Connect JUST as charging

Question

With ICS my phone now ALWAYS mounts my SD card as an external drive when I plug it into a computer. Sometimes I just want power, especially if I am trying to play a game that's on my SD card. Under the previous version I had the option to connect JUST for charging, without talking to the computer at all. Is there a way to get this functionality back w/ an ICS device?

Answer 1

Answer

With Android 4.0 ICS, charge only mode is no longer available.

Unfortunately there's no app to deal with this issue AFAIK.

^{You can try, but I believe that this isn't possible with your phone, but for future readers, placing the phone in "media transfer mode", allows access to SD cards on both phone and computer.}

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Further into this matter

One can always disable the "automount" feature from the host OS:

Windows 7

1. Click "start";
2. At the search box type "autoplay";
3. Select "AutoPlay" from the search results list, should be under "Control Panel";

4. Find the "Mixed content" option and select "take no action" from the selectbox.

   This will effectively disable Automount for devices like mobile phones. By my tests, the phone doesn't ask to "turn on USB storage" either.

Ubuntu

1. Using GUI:

   1. Access the "Software Center";
   2. Search for "dconf editor";
   3. Install and after, open it;
   4. Navigate to "org" -> "gnome" -> "desktop" -> "media-handling";
   5. Un-tick "automount" and "automount-open".

2. Using Command Line:

   1. Open the terminal;

   2. Type gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.media-handling automount false.

      Use true to enable it again.

Answer 2

You can plug the phone in and charge it using a powered USB hub that's not connected to a computer, this will just charge without mounting drives.

It sounds like something you probably won't have handy, but have a look at your PC's screen. Many modern screens have powered USB sockets, but aren't actually connected to the PC (unless you plug a second USB A->B cable between the screen and PC which many people never do).

I charge my phone at work this way by plugging it into the screen, as we're not allowed to plug un-approved USB devices into our PCs (and if we do they're actively blocked).

Answer 3

From your home screen go to your settings. Depending on the phone ( I have the HTC EVO Design 4G for Boost Mobile) you should see an option for "Connect to PC". Select this option and you should see two things. The first is "Default Connection Type" and the second is "Ask me". Ask me will have a box beside that you would check. Once checked and you exit back tothe home screen any time you connect to your PC itwill bring up the prompt again.