I had read in some other random forum that if you have rooted your Nexus 7, which I have, and run app "StickMount" you can connect a usb thumb drive to the nexus and give yourself more space, even install apps to the USB drive to run from. I am wondering (and am going to test it out later this evening) if anyone has tried connecting a USB hub, so that you can have say 4 ports to add different drives or game controllers/whatever else and android will recognize the different devices?
As a realist, I'm just hoping the single USB stick connection will actually work as a storage expansion area, as we all know there is no micro SD slot. I actually have an old college friend I keep in touch with who works on the Nexus development team, who had no good answer as to why micro SD was removed, as well as the ability on devices with a micro SD no longer allow the installation of apps to the sd card. I was pretty convinced it was simply because the OEMs decided to name their internal memory /mnt/sdcard which used to be the external card's mount point name, but I'm told it is more complicated than that. Am I the only one that really feels like no apps to the SD in ICS or jellybean, is quite a downgrade? I understand we can use the "cloud" now ... but that's simply not the same, and surely not as fast as a local drive (maybe?) I then proceeded to yell at him to not let the group of stupid consumers influence the great features that the half-brained+ consumers know how to properly use, to no avail. Using the micro to full USB port to mount a thumb drive seemed to be the best way to add more storage locally. Thoughts? Thanks
- Herby
- Real-time embedded software developer going on 12 years, working in the satcom, medical device, aircraft display, and aerospace domains
NM - Just found app "USB Host controller" which does exactly what I asked Yayyyy!!
There are actually a whole slew of these that are even free, most require root however, which I recommend using the program with GUI interface developed specifically to unlock the bootloader, and then root the nexus 7. I think it was called Root_Toolbox or something like that. I am not at home or I would report back the official name. If anyone wants it just let me know. Thank you!
Herby6262 said:
I had read in some other random forum that if you have rooted your Nexus 7, which I have, and run app "StickMount" you can connect a usb thumb drive to the nexus and give yourself more space, even install apps to the USB drive to run from. I am wondering (and am going to test it out later this evening) if anyone has tried connecting a USB hub, so that you can have say 4 ports to add different drives or game controllers/whatever else and android will recognize the different devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A hub works great. I've had 3 flash sticks mounted at once along with a mouse and everything has worked without a hitch.
The caveat here is to ensure you're not pulling too much current - the OTG max current source spec is alot less than the 500mA a normal USB PC host port is able to source.
Related
Hello all
Just bought one of these off the net for the missus so ill be active around these threads as well. Personally i have a xoom this will be like my second to flash the heck out of lol but as I've been reading about these i have a couple small questions
1. Is the sd card working on stock rom so i can flash customs or will an update to 3.1 be required like the xoom?
2. Does the usb port work as host out of the box?
3. Whats the general stable oc you guys are achieving?
I have tried to search these but some are hazy on the specs or they are outdated
Cheers
Sent from my mind control device
joshndroid said:
Hello all
Just bought one of these off the net for the missus so ill be active around these threads as well. Personally i have a xoom this will be like my second to flash the heck out of lol but as I've been reading about these i have a couple small questions
1. Is the sd card working on stock rom so i can flash customs or will an update to 3.1 be required like the xoom?
2. Does the usb port work as host out of the box?
3. Whats the general stable oc you guys are achieving?
I have tried to search these but some are hazy on the specs or they are outdated
Cheers
Sent from my mind control device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fastest claimed speed is 1.64ghz, stable closer to 1.5.
SD card does work on stock, actually is required for flashing. As yet you can't flash from on board only external.
USB seems to work for some devices not others depending on whether you use the full size USB or the mini. Look on the market for USB mount all, you do need fat32 not ntfs though
Anyone want to contradict any of this?
Cheers mate thats good to hear except for the host feature thats the whole point hoppwfulky i get a good one
Sent from my mind control device
Yes USB host [the fullsize USB not the mini] works out of the box. If your USB device requires power though - like some external HDD's - it may not work as there might not be enough power draw.
