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Connecting to printer via OTG, simultaneous charging

Albert Koczy edited this page Mar 24, 2023 · 5 revisions

In order to use your printer with octo4a, you need to connect it to your phone with an OTG cable. You can use an Y USB cable (search for "usb otg y cable", example cable on Aliexpress). It splits the data and power cables between your printer and phone charger.

An image showing an USB Y cable

Simultaneous charging

Unfortunately, not all phones support charging and USB OTG at the same time. Sometimes the issue is on the software side and changing your ROM might enable charging via the Y cable.

We maintain a crowd-sourced compatibility list of phones which work with octo4a: The list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pbKAELzvTrMVm6NpDpK8TfQR33w3QHQEgqkcGdbPFI0/edit?usp=sharing

Feel free to submit your phone here: https://forms.gle/UFzJebj67hCtLCBz7

Sometimes it is possible to bypass this problem by trying these solutions:

  • Using wireless charging. If your phone supports it, it might be possible to use a wireless charger and use the OTG feature at the same time. Some users have resorted to gluing a wireless charger to a phone case

  • Hard-wiring the battery. WARNING: CONNECTING A RANDOM POWER-SUPPLY STRAIGHT TO THE BATTERY MIGHT RESULT IN A FIRE OR EXPLOSION, EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION Some people modify their phone to charge their battery externally, bypassing the phone's battery charging circuitry altogether. Some even removed the battery (the safest option)

  • Compiling a non-standard kernel. On some models the charging-and-OTG functionality is blocked in software, and this can be bypassed by using a non-stock kernel. Please be advised that compiling an Android kernel requires some skill and a lot of time.

If you need some guidance please feel free to ask on our telegram group: https://t.me/octo4achat

The community is very likely to help you.

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