• The smartphone application is like a flash drive for any device. If there is no OTG function. Methods for connecting a flash drive to a smartphone

    Modern flash drives can store a huge amount of information, weighing up to 256 GB or even more. That's just due to the lack of the required connector, it is problematic to “sync” with a smartphone, and they come to help adapters. Today we will find out how to connect a USB flash drive to Android via OTG and what you will need for this.

    What is OTG

    The OTG cable is a special adapter, allowing you to connect devices with a standard USB connector to phones and tablets. In short, this is an adapter, one end of which is connected to the smartphone, and an accessory is inserted into the second.

    You can connect to both mice and keyboards, and any external drive.

    You can purchase an adapter at any store, which specializes in electronics and gadgets for them. We also note that Some phones already come with OTG. For example, this detail was noticed in Samsung smartphones and Sony.

    How to check Android and OTG compatibility

    Unfortunately, not all smartphones can boast of supporting the OTG protocol. But how can you find out in advance whether the device can recognize an additional gadget? The simplest thing is this is a visual definition. If the phone has standard microUSB, Most likely, in this case it will connect to the adapter without problems.

    But for more qualitative test we recommend using special program, namely USB OTG Checker. This is very useful application with a minimum of functions, which perfectly performs the main option - recognizing OTG support or lack thereof in an Android smartphone.

    USB OTG Checker App

    The utility can be easily downloaded from . After installation, we launch it and after a few seconds we see either a green square or a red one on the main screen. Everything is very clear here : green means successful further synchronization, red – inability to connect to the adapter.

    Below is a table with a little information about the device, where the phone model, its name and ID are indicated. This, in principle, is where all the functionality of the application ends.

    If the result is negative – There are two options to solve this problem. Perhaps the flash drive is simply not recognized by the built-in Explorer. For this there are special utilities, which we will discuss below. Or the OTG protocol is completely blocked in the device. Then, unfortunately, you won’t be able to do anything except purchase new phone running Android.

    The procedure for connecting directly is very simple: we insert the accessory into the adapter, and connect the adapter to the smartphone. If the flash drive is successfully recognized operating system, a corresponding notification should appear on the screen, on which you should click "Allow". The external flash drive is recognized by the device, but how can I read information from it now?

    File managers will help here, they are also called explorers. These are applications that allow you to view all the information stored in the memory of your mobile device and the storage devices attached to it.

    On some phones, e.g. Xiaomi company, there is already a built-in “Explorer”.

    But you can also install any third-party manager, most best option– ES Explorer, which we talked about in detail in the article. We launch the program, go to the root menu and the external drive should be displayed there. Click on it and a list of materials appears. This way you can view images, videos, read documents and work with archives. All information stored on the flash drive is accessible from the smartphone.

    But what to do if the drive is not recognized? The only way out is specialized utilities. For example, great program is Media Explorer, available for download from Google Play. Unfortunately, it is paid and there is no beta trial.

    StickMount (Root)

    Don't want to spend money? Don't despair, there is a free alternative - StickMout app, requesting . If you are already a “Superuser”, you can easily adapt to the program, but otherwise you will have to either buy the tool or get root, otherwise you will not be able to work with the flash drive.

    Possible problems why the phone/tablet does not see the flash drive via OTG

    You bought an adapter, downloaded the necessary file manager, you happily connect the flash drive, but it is not readable by the device - what is the reason? Let's discuss the most common factors that prevent successful synchronization:

    • Incorrect flash drive format. Android doesn't read file systems NTFS and ExFat. Only suitable FAT32.
    • Inappropriate software or operating system. The issue may be in the firmware, or in special drivers, or in the Android version. To avoid such troubles - Check your phone in advance via USB OTG Charge.
    • Dirty connectors, due to which no contact occurs. This also includes faulty flash drive or adapter.
    • The flash drive contains too much information. For example, if you connect a 256 GB drive to a smartphone, which only has 4-8 GB permanent memory– problems are possible. Likewise with RAM less than 1 GB.

    Video instruction: how to connect USB to a smartphone without OTG support

    As you can see, it’s quite easy to connect a USB flash drive to Android via OTG; for this you just need to strictly follow the instructions and have it on hand necessary tools. Good luck!

    Almost everyone who has a smartphone often uses it as a full-fledged computer device. One possibility is connecting a storage device. The question of how to connect a USB flash drive to a phone becomes acute when it is necessary to transfer data to a smartphone.

    Does the gadget support USB?

    Not every phone has the ability to support connecting flash drives. If you don’t want to look deeply at the settings and firmware, you should use the market application Google Play, which is called OTG. Using the application, you can scan the settings and receive a notification about the presence/absence of the ability to connect USB drives.

