Editing USB host mode

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be recorded in this page's edit history.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

Learn more about Contributing to the wiki.

USB host mode allows you to connect various USB devices (external hard drives, digital cameras, card readers, input devices, etc.) to your device just like a regular computer. There are, however, a few limitations. The device must draw under 100mA (this can be bypassed by using a powered hub), and you will need a hardware adaptor to plug a fullsize USB cable into the tablet's undersized one.

''Note: The N900 does not support USB Host-mode/OTG. See [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=31921 discussion] for details.'', as well as [[N900_Hardware_isp1707]]

== USB On-The-Go ==

The USB port on the tablets is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go USB OTG], this means that they can be switched between client- (where you plug the tablet into a computer—for flashing and mounting cards on the computer), and host- (where the tablet acts like a computer) mode with the correct hardware adaptor.

You can find a USB OTG adapter designed specifically for the [http://www.electronicproductonline.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1781 N800] and the [http://www.electronicproductonline.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=35_67&products_id=2004 N810] (N810 owners will need to buy both adaptors until a custom N810 adaptor is manufactured). These OTG adaptors will automatically switch the tablet into host-mode when plugged in.

You can also buy a "dumb" adapter that will provide the correct connections, but will not automatically switch the tablet into host-mode from most online and some in-store retailers. Then you can simply switch into host-mode manually.

== Switching modes with software ==

There are two options for switching between client- and host-mode in software. If you want to switch modes using a statusbar application, install the [https://garage.maemo.org/projects/usb-otg-plugin/ usb-otg-plugin], if you prefer to use a separate application for switching modes, then install [http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/usbcontrol/ USB Control]. Both pieces of software accomplish the same thing, they just provide slightly different interfaces to do it.

== Switching modes manually ==

To manually switch USB modes, you must first have [[Root_access#rootsh|rootsh]] installed, then open xterm and type:
 sudo gainroot
 echo host > /sys/devices/platform/musb_hdrc/mode

The tablet will then be in host-mode and you can use your USB peripherals. To set the tablet back to client mode, open xterm again and type:
 echo otg > /sys/devices/platform/musb_hdrc/mode

[[Category:Users]]
[[Category:USB]]

[[Category:Power users]]

Please note that all contributions to maemo.org wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see maemo.org wiki:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

Summary:

Cancel | Editing help (opens in new window)

Retrieved from "http://wiki.maemo.org/USB_host_mode"

Personal tools

Navigation

Views

Editing USB host mode

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-''Note: This is '''about pre-N900 devices''', i.e. OS2008. The '''N900''' does not support full OTG, but '''has a hostmode''' that's quite a bit different to that of older devices. See [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=31921 discussion] for details, implementation of [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=866309#post866309 h-e-n], as well as [[N900_Hardware_USB| usb on the n900]]''
 USB host mode allows you to connect various USB devices (external hard drives, digital cameras, card readers, input devices, etc.) to your device just like a regular computer. There are, however, a few limitations. The device must draw under 100mA (this can be bypassed by using a powered hub), and you will need a hardware adaptor to plug a fullsize USB cable into the tablet's undersized one.
+''Note: The N900 does not support USB Host-mode/OTG. See [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=31921 discussion] for details.'', as well as [[N900_Hardware_isp1707]]
 == USB On-The-Go ==