What is USB OTG and what do you use it for?
A lot of smartphones and tablets these have a USB OTG function. With USB On-The-Go, you can connect external devices to your smartphones or tablet. Think of a keyboard or a storage device. Here, you can ready how it works and if your device is suitable for USB OTG.
What is OTG?
USB OTG is short for USB On-The-Go. with a USB OTG cable, you can connect your smartphone or tablet to other devices. The cable has a connector for your phone on one side and a USB-A connector on the other side. If you use a regular USB cable to connect your phone to a computer, the phone is the storage device and your computer the main device. With an OTG cable, your smartphone is the main device.
USB OTG, What can you do with it?
With a USB OTG, you can connect a USB flash drive, mouse, keyboard, hard drive, or another smartphone to your phone or tablet, for example. This is useful if you want to write a report on your tablet with a keyboard or transfer apps from one smartphone to the other. There are also OTH hubs, which allows you to connect multiple device. That way, you can use both a keyboard and a mouse with your tablet, for example.
Does OTG work on all phones?
Nearly all smartphones and tablets that are currently available support USB On-The-Go. Do you have an older model or do you just want to know for sure? Download the app "USB OTG Checker" on your device for free, so you check if your device is suitable for OTG.
What is an OTG cable and what is it used for?
An OTG or On The Go adapter (sometimes called an OTG cable, or OTG connector) allows you to connect a full sized USB flash drive or USB A cable to your phone or tablet through the Micro USB or USB-C Charging Port. You may have gotten one in the box when you purchased your device, although they can also be purchased Separately from lots of major retailers. It allows the transfer of data as well as connectivity to peripherals.
You can do the following with an OTG cable:
- Plug in Keyboards and mouse to the mobile.
- Access USB sticks and external hard drives ** (no need to store on device if using file manager to access)
- Transfer photos directly from a compatible camera on the phone
- Connect smartphone directly to printer
- copy information from one device to another with Samsung Smart Switch.
**Please Note: Because most external HDDs are powered by the connected device, you may not be able to use a HDD to save your data. USB flash drives are a more reliable option to save and transfer content or other information to and from your phone.
The difference between OTG and USB
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| USB Adapter (not OTG) |
If you're like me, you've probably already tried to use an adapter to connect a USB device up to you phone with no joy. This goes back to the phone's functionality as both a host and a peripheral. By design, the phone acts as a peripheral unless it receives a signal to enter host made. That signal is provided by an additional pin in the OTG cable. When the phone detects this pin, it allows connectivity to your USB devices.
Powered v. Unpowered
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Unpowered OTG
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While there are a number of different manufactures with OTG cables on the market, the functionality of them are the same.The one major difference in OTG cables for the Android is whether they are powered and unpowered. And that one difference can mean a lot in terms of the impact of the functionality of your equipment and your phone's battery life.
In terms of functionality, some devices require a bit more power to function. When you connect a USB device to your phone or computer, the device is powered by a 5v current provided by the USB cable. when these devices are low amperage, like a mouse or keyboard, the phone's port usually provides enough amperage to interface with these without power. However, a device that requires significantly more amperage, like a USB microphone, may exceed the current that the phone is able to provide, resulting in either bad quality or not functioning at all. A powered cable, on the other hand, can be connected to an external charger to provide power to the external device at an amperage able to power the USB device.
| Low Battery |
As I mentioned above, external peripherals draw current. This means that having peripherals plugged into your phone with increase the drain on your phone's battery. And with higher-powered devices, the resulting drain can be substantial, taking hours of battery life down to a few minutes. A powered OTG cable makes up for this by providing power to the peripherals, relieving the drain on the battery, while simultaneously charging your Android device. If you're really on the go, you can use a portable USB charger to power your phone and external devices.
Is there OTG for ios
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| iPhone |
While there are a number of peripherals specifically developed or in development for the iphone and other ios devices, ios does not currently support OTG. As such, the iPhone does not support most USB devices that are not specifically designed to connect it. A number of devices are supported using a lighting cable with an ios device. However, the functionality of many USB devices is not supported and drives with large memory capacities may require an external hub, like the uniAccessories USB-C hub.
Testing Your Android for OTG
Not sure if your Android phone supports OTG? There's an app for that. USB OTG Checker Pro is a free, ad-free app available in the Google Play app store. Simply install the app, click to check and the app will report whether your phone is OTG capable.
Conclusion : The OTG Cable
So go ahead! Connect up your USB mic to your Android phone. Get high-quality audio from your USB mic to your recording app, Zoom, or your every day phone calls! Connect up to your external USB drive to transfer and backup files! Edit with your mouse! Type an article with your phone! All you need is an OTG-capable Android phone, a USB device, and an OTG cable.
Writer: Mr. Krishan Kumar Saini
Today we have learnt Basics about USB OTG. Hope this lesson is helpful for you.
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