Develop Bugs

[Q] USB Hosting

Hi All,
I have rooted my SGH-T989 and have flashed Zedomax's kernel to allow the USB Hosting functionality on my phone. This has worked great and I can now use a mouse and keyboard via a USB Splitter into a single OTG cable plugged into my phone.
The Setup:
Samsung Galaxy S2 SGH-T989 (Rooted)
Zedomax-T989-Kernel-v0.1.zip from
w w w .theandroidsoul.com/connect-usb-flash-drives-mouse-keyboard-etc-to-t-mobile-galaxy-s2-t-989/"
OTG cable
w w w .amazon.com/Micro-USB-Host-Cable-accommodating/dp/B005GGBYJ4
Belkin USB Hub [/URL] from
w w w .bestbuy.com/site/Belkin+-+4-Port+USB+2.0+Powered+Hub/2389094.p;jsessionid=F16C84B9FD065C59401C5EEEEA981347.bbolsp-app02-07?id=1218324435232&skuId=2389094
DLink KVM[/URL] from
w w w .officedepot.com/a/products/706845/D-Link-KVM-221-2-Port/?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Google-_-Networking_and_Cables-_-706845-%7Bcopy:IQ_PE%7D&mr:trackingCode=480D3D1B-EC81-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA
Normal USB mouse and keyboard
KVM Used to switch mouse and keyboard from Desktop to USB Hub for SGH-T989
The Problem:
If I use the mini to USB cable supplied with the Belkin USB Hub to the OTG cable the mouse and keyboard are recognized and usable. However, if I don't use the OTG cable it will NOT recognize the mouse and keyboard.
That is not my issue, I'm ok using the OTG cable, but it leaves me with a Female USB placeholder. Therefore, I have to connect it to the USB Hub. Obviously, the Mini to USB A cable worked for hosting, but it does not supply power to the phone even though the USB Hub is plugged in and powered.
My initial thoughts were that the USB Hub does not supply power out the side mini USB so I bought a 1.0 USB A to A , 2.0 USB A to A, 3.0 USB A to A, Gender Changer for OTG cable. and no matter what cable I plug into the front USB slots on my USB Splitter, I get NO POWER and NO HOSTING. Nothing seems to flow through to the phone other then the one Mini to USB with OTG, but leaves me powerless.
I have also bought the docking station, which I later found out that even with the OTG cable will not push the hosting through to the phone and had to return it in favor of a more generic stand to hold my phone landscape.
I am out of ideas as to what to try next to get power and hostability to my phone. Please help!
Thanks,
Sam

Odds the USB hub powered? I remember that the first OTG kernel that came out said the hub had to be powered to use a mouse or keyboard.
The hdmi cable has to be plugged to the phone charger as wellfor it to work
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium

Yes it is powered, I have also tried unplugging it to remove power. However, the OTG cable will accept the KVM mouse and keyboard plugged directly into the OTG cable itself.
The one thing I'm not certain on is whether or not the mini to USB out of the side of the USB Hub is supplying power or not. However, that is the ONLY spot that is working for pushing the KVM Mouse and Keyboard through to the phone. Without just plugging KVM directly into the OTG cable.
The KVM is plugged into the USB Hub and the Mini is plugged into the side by the power and then plugged into the OTG. This setup works for hosting, but all the variations of plugging into the normal front facing USB spots of the hub have failed to do anything but bring in power. However, I have NEVER successfully brought power through the OTG cable, so I'm not even sure it can support power at this point.
Sam

the only devices that does not need additional power are USB keys / flash disk storage and the likes
everything else you need to plug it into a powered USB hub, and have the hub connect to the USB OTG cable
and you do not need any special Kernel for USB OTG to work on this phone
USB OTG works from factory stock ROM (i just tried it to verify )

Hi Allgamer,
Thank you for your insight. However, I did try the OTG cable before getting the special kernel and it DID NOT function. Once I downloaded Kedomax's kernel I was successful. This appears to be a feature they removed from T-Mobiles version.
As for the Power issue. If you guys would be so kind as to reread my initial blog and reply before posting power things to try as I have listed that I have tried powered and unpowered and plugged directly and indirectly and through a usb hub and without, all variations and cables to plug and play have been exhausted.
I'm looking for a more advance analysis that may help provide a solution to my current problem. I'm not sure if the OTG cable can allow power to pass through to the phone or not. I have yet to see that work. I'm also thinking I cannot host without the OTG which seems as though it would leave me in an infinite loop.
Here are more along the line of questions that I'm hoping someone can provide insight to as I have no way of answering these questions myself without an extended work bench and wider test result devices.
1.
Can anyone confirm that the OTG cable can in fact provide power to the phone as well when plugged into a USB Source such as a HUB that is providing power out the USB ports to the OTG cable itself.
2.
Can anyone confirm that the OTG Cable can still support hosting capabilities if power is being sent up the cable or does this disable it in some way.
Thanks again for your responses, no disrespect intended by my redirection of the thought process here.
Sam

