So, You Want More Storage Space...

[w0bbl3r]

sooo in summary there's no point buying a USB OTG adapter?

 

[Stigy]

sooo in summary there's no point buying a USB OTG adapter?

Nope its definitely supported.

Going to confirm flash drive mounting 100% tonight, but my USB keyboard works perfectly plugged into a USB OTG adapter into my Nexus -- without root.

 

[w0bbl3r]

Stock ROM i'd be interested, very, to know if Flash drive support works.

Thanks for the response.

The aforementioned thread seems to imply that it doesn't work at all, and encourages petitioning google to change that.

 

[Stigy]

Stock ROM i'd be interested, very, to know if Flash drive support works.

Thanks for the response.

The aforementioned thread seems to imply that it doesn't work at all, and encourages petitioning google to change that.

Well I am still on a stock 4.0.2 ROM so before I flash 4.0.3 tonight I will test it again with a keyboard and flash drive and let you know.

The flash drive got power last time I checked, but wasn't able to mount. I have a program now that looks for OTG drives so hopefully this can mount it. But I will report back after work.

 

[Stigy]

So on a topic that was brought up a while ago but wanted to point this out, the stock 4.0.2 kernel does in fact support USB OTG (usb host mode). The program I am using to watch for connections requires root, but I am sure there is a way around this to mount the USB drive when not rooted. Unfortunately I don't know what it is right now, BUT check out the screenshots below of my flash drive being detected and its contents in ES File Explorer.

 

[w0bbl3r]

long shift!

 

[Stigy]

Sorry about that -- thought I posted in here as well.

The stock kernel does in fact support USB OTG (usb host mode). The program I am using to watch for connections requires root, but I am sure there is a way around this to mount the USB drive when not rooted. Unfortunately I don't know what it is right now, BUT check out the screenshots below of my flash drive being detected and its contents in ES File Explorer.

Mounting Application: https://market.android.com/details?id=eu.chainfire.stickmount

 

[nj02vette]

Merging this thread.

 

[kyler13]

Awesome news! On that note, my USB OTG adapter just showed up in the mail. Too bad I don't have the GN yet.

 

[SFBayArea]

I am confused now, I just bought this USB adapter:
Micro USB OTG to USB 2.0 Adapter | Overstock.com

Will I be able to hook up USB drive utilizing this USB OTG to USB 2.0 Adapter?

 

[Stigy]

I am confused now, I just bought this USB adapter:
Micro USB OTG to USB 2.0 Adapter | Overstock.com

Will I be able to hook up USB drive utilizing this USB OTG to USB 2.0 Adapter?

For now (in 4.0.2) you need root to do so, but yes you will be able to hook a USB drive up to the Gnex with the cable you bought.

 

[kyler13]

For now (in 4.0.2) you need root to do so, but yes you will be able to hook a USB drive up to the Gnex with the cable you bought.

Stigy, any chance we can hook up a USB hard drive this way? Do you know or can you try? Not sure if the GN can supply enough power to the usb-powered drives (2.5" based) but if not, I wonder if they can at least do the larger external hard drives (3.5") that are self-powered. If the 2.5" drives work, that would be awesome because I have a 500GB drive that would be great for travel.

 

[xinn3r]

Stigy, any chance we can hook up a USB hard drive this way? Do you know or can you try? Not sure if the GN can supply enough power to the usb-powered drives (2.5" based) but if not, I wonder if they can at least do the larger external hard drives (3.5") that are self-powered. If the 2.5" drives work, that would be awesome because I have a 500GB drive that would be great for travel.

I'm pretty sure the GN can't support a 2.5" hard drive alone without the help of an external power source, it just takes too much power for a phone

 

[syntrix]

Thank you Stigy! I've been trying to point from the start that USB mass storage and USB Host are different things

USB Mass Storage is confirmed 100% not supported
USB Host still isn't confirmed, because Google says it's supported but it won't work out of the box

You need the hardware to support USB Host Mode. Because it doesn't work, doesn't mean you can software add it, the hardware has to support it. My guess is that the SGN does not have the hardware to support it.

 

[Yadao]

To anyone buying a USB OTG cable (especially off eBay): Make sure your cable is providing power to your USB device when plugged into the phone. If it's not, it's probably wired incorrectly. I thought there was something wrong with the phone or I was missing something when mine didn't work. I cut the micro USB end open to investigate. It turns out that it was just a cheaply made cable that wasn't wired together correctly for triggering hosting on the phone.

 

[syntrix]

Wow, I have everything to test this right here.

SGN with usb cable
4 port powered usb 2.0 hub
USB storage devices

Attach SGN to the host side.
Attach usb storage to the port side. Amazing.

I have never seen what chipset is used in ANY teardown. I'm guess this won't work.

 

[xinn3r]

You need the hardware to support USB Host Mode. Because it doesn't work, doesn't mean you can software add it, the hardware has to support it. My guess is that the SGN does not have the hardware to support it.

1. That post is at least 2-3 weeks old
2. It's confirmed that the SGN supports it, there's even a SS of a mounted flash drive, it's working now, that problem is long solved