The mini USB is for the connection to your computer and SDK/ADB/general File transfer use - along side the Acer USB driver install [so make sure you've got the Acer USB driver installed on the computer(s) you plan on using to push files to the tab though mini-USB].
gammaRascal said:
Yes USB host [the fullsize USB not the mini] works out of the box. If your USB device requires power though - like some external HDD's - it may not work as there might not be enough power draw.
The mini USB is for the connection to your computer and SDK/ADB/general File transfer use - along side the Acer USB driver install [so make sure you've got the Acer USB driver installed on the computer(s) you plan on using to push files to the tab though mini-USB].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh as i said im well advised due my xoom on rooting and android adb, drivers (not being a know it all smart azz) just those couple q got me thinking.. Thanks for a second opinion seems very similar to xoom. Shame how host cant produce 5v at 500ma it wouldnt be to hard for them to up the lousy 3.7v it seems they are running now
Sent from my mind control device
eglathangion said:
Fastest claimed speed is 1.64ghz, stable closer to 1.5.
SD card does work on stock, actually is required for flashing. As yet you can't flash from on board only external.
USB seems to work for some devices not others depending on whether you use the full size USB or the mini. Look on the market for USB mount all, you do need fat32 not ntfs though
Anyone want to contradict any of this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use internal for flashing if you're using thors latest recovery.
sent through a series of pipes and tubes
I have a Nexus 7 16G and right now I have attached a flash drive to the unit. From reading everything, it says I can use Es FileExplorer and get to /sdcard/usbStorage/sda1 - however, I cannot get to this folder. When I click on the /sdcard/ - I get clear history.
I tried using my Bluetooth keyboard to type, but that did not work.
Everything I have read speaking about rooting the device, which I do not want to do. How can I get to this folder?
I did get the Media Importer but that did not seem to work. I think it was because of too many connections. I found an article PSA: Amazon Has A USB OTG Cable For Less Than A Dollar With Free Shipping, So You Should Probably Buy It, which is a lot better that what I have.
But will the Nexus 7 support 64GB or 32GB? I called support and they said they did not know of a memory limitation.
Thank you!
Corey Bryant said:
I have a Nexus 7 16G and right now I have attached a flash drive to the unit. From reading everything, it says I can use Es FileExplorer and get to /sdcard/usbStorage/sda1 - however, I cannot get to this folder. When I click on the /sdcard/ - I get clear history.
I tried using my Bluetooth keyboard to type, but that did not work.
Everything I have read speaking about rooting the device, which I do not want to do. How can I get to this folder?
I did get the Media Importer but that did not seem to work. I think it was because of too many connections. I found an article PSA: Amazon Has A USB OTG Cable For Less Than A Dollar With Free Shipping, So You Should Probably Buy It, which is a lot better that what I have.
But will the Nexus 7 support 64GB or 32GB? I called support and they said they did not know of a memory limitation.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N7 supports even hub (with external power source if you connect power-hungry devices)!
you can connect keyboards and mouses with no root but you have to root and install stickmount (from the play store) to manage external drives (hdd, flash drives, etc.). With stock kernel fat32 is supported as r/w, ntfs only read. You need to flash a custom kernel to get ntfs r/w support.
With no root, there's no way. Sorry.
Hm, I get different answers.
arkhan11 said:
N7 supports even hub (with external power source if you connect power-hungry devices)!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say hub, can you let me know exactly what you might mean? I think I know, but I would like to be sure. I would like to stop buying things and have them not work.
Example - I connected a non-powered, 4-port Belkin USB hub to the Nexus using the OTG cable. I plugged a thumb drive and a wireless mouse receiver into the hub and was able to simultaneously use both the mouse and the thumb drive (using Nexus Media Importer).
Dave
edit - I am not rooted.
OK, that is what I thought. So I do need that OTG cable and no need to root it.
Some say the OTG cables work with downloading media importer, others say you need to root to play large files.
I will know in a couple days.
Least I didn't waste money as Google play gave me 25 free bucks.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
reply
sorry, I didn't know about Nexus Media Importer.
