Micro USB sync cable - Nexus One General

As you would expect, the micro usb cable that came with my N1 it bullet proof and works with my Win7 PC all the time.
However I bought several cheap retractable versions off ebay. They are convenient to carry around. Sometimes they work just fine for data. Other times they require a reboot of the PC to work. rebooting the N1 makes no difference.
Sometimes two apparently identical ebay cables behave differently. One works and yet when I swap it with a second one, it is reported as an unidentified device with a problem installing device driver. Reboot always fixes it though.
Does this mean a USB sync cable is more than just 4 wires connecting two devices?
Why wouldn't my PC see all my micro USB sync cables as one and the same regardless of one being a cheap retractable and the other being a HTC one?
If it is just because the cable itself is cheap and nasty why does rebooting fix it

I believe cheap usb cables just have problems with connectors, and possibly thin wires. Nothing more than 4 wires, and maybe shield...
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its possible the wires have bad connectivity, or the soldering job between the wires and the pins are badly done

A reboot of the PC? That seems really crazy and it's hard to believe the cable is at fault. Unless the driver has a bug in it that bad data transfer can trigger.
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Thanks for the replies. It really is strange how it is so hit an miss. I am leaning towards the micro USB connector contacts. 100% of the time it will charge. But the USB connectivity is hit an miss. The "PC reboot to fix now appears" to have been coincidental and is no longer a guaranteed fix. Will just use it as a power lead from now on. Not worth tearing my hair out over it. Thanks...

Related

Simple question that any hermes user can answer

Is your usb cable a little loose when plugged in to your hermes?
The original cable that came with it: no, it's fixed. But i have a usb => mini usb cable and that one is a little loose. It also sometimes drops connection, so i only use the original to flash.
that explains why i'm having problem connecting to my pc. I hope I get this on warranty.
go buy yourself a good quality usb to mini usb cable. I was having problems with a cheap one falling out (lost the original) so I picked up a more expensive high quality cable and no longer have those issues.
Could also be that the connector is #$%^ed up. IF you still have warranty, no reason to hold back.
usb cables
That's interesting. I've just had my Vario II replaced by T-Mobile thinking it was the port on the body. Having tried 3 different cables (including a brand new one that came with my camera), including the original, all dropping connections, never any problem charging it though.
Replacement started off OK, but now seems to have same problem. Another repalcement is underway, but before I do put it in the jiffy bag, any suggestions where to get a High quality cable, as you suggested? I've ordered a desk cradle, but I expect that might make accessing the device a bit awkward.
And the cable does wobble about a bit in the port. Hmmmmm....
Ta
Mike

Is the HD extremely picky on USB connections?

