Nexus 7 / Android 4.1 Jelly Bean external device support -USB OTG (On The Go) etc.

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Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
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What have you guys tried so far?

So far I've tried both a mouse and a keyboard through a USB hub and they both worked fine. This post was typed with an Apple keyboard on my Nexus 7 in fact. The Nexus 7 automatically shuts off the on-screen keyboard, even at the login screen.

I even tried an Apple USB to Ethernet adapter and it works fine. The notifications list shows "ETHERNET" as the network ID, instead of the WiFi SSID it usually has (after I turned off WiFi).

With my rooted machine and Stickmount, my USB flash drives work fine, with both FAT32 and NTFS. My external 5400 rpm USB-powered 2.5" hard drives didn't however, presumably because of the power requirements.
 
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Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
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WiFi tethering of the Nexus 7 from my iPhone 4 works fine. In fact I'm tethered right now because my power is out. It's sometimes slow to connect, but once it connects, it's good. I'm not surprised about the delay to connection though, because that also happens with my MacBook Pro.

However, I can't get Bluetooth pairing to work. The Nexus 7 says it pairs fine, but the iPhone says the Nexus 7 is not supported when it tries to pair.

USB tethering from the phone doesn't work either.
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
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Spoooon said:
I need to order a cable. Just being a lazy ass.
Click to expand...
Most of the cables on eBay are either straight or right angled. A lot of them are also quite long. I ordered one randomly and it works fine but with the Nexus 7 in landscape with the volume buttons on top and the micro-USB port on the right, that means the USB cable is pointing upwards. The one I got is also 17 cm (6.75") long. So I've ordered another one, this time left angled. It also looks to be a lot shorter, hopefully around 10 cm (4").

BTW, I tried pairing an Apple Bluetooth keyboard to it, but it wouldn't complete the pairing process for some reason.
 
T

Tom

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
13,293
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usb flash drives..does that mean that microsd usb adapters will work ?

I'm not really familiar with rooting Android. What are the drawbacks ? voids warranty ? makes automatic updates to OS a problem ? Lose installed apps or freebies that come with Nexus 7 ? Those kind of drawbacks I mean.
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,810
126
I only tried USB flash drives with the N7 to make sure Stickmount worked. But with the Galaxy Nexus, I have tried USB keyboard and mouse along with Bluetooth HP Touchpad keyboard. Everything worked. I'm sure it's the same with the N7 since others have gotten it to work just fine. People use the PS3 Bluetooth controller to play games on N7.

You can make external hard drive work. You just need powered USB hub.
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
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Well, that's very strange.

If I turn off WiFi but plug in a wired Ethernet cable, the Nexus 7 won't allow me to download the free movie we get (Transformers 3). It requires a WiFi connection.

Annoying, cuz at my desk my WiFi reception isn't great. So, I have to move it to another part of the room to get decent WiFi speeds.

There is no good reason for this, since Ethernet works perfectly for surfing.
 
akugami

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
6,210
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Barcode scanner
MSR (magnetic stripe reader aka credit card swiper)
 
M

Mwing

Senior member
Sep 29, 2001
294
0
76
Tom said:
usb flash drives..does that mean that microsd usb adapters will work ?

I'm not really familiar with rooting Android. What are the drawbacks ? voids warranty ? makes automatic updates to OS a problem ? Lose installed apps or freebies that come with Nexus 7 ? Those kind of drawbacks I mean.
Click to expand...

rooted means not warranty but u can unroot it and no one knows

it doesnt affect ota update, however update may unroot ur device and u have to root again

there is an app called nexus media importer that doesnt require u to root u can mount a external thumb drive or sd microsd card reader, im using it on both my galaxy nexus and nexus 7 without problem
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
126
Mwing said:
there is an app called nexus media importer that doesnt require u to root u can mount a external thumb drive or sd microsd card reader, im using it on both my galaxy nexus and nexus 7 without problem
Click to expand...
Hmmm... Intriguing. I see that as of a few days ago, they've started supporting NTFS.

The only reason I've rooted is for Stickmount. Judging by the description for Nexus Media Importer, Stickmount's file support is much better, in that Stickmount's support is nearly complete while Nexus Media Importer's isn't, but then again all I really need it for is media playback.