Anyway the root access allow you to mount the drive as internal memory so you can play with ALL files in the thumb. Through Nexus Media Importer you play via MTP which doesn't allow some kind of files (eg. mkv) which with proper players (eg. mx player) the Nexus can handle. Read the description of that app for further details.
About usb powered hub
basically sth like this. It's needed just if you attach many things or an HDD. it would be good to use it always with more than one peripheral not to load the battery as it's not designed to discharge heavily this way.
About not working things
what did you buy which doesn't work?
Hi
Can I play movies on PC from nexus 4 while it's connected with USB cable like it was a regular flash drive?
When I try doing it the file is being downloaded first then plays. If the file is big it takes a lot of time.
I'm using windows 8.
Better copy the film to your pc first. I got the same problem but dont think this is os related. Just a bad read speed, worse than actually usb 2.0.
The speed is onpair with usb 2.0, still copying the whole movie to some unknown place instead of direct play is unnecessary and waste of time.
My previous phone had an sdcard which appeared as hard drive when connected to PC, but N4 appears as portable device. This sucks
That's because the Nexus 4 doesn't support USB On The Go. Search xda for "Nexus 4 OTG" and you'll come across some threads about this, and a couple of workarounds that might, or might not work for you :fingers-crossed:.
Hey there
I wasn't looking for USB OTG, which is a way to connect external drives to the device. I'm looking for a way to use N4 itself as a regular external drive while connected to PC. Currently it's seen by PC as a portable device and it's pretty limited.
abbba said:
Hey there
I wasn't looking for USB OTG, which is a way to connect external drives to the device. I'm looking for a way to use N4 itself as a regular external drive while connected to PC. Currently it's seen by PC as a portable device and it's pretty limited.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would assume increasing the SD read-ahead (if you're on a custom kernel) might help with your issue here. But as someone else previously mentioned, copying to PC is definitely the better option. That, or just enjoy the movie on your Nexus4
Dear N10 Community,
I have been looking around for a good 10 inch Android tablet and have more or less decided on the N10 over the Pipo M8 Pro and the 10 inch offers from Samsung.
However, the lack of microsd expansion bothers me and I wonder if you gentlemen and gentleladies might be able to help.
I intend to use the N10 for work as well as pleasure. At the moment, I carry all my files with me on a USB hub with 4 x 32Gb Sandisk Cruzer Fits attached.
I would like to access the files, both reading and writing, on these Cruzer Fits via OTG. For example I receive a file from my boss and I download it to edit. I would like to be able to save the file directly onto one of the Cruzer Fits and edit the file directly from there. Basically I want to bypass the N10 storage altogether (reserving that space for personal entertainment).
Would any of you be able to shed light on whether that is possible? And what I would need to do to make it happen? E. G. Root the N10, buy a particular app or something?
Best regards and merry Christmas
Jake.
You need a OTG adaptor, only a few quid off E-Bay, then an app to let you read/write to the USB. I bought this one https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.homeysoft.nexususb.importer&hl=en and it does the job fine (doesn't require root)
Of course if you know you'll have access to wi-fi you can use Dropbox, Google Drive or Box which all have apps and it negates the need for the USB.
I use the same paid app too, and Stickmount which is free.
Thanks guys! I'll give it a shot!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
quojake said:
Dear N10 Community,
I intend to use the N10 for work as well as pleasure. At the moment, I carry all my files with me on a USB hub with 4 x 32Gb Sandisk Cruzer Fits attached.
I would like to access the files, both reading and writing, on these Cruzer Fits via OTG. For example I receive a file from my boss and I download it to edit. I would like to be able to save the file directly onto one of the Cruzer Fits and edit the file directly from there. Basically I want to bypass the N10 storage altogether (reserving that space for personal entertainment).
Would any of you be able to shed light on whether that is possible? And what I would need to do to make it happen? E. G. Root the N10, buy a particular app or something?
Best regards and merry Christmas
Jake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to root the N10. Most corporate use policies ban rooting meaning you're going to get frowned at, or must keep the fact you rooted it a secret (noone can really tell unless they look). Then install Stickmount (it needs root). The USB sticks are probably FAT32 formatted so will work, but if they happen to be formatted say NTFS then you'll need to follow the instructions for the app to copy ntfs-3g to /sdcard.
