# [VIDEO] How To Set Up USB Host Mode on the HP Touchpad



## ReverendKJR (Aug 25, 2011)




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## Razor512 (Aug 22, 2011)

The keyboard works very well for many games, especially the FPS games, (only issue is that not all FPS games will use the wasd keys, instead some may default to the arrow keys, meaning you will be stuck using the arrow keys + your mouse instead of the wasd keys which can be annoying.

(I think there may be a way to remap the controls in some config file, buit have not tried yet)

I am currently waiting on another charger so I can build a more compact powered OTG cable.

My next build will use the chargers internal port and will simply have the female end for the OTG soldered directly to the chargers internal USB port

my current build (a bit messy) 




My reasoning for the powered charger is when properly modded, it is a single device that connects to the HP touchpad that allows a single USB device to be used with it, or a USB hub (I used a cheap 4 port USB that is very small)

I tried a few devices, not all were successful, (At school, I tried connecting a friends ipad to the HP touchpad (it did not detect it)


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## ReverendKJR (Aug 25, 2011)

I am going to see what other types of devices the Touchpad will recognize. Who knows what else could be done with this setup.


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## ReverendKJR (Aug 25, 2011)

It would be nice if we could plug in a camera. Any thoughts?


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## lathavim (Mar 6, 2012)

Does the Touchpad charge when you connect USB devices through host. I connected my wireless mouse with no issues.


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## kimmy2000 (Mar 14, 2012)

Is there a need to unmount USB Storages devices to ensure that they are removed safely?

If so, how is this done?


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## yeahman45 (Oct 16, 2011)

ReverendKJR said:


> It would be nice if we could plug in a camera. Any thoughts?


yup that would be nice.. anyone tried it?


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## nevertells (Oct 29, 2011)

ReverendKJR said:


> It would be nice if we could plug in a camera. Any thoughts?


Should work just like plugging in a camera to your PC. Would allow you to download pictures directly to your Touchpad.


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## lathavim (Mar 6, 2012)

I connected my Cannon Camera. But couldn't see any pictures in Gallery. Need to mount something?


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## Razor512 (Aug 22, 2011)

did further testing,

USB webcams do not work

USB cable leading to a windows mobile base pocket PC does not work (so no syncing your pocket PC to your HP touchpad via USB)

digital cameras do not work (tested with a canon powershot)

USB wifi cards don't seem to work

USB video capture card (easy cap)

USB to serial adapter also does not work

USB printer support does not seem to work with my canon printer but network printing does work

When the audio gets fixed, I will test out a USB headset.

If we can get more USB support then we can create a sort of USB docking station where a modified OTG cable can take power from the the HP charger for the tablet while a powered USB hub powers the other USB devices where the user can connect a mouse, keyboard and USB speaker and probably a USB microphone.

A setup like that can do double duty as they are common for some college students who want have a laptop double as a desktop by connecting multiple desktop style components to a USB hub in addition to a decent desktop monitor, so when you get back to your dorm, you connect 2 cables to your laptop (the monitor cable and the USB hub and you basically have a desktop experience (but with the addition of the modified OTG cable, you can have it also work with a tablet (for emergency situations when your laptop or desktop fails any you have to finish that paper (which I assume you installed the google docs plugin for ms work or a number of other word like apps so that all changes are synced to google docs so you can continue typing on other devices)


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## yeahman45 (Oct 16, 2011)

Razor512 said:


> did further testing,
> 
> USB webcams do not work
> 
> ...


yup nice idea! does USB video capture card (easy cap) work?


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## mrbears (Nov 24, 2011)

kimmy2000 said:


> Is there a need to unmount USB Storages devices to ensure that they are removed safely?
> 
> If so, how is this done?


I had exact same question and was wondering if someone was able to eject/unmount USB storage. When I removed my device, it gave a warning, just like ones you get in windows 7 if you don't eject first.

However, the real question for me is how to mount USB flash drive. I know my set up is fine since my USB mouse works flawlessly. But when I plug USB flash drive, nothing happens. From what I read, it should be giving mounting option but I don't see it. When I go to es browser, what path is this supposed to appear in? My guess is some USB drives are not supported, so if people can state which USB memory did work, perhaps I can try that but I am wondering I need to do something to mount it.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk


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## ilikecl (Mar 28, 2012)

Having some issues getting this to work.

I installed the nightly from 3/27, but also couldn't seem to get this going for A2.

I purchased all the cables from the video and powered the USB with both through outlet and a USB battery backup.

