Charging connected USB device

[Dave012345678910]

Maybe I could borrow a computer. How do I know if it has a reader? Do I put the SD card in an adapter and then what? Now it's "charging" at 73%. I guess I'll shut it off and leave it "charging" and hope for the best.

 

[nickdalzell]

Any modern computer (desktop or laptop) will likely have a reader, it's noticeable by there being a slot somewhere labeled 'MS/SD/EMMC' or the like





Whenever I dealt with the infamous 'Type C draining while on charger but saying it's charging' powering the entire phone off was the only way to charge it. It became super inconvenient as the phone I was using at the time, a Galaxy A01, barely had an 8 hour lifetime on battery. I never knew why it or my Z Flip 4 did the 'climbs 5 percent then just drains but thinks its charging anyway' problem other than the fact that neither shipped with charging bricks in the box, just USB-C cables. Samsung (and later Apple) never planned ahead in the reality that many charging bricks might not have the proper amp output to charge a larger battery. But sure, we'll stop shipping charging bricks and say we're saving the planet, whilst simultaneously making our phones anti-repair and seal the battery in so you're tossing the entire phone in 2 years, because that makes perfect sense!

A few people make the claim that the EU pushing USB-C on everyone is supposed to reduce e-waste. But the darn phone is going to be e-waste in a couple or so years because some genius decided that removable batteries are bad! How on earth does that even make any sense? We are on the verge of climate collapse yet we are making things more disposable.

It still amazes me to this day that nobody has made a smartphone that is as good, feature-rich, and repairable as the Samsung Galaxy S5, a phone that launched in 2014. Nine years ago. We have had more feature removals and more anti-repair measures since. How are modern phones even upgrades at this point?

Somehow Samsung, in 2014, could make a phone that not only had a fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor, barometer sensor, notification LED, Micro USB 3.0, IP67 water resistance, and a 5.1" OLED display, but also had a removable battery, IR remote control sensor, expandable storage, and headphone jack and still manage to be reasonably thin. Nobody has made a 'better' device since. Nobody.

This is why I say that since 2014/2015 tech has stagnated or reverted backwards since.

 

[Dave012345678910]

Wow, that sounds great. Can I still get it? It's probably better than this garbage. Anyway, I tried shutting it down but I had to find how on the screen because the power button is almost unusable. I practically had to be Superman to get it back on after that. At least it didn't lose any, "charging" at 68%. Is there some other way? I think somebody mentioned something called shake awake for phones a while back, but I don't know much about it.

 

[Dave012345678910]

3% please help. It lies it's charging even unplugged. Did that SD to SD device mess up this Moto G Pure?

 

[Dave012345678910]

It hasn't been charging for a couple days. It's at zero. I have used distilled water and three different chargers. Could that sd to sd thing have worsened or caused this?

 

[nickdalzell]

Yes, you can find the Galaxy S5 on many used sites, such as eBay, Amazon, and the like, and in unlocked or carrier locked versions. It's the oldest phone that is VoLTE compliant as well. It's not going to be running the latest Android version (official support was Android 6.0, it shipped with 4.4 originally) but all the apps I used at the time still work, such as Walmart, Kroger, Netflix, YouTube, YouTube Music, and many, many more.

I think the only apps that stopped supporting it were Little Caesar's, Burger King, and McDonald's. There might be other apps that don't support an older phone like it, but I doubt anything game breaking.

I still have my S5, but have moved on. The battery life of the phone wasn't that good, and it's sorta slow. If you can live with that, it was a pretty feature-laden device. No charging issues either. They even made a special battery cover that offered wireless charging as an accessory at one point. It was also the first smartphone that offered USB 3.0 Fast Charging as well. It should if bought used, ship with the original USB 3.0 charging cable. You can also charge via a MicroUSB cable. If you still have other older devices with Micro USB, it's a better fit over keeping up with buggy Type C mixed with other cables.

If you do end up getting an S5, preferably unlocked so it works with any carrier, I advise against updating any apps. You can install whatever you want from Play Store, but don't allow auto updates, because it shipped with a lot of useful apps (Amazon suite, such as Kindle and Music, along with Slacker Radio, a music player, and much, much more) and updates will slow it down a lot and use more power. Also be sure the USB cover is intact. Many folks abused the phone when new, so it's more rare to find any left with an intact USB cover. Without it, the water resistance doesn't work.

