The Nexus 7 tablet lacks storage, but with a cable and free apps, it’s possible to connect a USB drive to the Nexus 7 for more storage.
This solution is not for everyone. It requires a rooted Nexus 7, a cable dangling from the edge, and apps for the process to work. If you haven’t bought a Nexus 7, I’d still recommend the 16GB version, but if you need the storage to shoot movies on a flight or trip, this is an option to have on hand.
The same cable lets you use an Xbox 36o controller for gaming on the Nexus 7 tablet.
Connect a USB drive to the Nexus 7 for more storage.
How to Use USB Drive with Nexus 7
This solution isn’t perfect, but it works for me 90% of the time and allows me to watch movies and TV shows that would otherwise not fit on my Nexus 7 tablet.
what you will need
You can find the cable at many online retailers, but the link below is for Amazon with Prime Shipping.
You’ll also want to put your movies and TV shows in the right format with an app like SmartConverter on Mac.
First you need to root the Nexus 7 tablet. I suggest you Root and Unlock Nexus 7 with our guide. The process is straight forward and easy to do. Unlocking the Nexus 7 will wipe the device, so be sure to back up important information before you start.
Stickmount mounts USB drives to Nexus 7.
Load Sticky Application from Google Play store. This app makes the USB drive appear in Android file explorers. After installing, insert a USB drive and grant superuser permissions to the app.
The USB drive appears in a special folder on the Nexus 7.
Load ES File Explorer app or your preferred Android file explorer. This will allow you to find the USB drive and open files on the tablet.
To find the driver, go to:
Contents of USB drive on Nexus 7.
This folder will display the contents of the USB drive. From there, tap a file to open it in the corresponding app.
Watching movies from USB drive on Nexus 7.
I was able to open almost all movie files, but not all files played well. I recommend you to use SmartConverter on Mac or a similar tool for converting an Android tablet’s files for stutter-free playback.
