the power hasnt given up, all 3 are lit up and ES File explorer detects them as USBDriveA, B and C no problems on each.
Lets push my luck and try a forth! again no problem, 4 usb devices attached to the unpowered hub and its not a problem! Tapping the unmount option from the notification bar will unmount ALL the usb drives at once, tad annoying but its a Samsung thing and seeing as I wasnt expecting the phone to be able to power 4 devices at once im happy!
Final test I have for this poor device is keyboard, mouse and USB3 drive copying files all going at once. The benchmark app wouldnt let me multi-task and write an email while benchmarking so i just moved the mouse around a lot but it didnt affect the transfer speeds during the test. The keyboard, mouse and usb pen drive all worked no problem when plugged in.
Ok so thats how well the hub performs on an android device, im pretty pleased so far, i feel like i really pushed it and it was fine, but so far its no different to the cheap hub i bought on ebay that comes apart quite easily. The real thing with this is the USB3 functionality so lets plug it into a USB3 port already and see how well it performs at speed!
Ok plugging in the device, Windows 7 detected it no problem.
It worked fine in a USB 2 port or a USB 3 port.
Again the same pendrive, lets test the speed. Plugged directly into the PC I get Read 18mb/s and write 90mb/s on my Transcend drive.
So thats all good, lets see how it performs through the hub. As you can see from the pictures above the hub doesnt slow things down when using 1 port.
The only other USB3 Devices I have are a 3TB hard drive so lets speed test then with and without the hub and see if the hub is going to slow things down. When using my 3TB hard drive and the USB Pen drive the results were similar to using a single device, no slow down (i dont want to flood this thread with screen shots)
The results look pretty nice, no slowdown with or without the usb hub even when I pushed things speed testing.
Overall Im actually quite pleased with this little device and it will replace my Cheap USB hub im using at the moment.
Hope everyone found this useful!
Heres the link to their website, i got mine from Amazon UK.
http://www.inateck.com/inateck-hb4002g-4-port-usb-3-0-hub-otg/

Attracting
Thanks so much for your review. Totally attracting

I love the OTG port, it will make my cellphone work like a laptop:good::good:

i love it cheap (for it work:victory and high quality hub for pc and phone its really must have hub
thanks very much for review :highfive:

Thank-you for taking the time for such a thorough review!

MHL For Pioneer AppRadio3

Hey guys.
This thread is about my Galaxy Note Edge but since it is basically the same as your Note 4's and this forum is more popular I thought someone might be able to assist me quicker
Before my Galaxy Note Edge I had the original Galaxy Note (N7000) and connected it via MHL to my Pioneer AppRadio to fully mirror my phone and it worked perfectly.
The Pioneer Android kit looks like this and comes with MHL...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
So today I tried to connect my Edge to the AppRadio and it does not work :crying:
I have checked the power and when I connect the MHL power cable to my phone my phone charges so that is fine.
I have tried connecting my Sony Bravia TV to my Edge via MHL using a 'fresh HDMI cable' and it doesn't do anything.
Is the Pioneer MHL incompatible with the Edge (is it a 1st generation MHL) and the Edge can only use the current 3.0 generation OR is the Pioneer MHL compatible but mine is broken? Is the Note 4/Edge backwards compatible?
I really appreciate your help.

I have a note 4, and the appRadio 3 also.
You will require to use the Samsung MHL adapter as the phone requires 11 pin connector for the video output.
I tried many 3rd party adapter, but neither of them are stable. So, I just stick to the OEM one.
Just connects this adapter to the HDMI cable and the USB powered cable and you are good to go.
Hope that helps.
Benny

Thanks for your informative reply.
Having conducted some more research I have found the following:
The original Samsung MHL adapter for smartphones. Released in 2011 for the Samsung Galaxy S2, this adapter has a 5 pin layout. External power is required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the Pioneer MHL provided is Generation 1 (5Pin)
Compatibility with 2nd generation phones is possible with 5-11 pin adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Edge needs an 11pin, like you said and the 5pin will not work on its own and so rather than use a rubbish adapter I have ordered the below.

