USB OTG support for lumia series...

It's actually Settings>Devices>USB but that's picky. That control panel notes it manages aspects of connecting to devices such as keyboards and mice. Those are USB client devices, which require the phone to act as a host. The normal data transfer scenario for phones was to connect them to a PC to transfer data, pictures, connect with a manager program, that sort of thing. With PC USB ports being hosts, phones were generally clients. They still need to act as clients to do those same PC data functions. Acting as a host and a client, as needed, is a specialized function that requires an intent during design to support it, beyond just software. As I've always maintained, were it simply a software issue, MS would have exposed it long ago. The OS does clearly support it. If the upgraded device, 1320, 1520, 1020 doesn't support it, it is because it can't.

Old thread blah blah blah. A friend sent me this not long ago:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/instantanswers/12d3eb33-fe18-c1cf-4c43-708b3319fa31/supported-usb-devices-in-windows-10-mobile

Basically System -> Devices -> USB. If you see that entry your phone should have USB OTG.

I have found that in a Lumia 535, Lumia 640 XL, Lumia 950 XL. On the other hand the Lumia 1320, Lumia 920 and 1020 lack of that entry. I was expecting to find the entry in the 1320 but it wasn't there on the TH2 build (the last one before the AU).

I haven't test the phones since I don't have the adaptor.

Hey thanks. Much less ranty than the original ;) Wondering why, if you had an OTG stick with you, and attached it to the sales lady's phone, you didn't try it on the phone you were about to buy.  I can't argue that the sales folks should be better versed in what they are selling, but I think it would be hard to know everything about every device they have in stock. It is even worse for Windows Phones, as they don't seem to be high on the list of phone store management to push. So why spend a lot of time getting up on them. 

I do agree, it's hard to find complete information. I would say assume it isn't there if it doesn't explicitly say it is.  I'm having a similar problem myself. I'm intrigued by the new LG G5 (yes I now it's Android), but I can't find anything that says if it has a fingerprint reader. The reason I wonder is my Nexus 5x, an LG device, does have a reader on the back, and the G5 has a ring in the pictures that looks just like it.  It's an odd style element if it isn't a fingerprint reader, but I haven't found a single place that confirms or denies it. Not even the LG site. So, I get it, but this is a thread that started in 2012. I wouldn't hold my breath, or gripe about, OTG at this point.  It exists on the USB-C based models, but I'm convinced (my opinion) that is a side affect of USB-C/USB 3 for Continuum, not a basic desire to let people hook drives to their phones.

BTW, just as a data point, in 2012 we were running WP7. That OS had no exposed file system, and no File Manager. Even if you hooked a USB drive to the device, there was no user interface that would have allowed you to see the files on it, or move files to and from directories on the phone, which you also couldn't see. That continued in WP 8 for some time, until we finally got a file manager.  So for a majority of WP history, you couldn't have done much with a connected drive in the first place. Providing an OTG capability, would have meant some considerable OS work in creating a file manager, exposing the file system, providing api's so other apps could take advantage of it and still keeping the security of the sandboxed app concept alive.

OK well nice long technical reply thanks. Well to be honest I think the manufacturers really make it hard for people to understand just what their devices can do or not do? For sure if you search you can often find out if for example it will do OTG?

The sales woman at the shop did not even know what OTG was so I had to explain to her, she connected my OTG and stick to her own phone and of course it worked, unfortunately her understanding of the principle did not. So you can understand why I had problems knowing if the phone actually did support OTG I believed when I bought it it did. That is what I understood.

The reason I was trying to contact the Sony service people was to ask them why their phones were being sold by people who could not properly understand the technical details of the product they were selling.

Very true what you say about what does it have to do with Microsoft and the Windows 10 phone?

Well my reply was only in sympathy with someone else who is confused by mobile phone manufacturers failing to include maybe one of the most useful functions.

By the way I do not like the Sony Xperia much better than that awful N9 I used to have.

Seem to remember a saying somewhere "The customer is always right"

OK, so you bought an N9 which ran the Linux-base MeeGo, before the MS/Nokia partnership/purchase. The last Xperia that ran a MS OS was a the X2 which ran Windows Mobile 6.5 and was released in Jan 2011. So if the Xperia is recent, it runs Android. What does this have to do with Windows Phone/Win 10 Mobile, or Microsoft for that matter.

With the advent of relatively ubiquitous data connectivity on phones, and the availability of cloud storage, SD storage in many models, somebody decided the need for USB OTG wasn't a priority. It's too late to second guess that decision. That decision determined the hardware that would be required, and that hardware didn't support host capabilities on the charge/sync port.  Decisions are made that may not be popular, but there were most likely valid reasons when they were made. MS isn't unique in this. On occasion Apple made the decision optical drives were no longer needed, more than one USB port was a waste, expended memory was unnecessary and headphone sockets may be going away.

If a device doesn't meet your requirements, don't buy it. If you can't get an answer on whether a feature is included, be hesitant about buying it. Make sure you can return it, if you choose to check it yourself. Seems a waste of time to berate a manufacturer for a device you bought, not having a feature that was essential to you.