Hard Drive for Samsung Galaxy Tab S (10.5)?

[jdahlquist]

I am trying to find information about external Hard Disk drives that can be used with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S. Is there a drive that anyone has used successfully and can recommend? Can anyone give me specific instructions about getting a drive and successfully installing it so that the Tab S (10.5) will recognize and use it? Thanks!
JD

 

[Rukbat]

ANY externally powered drive can be used with an OTG cable as long as it's formatted as FAT32 or exFAT (depending on the size). Most USB-powered drives can be used with a USB cable with a hub - one that has at least 2 USB-A connectors. You'll need a 5 Volt USB wall wart or power bank with a USB connector that can supply at least as much current as the drive needs.

If the drive is formatted as NTFS, you'll need an app that can read NTFS drives.

 

[jdahlquist]

Thanks Rukbat! Can you give me specifics on a USB Hub with 2 connectors (brand / model)? Also a source for purchase? Where can I get information on the power requirements for USB external hard drives?

Would a Solid State drive be a viable option with an OTG cable? Do solid state drives require less power, or would there be similar power issues? Any specifics on a 5 volt USB wall wart (is this just a wall adaptor power plug?) How can I find out how much current a hard drives to operate properly.

What about a wireless hard drive using something like the RavPower, or Kensington MobileLite G2? Would this be a good alternative?

Thanks much for your reply! Would appreciate any further advice / info.
JD

 

[FF22]

My Win7 computer now has a 250gig solid state C: hard drive. It boots incredibly fast. I would GUESS that having no spinning parts, a solid state hard drive or large thumb drive would need less power than anything with a motor.

I did use a 64gig thumb drive this summer while in Europe for backing up photos from my camera via my Tab S. I copied the photos from the camera using a usb On-the-go adapter (Picture gallery opened the canon) to the Tab s. Then unplugged the camera and plugged in the usb drive and copied from the Tab to the thumb drive. I wanted copies of copies to protect my photo memories. No external or extra power required in those cases.

 

[jdahlquist]

Thanks F2. Appreciate the info. My Tab S will also recognize and connect with flash or thumb drives. I just cannot find out about an external Hard Drive. I would like to connect to at least a 500 GB or 1 TB external Hard Drive (not a thumb drive), but haven't found one that I can confirm would actually work yet! Thanks again!
JD

 

[BruceCk]

Most external drives should work with an additional power source, and formatted to Fat32. Here's my setup with a Seagate Backup Plus 2TB drive (USB3), OTG cable plus Y splitter USB cable to get power from the power bank. I use it as a backup drive for my PC too, so have anything that's readable on Android available.

 

[jdahlquist]

Thanks! Appreciate the help.
Jim D.