FYI, Google changed the manual on the Nexus 4 to remove USB support (instead indicating you should u ...
Posted on 2012-12-07, 29 comments, 48 +1's, imported from Google+/Chainfire

NOTICE: This content was originally posted to Google+, then imported here. Some formatting may be lost, links may be dead, and images may be missing.

... se Bluetooth).

This might mean an OTG / host fix really isn't coming. Bummer!

Connect to keyboards, mice, & other devices - Nexus Help

+148
Adrián Peg commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:23:

Dafuq. And what if someone bought the device just thinking it had OTG because is so necessary for him? O.o

Dominik Maier commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:24:

Sad stuff

Brandon Chen commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:29:

how about nexus 10？

Hilaire Dufresne commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:31:

sgn2 ftw!

Bogdan Sladaru commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:37:

Yeah. The previous text stated:

You can connect a keyboard, mouse, or even a joystick or other input device to your phone via USB or Bluetooth and use it just as you would with a PC.

You may need an adapter to connect the keyboard or other device to your phone's USB port. To connect more than one USB device at a time, use a powered USB hub to reduce the drain on your phone’s battery.

:) GG Google!

Terry Hutchinson commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:37:

I wonder if it was just LG's turn since they have been a long term supporter of Android.  Many (including me) would argue their products are universally crap and should not be allowed in the Tier 1 group.  But maybe Google was thinking they needed a product refresh before #keylimepie  and the uber-Nexus they build at Motorola.

[no I don't have any info at all.  Just an interesting guess for why they did something that on the surface appears really freaking stupid!]

Ben Murphy commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:37:

Well this is crap.

While I like my Nexus 4 I think LG & Google dropped the ball on this.

Pedro Carneiro commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:50:

looking at the direction google is taking with Nexus you have limited storage to force you to used the cloud. Bluetooth, miracast, nfc and wireless charging to point you that cables are part of the past.

I think this was a mistake from the beggining. If not, this manual change was a place holder until google add OTG. Anyway, under my way of seeing things, OTG makes no sense on Nexus anymore.

Marcus Buschbeck commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:50:

It was obvious! Therefore I will stay at Samsung! This nexus hype I can not understand anyway.

Pascal Pochol commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:52:

I use a BT keyboard so no big deal for me, but I hope that USB-OTG does work for USB storage.

Dr. Jürgen Koch commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:58:

:-( do you think a solution/fix is possible?

Marc R. commented on 2012-12-07 at 15:59:

+Juergen Koch I think it's only possibe by flashing a custom kernel which enables OTG on the NX4 (if I'm wrong then feel free to correct me)

Ben Murphy commented on 2012-12-07 at 16:01:

This change is probably from a hardware issue because the ability should be in the kernel. This is just my guess.

Nicholas Brickhouse commented on 2012-12-07 at 16:13:

Welcome to the cloud and busted data caps.

Anthony Esposito commented on 2012-12-07 at 16:19:

I'm a big otg fan

Chainfire commented on 2012-12-07 at 16:40:

+Pedro Carneiro One reason for OTG was support for small accessories so those do not need their own power supply. It's not just for neat stuff like connecting computer-y peripherals(?) and camera's and whatnot. However, we've never really seen those accessories come to life.

+Juergen Koch +Marc Rasmussen It depends on what the problem is. There are some indicators that point to the Nexus 4 not being able to supply power through the USB port (as a proper OTG device should) and as such it would always require an additional external power supply (and a modified kernel - and modified /system if you want 3rd party apps to work with it). This is not user-friendly.

I actually think this is the real case, and even though OTG might have been meant to work on the Nexus 4, the final hardware just doesn't supply the power. The Galaxy Nexus didn't support OTG out-of-the-box either, but this was a simple kernel issue (someone forgot to enable it in the kernel build config) and Google fixed it pretty quickly. As such, if it was merely a kernel issue that's holding this feature back, I think they would have fixed it already. 

But remember, it's all still speculation at this point. As long as Google doesn't tell us which is which, we just don't know, there are at least a handful of scenarios still possible (some more likely than others).

I'm just following this out of interest btw, I don't have an N4 nor have I ordered one.

Bogdan Sladaru commented on 2012-12-07 at 16:54:

+Chainfire yes, but advertising it as an OTG enabled device, then finding out they can't provide enough power, IS a big failure in my book, don't know about yours :)

But on the other hand, that's just one more failure on the growing list of Google failures lately. It looks like they managed to beat Apple and now they are bored, so they just start shooting themselves in the foot.

Pedro Carneiro commented on 2012-12-07 at 17:07:

Generally talking, benchmarks can be killed with fire. I have a N4 and my complains are just about the audio output on headphones that lacks proper bass and camera software needs tweaks. Else is fast as fuck, battery stands to my entire regular day home-job-home, display is color acurrate, notification led is discrete, wireless charging is awesome. Also no heating or random reboots here. +Roelf Renkema sticking a while with the device will give you conditions to have more proper opinions than just figuring out by reviews.

Pedro Carneiro commented on 2012-12-07 at 17:11:

Oh, and sorry if im just assuming you don't have one. It just seemed to be the case.

Bogdan Sladaru commented on 2012-12-07 at 18:55:

+Roelf Renkema I just skip the benchmarks, since I'm a person, not a robot, so my personal experience is personal, not compared to a standard synthetic test.

Pedro Carneiro commented on 2012-12-08 at 12:09:

Chainfire, people on xda reports thst slimport works on N4.

Bogdan Sladaru commented on 2012-12-08 at 12:43:

+Roelf Renkema Science? Well, the science tells me that if I have one hand in the oven and the other one in the fridge, on average the temperature is ok :)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that science is bad, I am not a religious person, but science is just a tool for the vast majority of us. We don't have to do stuff just because the science says we should do. We still have personal opinions!

Klaus Villaca commented on 2012-12-09 at 00:51:

After that, I already have started to look for other device rather the Nexus 4, 16GB and no USB support it's a no go for me. My biggest mistake was sell my old Galaxy Nexus.

Harald Sebler commented on 2012-12-09 at 21:52:

N4 is a iPhone with Android. No sd card, fixed battery, glass back and now crippled USB support.

Phantom Blackstar commented on 2012-12-10 at 12:58:

Hey chain i m new to rooting and I just rotted my phone which is sprints galaxy s2 epic 4g touch.I've realized that I can no longer use full length songs as ringtones anymore and I can't also download movies straight too my phone.before I rooted when you watched a video on line the option would be play in a video player or the internet and if you choose internet it would then download the movie .Is I'm currently running on jellybean so is jellybean responsible for this or is it the root? If so how do I go about fixing this I tried downloading apps helping me convert my music too ringtones but it didn't work.

Phantom Blackstar commented on 2012-12-12 at 21:27:

I'm using jelly bean

Phantom Blackstar commented on 2012-12-12 at 21:30:

I don't know if my friend flashed any ROMs I asked but he was like he didn't flash any ROMs not that he remembers. I also lost swipe feature as well.

Chainfire commented on 2012-12-14 at 19:19:

+Midori Yakumo This is not a post related to StickMount, as such I've deleted your comment.

Phantom Blackstar commented on 2012-12-23 at 02:36:

Codename

This post is over a month old, commenting has been disabled.