7

I have a tablet that only has one USB port that it used to recharge the battery (so no extra charger port), and I need to connect another device to it (ex: USB drive or printer) that only needs to transfer data (ie it does not need power from the USB) at the same time the charger is on.

                       ____________
                      |            |
                      |   TABLET   |
                      |____________|
                             |
                     ________|________   
              ______|____      _______|_______
             |           |    |               |
             | USB DRIVE |    |    CHARGER    |
             |___________|    |_______________|

There are some cables that allow to connect those devices (like the one pictured below), but it seems that applied to the example above it would provide energy to the USB drive and not to the tablet.

Cable example

Is this possible? Do you guys know anything that can make this work?

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3

It is depending on your device. Some Samsung Tablets can be charged while using OTG with special adapters. The cable you post in your question don't work. Some devices have a special mode for USB Host and changing at the same time. Most devices can only charge OR host.

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1
  • I couldn't find one for Samsung. Are you sure?
    – Forethinker
    Feb 17 '17 at 0:02
1

I can't speak to your specific device, particularly as you haven't named it, but assuming it supports the functionality, you would use an adapter such as this one which provides both a micro-USB input to continue charging the phone/tablet, and a USB-A port for the OTG functions. You'll find a variety of alternatives linked to via Amazon as well, with different layouts, and some with additional ports. Just be aware that compatibility differs from device to device. If you have Amazon Prime, then the one I linked to is cheap enough to be almost disposable if it doesn't pan out.

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1
  • It seems that the converter from your link cannot charge the tablet. It's stated in its description: "The extral USB Cable is the Power for USB Device(Like usb hard disk, flash disk), Can not charge the Tablet & Cell Phone. "
    – Lukasz Czerwinski
    Oct 16 '18 at 16:38
1

Try this converter or a similar one (there are plenty of them on Amazon), just please read "Product description" first. It says what could work and which devices were checked.

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