Chord for flash drive to android phone
March 8, 2025 3:58 PM Subscribe
I want to free up space on my moto android phone.
I bought a USB stick to store the photos on...But I can't figure out what type of chord to use to connect them for transfer. I'm baffled. Or is it not possible to do?
I bought a USB stick to store the photos on...But I can't figure out what type of chord to use to connect them for transfer. I'm baffled. Or is it not possible to do?
(On preview, this is basically the same as the above comment with a bit of additional detail.)
First, what kind of USB port does your phone have? Micro usb or USB-C? Whichever it is, that's the kind of connector whatever you plug into your phone will need to have. Take a look at the end of your charging cable that goes into your phone - that's the shape you'll need.
Second, you have a few options:
1) use a USB cable/cord to connect your phone directly to your computer and copy your files to your computer. You'll need a cable with the right kind of connector (i.e. micro or USB-C) for your phone's port, and it'll need to be a cable that can transfer data. Some can't, but most can. You can try the cable you currently use for charging your phone and see if that works.
After your data is on your computer, if you want, you can copy it to the USB drive you bought. (It's good to have multiple backups.)
2) use a USB drive that has the right kind of connector for your phone to begin with. Often these will be dual-usb drives, where one end of the drive has a micro or USB-C plug for your phone and the other end has a USB-A plug (the classic big rectangular-shaped one that fits in most computers and chargers). There are also some USB drives that just have a single USB-C plug, which will work if your phone and computer both have a USB-C port.
If you have that kind of drive, you can plug it directly into your phone.
3) If you just have the regular kind of USB drive that only has a big rectangular USB-A plug, then you can get a USB-A-to-[micro or USB-C] adapter cable. Maybe one sold as a USB-OTG cable, although I'm not sure if that's necessary these days.
(You might have additional options if your phone uses SD cards, but that's another story. Cloud backups are also another story.)
posted by trig at 4:30 PM on March 8
First, what kind of USB port does your phone have? Micro usb or USB-C? Whichever it is, that's the kind of connector whatever you plug into your phone will need to have. Take a look at the end of your charging cable that goes into your phone - that's the shape you'll need.
Second, you have a few options:
1) use a USB cable/cord to connect your phone directly to your computer and copy your files to your computer. You'll need a cable with the right kind of connector (i.e. micro or USB-C) for your phone's port, and it'll need to be a cable that can transfer data. Some can't, but most can. You can try the cable you currently use for charging your phone and see if that works.
After your data is on your computer, if you want, you can copy it to the USB drive you bought. (It's good to have multiple backups.)
2) use a USB drive that has the right kind of connector for your phone to begin with. Often these will be dual-usb drives, where one end of the drive has a micro or USB-C plug for your phone and the other end has a USB-A plug (the classic big rectangular-shaped one that fits in most computers and chargers). There are also some USB drives that just have a single USB-C plug, which will work if your phone and computer both have a USB-C port.
If you have that kind of drive, you can plug it directly into your phone.
3) If you just have the regular kind of USB drive that only has a big rectangular USB-A plug, then you can get a USB-A-to-[micro or USB-C] adapter cable. Maybe one sold as a USB-OTG cable, although I'm not sure if that's necessary these days.
(You might have additional options if your phone uses SD cards, but that's another story. Cloud backups are also another story.)
posted by trig at 4:30 PM on March 8
Response by poster: Oh thank you all. It is the C type connector. I looked up adaptors and found what I need.
posted by Czjewel at 5:53 PM on March 8
posted by Czjewel at 5:53 PM on March 8
musical joke answer: usb-a-minor resolves nicely with usb-c-major, or usb-a-minor-diminished via d7 to usb-on-the-g7 to usb-c-major.
posted by k3ninho at 6:14 AM on March 9
posted by k3ninho at 6:14 AM on March 9
FWIW, there are also multi-headed microSD (and SD) card readers that can be plugged into Android (Type C USB port) so Android see it as an external flash drive.
posted by kschang at 11:36 AM on March 9
posted by kschang at 11:36 AM on March 9
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Note, too, that it's possible to get a USB-C flash drive or even one with dual ends, USB-A and USB-C. Then you don't need an adapter at all.
posted by maxim0512 at 4:24 PM on March 8