Although most modern Android devices don't necessarily lack storage alternatives, there may come a time when you need to use a flash drive with your phone. Fortunately, this is easy: Android natively supports external drives.
There are a couple of different ways to get into a flash drive on Android, depending on your situation. But let's talk about all of them, so let's start.
How to connect a flash drive to your phone
The way to connect the flash drive to your phone depends on the type of USB port your phone has: USB-C o Micro USB.
RELATED: How to use a USB flash drive with your iPhone
If your phone has USB-C
If you are on the cusp of new technology and have a modern phone with a USB-C port, has a couple of simple alternatives. If you are looking for a new flash drive, can just buy one with USB-C and A connections. Those are getting more and more prolific, and you can use the same unit on your computer and your phone without needing an adapter.
Seriously, that is all: just plug it into your phone and go.
If you already have a traditional Type-A USB flash drive, you will need an A to C adapter. You can grab those from amazon for a few dollars.
Once you have the proper adapter, just put it on the unit and connect it to your phone.
If your phone has Micro-USB
As with USB-C, you can buy a Micro USB flash drive if you are looking for a new one in the market, even though they are not so common. Actually, you will have such limited options that we think it is better to buy a more traditional USB-A drive and adapter.
For adapter, you will need a USB OTG cable. This cable has a male micro USB connector on one side and a USB A female connector on the other.. Plug your flash drive into the USB A connector and then plug the other end of the adapter into your phone. You can Amazon cógelos for little money, it's great to have them on hand.
How to enter a flash drive on Android
Regardless of the type of unit or phone you are using, once it's plugged in, should receive a notification that the unit is connected.
If the drive is not formatted correctly, you will receive a notification informing you. Fortunately, you can take care of that directly from your phone; just tap the notification to jump to the format screen.
Note: Just keep in mind that formatting absolutely erases the drive, so if the goal is to get something out of it and put it on your phone, formatting it is not a good idea. Instead, you will need to copy the data from the drive to your computer, format the drive correctly and then copy the data back to it.
If your flash drive is formatted correctly, tapping the notification opens the file explorer where you can interact with the contents of the drive as if they were stored natively on the phone.
You can long press the items and copy them / cut and paste them to and from the flash drive, just like you would locally. Nothing of that.