I have used several WM phones before this, the two last were Atom and Atom Life. But this phone does not want to play ball with the USB extension cables I've been using all the time. First: No, the cables are all right: I can still sync my Atom Life without any problems. And I have used the original USB cable for the HD that comes with the box at the end (even though I've heard that syncing works just as well with a regular mini USB).
But neither a 3 m long extension cable (which is well below the 5 m USB limit) nor plugging it into a USB hub helps. Sometimes I can get a bit further with unticking the "advanced network" part of the USB to PC connection. But not allways. Has anybody here found a solution to that or even had the same problem?
Mine works fine on a Belkin 5 metre extension cable.
I can only sync with the cable that came with the phone. Other mini USB cables (ones that fit but are a different shape) only charge.
barryfell said:
I can only sync with the cable that came with the phone. Other mini USB cables (ones that fit but are a different shape) only charge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
r u serious?! damn..!!! i've never tried it with the HD. my touch pro used to work perfectly with non-factory mini usb cable...
This happened to my HD.
Phone call to orange later and they insisted on replacing it under insurance.
All they wanted to check was whether the HD and PC would sync. I told them no and the response from the script that they have to work through, was that the phone is marked as "broke" and needs replacing.
In my case I suspect that the USB port may have been damaged when the car charger cable was pulled out accidently in the car with some force. Seems that they are a little delicate, especially with none HTC cables (i.e. without the odd shaped plug with only one corner truncated). I have read that non HTC ones fit a little less snug and can put stress on the board inside the phone when plugging / unplugging.
nickallison said:
Seems that they are a little delicate, especially with none HTC cables (i.e. without the odd shaped plug with only one corner truncated). I have read that non HTC ones fit a little less snug and can put stress on the board inside the phone when plugging / unplugging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You hit that on the money. I see it as a design flaw as well as a scheme to get people to buy HTC-specific accessories. But you are right, generic cables with the different connector do fit loosely and can cause issues after time if you are not gentle with it. Also, the USB connector itself on the device and internally on the solder points is poorly designed. This doesn't help.
I can sync with any cable, but it seems to be to problems:
1. If the extension is too long, it will fail.
2. If it's run by more than one USB hub it will fail. The first hub is a Toshiba docking station with a one meter cable from the laptop. The second is a D-Link powered USB hub. No matter what cable I use then it won't sync. With the cable connected to the Toshiba docking I can sync both with a regular mini USB and the original cable. Strange thing is that it only works on one of the two the front USB connections and not on one of the four at the rear! Then again Windows isn't supposed to be logical, I guess...
Normal miniusb cable works perfectly for either charging and syncing.
I even had a 7m usb cable (5m and a 2m usb extending cable), worked perfectly for either charging and syncing (I need my phone to be next to my bed, and my PC is like a few meters away from my bed).
Seriously don't know how your HD refuses to work with a cable other than the stock HD USB cable.
Hi,
are you using a custom ROM?
i used all sorts of cables, whatever happens to be lying around, infact i never use the stock one, as this is plugged it at a very inaccesable wall socket for mains charging!
generally my cables go through a hub, and then a 1m extension.
the reason i ask about the ROM is that i have flashed loads of different ROMS, and all worked fine, except one ROM (think it was topix 2.6), where it would only connect for a brief moment before auto-disconnecting. i suspect it was a 'bad flash' as they say, and so if you are using a custom ROM would suggest a re-flash. if not, you could consider a hard reset, or trying a different ROM (perhaps if it the stock ROM it has a 'bad flash' at the factory)
Tom
This thread has been hijacked (I never asked about regular mini USB versus the proprietary HTC version), but if you're asking me, I'm using the latest official HTC version (Norwegian).
mine is not picky at all...
Thank god, I checked with a mini usb that came with my external HDD and it worked perfectly...
I tried 3 other cables and none of them work apart from to charge.
I'll see if it's an issue with using my hub.
barryfell said:
I tried 3 other cables and none of them work apart from to charge.
I'll see if it's an issue with using my hub.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried updating usb drivers?
Fallen Spartan said:
Have you tried updating usb drivers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No i'll try that when I get home.
Thanks
I have this issue with a specific cable on vista64, the phone only charges, but if I connect it to a Ubuntu box, I can sync, share network etc.
I think M$ is the issue in that case.

Micro USB Cable?

