Meenova USB-C MicroSD reader

[Jeremy8000]

Thought I'd share this as it's a really handy, well designed little accessory, especially for those getting the 32GB who are concerned about conserving space. I've used Meenova's MicroUSB MicroSD reader for a couple of years now and it works great (really nice for loading up movies, etc for long flights/trips). Being as compact as it is, I always have it on my keychain. They just came out with a USB-C version compatible with the Pixels, compatible with up to 256GB cards, only $15 USD shipped worldwide.



Edit - glad I thought to check Amazon before clicking order... $12.99 shipped (with Prime)

 

[billykac]

I got one early this week. Might have just gotten a bad one.

The spring mechanism is non-existent, making it so I have to fish the card out, and interestingly, the connector was coated in a tacky substance that was almost impossible to completely remove. I did not want to insert it and potentially gunk-up my phone.

The seller is replacing it.
I hope the next one is better.
Might just be bad QC.

 

[Jeremy8000]

I got one early this week. Might have just gotten a bad one.

The spring mechanism is non-existent, making it so I have to fish the card out, and interestingly, the connector was coated in a tacky substance that was almost impossible to completely remove. I did not want to insert it and potentially gunk-up my phone.

The seller is replacing it.
I hope the next one is better.
Might just be bad QC.

The MicroSD one I had had no issues; will let you know what I find with this one, which is due in tomorrow.

 

[billykac]

I got one early this week. Might have just gotten a bad one.

The spring mechanism is non-existent, making it so I have to fish the card out, and interestingly, the connector was coated in a tacky substance that was almost impossible to completely remove. I did not want to insert it and potentially gunk-up my phone.

The seller is replacing it.
I hope the next one is better.
Might just be bad QC.

Got the replacement.
No issues.
I'd recommend this product/seller.

 

[ihbsbA]

Ordered. Looks great.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Meant to post back here earlier.

Better built but slightly larger than the MicroUSB version I've had (this one is full metal body construction) - never had an issue with the old, so expect none with the new. Looks like it'll be tough to get the MicroSD card out, but to a degree that's a good thing - don't want it slipping out on its own.

Definitely worth it.

 

[billykac]

Can any other Meenova OTG owners confirm if they can "see" audio files within apps other than the native file manager?
I can't.

 

[Impulses]

For a long while I used a tiny Elago USB Type A microSD reader (smaller than the Meenova because the card slides into the A plug, like another one I'll link below); then later I switched to the original Meenova micro USB OTG mSD reader.

Eventually I set both aside in favor of a dual USB Type A/B (micro) OTG flash drive because of the versatility of being able to use it at the PC, tablet, and phone (had a USB 2.0 by Kingston then their newer 3.0 which read about 2x as fast but still wrote dog slow).

There's now a dual Type A/C microSD reader available which might interest some of you, I've been using it on the full size side (Type A) for a few weeks at work with a 200GB Sandisk card... So far so good, and I've filled the card a few times over.

Can't test it on Type C until my Pixel gets here tho, I'll probably track down an older but faster card at that point to really see how fast it'll work and whether it'll bottleneck the better cards at all. Monoprice has a similar reader but it has a clip and a bulkier looking clap.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013OIGJFE/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537340

 

[billykac]

Hey Impulses - your links are n/g.

Also, the issue I have with the Meenova, is that it when inserted into my Pixel XL, the native file manager opens and works just fine. But, no other app on my phone can "see" the files on the Meenova. For instance, even a great utility app like Astro Pro File Manager can't find a single file that is sitting on the Meenova drive. So, using the native app, I can copy files over to my Pixel and run/access them internally, but it would be great to be able to see/use files stored on the Meenova from within other apps. Is this a lot to ask? It's the only way I've every used an OTG drive.

I tried dropping a "nomedia" file in certain locations - no dice.

I posted on XDA and a member there says that his OTG drive (some other brand) works just fine. He hasn't gotten back to me on the specific brand however.

My research shows endless posts/emails on OTG issues with the advent of Android 6.0. No resolution.

Maybe the MeeNova just doesn't provide OTG functionality.

I am looking for another MeeNova/Pixel owner to respond and let me know what they see.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Hey Impulses - your links are n/g.

Also, the issue I have with the Meenova, is that it when inserted into my Pixel XL, the native file manager opens and works just fine. But, no other app on my phone can "see" the files on the Meenova. For instance, even a great utility app like Astro Pro File Manager can't find a single file that is sitting on the Meenova drive. So, using the native app, I can copy files over to my Pixel and run/access them internally, but it would be great to be able to see/use files stored on the Meenova from within other apps. Is this a lot to ask? It's the only way I've every used an OTG drive.

I tried dropping a "nomedia" file in certain locations - no dice.

I posted on XDA and a member there says that his OTG drive (some other brand) works just fine. He hasn't gotten back to me on the specific brand however.

My research shows endless posts/emails on OTG issues with the advent of Android 6.0. No resolution.

Maybe the MeeNova just doesn't provide OTG functionality.

I am looking for another MeeNova/Pixel owner to respond and let me know what they see.

Just tried this and am finding the same thing - I can open and play a movie file directly from the native file explorer, but am unable to see it from VLC or MX Player. So it definitely provided OTG functionality, but it appears there may not be as much freedom, at least not with all units, or at this time.

 

[billykac]

OK - so then it's a thing.
Meenova doesn't provide standard OTG functionality with Pixel/7.1.
Bummer.