    How and why to connect a USB flash drive to an Android phone?

    When you go to a friendly meeting and require a music medium, most often you need to take a flash drive with you. A similar situation may arise if you need to go on long flights or travel when you want, for example, to watch movies the whole way. If the phone's built-in memory is not enough, you can solve the problem by connecting the drive to your phone.

    Experts say that connecting USB to a device with the Android platform is easy. The main thing is to understand what actions are necessary.

    What is needed to connect a flash drive?

    Connecting a USB drive to your phone is very simple if you have any of these devices:

    • USB OTG cable. Modern gadgets, in particular the Galaxy S7, are already equipped with a cable. It comes in a box with charger. It is also possible to purchase it at a service center.
    • USB flash drive with OTG connector. Today, some drives are immediately equipped with a special USB connector. It allows you to connect a storage device to your phone.

    How to connect a flash drive to a smartphone that does not support such capabilities?

    What to do when you quickly need to copy any files to your smartphone if they are only available on a flash drive. The solution is considered available from Root is right ami, without which you simply cannot do. When installing them on your phone, you will have to download the StickMount application, which transfers any of the files on the drive to your smartphone.

    The function of the application is simple and consists in allowing access to the drive from a smartphone on the OS. After this, the application is launched and permission to getting Root right Next, the world of the flash drive opens, reflected in the file storage signed as USB Storage. On appearance it looks like a folder, but in fact it is a full-fledged flash drive. If you do not have rights, there are applications in the market that can be purchased.

    As you can see, this problem is not at all complicated, as it may seem at first glance; it is important to approach its solution correctly. We hope we helped you with this!

    In this article, we will look at the reasons why a USB flash drive does not work in Android via an OTG cable and what to do in such a situation.

    Portable performance and capabilities computer equipment are growing rapidly. At the base modern smartphones and tablets, you can organize a full workplace. They “learned” to work with USB peripherals: keyboards, mice, game controllers and even printers. All these devices are connected to Android gadgets via an OTG cable. The most popular of peripheral devices, undoubtedly, is a “flash drive”. With its help you can transfer documents and other useful files, expand the storage capacity of a smartphone or tablet, organize a file archive.

    Why doesn’t a smartphone (tablet) see a flash drive via an OTG cable?

    First of all, you should make sure that the cable is working and supports the OTG function. If everything is fine with it, but the smartphone or tablet does not “see” external device, there may be several reasons.

    1. The tablet (smartphone) does not support the OTG interface. Among modern gadgets This rarely happens, but it is better to read the documentation for the device and make sure the device is compatible. For example, “USB host” should be written in the gadget parameters. If there is no support, then it will only work with flash drives and disks that support the Wi-Fi interface.
    2. The file system format of the flash drive is not recognized by the Android device. Devices with standard firmware Only support exFAT and FAT32 file systems. If the flash drive is formatted in NTFS, HFS+ or another system, the gadget cannot work with it. There are two ways to fix the problem: either reformat the flash drive, or install a program that supports file storage on your smartphone or tablet. NTFS system. The second option is preferable: you don’t have to delete the contents of the flash drive (which is inevitable when formatting), plus NTFS has support for files larger than 2GB, which is useful for recording and transferring large files (for example, videos). The only drawback of such programs is that they all require root access. If there are none on your Android device, the program will not work. You still have to reformat the flash drive.
    3. Another reason why a smartphone does not see a flash drive is high power consumption. Most often this problem occurs when connecting external hard disks, but sometimes, for various reasons, the flash drive may not have enough power. You can solve the problem using an active USB hub with external power. Just keep in mind that not all smartphones and tablets support it. And you can forget about mobility, since the active hub runs on mains power.
    4. The devices (flash drive and Android gadget) are incompatible or have technical faults. This happens even with completely new equipment, and nothing but repair or replacement can be recommended here.

    Now you know why a smartphone or tablet may not see a flash drive via an OTG cable and how you can solve it this problem.

    What is this technology and how do OTG cables differ from regular microUSB cables?

    What is USB-OTG

    This technology allows you to connect mobile devices to USB peripherals, appeared in 2001. Its peculiarity is that the device (tablet, smartphone) can operate, depending on the need, in two modes: “master” and “client”. When you connect a flash drive, the gadget can read its contents, and when connected to a PC, it itself is recognized as a flash drive.

    Almost every tablet computer user has encountered the need to transfer information from a flash drive to the device itself. Did everyone succeed? Unfortunately no. Already at the first stage, difficulties often arose. After all, most tablets are not equipped with a usb host connector. On top of that, another trouble often happens - some models refuse to see the flash drive. As a result, a seemingly simple procedure turns out to be difficult to implement. But there is no need to worry. In this article we will tell you how to connect a flash drive to a tablet.

