USB-OTG cable is having issues - Nexus 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Edit: problem solved. Word of advice to those having an issue with their cable, it most likely is missed wired
Advice to those looking for an otg cable or an otg cable solution, don't go for the super cheap ones, their wiring matches their price.
I am attempting to get an OTG cable (two actually) that I recently purchased to work but I'm having some issues.
I tried installing the USB-OTG Diagnostic tool to help figure out the issue. My N7 currently is running the Linaro _Motley Kerenel on a stock kernel that has been rooted and deodexed.
When I plug in the first cable that I have the highest hopes for the diagnostic tool reports that the kernel, rooted api, and the android api all claim support. However, the android api reports that it does not detect a device while the rooted api and kernel both do detect a device. However, it does report that the classes have been found.
The second cable causes the diagnostic tool to report that even on the kernel level no device is detected. I'm thinking this cable is defective in comparison to the first one.
The diagnostic tool's ultimate verdict is that OS support is a yes for cable one, but a no for cable two.
EDIT: When I plug in the first cable Superuser pops up saying that it has granted StickMount permission, even if there is just a mouse or even nothing on the other side of the cable. For the second cable no such message appears and the diagnostic tool even asks me if I connected anything after it is done, in comparison to the first which it automatically knows that I had connected something.
Is there any hints as to how to get these to work, though I do understand that the second most likely is defective and cannot be made to work.

wiggle the connector. I bought 2 OTG cables, only to find out the USB cable that came with my N7 (which fits tight as hell) is the only usb cable i own that will reliably seat in the port on the N7.

Wiggling the connector did not help at all. I don't think it is a connection issue as while both cables aren't as tight as the cable that comes with the N7, they do both sit firmly within the device itself.

In one of the many other threads on USB-OTG cables, one or more posters have reported having to shave the plastic on the top of the end that goes into the Nexus 7 because the sloped plastic of the Nexus 7 keeps the cable from being fully inserted. The micro USB end connector isn't long enough on some cables which seems to be causing issues of either the cable not working, being loose, or working intermittently.

Apparently he problem is far more benign than a software issue.
I ended up pulling apart cable two as it seemed defective and lo and behold it was. The sense pin (pin 4) wasn't connected to anything. After rewiring it I got it to preform better than cable one, that being it would power the device for a fraction of a second before cutting out and the diagnostic tool finally recognized it. Turned out that a short between the power pin and a data was causing the N7 to shutdown the connection. Fixing the short yielded a perfectly working cable.
I have yet to figure out what is wrong with cable one as it is of a different design and harder to test due to this.
Either way, this thread can be closed as it wasn't a software issue as originally thought. Just some really cheap cables. Let this be a lesson to me about buying those exceedingly cheap alternatives. Too good to be true.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Related

Should I return my tablet for a replacement? (USB port tough to use)

