How to activate a flash drive on Android. How to get Root access on a device

The need to quickly “dump” files onto a smartphone, as well as to use an external drive when there is a shortage of memory, is acute today. It is especially relevant for owners of flagship devices that do not support removable memory cards. And other users often need to temporarily work with large files.

Clearing the disk in order to place files is not always justified in such cases. For example, it is not the most rational option to free up 5 - 10 GB of memory (out of 16 or 32) in order to copy a movie there, which will be deleted immediately after viewing. It is in such situations that a removable USB drive comes in handy more than ever.

Is it possible to connect a USB flash drive to a smartphone? If yes, what is needed for this and what devices have similar functionality? In this article we will try to answer all the questions that arise.

The USB On-The-Go (OTG) standard is designed to connect various peripheral devices to each other without the need for additional hardware. This function is fully implemented at the software level in the Android OS (from version 2.3), and partially in iOS. It is also fully supported by the Windows system (not Windows Phone - support for devices on this platform is planned to be added in version 10 of the OS).

What devices are supported?

Although support for this standard is present at the software level in all Android-based smartphones, in practice not all of them can work with a USB drive.

As a rule, USB OTG is supported by all flagship models of leading manufacturers (Samsung, LG, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony, etc.), as well as some devices of Chinese origin. In budget models costing up to $200, you can very rarely find this function. There is no official list anywhere; you can only check whether it works on your device in practice, or by using an Internet search.

iOS devices have an operating system with limited access to the file system and do not have a hardware USB connector. Therefore, to fully work with an external drive, JailBreak is required.

Microsoft Lumia (and other Windows Mobile-based smartphones) do not support connecting external devices. Its implementation is expected in the tenth version of WP.

How to connect?

Modern Android smartphones are usually equipped with a MicroUSB connector. In order to connect a USB flash drive, you need an adapter from MicroUSB to a full-size connector. The cost of such a device (if the manufacturer “forgot” to add it to the smartphone package) starts from $1.

As a rule, after connecting the flash drive is displayed in the file manager. If the device displays a message about connecting a drive, but the new drive does not appear in Explorer, you can use third-party software (X-Plore or ES Explorer). After this, you can work with the flash drive in the same way as with a regular memory card.

It is worth noting that not all devices are able to “see” the drive correctly without additional programs.

It’s a little more difficult for iPhone users, whose devices are equipped with a proprietary Lightning connector. A special adapter will be more expensive, and it requires JailBreak and the installation of a third-party file manager to work. Otherwise, you won't be able to work with the data.

Today, modern devices play a huge role in our lives. 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 the functions of laptops. Unfortunately, these modern devices are not suitable for office work. Typing text on a tablet is quite difficult, let alone on regular phones.

People began to wonder how to connect a flash drive to an Android smartphone or a keyboard, mouse and other useful devices. It turns out it can be done. However, not everyone knows how to connect an additional device to their smartphone. Let's look at this using the example of a regular flash drive. As a rule, this is the device that many people try to connect to their device.

How to connect a 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, it must have USB On-The-Go technology installed. Manufacturers began implementing this feature in Android OS from 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 include an adapter for a flash drive in the kit; if you don’t have one, you’ll have to buy it at any store that sells digital equipment.

The smartphone does not have a micro-USB connector

If you do not find a microUSB connector on your smartphone, you will need to first purchase a USB-OTG cable and then an adapter for it. Of course, this is quite 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 flash drive.

How to view the contents of an external drive

So, we looked at how to connect a flash drive to an Android smartphone. Now we move on to opening an additional device. How to do it? We need to download a file manager. You may already have it, since in some devices the manufacturer installs a certain set of programs. Of course, if you don't have a file manager, you'll 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 flash drive on Android

As we have already found out, we will need After installing it, we can go to this utility and find the flash drive. If you can't find the external device, try entering the file path (/sdcard/usbStorage). After successfully opening the flash drive, you can view, copy and move files just like on a regular computer. Now you know how to connect a flash drive to an Android smartphone and open it, but, unfortunately, problems arise 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 have reached this point, then you are having problems connecting the flash drive to your smartphone. This can happen for various reasons. Now we will look at the most common of them.

First. If the file manager should help him. Now there are applications that can solve this problem. The most effective program is a paid one, so we will look at a free alternative. Unfortunately, it requires root rights. StickMount works not only with flash drives, but also with other additional devices.

If you have installed the necessary utility, you can connect an external device. When connecting, you must agree to the StickMount rules, after which it will automatically start and see the 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 there are no problems with them in the future. To do this, go into the program and click on the “Unmount” button.

It is worth noting another high-quality application - Helper, which works on a similar principle.

The second reason. Before installing additional programs and root rights, you should make sure that the problem is not with the flash drive. What is this connected with? Your device simply does not see the flash drive, since it may be configured with a different file system (perhaps NTFS).

