This allows a device, such as a mobile phone, to operate so that other USB devices such as a keyboard, mouse, flash memory, modem, and other devices, accessories, and peripherals can be connected to it. Although, in the case of USB 3.1 technology, which already has a Type C connector, the expansion is no longer necessary, but this function is native. Hence, no special or special connector is required and we do not need to use any adapter for this function.
On the other hand, if you are not sure whether your smartphone is compatible with this feature, there are different ways to check if it is compatible with this feature.
Contents [show]
- OTG compatibility With mobile characteristics
- Trial and error
- With USB OTG Checker
- Connect a hard drive or flash drive
OTG what is it
The technology is designed to connect peripheral devices to a smartphone without the help of a PC. A USB OTG adapter is used for this. Connects via Mini USB. At the other end of the cable there is a USB port where gadgets are connected.
When connected using an OTG cable, the devices are powered by the smartphone. Therefore, its battery will drain faster.
Possible problems and ways to solve them
Even the most problem-free device does not always work perfectly on a smartphone or tablet via OTG. If the user bought a special adapter, installed the desired file manager on the phone, connected and configured everything, but the flash drive does not want to be displayed in any way, then there are very specific reasons for this:
- The file system format of the flash drive is not supported by the operating system or hardware modules of the mobile device. This applies to NTFS and ExFat, which are difficult to launch even through special applications;
- incorrect system version, outdated software, etc. Not all versions of operating systems support OTG technology, as well as certain types and models of devices. There's nothing you can do about it. It is necessary to check the gadget in advance through the special program that was mentioned above;
- the operating system is clogged with various junk files that conflict with drivers and software. It is recommended to clean the OS or reset it to factory settings;
- The micro USB port is dirty. If the adapter does not want to be detected, then perhaps it simply is not in contact with the port. It is necessary to analyze the condition of the connector, clean or repair if necessary;
- The drive differs several times in memory capacity compared to the ROM preinstalled on the phone. If the user connects a 256 GB flash drive, and the device only has 16 GB of permanent memory, then problems and malfunctions may occur. The same goes for RAM.
Power issues may occur when connecting a hard drive
The material discussed how to connect an OTG to an android and how to connect various types of peripheral devices to it via a special cable. The technology is far from new, but not all manufacturers support it. This is explained by the unprofitability of adding additional drivers and the low popularity of such manipulations with phones.
Peculiarities
OTG mode theoretically allows you to connect any device to your smartphone. What happens in practice? The connection depends on the Android OS version of the connected gadgets and their compatibility. For example, the OTG function will allow you to connect a flash drive of up to thirty-two gigabytes. At sixty-four, they don’t work everywhere.
When connecting an external HDD, consider whether the phone's power supply is sufficient. Let's consider what connects to a smartphone via OTG.
Found a flash drive? Don't rush to use it!
- About 3-4 years ago, a most interesting study was conducted at the University of Illinois (USA). The initiators of the experiment deliberately “lost” about a hundred flash drives on the campus. They did not contain any valuable information, but came with a geolocation function.
- As soon as the found memory card was connected to the device, the researchers immediately determined the location of the object. This was done for one purpose: to find out how many people would check the find on their PCs and gadgets.
- The results of the experiment impressed the researchers. Within 10 hours, most of the lost flash drives were connected to stationary, portable PCs. Later the students were asked why they did this. More than half responded that they were checking the find in order to find the owner.
The experiment is instructive and makes you think. Flash cards are used today by millions of people around the world. Given the size of the device, it's easy to lose it. But is it worth connecting the find to your PC or gadget? In the Illinois experiment, they used secure memory cards that did not contain Trojan viruses or other malicious programs. If you connect an infected device to your computer, you may encounter a lot of problems. This might end up:
- Loss or damage to valuable information.
- The fact that hackers will have access to your device.
- Hackers can easily read logins, passwords, and other personal data from an infected device.
- Using a keylogger, criminals will gain access to bank cards and easily withdraw all the money.
The conclusion suggests itself. Any flash drive found is potentially dangerous. Therefore, before checking the find on your PC, the gadget needs to think 100 times whether it is worth doing this.
OTG support
Android OS, starting from the second version, supports the technology in automatic mode. However, a lot depends on the manufacturer. Some developers of budget models remove this option to increase battery life. How to check?
USB OTG Checker
The application will check whether the phone has standard functions from Google USB OTG to control the device.
How to use
Download the application at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.faitaujapon.OTG&gl=UA.
Launch it. The screen will display support information:
Let's look at the characteristics
I don't want to install additional software. What to do? Examine the smartphone box. Find a similar logo.
Specialized sites
Visit the official or specialized website. For example, Yandex.Market. Enter the model name in the search bar. Click Find. Look at the data in the "Characteristics" section.
Connect your mouse
If you have a cable, a convenient way to check is to connect a computer mouse. If your device supports the technology, a cursor will appear on the screen.
Which smartphones support the technology
For some reason, although the technology has been developed for a long time, very few devices support it. And as such, there is no OTG mode in gadgets, in fact, this only shows that support either exists or not. Even more strange is that the function is not always indicated in the device specifications, although there is the ability to connect at the hardware level. In general, all gadgets can be divided into three groups:
- supportive. Those devices on which it is clearly indicated, although also not always, that there is an OTG or USB host;
- There is a possibility of support, however, connection is not possible with standard software. That is, you need to install custom firmware or special applications;
- not supportive.