The full sized USB port on my Iconia Tab has an issue. I plugged in a device for the first time yesterday, plugging it in was hard, but not to bad. Unplugging the device from the tablet proved to be impossible without the use of tools. I finally managed to get the cable unplugged, but it still is rather hard to use the USB port. It also makes a bit of a clicking sound when removing a USB device/cable.
Anyone else have the issue?
If its a fresh device it may just be this way for a bit. But to be on the safe side just return it you could damage it and thy may not replace it then.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Yes, the USB port was super tight on my A500 the first time I used it. I thought I was going to break something when I pulled out the USB drive that first time. Same thing the next time I plugged in the USB drive, but easier than the first time. Plugged it in and out a few more times and now it goes in smooth.
My USB ports were really tight at first as well after some use the metal clips loosen a bit and they function normally, they speced them tight due to it being a mobile device they are planning it the things being plugged in getting bumped and pulled
While we're on the subject of USB port and pulling out peripheral devices ...etc
I own the Asus Transformer briefly ( returned due to screen bled ) and it has the option to "unmount" ( MicroSD through tablet & full USB through dock )
for us Iconia owners... without the option and by just yanking things out.... doesn't that increased the chances of damaging the usb drives and corrupting files ??
Markon101 said:
The full sized USB port on my Iconia Tab has an issue. I plugged in a device for the first time yesterday, plugging it in was hard, but not to bad. Unplugging the device from the tablet proved to be impossible without the use of tools. I finally managed to get the cable unplugged, but it still is rather hard to use the USB port. It also makes a bit of a clicking sound when removing a USB device/cable.
Anyone else have the issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep mine is to hard to unplug too
Broken USB port
i noticed mine was like this at first but after a while it got easier to put in. until one day, my flash drive refused to go in all the way. I looked inside using a flash light and one of the gold pins had been bent back all the way. I live outside of the US so no warranty. I panicked and tried to straighten it back with a safety pin. It broke and fell out. I am now left without a usb port at all. any ideas on what to do?
I returned my first Tab because I thought the snug USB port was a defect, but the second Tab was just as bad. Over time the port has loosened a bit but I still have problems after all these months. Recently I inserted a mini wireless mouse USB dongle and I could not, for the life of me, remove it. I finally had to yank it out in pieces with a pair of pliers *shudder*. I still use a wired USB mouse and keyboard from time to time - but they have been tested several times and will unplug with minimal effort. I am very careful with flash drives though. I have one or two that work fine and they are the only ones I trust to use.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium
I have had two Iconias and both have had this issue. I don't think the newer one will help out with it. I use a 32gb USB device and it always hangs up in the port. But I don't use USB that often so my opinion is bias.
Yeah my USB port is super tight as well. The first time I stuck in a flash drive, I ended up pulling off the cover to the drive tying to get it out. After using it for a bit, it did loosen up some, but its still really tight. I just always use an extension cable now, at least that way I have something to grab onto to yank.
seems like a common issue. I also noticed the port was fairly tight at first, but after plugging in and out a few times, it seems to be broken in now - snug, but not overly tight. I use it for an external hard drive which is constantly being added and removed when moving from point a to point b.

Strange OTG behavior

I was making my own OTG cable and, after I finished connecting two cables together, I decided to test if it actually works, before soldering the jumper wire between the 4th and 5th pins. I tried it a few times and it worked. My mouse and usb stick were detected. Then, the launcher crashed. I waited for it to start up and tried again. This time everything worked without the jumper wire. Tried both the stick and the mouse and both worked for a while, after which I had to use the jumper cable again.
Did anyone else encounter this before? I was able to fully use both devices without the jumper cable for a while. Could it be possible to do a software hack and avoid having to solder the two pins?
I haven't been able to reproduce the thing again, but I'm gonna try again when I get home from work.
I'm running stock rooted 4.2.1.
Sent from my Nexus 7

[Q] Missing pin on stock USB cable or normal design?

Hello everyone, I happen to notice that my stock N4 USB cable has a possible missing contact pin (not sure what to call it). The only other USB cables I have to compare it to are Samsung cables and all the pins are there. I'm curious if that pin is left out by design or it is a defect. Without knowing if it's left out for a reason. I have been reluctant to use my other cables because they do have that extra pin. I'm thinking maybe more pins could be bad if the N4 wasn't designed for it? So my question is, do you folks have all the pins on your stock N4 USB cables. Thanks in advance, Peace.
PS I have had two charging discrepancies since I've owed the phone. Twice when I plugged in (wall socket) my phone shot up to 100% instantly. I had to unplug, power down, plug back in, and power back on to get the proper battery reading again.
Mine appears to be missing too. Maybe it is built that way. I didn't notice until I just checked. I haven't had any problems with file transfers using the cable with my computer or with charging.
Edit: Found this thread on another forum that explains 2 other users having the same issue with their nexus 4s. It appears to be normal. http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-4/246222-nexus-4-oem-usb-cable.html
Check out the other end. You should only have 4 contacts there too.
They build it like that to save money (less metal). You only need 4 contacts for a USB cable. (The phone side will have all 5 for use in slim port, OTG, etc.)
From left to right in your picture you have:
Ground
Data-
Data+
Voltage
And that's all ya need.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Nexus 7 short circut damage help, please.

