Most of us treat our smartphone's charging port as if its sole job is to keep the battery alive. But that little port is much more powerful than it's given credit for. Your phone can do a lot more than you expect if you know how to use it.
10. Flash drives and external hard drives
When your phone starts to struggle under the weight of thousands of photos, random downloads you don't remember saving, or large videos, sometimes the easiest fix is to plug in a flash drive or external hard drive and move the data to it. It's also incredibly handy when you want to quickly watch, read, or listen to something without having to bother with file transfers or cloud syncing. All you need is a USB OTG (On-The-Go) adapter—or, if your phone supports it, a USB-C flash drive.
External hard drives can be a little trickier. Most portable hard drives draw power directly from your phone, and unless you’re using something lightweight like the Samsung T7, your phone won’t have enough power to keep the drive spinning. In those cases, a self-powered drive (one that plugs into an outlet) is much more reliable. Additionally, a USB hub with a power supply can help bridge the gap if your drive doesn’t power directly.
9. Game controller
Mobile gaming is great fun, but touchscreen controls are rarely the best option. Thankfully, you can plug a game controller into your smartphone's charging port and instantly upgrade your experience. Whether it's an Xbox or PlayStation controller, all you need is the right USB cable for the controller and maybe an OTG adapter. You can also get a dedicated mobile controller that clips directly onto your phone.
8. Keyboard and mouse
If you want to turn your phone into a computer, connecting a keyboard and mouse can make tasks like writing, emailing, and light spreadsheets much more comfortable. With a USB-C or Lightning-to-USB OTG adapter, you can plug wired peripherals directly into your phone's charging port.
Most USB keyboards and mice are plug and play on both Android and iOS, so no additional drivers are required.
7. Ethernet cable
When Wi-Fi fails or is unavailable, you can plug in an Ethernet cable to give your smartphone a stable, high-speed wired Internet connection.
To use it, you'll need a USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter for most Android phones and newer iPhones. If you have an older iPhone, you'll need a Lightning-to-Ethernet adapter. Your phone will automatically detect the connection and prioritize it over any wireless connections.
6. Projector
Many modern smartphones can push video out of their USB-C ports using something called DisplayPort Alt Mode. In simple terms, this allows you to connect your phone to a projector using a USB-C to HDMI (or even USB-C to VGA) adapter. In most cases, your phone will automatically detect the connection and start projecting its screen.
5. DSLR Camera
If you like to shoot on the go, you can transfer photos and videos from your DSLR directly to your phone using a USB-C or Lightning-to-USB adapter. With a camera-compatible cable, this transfer option allows for quick editing and sharing without having to wait for the files to return to your computer. However, you’ll need to confirm that your camera is powered on and supports USB transfer mode.
Many Android phones recognize connected cameras immediately, while iPhones support importing photos via the Photos app.
4. Printer
There are plenty of times when the option to print directly from your phone can be useful. Maybe someone sends you a document via WhatsApp or email and your computer is out of reach or you don't want to transfer the file to your PC first.
Most smartphones can automatically recognize USB printers, provided you're using the correct adapter.
3. MIDI Controller or audio interface
If you're into music production, you'll be glad to know that your smartphone can handle the same rigging you'd normally reserve for your laptop or desktop. Plug the controller's USB cable into the OTG adapter, then plug the adapter into your phone's charging port.
From there, you can launch a compatible app like GarageBand , Walk Band , BandLab , or FL Studio and adjust the settings to make sure the app detects your controller. Some apps will automatically recognize the controller, while others may require manual MIDI mapping.
2. External microphone
Depending on what type of microphone you have, there are a few ways to connect it to your phone. The easiest option is to use a microphone designed specifically for the phone port. These days, you’ll find quite a few high-quality USB-C and Lightning microphones (e.g., Mini Mic Pro, HEHOTTC M2 Mic, GoorDik Lavalier Mic, etc.) that are truly plug-and-play. Simply connect the microphone to your phone’s charging port and it will automatically override the built-in microphone. Your phone will immediately start using the external microphone as its main input without any special apps required.
1. TV or monitor
Connecting your phone to a TV or monitor works much like connecting to a projector, as mentioned above. The important thing to note is that your phone must support DisplayPort Alt Mode for this feature to work.
If you're using a Samsung Galaxy device, you're in for a great upgrade: Samsung DeX . It turns your phone's interface into a desktop-style workspace.
ADB is a powerful set of tools that give you more control over your Android device. Although ADB is intended for Android developers, you don't need any programming knowledge to uninstall Android apps with it.
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The common point of most of these AI chatbot tools is that they need an Internet connection to use. But with the article below, you will learn more tips for using AI chatbots without the Internet on your phone.
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When you compare smartphones from nearly two decades ago and today, you can't help but notice that they've gotten worse in a variety of ways.
Through your purchase history on the App Store, you will know when you downloaded that app or game, and how much you paid for the paid app.
iPhone mutes iPhone from unknown callers and on iOS 26, iPhone automatically receives incoming calls from an unknown number and asks for the reason for the call. If you want to receive unknown calls on iPhone, follow the instructions below.
Apple makes it easy to find out if a WiFi network is safe before you connect. You don't need any software or other tools to help, just use the built-in settings on your iPhone.
iPhone has a speaker volume limit setting to control the sound. However, in some situations you need to increase the volume on your iPhone to be able to hear the content.
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You might think you know how to get the most out of your phone time, but chances are you don't know how big a difference this common setting makes.
The Android System Key Verifier app comes pre-installed as a system app on Android devices running version 8.0 or later.
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For years, Android gamers have dreamed of running PS3 titles on their phones – now it's a reality. aPS3e, the first PS3 emulator for Android, is now available on the Google Play Store.
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For ebook lovers, having a library of books at your fingertips is a great thing. And if you store your ebooks on your phone, you can enjoy them anytime, anywhere. Check out the best ebook reading apps for iPhone below.
You can use Picture in Picture (PiP) to watch YouTube videos off-screen on iOS 14, but YouTube has locked this feature on the app so you cannot use PiP directly, you have to add a few more small steps that we will guide in detail below.
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