This is the one I use and works great. I had a Samsung one, but the way the micro USB for charging plugs into the same side as the MHL connection to the phone is awkward. Also, the USB on the back of the head unit doesn't put out enough juice to charge the phone while running GPS/streaming and the like. So with this you have a little extra length to plug into a fast charger if you want, and run the MHL cable to a convenient spot since its a LOT thinner than an HDMI cable from the back.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MY05GNA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

johnboy693 said:
This is the one I use and works great. I had a Samsung one, but the way the micro USB for charging plugs into the same side as the MHL connection to the phone is awkward. Also, the USB on the back of the head unit doesn't put out enough juice to charge the phone while running GPS/streaming and the like. So with this you have a little extra length to plug into a fast charger if you want, and run the MHL cable to a convenient spot since its a LOT thinner than an HDMI cable from the back.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MY05GNA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. My original Galaxy Note charged to 100% when under full load with the standard power from the AppRadio. However your right in saying that the new Samsung MHL adapter will ruin my set up because during installation the HDMI/USB Power are in the same 'section' of the centre console and I can't stretch the USB power cable without an extension lead.
So I will use the below that I have fitted in the centre console for power.
So although I won't know if my Edge would drain using the AppRadio power (my N7000 did not do this) this is rated @ 3.6A / 18w and it should be fine.
I have just seen on Amazon that you can now get 4.2A / 20W car chargers which is crazy!
My new Samsung MHL device will arrive sometime today (thanks to Amazon Prime). So I will let you know what happens and take a picture of my current set up.
Ps. When you say 'Fast charger'... what in car charger or power output (e.g. 3.6amps) would you consider being equivalent to our home wall plug fast charger?

USB hub with Type C pass through charging

Came across this hub with 2x USB3 ports, sdcard and microsd slots, and type c pass through for charging.
https://www.hypershop.com/products/usb-c-5-in-1-hub-with-pass-though-usb-c-charging
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Looks useful with the limited storage available on the PixelC

I am curious if those ports will work as OTG hosts. That would be quite useful, but I'm not willing to pay $4o to test it myself lol

oRAirwolf said:
I am curious if those ports will work as OTG hosts. That would be quite useful, but I'm not willing to pay $4o to test it myself lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I preordered one for the card slots as the only flash media i buy is in microsd format.
It says it should ship in december, I'll post results here when I receive it.

I messaged Benson Leung on Google+, asking him if he recommended any USB OTG hosts. He said that OTG does not exist anymore with Type C. He recommended that I get this cable: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VTZ7GM0
Hopefully that hub meets the Type C spec, since it seems that 90% of cables and adapters don't.

That cable looks identical to the one I received from google in the UK, purchased from google with the tab.
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

I would love to know if this guy works. That would be awesome.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Just to let you guys know:
I contacted Benson Leung and asked him about USB-C hubs for the Pixel C and he said he has one on its way and will review it shortly.

Ok, I received it. I tried powering the PixelC and it works but not at the same speed as the same charger connected directly. I estimate about 1-1.2A
I connected microsd card and it seems to work fine. Not tried using the usb type A ports yet.
My main issue is that it the position and size make it feel quite delicate. It is in the exact place I hold my pixel C and the length makes it feel like a lever on the port. I tried adding a small tab to brace it against the tablet at the other end but that feels no better. I would prefer it connect with a short cable.
I might use it in extreme cases, when wireless is not an option such as on flights, but the aesthetics and the power compliance issue make it hard to recommend.

Does this Hub really work on the Pixel C ? I mean, can i use a USB Ethernet Adapter, or a USB Stick while charging the Pixel ?