Samsung galaxy S3 OTG for USB 3. hard drives

Hi there,
I have a samsung galaxy S3 (rooted) and have recently purchased OTG cable. The problem is that when I connect s3 with Hitachi Touro (mobile USB 3.0) through OTG cable hard drive does appear in files. I have installed paragon NTFS and stickmount apps but it doesn't seem to connect even though a message keeps appearing "usb connector is connected". Hard drive gives a clicking sound when it is connected with S3 but works perfectly with the computer.
Does anyone know solution to this?
Thanks and regards

I've heard of some people having problems when connected to a usb 3.0 port on their computer and have to connect to a 2.0 port instead. Maybe related?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

DocHoliday77 said:
I've heard of some people having problems when connected to a usb 3.0 port on their computer and have to connect to a 2.0 port instead. Maybe related?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
USB 3.0 I don't think is supported. What I've seen people do is use a 2.0 cable extension with their 3.0 device. As this downgrades it to 2.0 because they should be compatible with 2.0 just won't have the insane speeds as 3.0. Or you can get a USB hub and plug it in that way.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Sounds like the Hard Drive is not getting enough power (The clicking), do you have it plugged into an external power supply?
*.*

splatdotsplat said:
Sounds like the Hard Drive is not getting enough power (The clicking), do you have it plugged into an external power supply?
*.*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the replies. Hard drive is not connected to power supply as it is portable.

Maazyazdani said:
Thanks for all the replies. Hard drive is not connected to power supply as it is portable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Splatdotsplat is correct. That clicking sound are the heads resetting to the park position. This usually happens when drives are not getting enough power. When the drive spins up it peaks its power consumption and cuts out because there is not enough so the heads reset. Portable or not that is the issue. I have seen this happen with some portable drives on computers (especially larger capacity). A lot of times the solution can be as simple as using a shorter cable. Sometimes it doesn't work.

as stated above, the only way to run external hdd's of any kind is to be sure they're powered, even some thumbdrives will draw more power than the phone can provide and you'll notice your batt life take a steep dive (as did my Galaxy Nexus w/otg on an HP 16gb thumbdrive)
power the drive through a powered hub and you're good to go!

splatdotsplat said:
Sounds like the Hard Drive is not getting enough power (The clicking), do you have it plugged into an external power supply?
*.*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why i recommended using a USB powered HUB as the HUB will give enough power to the external hard drive.

elesbb said:
This is why i recommended using a USB powered HUB as the HUB will give enough power to the external hard drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having the same issue myself, otg cable with Samsung portable 500GB external HDD and stickmount pro works fine with my Nexus 7,but won't work with my Galaxy even though it recognises the HDD, so do you think a USB hub would be the solution, and can anyone recommend one
Thanks

Anyone?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

i wish there are people who are willing to investigate/try this thing out, it would be awesome to make a portable hard drive works on our S3..

kemaro30 said:
i wish there are people who are willing to investigate/try this thing out, it would be awesome to make a portable hard drive works on our S3..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to throw in some info. I do agree about the hdd not getting enough power as the cause for the clicking. I have a 500gb hitachi drive that does that if a long usb cable is used. The drive didn't come with a power adapter but instead came with a short usb cable that had two heads. allowing it to draw power from two ports. It also had a port for an adaptor though.
When testing with my Samsung Galaxy sIII It doesn't work unless I have the hd running via external power or have the second usb connector on the cable connected to a charging usb cable. Both options charge the phone while the hd is connected to the phone.
The usb cable with the double ports actually works well for me. I have the first port connected to the otg cable that I made and the second connection connected to a usb extender that is connected to my 2A tablet charger. That way I can charge at the same time.

