Difference between adapter and OTG adapter??

[Mathias Lindberg]

Hey, I'm getting my Venue 8 Pro this Tuesday (yeaaah ), and I already purchased a USB adapter (see images) to install some programs from my school via USB. I've heard of people using OTG (On-thego) adapters, that look very similar but are a little bit more expensive. I've tried my new adapter with my Galaxy S III and OTG Disk Ex (app), but nothing shows up. The USB drive works fine with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 on Windows 8.1 (my desktop).

My question is, what is the difference between my adapter, and an OTG USB adapter? Is there any?

USB 2.0 adapter - A female / micro B male:

USB 2.0 OTG adapter - A female / micro B male:

The images do not represent the actual product, as I recieved a slightly different brown-ish adapter, but it's all the same really. It's a $3 product, and 20% of that is Danish taxes.

 

[Sport Driver]

I believe there is no difference.

 

[foxbat121]

The difference is internal, not visible from outside. MicroUSB has 5 pins compared to regular USB's 4 pins. The 5th PIN is called ID pin. In a USB OTG adapter, that ID pin is connected to ground which tells the tablet micro USB port that it needs to operate in USB OTG mode. Regular USB adapter has the ID pin unconnected.

In USB OTG mode, the microUSB port on the tablet can provide USB power to connected device. In regular non OTG mode, the external device provides USB power to the tablet (charging) instead.

 

[Mathias Lindberg]

The difference is internal, not visible from outside. MicroUSB has 5 pins compared to regular USB's 4 pins. The 5th PIN is called ID pin. In a USB OTG adapter, that ID pin is connected to ground which tells the tablet micro USB port that it needs to operate in USB OTG mode. Regular USB adapter has the ID pin unconnected.

In USB OTG mode, the microUSB port on the tablet can provide USB power to connected device. In regular non OTG mode, the external device provides USB power to the tablet (charging) instead.

Does that mean I can't use powered devices with a non-OTG adapter, or no USB drives at all? Wondering if I need to buy an OTG adapter instead, since I don't have any other Windows tablet to test at this moment

 

[xandros9]

Does that mean I can't use powered devices with a non-OTG adapter, or no USB drives at all? Wondering if I need to buy an OTG adapter instead, since I don't have any other Windows tablet to test at this moment

also worth noting that regardless of the cable, a tablet may not be able to power a hard drive. Using OTG my Dell Venue 8 Pro couldn't power my portable HD yet my dad's Lenovo IdeaPad Lynx handled it nicely through OTG.

 

[foxbat121]

Does that mean I can't use powered devices with a non-OTG adapter, or no USB drives at all? Wondering if I need to buy an OTG adapter instead, since I don't have any other Windows tablet to test at this moment

Without OTG adapter, you can't attach any USB device to it, only charging.

 

[Mathias Lindberg]

also worth noting that regardless of the cable, a tablet may not be able to power a hard drive. Using OTG my Dell Venue 8 Pro couldn't power my portable HD yet my dad's Lenovo IdeaPad Lynx handled it nicely through OTG.

Surface handles my portable hard drive well, but it does have a proprietary charging solution, idk.

 

[James8561]

best get the OTG for best compatibility.

 

[Mathias Lindberg]

I ordered an OTG adapter with a 10 cm. cord all should be good, thx for the help <3

 

[GuccizBud]

Old thread, but for the sake of knowledge, the only difference between a "normal" microUSB male to full-size USB 'A' female connection (cable or adapter, doesn't matter) and an "OTG" one?which is to say, the only reason why the first kind WON'T allow you to read a USB stick (flash/thumb drive) by plugging it into your phone's microUSB data/charging port whereas the second kind WILL?is one small physical difference, and that is the fact that pin/wire number→4←of the 5-pin/5-wire connection is NOT used in the regular connection but IS used in the OTG one. Specifically, pin 4 is bridged with (or shorted to, if you prefer) pin 5 in the OTG connection, and it is this that tells your phone it's an OTG connection in the first place, and that the phone should set itself up as a HOST now, rather than as a PERIPHERAL.

This infers two things.

First, it should tell you that OTG cables and adapters ARE, in fact different than regular USB cables and adapters. That said, if you plug one you have into your phone and it actually works, it means you had one all this time and didn't know it (I'm not up on the types of cables/connectors that come packaged with all the different devices on the market), it's definitely not impossible.

And the second thing is it suggests you could TURN a regular connection into an OTG one, if you have steady enough hands to (a) use common tools (exacto knife, etc.) to expose the pins of an unused USB connector you probably already own, (b) use a soldering iron to bridge pins 4 and 5 together with just a tiny bit of solder, and (c) close/strengthen the connection back up with some black electrician's tape when you're done.

There is, in fact, at least one such step-by-step tutorial (with pictures) available on the web, and anyone interested can just Google something like "create your own USB OTG cable". Of course, these things are already pretty cheap to begin with, but if you tend to be a DIY'er and like the idea of making one in less than an hour, instead of maybe waiting a few days for one you order to arrive, and at little or no cost, and with materials you already have at home, you might want to take a look.