Does *any* Micro USB cable work with the Nexus One?
Like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/BlackBerry-Cable-Micro-1-0m-Black/dp/B001QATRCA/
The G1 USB cable I currently use was the same price as the above, but it was actually branded as a "G1" cable.
Anyone know for sure?
yes, any micro USB cable. Heres a breakdown:
If your phone has an extUSB port, any extUSB cable or miniUSB cable will work.
If your phone has a miniUSB port, any miniUSB cable will work, extUSB would work but it cannot physically fit into a miniUSB port.
If your phone has a microUSB port, any microUSB cable will work, but no miniUSB or extUSB will work.
extUSB is HTC's semi-proprietary USB port which is simply miniUSB with an audio connector and unique socket shape.
All USB ports and cables of the same form factor have the same pinout.
MicroUSB has replaced MiniUSB and all new released portable devices will have microUSB most likely.
Xperia X10 miniPro connections?
Hi Folks - This is my first post and still getting used to how this board works, so please be patient with me!
I've got a similar problem regarding miniUSB leads... I've recently bought a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 miniPro... It charges via the USB port but the connector is not standard!
I'm wondering if anyone knows the pin-out of the socket and also where leads with such a connector can be purchased online?
Thanks for any help!
`
And you thought asking Nexus One owners would be a good idea?
Try a Sony section, someone there is bound to know.
All microusb cables are not the same I found this out recently.
I bought a microusb "blackberry" that fit into my nexus one no problem but when I tried to use it to transfer files; windows would act like it didn't know what device it was.
Now i'm currently using a kodak microusb that will allow windows to know its the nexus one and I can I mount my phone but everything is copy write protected.
So when I get home I have to go back to my old beat up cord that wont stay in my phone until I find a suitable replacement that will let me mount and access the files.
I bought some blackberry microusb cables on Amazon for a penny back in March (yes, 1 penny each!). They work perfectly for everything. I guess somehow wondercoolguy managed to find cables that were even cheaper then mine
pfmiller said:
I bought some blackberry microusb cables on Amazon for a penny back in March (yes, 1 penny each!). They work perfectly for everything. I guess somehow wondercoolguy managed to find cables that were even cheaper then mine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This BB wire fits the nexus like a glove but hates transferring information. Yes I got my wire for 1.00 from a mertine if I remember correctly....I hate that place
Afaik any micro usb cable will work. Micro usb is the new standard.
I haven't seen any charging-only cables but that is a possibility.
http://m.gizmodo.com/5389063/united-nations-approves-microusb-universal-phone-charger-standard
I have been using micro-usb cable for my external disk, Nexus/GalaxyS and my previously own Nokia N97. No problem for charging, transfer files or tethering. I even use old N97 charger (micro-usb connection) on Nexus One before. None of these had any problem.
Micro-USB is a standard connection, there shouldn't be a problem. If there is, it could be due to the system mainboard or mainboard's USB port itself. Try not to connect too many devices through a USB-hub that link up from a USB port of the system. If you really need connect it via a USB-hub, get those hub has a dedicated power adapter.
Just buy any cheap cable, it will work. I also bought two official HTC chargers for my phone as well as some random USB to microUSB cables. All work fine, just as do the cables from my Nokia phones, cameras and cables I found under my girlfriend's bed lol
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I dont know if anything I said was taken to heart please disregard it because I found out that my work disabled the flash drives to read only. It's not the cables fault all my cables work at home sorry