    When using a tablet computer, situations often arise in which you need to use a USB drive. For example, to copy documents for study or work, transfer your favorite music to a flash drive or, conversely, from it. Some people like to take pictures and therefore periodically have to transfer photos to removable media. Otherwise, the device memory will quickly fill up. There are even users who prefer to watch movies on their tablet directly from a flash drive. Convenient, nothing to say.

    All that remains is to find out how to connect everything correctly. Of course, the easiest way is to use a special adapter - usb otg cable:

    1. One end of it is inserted into micro-usb port on the tablet. The charger is usually connected to the same connector.
    2. The other end of the cable does not have a plug, but a standard USB host. The flash drive is connected to it.
    3. Have you connected? Now the device should automatically detect the removable drive, if, of course, it supports USB function Host.
    4. However, there are a couple of nuances. Via usb otg you can connect a flash drive only to a tablet with Android OS 3.1 and higher. Also, some devices do not have a micro-USB port, but instead have a wide 30-pin connector. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and many Asus models. Then to paste usb plug otg cable into the device you will need an adapter or a proprietary cord.

    How to open files from a USB drive on a tablet?

    Finally, you managed to complete connecting the flash drive to the tablet. Now you need to understand how to copy information from it (or, conversely, transfer some data to the media itself). Again, there is nothing complicated. You must use a file manager (required for devices with Android OS versions 3, 4 and 5). The most popular options are ASTRO programs File Manager or ES Explorer. They are downloaded through a regular store.

    The file manager is easy to use. Launch it and look for the folder related to the USB drive. Look, it will contain all the information stored on the flash drive. Typically the data is located here:

    • sdcard/usbStorage/sda1
    • /sdcard/usbStorage/
    • /mnt/sda4/
    • /mnt/usb/system_usb etc.

    If you have a tablet with Android version 6.0 and older, then you can do without the help of a file manager (in latest firmware it's built-in):

    1. Go to "Settings".
    2. Open the "Storage and USB Drives" section.
    3. Next, click on “Open”.
    4. A list of files and folders that are stored in the tablet’s memory and on removable media will open. All you need to do is find the section related to the connected flash drive.

    For reference! To transfer information to a flash drive from Google tablet Nexus file manager is not needed. The manufacturer has released a special one for this paid application Nexus Media Importer. You can download it from Google service Play.

    Is it possible to connect a flash drive to a tablet via full-size USB or Wi-Fi?

    Most similar gadgets are not equipped with such a connector. However, there are a few tablet models with full-size USB port. It allows you to connect a flash drive directly without using additional cables and adapters. For example, given input has:

    • Gigabyte S1080
    • Lenovo IdeaPad MIIX (Lenovo also has other models with a full-size USB port)
    • Acer Iconia Tab W700
    • Acer Iconia Tab A211
    • Prestigio Multipad Visconte A, etc.

    In addition, there are flash drives with Wi-Fi (though there are very few of them). To connect such removable media The tablet does not require any cable at all. They are connected via a module Wi-Fi connection, which every modern gadget has.

    Why doesn’t the tablet see the USB flash drive and what to do in this situation?

    It also happens that the device does not recognize the removable drive. There are several reasons that cause this problem:

    1. For connectors and ports tablet computers little power is supplied. This is done to save battery power. As a result, devices are simply “physically” unable to read data from some types of flash drives.
    2. Sometimes the tablet does not see the removable drive due to its large capacity. In this case, you should try connecting a flash drive with a smaller memory size. Preferably up to 32 GB.
    3. An incorrect format can also cause the tablet to not recognize the USB drive. After all, the majority similar devices“cooperate” only with those flash drives that have file system fat32, not ntfs. Solving the problem is not difficult - just change the format using standard means Windows or special utilities.
    4. Sometimes the tablet does not see or read the memory card due to software “obstacles”. Therefore, if you have tried all the methods, but the gadget still does not recognize the flash drive, then download and install free program StickMount. In most cases, it helps solve the problem. All you need is root rights and a file manager (the same ES Explorer). In this case, StickMount will create a separate folder for the flash drive.
    5. It also happens that the tablet does not see the USB drive due to its breakdown. Therefore, be sure to check the functionality of the flash drive by connecting it to a PC or laptop.
    6. Malfunction usb cable otg is another reason for connection problems external media information. In this case, all that remains is to change the cord itself.
    7. It cannot be ruled out that the micro-USB connector itself has failed. So, if possible, check the device and its ports at a service center.

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