If a few years ago, mobile phones did not even have wireless connections such as Wi-Fi or even Bluetooth, this action was unthinkable. In addition, it was quite difficult to manage all those files that we had, such as images, and its reduced memory also complicated our existence. However, the arrival of the new smartphones these problems were solved, and much more with the arrival of cloud services. Something that has facilitated the task of transferring the files from the terminal to have them accessible on any device.
However, there is still something that many users are completely unaware of and are still wondering. We are talking about how to connect external memories to the mobile through its USB port , which we use to charge it. For this reason, we will explain how to carry it out and the different alternatives that its use will give us.
The key is OTG
It was not until 2011 when we were able to see the technology that currently allows us to connect a mobile with external storage. It was from the arrival of Android 3.1 Honeycomb, made for tablets, when Google’s operating system integrated native support for OTG for the first time. But what is it really? This technology, which is also known as USB On The Go , is basically an extension of USB 2.0 that allows them to have better flexibility in interconnection.
Therefore, before proceeding to connect a terminal to this peripheral, we must check if the mobile is compatible with OTG (On The Go) technology, something that you can check in the specifications offered by different manufacturers. But if or so, you can always test it directly with your terminal , if it works it will mean that it is compatible and, therefore, it has this technology implemented.
Even for Android, we have the alternative of installing an application. In Google Play we will find several applications available such as USB OTG Checker. We will only have to download the app, which is totally free, from the link that we will leave you below. Once installed, we must open it and, automatically, it will carry out the corresponding analysis to see if it is compatible . When finished, a notice will appear informing us if the phone is compatible with USB OTG.
In addition, this extension will only allow us to link the smartphone with this external hard drive, but also offers us the possibility of connecting a keyboard, mouse and other devices to the port of our mobile, to be able to control it with them.
Although, today, the vast majority of terminals have this feature among their specifications, not long ago it was an almost exclusive function of the highest-end phones. But, over time, it has become a very good tool to be able to make the most of the different capabilities that a smartphone gives us, be it Android or iOS, through external storage units , peripherals and many other devices.
A few years ago, when all Android phones had the famous microUSB it was necessarily mandatory to have an adapter, in order to hook our terminal to the peripheral. In some cases, there were even smartphone companies that included this accessory in the box of their terminals.
But, everything changed when the terminals began to have USB Type C , with which we put aside that need to have such an adapter, thanks to the fact that both smartphones and peripherals can make use of OTG technology. If in your case you do not find this compatibility, you will have nothing to do, since there are no ways to manually enable the support to be OTG.
Steps to connect it
After you have verified that your mobile device is fully compatible with OTG, we will have to get an adapter that allows us to connect said external memory, either through the most traditional connector, the Micro USB, with the last to arrive, the Type C , which abound right now among the terminals, for the iPhone. In any case, we will explain it to you step by step for Android and iPhone .
On Android
When looking at the OTG cable you have to make sure that at one end it has a female connector and at the other a micro USB or type C connector. In this way we will be able to connect our external storage unit to our terminal in the easiest way.
Once we have connected the memory we want, we can explore all the files that it saves and copy the contents of our mobile device, of course, we must bear in mind that in some models it will have to be done through a file manager for Android. But don’t worry, because there are different apps that you can easily find in the Google Play Store. For example, we find the application of the Mountain View company itself:
However, many smartphone manufacturers already have a similar tool as standard, as they add it directly through its customization layer. So, before installing anything on the phone, check in the app drawer if they have a software tool similar to the one we have shown you. From there, you can easily see the unit that you are going to pair with your mobile.
On an iPhone
Now it is the turn of those users who have an iPhone. And although it is true that in this case it will be a bit more complicated, you can link your Apple terminal to an external disk. This greater difficulty is due to the connection that Apple devices have, the Lightning of the iPhone .
This is why we will have to look carefully for an accessory that is exclusive for these terminals. The most advisable thing is to get one that is certified by the company itself because you will make sure that it does not give you any type of failure. In addition, we must also take into account that we must install an app that serves these mobiles to be able to manage the different files that we want to copy or transfer.
And, we must bear in mind that the storage unit that we want to pair with the Apple phone must have a single data partition with the FAT, FAT32, exFAT (FAT64) or APFS format. Otherwise, the iPhone will not be able to read that device.
Likewise, if you want to see the content of the unit that you have connected to the smartphone, you must use the Files application> tap on the Explore section (at the bottom of the panel). Next, click on the device name under Locations. If you don’t see this section, tap Explore at the bottom of your iPhone screen again.
And a pendrive?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes, you can. In addition, the simplest and fastest way for the OTG cable of a mobile is to be able to use pendrives. But it will be after you have checked if your terminal is OTG compatible. Also, to get an adapter that lets you connect said memory with the USB connector. The cable has both an input that connects to the phone and another in which we will find an input for a normal size female connector.
After this, we will only have to connect the pendrive to the mobile so that you can transfer all the files you want and thus be able to empty your smartphone of everything you do not need to have on hand. However, if you have an iPhone, you will have to buy an exclusive accessory for Apple, since we return to them, since the Lightning connection of the iPhone is more complex . And you will also have to install a specific application to be able to control the files.
And it is that, any USB memory, will be detected as an external storage unit. So we can interact in the same way with it as with any other peripheral, using, of course, any file browsing application.
What to use it for
One of the utilities that we find in this connection is that we can transfer files to our mobile devices or vice versa. A marvel for those users who do not have a computer at home. So we can make use of an external hard drive to save different files, images or movies. For example, it helps us to make a backup copy.
Although, as we have been repeating, in some cases it will be necessary to have one of the applications that exist to be able to explore files. One of the first virtues of this connection with our mobile is that we can save all the images we want . Either with the aim of storing those that we believe are important or simply because we do not want to erase them forever.
Many will not know it, but by connecting a terminal to an external hard drive or memory, we can enjoy videos or movies that are stored inside. So it will come great at any time when we go on vacation to a place where we do not have Wi-Fi or Internet access.
Finally, other possibilities offered by this functionality is that we can completely empty our terminal of everything we do not want. An option that will avoid headaches when choosing which files to delete. By linking our mobile to an external memory, we can save everything we want. Well, they have a storage capacity much higher than that of mobile phones.