Usb host on dell streak

Looks like the streak might have usb host... if you look in the sdcard settings it has the option to unmount ums (usb mass storage) devices and the option to format them.
Im on the 8105 2.1 o2 rom on a us att dell streak.
Ill make a cable soon to test but was wondering if anyone else tried th already
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
If the option can be found in 1.6, I may already have the hardware to test it.
This would be a beautiful thing!
I just so happened to have the correct hardware on hand to try this so I gave it a go, looks like it does! I'm actually typing this message with a USB keyboard- I can't get it to mount a USB drive yet, but I intend to brush up on my Linux commands and syntax tomorrow and try again- if I can get it to mount external storage, all of my dreams have officially come true (minus the Froyo, that is).
Edit: I'm on the MoDaCo custom ROM r2, 2.1 build 8105, for those interested.
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Hey there, real interested in what you did to mod your cable to handle this. Was it a matter of tying the OTG pin to ground?
Did the streak supply power over usb? Many android devices cant, but I believe given the right cable mod the streak can.
I didn't have to do any mods on mine, I have the home dock (which converts the Streak's port to miniUSB) and a dongle that has male miniUSB on one end and female standard USB on the other. Streak on the dock, dongle in the back of the dock, and keyboard into the dongle.
I don't know if it supplied power or not, what would be the best way to check? Multimeter across the power/gnd should give 5V regardless of if it's powered, do I need to check the amperage as well? I was thinking I might just try firing up the ol' G1 and plugging it in, to see if it charges.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
A good test would be to not have the dock plugged in to any power source. Dock your Streak, then use your adaptor with USB keyboard. Does it work? if so, the power is being supplied by the Streak.
If not, it doesn't prove that there is no way to get powered USB host out of the Streak, it would just show that it may require different connections (a modded cable or dock).
Then yes, it supplies power, my dock was unplugged the whole time. Rejoice! I foresee emulators with a USB gamepad in my near future...
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That's great to hear! Game controller for EMU's is what I'm looking to do with it as well
Funny though, I tried the same with a gender changer a week or so ago and it didn't work for me. I think the difference must be that the cable you're plugging in to the dock must ground the OTG pin.
Unfortunately that probably means I'd either have to get a dock, or dissect and solder my USB cable to get the same.
Glad to see it works as i suspected. now all we need is some to make it mirror the display over the hdmi out
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Ah, I wondered what that meant. I have the home dock and saw Win7 did something funny... it's all a bit beyond my abilities so I look forward to someone doing interesting things with it
how can we make a usb cable with "usb host" feature ?
mrmrmrmr said:
how can we make a usb cable with "usb host" feature ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EiHter using the media dock with a male mini usb to female usb adapter, or i think using the standard usb cable with a female to female adapter placed on the end should work too.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
keatonreckard said:
EiHter using the media dock with a male mini usb to female usb adapter, or i think using the standard usb cable with a female to female adapter placed on the end should work too.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I don't think a female to female adaptor alone will do the trick with the Streak USB Cable. I have one here, and it's not working.
I believe the reason is the USB OTG pin needs to be grounded to identify that we are in USB OTG mode (pin 4 as identified here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDMI).
I think the reason it's working with the dock for that person is because the dock exposes that pin at the mini B port and the cable adaptor he's using is an OTG cable that grounds the pin.
I haven't tried modding my cable for this yet, but will soon. My soldering iron is in storage right now unfortunately.
Ok; I understand that we have to connect OTG pin (no 4 on PDMI) to GND (no 2 on PDMI)
Is that correct ?
Is there a way to do it on the other end (not the PDMI side but USB side) ?
Because I don't want to break my only Dell Streak data cable...
Unfortunately, no. only 4 wires run through the cable and are exposed at the other end. You would need a 5th (the USB ID, aka OTG lead).
So I just finished creating my own modded cable and it is working great.
I've attached pictures of the build here. I found that this only works in Android 2.1 (8150 build for me, may work with other 2.1 builds). 1.6 seems like it doesn't have the drivers for this.
DISCLAIMER: If you try to duplicate what I did here, you're taking the risk of damaging your cable beyond repair, and if you do something incorrectly and plug the cable in to your Streak, there is a definite possibility you will damage your streak permanently. So anything you do, do so carefully and at your own risk!
I will say this; this cable is HARD to de-shield! It has metal shield all around the parts we need to get to, and I had to cut with metal clippers and desolder parts of it to get the shielding off. Not pretty, and pretty risky for damaging the cable. I would advise you buy an extra cable before trying this. I didn't have an extra, but I was really risking not being able to charge my device or something if I broke my cable.
After removing the shielding you can see that there is a small PCB with traces marked 1 3 on the left, and then 2 5 on the right. These correspond to the PDMI specification at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDMI .
For my build, I chose to solder a switch to bridge the OTG pin 4 to GND pin 2. This way, my cable can still be used as a normal USB cable as well. In one image I have flipped the opened PDMI connector over and you can see an orange wire I have soldered on to pin4. (One side of the PDMI connector has ODD pins, like 1,3,5,7... the other side has EVEN 2,4,6,8...). Pin 2 is the first pin on the right on the EVEN side, and pin 4 is the second.
As was stated in earlier posts, you can use a female to female gender changer for the other end of the USB cable, rather than soldering on your own connector or something.
Note that having the cable in OTG mode when plugging your streak in to your computer or power adapter over USB could damage something because OTG mode will start outputting power over the same pins that it's usually inputting from!!!
0TheRain0,
This is great !
Thanks for sharing your findings.
I sent you a PM; please check it when you have time...
When I built my Dell Streak Mini USB adapter, I brought out PDMI pin 4 to the OTG pin on the Mini USB.
I tried it with 2 different cheap Mini USB to Standard USB ("A") female adapters, and tried several devices including a Apple Mini Keyboard/Hub, and USB Flash drives.
I also tried the same components on the Dell Home Dock.
They did not work, but I suspect that the Mini USB to Standard USB female adapters do not short the OTG pin to ground.
What we need is some that do. Then it would be plug and play at least for dock owners.
Edit:
These claim to enable USB host mode when Connected to a N800:
http://www.electronicproductonline.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2043
Therefore Should require no modification to use with the dock, as long as the dock brings out pin 4, which as far as I remember, my testing said it did.
This thread is currently of great interest. Should it, in theory, be possible to hook up my Canon digi SLRs as mass storage devices then?
Sometimes being able to get the image onto a bigger screen has it's benefits. The Streak's screen is actually very well calibrated as well, compared to my hardware calibrated monitor!
In the ideal world i'd be able to tether and shoot using the streak (like I can with my laptop) but I'm realistic and know that's not likely to happen!
What I DON'T get is why Dell have put in USB host functionality without implementing it in the lead?
Well, I was going to hold off on cutting up a cable to try something, but I just had a cable go through the washer and dryer... and it was looking pretty bad and actually cut through the jacket and shielding on the wire... so I cut off the PDMI lead and about 3" of cable (right before the break).
Inside the jacket are 4 wires. Black, White, Green, Red. Obviously they correspond to the USB 2.0 spec... so I guess in some way, VDC, Ground, Data+, Data-... but no OTG wire.
Would anyone that opened up the connector know how these wire colors correspond?
What I really want is for my 80GB iPod to have it's music available to the Streak in my car, so here's what I was planning:
1) Cut up the Dell PDMI cable (done).
2) Cut up an old iPod to Firewire cable I have laying around
3) Splice VDC+ and Ground on the iPod and PDMI to the corresponding VDC+/Ground USB end of the original Dell Cable. This will plug into a 12V->USB Adapter (probably the Dell one) to power and charge both devices.
4) Splice the corresponding PDMI and iPod data transfer wires.
5) Ground OTG on Streak side and add a micro switch, like TheRain did...
I can then wrap this up in some custom cable thing shround thing that I'll figure out.
Little bit of research led me to the micro-AB receptacle that basically determines if a device is acting as a host or slave. So, I would say the preferred way to do this, instead of wiring in a switch, would be to find a receptacle and hack into it... so here's one you can get cheap:
http://www.retractablecables.com/US...ro_AB_Female_Adapter_for_USB_OTG_Devices.html
This should be able to wire up something that basically puts the device into OTG mode when you connect a micro-A cable to the device, and a slave device when you connect a micro-B cable.
So solder/wire that up.. connect the Streak with a micro-A cable to a powered USB hub, connect the peripherals to the hub, and you should be good to go without a micro switch.
On an edit note, I also found a bare micro-AB female that you can buy... but it's more expensive than the previous adapter, so uh I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend tearing the adapter apart.
http://ntcdistributing.com/products/usb-connectors.htm

