Database Users

USB hosting ENABLED on XOOM!

While I know that honeycomb does not support this yet (but likely will with the sd card upgrade), there have been rumors that the micro USB slot on the XOOM is actually capable of hosting.
Does anyone know this for sure?
Basically, im trying to decide between the XOOM and the unamed Toshiba tablet.
I like that the Toshiba tablet has Hosting with a full usb port, and Im wondering if the XOOM will be able to do the same (albeit with an adapter).
Though, I dont even know if The toshiba tablet will release in the US any time soon.
ALL THANKS TO ROEBEET WHO HAS ENABLED HOSTING OF THUMB STICKS ON THE XOOM! - scroll through this conversation to get to roebeets post!

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Motorol...1218305636450&skuId=1946179&st=xoom&cp=1&lp=1
Look down the page a bit for ...
Note: Optical drive not included
Compatible with optional external recordable CD/DVD drives (not included).
This would imply it does.

Yes, it most definitely will have that capability. Please see the thread here that I started a while back on the Moto Owners Forum, where I was able to get not only Moto reps to confirm this, but also was fortunate enough to get the actual Moto tech who worked on the Xoom's USB to chime in with some info. My guess is, the same software update that will enable the microSD card will also enable the USB host capabilities of the micro USB port (both external data storage).

The USB hosting being locked down software wise, at least initially, is being done to get some quick cash on their accessories. The unlock that they MIGHT provide later would allow 3rd party keyboards and other accessories access to the Xoom.
I really doubt that they will do a software lock later but the fact that it is software locked and not hardware means that someone here in XDA will be able to unlock it for us eventually.

how hard would it have been to put a full sized USB. Seriously.

Germwise said:
how hard would it have been to put a full sized USB. Seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would make the tablet thicker. micro USB is fine since most of us already have tons of those cables.

Germwise said:
how hard would it have been to put a full sized USB. Seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
look at the thickness of Notion Ink Adam becuase of 2 USB adapters

I did a bit of research on this.
So it appears the same situation exists for the dell streak. It also has USB host like motorola (confirmed by moto engineer).
Some guy here: http://linuxslate.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1286562168
Shows how to get USB drives mounted and usable on dell streak running android 2.1 - this appears not to work on android 2.2 and higher.
OF NOTE: with the right cable (apparently some exist that support OTG hosting capabilities) and the right developer - we can absolutely get USB hosting onto the xoom.
Likely, a couple of scenarios exist to getting this working. First, we wait for the microsdcard update for the xoom - which may make it easier to host from the USB port; Second - we wait for a smart developer to port this sort of code into and app or custom rom; Third - we wait for the toshiba tablet to come out (as it has a full USB port for host) and steal its rom and port it to the Xoom.

I have a Nokia OTG cable that I misakenly bought for an Archos 32 (didn't work), and I tried it on my Xoom. I can use a USB keyboard with it, FYI. But a USB mouse I tested does not work.
USB thumb drives may not work as there's no mount point - I might try to create a custom boot.img and test that out, if I have time.
This is the cable I have: http://cgi.ebay.com/Micro-USB-Host-...314427?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item3a640778bb

roebeet said:
I have a Nokia OTG cable that I misakenly bought for an Archos 32 (didn't work), and I tried it on my Xoom. I can use a USB keyboard with it, FYI. But a USB mouse does not work.
USB thumb drives may not work as there's no mount point - I might try to create a custom boot.img and test that out, if I have time.
This is the cable I have: http://cgi.ebay.com/Micro-USB-Host-...314427?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item3a640778bb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the post Roebeet;
This sounds excellent - im happy that xoom has the ability to host - that was the last piece of the puzzle for me - cant wait for the custom roms that implement this ability!

