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.
Related
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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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?
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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
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 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....
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.