I've tried flash drives, SDHC card readers, external hard drives (all are FAT32 formatted). The HDDs seem to get power, but the flash drives (which light up) and SDHC card reader don't seem to get power, or recognized.

I also tried 2 different mice: one that's a wireless USB and also a corded USB mouse. No luck.

I've connected it with a BT mouse, and that connects and works.

I've browsed to /mnt/usbdisk with both RootExplorer and ES, but nothing ever shows.

Am I missing something?

If it matters, I am also using a TP 32GB 4G model.


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## mrbears (Nov 24, 2011)

ilikecl said:


> Having some issues getting this to work.
> 
> I installed the nightly from 3/27, but also couldn't seem to get this going for A2.
> 
> ...


Upon some further testing, I think I have an answer to your question as well as part of mine.

It appears that it has to be specific brand of usb flash. I noticed that in the video, the device used by Rev Kyle was Sandisk USB Cruzer Contour. I don't have that one, but I do have smaller model called Cruzer Fit, which is about the size of fingernail. No problem this time as there was no need to mount and the content showed up in /mnt/usbdisk in ES Browser. However, I have used Patriot 32gb flash and Kingston 2gb flash, and neither of them were recognized for me. So if people can share which USB Flash did work for them (Brand, Model Name, Size) then other touchpad users may benefit down the road.

So far there is two confirmed sticks that works with CM9 Alpha 2 (Yep, I am on Alpha 2)
Sandisk Cruzer Fit, 16GB
Sandisk Cruzer Contour, 8GB

My guess is that size is probably not as a big deal, thought it may make difference so I am make a note here. Also I tried a 8GB micro SD card on an adapter (don't remember the specific model at the moment) but it didn't work. If someone got there micro SD to work, please share.

And I still don't know if there is a way to unmount flash drive. For now, I shut the device off, then remove the flash drive. Please let us know if someone figures this out.


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## ilikecl (Mar 28, 2012)

mrbears said:


> Upon some further testing, I think I have an answer to your question as well as part of mine.
> 
> It appears that it has to be specific brand of usb flash. I noticed that in the video, the device used by Rev Kyle was Sandisk USB Cruzer Contour. I don't have that one, but I do have smaller model called Cruzer Fit, which is about the size of fingernail. No problem this time as there was no need to mount and the content showed up in /mnt/usbdisk in ES Browser. However, I have used Patriot 32gb flash and Kingston 2gb flash, and neither of them were recognized for me. So if people can share which USB Flash did work for them (Brand, Model Name, Size) then other touchpad users may benefit down the road.
> 
> ...


Actually, the 2 flash drives I tried were a Sandisk Cruzer Titanium and a Sandisk Cruzer Micro, neither of which worked. The SDHC card was also a Sandisk MicroMate.

However, I suspect that something else is wrong, as the mice I've tried also did not work. I have another TP 64GB at home with A2 installed, so when I get back, I'll give that a try and report back.


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## ilikecl (Mar 28, 2012)

OK, got some reporting.

tl;dr - Got it to work with Sandisk Cruzer Titanium, Sandisk Cruzer Micro, Sandisk MiniMate SDHC card reader, and 250GB WD HDD (FAT32). Also got a wired USB mouse and wireless USB mouse working.

However, I haven't been able to consistently get it working all the time, so I suspect the cable I have might be defective. I'll have to order a different OTG cable and see.

I couldn't seem to consistently get anything working plugged in directly to the Y-cable, but when I connected a non-powered USB hub to the Y-cable, the devices worked. The 250GB WD HDD needed another power source on top of the one already plugged in to the Y-cable, but seemed to work fine . I used another Y-cable to mini-usb to power the 250GB WD HDD.

I seem to have to wiggle the OTG cable until the USB plug makes solid contact and recognizes the device, and after that, i can put it down fine. Guess you get what you pay for with these cheap cables.

Will report back when I have another OTG cable.


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## mrbears (Nov 24, 2011)

ilikecl said:


> OK, got some reporting.
> 
> tl;dr - Got it to work with Sandisk Cruzer Titanium, Sandisk Cruzer Micro, Sandisk MiniMate SDHC card reader, and 250GB WD HDD (FAT32). Also got a wired USB mouse and wireless USB mouse working.
> 
> ...


Did you buy the cable from the vendor on Amazon originally?


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## ilikecl (Mar 28, 2012)

mrbears said:


> Did you buy the cable from the vendor on Amazon originally?


I did. I bought the exact ones linked on the YouTube video.

Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk


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## Gradular (Feb 1, 2012)

Can anyone suggest a good app to reset the hard drive so I don't get a damaged SD card error?

