Seagate Slim plus for note pro 12.2

[Walter Turns]

I recently saw the attached external hard drive. It says it is compatible with Windows and Android. Has anyone used one, will it work with the Galaxy Note pro 12.2. I was wondering if I could use it for my Windows machine at work, then take it home to do work on my Android.

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[muzzy996]

People have used spinning hard drives with OTG adapter cables (you'd have to invest in one if the drive doesn't come with one) with the Note Pro but depending upon the power requirements of the drive it can be hit or miss. Hopefully someone tried the exact model that you are considering or can offer a recommendation for a similar one.

If you don't need large capacity and just want easy portability between devices consider a USB flash drive with OTG built in like the SanDisk Ultra Dual made for android devices that support USB OTG.

 

[madaudio]

I have been using a Seagate Slim Drive 1TB portable hard drive for over a year with my Note Pro - no probs. A 2TB might require extra power, which might or might not be a problem. Flash Drives don't cut it for me - not enough storage.

 

[fatyank]

I've been using an older Western Digital 500gb hard drive with no problem. I did have to buy a cable to power the drive and connect it to my Note. I use a 6 ft USB extension to connect to AC power for the hard drive. It connects to my adapter cable then the adapter to my Note. The only problem is I can't charge the Note tablet while using that adapter cable. Does anyone know of that same type cable that will also allow charging at the same time?

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[madaudio]

........... Does anyone know of that same type cable that will also allow charging at the same time?

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Everything I have read seems to suggest that even the various "y" cables that provide an on-the-go connection and a power connection will not (and perhaps as a result of android design, can not) do both.

Some may reduce tablet power usage by providing power to the OTG attachments (hard drive, keyboards etc) but not to the tablet while OTG is being used (I get the impression that use of OTG automatically switched off the ability of the tablet to receive a charge).

 

[fatyank]

Thank you madaudio. I was hoping for a different answer but that's all I've been able to find as well. I don't really have a problem with battery drain when using the external drive, it just would be nice to be able to charge at the same time. Do you know if there is a reason for not being able to do both at the same time? Is it a hardware restriction?

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[muzzy996]

I'm no electrical engineer so I really don't know what's possible with these circuits but my initial thought is essentially the port is either going to work as a charging port for the tablet or operate in host mode to host a device for data transfer . . in charge mode the port will accept current whereas in host mode it is expected to power the external device so all power goes out, none comes in.

That said I recall seeing an adapter somewhere long ago that claimed to do it . . it was a special little box . . but nobody confirmed that it worked and it wasn't a cheap $20 or less cable either. Not having any need for such connectivity I never bothered to buy it to test it myself.

 

[madaudio]

What muzzy said sounded pretty much what I believe I have read - the use of one mode flicks a switch to turn off the other mode (OTG vs charging).

I have recently bought a "y" on the go cable - its a full micro USB 3 plug to go into the Note Pro (that is, a two-part plug, not just a micro usb 2 plug), then has two other usb plugs, one a usb 3 plug for OTG, and the other a full type A usb 2 for charging, but I haven't got around to finding out how the charger part works yet, as all my charger cables are micro-usb at one end, and I need a cable with male usb type A at one end and a female usb type A at the other end to use the charging connection. See picture:

 

[fatyank]

Madaudio that looks like the same cable I have. I've attached everything then unattached my external hard drive to see if the tablet would charge but it wouldn't. So the AC power comes in and goes straight to the hard drive. Of course if I disconnect AC power my tablet won't read the hard drive and does not charge.

The Fatyank

 

[madaudio]

Madaudio that looks like the same cable I have. I've attached everything then unattached my external hard drive to see if the tablet would charge but it wouldn't. So the AC power comes in and goes straight to the hard drive. Of course if I disconnect AC power my tablet won't read the hard drive and does not charge. The Fatyank

Just for clarification, fatyank, the cable you have labelled "Power Cable for drive" is - to me - the OTG part of the y cable. That is, it's primary function is to allow the tablet to read the drive. Yes, while you have the other part of the y cable in (which to me is the power cable) it will also receive the charge from that other part of the y cable.

Interesting that your hard drive won't work without the power - my 1tb seagate works fine without power, but does put a drain on the tablet. Perhaps my drive has a lower power requirement. Your drive does look a little bulkier than mine.

 

[fatyank]

The "Power Cable" as I call it is actually the cable that came with my external hard drive. It connects to a USB port on a laptop/desktop and draws power from there. I bought this drive about 5 years ago and it was the largest drive at the time (500gb). That explains the size. Largest SD card at the time was 64gb. The USB extension goes to the AC power block to power the external hard drive. The tablet will not recognize the hard drive without AC power. Old technology in the hard drive. I'm thinking of upgrading to a "modern" hard drive. If I connect a thumb drive where I have my hard drive connected, the tablet reads it fine without AC power.
Does your Seagate drive work well with the tablet? I've been looking at them.

The Fatyank

 

[madaudio]

Works great. Also have a WD 3TB plugged into my router which I access over wifi.

Sorry, initially misread your picture - of course, the OTG is what's plugged into your tablet.

 

[fatyank]

No problem. I label things funny. 22 years in the military so I still have my own language.
However, today I connected my external WD drive to my tablet to do some file backups. I was multitasking and had not connected to AC power. I take a look at my tablet and it is now powering and reading my drive without AC power connected. I don't know what happened or why it suddenly works without the AC power but I'm not complaining. Used it for about ½ hour or so with no problems. I even ran a few PowerPoint presentations from the external drive on the tablet. Worked great.
Go figure.
I'm a happier camper!

The Fatyank