USB OTG technology allows us to perform many operations with our phone: connect an external memory, a controller or print a file
USB ports are among the most convenient tools in technology. On a smartphone they can be used not only for charging, but also for a connection to the PC or another device. But not all of them support this kind of activity: only USB OTG ports.
USB OTG (or USB On-The-Go) is a specification that allows any device capable of acting as a host (such as a smartphone), to communicate with USB peripherals such as external HDDs, pendrives, keyboards, mice or joypads through a suitable cable. This means that a cell phone with USB on-the-go can read data from removable media by acting as a host device, or present itself as a USB mass storage device when connected. This simple accessory will transform the potential of our smartphone.
Verify Compatibility
Before buying a USB On-the-go device, it is necessary to verify that our Android phone is compatible with this technology. The easiest and fastest way to find out is to download an app from the Play Store, known as USB OTG Checker. Once installed, we launch the application and wait for the program’s response. Obviously to use this technology we will have to buy an adapter for the USB port of our phone. In major e-commerce and electronics stores these tools can be found for a few tens of euros.
Connecting an external hard drive to the phone
One of the first actions to do with USB OTG is to connect a hard drive or USB stick to our smartphone. In this way the memory of our device will increase by leaps and bounds. The advice in this case is to rely on a USB stick. Not all external hard drives are compatible with the Android operating system.
Video game screen
If we are fans of video games, USB OTG is the technology that suits us. The Xbox controller, for example, can be connected to our Android smartphone with USB On-the-go to play our favorite titles more conveniently. Those with special knowledge could also root the phone to turn it into a retro PlayStation game console.
Connect mouse and keyboard
Can a phone be a computer? Almost, if thanks to USB OTG we connect mouse and keyboard to the mobile device. If we have a sufficiently powerful phone, we won’t need to buy a notebook for work or study. All we have to do is connect the keyboard and mouse via USB and start working or taking notes for university.
Direct printing
Thanks to USB on-the-go, it is also possible to print a file or an email on the phone without going through a computer. Simply connect through USB OTG the two devices and send the document to print. Also with the same technique we can connect a smartphone to a camera and use the phone’s screen as an interactive display and select various shooting options.