Sent from my HP TouchPad running Android 4.0.4 cm9 a2.0 nightly 0329


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## ilikecl (Mar 28, 2012)

Gradular said:


> Can anyone suggest a good app to reset the hard drive so I don't get a damaged SD card error?
> 
> Sent from my HP TouchPad running Android 4.0.4 cm9 a2.0 nightly 0329


I've found I get that error when there isn't enough power for the device. For instance, I used a non-powered USB hub and plugged in both a sdhc card reader and a wireless USB mouse. I'll get the damaged SD card error.

But when I put in just the sdhc card reader, it has no problem recognizing it.

Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk


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## Razor512 (Aug 22, 2011)

@yeahman45

it does not detect an easycap

I tried a USB DSL model and that did not work either

I wonder if it is possible to release more drivers to increase the USB host support


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## ilikecl (Mar 28, 2012)

ilikecl said:


> OK, got some reporting.
> 
> tl;dr - Got it to work with Sandisk Cruzer Titanium, Sandisk Cruzer Micro, Sandisk MiniMate SDHC card reader, and 250GB WD HDD (FAT32). Also got a wired USB mouse and wireless USB mouse working.
> 
> ...


Picked up another OTG cable as well as another Y-cable to try to isolate the issue. As I suspected, there was something wrong with my first OTG cable. With the replacement, it still wiggles, but contact remains solid and I don't get errors anymore.

Best results for me so far is to use a bus powered USB like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-USB-2-0-4-Port-Ultra-Mini/dp/B000Q8UAWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333257714&sr=8-1

I can connect a MicroMate sdhc reader that works fine, but I can't get the hub to power a wireless USB and the MicroMate at the same time. I might check out a powered travel USB hub, which I think might work great with my USB battery backup.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2 Beta-3


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## Gradular (Feb 1, 2012)

Nope. My hub is powered and if I use my us battery it can output up to 2200mah so that not it. I read some where that if you just pull the drive out with out unmounting it, you start getting this error.

Sent from my HP TouchPad running Android 4.0.4 cm9 a2.0 nightly 0329


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## ilikecl (Mar 28, 2012)

Gradular said:


> Nope. My hub is powered and if I use my us battery it can output up to 2200mah so that not it. I read some where that if you just pull the drive out with out unmounting it, you start getting this error.
> 
> Sent from my HP TouchPad running Android 4.0.4 cm9 a2.0 nightly 0329


Interesting. The only time I've seen the damaged SD error is when I try to use both the wireless USB mouse and MicroMate at the same time in the hub. If I just use the MicroMate in the hub, it works fine.

What happens when you use the original AC adaptor to power the USB hub instead of the USB battery backup? And what kind of storage devices are you using? Flash drives? Are there any other devices in the hub when you get the damaged SD error?

Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk


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## Gradular (Feb 1, 2012)

ilikecl said:


> Interesting. The only time I've seen the damaged SD error is when I try to use both the wireless USB mouse and MicroMate at the same time in the hub. If I just use the MicroMate in the hub, it works fine.
> 
> What happens when you use the original AC adaptor to power the USB hub instead of the USB battery backup? And what kind of storage devices are you using? Flash drives? Are there any other devices in the hub when you get the damaged SD error?
> 
> Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk


Same thing happens with either the USB hub or the battery. I've tried with both a sandisk flash drive and a Toshiba 1tb portable. I read somewhere awhile ago if you just disconnect the drive without unmounting it first, you get this error until you scan it for errors in windows. I was hoping you could do this through Android as well somehow.

Sent from my HP TouchPad running Android 4.0.4 cm9 a2.0 nightly 0329


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## Gradular (Feb 1, 2012)

OK AL mass storage manager helps with the flash drive to fix and mount it, and can see the hard drive. But since its ntfs formatted, it can't access it....

Sent from my HP TouchPad running Android 4.0.4 cm9 a2.0 nightly 0409


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## AndroidLover (Apr 3, 2012)

ilikecl said:


> OK, got some reporting.
> 
> tl;dr - Got it to work with Sandisk Cruzer Titanium, Sandisk Cruzer Micro, Sandisk MiniMate SDHC card reader, and 250GB WD HDD (FAT32). Also got a wired USB mouse and wireless USB mouse working.
> 
> ...


Hi!

I just tried to get my wireless mouse work, but without luck so far. The mouse is working fine so far on Win7 without the need for drivers so far, so I assume it's just a "normal" HID device. However, it's not working on CM9.
So what wireless mouse do you got working? Whats the exact brand and name/type and where did you get it?

I am really wondering, why there should be a difference...









Anyway... thanks for your kind input!


