OTG Troubleshooter: Solution of OTG Failing to Recognize USB

By FonePaw | Dec 13 , 2017

"I have been trying to access my USB flash drive on Samsung Galaxy S6 using OTG cable, but it seems that OTG cannot detect the flash drive. I’m sure my OTG cable is working because it works well when testing with a mouse. How can I solve the OTG is not working problem?"

Extra Tips:

Previously, we have discussed how to watch movies on USB disk by connecting Android phone and USB pendrive with OTG cable. In the process, some complain that the computer doesn't pop anything after connecting OTG USB or the system does not detect OTG USB signal. In this post, let’s see how to fix OTG cannot detect USB.

CONTENTS
Solution: How to Fix USB OTG Not Detected Android Problem
Tips: How to Reformat the USB Device for FAT32

Solution: How to Fix USB OTG Not Detected Android Problem

Preparations:

Backup your USB drivers first.
Then, follow the steps below to check whether the format of your USB drive file system is supported by your phone.

STEP 1. Connect your external hard drive to your computer with the USB cable.

STEP 2. Click "Start" and then click "My Computer". In the "My Computer" window, right-click on the drive icon in which the USB device appears.

STEP 3. From the menu, click "Properties". Look next to "File system"; Windows will indicate whether the drive is NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT.

Check USB Drive File System Format

STEP 4. If the file system is NTFS or exFAT, you should format your USB storage device to FAT32 to make it recognizable for OTG. Follow the instructions below to format your USB drive to FAT32.

If the file system is FAT32 but the OTG still cannot detect it, try another USB drive to see if it works. If other USB drive works normally, maybe your original flash drive is corrupted or damaged. Just change it.

Tips: How to Reformat the USB Device for FAT32

STEP 1. Connect USB device to the computer and then click "My computer."

STEP 2. In the "My Computer" window, right-click on the drive icon in which the USB device appears. From the menu, click "Format...."

STEP 3. In the "FORMAT device name (drive letter)" window, under "File system," click the drop-down arrow and select FAT32 and then click the Start button.

STEP 4. At the "WARNING..." message, click "OK" to continue.
IMPORTANT: Formatting the USB storage device will delete all content on the device. So you must backup it first.

STEP 5. At the "Format Complete" message, click "OK".

When you have reformatted your USB drive to FAT32, try again to connect it with OTG. Probably you'll succeed. If you encounter any problems during the process, do let us know.

Above is the whole solution to fix Samsung S8/S7/S6/J7/J2/C9 OTG not working problem. If you have any question about it, please drop us a comment below!

73 Comments

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Jester ACE Borromeo

8 year before

nothing happens no usb disk detected ..... the usb is FAT32 format already, tried any format but nothing happens

Emily Watson

8 year before

Reply to Jester ACE Borromeo

Hello Jester, you can try these too.

1. Try another OTG cable. There are many OTG cables of questionable quality out there. Some that work in one device will not work in another.

2. Power Off and Restart your device

3. Reconnect your USB disk.

4. Reboot your computer.

8 year before

can I ask for help?
I really neeed your help pls.
my samsung a5 2016 can't recognize any OTG cables/USB.
I did something bad. before it still works now it won't.
because i did some experiment, I tried to put my external hard disk on my OTG usb adapter and boom! now it won't detect any. pls. help me what do I need t do? How to fix this?

Emily Watson

8 year before

Reply to 07

Maybe it is because that your OTG cable/external hard disk is corrupted or damaged.
So change a new OTG cable to see if the problem can be fixed.
Or try a new USB disk.
Some users find that restarting their phones can fix the problem, too.
Hope these can help.

Zed

8 year before

Tried all format none worked also otg cable working fine while testing with a mouse. Restarting didn't fixed it. It was working fine yesterday though. Plz help..

Emily Watson

8 year before

Reply to Zed

Hi Zed,

If you are using OTG to connect your USB device, the USB device needs to be FAT32 format. If you have tried it in FAT32 format, it could be that your USB driver is corrupted or damaged. Change other USB drive and see if it works fine. Hope this could work out.

Zed

8 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

my USB driver is corrupted or USB drive?? and the drive is working on pc but not in my mobile.

Emily Watson

8 year before

Reply to Zed

Hi there,

If the drive is working fine on PC, then your USB drive is fine. You can try apps like OTG Troubleshooter, OTG disk explorer to solve the OTG connectivity problem. Click here for more information.

Zed

8 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

i have tried OTG Troubleshooter it says :
no usb device detected in Linux.
no usb device detected in Android.

Zed

8 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

it was working fine i didnt get why it stoped working i did nothing..