 

[Dave012345678910]

That does sound good but I guess I would have to buy online, which I probably can't. I found a Moto G Stylus at walmart in real life. It's at&t prepaid and with tax would be about $80. Should I?

 

[nickdalzell]

Moto is what you got already. If the brand failed you already, why bother with it again? I don't even give Subaru another chance given my first car was a Subaru and was nothing but trouble from day one.

A used and good condition Galaxy S5 on Amazon is less than $50 unlocked. That means you can just pop your active SIM into it and be good to go!

Unless you're already an AT&T Prepaid member, you will have to cancel your current service and get an account wiht AT&T Prepaid, and deal with the hassle of number porting to keep your old number. AT&T also loves to force upgrades on folks. Long before VoLTE was mandated, they were cutting people's phones off years in advance due to some stupid whitelist, even phones that were VoLTE compliant, all because it didn't have and AT&T logo on it. I don't want to do business with companies like that.

Pretty much any newer phone will have USB-C, and you will have the same issues. It's a problem with the standard, and you're better off with an older, Micro USB device.

 

[Dave012345678910]

How do I buy online without a card? I bet they don't accept cash. I don't have a lot of choices.

 

[nickdalzell]

IF you have a checking account, you can set up Paypal which Amazon can accept.

I have no credit at all, so I use reloadable cards I purchased at a Dollar General, such as American Express Serve or Green Dot Visa. You can load those up with cash, like a gift card and use then online. They work just like a credit card, minus the whole interest and bill thing.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Nick is our resident old-device guy and is willing to do what it takes to keep the old stuff going.
As a more casual user, you may find the S5 somewhat iffy now as a daily-use device. While it was a great phone in its day and I loved mine, it comes up somewhat short these days as far as processing power, RAM and internal storage plus being limited to Android 6. Rooting may be possible but will prevent certain things from working like banking apps.
My S5 has been a desk ornament since I replaced it with an S9 almost 5 years ago, I do miss some of the features but it was time to move on.

 

[nickdalzell]

I mentioned it'd be running an outdated build of Android and certain apps might not work, and it was slow and had worse battery life.

Just because I love old things does not mean I can't admit that they weren't perfect! However, they still have not made one smartphone that can best the S5 in the amount of features, so every device is a downgrade. Faster, better battery life? sure. But I do find out I miss my IR blaster (when my remote doesn't work sometimes) and I miss having a removable battery and Micro USB. If not for my Z Flip 4 having wireless charging I'd have given up on it because I have nothing but trouble with USB-C, just like the OP here.

When I last used my S5, in 2022, Green Dot and American Express Serve's apps still worked, so did the Walmart and Kroger shopping apps. Play Store even worked. The only ones I used at the time that broke support were Burger King and Little Caeser's. So I lack digital coupons and the ability to order a veggie pizza delivered to my home via Doordash. Big whoop.

The OP might be happier with a phone that actually charges correctly and be, well, a phone, over one that constantly has USB-C charging issues. I'm personally done buying multitudes of USB-C cables and chargers that don't work, and think the standard was not only unneccesary, but a solution in search of a problem like all modern tech. I don't know what all the OP's requirements are, but was offering a cheaper alternative to dealing with USB-C woes.

"But when they can build ships like your Enterprise, why on earth would anyone pilot this old bucket o' bolts?!"

"Don't be surprised...I bet if this ship were fully-functional she'd run circles around the Enterprise at impulse speeds. Just because something is old, doesn't mean you should throw it away!"

~ Scotty and Geordi, Star Trek: The Next Generation, 'Relics'

 

[Dave012345678910]

That's a great quote. I hate flip phones and I love removable batteries. Maybe I'll try that card thing. Where is Dollar General?

 

[nickdalzell]

Dollar general (and Family Dollar) are like Starbucks. They're on every street corner it seems. They also sell reloadable cards at Walmart, Target, Best Buy--pretty much any retail store.

Be careful, you need to make sure to get a reloadable Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. It can't be one of those 'non-reloadable' Visas that only work in stores and are throw away. Look for Green Dot, AMEX Serve, Paypal Visa. AVOID 'VanillaCard' and others like 'em.