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## mafu6 (Jun 8, 2012)

Has anyone treidn mounting a 3.5" Desktop External Hard Drive directly? As it has its own power supply i thought it may work and doesnt require usb power!
I have a blurtooth mouse and keyboard so i dont need it for that as they seem to work perfectly togather no lag at all. Maybe somone should make a list of actual devices that work flawlessly so people know what to buy (some of us area little tight on cash)


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## AndroidLover (Apr 3, 2012)

I think this wouldn't work, because the external power of the HDD is only for powering the HDD, not the logic part of the USB to IDE/SATA bridge inside. So I would assume, that if the USB isn't powered itself (and the TP has no USB power) the USB bridge is not powered and so the external storage will not work. But this also may depend on the design of the external housing. Maybe there are some housings, that need USB power for the USB bridges and others really take their power all from the external power supply.
I could test it with an older external HDD, but I only have NTFS formatted HDDs as of now and I am not sure, if my TP has NTFS support. I will have a look on that...


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## AndroidLover (Apr 3, 2012)

OK, some feedback after tests (every test done with Dtech's DT-4012 solar USB battery powered hub):

1.) Tested with an external storage with a Samsung 200GB NTFS formatted drive. Does NOT work (neither with nor without USB power).
2.) Tested with an USB-2-IDE adapter and a Seagate 100GB FAT32 formatted drive. Does work with USB power from hub, but NOT without USB power.

So, every setup needs power on USB side. The external power from external HDDs is NOT sufficient for use with the TP.


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## karltimber (Jun 12, 2012)

I have been looking at ways of using usb host for holidays.
I will have a micro-sd that I will want to transfer to a usb-hd.

So, I will connect a otg m-usb and then a Y-cable.
Then I need to supply power for the usb-hd - probably through a usb hub, and then connect my m-sd and usb-hd.

Q - so the usb hub. Is there one out there that can be powered by the TP mains charging cable ?. This way, I won't need to bring another plug for to power the hub.

I know hubs usually plug into the usb of a pc, but I won't have that on hols.
Just the TP, micro-sd and a usb-hd that i want to connect up and transfer files from one to the other.

k (uk & Ire)


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## AndroidLover (Apr 3, 2012)

I am not sure I understand your planned setup correctly, but I highly recommend to start with RevKyle's video here: 




Instead of a mouse or keyboard you then connect your USB HDD to the USB hub and the TP charger to the other USB-A type plug of the Y-cable.
I just tested such a setup yesterday with the solar charged battery USB hub from DTech DT-4012 (you can get it from eBay). It works fine for me except, that it only works with FAT/FAT32 formatted HDD drives (of course with their own power). I didn't got NTFS formatted drives to work. But I think this is not a limitation of the hub, but my TP not stable supporting NTFS yet.
The charm of the DT USB battery powered solar hub is that you don't need any external power source as long as it's about mouse, keyboard or USB sticks, that you connect. The built-in battery pack lasts for at least an hour and has enough power to copy over all your content from a memory card to the TP or another, bigger memory card or USB stick. If you want to use a USB HDD, of course there is more external power needed (but also an additional Y-cable as you already know).

Please report back your results. Also, maybe we can get you through the setup if you run into any troubles.


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## eZaCx (Feb 11, 2012)

I am a little confused. Why is a power hub required? I have an OTG cable which I use for my Galaxy nexus, which works PERFECTLY fine without any other extra cables. I just installed stick mount, and I was able to use a mouse/flash drives perfectly.

My HP Touchpad has CM9, and same micro usb port. I was thinking that, perhaps I could use it with my OTG cable connected to a flash drive.


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## nevertells (Oct 29, 2011)

eZaCx said:


> I am a little confused. Why is a power hub required? I have an OTG cable which I use for my Galaxy nexus, which works PERFECTLY fine without any other extra cables. I just installed stick mount, and I was able to use a mouse/flash drives perfectly.
> 
> My HP Touchpad has CM9, and same micro usb port. I was thinking that, perhaps I could use it with my OTG cable connected to a flash drive.


The Touch pad does not supply power to the USB port. That is why you have to have a powered USB hub or a "y" cable and a USB power source.


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## Zzed (Oct 20, 2011)

nevertells said:


> The Touch pad does not supply power to the USB port. That is why you have to have a powered USB hub or a "y" cable and a USB power source.


nevertells is correct. The HP Touchpad is not complete in it's USB OTG host support. It has no host mode power supply capability. Refer to:






Stickmount will not properly work for me on Touchpad. CM9 & ES FileExplorer are what I use to access USB flashdrives.


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