esqueue said:
Just to throw in some info. I do agree about the hdd not getting enough power as the cause for the clicking. I have a 500gb hitachi drive that does that if a long usb cable is used. The drive didn't come with a power adapter but instead came with a short usb cable that had two heads. allowing it to draw power from two ports. It also had a port for an adaptor though.
When testing with my Samsung Galaxy sIII It doesn't work unless I have the hd running via external power or have the second usb connector on the cable connected to a charging usb cable. Both options charge the phone while the hd is connected to the phone.
The usb cable with the double ports actually works well for me. I have the first port connected to the otg cable that I made and the second connection connected to a usb extender that is connected to my 2A tablet charger. That way I can charge at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi the problem i basically power as in the amount of current your device requires, i know that the standard specifications of the original 2.0 interface is about max 500mA and 5Vdc per port, in some cases the maximum output current is even smaller due to hardware restrictions, this can lead to difficulties when trying to power something like an external hard drive. Therefore a long cable will also give a problem due to the resistance of the material, because the required voltage level is not high enough.
I do not know if there is a spec sheet containing information about the output capabilities of the usb port, if there is one i recommend using that to match an external hard drives, if you do not want to use an external power supply.
Edit: you could also use an external power bank/battery pack but i seems a bit bulky

kemaro30 said:
i wish there are people who are willing to investigate/try this thing out, it would be awesome to make a portable hard drive works on our S3..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure go out and buy me one and i'll test all day..
USB OTG works out of the box for low power devices. I havent seen/read anything stating USB 3.0 works on the S3. I have a 1TB hard drive my brother gave me, its not the newer ones that are ssd so it has a power adapter with it and it works perfectly with my S3. Going to be using it in a few minutes to back up my internal SD.

So guys I have the GT-I9300 ( Galaxy S3 ) and I have 1 TB WD My Passport
I'm plannig to buy the OTG piece ! so as of now is possible to connect the hardrive to the phone or not yet !?

Is there even a driver and an app to do such a thing? As I see it the USB port is configured as an external storage device to connect to a computer not the other way around. What you are doing is connecting two storage devices together. There's no way I would ever connect anything to my phones USB port that requires power. If I were to, it would be through a powered hub.

Hi Eles
elesbb said:
USB 3.0 I don't think is supported. What I've seen people do is use a 2.0 cable extension with their 3.0 device. As this downgrades it to 2.0 because they should be compatible with 2.0 just won't have the insane speeds as 3.0. Or you can get a USB hub and plug it in that way.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read that you connected your S3 with external powered HDD. I bought yesterday the genuine samsung OTG cable and it is working only with memory stick and joystick controller. Don't know why it is not working with my external powered HDD - 500 GB WD. Any ideea ? My S3 is not rooted.
Thanks,
M.

No, nobody is going to have a recommendation for a powered USB hub.
It's a trivial, generic, piece of kit you buy nearly anywhere for under US$10 (unless you're a complete sucker.) Just make sure whatever you get *includes* a power supply.
Get one in the shape of a person, or a kitty cat, or a Tardis, whatever thrills you.

KurrentUser said:
Is there even a driver and an app to do such a thing? As I see it the USB port is configured as an external storage device to connect to a computer not the other way around. What you are doing is connecting two storage devices together. There's no way I would ever connect anything to my phones USB port that requires power. If I were to, it would be through a powered hub.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's not quite accurate. when you plug your phone into your PC, the drivers that you installed will see your phone as a usb device (or media device) and allow you to use your phone as such
an OTG (on-the-go) cable allows you to connect a storage device to your phone, such as a thumb drive or external hard drive (powered or not) and then your phone acts like your PC and uses that device as storage

elesbb said:
USB 3.0 I don't think is supported. What I've seen people do is use a 2.0 cable extension with their 3.0 device. As this downgrades it to 2.0 because they should be compatible with 2.0 just won't have the insane speeds as 3.0. Or you can get a USB hub and plug it in that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that in my case forcing my ADATA HV610 1 TB disk to USB 2.0 mode worked. The trick is to use a standard micro-USB cable (e.g. the one that comes with your charger) instead of the standard cable that comes with the HDD.
More detail:
The common USB 3 cable which comes with most new HDDs uses USB 3.0 Micro-B plug which, in practice, is a micro-USB with a "half-micro-USB" next to it. The part most people don't know is that you can use a common micro-USB cable (as the one from your charger) to connect your HDD to your PC (or other device) with the cost of loss of USB 3.0 compatibility. Which, in our case, is what we need, as this switch makes the HDD less power-hungry.
Post a comment if it works for other hard drives too (I think WD also use Micro-B connectors for their USB 3.0 Passports)

