On a smartphone you will not find a full-fledged USB port into which you can insert a flash drive. Therefore, connecting a USB flash drive to Android must be done using additional equipment.

Connecting the drive

For your phone to see and open devices connected via USB, it must have On-The-Go (OTG) support. The essence of the technology is that the mobile device supplies power to external equipment via a USB connector. The function is implemented in Android 3.1 and higher, so before you try to connect a flash drive to Android, you need to make sure that this is even possible. First of all, check the OS version:

To make sure there are no problems with the connection, install the USB OTG Checker application. This small program will check for OTG support and, if available, issue a confirmation. The next step is to purchase a special adapter (equipment cost starts from 100 rubles). The smartphone has a microUSB port; the flash drive physically cannot fit in it. Therefore, you need to expand the port using an OTG adapter, which can be purchased at any mobile equipment store. Some phones, like tablets, come with a “native” OTG cable, so manufacturers also assume that external drives and other USB devices will be connected to their devices.
The connection procedure itself is extremely simple: one end of the adapter is installed in the microUSB connector on the phone, and a flash drive is inserted into the USB port at the other end. Now you can find universal flash drives with USB and microUSB, which do not require an adapter to connect.
This is still rare, but it is quite possible that over time the ports will become universal, and users will be able to abandon adapters and other additional equipment.

To open a flash drive on a tablet or smartphone, it is usually enough to have a file manager installed on the device. The flash drive must be formatted in FAT32; data from NTFS cannot be read on Android. This primarily applies to the latest models of smartphones from Samsung: just connect the flash drive via an OTG adapter and find the drive through any file manager. The data will be located in the /sdcard/usbStorage directory.
However, the procedure does not always go so smoothly: even if the device supports OTG, the question of how to open a connected flash drive on Android causes difficulties. The problem is that not all mobile devices automatically mount external equipment, be it a flash drive, camera or mouse.

You can eliminate the shortcoming using the paid application USB Media Explorer, which allows you to copy music, video photos, documents from flash drives connected to Google Nexus smartphones and other devices with Android 4.0 and higher.
The application has two drawbacks: it is paid and correct work is guaranteed only on Nexus phones and tablets, although the developers claim support for other devices. One of the advantages is support for the NTFS file system, that is, you do not have to format the flash drive in FAT32 before connecting.

If you don’t want to spend money on an application for copying data, or you basically can’t install USB Media Explorer on your device due to lack of model support, then the only way to access the data recorded on the flash drive is to use superuser rights (root).

For each model, it is better to look for its own separate instructions for obtaining superuser rights. There are also universal methods, such as using the Kingo Root program, but it should be borne in mind that obtaining root rights is a potentially dangerous operation, as a result of which the mobile device will be removed from warranty. In addition, performing the procedure incorrectly may damage the system.

If your phone has root rights, you can use free application StickMount to detect a connected flash drive on Android.

1. Launch StickMount.
2. Connect the flash drive to your phone.
3. Install automatic opening StickMount when connecting this drive and give the application superuser rights.

You can view and copy the contents of the flash drive after mounting through any file manager. The information will be located in the sdcard/usbStorage directory.

Android is great at working with USB flash drives; some devices even have a full-fledged USB port. But not everyone is so lucky. Most devices are equipped with a microUSB connector. What to do if you need to connect a flash drive to a smartphone or tablet equipped only with a microUSB port?

Android has USB On - To - Go technology (loosely translated: plug and use). Its essence is that the device is capable of supplying power to external media connected via microUSB. Thanks to this, the user has the opportunity to work with flash drives directly from his tablet or smartphone.

This onetechnology All devices with Android 3.1 and higher definitely have it.. As for the rest, you need to check. Use the program from Google Play Market for this.

Checking your device using USB OTG Checker

To check for OTG on your device, simply run the USB OTG Checker program. She will test the device and show you the result.

Connecting an OTG cable

So, your device is modern enough to support this simple technology. Now you need a USB to microUSB adapter. This cable is also called an OTG cable.

It looks like any regular adapter: on one side there is a flat plug for the microUSB connector, on the other there is a USB port covered with plastic.

Connect one end of the OTG cable to your smartphone or tablet, and insert a flash card into the other. If everything is fine, a corresponding message will appear on the device screen. You will be prompted to open a file manager to view the data from the USB drive.

StickMount: if the device does not see the flash drive through the adapter

Unfortunately, it's not always that simple. On some devices, the USB drive may not be recognized even if OTG is present. If we exclude the possibility of damage to the flash drive (check it by connecting it to the computer), then perhaps your smartphone / tablet does not automatically detect the external media. In this case, the program will help. You can download it from Google Play Market.

1. Download and install the program.
2. Try inserting the flash drive again.
3. Android will now prompt you to launch StickMount. Agree. The flash drive will be detected and you will be able to view the files installed on it.

Please note that StickMount requires Root access.

How to get Root access on a device

How to connect a USB flash drive to Android using an adapter - video

How to view data from a flash drive

In order to work comfortably with an external drive, you will need good file managers. If you have root access, you can choose from a variety of options. But if you are the owner of a Nexus device, then there are at least two applications in the Play Market that allow you to do without root.