skally said:
Ok, I received it. I tried powering the PixelC and it works but not at the same speed as the same charger connected directly. I estimate about 1-1.2A
I connected microsd card and it seems to work fine. Not tried using the usb type A ports yet.
My main issue is that it the position and size make it feel quite delicate. It is in the exact place I hold my pixel C and the length makes it feel like a lever on the port. I tried adding a small tab to brace it against the tablet at the other end but that feels no better. I would prefer it connect with a short cable.
I might use it in extreme cases, when wireless is not an option such as on flights, but the aesthetics and the power compliance issue make it hard to recommend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot. Do you possibly have a USB A to ethernet you could try it with? I'm curious to see if it'd work.
Could it be an idea to use it with a USB C extension cable, something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-C-USB3-...main_0&hash=item3cfbf467bb&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true

sindrefyrn said:
Thanks a lot. Do you possibly have a USB A to ethernet you could try it with? I'm curious to see if it'd work.
Could it be an idea to use it with a USB C extension cable, something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-C-USB3-...main_0&hash=item3cfbf467bb&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a USB3 3 port hub with ethernet (an Anker AH212). I get ethernet connectivity just fine, although I don't see any options for configuration, so you're stuck with DHCP.
Nice idea on the extension cable, I was hoping one would appear. I wonder if Benson Leung has tested any.

Skally could you please elaborate on that? Do you know the exact Name of the Hub you have? (mby even with Link) would love to get my hands on that!

Anyone have pictures of this thing on your Pi-C?

This:
http://www.amazon.com/HT-UC001-Shuttle-Delivery-MacBook-ChromeBook/dp/B019R9ILTG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459363576&sr=8-2&keywords=hootoo+usb-c+hub
It might be the thing we are after with a short extension cable. Its just super pricey, and only the two most expensive versions have the charge pass through at $60 and $70 USD.
Has anyone used any accessories from HooToo and can remark on the quality?

Well I went ahead and ordered the cheapest mode. It has 3 USB3 and the SD card reader for $35. That gives me what I need on the road, and should give me some impression of the build quality and compatibility with the C. Should have it next Tuesday.

awlllwa said:
Well I went ahead and ordered the cheapest mode. It has 3 USB3 and the SD card reader for $35. That gives me what I need on the road, and should give me some impression of the build quality and compatibility with the C. Should have it next Tuesday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did ypou receive it already? how is it?

The usb-c is a bit loose... have to really press it in to get a confident fit. I did get it to read an SD card, this was my most needed feature. Have not yet tested the USB ports. I feel that for the price it could be better.
Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk

awlllwa said:
The usb-c is a bit loose... have to really press it in to get a confident fit. I did get it to read an SD card, this was my most needed feature. Have not yet tested the USB ports. I feel that for the price it could be better.
Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one of these. I've yet to use it extensively but can confirm that the USB ports work (4Gb stick used so far) but haven't tried them along with pass-through charging (though this works independently). Build quality seems pretty reasonable but a lot of money seems to have been spent on the presentation/packaging, a little Apple, with sculpted box and foam holding the hub.

Hi,
I've recently received a Pixel C as a replacement for an older tablet which insurance paid for (Thankfully).
Before I seen this thread I got one of the Satechi Passthrough hubs pictured at the start.
I havent had a huge play with it, But soo far I would say I'm fairly happy with it. it feels a little loose but thats not an issue when being used with the magnetic keyboard (So I dont touch the tablet)
Best bit about it tho, if you connect a mouse you basicly have a full laptop!!
I'm stoaked.

taddyj said:
Hi,
I've recently received a Pixel C as a replacement for an older tablet which insurance paid for (Thankfully).
Before I seen this thread I got one of the Satechi Passthrough hubs pictured at the start.
I havent had a huge play with it, But soo far I would say I'm fairly happy with it. it feels a little loose but thats not an issue when being used with the magnetic keyboard (So I dont touch the tablet)
Best bit about it tho, if you connect a mouse you basicly have a full laptop!!
I'm stoaked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does that mean it charges the Pixel C as well?
---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:41 PM ----------
awlllwa said:
This:
http://www.amazon.com/HT-UC001-Shuttle-Delivery-MacBook-ChromeBook/dp/B019R9ILTG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459363576&sr=8-2&keywords=hootoo+usb-c+hub
It might be the thing we are after with a short extension cable. Its just super pricey, and only the two most expensive versions have the charge pass through at $60 and $70 USD.
Has anyone used any accessories from HooToo and can remark on the quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works as advertised, though I couldn't check the HDMI. Only one problem: the external power doesn't seem to reach the Pixel C, which makes it kind of useless to me. Not sure where the problem is.