[Q] 2.5" HDD

Hello,
I have a USB otg connection adapter and thumb drives and sd cards work fine. Higher power devices (external 2.5" HDD) don't work as they need more power. I have a Y usb cable for my external hard drive (one usb plug for data and one for extra power). Can I connect the data plug to my otg adapter and the other usb connector to a wall charger in order to make my Note work with my hard drive? Or am i going to break something in my Note as there are no diodes in the y-cable blocking current going from the wall charger into my Note?
edit: and if this works: any suggestions for the file structure? FAT is not ideal due to file size limitations and NTFS is not ideal due to licensing. Does the Note supports exFAT up to 1 TB?

Yes, you can. You can use a wall adapter, a powered USB hub or like me, a portable battery with USB output that lets you use that HDD on the go.

Szadzik said:
Yes, you can. You can use a wall adapter, a powered USB hub or like me, a portable battery with USB output that lets you use that HDD on the go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed that the 10.1 won't power some things like a 2.5" portable drive that my Note 2 can power just fine. Not sure if there is a reason for this and it's working as intended or just a bug?

gmkelly001 said:
I've noticed that the 10.1 won't power some things like a 2.5" portable drive that my Note 2 can power just fine. Not sure if there is a reason for this and it's working as intended or just a bug?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is only by a fluke that the Note 1 powers an HDD. These devices are not designed to power anything but USB sticks. Not sure if there is enough juice to power a USB3 stick so do not look for bugs or solutions as this is not a bug but that how the device is designed.

Battery Powered USB Hub

The usb OTG allows to connect devices to the Note 10.1 but some devices require higher power, that looks like they work if connected to a powered usb hub!
Does anyone know os any battery powered usb hub so it is possible to connect to high power devices without a wall plug nearby!
The only one I could find was:
tekkeon mp1800
Another one discontinued:
CyberPower Mobile Battery Powered 4-Port USB Hub (CP-H420MP)
But it's been discontinued everywhere.

I've ordered the RAVPOWER WIFI battery powered hub. I hope to have it by Monday and will review it once I have had a chance to use it. Its battery is supposed to be able to recharge a phone, but I wouldn't try to power a hard drive with it (you're supposed to be able to connect a 2T hard drive to its USB port). If you want battery power for a hard drive, I'd recommend a separate high-powered battery. Here's a link to the RAVEPOWER unit, which is half-price right now at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower%C2%AE-RP-WD01-Wireless-WiFi-Disk-Li-Polymer/dp/B00AQUMZRA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361466247&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=RAVPower%C2%AE+Wireless+WiFi+Disk+Built-in+3000+mAh++External+Battery+Pack+Charger+RP-WD01.+Read
---------- Post added at 10:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 AM ----------
I see there's a review in the general accessories forum. I'll stll do a review; I plan to hook a 2T hard drive to the USB port to see how well it works. Here's the review. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2150164

Can the USB port act as a Pass - Thru (when directly connected to the tablet, obviously) for High powered devices such as USB Ethernet Adapter
ie:
USB Ethernet --> RAVPOWER --> USB Cable --> Tablet

klau1 said:
Can the USB port act as a Pass - Thru (when directly connected to the tablet, obviously) for High powered devices such as USB Ethernet Adapter
ie:
USB Ethernet --> RAVPOWER --> USB Cable --> Tablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont believe so, but I don't have my unit yet. This serves as a WIFI hub with an SD card reader an a USB port that can accomodate flash drives and hard drives upto 2T. You can share access with others and if you read the link to the review I posted you'll see that the reviewer set his up to share access with several friends in a 3-car caravan during a road trip and that they could get a signal and share files while moving down the road (clearly, we hope it was only the passengers testing it out). I'll confirm that it supports 2T hard drives once I get my unit.

klau1 said:
The usb OTG allows to connect devices to the Note 10.1 but some devices require higher power, that looks like they work if connected to a powered usb hub!
Does anyone know os any battery powered usb hub so it is possible to connect to high power devices without a wall plug nearby!
The only one I could find was:
tekkeon mp1800
Another one discontinued:
CyberPower Mobile Battery Powered 4-Port USB Hub (CP-H420MP)
But it's been discontinued everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this: CyberPower Mobile Battery Powered 4-Port USB Hub (CP-H420MP), but I am afraid it is not working with the tablet. Or maybe I am doing something wrong. Either way I have put it up on Craigslist for sale as I can't manage to make it work, bought it about a year ago for the HP TouchPad and never used it

[Q] If I use a usb hub, can I attach an ethernet port, and have the device charging?