Here is a small list of new smartphones that have OTG support:
- Vivo S8, 6, Y81;
- BQ 5512 Strike Forward;
- Oukitel K7;
- Doogee BL9000;
- Xiaomi Mi6X, Redmi 5;
- Alcatel 3L 5034D;
- LG Q Stylus+;
- Nokia 6.1;
- Asus ZenFone 3 Max;
- ZTE Blade V9;
- Samsung Galaxy S9+;
- Huawei P smart, Honor 9 Lite.
What should I do if my phone does not support OTG? Unfortunately, nothing can be done if the hardware does not provide this for the manufacturer. Alternatively, you can use wireless interfaces to connect other devices.
Samsung Galaxy Note II
The smartphone features a 5.5″ HD Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1280×720. The combination of a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 processor and 2 GB of RAM looks more than attractive. A battery with a capacity of 11.5 Wh (3100 mAh) allows you not to constantly think about the outlet. Few smartphones today can offer one and a half to two days of active use.
Watch how a Playstation 3 game controller is connected to a Samsung Galaxy Note II via USB (you can skip the first three and a half minutes of the video).
The model is available in versions with 16 and 32 GB of internal memory. There is a GALAXY Note II LTE modification with support for Long Term Evolution in the 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz bands. The introduction of LTE in Russia has been delayed. The largest telecom operators received the corresponding licenses almost a year ago, but plan to start using 3GPP LTE only in the summer of 2013.
Modern standards
Back in 2008, the USB 3.0 specification was introduced. This is a modification of the existing USB 2.0 data transfer technology. It allows you to transmit information much faster, but requires more current. Unfortunately, this technology has been adopted rather sluggishly. Only three years later, the mentioned standard began to be widely applied to computers. The turn of mobile devices came quite recently. Therefore, there are still few devices compatible with the third USB standard. Of course, there are also OTG USB 3.0 cables, but they are not so easy to find. Naturally, if possible, it is advisable to choose this particular wired communication standard, and this also applies to simple computers. USB 2.0 will sooner or later go out of use, just like laser discs, it's only a matter of time. Let’s just make a reservation that you shouldn’t get hung up on this point. Choose gadgets with USB 3.0, despite the fact that they are much more expensive than the alternative version. But! For this feature you can pay at most 500 rubles, but if you pay more for a function, feel free to choose something else, because the above-mentioned standards are completely compatible with each other and differ only in the speed of information transfer.
Sony Xperia ZL
The differences between this modification and the previous one are minimal and rather strange. The case has lost protection according to the IP57 standard. For some reason, an infrared port appeared and a TV output was added. At the same time, the gyroscope and proximity sensor are removed. But in terms of LTE support, the smartphone is today the leader. It operates in eight LTE bands - from 700 to 2600 MHz.
In the video below, a gamepad was connected to the Sony Xperia ZL. Playing Dead Trigger has become much more convenient.
The battery is almost the same - non-removable, with a capacity of 2370 mAh. As in the previous model, the Android 4.1 operating system is installed.
Cable
You can't just use a normal USB cable. As these devices can act as both a USB “slave” device (for instance so that you can plug them into a PC and copy music onto your phone, or copy pictures off the phone) and a USB “host” (for example so that you can plug a USB memory stick into your tablet and copy files on or off it) they need some way to tell which they should act as at a given time.
A USB OTG (USB On-The-Go) cable is what is used to tell your device to act as a host, this is like a normal USB cable but it has one of the internal pins connected to Ground at one end to let that device know that it should act as the host (technically pins 4 & 5 are shorted to ground in an OTG cable).
Additionally, as most phones have micro-USB sockets, but most USB dongles have “full-size” USB plugs, as below many OTG cables have a male micro-B USB plug at one end, and a female USB-A plug at the other to convert between the different sized connectors.
The Motorola Camera Connection kit, which is a USB OTG cable
USB OTG cables can be bought fairly cheaply on places like eBay or the Amazon marketplace, as well as many small electronics shops. You may also find that your device's manufacturer sells an official, branded one, often called something like a “Camera Connection Kit” or “USB Memory Stick Connection Cable”. If you're brave you can also find various tutorials on the web on how to make your own OTG cable from a standard USB cable.
Samsung Galaxy S4
The flagship among Samsung smartphones running the latest version of Android 4.2. Equipped with a five-inch Super AMOLED screen with FullHD resolution and an impressive pixel density of 441 per inch. The smartphone is equipped with an eight-core Samsung Exynos 5410 processor, a powerful PowerVR SGX544MP3 graphics accelerator and 2 GB of RAM. The fly in the ointment: with such filling, the battery capacity is still less than that of the Note II - 2600 mAh.
The following video demonstrates that the current strength of the smartphone’s USB port is even enough to power external hard drives. The user was unable to see its contents. Probably due to driver issues or an unsupported file system. The connection of a keyboard with a trackball and more familiar devices is also shown.
The division of flash memory capacity is similar to previous models - 16 and 32 GB. Recently a new modification with 64 GB of internal memory appeared.
