Surely you more than once had a need to connect a USB flash drive to your Android tablet or smartphone, but you did not know how to do it. Yes, in almost no Android gadget you will find a full-size USB, but you can still connect the drive to your device. Now I will tell you how.
Instructions: how to connect a USB flash drive to an Android tablet or smartphone
To open and view the contents of the flash drive, you will need a file manager. If you do not have a built-in manager initially, then you will have to download an external one. You can familiarize yourself with it on our website. The path to the files itself will look like this: / sdcard / usbStorage.
True, not always tablets or smartphones can identify a USB flash drive or hard drive. In this case, you will have to download the paid Nexus Media Importer application (it works not only with the Nexus), or the StickMount application, which is free, but requires root (Superuser rights). Read about getting them in the posts: and. If you have previously rooted the device, then you can proceed. There is another great application for automatically mounting a USB flash drive. It is called USB OTG Helper and also requires root rights.
How to connect a USB flash drive to an Android tablet or smartphone via MicroUSB
If your tablet or smartphone uses a MicroUSB port, then it will not be difficult to connect such a device. You just need to fork out a couple of dollars and buy a USB OTG cable. That is, you insert the corresponding end of the adapter into the connector of the device, and connect the USB flash drive to it. If your Android smartphone or tablet supports the OTG function, then the flash drive will be detected automatically.
How to connect a USB flash drive to an Android tablet or smartphone without MicroUSB
If your manufacturer was greedy for the USB connector, and instead equipped his device with only a proprietary connector for synchronization, then you will have to spend a little more. But even in such a situation, there is a solution: you will need another additional adapter, suitable for your connector. You will need to insert a USB OTG cable into it.
That's all, I hope that my post was useful to you.
Not all users know that you can connect a regular USB flash drive to your Android smartphone. Moreover, for owners of top-end smartphones, this function may not be useful, but for those who have a budget device from this there are a lot of different benefits.
For example, if you have little built-in memory, then you can connect a USB flash drive and watch movies or listen to music from it. Or you need to transfer any information important to you from a flash drive to your device, but a PC is not at hand.
In general, this useful "feature" has a lot of applications, and of course we will not consider everything. We are more interested in exactly how to connect a USB drive to your gadget.
Checking OTG protocol support
OTG protocol is a technology by which you can connect not only a USB flash drive to an Android smartphone, but also any other peripheral device - a mouse, printer, video camera, etc. More details about this.
To check if your gadget supports this technology, use the USB OTG Checker application, which you can download,.
USB OTG cable
Such a cable is an "adapter" at one end, which is a standard mini USB connector for connecting a smartphone, and on the other - a regular USB port for connecting a flash drive. We just connect both devices with such a cable and nothing else needs to be done.
USB OTG storage
It's even easier if you purchase such a universal flash drive in advance, which can be directly connected to both a PC and an Android without any additional "transitions".
Important! The flash drive must be formatted in FAT32. If it is in NTFS format, then the device on the Android OS simply will not see it.
Conclusion
That's all: you shouldn't have any difficulties with connecting a USB flash drive to your device. Ask all additional questions in the comments, and we will definitely answer!
Bulky USB ports are not entirely appropriate for compact smartphones. But this does not mean that flash drives cannot be connected to them. Agree that this can be very convenient in many situations, especially when the phone does not provide for the use of MicroSD. We suggest you consider all the options for connecting a USB flash drive to gadgets with micro-USB connectors.
First you need to find out if your smartphone supports OTG technology. This means the micro-USB port can supply power to external devices and keep them visible in the system. This technology began to be implemented on devices with Android 3.1 and higher.
Information on OTG support can be found in the documentation for your smartphone or simply use the Internet. For complete confidence, download the USB OTG Checker application, the purpose of which is to check the device for OTG technology support. Just press the button "Check Device OS on USB OTG".
If the verification for OTG support was successful, you will see a picture as shown below. 
And if not, you will see this. 
Now we can consider the options for connecting a flash drive to a smartphone, we will consider the following:
- using an OTG cable;
- using an adapter;
- using a USB OTG flash drive.
For iOS, there is one way - using special flash drives with a Lightning connector for the iPhone.
Interesting: in some cases, you can connect other devices, for example: a mouse, keyboard, joystick, etc.
Method 1: Using an OTG cable
The most common way to connect a USB flash drive to mobile devices involves the use of a special adapter cable, which can be purchased at any point where mobile devices are sold. Some manufacturers include these cables with smartphones and tablets.
On the one hand, the OTG cable has a standard USB connector, on the other, a micro-USB plug. It's easy to guess what and where to insert. 