USB thumb drive confirmed working
Needed to make a boot.img change, however. I'm going to write up a HOWTO, shortly.

roebeet said:
I have a Nokia OTG cable that I misakenly bought for an Archos 32 (didn't work), and I tried it on my Xoom. I can use a USB keyboard with it, FYI. But a USB mouse I tested does not work.
USB thumb drives may not work as there's no mount point - I might try to create a custom boot.img and test that out, if I have time.
This is the cable I have: http://cgi.ebay.com/Micro-USB-Host-...314427?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item3a640778bb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't even get a mouse to work with BlueTooth, so that's probably why a USB mouse doesn't work...

USB thumb drive instructions (with altered boot.img link)
Dropped the instructions here: http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php...le-usb-host-mode-ie-thumb-drives-on-the-xoom/
I have this running on my Xoom right now - thumb drive can see files and play content (like music and video).

Awesome! Time to order an OTG cable
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

roebeet said:
Dropped the instructions here: http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php...le-usb-host-mode-ie-thumb-drives-on-the-xoom/
I have this running on my Xoom right now - thumb drive can see files and play content (like music and video).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are amazing as always man - Im from the NIH community as well (flaunt)
Thanks so much for this!

Salpula said:
Awesome! Time to order an OTG cable
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That eBay guy is going to wonder why the sudden surge of cable orders, soon.
It's coming from Hong Kong, but I think I got mine in less than 2 weeks - this was back in November. I had ordered this cable with an Archos 32 in mind, but I screwed up the first time and got the wrong cable. I'm happy to report that it's finally getting some use.

roebeet said:
Dropped the instructions here: http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php...le-usb-host-mode-ie-thumb-drives-on-the-xoom/
I have this running on my Xoom right now - thumb drive can see files and play content (like music and video).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are AWESOME.

Hey roebeet, Quick question:
Does this allow you to transfer or write files to the USB drive as well? Or will we have to wait for honeycomb to support sd cards to do this?
Can files be written onto the thumb drive or moved there using a file explorer?
Just wondering!

anyway to translate this mod to getting the micro SD slot working

Flaunt77 said:
Hey roebeet, Quick question:
Does this allow you to transfer or write files to the USB drive as well? Or will we have to wait for honeycomb to support sd cards to do this?
Can files be written onto the thumb drive or moved there using a file explorer?
Just wondering!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't look like it's mounted read-only so I'd say yes.

3.1 & USB Peripherals

I know that 3.1 added support for a broader spectrum of USB devices, and I thought it would be interesting to compile a list of what works and doesn't work!
So far, I've tried:
ACER LIQUID E - Basically just charges the phone and allows for tethering (wish I could mount it) **UPDATE** After rooting and installing busybox and drive mount, Liquid E is able to mount! (Thanks, entropy)
HP WIRELESS MINI KEYBOARD (Model #U10G) - Works flawlessly! Prior to the update, only the keyboard worked, but now the mouse works too, as expected!
SONY CYBERSHOT (Model #DSC-W55) - At first the Iconia didn't detect it, but after I went into the camera menu and changed USB connect mode from "auto" to "mass storage" and plugged it back into the tablet, the Gallery app opened automatically and the pics from the camera magically appeared! Woohoo!
LOGITECH ATTACK 3 JOYSTICK - Not too useful, but it works! Basically it works as a glorified mouse, scrolling up/down/left/right. Pretty basic for now, but perhaps a good flight simulator will come out in the future?
SAMSUNG STORY STATION 1 TB HARD DRIVE - My biggest disappointment... I know there are workarounds to get external drives to work, but I was hoping 3.1 would provide a fix for this. It is formatted FAT32, so I'm not sure what the problem is, but my Iconia isn't picking it up **UPDATE** After rooting and installing busybox and drive mount, Story Station is able to mount! (Thanks, entropy)

I can confirm the iphone 3gs will charge and you can import photos/movies taken on the camera.
I have a cannon camera at home. I know they have a strange interface which always requires me to load a separate driver in windows. I will test it later and let you know.

