Today, a huge role in our lives is played by modern devices. We are not talking about computers or laptops, which are already beginning to gradually fade into the background. Smartphones and tablets are portable computers that have almost all functions, like laptops. Unfortunately, these modern devices are not suitable for office work. Typing on a tablet is quite difficult, not to mention ordinary phones.
People began to think about how to connect a USB flash drive to an Android smartphone or keyboard, mouse and other useful devices. It turns out that this can be done. However, not everyone knows how to connect an additional device to their smartphone. Let's look at an ordinary flash drive as an example. As a rule, it is this device that many people try to connect to their device.
How to connect a USB flash drive to an Android smartphone
Modern devices running the Android operating system have a standard microUSB connector. For a USB flash drive to work on your device, USB On-The-Go technology must be installed in it. Manufacturers began to introduce this feature in Android OS with version 3.1.
As a rule, modern tablets and especially phones do not have a USB connector. Therefore, you will need a USB-OTG cable. Some manufacturers put an adapter for a flash drive in the kit, if you don’t have one, you will have to buy it at any store that sells digital equipment.
There is no micro-USB connector on the smartphone
If you did not find a microUSB connector on your smartphone, you will need to purchase a USB-OTG cable first, and then an adapter to it. Of course, this is rather inconvenient: if you need to connect an additional device, you will have to use several cables. But this is the only way that will allow you to connect a USB flash drive.
How to view the contents of an external drive
So, we examined how to connect a USB flash drive to the Android smartphone. Now we proceed to the opening of the additional device. How to do it? We need to download the file manager. Perhaps you already have it, since in some devices the manufacturer installs a certain set of programs. Of course, if you do not have a file manager, you will have to install it. For smartphones running Android OS, the leading places are occupied by ES File Explorer, FX File Explorer and Total Commander. You can choose the application that you like best.
How to open a USB flash drive on Android
As we already found out, we need a file manager. After installing it, we can go into this utility and find a flash drive. If you cannot find the external device, try entering the file path (/ sdcard / usbStorage). After successfully opening the flash drive, you can view, copy and move files, as on a regular computer. Now you know how to connect the USB flash drive to the Android smartphone and open it, but, unfortunately, there are problems on some devices. Let's look at them and try to find ways to solve them.
“Android” tablet or smartphone does not see the flash drive
If you get to this place, then you have problems connecting the flash drive to your smartphone. This can be for various reasons. Now we will consider the most common of them.
First one. If the file manager does not see the flash drive, you should help him. Now there are applications that can fix this problem. The most effective program is paid, so we will consider a free alternative. Unfortunately, it needs root privileges. StickMount works not only with flash drives, but also with other additional devices.
If you manage to get superuser rights and you have installed the necessary utility, you can connect an external device. When connecting, you must agree to the rules of StickMount, after which it will automatically start and see a USB flash drive. How to find a device? You can go to / sdcard / usbStorage / sda1 in the file manager. Do not forget to properly disconnect additional devices so that in the future there will be no problems with them. To do this, go to the program and click on the “Unmount” button.
It is worth noting another quality application - USB OTG Helper, which works on a similar basis.
The second reason. Before installing additional programs and root rights, you should make sure that the problem is not in the flash drive. What is the reason for this? Your device simply does not see the USB flash drive, since it can be configured on another file system (possibly NTFS).
The USB flash drive in this case will not be readable on your device until you convert it to another format (FAT32 or exFAT). This can be done using a computer. Detailed instructions can be found in electronic sources.
Suppose you do not have a laptop or computer: how then to connect an additional device? You must download Paragon NTFS & HTS + - an application that supports the desired format for reading text data. Unfortunately, this application requires root privileges. You can get them using the King Root program. However, superuser rights are not available on all devices. Remember: you do this at your own peril and risk. Because of this application, your smartphone may not start working correctly. If the device is still under warranty, then you do not need to get root rights, since the warranty will be lost in this case.
Conclusion
So, we examined how to connect an external flash drive to the Android smartphone, and described some of the problems associated with the connection. As practice shows, questions arise on older devices. If you have a new device, there should not be a problem. To use a USB flash drive, keyboard, mouse or other applications on your device, you must follow the rules and do everything carefully.