If the flash drive has light indicators, then you can determine by them that the power has gone. On the smartphone itself, a notification about the connected media may also appear, but not always.
The contents of the flash drive can be found along the way
/ sdcard / usbStorage / sda1
To do this, use any file manager. 
Method 2: Using an adapter
Recently, small adapters (adapters) from USB to micro-USB began to appear on sale. This small device has a micro-USB output on one side and USB pins on the other. It is enough to insert the adapter into the interface of the flash drive, and you can connect it to a mobile device. 
Method 3: Using a flash drive for an OTG connector
If you intend to frequently connect the drive, then the easiest option is to purchase a USB OTG flash drive. Such a storage medium has two ports at the same time: USB and micro-USB. It is convenient and practical. 
Today, USB OTG flash drives can be found almost everywhere conventional drives are sold. At the same time, for the price they are not much more expensive.
Method 4: Flash drives for iPhone
There are several special media available for iPhones. Transcend has developed the JetDrive Go 300 removable drive with a Lightning connector on one side and a regular USB on the other. Actually, this is the only really working way to connect a flash drive to smartphones on iOS. 
What to do if the smartphone does not see the connected USB flash drive
The team "Unmount" are used to safely remove the media. Please note that StickMount requires root access. You can get it, for example, using the program.
The ability to connect a USB flash drive to a smartphone primarily depends on the latter. It is necessary that the device supports OTG technology, and then you can use a special cable, adapter or connect a USB flash drive.
Greetings. Now many people do not know how to connect a USB flash drive to a phone. Because it does not fit corny, or there are other reasons due to which it is impossible to do it. In today's article, I want to take this issue apart. You will learn how to connect a USB flash drive to a phone (smartphone) on Android and how to view files on it.
Why you need to connect a USB flash drive to a smartphone, I think, there is no need to explain. The reasons can be completely different and the most unusual. Maybe there are simply no other devices nearby for reading information from a flash drive, or maybe you decided to upload music to your phone in this way.
How to connect a USB flash drive to an Android smartphone?
If you are holding an ordinary USB flash drive and your favorite smartphone in your hands, then you see that there is nowhere to insert it. Because the flash drive has a USB Type-A type, and the smartphone has a micro USB Type-B connector. That's bad luck. (Read more about)
Fortunately, many modern smartphones have support for the technology. USB On-The-Go allowing them to use most of their peripherals directly without the need for a computer or laptop. You can connect a mouse or keyboard, work with flash drives, and more. But for this you will need.
An OTG cable, as a rule, has a full-fledged USB Type-A on one side, and a micro USB Type-B on the other. Therefore, if you do not have a micro USB connector on your smartphone, then you should take care of an additional adapter to connect a USB flash drive. Although the likelihood of this is negligible, now almost all smartphones and tablets have a micro USB Type-B connector.
Eventually, to connect the flash drive to the phone, need to:
- so that your the smartphone supported the USB On-The-Go technology... Although now almost all smartphones support it, however, there are exceptions. Carefully read the specifications of the phone before buying if this parameter is important to you.
- to have in stock... It is inexpensive, so it’s not bad if you still have it. You never know when it will come in handy.
Adapter cables for different types of devices
OTG cables should be selected depending on which connector is available on your smartphone or tablet. It could be microUSB, appleLightning or the most modern USBTYPE-C... Some examples of these cables are shown in the table.
How to open a USB flash drive on Android (tablet or phone)?
« How to open a USB flash drive on a phone, there is also no shortcut “ My computer "And nothing like that?"- you will be surprised. Naturally, for this we need some kind of file manager. You most likely have some kind of unpretentious file manager preinstalled. But if it is not there, then you need to install it.
Today, popular file managers on OS Android are: File Manager, ES Explorer, Total Commander, X-plore File Manager, File Commander, ASTRO and others. There are actually a lot of them. I, for example, have been using X-plore... I fell in love with him since the days when the Symbian OS was popular on smartphones. X-plore is a convenient, functional and free manager. What else is needed?
X-plore - file manager
Then just connect the USB flash drive to the phone and go to the file manager. There it will be displayed with all the contents. Of course, a completely different question is whether a smartphone can work with all files? It's still not a computer. But he can work with the main ones. There are even special programs for working with Excel spreadsheets, but this is so inconvenient that I don't even know for whom these programs were written.
Why does the smartphone not see the USB flash drive via the OTG cable?
There can be many reasons why your smartphone does not see the USB flash drive. Let's take a look at the most common ones.
On the computer, too, the USB flash drive is often not visible, why? Read on.