vanisleguy1976 said:
SAMSUNG STORY STATION 1 TB HARD DRIVE - My biggest disappointment... I know there are workarounds to get external drives to work, but I was hoping 3.1 would provide a fix for this. It is formatted FAT32, so I'm not sure what the problem is, but my Iconia isn't picking it up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you are rooted - try "drive mount" (free from market) - solved all my USB storage device problems.

entropy.of.avarice said:
Assuming you are rooted - try "drive mount" (free from market) - solved all my USB storage device problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. I'm not currently rooted, but I'll likely take that plunge soon. I was hoping 3.1 would cure that in the stock software, but we can't always get what we want
pacificwing said:
I can confirm the iphone 3gs will charge and you can import photos/movies taken on the camera.
I have a cannon camera at home. I know they have a strange interface which always requires me to load a separate driver in windows. I will test it later and let you know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How ironic that an iProduct will work as a peripheral, but not another Acer product!
*edit* Just tested my old BLACKBERRY CURVE 8310 and it mounts no problem! Wtf?
Thanks for the info!

vanisleguy1976 said:
Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. I'm not currently rooted, but I'll likely take that plunge soon. I was hoping 3.1 would cure that in the stock software, but we can't always get what we want
Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting stock 3.1 takes about ten seconds - i have successfully ran a Logitech laser mouse, a Saitek Eclipse 2 keyboard, a old crappy external 60gb USB hdd, and a 16gb flash stick all at once

Does a non powered usb hub work??
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App

vari9 said:
Does a non powered usb hub work??
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using a non powered hub as I type - 4 devices connected, including a sweet keyboard with led back lighting (saitek eclipse 2) - all 4 devices work even if I am not connected to power.

Is there an * easy * way to make this tab use huwaei dongle for internet...???
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App

vari9 said:
Is there an easy way to make this tab use huwaei dongle for internet...???
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea - would probably involve a rooted device and a custom rom - head to the dev section.

Logitech mx510 and mx518 mice confirmed.
Xbox 360 wired controller works but found no games that use it and it is very clunky for nav'ing the UI in general.
Wacom Bamboo powers but nothing functions.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

Is there a safe way of removing these usb devices without having to power down?

peejayw said:
Is there a safe way of removing these usb devices without having to power down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A "safe" way? I'm pretty sure it won't explode if you just unplug them.
In all seriousness, you should be able to just unplug them without losing data. At least I always have.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason you have to "eject" removable media from windows is because windows has some sort of drive caching to speed things up. This means that just because you have copied a file to your usb drive, doesn't mean the data has actually been written right away.
Furthermore, Windows also locks out files that are in use by an active application. As such, windows makes you "eject" the media in order to give the OS a chance to check to see if any of the files are still in use, to avoid the application having a brain fart and crashing. Also, if an application is in the process of writing to a file and you yank out the drive, the file could become corrupt.
I think both scenarios are not likely to occur on an Android tablet, mainly because its based on a real operating system not designed to treat you like an idiot. Just make sure none of the data is being used by any open apps and you should be fine.
That being said, always make sure to keep backups.
Cheers,
-PW

Anyone able to use an Xbox 360 controller. I have a wireless with PC USB dongle, would like to use it if I possible.

Just want to say i can see my files in my x10 mounting it with drive mount and view it with file expert

entropy.of.avarice said:
Rooting stock 3.1 takes about ten seconds - i have successfully ran a Logitech laser mouse, a Saitek Eclipse 2 keyboard, a old crappy external 60gb USB hdd, and a 16gb flash stick all at once
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! After rooting, installing busybox, and Drive mount, I now am able to mount my phone and external hard drive!

vanisleguy1976 said:
Thanks! After rooting, installing busybox, and Drive mount, I now am able to mount my phone and external hard drive!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yay! Glad it worked for you. Enjoy!

[Q] Apoligies if repeat Q: will a usb hub work with Nexus 7?

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.

Some questions before jumping in.

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.

Connect Multiple external Hard Drives ?

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.