These are not the only ones, but perhaps one of the best. Alas, both are paid. In general, they can work on other devices, you need to check here. You can do this using the Nexus Photo Viewer program.

Thus, to connect a flash drive to a device on operating system Android, you will need a USB to microUSB adapter and several programs. In addition, to fully work with removable media, you need good file managers, which can only be installed on a smartphone or tablet with root access.

Not all users know that you can connect a regular flash drive to your Android smartphone. Moreover, owners of top-end smartphones may not need this function, but for those who have a budget device there are a lot of different benefits from this.

For example, if you have little built-in memory, then you can connect a flash drive and watch movies or listen to music from it. Or you need to transfer some important information from a flash drive to your device, but you don’t have a PC at hand.

In general, this useful “trick” has a lot of applications and, of course, we won’t consider them all. We are more interested in how exactly to connect a USB drive to your gadget.

Checking support for the OTG protocol

OTG protocol is a technology with which you can connect not only a flash drive, but also any other peripheral device to an Android smartphone - 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 can be downloaded.

USB OTG cable

This cable is an “adapter” at one end, which has a standard mini USB connector for connecting a smartphone, and at the other - a regular one. USB port to connect a flash drive. We simply connect both devices with this cable and don’t need to do anything else.

USB OTG drive

It’s even easier if you purchase in advance a universal flash drive that can be directly connected to both a PC and an Android without any additional “adapters.”

Important! The flash drive must be formatted in FAT32. If it is in NTFS format, then the device on Android OS will simply not see it.

Conclusion

That's all: no difficulties with USB connection You shouldn’t have a flash drive for your device. Ask any additional questions in the comments, and we will definitely answer!

StickMount is one of the few applications of its kind that allows you to mount portable device"flash drives", external hard drives and other storage devices. To connect to the device, you must use a USB connector, if the device has one, or a special adapter from regular USB to miniUSB, which is more “popular” in mobile devices. When you connect the drive, the program will automatically recognize it and carry out the mounting process. Upon completion, the connected device will appear in the manager as a standard folder called usbStorage. This way, you can work with data on the drive as if it were written to the memory of the device itself. In the same way, you can connect, for example, a camera, another Android device, and so on.

Among the main advantages of StickMount are the ability to work with almost all common file systems and the absence of any delays when reading data from the connected media. The only thing that can be attributed to the disadvantages of the application is that Root rights are required for its operation. But the program is completely free and does not require any preliminary configuration.

Smartphones and tablets are actively replacing our everyday life not only personal computers, but even laptops. However, some functions, for example, typing a fairly large piece of text, due to small size mobile device keyboards require some effort, and often a lot of hassle.

In this regard, the question arises: is it possible to directly connect the desired gadget to your Android device? It turns out it is possible! Not every user knows that it is possible to connect a keyboard, USB gaming peripherals, external modem, etc. to an Android device.

One of the tools for exchanging information between a smartphone and a PC is a flash drive (USB flash drive), which is connected via a USB interface to any reading device.

Majority modern devices with Android OS have a standard micro-USB connector that functions as a communication port. To see devices connected through the port, the smartphone must support USB On-The-Go technology (abbr. USB OTG). This function is implemented in Android OS versions no lower than 3.1.

To connect a flash drive, you will need a USB OTG cable with a microUSB plug on one side and a USB connector on the other:

If the manufacturer of your device was stingy and did not include it in the package with the phone, then you need to get it by spending a small amount in any specialty store. If your device does not have a USB connector, you will have to purchase an adapter with USB on one end and a connector corresponding to your device on the other, to which the USB OTG cable will subsequently be connected.

How to open a flash drive on Android

To open a flash drive and view its contents, you need a file manager. Many modern models smartphones are equipped with this initially and if you have a USB OTG cable, all that remains to resolve the issue is to connect the drive. If the preinstalled file manager no, you’ll have to download a third-party one, fortunately similar ones (directly the path to the files: /sdcard/usbStorage).

Android tablet does not see the flash drive - reasons

However, not all Android devices can function in a simplified way. Often the connection is made, but nothing happens at all.

First reason. This situation may arise due to the fact that a particular device cannot automatically mount an external drive, so it will need help, which is possible by installing a program that can do this. Perhaps the most popular free one in this segment works not only with flash drives, but also with other equipment, including digital cameras.

True, its installation requires root access, and if you already have it, you can connect a USB flash drive via a USB OTG cable. In the pop-up prompt, you need to agree to launch StickMount and the program will automatically detect the drive and mount it accordingly. You can find it along the path /sdcard/usbStorage/sda1. To safely remove the flash drive, go into the program again and select the “Unmount” command.

One more thing worth mentioning good app— USB OTG Helper (root rights are also required). The operating principle is similar to that described above.

Second reason The reason why your device may not see the flash drive is that it simply does not read some file systems, such as NTFS, by default.

In this case, using a computer, you need to reformat the flash drive to exFAT or FAT32.

But what if there is no PC at the moment? Then you can use the Paragon NTFS & HFS+ application, which supports the NTFS format and allows you to manipulate digital files that have a similar file system (you will need it for installation).

We tried to tell you in as much detail as possible about how to connect a flash drive to an Android device and import files to your device and back to an external flash drive. If, after reading the article, you still have any questions, please contact us and we will dot all the i's. Good luck!