12 ways to use an OTG adapter with a smartphone

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Charge other devices, record sound, and view files from third-party media.

It would seem that the USB cable that comes with a smartphone can be used for two purposes: to charge your device through it and copy photos and other stuff to your computer. But if you get an OTG adapter (for example), you can perform much more interesting actions.

1. Charge another smartphone

Sounds crazy, but you can charge one smartphone from another if you don't have a power bank at hand. You can also feed from tablets.

It's simple: connect the OTG adapter to the gadget you want to charge from, and connect your smartphone to it via a regular USB cable. A device with OTG will serve as a power source, and a device connected via a wire will go into charging mode.

2. Voice recording

Let's say you want to record voices or sounds on your smartphone, but you are absolutely not satisfied with the quality of the built-in microphone. In this case, you can connect a professional microphone to the device via USB via an OTG cable.

3. Connecting musical instruments

You can record not only voice, but also music on your smartphone. Connect the MIDI controller to the device using the OTG adapter and USB cable. Then install a music composing application such as TouchDAW. And start creating. The laurels of the new Beethoven await you.

4. Playing on a gamepad

Many people, without a powerful computer or console, play on their smartphones. The control in mobile games leaves much to be desired, but it can be made more convenient by connecting a gamepad to a smartphone.

Wireless models connect via Bluetooth without unnecessary gestures. And if you have a wired one, try connecting it to your smartphone via an OTG adapter.

5. Working with mouse and keyboard

Typing on touch screens is easy when it comes to short messages. But working with long texts turns into agony. Connect a USB keyboard to the device via OTG, download the mobile office suite, and you will type much faster.

Similarly, a mouse can be connected to a smartphone. Useful if you find it difficult to select text or select small objects on a page in a browser. Or if your screen does not work and you need to transfer data from a damaged smartphone.

Unfortunately, USB hubs are unlikely to function via OTG. So if you need to use a mouse and keyboard at the same time on a smartphone or tablet, buy a two-in-one device like.

6. Using other USB accessories

There are a wide variety of USB powered accessories: LED lights, mini portable fans, toothbrushes, and so on. And all these gadgets can easily be connected to a smartphone via an OTG adapter to power them from its battery.

7. LAN connection

You might say that connecting your smartphone to a LAN cable is nonsense, because there is such a thing as Wi-Fi. But sometimes it lacks speed and stability. Let's say you want to leave your smartphone or tablet to download torrents. Connect an external Ethernet adapter to it via OTG, like, and download all the seasons of your favorite series in half an hour - the main thing is that there is enough memory.

8. Using a USB Modem

If you have a tablet that is not equipped with a mobile communication module, you can connect an external 3G / 4G USB modem to it via OTG. So you will have the Internet even where there is no Wi-Fi. You can use PPP Widget 3 to control the transfer of data. However, note that it will need root access.

9. Print directly from your smartphone

If you do not use the so-called cloud printing, you can connect the printer directly to your smartphone via OTG. To do this, you need to install the PrinterShare app. And you can print documents and photos without transferring them to your computer.

10. Connecting an external camera

@Jorrit Jongma / YouTube

No matter how advanced the cameras of mobile devices become, they still cannot compare with high-quality DSLRs. But this does not mean that a smartphone is useless for avid photographers.

Connect the camera to the gadget via OTG, and you can transfer pictures from it directly to the device's memory, as well as edit them on the spot using any mobile application.

In addition, the DSLR Controller software allows you to control the camera from a connected smartphone and use the screen as a viewfinder.

11. Viewing files from external media

Most often, OTG adapters are used to connect flash drives to smartphones and tablets. But you can also connect external hard drives with them! True, it is not a fact that you will have enough power transmitted via OTG. It will be ideal if the external drive uses separate connectors for charging and data transfer.

12. Transferring data from other phones

When you have a modern smartphone, there is nothing easier than transferring contacts and notes from one device to another without any cables. But let's say you have some old Blackberry that has never heard of cloud sync.

In this case, connect it to your new smartphone via an OTG cable and install an application for copying data, such as Samsung Smart Switch Mobile or its analogues from your phone manufacturer. And the data will be transferred from the old device to the new one.