They work just like credit cards, but can't mess with your credit score (if you have one) and can't put you in debt. Some even have apps to check your balance and history.

I feel a lot of tech since 2014/2015 is nothing but solutions chasing for problems, and often causes me more problems than what worked prior. Another quote I love is this one:

"The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain"

~ Scotty, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Also:

"That's the new Excelsior she's supposed to have transwarp drive"

"Ah, and if my Grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon!"

~ Sulu and Scotty, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Another favorite from the same film:

"I'm looking forward to breaking all of the Enterprise's records!"

Scotty: "Ah...[nods smiling silently and waits for the captain to leave] GOODNIGHT!"

Turbolift: "Level, sir?"

Scotty: "Engineering!"

Turbolift: "Thank you!"

Scotty: "Up yer shaft!"

 

[Dave012345678910]

I tried the device again. This time it admitted USB drive. I selected explore and switched to SD. Then I chose a category and all of them. However, when I told it to copy it stopped, more than once. I was using Files because I don't want the google version. How do I get it to recognize and use Simple Files?

 

[nickdalzell]

It probably stopped because the port is so loose (USB-C never feels secure, you bump the cable and it just quits) it loses the connection intermittently and stops or fails somehow.

I have to resort to the slow process of bluetooth file transfer, which sadly can take a day or two to transfer my 9 Gigabyte MP3 collection to a new phone. It refuses to work via Smart Switch or Wifi Direct, and Bluetooth is like using dial-up internet to upload that amount.

Back in 2009 when Android 2.3 was a thing, you could plug your phone into a laptop and the phone would show a 'USB connected' screen offering to 'charge only' or 'turn on USB storage' and it worked PERFECTLY. For some asinine reason, Google axed it around the time Android 4.x came out.

So easy, you couldn't get it wrong. Why axe such a useful feature? Only the Shadow knows...

 

[Dave012345678910]

How could I use Bluetooth to copy SD to SD? When I tell it to copy from the Moto G Play's 256 GB SD card to the 1 tb in the Vanja type USB drive, there is no message at all. It's as if the whole thing disappeared. Since it does the same thing every time, I'm not sure it's really a loose connection. I emailed Simple about how to make their app show up as a usable choice. I hope I hear back soon. This 256 gb card is almost full.

 

[nickdalzell]

You pair both devices. Turn on 'Bluetooth Visibility' on the receiving phone, then search for it on the sending phone/laptop, and pair like you would a headset. Then open a file manager app and select what you want to send, then tap and hold and a menu should pop up, select either 'send via bt' or 'share' and select 'bluetooth' as the option, it should list the paired device. then just wait. It takes forever depending on the amount of data. As I said, it's as slow as dial-up.

USB-C is just that unstable. Trust me, and don't let the futurists who think every change (no matter how stupid/pointless) is good tell you otherwise. NOBODY asked for USB-C to happen. Literally zero demand. USB was supposed to solve a problem--too many cables to keep up with, to create a well, 'universal' cable to rule them all. Then for some reason, we had to change from USB A, to Mini USB, to two different Micro USB standards before landing on the best one, which sadly got axed in 2014 when USB-C came out. So in essence, USB isn't even solving the problem it sought out to solve, it created its own problems, and you can thank the EU for forcing it on everyone against their will. I live in the U.S.A. and the EU should have zero jurisdiction here but her we are either way.

 

[Dave012345678910]

I like your answer but I think you think I have two phones. I kind of do but the other is that Blu government phone and I still have the Pure, which may never charge again. I don't know how I can use a dead phone or one without SD capability to do this.

 

[nickdalzell]

A pc perhaps? Most laptops have Bluetooth. Heck, the 2013 one I am using now has it. And it is old enough to run Windows 7

 

[Dave012345678910]

Those were the days. I gave in and used the google files app but I sure didn't want to do that. I probably should have earlier. It worked fine. I made sure I had a full charge and then had it copy some categories. The DCIM was really slow. By the time it got to that it was already down to 64%. It was getting late and I just let it work. When I checked it this morning it was 21% but it did its job. The stuff is there. I have to charge it up soon and then I plan to do some more copying. I still wish it would work with a different file app, especially Simple. Is there some way to make it default? Also, how do I switch default on keyboards,? Is there a way to get rid of those boring messages about enabling google play services and updating the phone? I think I'm pretty safe there because I used Dev Ops to shut off automatic updates, but I want to be really sure.