You sound like you want read-only which the above will do, if you want to copy files TO the USB stick from the N10 if its NTFS then you need SELinux Mode Changer app.
You said you want to watch films on the USB and NOT copy to the N10 but that means you are powering the stick from the N10 and accelerating battery drain. Even if you got the Pogo cable, it won't actually be taking in any charge when the USB is being used for Stickmount. Also, on my N10, I use a USB NTFS harddrive, and it doesn't stay working long enough to watch stuff, so I copy files off and watch locally, it needs only then work for a couple of minutes which is does perfectly ok. So I'd encourage you to think of temporarily connecting and copying files and deleting rather than watching it off the stick.
If there is another device able to share the same Wifi then you can also connect storage to that other device and stream via CIFS mount share or http, e.g. connect USB storage to a Rasberry PI and run Apache on it and link /var/www/something to the usb mount (/mnt/something). I guess that sounds scary if you're not a geek. I have such and 1TB drive connected to it as my primary datastore for media when at home.
Speed, I get about 2MB/s Wifi CIFS copy, 4MB/s Wifi FTP copy and 7MB Wifi http copy and about 21MB/s copying off USB harddrive so a typical HD film is about 1GB/hour, so 1.5GB copy off USB is say 71 seconds to copy or over http copy is 214s.
Best media play is MX Player, having tried them all. Oh and if you root you can install Adaway to block MX Player's ads when you pause.
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if we can connect multiple external HDD. I read that the shield tv can only recognize one connected at once?
I tried with xplore to connect 2 external HDD and it doesn't show my 2 HDD , only the last one connected. :/
Am i missing something?
Thank you.
As far as I know the Shield should be able to recognize multiple external drives (they are named and tagged uniquely). For curiosity sake; Are you using the 2017 version? Rooted? Are they both attached directly to the Shield or are you using a (powered) USB hub?
Radnu said:
As far as I know the Shield should be able to recognize multiple external drives (they are named and tagged uniquely). For curiosity sake; Are you using the 2017 version? Rooted? Are they both attached directly to the Shield or are you using a (powered) USB hub?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your answer !
Yes i'm using the 2017 pro version non rooted and both HDD are directly plugged into the shield (no hub) .
Do you use an other file manager to see two external drives connected at the same time? both HDDs work well with Xplore but only when one is connected.
Platinum1986 said:
Thanks for your answer !
Yes i'm using the 2017 pro version non rooted and both HDD are directly plugged into the shield (no hub) .
Do you use an other file manager to see two external drives connected at the same time? both HDDs work well with Xplore but only when one is connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like I have to get back at my previous statement. Turns out that what I thought was general Android-practice is actually a feature of the roms I use (on other devices). On top of that I guess my own current situation is slightly different than yours; while I do have both a thumbdrive and a HDD attached I have adopted the thumbdrive, so it's not counted as an external drive. If I open Xplore I can therefore see both loaded.
Since I feel a bit like an arse I did some digging to see if there is anything you could do to hook up both drives. Turns out there's more people that have run into this here including a very descriptive solution should you have 2 identical HDD's. Otherwise, below a list of possible solutions;
If you are rooted, or willing to do so.
There is an app called "StickMount" by Chainfire which basically allows you to hook up multiple external drives and even symlink them. The catch is; I am not able to test this since myself I'm not willing to root my Shield 2017 just yet.
If you aren't rooted.
There are a few things you could do.
1] The solution I went for myself; buy one big USB 3.0 drive (I went for a 5TB one) and transfer all your stuff.
2] You could choose to adopt one of the drives as internal storage. There are some glaring downsides to this though; you can no longer attach that drive to other devices, it will at first wipe the drive and if its not a fast HDD it is going to lag your Shield down. Also, since your Pro already *is* 500GB and you would basically swap that space for one of your HDDs you'd have to consider whether or not it is worth the effort.
3] A somewhat farfetched solution; should you happen to have a modem that supports hosting a HDD as as NAS, you could use that to hook it up remotely. It's not as fast, but technically it is a solution.