Title says it all, has anyone tried this?

From what I've read (and the other threads on this topic) - no it can't be done.

It can't be done my friend

I got it to work
psycho1200 said:
It can't be done my friend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the following and plugged into my TV usb port and had ethernet (verfied with WIFI shut off) and it was charging.
USB 2.0 Ethernet adapter - <amazon.com/gp/product/B003VSTDFG>
OTG with power - <amazon.com/gp/product/B00C452XFO/>

Yup, this now works great for me too! :good:
I bought the Ethernet adapter Nvidia Recommends (same as browncoatdave's)
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Gigabit-Ethernet-Chromebook-Specific/dp/B003VSTDFG
And just whatever Y cable could find that didn't look uber cheap.
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CXAC1ZW/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What I have plugged into the shield
jjprichards said:
Title says it all, has anyone tried this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) 3 Port USB Hub
2) Plugable USB 2.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN Wired Network Adapter
3) Micro USB Host OTG Cable with Micro USB Power
4) Smart Touch Mini USB TouchPad Keyboard
5) Full Size trackball mouse
6) Charging cord
I am charging the battery with ethernet, keyboard and mouse plugged in.
No Problem. But this is also after the kitkat update which added the charging while ethernet is plugged in.

solidsn said:
1) 3 Port USB Hub
2) Plugable USB 2.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN Wired Network Adapter
3) Micro USB Host OTG Cable with Micro USB Power
4) Smart Touch Mini USB TouchPad Keyboard
5) Full Size trackball mouse
6) Charging cord
I am charging the battery with ethernet, keyboard and mouse plugged in.
No Problem. But this is also after the kitkat update which added the charging while ethernet is plugged in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
trackball mouse, why? gives me flashbacks of the 90s...

solidsn said:
1) 3 Port USB Hub
2) Plugable USB 2.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN Wired Network Adapter
3) Micro USB Host OTG Cable with Micro USB Power
4) Smart Touch Mini USB TouchPad Keyboard
5) Full Size trackball mouse
6) Charging cord
I am charging the battery with ethernet, keyboard and mouse plugged in.
No Problem. But this is also after the kitkat update which added the charging while ethernet is plugged in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you plug all the devices in a particular order? I noticed that if I plug in my charger AFTER I plug in the OTG cable into the shield, then it is not charging. But when I plug in the charger into the OTG cable and then plug it into shield, it is charging.
Is your hub powered? What exact model is it? I am asking because I have very similar setup to yours but the shield does not detect USB devices connected to the hub - it's this one: http: // esperanza . pl/esperanza-usb-2-0-hub-4-porty-ea116,182,437.html
I can connect one usb device directly to OTG cable and it works, but when I connect a hub, it no longer works.

There is a cheap way to do this if you have the soldering skills, and are willing to try it.
Get a cheap USB "Travel" hub.
Open it up, and replace the Upstream USB cable with an OTG cable (A scrap Micro-USB cable may or may not work. The connector must be Properly wired for OTG).
Remove the main power diode in the USB hub, and solder jumper the 2 pads where it was. A Multimeter in continuity mode can help you find the right component, but it takes some experience. There usually is not much in a cheap travel hub, so I can usually find them just by looking, but like I say, only try this if you have the experience, and you know what you are looking for.
Power the hub through it's 5V power jack (if it has one), or you can add a power only micro-USB socket. (Only connect the (+) and (-) power pins, do not connect the data lines. Connect it to any one of the Full size USB port's power pins. Observe polarity.)
Voila! You now have 4 Full size USB ports, it will charge your device, and provide power (Up to the rated power of the AC adapter) for your USB devices.
I did this years ago in the Nokia 770 days. It was one of the first consumer devices that supported USB OTG. Article still exists here:
http://www.linuxslate.org/N770DockingStation.html (Scroll down to the "Electronic Components" Section)

Would this work?
Would this: SODIAL(R) Micro USB Host OTG Cable with Micro USB Power plus this: Anker® Unibody 3-Port USB 3.0 and Ethernet Hub
Give me the ability to charge tablet, use Ethernet and additionally connect USB mouse and keyboard, and possibly charge Nvidia Game Controller?
Or would it just be a waste of time and money