Dhruv Sharma

8 year before

so i got a new moto x style with marshmallow. it doesnt seem to recognise my sandisk otg device through its own micro connector or an external otg cable. The drive is fine as it works on my comp. The cable is fine as other drives do connect to my phone. Whats the issue here?

Emily Watson

8 year before

Reply to Dhruv Sharma

Hi,

1. Like it is mentioned in the post, it could be that your sandisk is in NTFS or exFAT format while OTG can only detect device in FAT32. Check if the drive is NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT.
2. Your sandisk is incompatible with your Moto X.

Dhruv Sharma

8 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

It is fat32. I think it might be incompatible. However my moto x does read NTFS volumes. I have another pen drive that I can read but can't write to (the one I mentioned in my comment)

Emily Watson

8 year before

Reply to Dhruv Sharma

Hi,

Check what version of USB your mobile support. If it supports only 2.0, then there is no use of OTG version 3.0.

Still if it's not working, download & install apps related to OTG support or troubleshoot in Google Playstore, like OTG Troubleshooter

Hope it helps!!

thomas

8 year before

hi i have a nextbook 10 and i bought a otg cable and a 1tb external hard drive and it shows up in device manager but not in disk management or on my computer

Emily Watson

8 year before

Reply to thomas

Hi,

OTG cable is designed to connect USB devices, mice or keyboards to smartphone or tablet. So if you want to connect external hard drive to computer, it is better that you use USB cable that is suitable for your external hard drive.

aikee Sano

7 year before

Ummm, I inserted my otg to my Samsung on7 it worked but when I tried to use it again after a few days it doesn't work, I tried formating my otg to fat32 but still doesn't work, but it work to other cellphones but mine, and other USB otg's won't work on this cp anymore ,please help, I need an otg for work

aikee

7 year before

Reply to aikee Sano

Or maybe there's something wrong w/ my phone

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to aikee

Hi,

Firstly, really make sure that both your OTG cable and USB drive are working fine.

Then you can get apps like OTG Troubleshooter to check the OTG connection problem on your phone.

aikee

7 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

hello, thank you for you reply ,
yes its fine it works on other phone but not on my samsung, the OTG cable and the usb works fine, i also downloaded those apps but still doesnt work

Zyx Rhythm

7 year before

Reply to aikee

same issue dude I feel yah.... also got a samsung ... idiot samsung company...

Adish Narangikar

7 year before

Reply to aikee

same problem,I have a temporary solution which works on my j2.Just remove and put battery again,it works for me.

Faizan Rajput (Faizi)

7 year before

but my otg usb working an other andriod phone well.suddenly this is not work on my samsung a5 2016.how to i solve it well??

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to Faizan Rajput (Faizi)

Some users reported that the ROM of some models of Samsung A5 doesn't support OTG: otg support for Samsung A5. Maybe the phone is the problem.

Paco

7 year before

I have a Samsung Galaxy On5 & the otg cable doesn't seem to be connecting to the phone even though it says ''Fat32''. Does anyone know what might be the problem?

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to Paco

Have you tried any OTG troubleshooter to see if the cable is connected? This kind of app can check if the cable is good.

ayiee me

7 year before

Why my j5 prime can't detect hard drive. I use otg troubleshooter app and the otg cable is detected but my hard drive not detected. Im using this hard drive for the first time. And its NTFS formatted. I even installed total commander and still not working. Can you help me plss

Brian Jay Lopez Full

6 year before

Reply to ayiee me

(MY OTG PORT STOPS WORKING, CANT DETECT USBs etc)

my OTG port is now working!!!!!

at last!!!

try to clean the charging port/OTG port 🙂

use a very small tissue(make a small tip) and put small amount of alcohol to it then try put it inside the port then use a very small stick(I use toothpick)

try to swab it

make sure to dry it

I blow it hard

I hope it works to you all

by the way my phone is Samsung Galaxy S7

leave a message for other questions/suggestions
[email protected]
for donations 🙂

small amount is a big help

thank you

https://www.paypal.me/evbrian

🙂

Kimy Fletchero

7 year before

Hi, is this applicable with ios? Or only android? I have otg for ios but mine doesn't read in my phone. But when I plugged it on my computer, it works.

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to Kimy Fletchero

Hi, what version of iOS are you using? And which iPhone are you using?

April Joy

7 year before

My ios otg is not recognizable in my ip7 with latest ios. The OTG BRAND IS BANQ

April Joy

7 year before

Reply to April Joy

It does not prompt anything when attached in my ip7!