So, I apparently did something very stupid with my new Nexus 7.
I have a few 1 TB external hard drives, which don't get enough power via an OTG adapter from the Nexus 7 to run. So, I purchased a two into one cable -- that is, a cable that combines two male USB A plugs into one Micro USB B plug so that a USB 3.0 hard drive can use two USB 2.0 ports to have enough power. I had planned to use this to enable use of the hard drives with the Nexus 7 while traveling by plugging one cable in the tablet and the other into a charger.
When I got the cable I tested it by plugging one of the USB A plugs into my Nexus 7, and then I plugged the other into my computer's USB port. The Nexus 7 promptly shut down, the computer complained of a power surge on the USB port, and a distinct smell of melted plastic came from the computer's USB port. I guess the combining cable didn't combine so much as it just acted like a double headed male A USB cable and shorted things out?
The Nexus 7 refused to restart afterwards until I it plugged it into its charger. It works now, mostly. However, if its battery charge is above about eighty-seven percent then it always reports that it is charging, regardless if it is plugged in or not. And if I plug it into a computer while it is reporting that it is charging I have to restart the tablet to get it to connect to the computer -- I guess it thinks it is connected to a charger and doesn't bother checking for a data connection unless restarted.
The level where it stops thinking it's charging varies somewhat -- I've had it still claim to be charging all the way down to eighty-two percent charge, and by repeatedly opening the battery app over and over again I have been able to get it to notice that it's really not charging all the way up to ninety-one percent, but no higher, and I have to open and close the battery app an increasing number of times for every percent that it goes up over eighty-seven before it will notice it's not charging.
Any idea what kind of damage I'm looking at? How to fix it? Whether I can get the warranty people to fix it free of charge? If yes, whether they will send me a new one or just fix the one I have? Whether it's worth getting fixed since it mostly still works, and doesn't really bother me as long as it doesn't get worse?
Nothing?
Nothing from anyone?
Try replacing the internal USB plug? About $25. Easy to do your self.

USB Type C port loose?

Hi Everyone
I was wondering if anyone had or is currently experiencing loose usb type c connections between the port and the cable. I recently bought the device in November during Black Friday. As my daily driver I started to notice that when plugging in the cable it no longer stay firmly in. Instead it would sometimes pivot left or right. I am RMA my device through Newegg as the RMA passport procedure in Canada with ZTE is complicated.
I would appreciate any and all feedback regarding this. Hopefully no one will experience this later on.
I don't have that problem, though using the USB micro to USB Type-C port seems like its not the best connection (phone will randomly vibrate when using it while plugged in, leaving me to believe it disconnects and connects quick). But that's using the adapter. I have a question though too, do you or anyone else, hear like, electricity/static/spark sounds when unplugging the QuickCharge 3.0 USB type C cable+AC adapter that comes with it? It's my first time using Quickcharge, it hardly seems like it should work that way, but its not exactly something I can Google lol
moccor said:
I have a question though too, do you or anyone else, hear like, electricity/static/spark sounds when unplugging the QuickCharge 3.0 USB type C cable+AC adapter that comes with it? It's my first time using Quickcharge, it hardly seems like it should work that way, but its not exactly something I can Google lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it should be that way, but I also have this sound. At first I thought it was because of QC3. But I try to charge from my PC usually, and that sound is still there, you can even first unplug USB-A from QC or PC, and only then from phone, but it still sparks. Like something is shortening. Happens all the time when there's charging involved. I have usb-otg and it doesn't do that.
Edit: can confirm that usb-c wiggles, even on my pc motherboard, where I have never used it before. So thats normal I think, but it is still sturdy and won't unplug easily.
Type C male plugs can jiggle so they can put less stress on the female ports.
Also, manufacturers _should_ comply with the exact design reference and always build female ports with the specified measures, so that consumers may opt for a different cable in case of improper fitting.
The sparks sound (a distinguishable crackling noise) while unplugging used to happen on the first month after I bought my unit and after that, it stopped. I think the battery takes some time to stabilize the energy output. Ampere says the charge is normal.
Had this Problem once, try to clean the USB port (Used a Q-Tip and A needle with a thin towel).

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