 

[nickdalzell]

Any app that shows the error 'to use this app you must enable/update Google Play Services' just go to the app's settings page and uncheck 'show notifications' and they're gone.

As for changing the keyboard, assuming you have a third party one installed, whenever you have the keyboard up, look for a little 'keyboard' icon either on the status bar or near the bottom left of the screen, tap that, and it should allow you to select your preferred keyboard.

As for setting the default file browser app, go to settings-->apps-->default apps and look for 'file browser app' and select whatever one you wish. However, it should ask you on first launch or whenever you access one by tapping a notification about a download, to select whichever app as default, with 'just once' and 'always' options.

The Developer Options disabling updates (the control is 'automatic system updates') does nothing. I think all it does is allow or disallow the phone auto rebooting to install a system update. It is NOT a method to disable updates. For that you need a VPN app like Netguard to shut the internet access off to 'Software update', otherwise you can tell Play Store to never check for updates and then disable all its notifications so it can't nag you about updates being available, or just disable Play Store entirely.

 

[Dave012345678910]

I don't see any way to select default files app. I'm not seeing one for keyboard either. No Root Firewall is a vpn, isn't it? How do I make sure it's on all the time?

 

[nickdalzell]

Netguard, not No Root Firewall (I know it's sort of confusing since they share the name 'No Root Firewall') Either one should give you a notice on how to disable battery optimization before they let you do anything though. Yes, they are VPNs, but all they do is redirect any internet traffic from apps you tell it to disable internet from to localhost, or 127.0.0.1 which means those apps you select can't connect to the internet.

When you download a file on any Android device within the last couple or so years, and tap that download, assuming you have two or more file explorers installed, you should get a prompt saying 'use xxx to open files [just once] [always]' which is asking you to choose which one, and a way to make it the default (always) or to just open the file once (just once). If you never got that, you probably don't have one installed, or clicked through it. To reset default apps, head on over to settings--->Apps--->three dot menu--->clear default app list

Unless you have a third party keyboard already installed, you won't be able to choose a keyboard other than what came installed onto the phone. Any time you have a keyboard showing, you should have a tiny little 'keyboard' icon either in the status bar or in the nav bar area to access keyboard-related settings. That's the option to also choose from any installed keyboards. There's also a 'language and input' option in settings to also choose keyboards, but its location and name varies by manufacturer. On Samsung it's under accessibility settings-->language and Input

I would post screenshots, but they only apply to my Samsung phone (each OEM has different ways to do things) and the forum has recently decided that all photos from my Z Flip 4 are too large and won't let me post.

Disabling software updates on Android especially today is an involved process. I do it because I got sick of things being changed (mainly in the user interface) or moved around forcing me to relearn the app over and over again. There's OTA (over the air) updates to the OS itself, app updates from Play Store and/or any other app store that might come preinstalled (such as Samsung's Galaxy Store), Google Play System updates, and Google Play Services updates. Netguard or No Root Firewall can easily disable all of that, if you're willing to go Google Free since many apps depend on Google Play Services being connected, but in that case, if you need those features, you can still disable updates to Play Services while maintaining its connectivity by disabling the download manager in application settings, after you tap 'three dot menu' and select 'show system apps'. Download Manager is a very old system service that is still being used by Google Play Store/Google Play Services to download and install apps/updates/background updates. If you don't depend on Play Store at all, or use a different store such as F-Droid or Aptoide, you can freely disable Download Manager and other apps should work fine. Amazon doesn't even use Download Manager, it has its own. Same goes for Aptoide, F-Droid, Apple Music, etc.

Only Google apps such as Books, YouTube Music and Play Store seem to care about Download Manager. You can still use YouTube Music without it, but you lose the ability to download stuff for offline use.

 

[Dave012345678910]

I hate anything google, including YouTube. I found out about new pipe, which is more or ess youtube without the bad stuff. If I already have No Root Firewall should I get Netguard too? Is it free? Have you heard about InviZible? I don't use the play store.