April Joy

7 year before

Reply to April Joy

It only has NFTS AND EXFAT

Tom Raj

7 year before

Reply to April Joy

Use EXFAT. It works for me

Enrico Abejuela Martinez

7 year before

first you open the drive with a hammer, then use some lemon juice to start up the electrolytes within the membrane, then you use a car battery to jump start the otg, finally use superglue to bring it together 😀

Paul

7 year before

Reply to Enrico Abejuela Martinez

Were you born a cocksucker or was it something you had to work on?

Tom Raj

7 year before

Thanks a lot.

Gatim Saini

7 year before

my OTG is still not working on my samsung galaxy c7 pro after following all these steps

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to Gatim Saini

Hi. If the solution doesn't work, the problem is not on the USB drive but on your OTG cable or device. Please make sure that OTG cable is workable. And you can try apps like OTG Troubleshooter to identify the problem.

Dawny Ng

7 year before

Reformat 2 x still my J7 Prime cannot detect my Sandisk OTG drive, after phone has been updated

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to Dawny Ng

Hi. If the solution doesn't work, the problem probably is not about the USB drive. Since the phone stop working after the update, it could be bugs on the ROM. Or some users fix the problem with ES Explorer app. When plugging the OTG cable, open the file manager and grant the required permission.

Brian Jay Lopez Full

6 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

(MY OTG PORT STOPS WORKING, CANT DETECT USBs etc)

my OTG port is now working!!!!!

at last!!!

try to clean the charging port/OTG port 🙂

use a very small tissue(make a small tip) and put small amount of alcohol to it then try put it inside the port then use a very small stick(I use toothpick)

try to swab it

make sure to dry it

I blow it hard

I hope it works to you all

by the way my phone is Samsung Galaxy S7

leave a message for other questions/suggestions
[email protected]
for donations 🙂

small amount is a big help

thank you

https://www.paypal.me/evbrian

Joseph Michael Dunn

7 year before

My Zephyr z752c doesn't recognize my flash drive after following your recommendations above. Time for you to go back to the drawing board.

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to Joseph Michael Dunn

Hi. Please make sure that the ZTE Zephyr is OTG supported. Please download apps like USB OTG Checker to have a check. And also make sure that the OTG cable is working.

Alicia Illis

7 year before

Hi, I have a SanDisk 32GB Ultra Dual USB Drive 3.0 and a Samsung Galaxy S6. I have checked with your recommendations above and the flashdrive is formatted as a FAT32. When I plug the male microUSB into the phone however it fails to recognize it. The screen lights up like it knows something is plugged in (like it does when it is plugged into the charger) but the file manager does not recognize any external source of storage. I have also downloaded SanDisks app "Memory Zone" which also fails to recognize when the device is plugged in.

Emily Watson

7 year before

Reply to Alicia Illis

Hi. Please make sure that the flash drive is working fine. Plug it in a computer to have a check.

Also you can use apps like OTG Troubleshooter to check which part of the connection is going wrong.

Duran Goberdhan

6 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

same problem I'm having nothing happens when I insert flash drive via otg cable, formatted to exfat still nothing happens flash drive and cable works in a j7 with no problems so I kno they are functional.

Cora Entrada Dapiton

4 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

same problem. i already used my OTG in my phone and in my laptop but now when plug the OTG on my phone and on my laptop the screen when light and there's a sound but when I open the file manager, it does not recognize the OTG.

Duran Goberdhan

6 year before

nothing happens when I try to connect my flash drive via otg cable to my s6, I formatted to exfat still no luck, flash drive and cable works fine on a j7 so I kno they are not faulty. I need help as my s6 storage is full

Emily Watson

6 year before

Reply to Duran Goberdhan

Did the cable and flash drive work on your S6 before? Have you tried to run apps like OTG Troubleshooter see check what's wrong?

Emily Watson

6 year before

Hi.

Try the OTG cable and flash drive on other device and see if they work. Maybe one of them is not working.

Shai Alon

6 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

I saw the same issue, and yes, the OTG cable and flash drive works on other device

Cora Entrada Dapiton

4 year before

Reply to Emily Watson

same problem but i don't have a OTG cable.

zubair mehmood

6 year before

I have s8 plus. I want to use ITG and want to connect usb. But my mobile is not responding to the usb. I followed all the procedures as mentioned. But nothing progressive. And yes i tried it on other devices. Help me out....

Emily Watson

6 year before

Reply to zubair mehmood

Hi. There are many possibilities.

When connecting the USB to the phone via OTG, do you see anything?

Also, make sure it is not a hardware problem: 1. connect a mouse or other usb drive to the phone via the OTG cable to make sure the cable is working 2. connect the USB and OTG cable to other mobile device 3. Also, it is said that Micro-USB connector does not support On‑the-Go (OTG) devices.

And try other file manager such as Try ES file explorer.