Micro USB stick
You may not have known about this, but there are flash drives that fit the micro USB connector. This information may be useful for you if you plan to often connect a USB flash drive to a smartphone, then it makes sense to think about such a purchase.
Micro-USB flash drive
There are also combined flash drives, which have a USB Type-A output on one side and micro USB on the other. You can connect such a USB flash drive to both a computer and a smartphone. Think, maybe this is just what you need.
If you nevertheless decide to buy a micro USB flash drive, then we advise you to pay attention to the following models with a large amount of memory. In addition, they can be connected to absolutely any type of USB connector.
Conclusion on connecting a flash drive to the phone
In most cases, you will be able to use a USB stick on your phone without any problems. Which cannot but rejoice. However, if you run into difficulties connecting a flash drive, do not despair. Many of the problems are resolved quickly enough. I hope you've learned enough about how to connect a USB flash drive to your phone. If you have any questions, then ask, we will try to help you.
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We told you how you can connect a USB gaming peripheral, such as a joystick or gamepad, to a phone or tablet with an Android operating system, both from a computer and from a game console. But the USB port installed in your Android device can work not only with joysticks.
Maybe you, like us, have thought more than once; "Why can't you just connect a USB flash drive to your Android phone or tablet and upload files directly?" In fact, this can be done, although sometimes this operation is fraught with some difficulties. Today we will tell you, dear readers, how to connect a USB flash drive to your mobile device.
How to connect a USB flash drive to an Android device via micro-USB
Most modern smartphones and tablets with Android OS have a standard micro-USB connector as a communication port. In order for a phone or tablet to be able to see the devices connected to it through this port, it must support the technology USB On-The-Go, abbreviated USB OTG(sometimes you can also find the name USB Host). This technology means that the micro-USB port is able to supply power to external devices, thus allowing them to be visible in the system. The implementation of this technology is present in the Android operating system from version 3.1 and higher, so if your phone or tablet does not belong to the old people, then everything should work as it should.
If you are not sure about the hardware capabilities of your mobile device, and do not find the relevant information in the technical documentation for it, you can try installing the USB OTG Checker application on your Android device, which is available for download in the Google Play store.
Its only function is to quickly check your phone or tablet for USB On-The-Go (USB Host) technology support.
The only thing you need to connect a USB flash drive to your Android device is a USB On-The-Go (USB OTG) adapter cable.
You can buy it in any computer or mobile store and it is very inexpensive. Sometimes manufacturers put it in the box of their devices, saving our time and money.
Insert it with the appropriate end into the micro-USB connector of your mobile device, connect the flash drive to the other end, and the job is done, you can search for the files on the flash drive in the usb storage folder (sometimes just USB), which will appear among the drives available in the system. It can be accessed using any file manager.
Unfortunately, not all Android mobile devices can work in such a simple way. It often happens that you connect a USB flash drive to a micro-USB via an adapter in the aforementioned way, but nothing happens. If you are sure that your device supports USB On-The-Go technology, but nothing happens when you connect a flash drive to your phone or tablet via an adapter cable, do not despair.
This problem occurs because your mobile device does not automatically mount an external drive, and it needs help with this. On the Google Play market, you can find several programs that can do this. The most popular is StickMount, which is free to download. The latest version of the program works with the operating system Android 4.0 and higher. The application can work not only with USB-flash drives, but also with digital cameras and other similar equipment.
Please note that this application definitely requires root access! If you haven't opened root on your mobile device yet, it's time to do it right now. You can find out how this is done from the article in our database:
Once you install StickMount on your device, you can connect a USB flash drive using a USB OTG cable. When connected, your Android device will show you a tooltip asking if you want to launch StickMount. Agree with this, the program will detect your USB drive and mount it.
You can find your drive along the path / sdcard / usbStorage / sda1.
To safely remove the flash drive, go back to the program and select the "Unmount" command.
How to connect a USB flash drive to an Android device without micro-USB
Chinese companies, and well-known manufacturers, sometimes sin by installing non-standard connectors on their mobile phones and tablets with Android OS, to which it will not be possible to connect a USB On-The-Go adapter cable directly. If you are the lucky owner of just such a device, in order to use a USB flash drive with it, you first need to find the appropriate adapter that connects the USB connector to the proprietary connector of your manufacturer.
This can be tricky as these adapters are not usually sold in every store around the corner. But you can always find and order the required adapter via the Internet on Western or Chinese trading platforms.
Otherwise, the algorithm of actions is the same as in the previous section. Connect the USB flash drive, and if it was not immediately identified, try using a special mount program.
We hope our article helped you to understand the question "How to connect a USB flash drive to Android", and transferring files to your mobile device and back to an external drive has become much easier.