Tablet micro USB issue possibly

Hello recently I notice that when I plug the tablet in to my computer or through otg USB for data transfer it doesn't connect. However when I plug it in to for power to charge not charge s no problem. I fix it before thougt it was the electrical tape input over the speakers for good contact since I was having connection issue there. Any help would be great.
ave you tried using another micro usb cable? I have troubles to connect my N7 to pc with original cable but it works for charging fine aswell. I just use my phone cable to transfer files.
I have two other cables and they all do the same as well. Even when use otg with a USB it doesn't light up or shows up as working. Can anyone help me to were it may it the issue inside the tablet. Maybe a loose ground or somewhere. Just need the area where it may be the issue. Also maybe a website or eBay user you have used to replace the charging port with 3.5 mm audio jack since . preferably on eBay. Hope someone can help me out there.
There aren't many things that can go wrong. In the 2012 N7 (and many other devices) there are basically three possibilities:
- the USB cables (if you got multiple cheap cables, you may have multiple bad cables - I got two Monoprice cables a few years ago and they lost their snug fit within a year, they still work but I need to let the cord hang off the side of a table if I do not want the data or power connection to break. The original cable still works perfectly in any orientation)
- the USB port on the device (could be from wear or pulling/angling/torquing whatever is plugged in the USB port. You could theoretically buy an identical USB connector and replace the connector only, which is what people do with the 2013 N7 since the USB/power board assembly can cost over $100 to replace)
- the USB/audio ribbon cable being loose or broken, most likely at the motherboard connector for the 2012 model. If you want to replace that, the 2012's flex cable is relatively cheap at around $15
USB Port
I have replaced the USB port on my 2012 three times so far. They just seem to wear out, and this is without excessive use or abuse. I maybe should start buying them in bulk. They are only $* on Amazon.

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