Let's say you don't have a laptop or computer: how then to connect an additional device? You need to download Paragon NTFS & HTS+ - an application that supports the desired format for reading text data. Unfortunately, this application requires root access. You can get them using the King Root program. However, you may not be able to obtain superuser rights on all devices. Remember: you do this at your own peril and risk. Because of this application, your smartphone may not work 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 looked at how to connect an external flash drive to an Android smartphone, and described some problems associated with the connection. As practice shows, issues arise on older devices. If you have a new device, there should be no problems. To use a flash drive, keyboard, mouse or other applications on your device, you must follow the rules and do everything carefully.

USB OTG File Manager for Nexus allows you to open and copy files from any USB storage device with the FAT32 or NTFS file system using the USB OTG port. You can copy files to any storage device and manage them: edit file names, add directories and delete files.

You can also manage your files in the device's internal memory. The application was developed for Nexus devices that have the "OnTheGo" port. But it is also possible to work on any device with an OTG USB port and Android 4.0+

Instructions

• 1. install the USB OTG File Manager program.
• 2. connect the flash drive to your device via an OTG cable.
• 3. Allow the application to become the default for opening flash drives.
• 4. Click CONNECT in the program and wait for the connection.
• 5. using the program...
• 6. Before exiting the program, press the special shutdown button (see screenshot).

Add. information

• 1. When connecting and launching for the first time, allow the application to become the default for opening flash drives.
• 2. With FAT32 file system, read and write is available. With the NTFS file system, read-only is available.
• 3. Supports opening files directly from a USB device.
• 4. The application may offer to install additionally Simple Music Player for playing music. Whether to bet or not is up to you. I didn't put it.
• 5. The application has an Advanced Mode for advanced users. If you are not confident in your actions, then use a normal gun (Normal Mode).
• 6. The application does not transmit or receive any data from the Internet, which is good.

Download the application for working with a flash drive - USB OTG File Manager for Nexus on Android you can follow the link below.

Developer: KyuuDrod
Platform: Android 4.0 and higher
Interface language: Russian (RUS)
Status: Full
Root: Not needed

Sometimes you have to transfer files from a flash drive to your phone, but in such cases, not every user knows what needs to be done for this. Despite the fact that smartphones are not equipped with bulky USB connectors, there are many ways to connect a flash drive to your phone and transfer documents, applications, and files without any problems.

Well, let's look at all the possible ways to connect a USB flash drive to gadgets with micro-USB connectors, namely smartphones, tablets and some other touch devices.

How to connect a USB flash drive to your phone

First of all, you should find out whether you can supply power to external devices using the micro-USB port of your smartphone. It is important that the same connected devices are displayed in the phone system.

In most cases, such verification is not required. But, if you buy some adapters to connect your phone to a flash drive, that is, you spend money, then it would be better to make sure of this from the beginning.

If you have Android version 3.1 or higher installed, you can safely skip the checks.

The smartphone documentation contains information about OTG support; you can also use the Internet.

To be completely sure, download the USB OTG Checker application, the main function of which is to check the device for support of OTG technology.

• Launch the program and click on "Check Device OS on USB OTG".
• If the test is successful, a green message will be displayed; if the test is failed, the response will be red.

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Methods for connecting a flash drive to a smartphone

To connect a flash drive to a smartphone, you can use the following options:

• Via OTG cable;
• Through an adapter;
• Use a USB OTG flash drive for this;
• If you have a mobile phone from Apple, then to connect you can use a special flash drive equipped with a special Lightning connector.

If necessary, it is possible to connect not only a flash drive to a smartphone, but also some other devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, joystick. However, let’s take a closer look at how to connect a flash drive.

1 way. Connecting a flash card using an OTG cable

This method is the most common. It involves the use of an adapter cable. This adapter is very easy to buy, as it is constantly in demand. There are a huge number of places of sale. As a rule, these are points where mobile devices are sold. In some cases, the purchase is not necessary at all, since manufacturers add this adapter to the configuration of their mobile devices.

The adapter is a cable with a USB connector on one side and a micro-USB plug on the other side. We insert the flash card into the USB, plug the micro-USB plug into the mobile phone.

If the memory card is equipped with light indicators, then when the lights start to glow, you can immediately understand that the work process has begun. In addition, the smartphone will also signal that a removable storage device is connected to it, however, in some models of gadgets these notifications are not available.

In order to see the contents of the connected memory card in the phone’s explorer (FileZilla, Total Commander), you need to follow the following path: /sdcard/usbStorage/sda1

Method 2. Using an adapter

There are quite a few small adapters on sale at mobile phone outlets; they can also be called adapters, which convert regular USB to micro-USB. Such adapters are equipped with a micro-USB output on one, and on the other there are contacts created for USB. To make it work, insert the adapter into the memory card interface, after which you can connect to your smartphone.

3 way. Using the OTG connector

If you need to connect to a flash drive quite often, the simplest and most convenient option would be to purchase a USB OTG flash drive. This carrier has 2 ports. One of them is a USB port. The second is a micro-USB port.