Is there an OTG cable that works with Samsung?

I have an SM T290 tab A. Is there a specific OTG cable that I can use? Has anyone had any success?

scampo77 said:
I have an SM T290 tab A. Is there a specific OTG cable that I can use? Has anyone had any success?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it gets to where you're pulling your hair out in frustration, but.... someone on XDA has nudged me in a new direction and helped, always friendly, and ALWAYS FREE. I had the same problem with cables, I thought anyway. I'm enclosing a pic of the OTG adapter that worked for me, and with every cable and thumb drive, etc. It says SAMSUNG, its just hard to read. Hope this helps Scampo.
Pony
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Ponius said:
I know it gets to where you're pulling your hair out in frustration, but.... someone on XDA has nudged me in a new direction and helped, always friendly, and ALWAYS FREE. I had the same problem with cables, I thought anyway. I'm enclosing a pic of the OTG adapter that worked for me, and with every cable and thumb drive, etc. It says SAMSUNG, its just hard to read. Hope this helps Scampo.
Pony
View attachment 5227033View attachment 5227033
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you attach a thumb drive to your tablet and watch a movie on it while charging at the same time?

scampo77 said:
can you attach a thumb drive to your tablet and watch a movie on it while charging at the same time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I did instead was to connect a small powered USB hub and connected my thumb drive to the hub. That way you reduce the power draw on your tablet and can run a wireless USB mouse with your thumb drive. (And yes, I watched movies that way). Hope it helps.
Pony

Here is the cheapo I've been using bought off eBay for like $1.50

Thank you but I need to charge while the thumb drive is attached and I need to be able to do this 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Ponius said:
What I did instead was to connect a small powered USB hub and connected my thumb drive to the hub. That way you reduce the power draw on your tablet and can run a wireless USB mouse with your thumb drive. (And yes, I watched movies that way). Hope it helps.
Pony
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On amazon you can get an adapter which gives you 3 X usb 2.0 (thumb drive) input plus one usb-a micro (usb 2 charger) input. Mine has a switch between OTG and charge, but if I keep charger in during OTG, it supplies power to thumb drives, and the battery supply barely gets touched.

lifeModder19135 said:
On amazon you can get an adapter which gives you 3 X usb 2.0 (thumb drive) input plus one usb-a micro (usb 2 charger) input. Mine has a switch between OTG and charge, but if I keep charger in during OTG, it supplies power to thumb drives, and the battery supply barely gets touched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an automotive install and I've tried all of these options and none work. These tablets and fiberglassed into the dash and need to be charging all day. Then a female USB mounted in the dash to transfer data via a thumb drive.

scampo77 said:
This is an automotive install and I've tried all of these options and none work. These tablets and fiberglassed into the dash and need to be charging all day. Then a female USB mounted in the dash to transfer data via a thumb drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd think that anything installed into the dash like that would run on the car battery. I just use mine for development, which means nothing more than saving / loading text files. I am able to leave it on charge and just flip the switch for 30 seconds or so at a time to access the thumb drive. What about the usb to sd card readers? Same result, I suppose?

lifeModder19135 said:
You'd think that anything installed into the dash like that would run on the car battery. I just use mine for development, which means nothing more than saving / loading text files. I am able to leave it on charge and just flip the switch for 30 seconds or so at a time to access the thumb drive. What about the usb to sd card readers? Same result, I suppose?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, same result. This was a headache when I started this 10 years ago with the Nexus 7. But someone came out with a specific automotive installation where the tablet would turn on and of with the key and it would charge with a thumb drive attached and it worked beautiful until it fell out of service.

After a year of working on this problem I found a charger made by a company called lava. The charger is about $100 and it does charging while having usb support. The charger is worth more than the tablet but I didn't have a choice.

scampo77 said:
After a year of working on this problem I found a charger made by a company called lava. The charger is about $100 and it does charging while having usb support. The charger is worth more than the tablet but I didn't have a choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it’s been a bit since this post, but curious if the lavalabs adapter you mentioned worked with your sm t290 ? And if so, which adapter model was it? Trying to figure out the same thing, they are pricey but need to figure this out thanks ++