Marcus Jones

6 year before

Hi there have note 8 and I can't get any flash drives already formatted to fat 32to read on my phone.. also I can't get it to connect to my kenwood stereo in my car.. charges but doesnt recognize media files .. and the bluetooth won't input into the stereo for phone calls.. a bit off topic but is there any thing you can suggest

digambar kumbharkar

6 year before

Hi,
In my vivo v7 otg not recognising even if i on otg option in setting... Is there any programming files deleted from mobile??.. In another mobile otg working fine..

Rayan borja

6 year before

Hi,
In my vivo v7 otg not recognising even if i on otg option in setting... Is there any programming files deleted from mobile??.. In another mobile otg working fine..Same question to digambar kumbharkar

Emily Watson

6 year before

Reply to Rayan borja

Hi, make sure your OTG cable is compatible with Vivo V7. Also you can try some OTG troubleshooter app to diagnose the problem.

HEINX LOPEZ

6 year before

Hi i have a vivo y53 and its otg supported my usb drive cant be detected although my otg cable works in other phone.... ive also formatted my usb drive and still it doesnt work.

Ian Christian Peralta

6 year before

Hi I have my S8+ .. I tried reformatting it several times but to no avail.. I tried to insert the USB on the computer but it works perfectly .. I also tried using different phones and the USB OTG works fine as well... Actually the USB OTG works fine as well last week for me .. but come to this day it seems to have a problem. I tried the said solutions above but to no avail.. Please help me fix this Thanks

Treetops97

6 year before

My USB pendrive used to work fine on my cubot echo a year ago. Then the same phone just randomly stopped detecting the pendrive. The drive still works when I plug it in to a computer, and I formatted it to Fat32 twice. It doesn't detect on other phones anymore either.

Brian Jay Lopez Full

6 year before

(MY OTG PORT STOPS WORKING, CANT DETECT USBs etc)

my OTG port is now working!!!!!

at last!!!

try to clean the charging port/OTG port 🙂

use a very small tissue(make a small tip) and put small amount of alcohol to it then try put it inside the port then use a very small stick(I use toothpick)

try to swab it

make sure to dry it

I blow it hard

I hope it works to you all

by the way my phone is Samsung Galaxy S7

leave a message for other questions/suggestions
[email protected]
for donations 🙂

small amount is a big help

thank you

https://www.paypal.me/evbrian

xoxo

Gaurav Dichwalkar

6 year before

Hello ! I have redmi 4 it is OTG supported and it use to work properly before. But now my phone is not detecting the OTG. And when I tested the same pendrive and OTG with other phone it worked. Guys please help me.

Daniel Högberg

6 year before

The problem is that every time I format my sd card in my camera the problem is back.. Why cant I install support for Nikon file system in my android phone??

Emily Watson

5 year before

Reply to Daniel Högberg

Hi,

There is no support for Nikon file system on Android. SD cards use FAT, FAT32 or exFAT file system formats, which Android supports. If your Nikon SD card cannot be recognized by Android via OTG, check if the OTG cable is workable and if your Android phone supports OTG.

Wendy Yeo

5 year before

Hi, i try to format.. but there isnt fat32 only exfat and NTFS

KWABENA OPPONG DAVID

5 year before

Please my otg pendrive is not detected on my mobile phone. But if I connect the pendrive side to my pc it works. I've formatted it fat32 and it came once on my mobile but it's not detected again. Please help me.

Adrian Anthony Nieveras

5 year before

My usb otg just stopped. I was watching and it just stopped. I tried again, it plays but then suddenly it stopped again, I put it in again but my usb otg does not appear on my phone anymore. Help please.

Lynette Ausena

5 year before

Please help me with my OTG not read on my phone and laptop even on my computer

Sudheer Sidh

5 year before

Reply to Lynette Ausena

same problem to me di u got the solution?

Cora Entrada Dapiton

4 year before

Please help me with my OTG not read on my phone and laptop even on my computer. I know that my phone and my computer will detect the OTG cause when I plug the OTG there is a sound. But when I find my OTG on my files there is no folder of the OTG. Please help me. I have some important documents in my OTG.

Cora Entrada Dapiton

4 year before

Hi, I have a SanDisk 64GB Ultra Dual USB Drive 3.0 and a Samsung J7 Pro. I have checked with your recommendations above and the flashdrive is formatted as a FAT32. When I plug the male microUSB into the phone however it fails to recognize it. The screen lights up like it knows something is plugged in (like it does when it is plugged into the charger) but the file manager does not recognize any external source of storage. I have also downloaded SanDisks app "Memory Zone" which also fails to recognize when the device is plugged in. The OTG contained some important docs but I can't open it now.