I bought a USB Type-C OTG Cable
Although my OnePlus 5T has a whopping 128 GB of internal storage, I felt much more comfortable traveling with a 1 TB portable hard drive.
I chose to buy-off brand and from Amazon because I didn’t want to pay the outrageous $24.99 shipping fee on OnePlus’s website.
What Does OTG Stand For?
OTG stands for on-the-go. This acronym describes the technology quite accurately. When a laptop or desktop computer is not available, an OTG cable allows two devices to be connected together.
OTG isn’t limited to attaching a USB flash drive or portable hard drive to your smartphone. OTG also allows other USB devices such as mice, keyboards, cameras, and even other smartphones to be attached.
How to Use an OTG Cable with Your OnePlus 5T
It’s very easy to use an OTG Cable with your OnePlus 5T. First, you must enable OTG storage.
- Open the Settings app
- In the search bar, type “otg”
- Tap on the OTG storage search result
- Toggle on the OTG storage option
Next, plug in your USB thumb drive or portable external hard drive into the female USB side of the OTG cable.
Your flash drive or portable hard drive will begin to get it’s power from your phone and turn on.
Now you can open a file explorer app on your phone and transfer your pictures from your phone on to the portable hard drive.
- Open the File Manager app
- Select one or more pictures
- Touch the three dots in the upper left and select Copy
- Navigate to your USB portable storage device
- Touch Paste
OTG Final Steps
After you have copied your pictures from your OnePlus 5T onto your portable hard drive, you have the option to delete the original pictures from your smartphone to free up space.
Unmount your storage device from your OnePlus 5T when you are done by selecting this option from the notification area. You should also disable the OTG storage option in Settings like we did in the beginning of this tutorial. The OTG storage option will be disabled automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity in case you forget to turn it off.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions about the OnePlus 5T or using the OTG feature on your Android smartphone.
Hi, I connected Seagate slim 2tb hard disk, and tried to transfer some files to it.
But after 2 mins, the hard disk turns off automatically even in the middle of copying.
Can you please help me whether it is problem with one plus 5t or external hard disk.
Hey there. I’m not too sure what the issue exactly is, but I’m wondering if your external hard drive is powered via USB or do you have to plug it into the wall for power?
Hello do you know how to use a USB Cable for mouse or keyboard without touchscreen working and unable to access the phone?
Similar to this article, you could try to plug in your keyboard and mouse to your phone via USB. Another option is to pair a bluetooth keyboard or mouse with your phone.