USB On-The-Go (OTG) is certainly one of the exciting features of Andriod devices. A USB OTG compatible device (almost every android smartphone) is competent to act as a controller or a host of the other USB devices. Using SD card and other card readers on a smartphone are very common with OTG adapter. But are there different ways to use OTG adapters in an unusual manner? Let’s find out…
The USB OTG feature is available on almost every Android smartphone these days; however, older phones lack this feature. For unlocking the OTG capabilities, you will have to root and install a custom ROM on your Android device to get OTG compatibility.
Let’s head on the 10 least known functions you can perform using your OTG adapter.
10 Least known uses of OTG Adapter
1. Charge Other Smartphones
Believe this or not, you can actually transfer the battery charge of one smartphone to another using an OTG cable. Simply connect two phones- one with OTG dongle and other with power cable. The smartphone connected via power cable will go in charging mode and the phone connected with OTG adapter will be the power source.
2. Voice recording
Most of the digital cameras come with built-in microphones; still getting good quality sound out of it is a pain. You can use your Smartphone’s microphone to record audio clips on your Windows or Mac. You can attach your phone through OTG and utilise the phone’s microphone to record audio via PC software.
On the other hand, you can also connect professional USB microphones to your smartphone using OTG adapter.
3. Use Musical Instruments
Apart from just voice recording, you can compose your own music on smartphones. Musical instruments can be connected usually with Computer via MIDI standard.
Using OTG cable, you can connect your MIDI controllers to your smartphone via USB. To use the MIDI controllers properly, you will require downloading some application like TouchDAW and you are ready to be the next Beethoven.
4. Trigger the Gamer in you
Smartphone gaming is really a fun thing, though many prefer gaming consoles/controllers as they offer better control and functions. There are game controllers in the market which you can connect to your smartphone and take the gaming capabilities of your phone to a next level.
5. Use a Mouse or Keyboard
The other cool functionality you can add to your smartphone is to make use of USB mouse or USB keyboard. Typing on a touch screen might not a feasible option for many. Simply attach a USB keyboard to your phone using OTG adapter and enjoy the work.
Likewise, use a USB mouse to navigate the smartphone and add efficiency to your daily tasks.
6. USB Accessories
The USB accessories like a LED light, portable fan, and other works quite well with smartphones when connected via OTG. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) like Xiaomi are offering a wide range of accessories you can use with your smartphone.
7. Use your Ethernet/LAN on smartphone
Wi-Fi is obviously a good option to access high-speed internet on smartphones. Still, the speed degrades as you move further from the Wi-Fi router. What if we could use our home broadband connection directly on a smartphone?
You can make this happen just by using an OTG cable and a USB Ethernet connector. Plug them both and enjoy the wired-connection your smartphone.
8. Connect 3G/4G USB internet dongle
There was a time when USB internet dongles were the only portable and high-speed internet connectivity option. However, the internet dongles disappeared from the market as new options arrived. Most of us have a high-speed home broadband connection, but using a 3G dongle is quite a handy option.
To use a 3G/4G dongle with your smartphone, download an Android app called PPP Widget 3 from Play Store. Connect your dongle to the phone using OTG cable. Select PPP Widget to pair the device with the dongle. Enter the internet dial-up settings received from your ISP and hit the connect button and voila.
9. Print directly from your smartphone
The normal printing process requires a computer to give prints. You have to transfer the files and documents to PC and then print them. But not anymore.
Connect the printer to your phone using a USB OTG cable. Install the PrintShare app on your phone and it will automatically pick up the latest drivers for your USB printers. A simple tap on the print option on the app and it’s done.
10. Connect camera
Copying images from digital camera or DSLR is really a tedious job. You have to connect camera and phone to computer and then perform a copy-paste job. You can connect your camera directly to your smartphone using OTG cable.
Conclusion
These were the best uses of the OTG function you can perform with your Android smartphone. Do let us know if any of these helped you in your day-to-day life. Also, mention the least known uses of OTG in the comment section which we might miss in the article.