Hmm...

BTW, their site says flash devices up to 32 GB only are supported, but I suspect my 64 GB USB drive will also work, considering some people are reporting their external 500 GB hard drives are working.
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
126
Well, that's irritating.

All of a sudden Stickmount won't automatically mount my USB flash drive. When I plug it in, it says it's searching... and then nothing happens. I have to go into the Stickmount app and then manually choose USB mounting. When I do, it works fine.

And when I do it manually, it works every time. I tried rebooting the Nexus 7 and re-installing Stickmount, but the behaviour is the same.

That would be enough for me to consider just using Nexus Media Importer instead with its limitations, but:

Mwing said:
there is an app called nexus media importer that doesnt require u to root u can mount a external thumb drive or sd microsd card reader, im using it on both my galaxy nexus and nexus 7 without problem
Click to expand...
Eug said:
Hmmm... Intriguing. I see that as of a few days ago, they've started supporting NTFS.
Click to expand...
I read in the comments for Nexus Media Importer that MKV is not natively supported. You have to change the file name to AVI and then they'll work. Is that still true? If so, that's a big PITA.
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
126
Yeah, I tried it the other day too, once I removed Stickmount. Works fine. Perhaps that was an early build that was problematic, with certain hardware. I've since unrooted and relocked. I'm now stock, with Nexus Media Importer.

BTW, I now own 3 different USB OTG adapters, all from eBay, and they all work great to my surprise. I think I spent about $6 total to get all three.

Standard right angled adapter:

USB-rightangle-crop_zps165095c9.jpg


Left angled adapter:

USB-leftangle_zps632f69b7.jpg


Pivoting USB adapter, set here to point upwards:

USB-front-crop_zps24d60e02.jpg


Pivoting USB adapter, set here to fold behind the unit:

USB-behind-crop_zps0d96e7bb.jpg


Back view of pivoting USB adapter:

USB-behind_back-crop_zps6cf0507b.jpg


They're all used with my very small 64 GB Patriot Axle flash drive, pictured here beside a nickel:

USB-Flashdrivewithpivotingadapter-crop_zps706f24cf.jpg


Now somebody needs to invent a tiny microUSB flash drive, something that could sit flush against the bottom & back of the Nexus. I'd buy one if it was priced say $10 more than a microSD card of the same capacity and speed.
 
MoInSTL

MoInSTL

Senior member
Jan 2, 2012
392
0
76
I bought this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Mi.../dp/B005GGBYJ4
A little pricey, but very good quality, lifetime warranty and fast delivery.

There are a couple of others listed under "What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?"

I wanted one that fit well and wasn't loose. And like it says "not too short, not too long".
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
126
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
126
I prefer the left angle cable over the pivoting adapter. Actually, the right angle cable will work too, if I flip the Nexus 7 180 degrees. However, the problem with that is then the volume and power buttons are on the bottom, with the Nexus 7 is in landscape orientation. Not ideal. With the left angle cable, the power and volume buttons are on the top.

BTW, after Stickmount stopped working, I uninstalled it and reinstalled it, and it worked fine again after that. Nexus Media Importer has worked flawlessly ever since I installed it though, with all the cables. I have no use for Stickmount anymore, or for rooting for that matter.
 
Corey Bryant

Corey Bryant

Junior Member
Oct 1, 2012
10
0
0
www.loudestcommerce.com
Eug, looking at the ones you recommended, for some reason, I cannot seem to find what the size of the Flash drives are. Can you help?

I am interested in the one that you recommended. Thank you!
 
F

ffaridi1

Junior Member
Jun 13, 2013
1
0
0
akugami said:
Barcode scanner
MSR (magnetic stripe reader aka credit card swiper)
Click to expand...

Hi,
I am trying to integrate a MSR (Magtek) into my application but couldn't get the app to detect the card reader.
Could you tell me how did you detect MSR ?
 
Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,002
1,621
126
Old post but since this thread has been resurrected...

Corey Bryant said:
Eug, looking at the ones you recommended, for some reason, I cannot seem to find what the size of the Flash drives are. Can you help?

I am interested in the one that you recommended. Thank you!
Click to expand...

The flash drive I had in the pic was 64 GB (and labelled as such). You could get physically smaller flash drives though.
 
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