 

[Impulses]

That other post about the flash drives went to hell while trying to edit it, dunno why the delete button keeps getting pressed on mobile whenever I tap anywhere on screen as the page loads, super irritating... So fixed links sans post/context/info, FWIW.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01AZC3NNI/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5539189

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01443P0HG/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5539189

Best OTG dual drives I've seen around if you value the absolute smallest size but also speed/form factor. Most others have slower writes, are far bigger, or both. I think the card reader link in my previous post was fine no?

 

[Impulses]

OK - so then it's a thing.
Meenova doesn't provide standard OTG functionality with Pixel/7.1.
Bummer.

If it works with the native explorer I don't think it'd be Meenova's reader's fault... It's possible the Pixel (or more accurately, 7.1 with it's new partition arrangement) mounts removable storage to a different path and apps haven't been updated to look there instead. Did you try other file managers and looking around/outside the default path?

AFAIK with Type C, you don't need explicit OTG support anymore because the port is sort of universal and when you plug something in it'll figure out or ask whether to act as host, etc... Hard to troubleshoot remotely tho.

 

[billykac]

That other post about the flash drives went to hell while trying to edit it, dunno why the delete button keeps getting pressed on mobile whenever I tap anywhere on screen as the page loads, super irritating... So fixed links sans post/context/info, FWIW.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01AZC3NNI/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5539206

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01443P0HG/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5539206

Best OTG dual drives I've seen around if you value the absolute smallest size but also speed/form factor. Most others have slower writes, are far bigger, or both. I think the card reader link in my previous post was fine no?

Nice.
Thanks!

I hope someone chimes in here regarding viewing and executing files on an OTG drive used with a Pixel. So far it looks like the native file app can see what's on the drive, but no other app can. This sucks if you have music files and want to play them with an app like Google Play or PowerAmp. With the Meenova drive, those apps can't see anything on the drive.

Could be the same with the cool OTG drives you just provided links for.

We need more Pixel owners to weigh-in on this!

 

[billykac]

If it works with the native explorer I don't think it'd be Meenova's reader's fault... It's possible the Pixel (or more accurately, 7.1 with it's new partition arrangement) mounts removable storage to a different path and apps haven't been updated to look there instead. Did you try other file managers and looking around/outside the default path?

AFAIK with Type C, you don't need explicit OTG support anymore because the port is sort of universal and when you plug something in it'll figure out or ask whether to act as host, etc... Hard to troubleshoot remotely tho.

I use Astro Pro and read that ES File Explorer users have experienced the same thing since 6.0. However, on XDA, a forum members said that his OTG works perfectly with SE File Explorer. Weird...

 

[billykac]

Just for grins I tried connecting a plain old usb drive to the Pixel via the USB A to C adapter that comes with the Pixel.
No dice.
It may not be the MeeNova?

 

[Impulses]

Like I said, I think it's the app themselves not looking at the right directory path... If Solid Explorer works I'm almost certain that'd be the case.

I'm switching file managers right now, hadn't been using it much but I'd noticed ES had gone downhill fast over the last year+, probably gonna stick to Solid Explorer with Amaze as a backup (since it's free and all).

A decent file manager should let you open files with other apps so once you find one that works you can access stuff directly on the external location even if the app itself isn't displaying that path...

Sorry I can't be more help with testing/screenshots etc, my launch day Pixel order got cancelled over a Play Store snafu so I'm waiting on a second one with a Thanksgiving ETA. Hopefully the 128GB Pixel has a shorter lead time than other models! It looks like XL is in high demand.

 

[MAK-VA]

I've had good luck with this one, and the keychain loop doesn't look (or appear to be) so fragile.

https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Meta...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5543325

 

[billykac]

Like I said, I think it's the app themselves not looking at the right directory path... If Solid Explorer works I'm almost certain that'd be the case.

I'm switching file managers right now, hadn't been using it much but I'd noticed ES had gone downhill fast over the last year+, probably gonna stick to Solid Explorer with Amaze as a backup (since it's free and all).

A decent file manager should let you open files with other apps so once you find one that works you can access stuff directly on the external location even if the app itself isn't displaying that path...

Sorry I can't be more help with testing/screenshots etc, my launch day Pixel order got cancelled over a Play Store snafu so I'm waiting on a second one with a Thanksgiving ETA. Hopefully the 128GB Pixel has a shorter lead time than other models! It looks like XL is in high demand.

Switched to Solid Explorer yesterday and it can indeed view files on the OTG drive.

I heard from Google and they echo what you are saying - devs have to update their apps. As of 6.0 there are permission rights in place that don't allow apps that are not updated to access files on an OTG drive.

Problem is, I can't find a single audio app that is updated. Even the Google Music app can't see files on the OTG. If I execute files on the OTG via Solid Explorer, it merely executes running native apps - even though it asks "What app do you want to open this with", it still just opens in a minimal native app.

I guess it will just take time for those apps to be updated.

 

[Amele]

I have the Meenova plus a Sony dual flash drive that I can plug into my laptop and also my phone, plus an A to C adaptor on an old thumb drive. I get the problem(s) everyone is having but I have just been using these to back up files, like my pw program and my Noteeverything text and photo files, and to move music and photos from phone to pc and vice versa. All three work fine for that which is what I wanted. The Sony is the least useful, because it takes many minutes and a lot of fussing with it (and some yelling at it) to get it to do what I want.