At the moment, USB OTG flash cards are sold in almost every mobile phone store or in department stores where you can buy a regular memory card. It is noteworthy that the cost of the above-mentioned cards is not much different from ordinary flash drives.

Let's move on to the fourth method, where we will connect the flash card to the iPhone

In nature, there are special carriers for Apple phones. Transcend has developed the JetDrive Go 300. This drive has a Lightning connector on one side and a USB connector on the other side. In principle, this connection method is limited to this.

How to connect a flash drive to your phone if the smartphone does not see the flash card

What to do if your mobile phone does not detect the flash card that you connected to it?

There are three main reasons. Let's sort them out...

1. File system type of the flash drive. Each mobile phone operates exclusively on the FAT32 file system;
2. The mobile phone is not able to provide the flash card with power to operate. In this case, you should, as an option, connect another memory card;
3. The smartphone cannot automatically mount a flash drive that is connected to it. Under such conditions, the solution is to install the StickMount application.

Using the StickMount application

When the application is installed, when you connect the memory card, a message will pop up on the device screen, where the phone will offer to launch the StickMount application.

Then you will need to check the automatic start box.

When this is done, you should click “Mount”, after which you can go to your flash drive using the previously specified path /sdcard/usbStorage/sda1

The "Unmount" command is used to safely remove the flash drive. Please note that you must be rooted to use the StickMount app. To get them, there are many instructional videos online for each specific phone.

How to get root rights:

To connect a USB flash drive to a mobile phone, it is important that the device itself operates with OTG technology. In this case, it will be possible to use a special cable, adapter, or you can use a memory card connected to micro-USB.

Despite the support of an Android smartphone or tablet for SD cards up to 32 GB, sometimes you need to connect external “storage” - portable hard drives and flash drives.

The essence of the problem with USB-Flash drives on Android devices

Modern Flash drives have a capacity of up to 128 GB. This amount of memory is not superfluous, especially when the owner of a smartphone or tablet downloads and distributes many films, music, programs, etc. at once. Additional memory is needed. The essence of the problem is as follows.

For this you need to connect additional “flash drives” via microUSB. An ideal option for those who often go on business trips or travel is to carry a tablet and several 32–128 GB flash drives in your bag.

How to connect a flash drive to an Android gadget via OTG

OTG is a USB-microUSB adapter, a replacement for a USB cable with a Card Reader device. Takes up little space - no more than a standard flash drive. In this case, the flash drive must be formatted in FAT32 - not everything is going smoothly with the NTFS file system for the Android operating system.

There is a more difficult way: install a special Android application that allows your smartphone or tablet to work with NTFS media. So, these can be exFAT/NTFS for Total Commander, Paragon NTFS & HFS+ and their analogues.

If the flash drive is not readable, you need special Android applications. Some of them require Root rights.

How to get Root access

Applications that allow you to get Root access without using a computer: FramaRoot, Universal Androot, Visionary+, GingerBreak, z4root, BaiduRoot, Romaster SU, Towelroot, RootDashi, 360 Root, etc.

Applications that “hack” Root via PC: SuperOneClick, Unrevoked, GenoTools, vRoot, MTKDroidTools, etc.

Remember that by obtaining Root rights, you lose the supplier’s warranty and risk harming your gadget.

Another way is to change the licensed Android firmware to a “custom” one with unattached Root access.

Viewing the contents of a flash drive on an Android smartphone or tablet using third-party applications

USB Media Explorer app

If you want to simplify the process of accessing a flash drive, use the paid USB Media Explorer application. The old name of the program is Nexus Media Importer; it was initially developed for Nexus gadgets, but quickly expanded the line of supported Android smartphones and tablets. Root rights are not needed, the program is paid.

If this solution doesn’t suit you, you’ll have to work a little harder.

Solutions based on the StickMount program

The StickMount application is one of the most famous and requires Root rights. Works in conjunction with any Android file manager, for example, ES Explorer. Both applications are available on the Play Market.

The flash drive is read/write.

All your files are now available

Connecting USB flash drives to devices that do not have miniUSB/microUSB

A number of companies, not as well-known as ZTE, Huawei, Sony and their other competitors, install non-standard interface connectors. OTG adapters with miniUSB/microUSB are absolutely not suitable for gadgets with a highly standardized connector without a special OTG adapter. Look on Ebay or AliExpress for an OTG adapter that matches the standard of the interface socket of your smartphone or tablet. Further steps to obtain software access to your flash drives are the same.

Other ways to connect a flash drive to an Android smartphone or tablet

There are the following methods:

Video: Connecting additional devices to a smartphone and tablet, including flash drives: problems and solutions

By connecting flash drives and other storage devices to an Android smartphone or tablet, you free up your hands when it comes to organizing the storage of the data you carry with you. This can be very useful to you on business trips and travel. Good luck!